DE SIGN HANDBOOK
Malaysia 2019
DE SIGN HANDBOOK
DE SIGN HANDBOOK
Malaysia 2019
Malaysia 2019
Edited by
Nik Nur Wahidah Nik Hashim
Yasir Mohd Mustafah
Amelia Wong Azman
Hanan Mokhtar
Edited by
Hazlina Md. Yusof
Nik Nur Wahidah Nik Hashim
Zaid Omar
Yasir Mohd Mustafah
Erina Ismail
Amelia Wong Azman
Hanan Mokhtar
Hazlina Md. Yusof
Zaid Omar
Erina Ismail
Gombak 2020
First Print, 2020
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©IIUM Press, IIUM LIST OF CHAPTERS (BY INSTITUTION) IST OF CHAPTERS (BY INSTITUTION)
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EDITOR’S NOTE
This book compiles technical design notes from the teams that have
participated in ROBOCON Malaysia 2019. Every chapter details how the team design
their robots to achieve the mission specified in ROBOCON Malaysia 2019 rules. Every
report consists of three sub-topics: mechanical design, electronics circuit design and
programming. The reports presented in this collection are written in English.
The purpose of this book is to share and pass on the valuable knowledge of
engineering and robotics to other robotic enthusiasts especially in Malaysia. This book
would be the first in the series to set the trend of knowledge sharing from the
ROBOCON Malaysia.
We hope this book series would be a reference for future robotics competition
and robotics enthusiasts with the aim of being able to develop more advance robotics
system by learning from the experiences of others.
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THE CONCEPT OF ROBOCON 2019 MALAYSIA
In ROBOCON Malaysia 2019, each match will be between the Red team and the Blue
team. The match could last for a maximum of three minutes. Each team will have to
prepare two Messenger Robots i.e. Messenger Robot 1 the MR1 and Messenger Robot
2 the MR2.
ROBOCON Malaysia 2019 Game Field
The MR2 has four legs, like a horse moving without any wheel. The MR1 carries a
Gerege from Khangai Urtuu, which is its starting point. It goes through the Forest,
Bridge, and then crosses Line 1 before reaching Gobi Urtuu. Gobi Urtuu is the starting
point of the MR2. After the MR1 reaches Gobi Urtuu, the MR1 passes the Gerege to the
MR2. Once the MR2 successfully receives the Gerege, it can go into the Gobi Area. The
MR2 passes through the Sand Dune and Tussock to reach Mountain Urtuu. After the
MR2 reaches Mountain Urtuu, the MR1 may enter the Throwing Zone to throw the
Shagai to earn 50 points or more. Once the MR1 earns at least 50 points, the MR2 is
allowed to climb the Mountain to reach the Uukhai Zone. Once the MR2 reaches the
Uukhai Zone, it raises the Gerege and the match is complete. This is called UUKHAI. The
first team to achieve UUKHAI is the winner.
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DE SIGN HANDBOOK
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LIST OF CHAPTERS (BY INSTITUTION) IST OF CHAPTERS (BY INSTITUTION)
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DE SIGN HANDBOOK Malaysia 2019
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Table of Contents
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Malaysia 2019
1. ȋ Ȍ ȋ Ȍ 6
UMPBot from Universiti Malaysia Pahang
2. UniMAP from Universiti Malaysia Perlis 17
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3. APU-WARRIORS from Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation 26
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4. ROBOCON-UMT from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu 38
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5. MMU Melaka from Multimedia University Melaka 47
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6. Putra A from Universiti Putra Malaysia 55
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7. UiTM Bravo from Universiti Teknologi Mara Shah Alam 63
Robotech from Politeknik Port Dickson
8. ȋ Ȍ ȋ Ȍ 73
IIUM Roboteam from International Islamic University Malaysia
9. ȋ Ȍ ȋ Ȍ 87
10. Roboten from Universiti Tenaga Nasional 97
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USM A from Universiti Sains Malaysia
11. ȋ Ȍ ȋ Ȍ 108
ADTECSA ROBO TEAM from Pusat Latihan Teknologi Tinggi Shah Alam
12. ȋ Ȍ ȋ Ȍ 126
13. UTAR from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman 136
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14. Robust UPNM from Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia 148
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15. TARUCbotics V2 from Tunku Abdul Rahman University College 159
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16. PMJ Makers from Politeknik Mersing 174
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17. MMU Cybertron from Multimedia University Cyberjaya 183
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18. UTM from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 194
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19. TATITROOPS from TATI University College 202
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20. JTM LIONS from Institut Latihan Perindustrian Mersing 213
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21. UITMPP from Universiti Teknologi MARA Pulau Pinang 223
22. UniSZA RoboPRO from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin 234
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KOGAS from Pusat Latihan Teknologi Tinggi Kulim
23. ȋ Ȍ ȋ Ȍ 243
UMS from Universiti Malaysia Sabah
24. Ǧ ȋ Ȍ Ǧ ȋ Ȍ 255
25. UTP PETROBOTS from Universiti Teknologi Petronas 270
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26. G-Bot from German-Malaysian Institute 280
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27. IUKL from Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur 291
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28. PUO SixT9 from Politeknik Ungku Omar 302
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29. UKM Robocon from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 311
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30. UTHM from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia 320
31. KOKOS from Kolej Komuniti Segamat 326
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UMPBot from Universiti Malaysia Pahang
TEAM SUPERVISOR: Dr. Asrul Bin Adam
TEAM ADVISORS: Dr Ahmad Najmuddin Bin Ibrahim
Dr Mohd Razali Bin Daud
TEAM MEMBERS: Asril Aizal Bin Mohd Roslan
Mohd Ramza Bin Anuar
Muhammad Lujaini Bin Muhammad Ali
ABSTRACT
ROBOCON Malaysia Competition is an annual event organised by Kementerian Pendidikan
Malaysia in order to boost the knowledge and skills required for the students to be successful
in life. ROBOCON Malaysia 2019 requires a team to prepare two Messenger Robots which
are Messenger Robot 1 and Messenger Robot 2. Messenger Robot 2 is a legged robot
without any wheels. Each robot has a specific mechanical design structures, electrical part
and software design.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The National ABU ROBOCON 2019 competition was held at the University of
Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN, Bangi), starting from the 5th to 7th of April 2019. The contest
theme and slogan for international level of ROBOCON 2019 was Great Urtuu- Sharing the
Knowledge - while for the national level was Satu Langkah, Seribu Lonjakan [2]. UMPBot
represents the University of Malaysia Pahang (UMP), which is one of the teams that
participated in this national competition.
