Meet the Robots
2019: SPIDER
SPIDER uses an all-welded 4130 alloy steel frame, making it strong but also lightweight (it won the "Lightest Robot" award at the 2019 Caterpillar Robotic Mining Contest). It was built as a refined version of 18's overall design, with a thinner mining head capable of mining a full 45cm deep, using pressed stainless steel scoops. Rather than our traditional BTS motor controllers, this uses green UN178 motor controllers capable of delivering over 100 amps per motor, which at 24V gives the robot incredible power. During its first mining run, the mining head stalled, and the software stall detection kicked in just an instant after the mining motors emitted a puff of smoke! The mining motors continue to work fine despite this.
2018: 18
Our 2018 robot was named "18", and used a novel composite material for the drivetrain: basalt fiber overwrapped on a 3D printed shell. It also uses a Solidworks-designed six bar linkage in the frame, to allow the mining head to deploy and reach down 45cm while remaining inside the sizing box.
A note for future development: in terms of the dimensional restrictions, 18 is barely legal.
2018 Team members include: Eli Simmons, Arsh Chauhan, Ryker Dial, Addeline Mitchell, Louis Bastille, Ivan Rhodehamel, Connal Birkholz, Jacob Cates. Advisor: Dr. Orion Lawlor.
A note for future development: in terms of the dimensional restrictions, 18 is barely legal.
2018 Team members include: Eli Simmons, Arsh Chauhan, Ryker Dial, Addeline Mitchell, Louis Bastille, Ivan Rhodehamel, Connal Birkholz, Jacob Cates. Advisor: Dr. Orion Lawlor.
2017: FRONTIER
Reusing the drivetrain and mining head from 2016, this robot added a more robust dust storage box, pulled up and down by kevlar strings.
Lessons learned: little gravity-driven 'feet' can keep the robot from tipping over.
2017 Team members include: Arsh Chauhan, Michael Moss, Addeline Mitchell, Ryker Dial, Bryant Klug, Eli Simmons, Ryan Stonebraker, Tristan Van Cise. Advisor: Dr. Orion Lawlor.
Lessons learned: little gravity-driven 'feet' can keep the robot from tipping over.
2017 Team members include: Arsh Chauhan, Michael Moss, Addeline Mitchell, Ryker Dial, Bryant Klug, Eli Simmons, Ryan Stonebraker, Tristan Van Cise. Advisor: Dr. Orion Lawlor.
2016: May
This is May, which is short for May Catch on Fire, due to a brief overcurrent on a motor controller. This robot pioneered our first use of Kevlar strings, in this case to pull up the fabric bag holding the dust.
Lessons learned: it's a lot easier to roll up a bag than to unroll it correctly.
2016 Team members: Tyler Pruce, Arsh Chauhan, Michael Moss, Addeline Mitchell, Elizabeth McGlothen, Ryker Dial, Bryant Klug. Advisor: Dr. Orion Lawlor.
Lessons learned: it's a lot easier to roll up a bag than to unroll it correctly.
2016 Team members: Tyler Pruce, Arsh Chauhan, Michael Moss, Addeline Mitchell, Elizabeth McGlothen, Ryker Dial, Bryant Klug. Advisor: Dr. Orion Lawlor.
2015: Ironsides
Ironsides stored the onboard dust in a light fabric bag, which was emptied by grabbing the back of the bag on hooks attached to the mining head, and pulling the fabric down the mining head. This was the first year we added encoders to our motors, to count the mining head rotations to align the hooks. This was also our first year building fabric tracks instead of wheels.
Lessons learned: in abrasive dust, track idlers really need bearings, or else the tracks don't turn.
2015 Team members include: Tyler Pruce, Arsh Chauhan, Zach Theurer, Michael Moss, Dalton Newbrough, Jason Paskavan. Advisor: Dr. Orion Lawlor.
Lessons learned: in abrasive dust, track idlers really need bearings, or else the tracks don't turn.
2015 Team members include: Tyler Pruce, Arsh Chauhan, Zach Theurer, Michael Moss, Dalton Newbrough, Jason Paskavan. Advisor: Dr. Orion Lawlor.
2014: Mantis
Mantis won the Judge's Innovation Award in 2014 at the NASA Robotic Mining Competition nationals, and was invited to the 2014 Hawaii PRISM contest on a volcano (above). Mantis has been used extensively as a demo robot for our outreach projects after the conclusion of the 2014 competition.
Lessons learned: coordinated robot motions, like "bending at the knees" to push the dust storage box off the ground and into the air, are feasible.
2014 team members include: Tyler Pruce, Dalton Newbrough, Arsh Chauhan, John Pender, Tadge Pruce, Joe Tallan, Aven Bross. Advisors: Robert Parsons, and Dr. Orion Lawlor.
Lessons learned: coordinated robot motions, like "bending at the knees" to push the dust storage box off the ground and into the air, are feasible.
2014 team members include: Tyler Pruce, Dalton Newbrough, Arsh Chauhan, John Pender, Tadge Pruce, Joe Tallan, Aven Bross. Advisors: Robert Parsons, and Dr. Orion Lawlor.
2013: Clifford The Big Red Robot
This is Clifford wearing a hasty duct tape 'costume' for the westminster robot show.
Look at this puppy! Rarin' and ready to go for our first RMC.
As our first robot build, it pioneered many of the technologies we still use, including laptop in a tupperware box, Arduino control, PowerWheels motors and gearboxes, and 3D printed backets and adapters.
2013 team members include: Clay Allen, Aven Bross, Noah Betzen, Fox Gonzalez, Tyler Pruce, Dalton Newbrough. Advisors: Robert Parsons, Dr. Orion Lawlor, Dr. Rajive Ganguli, Dr. Seta Bogosyan.
Look at this puppy! Rarin' and ready to go for our first RMC.
As our first robot build, it pioneered many of the technologies we still use, including laptop in a tupperware box, Arduino control, PowerWheels motors and gearboxes, and 3D printed backets and adapters.
2013 team members include: Clay Allen, Aven Bross, Noah Betzen, Fox Gonzalez, Tyler Pruce, Dalton Newbrough. Advisors: Robert Parsons, Dr. Orion Lawlor, Dr. Rajive Ganguli, Dr. Seta Bogosyan.