Design Proposal

4/16/12                                                                                                                   
Group 6
ENGR-103-006
Design Proposal
Problem Overview:
In this project an NXT robot will be designed to act as a Sumo wrestler. The goal is to push the other robot out of the Sumo ring, much like the traditional Japanese Sumo wrestling. 

Project Deliverables:
           The physical deliverables specific to the group must include a blog, which is to contain week to week updates of the overall progress of the task at hand.  The blog also needs to be presented in such a way that it is unique to any other group including one with a similar task.  The most important deliverable is the robot designed using a Lego NXT kit.  It is to be an altercation of the standard NXT tribot, with the function of completing the task described above; engaging in a robot sumo competition.  The software under which the robot will perform is Lego NXT Mindstorms. The term will conclude with a presentation and final report both describing the overall process and results of the group’s design project.

Design constraints: 
                The ring is a 77cm diameter circle of wood laminate, with a white outside border. The black interior is marked by 2 additional white starting lines. Once the match starts the 2 opposing NXT wrestler will have 3 rounds to try and push the other robot out of the ring while remaining in the ring themselves. In order to achieve that the Robot must be autonomous, so a large amount of the problem solution is programming. The robot will need to understand where it is in the ring, and have offensive and defensive strategies to win the competition against the other robot.

Pre-Existing Solutions:
                              
Figure 1.1 – Lego Nxt Mini Sumo Bot (wedge)                Figure 1.2 – Lego Sumo Bot (Ram)

              Previous solutions of making a successful sumo robot consist of using a sturdy 3-wheel frame which provides good maneuverability in the ring. Another tactic is to have the light sensor facing downward so the robot is able to distinguish the ring from the boundaries preventing an accidental ring-out. When it comes to the front of the robot, there are choices. One of which is a wedge in Figure 1.1 that provides a decent amount of offense and defense. Other example Figure 1.2 has a solid ram at the front for the same purpose. Overall, these two designs are the most common is robot sumo.

Design Goal:
  The goal of this project is to create a robot capable of competing in a sumo wrestling match. To be successful, our robot must effectively push out other robots and prevent itself from leaving the ring. Maneuverability will also be a key component for getting out of harm’s way quickly. Our robot utilizes these concepts by having a 3-wheel design for maneuverability, a sturdy ram for pushing out other robots and a downward facing light sensor that when programmed will make the robot back up when it nears the boundary.

Project Deliverables:
The physical deliverables specific to the group must include a blog, which is to contain week to week updates of the overall progress of the task at hand.  The blog also needs to be presented in such a way that it is unique to any other group including one with a similar task.  The most important deliverable is the robot designed using a Lego NXT kit.  It is to be an altercation of the standard NXT tribot, with the function of completing the task described above; engaging in a robot sumo competition.  The software under which the robot will perform is Lego NXT Mindstorms. The term will conclude with a presentation and final report both describing the overall process and results of the group’s design project.

Projected Budget:
                 Overall, this project will not require any kind of budget. This is due to the robots participating being made from the Lego NXT robotics kit we signed out under a group member’s ID. In it contained enough Legos to build our draft design. Unlike the previous gripper project from ENGR-102, it is unlikely that we would need any other materials like tape and cardboard.

Project schedule:
In the first two weeks, we formed the group and decided on the robot sumo project. We brainstormed on how to solve to the sumo competition problem. We decided to use mindstorm nxt programming design and nxt kit to create our sumo robot. So far we have already constructed the initial design of the robot.

Week 3 and Week 4:
           We will work on the design of our robot. The mechanics of the robot must be well formatted. In order for the robot to compete effectively at the end of semester competition we must make sure the design is well equipped to deal with other robots. The robot must be heavy enough to be able to resist force when being pushed by other robots but also light enough to be able to move effectively. We will improve the wedge at the front which will be used to push the other robots or go under and flip them over. We plan to make the wedge which will be situated at the front wide enough so it can also act as a shield to protect the working parts of the robot from destruction during the competition. On week 4, we will also start brainstorming on the programming design code.

Week 5-6:
         We will start working on our programming design code. We will decide on how we want our robot to move around, find the opposing robots and push them out of the ring. Based on the programming code design we will establish, we will decide which sensors to use on our robot. We will decide whether to use ultrasonic sensors to avoid the wall constraints of the arena (if there will be any) or light sensors and touch sensor to detect the opponent robot. We will use the mindstorm nxt software to create the programing code.

Week 7-8:
            By then the competition arena will have been set-up. We will start testing our design code and robot movement on the arena. First we will characterize the sensors with the competition ring measurements and conditions to make sure we obtain accuracy and precision of the sensors during the competition. We will make any design adjustments depending on the testing results.

Week 9:
            During the last week of working with our project, we should have completed and perfected our robot design and algorithm, hence ready for competition. We should only make minor changes on our design where necessary.

References:

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