Rover V1

Features

- Metal Chassis

• The chassis is made up of .06-inch aluminum cut in 4 pieces and a central connector so that the position of the front two wheels can rotate when only one wheel drives over an obstacle. The back section is riveted together connecting the two L-channels with a top plate and pillow bearings and a shaft are used to connect the front and back section.

- Wheels

• The rim of the wheels are fully 3D printed and are modified GoBilda Rhino Wheels upscaled to approximately 5 inches in diameter. 3D printing allowed for the wheel to slide on easily as the modified hole would easily fit onto the shaft of the motor. Neoprene rubber was then glued onto the outside of the wheel to provide friction and grip when driving up a flat angled hill. Each wheel is directly connected to a motor.

-Power System

• The Raspberry Pi 5 is powered using a portable battery pack, while the motors are powered using a 14V 4S LiPo battery. Using a power splitter, all four ESCs, each connected to a motor, are connected to the Pi using a PCA9685 breakout board. The breakout board’s logic is powered by the Raspberry Pi.

-Software (Done completely by AI)

• The rover is controlled using the keyboard of a computer connected to the Raspberry Pi. It is currently configured to tank drive with configurable throttle by sending different signals to the ESCs.

-Housings

• Each electronic component has its own 3D printed housing with access to the necessary ports so that the pins do not directly touch the metal chassis.

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Issues & Fixes

-The ESCs purchased are unidirectional and therefore the rover is not able to drive backwards and turning is really wide

• Bidirectional ESCs have been bought and should allow for a true tank drive

-Since the motors spin really fast, the inner part of the 3D printed wheel has loosened and now practically free spins on the motor shaft as the PLA is really weak and has shaved down.

• Metal hubs will be screwed into the new printed wheels so that it will not matter whether it shaves off some of the plastic due to the fast rotation. This will require reprinting the wheels with holes in them that align with the hub.

-Since the course is really dusty, the rubber on the tires picked it all up. This reduced the friction on the wheels and did not allow the rover to drive up a steep hill.

• New bigger treaded tires that have to be inflated and are made of a different material should lessen this issue. The inner rim would have to be remodeled to fit these new tires.

-The front U-shaped piece where the front two motors are attached is thin and flimsy, so the wheels bow out and affect the angle at which the wheel hits the floor.

• 3D printed brackets in the corners give stability to the chassis so that it does not bend.

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Next Subsystem

-Intake & Outtake

• It will use multiple rows of rollers that push the balls further back into the rover where they will eventually funnel into a fast-spinning flywheel. This subsystem will be able to pivot using a motor in order to increase the angle at which the ball is launched at.

-Elevation

• This is still unconfirmed, but one possibility is using switchable magnets in order to climb on a magnetic pole. Another possibility is using a cascade lift attached to the pivoting intake to raise a hook and then pull itself up.