This report consists of three main parts, including the technical details the MR1 and
the MR2, and are discussed in terms of mechanical design, electronic design and software
design. The mechanical design explains the design and structure of both the MR1 and the
MR2. In electronic design section, each role of the modules will be explained. While in the
software design section, the system flow of the MR1 and the MR2 will be shown.
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2.0 DETAILED DESIGN
This section discusses the mechanical, electrical and programming structure of both
the MR1 and the MR2.
2.1 The MR1 Mechanical Design
The mechanical part of the MR1 consists of three main elements which are base,
throwing, and Gerege gripper mechanisms. The base design was constructed using a square
hollow steel and the driving mechanism used the omni wheel holonomic drive. Throwing
mechanism is used to throw the Shagai to earn points. The Gerege gripper mechanism is
attached to the MR1 in order to grip the Gerege from the starting zone to Line 1 next to
Gobi Urtuu. Figure 1.1 shows the 3D view of the MR1 consisting of base, throwing and
gripper mechanisms. The front, left, top and isometric views are shown in Figure 1.2.
Figure 1.1: The MR1 3D view
Figure 1.2: (a) The MR1 front view (b) The MR1 left view (c) The MR1 top
view (d) The MR1 isometric view
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2.1.1 Base
Figure 2.1: The MR1 3D view Figure 2.2: The MR1 Front/Left view
dimension
Figure 2.3: The MR1 base top view dimension
2.1.2 Throwing
Figure 3.1: Top view of the MR1 Figure 3.2: Side view of the
phase MR1 phase one
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2.1.3 Gerege Gripper
Figure 4: 3D view of the Gerege gripper
2.2 The MR2 Mechanical Design
The mechanical part of the MR2 comprises two main elements which are leg and the
Gerege receiver-gripper mechanisms. The legs is constructed using square, hollow
aluminium and the drive mechanism uses DC geared motor to move the legs to the
respective angle according to the algorithm. The Gerege receiver-gripper mechanism is
attached to the MR2 in order to receive and grip the Gerege from the MR1 at Line 1 next to
Gobi Urtuu.
2.2.1 Leg Design
Figure 5.1 shows 3D view of the MR2 that consist of legs and gripper mechanism.
The front, left, and isometric views are shown in Figure 5.3.
Figure 5.1: The MR2 3D view Figure 5.2: The MR2 linkage
throwing mechanism mechanism
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Figure 5.3: (a) The MR2 front view (b) The MR2 left view
(c) The MR2 top view (d) The MR2 trimetric view
2.3 The MR1 Electronic Design
This section presents the technical specifications of Printed Circuit
Board (PCB) designs for various modules.
Figure 6.1 shows the main controller
PCB. An Arduino Mega Micro-controller is
attached to this board and every input signal
from the sensors and output signal for the
actuators are to be transmitted by the
modules. It also has a 12 V battery
connection to power up the micro-
controller and a fuse to prevent from any
over-current in the system that could
Figure 6.1: Main Controller PCB
damage the board.
Figure 6.2 shows the control panel PCB.
On the left hand side of the board, there are
four toggle switches that are connected to
four batteries independently. Two of the
switches are connected to an emergency
Figure 6.2: Control Panel PCB design
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stop button in order to cut off the power of
the motor so that the robot can stop
immediately if there is an error in the
system during testing process. In the
middle, there is a LCD display that acts as
a GUI (Graphic User Interface) and
displaying every information that the
programmer wants to display for feed-back
output.
This master module PCB integrates
every sub-module. This allows the agility
of the system to add and remove any
module that is unneccesary. There are six
module slots that have the same dimension
and number of pins. Each module has
Figure 6.3: Master module PCB design different purpose for different actuators and
sensors. At the side of each module slot,
there is a double layer connector that is
connected to the main controller PCB.
Motor driver PCB is a sub-module for
integrating multiple numbers of motor
driver pins on one board. This board can
support up to five motor drivers. This
module acts as a buffering board before the
data are sent to the micro-controller.
Figure 6.4: Motor driver PCB design
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This is the servo motor PCB module. DC
motor is different from servo motor in
terms of the number of pin. Servo motor
requires a large amount of current.
