Carnival Robots
Spring 2012
Role: Mechanical Engineer
Team: Me
Skills: Rapid Prototyping, Robotics, Electrical Engineering
Tools: Machine Shop, Arduino, Electronics Lab
My goal was to create two robots: one to push a button to dispense carnival tickets and the other to remove the tickets from the dispenser. The first robot included a sandpaper covered wheel that would clamp the tickets and spin against them, trapping them in a small chute. The second consisted of the blade and a reciprocating arm. There were many design constraints including the limited materials package given to each student and a height limit of 12" (tickets were dispensed at a 14" height).
Facing many design constraints including the limited materials package given to each student and a height limit of 12" (tickets were dispensed at a 14" height), I generated multiple ideas for each element of my robots (cutting, tearing, clamping, pushing, etc). Next I prototyped modules of the design. In this class, I became comfortable using the machine shop and coding an arduino.
