Systems Team Lead

Andrew Boelter

From left to right: Andrew Boelter, Evan Kuncl, Thomas Burkhart,

Cole Meyer

System Team Deliverables

System Team Goals

  • The robot is able to be operated using internal battery packs for at least 10 minutes under load.

  • Ensure safety of all systems on Carl, including connections, mounting, and operation checklists.

  • Robot can be operated continuously for 10 minutes while powered by its own batteries.

  • Base station can connect to robot to control it and display current information such as:

    • Battery Voltage and Draw

    • Video Input

    • Emergency Stop Toggle

Milestones

  • Mount components and wiring securely to chassis of robot.

  • Design and build custom CAN adapter to convert control signals from the onboard computer.

  • Create startup and operation checklists for safety when operating the robot.

  • Create tests that can be done to evaluate performance aspects of the robot

Progress Update 4/14/23

The team has done a lot of work this semester to allow the robot to be functional for the design expo. Components are being mounted into the chassis and fully integrated into the robot for the first time, which is a big milestone. Systems team has also branched out and undertaken the task of designing a custom PCB to allow our robot to function with CAN. The experience and knowledge gained has been very helpful to the project and we hope to utilize it going forward with other components if needed. Checklists for safe startup and operation are being written to ensure that any team member is able to correctly operate the robot once it is functional. The team is also in the process of developing tests that we could perform on the robot going forward to analyze important performance aspects (torque, speed, etc.)

Progress Update 11/15/22

Systems team has made a lot of progress and is on track to complete our deliverables by the end of the semester. We’ve installed ROS onto our onboard Raspberry Pi and are able to send information between it and our base station. We are currently working to complete the program that will control the motors. If we are unable to complete our custom code to control our robot, we will use a third party software temporarily to demonstrate our deliverables at the expo. The motors and motor controllers have been prepared to be wired together by adding necessary connectors, and the bus bars have been machined. We aim to have the complete wiring system completed within two weeks.