Therefore, the board requires external
power source. Having PCB board will
allow us to handle multiple servo motors
Figure 6.5: Servo motor PCB module easily and ease the process of trouble-
shooting if there is an error. Additionally, it
can maintain each servo motor to receive
stable amount of current.
Rotary encoder PCB is a board that
supports multiple number of rotary
encoders. Rotary encoder is one of the most
important sensors in robotics because it
gives feed-back on the robot’s position. By
having this PCB, it reduces the fault of a
non-functional rotary encoder that is
Figure 6.6: Rotary encoder PCB module caused by unstable voltage and current. It
can also secure the connection of channel A
and channel B for pull-up resistor circuit.
2.4 The MR1 Software Design
This section shows the flow-chart of the MR1 system (Figure 7.1).
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Figure 7.1: Flow-chart of the MR1
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2.5 The MR2 Software Design
This flow-chart represents the process of moving the MR2, starting from Gobi Urtuu
to Mountain Urtuu. At the starting point, the MR1 will give the Gerege to the MR2. The
MR2 will then sense the Gerege and start moving. The MR2 will first stand up, then it will
start to move. At the same time, the MR2 will sense the obstacles in front of it. If an obstacle
is present, it will overcome the obstacle and after overcoming the obstacle it will continue
moving forward until it reaches Mountain Urtuu. Finally, it will stop.
The flow-chart in Figure 8.1 represents the process of climbing the Mountain area.
The MR2 will be switched on after the MR1 finished throwing the Shagai and receive
enough points to allow the MR2 to climb the Mountain area. When the MR2 finish climbing
the Mountain, it will then lift the Gerege to finish the task.
(a) (b)
Figure 8.1: Flow-chart from (a) Gobi Urtuu to Mountain Urtuu and (b) from
Mountain Urtuu to Uukhai
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3.0 PRESENTATION OF SIMULATION
This section displays the simulation of the MR2 by showing a schematic diagram
of PCB board (Figure 9.1) by using EasyEDA and PID control (Figure 10.1) by using
Matlab.
Figure 9.1: Schematic diagram of the MR2 PCB board
Figure 10.1: PID of the MR2
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4.0 CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In conclusion, the experience in building two robots which are the MR1 and the
MR2 from scratch helps to strengthen the bond between the team-mates as it requires a lot
of sacrifices and the sharing of knowledge. With the advancement of robotic technology,
more robots will be created in order to reduce the execution time, to increase the efficiency
of the performance and to minimise human errors. The limitation we faced in terms of
knowledge is the lack of experience in making legged robot, since most of the robots we
built before were wheeled robots. Thus, it took time to brain-storm the mechanisms and
other technicalities. In addition, one of the challenges in ROBOCON 2019 is that we need
more observation and experiment on the topic of stability and robot kinematics. For the
future event, we need to be ready with any possibilities regarding the theme of the next
ROBOCON competitions.
5.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was conducted under the approval of Student Affairs and Alumni
Department (SAffAD), Universiti Malaysia Pahang. We are grateful to the Faculty of
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the Universiti Malaysia Pahang for
supporting us. The UMPBot team are also particularly grateful to UMPBot advisors,
comprising Dr. Asrul Adam, Dr. Ahmad Najmuddin Ibrahim, Dr. Saifudin Razali, Dr. Mohd
Razali Daud, Dr. Muhammad Aizzat Zakaria, Mr. Idris Mat Sahat, Dr. Nurul Hidayah
Razak, and Dr. Ir. Addie Irawan Hashim for their willingness to support the successful team.
References
[1] ABU Asia-Pacific ROBOCON 2019 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 2019, Theme & Rule, Retrieved
from http://abuROBOCON2019.mnb.mn/uploads/file/ROBOCON_2019_Mongolia_RULE
[2] ABU Malaysia ROBOCON 2019 UNITEN, Malaysia, 2019, Theme & Rule, Retrieved from
https://ROBOCONmalaysia.com/malaysia-ROBOCON-rules/
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UniMAP from Universiti Malaysia Perlis
TEAM SUPERVISOR: Muhamad Khairul Bin Ali Hassan
TEAM MEMBERS: Falah Akmal Bin Ismail
Ahmad Aqil Bin Che Mohd Ruzaidi
Amer Syazwan Bin Ismail
A’fifuddin Bin Anuar
Muhammad Irfan Bin Zainur
Talhah Bin Mohd Asri
ABSTRACT
The aim of this project is to design and develop a manual robot and an autonomous robot
for ROBOCON 2019 competition. This report presents the design and mechanism for the
manual and autonomous robots. Our manual robot with self-design wheel will take the
Gerege and pass it to the autonomous robot. The manual robot will then shoot the Shagai
and the autonomous robot will lift up the Gerege. The two robots will reach UUKHAI when
they completed all their required tasks. Our manual and autonomous robots have been
successfully developed. The objectives of our project have also been achieved. The manual
and autonomous robots were able to complete the tasks according to the guide-lines
specified in the ROBOCON competition 2019.
1.0 INTRODUCTION TO ROBOT
A robot is an artificial agent and electromechanical system. A robot has few
properties and it can be used to perform several tasks such as acting as a house cleaner,
helping in military training and many others. The main components of a robot consist of a
motor, battery, micro-controller, circuit boards and other electronic components. There are
many algorithms that are used to control the movements of the robots. The movement of
robots such as throwing the objects, moving forward, backward, upward or downward is
controlled by programmable commands. There are two types of robots which are the
autonomous and manual robots [2].
