Robots > 2006-2007 > NURC - Tacky Sponge

2007 NURC Robot: Tacky Sponge

Tasks:

The National Under Water Robotics Challenge (NURC) required robots to perform a wide variety of tasks ranging from measuring the temperature of an underwater vent to retrieving fake torpedos. The Tacky Sponge was designed primarily to explore the area and retrieve artifacts from the pool floor.

Features:

Waterproof
Temperature Probe
Underwater Pneumatically Actuated Claw
Surface Based Control System and Compressor
High Intensity Lighting System

Media:

The Story of Tacky Sponge

As the Tacky Sponge was our first robot designed to operate in conditions less than optimal for the functioning of electronics and motors, the team essentially started from scratch. Everything we knew about building robots was essentially worthless as we were now focused more on waterproofing and less on winning. Despite these setbacks we managed to create an excellent robot as evidenced by our record.

Concept

With so many different ways to score in the competition, we began our build season by ranking the various scoring opportunities based on their ease of completion and point values. Such analysis led us to believe that a simple robot capable of identifying objects underwater with a small claw for object manipulation was an optimal design. Using limited parts such as PVC tubing and old analog sensors our mentor happened to have in his garage, we managed to construct an excellent robot.

Motive Force

Moving a robot underwater is notably different from moving it on land. As such, our drive system consisted of three bilge pumps modified to propel the robot--combined with an air craft style control system this allowed excellent maneuverability and was very important to our success. Our robot was one of the smallest at the competition allowing us to better maneuver, requiring less force for movement.

The Claw

The most complex part of the Tacky Sponge was built from VeX parts using the optional pneumatics addons supplied by IFI. By incorporating pneumatics into our design we were able to avoid the problems traditionally encountered when using motors underwater. The pneumatics performed excellently underwater and proved to be one of our better ideas.

Links

Our Entry Video

The 2007 Competition Page (Archived)

The Current Underwater Competition
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