Soccer Striker Robot
The ball is off-center and off-the-ground. The robot powers the motors as necessary to pass the foot through the desired point.
The ball's location is given to the robot. The robot uses the 3-DOF to pass through the desired point on the way down.
The ball is being, "corner-kicked," to the robot which uses a vision system to predict the trajectory of the ball and make contact.
In 2.12 - Introduction to Robotics, the goal (pun intended) was to design a robot that can return a corner kick and score pass a robot goalie. Our team was successful in developing a 3-DOF robot that predicts the trajectory of the ball using the provided vision system, time the kick, and power the joints so that the endpoint passes through the ball's predicted position. In order to transfer enough momentum into the ball, the robot's endpoint contacted the ball while in semi-free fall, using gravity. The striker starts in an upright position while performing trajectory predictions. The striker is then in free fall with the trajectory of the striker being controlled by the powered joints on the way down. The striker endpoint passes through where the controls predict the ball will be when the striker is at the bottom of its swing. Additionally, the robot, using waterjetted parts and existing components, was able to be machined and assembled in less than an hour. These two unique characteristics of our striker robot allowed us to win the award for Best Mechanical Design during competition.