A manual robot can be considered as a robot that is fully controlled by human. It has
an interface between the robot and the operator. Manual robots can be divided into two main
types which are articulated robot and exoskeletons robot. An articulated robot consists of a
balanced manipulator made up of various joints with a separate actuator for each one. One
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of the joints with a grip or a tool will hold the load within a particular range and will move
according to signals fed to the control system for each of the individual joint’s actuator. A
proper synchronization of all these joints will move a load from one point to another. The
control signals given to each of the actuator should be precise in comparison to the signals
fed to the actuators of other joints. Apart from that, exoskeletons robot consists of a peculiar
type of robot mechanism, whereby each joint of the manipulator control system corresponds
with that of a human arm or leg. The motion of the human joint generates a control signal
that moves the corresponding manipulator accordingly. The joints are connected to the
drives that are again connected to the tools that performs the needed job [1].
An autonomous robot, just like humans, has the ability to make their own decisions,
and then performs an action accordingly. A truly autonomous robot is one that can perceive
its environment, make decisions based on what it perceives and/or has been programmed to
recognize and then actuate a movement or manipulation within that environment.
The Asia-Pacific Robot Contest (ABU ROBOCON) is an Asian-Oceanian College
Robotic Competition, founded in 2002 by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. In the
competition, multiple robots compete to complete a task within a set period of time. The
contest aims to create friendship among young people with similar interests who will then
lead their countries in the 21st century, as well as helping in the advancement of Robotics
Culture in the region. The event is broadcasted in many countries through ABU member
broadcasters. Each year the competition has a different problem statement to tackle, but
generally speaking, two or more robots must be used to complete the tasks. One of the robot
is manually controlled while the other is automatic. This year’s theme is GREAT URTUU
which promotes the idea of sharing the knowledge.
1.1 Aim and Objectives
The aim of this report is to design and develop robots for ROBOCON 2019. To
achieve this aim, the following objectives need to be fulfilled:
a) To develop electronic and electrical system, circuitry and programming using
Arduino board for the manual and autonomous robots.
b) To design and develop a mechanical structure of the manual robot and autonomous
robots for ROBOCON 2019 competition.
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2.0 DETAILED DESIGN
2.1 Mechanical Design
There are three main mechanical mechanisms needed to develop the manual and
auto robot. These sare the driving, lifting and pushing mechanisms.
For a manual robot, it uses all three types of mechanism. The robot is driven by four
self-design wheels and uses differential drive mechanism for turning purposes. The wheels
always rotate at the same speed according to the PWM supplied by the micro-controller. All
the moving-purpose wheels are powered by a DC gear motor A585W (12 V, 160 rpm). The
wheel motors get signals from the micro-controller based on the feed-back from the sensor.
The differential drive will continue turning the machine until it is aligned with the white
line. The speed of the robot can be changed by increasing or decreasing the percentage of
PWM that are given to the motors of the wheels. For lifting mechanism, we control the
motor that is connected to a pulley in order to lift up the Shagai holder. Lastly, for pushing
mechanism in the manual robot, a pusher is designed to push out the Shagai to the Landing
Zone. Sling-shot concept is used to provide force for the pusher to push the Shagai.
For the auto-robot, only the driving mechanism was used. As stated in the rule-book,
the robot was designed as a legged robot. We have selected the Plantigrade mechanism as
the leg mechanism. Each leg of the robot was built by joining various joints and links. The
movement of the robot is controlled by a motor that is connected to one of the links on the
leg. Thus, when the motor gets a signal to rotate, the leg will move.
To pass the Gerege from the MR1 to the MR2, a motor will rotate the Gerege holder
in the MR1 to certain degrees in order for it to be in contact with the slider holder in the
MR2. The Gerege will slide through the slider and then into the holder slot.
2.1.1 Design Specification
Table 1: Design Specification
SPECIFICATIONS MANUAL ROBOT (MR 1) AUTO-ROBOT the MR2
Dimensions (mm) 500x1100x900 850x550x750
Mass (kg) 15 15
Payload Capacity (kg) 5 3
Material Aluminium + PLA Aluminium + PLA
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2.1.2 Drawing Design of Robot
Figure 1: Drawing of the manual robot’s body (MR1)
Figure 2: Drawing of the autonomous robot’s body (MR2)
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2.2 Electronic Design
Figure 3: Basic architecture of manual robot (MR1)
Figure 4: Basic architecture of autonomous robot (MR2)
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2.3 Software Design
Figure 5: Flow-chart for movement of the manual robot (MR1)
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Figure 6: Flow-chart for movement of the autonomous robot (MR2)
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3.0 ROBOT TESTING
For the manual robot, we tested the speed of the motor, the shooting angle of the
Shagai and the sensitivity of the controller. For the speed motor controller, PWM was used
to adjust the speed whereas the shooting angle was tested by adjusting the angle of the
shooting part.
Figure 7: The manual robot (MR1)
For the autonomous robot, we tested the synchronization on the movement of the
legs. Potential sensor is used to arrange a sequence for the legs to solve this issue. We also
tested the movement direction of the robot. Line sensor was used for guiding the robot
moving direction.
