RobotX
The Competition
The RobotX competition challenges students to build and program autonomous surface and aerial vehicles. This competition takes place biannually, and it was last held in November 2022 in Sydney, Australia.
The surface vehicle must complete a series of tasks autonomously, including obstacle avoidance, docking, ball shooting, and more! Additionally, the aerial vehicle can be deployed autonomously from the surface vehicle to help complete the tasks. We are looking forward to competing again in 2024!
The WAMblin Reck
The WAMBlin Reck is our autonomous surface vehicle used at RobotX since 2016. Its name is inspired by the name of the chassis, the WAM-V, and the name of Georgia Tech's mascot, the Ramblin' Reck. We typically test the boat at Sweetwater Creek State Park, and we are also planning on testing at Lake Lanier in the future.
We plan on improving the boat for RobotX 2024, with projects including pontoon refurbishment, auxiliary system development, further autonomy improvements, and power/propulsions upgrades.
El Tigre
The autonomous aerial vehicle is a custom built UAV with a DJI F550 Hexacopter frame, capable of carrying a payload of 1,200g. It’s 6 motors, flight controller, camera and companion computer are powered by a 5000mAh battery giving it an endurance of ~15min at 70% throttle.
In the RobotX 2024 competition, the UAV will participate in the “Search and Report” and “UAV Replenishment” missions. The search and report mission involves the detection and reporting of the GPS coordinates of two markers before returning to land autonomously, and the UAV replenishment mission involves autonomous pickup and replacement of small tin cans from one location to another.
Watch El Tigre in Action
Mechanical Design
2-motor tank drive configuration, powered by two Torqueedo 26-104 batteries
Watertight box for housing the essential electrical components, including the main computer, motor controller, and network switches
Custom 3-D printed light tower mounts mount onto 8020 aluminum rail
Electrical Design
24V battery powering the computer, sensors, and motors
Teensy 4.1 microcontroller bridging communication between the software and the motors using Micro-ROS
Elco EP-5 Motors are controlled via WigWag signals through digital potentiometer
Software Design
Code written in Python and C++ under the ROS 2 framework
GPS and IMU used for localization
3 cameras and a 3-d LiDAR responsible for perception, allowing for enhanced sensing from multiple angles
In-house motor controller, supporting various motor configurations
2024 Team Roster
2024 Weekly Reports
Social Media
Competitions
Operations
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