Overview
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We built a Trix cereal inspired hovercraft and controller each capable of pairing with those of any other team.
The hovercraft (DOG) There was no laser cutting or 3D printing. Our entire bot was carboard, vinyl, and foam. This made it extremely light weight and easy to tweak the design. We used a fan for hovering and two powerful motors as thursters for steering. The controller (FARMER) The controller was composed of:
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Despite the lack of fancy materials, we ended up with an almost frictionless hovercraft that maneuvered well. In hindsite it might have been wise to use a less finicky sensing modality for turning, but all in all it was a successful design.
Hovercraft
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First Prototype
We were very pleseantly surprised by how well our first square cardboard prototype hovered around room 36 |
Second Prototype
The new shape provided better weight distribution and the larger skirt allowed us to carry more weight. |
Final Result
The second prototype worked so nicely that we decided to keep it. All along we used the same cardboard base design shown below. |
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Base Assembly
Base Middle Section
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Base Top
Base Bottom
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On Top of Base
Manufacturing
- How the three layers shown above come together: the base bottom and top were manually cut out of cardboard. The middle section was made out of foam and glued in between the other two serving as a spacer.
- The skirt: using scraps of light weight material we cut out a skirt and taped it to the base as can be seen in the image below.
Steering
To steer, we used two motors driven using a PWM signal. The propeller mounts were made out of foam and placed approximately at the center of the hovercraft and slightly angled outwards. Steering worked quite well using other groups' controllers. However, it proved pretty challenging using our on bend sensors due to the unreliable signal.
To steer, we used two motors driven using a PWM signal. The propeller mounts were made out of foam and placed approximately at the center of the hovercraft and slightly angled outwards. Steering worked quite well using other groups' controllers. However, it proved pretty challenging using our on bend sensors due to the unreliable signal.
Controller
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Fanny pack
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Cereal bowl and tray
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Controller in use
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