Hardware

Squeaky is a relatively big bot, measuring 11’’x12’’x7.5’’. His features include a chute with a 21-ball capacity, a gate on the chute for dumping balls, a gearbox-turning tire mounted vertically on its left side, a lever-pulling lever arm seated front and center, two pairs of back wheels on each side, and one mini caster wheel in the front.

While initially, each of these components were built separately and then attached onto the chassis, we soon learned that this method of building created a weak robot that would constantly have parts popping off. As a result, later iterations of Squeaky used the supports of one component as the base for another, interconnecting all Squeaky's parts, and thus allowing for a stronger bot.

Specs

Chute:

Gate:

Gear-turning tire:

Lever-Arm:

Wheels:

Sensors

Switch:

Gyroscope:

IR LED & Phototransistor:

Powertrain

The motors are held securely in the center of Squeaky using a lot of vertical braces and supporting beams. They are connected to the wheels through a series of gears that result in a 125:1 gear ratio, making the wheels move slower but with higher torque. Initially, the axles of two of gears were not supported on both sides. As a result, these gears were not stable and our robot squeaked every time it accelerated. Hence, the name Squeaky was born!