This week, I focused on designing a wheelbase and its motor. I mainly did this after feedback from the project proposal mentioned that it would take more power to go up a 60-degree slope. This week, I considered two setups: two motors per side or one or one motor connected to wheels. The two-motor setup is way more powerful, but I still need to refine it. One motor per side needs more mechanical work and has less power, so I’m leaning toward two.
Another feedback was on how the robot’s FPGA and circuits are protected from water from our testing glasses. To protect our components, I am thinking about using a flexi-glass cover. I worked with one Since we are working with water, we might consider components that are easy to wipe off to prevent mold from growing. Or we take extra precautions to make sure we wipe down components. We are thinking about raised edges and magic for the platform to show the water does not slide. The raised edge has to be watertight to prevent the leakage on the board.
I also put in a purchase request for a motor and motor driver, which got approved. I researched brushless motors because, as I mentioned earlier, I was worried about our robot’s ability to climb a slope. I chose 775 DC Motor 12v DC Motor High Torque DC Motor Max 20000 RPM Dual Ball Bearings Quiet Power Wheels Motor Upgrade DC Motor (this is the listing name on Amazon) because it was at a great rpm and was utilized in driveable children’s toy cars, which made me confident this could reasonably drive our robot. I researched the motor driver and I was happy that it was compatible with both the FPGA and the motor I wanted to use, and its use in electric skateboards.
This week, I focused on working on the project presentation as I was presenting. Raymond and I made sure we had the right number of slides, justification for our choices, and making sure the slides looked nice and neat.
Right now, I feel good about where I’m at. I’ve got the wheelbase design down and worked through some problems that came up during the presentation. The next big task is figuring out the lifting mechanism and finalizing a robot design. On Sunday, the design proposal is due, which is huge goal.