Chassis according to Wikipedia is a chassis consists of a framework that supports an inanimate object, analogous to an animal's skeleton, for example in a motor vehicle or a firearm. According to me it is the skeleton of the robot. The first part of a robot is its chassis. The shape and size of the chassis depends upon the shape of the robot or vehicle to be made. The shape can be circular,rectangular,triangular. Circular and rectangular shapes are most widely used but you can make chassis of any desired shape,it can even be irregular depending upon the application of the robot.
Now it is important to select the material of the chassis. The selection criteria depends upon following factors:
(1) The size of the robot
(2) Budget
The larger the size of the robot the larger the weight bearing power is needed therefore for small robots wood or plastic materials are used for making the chassis.
For larger robots cast iron is used because it is cheaper and weldable(Can be easily welded other metal parts) but only problem is that it gets corroded easily,therefore it is usually painted on all sides. Another option for heavy robots is use Galvanized Iron sheets it is rust free but doesn’t weld. For light weight robots aluminum or brass sheets are used.
Selection of chassis is very important task because it acts as a housing for all other parts such as batteries,motors,sensors,wires and also gives the robot a specific shape.
A Micromouse is a maze solving autonomous vehicle which completes the maze within minimum time possible.
A micromouse has to cross the maze in minimum time therefore to achieve that it should rotate very fast.
A micromouse has the following parts :
1.Body i.e a micromouse's mechanical structure
Chassis:
The MicroMouse chassis is the main piece that holds together all the other parts.
It must provide enough space for the microprocessor, batteries, motors and sensors. The
chassis will be built with an easy to work material like plastic or aluminum. The
advantage of using aluminum would be to draw heat away from the motors, functioning
as a built-in heat sink, but plastic may be easier and cheaper.
The chassis need to be small enough so that is able to make a full turn inside a
maze block without touching the walls.
1.Micromouse should have a Robust and compact chassis.
2. Adequate to allow easy movement inside the maze.
The size constraints imposed by the dimensions play an important role in determining the shape and orientation of finished micromouse.
2. battery or power supply
The power supply can be vary from 5-24 volts and can be of normal lead acid,dry cell or others like mercury cell and lithium ion batteries.
3. Sensors
In the final MicroMouse, two types of sensors will be used. A row of proximity
sensors overhanging the top of the maze on both sides of the MicroMouse will be used to
keep the MicroMouse centered within the cell and for environment mapping in adjacent
cells.
Distance sensors will be used to detect the length of the path in
front, and possibly to the sides of the MicroMouse. These infrared sensors are relatively
low cost, have been used effectively in several MicroMouse designs, and transmit an
output related to the distance to the nearest object within a range of 10 to 80 cm. The
sensors will have to be calibrated to function predictably for varying maze and ambient
conditions
Link to IR Sensors
4.Microcontroller
The microcontroller is both the brain and the heart of the MicroMouse. Because
the device is autonomous, the microcontroller must control everything the MicroMouse
does while in the maze. Based on the inputs it receives from the sensors it must calculate
a path for the mouse to navigate the maze. It must also control the drive motors to move
the mouse and after reaching the goal reduce the path back to the starting square to an
optimal path. The microcontroller board must be low power and the entire board must be
smaller than 25 x 25cm.
The work on the microcontroller can be broken down into different functions:
path finding, movement, sensing, and crash recovery. The path finding algorithm will
receive inputs from the sensors, calculate the best move, then output commands to the
movement functions. Movement control and sensor data gathering functions will be
established early to ensure their proper function and allow ample time for debugging. In
order to combat unforeseen skids and collisions, a variety of crash recovery methods will
have to be developed. As with any large program, the functions can be worked on
simultaneously as long as strict variable passing rules are established before work begins
5. Locomotion
A Steering type drive is used in micromouse just like in cars.
For turns Stepper motors are used,the steeper motor controls the front wheels and for forward movement DC motors are used which controls the rear wheels.
Link TO Stepper Motor:
Related: Ahish Bhatt's Micromouse,Maze Solving Micromouse
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GET QUOTEThis Innovision was a lot better than the previous one.
This innovision had more technical events.
The participation was at a high.
People from different colleges participated in events like Line Following Robot,Micromouse,Robowars and Carnage.
The new attractions were the auto show,the robotics display(by techtronics).
The event that attracted the most number of people was Nexus (organized by TRI)
The participants had to make a robot thathad to lift 4 blocks one at a time from the ground and place it on a height.
The link to the site : innovision07.com
Here are some pics and videos :
This is for all interested in ROBOT BATTLES.
Battlebots is a great site.
It has Robots from lightweight to heavyweight
category.
There are some great videos of some of the finals and league matches of BattleBots.
It also has some Tutorials of How To Make A Robot.
The best thing of the site is you get to see some of the best battle robots lifting types and ones with blades and sharp weapons.
Here is the link
http://www.blogger.com/This%20is%20for%20all%20interested%20in%20ROBOT%20BATTLES.
