SpiderBot Generation #6

Spring 2017 SpiderBot : Firmware Blog Post

By Shaun Pasoz – Electronics & Control Engineer Introduction While waiting for the breakout boards to come in the mail, to make the best use of time the E&C division manager tasked us with coding quizzes. One of the quiz questions involved controlling the TB6612FNG motor driver using a microcontroller such as the Arduino UNO. Below […]

Spring 2017 SpiderBot : Prototyping Blog Post

By Shaun Pasoz – Electronics & Control Engineer Introduction Before sending out the PCB design for production, it is necessary to prototype the design using breakout boards and through-hole components. This is a necessary step to test the components in combination with the code and make sure the design works. The purpose of our PCB […]

Spring 2017 – SpiderBot Project Summary

Table of Contents Project Overview Executive Summary By Nicholas Jacobs – PM The purpose of SpiderBot is to make an inexpensive, fun toy that can walk, turn, launch a grappling hook, and raise/lower itself to/from a predetermined height. While anchored, SpiderBot will provide a live video feed to the Arxterra Control Panel. System Design By […]

Spring 2017 SpiderBot – Custom PCB COMPLETED AND TESTED!!

By Nicholas Jacobs – Project Manager Table of Contents Introduction The 3DOT controller is a minimalist board. It comes equipped with a two channel motor driver that drives SpiderBot’s two DC motors at 5 volts, leaving nothing to drive SpiderBot’s 3.3v winch motor. Our custom PCB incorporates an additional motor driver and PWM expander that […]

Spring 2017 SpiderBot – Custom Commands Update

By Jefferson Fuentes – MST Table of Contents Requirements: The Spring 2017 Spiderbot project, S-17 Spider, shall provide a live aerial video footage for end of semester game.  In addition, S-17 Spider, shall incorporate a grappling mechanism to elevate itself from the ground level.   Introduction: The S-17 Spider features the ability to elevate itself […]

Spring 2017 SpiderBot – Cable Tree Design

By: Jefferson Fuentes Requirements: The Spring 2017 3DoT Spiderbot, S-17 Spider, is required to utilize the program assigned 3DoT board for processing and control.  In addition, S-17 Spider must utilize a custom PCB design for mission objectives.   Introduction: S-17 Spider utilizes the program assigned 3DoT Board (Fig. 1), featuring an ATmega32U4 Microcontroller.  The 3DoT […]

Spring 2017 SpiderBot – DC Motor Noise Experiment

By Nicholas Jacobs – Project Manager By Shaun Pazos – E & C Table of Contents Problem Bluetooth wireless communication is subject to massive amounts of interference because of the high-volume traffic on the 2.4 GHz frequency band, and is also subject to the noise generated by DC motor voltage spikes from each commutator as the […]

Sping 2017- SpiderBot’s Cost of Learning

    By Nicholas Jacobs – Project Manager   As the Preliminary Design Review approached, Daniel, our Manufacturing Engineer, diligently modeled all of SpiderBot’s pieces in SolidWorks. SpiderBot’s design, originally found at Instructables. com, came with .dwg CAD files that had to be converted into .dfx files, which act as the industry standard for laser printing. […]

Spring 2017 – Spiderbot – Torque Test

  Torque Testing By: Shaun Pasoz Electronics & Control Engineer   Torque testing allows the designer to see if a desired motor can output enough force to physically move a robot. To perform the test, a rig was designed in which the motor was clamped down with a fixed radius on the output shaft. Varying […]

Spring 2017- Arxterra ArxRobot Camera Experiment

By Nicholas Jacobs – PM By Jefferson Fuentes – MST Table of Contents Requirements: Spring 2017 SpiderBot is required to provide live aerial video feed capable of covering the entire arena, as defined by end-of-semester-game, to other participating robots.     Introduction: The ArxRobot phone app works in conjunction with the Arxterra mission control panel. […]