The Robot 2024

Lunar robot in the Pit at UCF

Quick Facts

Name: Gibbous

Mass: 70kg

Size (m): 0.74 x 1.3 x 0.74

Electrical Capacity: 100 Ah

 

2024 Systems Engineering Paper

Mechanical Design

  • Frame made from bent and riveted aluminum box tube.
  • Tank drivetrain with custom aluminum wheels.
  • Four bar linkage to deploy intake mechanism. 
  • Intake belt comprised of buckets to scoop lunar regolith.
  • Dump belt which stores and deposits regolith. 
  • Nylon fabric used to hold in lunar regolith (not shown in CAD model).
  • Dust proof electrical box to protect critical components. 
3D cad model rendering of the robot
diagram of electronics system

Electrical Design

  • Energy logger to record current, voltage, and energy consumption 
  • Raspberry Pi 4B as primary computer
  • RP 2040 Feather breakout board for CAN Bus/PWM
  • Absolute Encoder for four bar linkage 
  • 2 LiPO4 batteries (50 Ah each)
  • 2 Brushless Neo motors (Intake / Dump)
  • 4 CIM motors (Drive)
  • 2 DC Motors (4 Bar Linkage)

Software Design

  • Driver station written in Python using PyGame and ImGui.
  • Wireless control with robot using TCP/IP.
  • Raspberry Pi 4B has code written in C++ which controls robot state and manages autonomy sequences.
  • RP2040 Feather firmware written in C and controls motors using PWM and CAN bus.  
  • Spark MAXs controlled using reverse engineered CAN bus protocol.