With many motors, wires, and sensors, the electrical system on the robot can be quite complex. It is the electrical team's job to integrate these components with the robot controller and bring the robot to life. A general overview map of the motors and their functions can be found here along with its corresponding picture.

This year we also have a unique suspension system to drive on and off the platform. 8 Banner sensors, 2 outer and 2 inner sensors for both the front and rear drive carriages, help automatically raise and lower the carriages. These sensors, in conjunction with a state machine, allow software in the RC to determine when to raise and lower the carriage and if it is on a platform or the floor. This creates an easier platform climb for the driver, as the carriages do not have to be raised and lowered manually. A diagram of the state machine used in software is here.

Stang Positioning System (StangPS) is a circuit that uses a Motorola HC08GP32 microprocessor to keep track of the position and orientation of the robot. The circuit uses data from the different types of external sensors we use, such as light sensors, potentiometers, and gyro sensors, to make its calculations.

Two light sensors are mounted to a slotted wheel such that they are 90 degrees out of phase. This allows the microprocessor to know how much the wheel turns along with which direction the wheel is turning. This data gives us the distance that the robot has traveled. Distance is known to within 2 inches.

The gyro sensors are mounted in such a way so they measure the rate of lateral rotation. This data is integrated and processed to give the orientation of the robot, or the angle that the frame of the robot is relative to the field. The potentiometers measure the angles that the wheels are at relative to the robot.

Combining the gyro and potentiometer data yields a true heading, the angle relative to the field that the robot is moving.

Combining all three pieces of data allows the microprocessor to create a coordinate on the field that the robot is located.

StangPS communicates with the robot controller via the 4-pin TTL Serial Port of the RC. The robot controller sends requests for data and the microcontroller responds with the three pieces of data. Click here to see a flash presentation of StangPS (opens in a new window).