Role: Software & Mechanical Design

This robot was designed for high-speed execution on the standard WRO field, where total run time is dominated by recovery from large positional errors rather than nominal line tracking. The control loop was therefore tuned for aggressive correction while maintaining stability at high speed.

Results

The robot achieved Champion at NRC Singapore RoboMission Tertiary 2022 and placed 12th internationally at WRO 2022 in Dortmund, Germany, with consistent full-run completions under time constraints.

Control Strategy

A high-frequency control loop was implemented to reduce latency in the EV3 environment. The PID controller dynamically scales speed based on error magnitude, allowing maximum velocity on straights while automatically reducing speed before sharp curvature. This prevents overshoot and minimises time lost to recovery.

The robot was able to recover from extreme line loss without manual intervention, which was critical for maintaining consistent run times under competition conditions.

Mechanical Design

Cam mechanism for arm actuation

The arm uses a cam-based mechanism that converts continuous motor rotation into a repeatable lift profile. This ensures consistent object handling without requiring precise positional control from the motor, reducing software complexity and improving reliability at speed.

Video