Francis Gowen

Sumobot Report

INSTRUCTIONS:
I. Section 1: Introduction

a. Give me three examples of where robots are used in daily life

1. medically for microscopic surgery
2. police forces to disarm and eliminate threats without risking a human life
3. In manufacturing to speed up the process and eliminate inconsistencies
b. Include photos of those robots with website citation.

Manufacturing Robot (Business Wire)

Bomb Disarming (Wired.com)

 Surgical Robot (Wired.com)

c. Give me three examples of robots in development, similar to the ones we saw in class at
the beginning of this unit.
1. Three robots in development are miniscule robotic dragonflies, rolling and jumping
robots, and aerial unmanned drones.
d. Include photos of those robots with website citation.

Dragonfly Robot (Livescience.com)

Sandflea Jumping Robot (Bostondynamics.com)

Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (Piasecki.com)

e. Give a one sentence description in your own words of what those robots do.
1. Dragonfly drones are used in coordination to provide aerial access to environments
inaccessible by robots of a larger size. Jumping robots, like the sandflea, are used to jump
to heights which we humans cannot reach, and roam around at high speeds and provide
reconicist. The ARES, an unmanned aerial drone, provides rapid resupply, medical
evacuation, and additionally surveillance to soldiers on the ground.

II. Section 2: Robot design

a. Insert photos of your robot throughout the build process and give a short description of
where you are in the build process.

These served as lights and wires attached to our control panel. This was a rudimentary step
however it was necessary for the function of our robot in matches and communication between
others.

b. Take a photo of your robot (or multiple photos from different angles).

(See below)
This is a photo of our final robot. It was simplistic in design, and included no additional
modifications except the inclusion of copper engineering tape. This tape on the front of the bot
was utilized to throw off sensors and impede the detection of our robot by others

d. Draw an arrow to and label the following:

i. Servo motors (2)
ii. Wheels
iii. Battery holder
iv. QTI line sensors (2)
v. IR LEDs
vi. Main circuit board
vii. Extension cables (4)

(See below)
 III.
Section 3: Robot Design

a. Make a video with your partner. Describe what each component does in your own words:
i. Servo motors (2) - created directional rotation of different speeds of a gear
which propelled the wheel
Wheels - provides traction to the board and propels the robot backwards or
forwards
iii. Battery holder - responsible for holding and protecting the battery and
providing power to the motors and additional electronic components
iv. QTI circuit board or line sensors (2) - interpreted and analyzed the robot's
surroundings, identifying the rings boundaries and other competitors and
subsequently sending commands to the circuit board and motors.
v. Main circuit board - responsible for the interconnectedness of the robot.
linked
vi. Extension cables (4) - allowed the flow of electric current through the line
sensors, battery, circuit board, and motors. The attachment of these cables
determined how and where specific operating actions occurred
 vii. LEDs - allowed the robot to identify other led lights of other robots and
also served as a visual indication of when the robot was about to commence its
movement
viii. Resistors - limited the flow of electricity through the robots circuit board

and circuit
ix. Jumper wires - linked the led and resistors together forming a circuit
IV. Section 4: Robot Build

a. Describe your building process and where you had success and where you ran into errors.
1. At first our building process was slow and arduous. Our servo motors were attached in a
way which impeded the insertion and access of the second. We realize this mistake after
adding the circuit board and line sensors so we were required to disassemble and start
over. Rebuilding with the knowledge of this mistake, we were much more efficient and
completed the build in a lone class period. We additionally included all necessary lights
and components on the main circuit board, and saw the function of these lights which
most groups did not.
b. Describe how your robot functioned and what you needed to troubleshoot during the
build. BE SPECIFIC.
2. Our group was lucky as our robot came pre programmed. It functioned in the way it
should and it identified robots with ease. Our problems came in the navigation to these
bots as one motor would rotate forward for a short duration and then in the other direction
for a prolonged time period. This caused our left wheel to go backwards for the majority
of the time, however the right wheel overpowered it, ensuring it went forward. An
additional slight problem was the dislocation of the infrared detection lights as they
would become loose upon hard contact with other robots. This was an easy fix but our
group still hoped that they would stay put.
V. Section 5: Team Work and Organization

a. Based on your experience in this class so far. How did you organize your team on the
first day of the build so that the project was completed on time.
1. On the first day of the build, I organized my other member to gather supplies and read me
instructions as we assembled the bot. This method proved to be most productive and we
switched off as different partners were better at performing better tasks or more stable
with their hands.
b. Include a photo of each team member and next to it, write their main sumobot project
responsibilities in bullet format.
 - Freddie Hammer
- Responsible for in match motivation, gathering of supplies, recon, and additionally parts
of construction
- He was weary of the rules and goals of the tournament and allowed us to cater our match
strategy in a certain manner.

- Henry Cordisco
- Joined late to the group, but served as a man there to do anything
- He was on standby ready with supplies and materials
- Aided in the deconstruction and documentation of the process

c. Tell me how your team worked together. Who was the team MVP?
1. Our team worked well together as we were passionate and all possessed large impetuses
to win the project and simultaneously succeed at the same time. We understood the
simplicity and main goal and made sure we were not distracted by unnecessary things,
requirements, commands, or distractions. Being humble, I believe I was the team MVP as
I understood the function of the robot the best and contributed most in its construction.

VI.
Section 6: Results

a. Insert a video of your match.

1. We do not posses a video of our match as we were made aware of this requirement after
the completion of all our matches. This video serves as an example of one of the such
mathces https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tguWcKTXQI
b. How many matches did you win?
1. We won 4 matches and lost two. Our bot lost in the third round, however it made it back
into the main draw and all the way to the finals before losing 2-1
c. What was your main challenge to winning?
 1. Our main challenge to winning was the function of one of the wheels going in reverse.
This allowed our robot to be harder to eliminate, however it caused it to follow the same
circular line and unable to reach other robots push our competitors out of the ring.
d. If you could go back in time, what would you change about your build to change the
outcome of the project.
1. If I was to go back in time, I would fix this wheel problem and additionally add a larger
battery and forward facing pole to create more distance between two bots. This would
allow it to move faster and more efficiently and also reach and battlebots in places it
could not navigate to.
VII. Section 7: Sphero
a. Insert a screenshot of the code you wrote for your Sphero
1. Was unable to get a screenshot however this is akin to our code. (See next page)

b. Insert a video of your Sphero following the instructions you wrote for it.
c. How is programming a human to do a task different than programming a robot?
1. It is different as humans and robots speak and understand different languages. As we can
use commands to go to predetermined points for humans, robots understand code and
commands include duration, speed, direction, all linked together.