Robot 1

Description

Robot 1 is a two-wheeled inverted pendulum designed to demonstrate real-time feedback control and dynamic stability for K–12 STEM outreach. The robot actively balances itself by measuring its tilt angle, computing corrections through a PID controller, and adjusting wheel motion to stay upright. This allows students to interact with the robot physically while observing how control systems respond to disturbances.

The mechanical frame was designed for durability and portability, meeting strict safety and impact requirements including a 30-inch drop test. The system integrates a raspberry-pi controller, dual DC motors with encoders, a magnetic encoder for tilt sensing, a compact chassis with a sleek and structurally stable design, and a touchscreen for user interaction. All components were either purchased from 3rd party distributors or 3D printed to simplify the manufacturing process for mass-production and cost reduction.

This robot serves as a hands-on demonstration of core engineering concepts, such as system modeling, reactive feedback loops, controller tuning, and how the robot's systems and code work in tandem to perform a function. By altering the values in the robot's balancing code, students are able to observe in real time how the robot's code affects the motors and the pendulums balance, and how small changes in the code can affect the system as a whole.