Stair-Cleaning Step-Climber Robot
Introduction
The Stair-Cleaning Step-Climber Robot is a specialized automation project designed to tackle the challenge of cleaning staircases. The robot is engineered to climb stairs and move laterally across each step, allowing it to perform cleaning tasks efficiently. This project, undertaken during my internship at TPRAC, focused on upgrading a legacy prototype to enhance its durability and maneuverability.
- Structural Redesign and Fabrication: The prototype's chassis was prone to bending under stress. I helped identified the weak points and redesigned the structure. Using Autodesk Fusion, I helped modeled stronger components and helped laser cut them from aluminum, significantly improving the robot's structural integrity and durability.
- Control System Support: A hardware upgrade is incomplete without the right software. To support the controls team, I helped researched the foundational principles of mecanum wheel kinematics. I helped broke down the complex mathematics required to control the wheels, providing the programming team with the essential information needed to implement precise and reliable movement algorithms.
Project Outcome
The successful retrofit resulted in a mechanically sound and highly agile robot capable of performing its stair-cleaning task. My work on both the hardware upgrades and the foundational control theory was instrumental in transforming the legacy prototype into a functional and robust system, ready for the next phase of development.