Figure 8: The autonomous robot (MR2)
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4.0 CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1 Conclusion
ROBOCON provides opportunity for the robotic enthusiast to enrich their technical
skills and knowledge. Our aim for the competition was to develop an electronic and
electrical system, circuitry and programming using Arduino board for the manual and the
autonomous robots. We also aimed to design and develop a mechanical structure of the
manual robot and the autonomous robots for ROBOCON 2019 competition.
Communication and team-work are important especially during a competition. Applying the
concepts and materializing the design right from the scratch, boosted the hands-on
experience of the team. Functioning out diverse approaches and analyzing the performance
helped comprehend the actual dynamics and build in-depth understanding.
4.2 Recommendations
1) We recommend to setting up a competition with easier theme using more sophisticated
robots.
2) We also recommend to setting up a competition using robots that are able to move on
both land and sea.
5.0 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We take this opportunity to express our deep sense of gratitude and regard to Sir
Ismail Ishaq Ibrahim and Erdy Sulino Tan for their continuous encouragement and guidance
throughout the process of completing this project. We are also grateful to Mr. Mohd Firdaus
Ibrahim for his valuable support throughout this project. We record our sincere gratitude to
the Review Team and the concerned faculties for their precious and enlightening words of
wisdom that motivated us throughout the project undertaking.
References
[1] Raunekk. What are Manual Robots? Brighthub Engineering
https://www.brighthubengineering.com/robotics/58965-manipulation-robotic-system-
manual-type-robots/
[2] A.B. Rashid.M.F Design and Development of Manual Robot using Mecanum Wheels. Universiti
Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, 2009
http://eprints.utem.edu.my/5034/1/Design_And_Development_Of_Manual_Robot_Using_
Mecanum_Wheels_-_24_pages.pdf
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APU-WORRIORS from Asia Pacific University of
Technology and Innovation
TEAM SUPERVISOR: Arun Seeralan Balakrishnan (Senior Lecturer)
TEAM ADVISORS: Suresh Goubee (Senior Lecturer)
Muhammad Nazri Bin Abdul Hadi (Lab Technician)
Rasdi Bin Razalie (Lab Technician)
TEAM MEMBERS: Abduraufov Jakhongirmirzo
Abhishek Kumar Jha – Team Leader
Chan Hong Yi
Mayamiko Kalilani
Syed Mohammad Zuhaireqain Abbas Jafri
TJ Vwikalo Moussa
ABSTRACT
This report is a demonstration of two robots, the MR1 and the MR2, their 3D design, circuit
connection and programming. The robots are made with the aim of participating in the
contest ABU ROBOCON 2019 (Mongolia theme), representing team from Asia Pacific
University of Technology and Innovation located in Malaysia. The team consists of three
different fields of Engineering: Mechanical, Electrical and Electronics, and Mechatronics.
The designs and circuitry for both the MR1 and the MR2 are made according to the
specifications provided in the rule-book. Designs are then illustrated and sketched in
Solidworks software. Furthermore, the models were built using Aluminum profiles (frame),
stainless steel (screws, bolts and nuts), acrylic plastic (electronics base), PLA (the MR2
legs) and plastic tubes (cylinders). There are also pneumatic pistons, cylinder, pneumatic
valves, linear actuator, DC motors, servo motors, buck converters, DC motor drivers, Lipo
batteries, relays, and servo shields. The wireless PS2 controller which is attached to the
mechanical parts are controlled by Arduino DUE as well as Arduino UNO. The
programming was made in Arduino software and uploaded onto the controller. Half of the
map was built according to the official design of ROBOCON 2019 Rulebook map to test
the efficiency and functionality of the built robots. 3D design of the robots, circuitry and
programming flow-charts are also provided in this report. The team members are also
involved in management, interpersonal, team work skills and motivation, which is one of
the important aspects of making this team a success. Overall the report contains
introduction, detailed design, conclusions and acknowledgements.
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
The ABU Asia-Pacific Robot Contest is an Asian-Oceanian College robot
competition, founded in 2002 by Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. In the competition,
robots compete to complete a task within a set period of time. The contest aims to create
friendship among young people with similar interests with the hope that they will lead their
countries in the 21st century as well as helping to advance Robotics Culture in the region.
The event was broadcasted in many countries through ABU member broadcasters. Each
year, the competition has a different problem statement to tackle, but two or more robots
must be used to complete the tasks. The contest theme of ROBOCON 2019 is Great Urtuu
with a slogan of Sharing the knowledge. Our mission is to deliver information rapidly by
using a relay messenger system.
A match is between thr Red and Blue teams that lasts for three minutes at most. Each
team has one manual robot known as the MR1 and one automatic robot known as the
Messenger Robot 2 (MR2). The automatic robot has four legs as of horses and wheels are
not allowed. The manual robot carries the Gerege as a testimony from the Khangai Urtuu,
which is the starting point. It goes along the Forest, Bridge, and crosses Line 1 next to Gobi
Urtuu, which is the starting point of the automatic robot. After the MR1 reaches Gobi Urtuu,
the MR1 passes the Gerege to the MR2 at Gobi Urtuu. Once the MR2 successfully receives
Gerege, it can go along the Gobi Area. The MR2 must move on four legs and cannot use
wheels to move. The MR2 passes through Sand Dune and Tussock, and goes direct to
Mountain Urtuu. After the MR2 reaches Mountain Urtuu, the MR1 can enter the Throwing
Zone to throw the Shagai and must earn 50 or more points in order to proceed. If the MR1
earns 50 or more points, the MR2 will be allowed to climb the Mountain. Afterwards,
whoever reaches Uukhai Zone and raises the Gerege first, the team will be the winner [1].
