Smart Arduino Car

Due to an error in logic and knowledge, we decided to use a small motor that was handed to us. This small motor was supposed to power the input shaft of the differential gear. Due to the length of the gear and the low amount of torque, the motor could not generate enough power to turn the differential gear which has admittedly several places that create friction. So using a saw we cut 2/3 of the shaft off and added a stronger motor which turns slower.

This was the first try of the input shaft. It wobbled too much and it wasn't stable. The wood holding the motor and shaft was not high enough to reach the main gear of the differential gear which is why we tried to add higher leverage to the already bad construction.

Following this we changed the motor to a higher torque motor:

After a bit of woodwork, we came up with a stable holder that stabilizes the motor. This construction made it into the final product.

Through this, we are finally able to fully use the differential gear and use it in the way it was meant to be used. So our next goal was to add the wheels. Due to the gigantic size of the crown wheel, the wheels also have to have a large diameter. So we decided to go with Cardboard wheels, they are not very heavy and with the correct reinforcements its also quite stable.

So after adding the wheels we finally could try if they turned correctly and they did. After having time issues and discussing what our car could be used for we decided to make the car a shovel car. Having this new idea in mind we added a shovel in front.

Which makes this our product, on top of that we tried to add line sensors with arduino.

As of now, all parts for the differential have been printed multiple times and reinforced each time. We added shaft holders which we will screw to the Car body. As the Carbody we are using a wooden plank which is not heavy. During the course, we decided to redesign the Driving shaft. We shortened the shaft and we will use a different motor which is bigger and produces more torque.

This is the current state of the differential gear on the wooden body. Our next goal is to screw the shaft holders on the board.

We also started our attempt to use the line sensors with Arduino.

We have created this circuit and a code that does not work yet. We will have to tweak it .

Today we received our newest 3D-printed parts. Which weren´t as sturdy and ridged as we hoped. So we did a lot of remodeling and changed the geometry of the parts. So later we will bring these new Models to the printers. We also mapped the size of the vehicle and did a shitty prototype of the parts that will hold the axis and the vehicle body itself. We also took a look at the wheels and how they will fit to our axis.

Today we started our Hackaday documentation for the project. We documented the parts we needed, and the data we already had and we published the Logs of the first two sessions. After that, we continued brainstorming together for new ideas we could add to our project. We had a big problem with not starting and overthinking. This made us determined to start building prototypes as soon as possible to find more structure in our work. During this session, we had the idea of building a dispenser for disinfectant and putting it on top of the car. This project could be used in public environments, it would make access to disinfectant spray easier.

This session was mostly dedicated to furthering our knowledge of Arduino and the circuits. We had the Idea of Using a Line-following sensor for the project or an Acceleratorgyro. So we prepared a working Code for the Acceleratorgyro. But still, we like the idea of using a Line-following sensor.

Also, we spent the time Brainstorming new ideas for the utility of the Project car. So the following idea we liked was a Firefighter car. It would work using a water pump. The other idea was a farm vehicle, that could dig the ground, plant seeds, and water them.

An idea we discarded was an Automatic selfie car, which angle and distance to the person you can adjust freely.

On this day we decided our Project should have wheels. So we were looking for creative ways to power the wheels without having the motor directly power each wheel. So we came up with the idea of using a differential gear (Fusion data on the page). This not only allows the motor to power 2 Wheels at once but also allows the wheels to turn at different speeds. This makes our future Project perfect for driving curves with maximum stability.

But we still need to edit the Fusion Program and change its size.

Ideas we had but discarded were:

Having a belt turn back and front wheel (Tank like).

Having no wheels, but hooks like our shitty prototype.