Week 1:
Blog was created, member bio page created
Found research on other similar ball balancing robots
Used it to consider how we wanted to design our robot
Most notable design was rezero (www.rezero.ethz.ch)
The group decided to construct a smaller robot with a simple design that can be constructed rapidly to use in educational outlets and for swarm theory research
Week 2:
Initial research conducted on microcontrollers and the electrical control system of the robot
More research was conducted into the construction and fabrication techniques of ball balancing robots
Researched acrylic fabrication and design methods and compared to injection molding.
Determined acrylic would be more successful
Found a supplier for the omni directional wheels we wanted
Week 3:
Used PRO/ENGINEER 5.0 to model the wheel and a preliminary motor
Initial research done on gyroscopes
Week 4:
Determined the optimal points for the wheels to contact the ball
Made a Preliminary model in Pro/E of the entire robot. Used calculated values for ball-wheel contact
Week 5:
Designed a new motor mounting bracket in Pro/E
Selected the stepper motor that matched the required specs
Modeled the new motor
Ordered parts
Week 6:
Began machining
Some of the hole sizes produced were too small and misplaced
Reevaluated the CAD model. Fixed the misplaced holes and decided to make the bracket bigger
Ordered thicker plexiglass and assorted mounting hardware
Attempted to lathe billet aluminum bushings for the motors. Had machining errors
Week 7:
New materials received
Began machining with new plastic
Week 8:
Will be using microprocessor provided by faculty advisor, specifications will be provided later.
Began machining bushings out of aluminum
Discussed how they will be fixed to the wheel and the motor shaft.
Made a new motor assembly as the original one had a crack and other imperfections in the plexiglass.
Determined which directions the motors will need to turn to move the robot around.
Will be using microprocessor and accelerometer provided by faculty advisor, specifications will be provided later.
Decided on stepper motor controllers, ordered
Week 9:
Lathed aluminum bushings that now have to be drilled and tapped to mount on the shaft using a set screw
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