Minibot Challenges!

After you have completed the Arduino Fundamentals track, talk to a lead about the following challenges. You can do any number of them, time permitting, in any order, although they range in difficulty.

Materials, Supplies, Equipment

• Arduino Uno

CONSTRUCTION

• minibot chassis
• wheels
• batteries & battery cases

SENSING

• infrared (IR) proximity sensors
• infrared (IR) remotes & remote receivers
• ultrasonic sensors

ACUTATING

• motors/motor controllers
• LCD display screens

There is always a potential for us to obtain other sensors/actuators as well, so if you have an idea, ask!

Obstacle avoiding Robot

The first objective is to use your ultrasonic sensor and build a robot that can navigate a room without bumping into things. See this ​video tutorial.

Line-Following Maze

Your goal is to make it from the start of the maze to the end of the maze by following the black lines on the ground. We will not tell you what the maze will look like. Note that you will need a way to sense the line (IR LEDs/Sensors or similar - discuss this with a lead or a mentor). For more information see ​here

Sumo Bots!

If you haven't heard about this before, Sumo Bots are robots that play the ancient Japanese game of Sumo, where players must try to push their opponent out of the ring (without leaving the ring yourself).

The dimensions for the ring will be below once it's finished.

Mini Bot Project Options!

=Minibot Projects!

Items: Static items--- chassis wheels battery packs (arduino, motors controller)

Programmable items--- arduino motors motor controller extension board IR proximity sensor IR remote IR remote receiver ultrasonic sensor line follower

Projects:

360 Mapping Use the Ultrasonic sensors to scan the environment store the distances of points 360 degrees around the robot display the data in a graphical map (Processing, Java Swing, openGL, etc.)

Maze Runner Use the ultrasonic sensor and proximity sensor to navigate itself through a maze without crashing into the walls. Must use the distance sensors to continuously check for crashing while still making progress down the maze.

Remote Control Sumo/bumper Car Use the IR remote as a remote controller for the robot. The remote controller should be complex enough to move the robot forwards, backwards, left and right.

Line Following Maze Runner Use the line tracking sensor autonomously drive the bot to stay on track of a black tape stip. The bot should be able to stay on track even if the tap bends. For this project the bot must continuously checking if it is aligned with the tape bases of the values of the line following sensor and should be making course corrections if it sways off track.

Teetor totter Use an IMU (inertial Measurement Unit) to balance the bot on a teeter totter board The bot should continuously be moving back and forth to balance itself. Once it is fully balanced it should stop and signal its success using an led.