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Khangai
urtuu Mountain Mountain Uukhai zone
urtuu area
Landing
zone
Line 3
Line 2
Throwing
zone Gobi area
Gobi urtuu
Line 1
Khangai area
Figure 1: Game field- areas and zones
Figure 2: Game field- objects
Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the Game field of the ROBOCON 2019 contest. Referring to the
provided game field map, half of the map was constructed by the team members as shown
in Figure 3.
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Figure 3: Constructed Game field.
Figure 3 illustrates the constructed map of the contest. Plywood sheets, PVC pipes,
nails, duct tape, glue, and caution tape were used to build the game field. The reason of
building only half of the map is because there are no opponents while testing is done.
Therefore, the two robots can be built using only half of the game field. The reason of the
map not having the same colour as the original game field design is because the MR1 and
the MR2 were designed without any light sensor on their frames and the robots do not
require light sensor to finish the given task.
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2.0 DETAILED DESIGN
In this section, mechanical design, electrical design and software designs for both
robots are provided. Mechanical design was made in Solidworks software. Electronic
circuits and flow-charts for electronic design and software design were made using Visio
software.
2.1 Mechanical Design for the MR1
Figure 4: Messenger Robot 1
The MR1 utilizes a plethora of mechanical systems in its operations. These
mechanisms are used in the movement of the robot and completing the robot’s required
tasks. These operations and their respective mechanisms are as follows:
Movement
The MR1 uses four 150 mm diameter omni-wheels attached in an X pattern for
movement. As shown in Figure 4, each omni-wheel is attached to a high torque motor to
drive the wheels.
Shagai throwing
The MR1 uses multiple pneumatic cylinders as well as a linear actuator to
accomplish the throwing of the Shagai. The linear actuator used was brought in as a
replacement to one of the pneumatic cylinders due to the pressure that is required to raise
the entire throwing mechanism. The remaining three pneumatic cylinders are used to actuate
the telescoping mechanism, the gripper and the pushing arm which projects the Shagai to
the Landing Zone.
The MR1 is made almost entirely of 1-inch by 1-inch aluminum pipe of varied
thicknesses. A thicker and stronger piping is used in the lower portion of the robot due to
30
the higher stress that is caused by the throwing mechanism above and the stresses induced
by the dc motors during motion. The upper portion of the robot is made of thinner square
piping, making the throwing mechanism lighter for the linear actuator to raise and for the
pneumatic cylinders to actuate.
Figure 5: The MR1 Engineering Drawing
2.2 Mechanical Design for the MR2
Figure 6: Messenger Robot 2
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Figure 7: The MR2 Engineering Drawing
The MR2 utilizes a simplistic design, based entirely on servo motors. The robot
consists of a main body and four separate legs that work independently of one another. Three
legs consist of two 3D printed segments, namely the upper leg and lower leg. A high torque
servo motor joins the two segments which are then attached to the rest of the body by a
another servo motor. These two servos are used to position the upper and lower legs and
provide the forces required for the robot to walk. The third and final servo on each leg is a
biaxial servo, which is used for stability. The servo can move the legs outwards and catch
the robot if the on-board computational system detects that the robot is unstable or about to
fall.
The final servo on the MR1 is used to actuate the Gerege bed, which is located in
the rear half of the robot. The Gerege will be placed in the Gerege bed after being passed to
the MR2 by the MR1. This bed is attached to a single high torque servo motor which will
raise the Gerege when required during the robot’s operation.
The materials used for the MR2 are a 1-inch by 1-inch Square Aluminum piping for
the main body of the robot and Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) for the lower and upper legs of the
robot.
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2.3 Electronic Design for the MR1
Figure 8: Electronic design for the MR1
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2.4 Electronic Design for the MR2
Figure 9: Electronic design for the MR2
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2.5 Software Design
Messenger Robot 1 Flow-chart
Figure 10: Flow-chart for the MR1
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Messenger Robot 2 Flow-chart
Figure 11: Flowchart for the MR2
3.0 CONCLUSION
We sketched the designs of the MR1 and the MR2 and then we proceed to design
them in 3D Solidworks software. Then, we developed the electrical and electronic circuit
using Visio software. Despite that the 3D designs of the two robots were different from the
actual built robots, they were still able to accomplish the tasks and their objectives. The
objective of throwing the Shaghai and the movement by the MR1 was also achieved. The
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objective of the MR2 walking with four legs was also achieved. However, there were some
changes and add-ons performed before the contest because both robots were not exact.
Therefore, further testing, adjustments on the design, programming of the two robots and
the accomplishing the rest of the objectives need to be done.
4.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
On behalf of the whole team APU Warriors, we would like to express our deepest
appreciation to the Ministry of Education Malaysia and all those who made it possible for
us to compete in the ROBOCON 2019 contest in Malaysia. A special gratitude is extended
to our university for the support given, our team supervisors, advisors and volunteers, whose
contribution in the simulations, suggestions and encouragement have helped us to
coordinate our work flow.
References
[1] robonmalaysia, 2019. ROBOCON Malaysia 2019. [Online] Available at:
https://ROBOCONmalaysia.com/malaysia-ROBOCON-rules/ [Accessed on February
2019].
