| | Category | EN | P10 | Walking on the Wild Side: Designing a Robot to Traverse Varied |
| | Terrain |
| | Abstract | In the experiment “Walking on the Wild Side: Designing a Robot to Traverse |
| | Varied Terrain,” a robot was designed and constructed which harbored |
| | insect-like qualities; namely, six jointed legs, and a tripod gait in which |
| | three legs were lifted simultaneously and moved, while the other three |
| | remained stationary. The hope was that the robot, in its final state, would |
| | be capable of traveling long distances across fields of different physical |
| | construction without the interference of a second, human, party. |
| | |
| | Aluminum was chosen to be the material which would compose the frame |
| | of the robot, in light of its weight, strength, durability, and relative cost. The |
| | robot’s drive train, which was intended to transform the electrical energy |
| | provided to the device via sunlight or stored battery power into mechanical |
| | motion, consisted primarily of servo motors (which contain DC motors but |
| | also possess the circuitry needed to control specific speeds and degrees |
| | of rotational movement) and gear motors (which are constructed with a |
| | lightweight, internal set of gears in order to increase motor torque), |
| | assisted by thin metal tubing and connector actuators. Pushbutton |
| | switches were also installed, so as to inform the robot when its feet were |
| | and were not in contact with the ground. |
| | |
| | The microcontroller which was chosen for this particular project was the |
| | Arduino Mega, whose programming software can be downloaded onto a |
| | Mac OS X computer. The Arduino Mega functioned as the robot’s brain, |
| | sending signals to the servos and gear motors controlling its legs and |
| | prompting changes to the course of the device after analyzing the data it |
| | had obtained in the field. |
| | |
| | The hypothesis stated that if a robot was designed and constructed in the |
| | manner described above, it would be able to traverse varied terrain |
| | independently of its creators and would be able to maneuver around |
| | obstacles effectively enough to make its way from the designated point |
| | “A” to the designated point “B,” whatever they might be. The robot’s ability |
| | to navigate its surroundings was to be tested in snowy conditions, sandy |
| | environments, grasslands, and areas of steep incline. The hypothesis has |
| | been challenged, since it has been determined that the drive train system |
| | initially chosen for this project is not adequate, and that the gear motors |
| | which were originally supposed to lift the legs up and down should be |
| | replaced with servo motors (which offer more frictional resistance during |
| | moments of apparent stillness). |
| | |
| | The research and experimentation associated with this project were |
| | completed in the hope that one day a similar device would be occupied |
| | with duties associated with disaster relief, or even extraterrestrial sample |
| | collection. In a continuation of the experiment, the robot would be equipped |
| | with solar panels for power, tilt sensors for balance, a camera for more |
| | accurate data collection, and a sample collection system to be employed in |
| | real-world scenarios. |