Taxi Bot
Vertically Transporting Passengers
Overview
Key Challenges
Tight time constraints
Material limitations
Decreasing friction between chassis and pole
My Role
Mechanical Engineer - Team of 3
Thayer School of Engineering
Hanover, NH
Skills Applied
CAD Modeling (SolidWorks)
Laser Cutting
Iterative Design
Prototyping
Year
November 2018
About
The Taxi Bot was designed as a part of Thayer's Machine Engineering course. The challenge was to design a robot that could start at the top of a post, travel to the bottom, pick up a figurine, and deliver it to a platform back at the top in under 2 minutes. We had 6 weeks to design and build a functioning bot using limited materials and low energy consumption.
The bot is made up of a winch system, chassis, and a geared grabber arm. It uses servo motors powered by a battery to move.
System Overview
Geared Grabber Arm
The grabber arm bends at one joint to extend and reach the passenger. The claws user rubber bands to securely grasp the figurine.
Control Tower and Winch
The control tower sits on top of the post and lowers the chassis with strong on each side of the post. It uses guiding wheels to keep the chassis on track as it descends.
The Competition
Our bot successfully picked up the figurine and delivered it safely to the platform in under two minutes. Our team also used the least amount of energy compared to other teams.
