QBot

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  Robot sample

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  Robot sample

Inspiration

Starcraft. In strategy games like Starcraft, users can command a series of tasks to the soldiers like "go from this point to that point, then move to that location, then attack this building". The game's complexity and skill comes from the ability to take advantage of queueing and pathing to perform multiple tasks in a short period of time. We wanted to create a robot management system that enables the controller to send successive commands to multiple robots in real time.

What it does

Manages one or more robots and give them consecutive commands from the same UI. Users connect to their robots through Wifi. Users control one or more robots through their mobile phones by swiping in the direction that the user want the robot to move. Users can send multiple consecutive move commands that the robots execute.

How we built it

We used Particle Photon for cloud support, connected to a motor controller that manages two DC servo motors for driving. Due to the high speed of the servos, a 1:3 gear drive was made to drive the wheels.

Challenges we ran into

Photon Particle has very strong functionality, but is hard to get started with. We ran into issues with the photon. The photon has difficulty interfacing with shields and controllers designed for Arduino, making the task of being able to simply command and rotate a motor challenging and time consuming.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Being able to control a robot from our phone via webapp. Successfully interfacing the particle photon with the motor controller and motor. Creating a system that allows us to queue commands on our robot. Establishing network connection between the robot and our phone.

What we learned

Some of us learned how to write code in Arduino. Some of us learned how to play with Particle Photon. Some of us learned how to solder. Some of us create room for gear trains, motors, and electronics in a chassis.

What's next for QBot

We would like to create interactive games with multiple robots that are controlled through the QBot interface. We expect this interface to allow each player to command their own squad of robots. These robots may be unique, each bringing different functions to the table. Hopefully, this kind of command system can be used to manage multiple robots in situations outside of games.

Built With

• dc-motor
• javascript
• motor-controller
• particle