A bit below two months to go and the sevillabot team continues in good spirits, making steady progress. We remain generally on schedule, although admittedly we decided to go for remote control wherever possible and focused our efforts on some of the challenges which seemed more accessible or fun.
Robot base
All parts printed and assembled, all components installed, wired, and software set up. First power on with batteries achieved, and the robot responds correctly to basic commands.
To do: troubleshoot control with gamepad (started misbehaving after migration to humble), then practice practice practice handling which will probable lead to some iterations of improvements
Eco disaster add-on
We made a beautiful clamp extension to grab barrels, including 3D printed parts, components and software. The clamp is fully assembled and working well in initial tests separated from the robot.
To do: connect the extension to the robot base and practice a lot.
Zombie apocalypse add-on
Almost complete, and we are quite proud of this one as it includes laser targeting, and the 3D printed mechanisms needed for aiming up and down and firing a Nerf gun. Horizontal aiming is achieved turning the robot.
Already tested (separately from the robot) and we confirm killing zombies is fun!
To do: fix a bug that is causing “bouncing” in the trigger, design the mechanical attachment to the upper deck of the robot base itself and some minor improvements in the layout and wiring of components.
Lava palava add-on
Line sensor support parts designed in FreeCAD and printing ongoing. Basic bang-bang line follower algorithm implemented.
To do: assemble add-on, then test and fine-tune the algorithm on the real robot.
Escape route challenge
We added a camera to the robot base and camera streaming from the robot is already working.
To do: build a mockup maze then practice practice practice. If necessary we may add a Lidar (already available and tested).
Minesweeper challenge
We plan to do it remote controlled, without any specific add-ons.
To do: practice handling!
Temple of Doom challenge
To do: practice handling across obstacles
Pi noon challenge
To do: install the terminal block and practice sparring (finished sevillabot vs initial prototype)
Logistics
Flights & hotels already booked. Working on uniformed T-shirts for the team and a solution to bring with us on the flight the bot and the tools (any advice welcome)