Autonomous Sumobot

Binghamton University

This project involved designing and programming a fully autonomous robot, which would push a competitor's robots out of a ring, as per SugoBot Rules. For my robot, I chose to use an ultrasonic sensor to detect if a competitor was in range, as well as force sensors to control what power each motor engaged with and light sensors to stay within the ring.

Many of my competitors opted to build large heavy robots, which gave my robot an advantage as it was able to outmaneuver other 'bots fairly easily due to it's compact footprints. I also opted for strength over speed by utilizing planetary gears to gear the drive motors in a 1:2.3 ratio; even though my speed was more than halved, my robot's effective torque more than doubled which made it nearly impossible for competitors to push around. I ended up finishing second after a tough battle for first place with a similarly small and strong robot.