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SpiderBot uses two different motors, which are connected to identical gear trains. Each gear train is responsible for its respected back wheel. This enables the robot to move forward, backward, and both left and right. There is an independent front wheel, which is able to swivel 360 degrees. We experimented with various gear train ratios, and we arrived at 1 to 675 as a our final ratio. We have a heavy robot, so the robot moves slowly with great torque, to avoid stalling out. |
The development of our web-spraying mechanism was a difficult task. The mechanism is very powerful with a 1 to 27 gear ratio, and we used a special Lego piece to move vertically with the gear train (as pictured). We needed to make sure the structure around this mechanism was strong, so we used two rows of Legos as support. The SpiderBot activates his web once he is close to his target. |
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The punching mechanism is two gears connected to a motor. The gear ratio is 8/40 (or 1/5). It is connected to 10 lego pieces, which expand and retract when the motor is in motion. The punching mechanism is activated once the SpiderBot is near its target. |
The candy mechanism is two separate gearing systems. The conveyor belt is a series of gears. On the inside of the Lego wall, there are 4 gears. This results in a 1 to 25 ratio. On the outside of the Lego wall, there are 24-tooth gears that are connected to the interior gearing and the conveyor belt itself. The candy catapult launches the candy after it has been received. It is two gears (1 to 5 ratio) with the axle and bottle cap attached. The candy catapult is activated once the SpiderBot is near its target. |
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The robot uses a light sensor surrounded by cardboard, which amplifies the incoming light. This assists the robot to finding the source of light (the flashlight), which it then moves towards. It then uses the proximity sensor to detect its distance from the person shining the light. Once it stops moving, it begins its "attack" by launching the candy catapult, firing the silly string, and using its punching arm. |
As we had 6 different motors, we needed to have two different HandyBoards. You can see how we accomplished this task in our code.
Would you like to see our code?
Next: Learn about our experiments
