The M&M Machine
**Coming up soon**
" The Roller "
click here for the roller's pictures
The Roller is a robot that was designed to be able to balance itself as it navigates through rough terrains or roads. It relies on its two wheels that are powered by a 24V 3.6 HP motor each.
The robot was designed to be able to accelerate to 14 mph in a short period of time (3 seconds or so). Since the robot only rests on two points, it is rather hard to accelerate fast without having the inside frame spin around, which is part of the reason for which we designed the robot to have its center of gravity around halfway in between the axle and the ground.
Though the sensors, the radio and the computer have not been installed yet, the robot is almost done.
The top sub frame is connected to a suspension system with gas shocks that keep the electronics and batteries (about 35 pounds) from crashing down when going down steps or ledges. Since the robot is about 90 lbs, we needed to be careful in the design so it would not break easily.
This project was made in 46-48 cumulative hours. The main purpose of this project was to train the team captains of robotics team 2129 from Southwest high school on how to transfer abstract design ideas to real parts and mechanisms. For more information on the team, visit www.swrobotics.com and to see a video of last years robot, click here.
Last year it was team 2129's first year in the program and i was the team captain and build captain since i am one of the most experienced members. The team came very close to going to nationals: we placed 3rd in the region, playing against teams from Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. For more information on FIRST robotics, please visit www.usfirst.org