37
ROBOCON-UMT from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
TEAM SUPERVISOR: Dr. Wan Mariam Binti Wan Muda
TEAM ADVISORS: Irvin Bala Subramaniam
Tan Rui Lin
TEAM MEMBERS: Wong Gui Shun
Lok Jia Wei
Hafiq Aidil Bin Zulkiflee
Ainur Fazlin Najiha Binti Azaha
Arunkumar Subramaniam
Nordiyana Binti Mohd Izan
ABSTRACT
In the ROBOCON 2019 competition, two robots, the MR1 and the MR2 were built to
complete the game. The MR1 was required to pass the Gerege to the MR2 and wait for the
MR2 to reach the Mountain. After that, the MR1 will throw the Shagai to gain 50 points
followed by the MR2 climbing up the Mountain to raise the Gerege. The MR1 was design
to have four mechanum wheels for moving ability, a pneumatic mechanism for throwing the
Shagai and lifting up the robot, a servo motor for receiving the Shagai, and a servo motor
for the arm to hold the Gerege. For the MR2, there are four legs to provide moving ability
for the robot. Each of the legs is contructed with three servo motors, where two of the servo
motors were used for one joint, and the other for a different joint. Each leg uses a pair of 3.7
V battery, resulting in increament to the amount of torque of three servo motors. In this
report, the design of the MR1 and the MR2 will be shown and explained, accompanied by
figures and the flow-charts. Also, the problems encountered and the solutions provided will
be discussed in this report.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
ROBOCON is a competition that is held every year for the purpose of sharing the
knowledge and opportunity to compete between different countries in Asia. This report
elaborated the problem that was examined, the solution used, the objective of making the
robots, and how the robots were made.
There are several problems that were examined during the production of the manual
robot, which is the MR1. After ROBOCON 2018, some lessons and experiences were
38
gained by the team. Therefore, the throwing mechanism for this time was made using the
pneumatic mechanism instead of DC motor which causes the lack of power to throw the
ball. Due to the lack of knowledge in pneumatic mechanism, self-study such as learning
from Youtube video was carried-out. However, the use of of using pneumatic method
resulted in many problems such as unable to locate the point of gas leaking, unable to throw
the Shagai when using the maximum pressure set by the organizer and requiring continuous
modification on the design of the pneumatic mechanism in order to perform the required
tasks. Therefore, some calculations were done to determine the most suitable angle and
height for throwing the Shagai and the design of the throwing mechanism was also modified
in order to solve the problems.
Besides, the holding of the Gerege using the gripper and building the arm using
MG946 servo motor also faced problem due to the inability of the servo-shield for gripper
to be connected to the servo-shield for MG946 servo motor. Furthermore, this is the first
time we experience using the mechanum wheels in the robot. Due to insufficient battery
power for four wheels, two mechanum wheels must use a separate battery to supply voltage.
This causes the robot to unable to move forward continuously. Also, due to the lack of
knowledge in mechanum wheel, the bearing that was used for supporting the load of the
robot, was required to be attached to the wheel. However, it was not done by the team since
the bearing needs to be designed by the team themselves.
For the auto robot, the MR2, due to the lack of knowledge in mechanical field, it
was a big challenge for the team to build the robot with four legs and only move completely
using four legs. Furthermore, according to the rules, the Gerege must be raised up vertically
and have a distance of 1 m from the ground when the robot is at the Mountain. This is also
another problem because the robot, with a long arm on one side, will not be stable when the
arm is raised. Nevertheless, the legs of the robot were not stable enough to support the
weight of the whole robot body, resulting in the inability of the servo motor to support the
robot. Therefore, a new design of the legs of the MR2 was done to solve this problem.
There are several objectives of building the two robots:
1. The manual robot, the MR1, and auto robot, the MR2, can move perfectly.
2. Manual robot, the MR1, can do all the tasks including moving, passing the Gerege
to the auto robot, the MR2, and throwing the Shagai.
39
3. Auto robot, the MR2, can move without losing balance and pass through all the
obstacles including the Sand Dune and Tussock.
The motivation for the work comes from the full support given by the university and
lecturers, the experience gained from last year’s competition, and also the objectives set for
ROBOCON 2019.
2.0 DETAILED DESIGN
2.1 Mechanical Design
Figure 1: Design and dimension of the MR1
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Figure 2: Finished product of the MR1 (side view)
Figure 3: Finished product of the MR1 (top view)
The initial design of the manual robot the MR1 is shown in Figure 1, and the finished
product of the MR1 is shown in Figure 2. For the MR1, the mechanical design is used for
holding the Gerege, picking up and throwing the Shagai, and lifting the MR1. The
mechanism used for throwing the Shagai and lifting the MR1 was pneumatic mechanism.
An arm was designed to hold the Gerege using three MG946 servo motors as the joint of
the arm. At the head of the arm, there was a gripper which has two G15 servo motors to
41
hold the Gerege. From the head of the arm, there will be a gripper to hold the Gerege
followed by three servo motors to raise the Gerege.
In picking up and throwing the Shagai, two MG946 servo motor was attached to an
acrylic plane. After the Shagai was picked up, the piston in pneumatic system will push the
Shagai with the aid of an aluminium stick. Two bottles that contain gas were used for the
piston to push the Shagai and another two bottles were used for another two pistons to lift
the MR1 to a certain height in order to achieve the height that the Shagai will fall inside the
Landing Zone as shown in Figure 3. The pneumatic mechanisms that were used in both parts
will be separated into two independent pneumatic systems.
