I built this robot with a team for a design competition. It is programmed to target and shoot opponent robots.
It includes a PixyCam, other sensors, two Arduinos, and an adapted pneumatic NERF gun.
I also made a board for it which played music and sound effects during the competition.
The robot in the competition arena
My primary role on the project was building the shooter system, which we adapted from a NERF Zombie Strike Longshot CS-12 blaster.
I designed a racking mechanism that used a motor, LEGO gears, and limit switches to automatically load the gun.
Prototype for the racking mechanism
To integrate the shooter into the robot, I designed a 3D printed gearbox, consolidated most of the electronics to a solder board, and trimmed off the unnecessary parts of the NERF gun.
The shooter module connected to a pressurized 1L soda bottle and was triggered by a solenoid valve. The entire system was controlled by an Arduino Uno.
3D printing the gearbox (Top) and testing the shooter system (Bottom)
The other robot functions like motion, sensors, and sending triggers to the shooter module were handled by an Arduino Mega.
Given more time, we probably could have made a more polished design. Nonetheless it was completely functional for the competition and successfully landed many hits on opponent robots.
See full project report here!
The finished robot
