This week, our team focused on completing functionality tests and adjustments for individual components and made significant progress towards full-system integration. Most of the main components — valve dispensing, rotating garnish wheel, robotic arm — are all operational individually (save for the stirrer which is still being manufactured and testing) and we began putting them together with the control of the webapp interface.
The garnish wheel was integrated with the solenoidal valve system, allowing both components to operate with signal commands from the webapp. A drink holding structure was also constructed using wood scraps from the shop, providing a stable base to support multiple bottles and tubing. Circuitry was further organized and cleaned up to support safe and scalable wiring
On the backend, the WebApp was updated to support garnish selection and ingredient amounts, and these inputs were mapped to specific valve and garnish wheel controls. This lays the groundwork for user interaction and future testing of custom drink combinations.
On the motion control side, the robotic arm was recalibrated for full-range motion, and the stirring mechanism’s circuit and 3D model were ready for printing and testing.
Next week, we plan to physically integrate the robotic arm to the rest of the system, and begin working on component timing and coordination to prepare for the mid-term demo.
Main challenges will include synchronizing the timing between dispensing, stirring, and garnishing, and ensuring physical stability across all components during operation, while keeping the workspace clean and safe since we are dealing with a lot of liquid.
We remain on schedule, but integration and testing in the coming weeks will be critical.