Project Flex N' Tilt

Inspiration

To explore deeper into the world of linking robotics and human interaction. Having two hardware based members and one software based major, we wanted to work on a project that will challenge knowledge in our respective fields.

What it does

The robotic car we made could be steered by a sensors attached to a hand through the actions of flexing a finger or tilting the hand.

How we built it

The robotic car's main platform was built out of a laser-cut acryllic piece and the frame connecting the motors and wheels were assembled using nails, bolts, washers and many custom 3-D printed pieces. All laser-printed pieces and 3-D printed pieces and the entirety of the robotic car were initially designed and CAD'ed on SolidWorks. The software and sensors was coded in C using Particle Dev.

Challenges we ran into

The hardware provided by the hackathon proved to be the limiting factor for both hardware and software. For the car, we needed a shaft and motors that are powerful enough to move the car that were not provided by the hackathon. Furthermore, we hoped to use the camera provided by the hackathon to stream wireless data to an Oculus Rift. However, the camera provided was not capable of wireless capabilities and the Oculus Rift required desktop-level specs in order to function properly.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

For our very first hackathon, we were proud to be able to to produce a workable product including a running program and a functional vehicle. We were able to design and rapid prototype our vehicle under extreme time pressure and limited resources. ## What we learned We got to experience laser cutting and 3-D printing for the first time. We also got to work with a diverse and interdisciplinary group of peers.

What's next for Project Flex N' Tilt

We want to get the car to go fully wireless. We also want to explore virtual reality by included a camera to the cart and connecting it to the Oculus Rift to experience real time streaming.