Hero Robot

This is the Hero Robot. It is definitely the coolest robot I have ever helped to design. This robot was built with the mission to compete in the DJI Robomaster Competition as part of the Queen's Knight Robotics Design team. 

For some background on the competition: The DJI robomaster competition is a world renowed robotics competition where participating teams independently develop 3 types of robots, the Hero, Sentry and Infantry. The goal of the game is to destroy the enemy outpost before they destroy yours. You can also temporary disable opponent robots by hitting their target points (the sensors on each side of the robot). The Hero robot is the strongest of the ground robots, firing golf balls that deal tenfold damage compared to the infantry and sentry's plastic pellets, so it excels in attacking the enemy's outpost. 

The robot is designed with omni-directional wheels, enabling it to maneuver seamlessly in any direction and maximize mobility—even strafing while under fire. The ball feeder is mounted directly on the turret, allowing a full 360° rotation for precise shooting in any direction. A dedicated stepper motor adjusts the turret’s pitch, providing fine control to accurately hit targets at various heights. With a capacity to carry up to 75 golf balls, the robot can launch each projectile at an impressive speed of approximately 35 m/s. Constructed primarily from carbon fiber and aluminum, the robot is both lightweight and durable, capable of withstanding demanding conditions without compromising performance. 

As a member of the mechanical sub team my role was to help design the CAD and get the parts manufactured and assembled. More specifically I was mainly tasked with designing and building the coolest part of the robot (in my opinion) the turret. My design consisted of a ball hopper capable of housing up to 75 golf balls, complete with a 360° horizontal range of motion made possible from a 2:1 gear ratio on top of a GM6020 DC motor to control and a 6020 DC motor on the side of the turret to control the vertical tilt of the turret. The parts in dark grey/black were manufactured from carbon fiber to provide robust but light weight components for the turret, the light grey parts were machined from aluminum and any blue component was 3D printed.  

The results of the my and the teams designs were amazing! In the summer of 2024 we competed at the International RoboMaster League Competition in Boulder, Colorado. Competing against top university robotics teams where we proudly placed 1st in Canada and 5th out of 25 teams world wide.

*For bonus content* you can find a video of the Hero robot taking on a watermelon below!! 🤖🍉