Table 2.0: The robots with their variables
Robot Variables Mass Locomotion Extremities DOF
the MR1 12kg Rotation 90° 2
the MR2 3kg Walking 40° 2
Figure 4: Design and dimension of the MR2
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Figure 5: Finished product of the MR2
The design of the MR2, is shown in Figure 4, and the finished product of the MR2
is shown in Figure 5. The MR2 needs four legs to move from the beginning until the end.
Therefore, the mechanism for the legs is compulsory. Besides, there was an arm attached to
the MR2 in order to hold the Gerege. Three MG946 servo motors were used for the leg in
the MR2 as the joint of the leg and all four legs were identical. The servo motor used in the
arm was MG946 servo motor and three of them were used as the joint of the arm. The
calculation for finding the torque is stated as below:
= sin (1)
where = amount of torque; r = the length of lever arm, distance between the pivot point
and the point of force application; F = force action on the object; and = angle between the
force vector and lever arm.
2.2 Electronic Design
The mechanum wheels of the MR1 was controlled by using the wireless WI-FI
module with a joystick. In the MR2, a proximity sensor is used for receiving the Gerege
from the MR1 and also is used for receiving the signal from the player when it is time to
climb up the Mountain.
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2.3 Software Design
Figure 6: Flow-chart of manual robot, the MR1
Figure 7: Flow-chart of auto robot, the MR2
The flow-chart of the MR1 is shown in Figure 6 and the flow-chart of the MR2 is shown
in Figure 7.
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3.0 ROBOT TESTING
The MR1 can move forward, backward and turn around successfully but it cannot
move to the left and right perfectly. Initially, the throwing mechanism of the MR1 was not
stable because of the height of the MR1 is insufficient for the Shagai to land on the Landing
Zone. After using the piston to lift the MR1, another testing was run by the team, and the
result shows that the Shagai can land directly into the Landing Zone without bouncing on
the MR2 route. Furthermore, the gripper of the MR1 is not attached to the MR1 yet.
However, the code for the arm and gripper was already done by the team but the testing of
the gripper was not done yet. Therefore, there needs to some adjustment on the MR1 based
on the arm, gripper and pneumatic mechanism.
For the MR2, standing tests were done. However, the MR2 can only stand for two
to three minutes due to the robot’s unbalance and the design of the legs was unable to support
the body. Originally, the MR2 robot uses the MG996 servo motor for all the joints of the
legs. There was in total of eight servo motors used in this robot. However, since the MG996
servo motor was taken from another used robot, the result of testing showed that it was
shaking and became loose when it was programmed to be in a certain angle, which means
that the servo motor was not in the correct angle and it is not accurate. Thus, the robot was
unstable. Therefore, all MG996 servo motors were changed with a new MG946 servo motor.
However, the same result was shown after the testing. This time, some calculations were
done and it showed that using four servo motors were still not enough to support the robot
with heavy load. Therefore, two servo motors were used in the upper legs of the robot, which
will give double torques for the upper legs to support the robot’s weight. Nevertheless, the
arm of the MR2 for holding the Gerege was not attached to the MR2 yet. Therefore, the
overall programming of the auto robot was incomplete.
4.0 CONCLUSION, LIMITATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In conclusion, before the competition date, the manual robot the MR1 was not yet
finished particularly the arm, gripper and the pneumatic mechanism part. Similarly, the
MR2 was still at the testing stage which required more improvements.
This project has some limitations. For the MR1, the team lack of knowledge on
mechanism. This resulted in a lot of time spent on investigating the mechanism of the robot.
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The weight of the robot is also another limitation because before the pneumatic system was
attached to the MR1, it can move forward continuously and maintain its stability. Also, the
hardware and components used in pneumatic system are also considered as limitation since
it is fixed and the design cannot be changed. When there was gas leakage in the pneumatic
system, the team failed to identify the cause and determine the exact location of the leakage.
For the MR2, the amount of torque provided by four MG946 servo motors was only
enough to support 0.3 kilograms of load, whereas the robot’s actual weight is approximately
2 kilograms. In addition, the MR2 was powered by one 11.1 V battery is not enough for
eight servo motors. Furthermore, the controllers used in both the MR1 and the MR2 did not
have enough pins for both robots.
The following are our team’s recommendations. In order to ensure that the
components meet fulfil the design specifications, a CNC machine that can cut metal and a
3D printer are needed. Besides, lecturers who are expert in the field of mechatronics,
electronic physics and instrumentation are also needed as part of team advisors. They will
be able to guide the ROBOCON team members who are not in the mechatronics field and
who are not familiar with the mechanisms. Also, close collaboration of the team is necessary
in order to complete the robot in a short period of time.
5.0 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to acknowledge the help of PPHKP HEPA of Universiti Malaysia
Terengganu for providing us with all the materials, tools, space, and others during the period
of robots’ building. We are also grateful to PPHKP HEPA for giving us the trust and
opportunities to join this meaningful competition. Needless to say, we have gained a lot of
experience and knowledge.
In addition, we would like to record our special thanks to Dr. Wan Mariam Binti
Wan Muda, the advisor of ROBOCON team in UMT for giving us many valuable advises
and suggestions. Her willingness to spend her time and help us has is very much appreciated.
We also wish to thank other lecturers that have provided valuable suggestions and ideas and
also in allowing us to focus on ROBOCON while FYP was still in progress.
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