Honors Robotics I · Team project
Drone
Strike.
An autonomous ball-intake robot designed to collect, store, and place small balls.
The brief
Move, collect,
and place.
Our five-person team built a scaled-down robot inspired by the need for fast ball collection in competitive robotics. The goal was straightforward: drive to balls, pull them into a storage area, and place them at a target location.
The build
The robot used a modified plastic, four-wheel chassis. We replaced part of its upper deck with a 3D-printed intake and storage box. Five 200 RPM TT motors powered the drive wheels and intake, while three motor controllers and H-bridges kept the electronics compact and cost-conscious.
A 12-volt battery pack ran the motors; a separate portable 5-volt charger powered the Raspberry Pi. This gave the robot enough mobility to test away from a wall outlet.
Autonomous control
We programmed hard-coded driving paths that changed each wheel’s direction to move the robot. A gyroscope provided orientation data, allowing us to correct drifting and make more repeatable turns instead of relying only on motor timing.
Test → adjust → repeat
Separate tests
We tested movement, turning, and the intake separately first. Reducing variables made problems easier to locate and improve.
Fix the physical system
We organized tangled wiring with zip ties, repositioned the Raspberry Pi and battery pack, and secured loose components.
Lighten the intake
When the intake was too heavy, we changed its metal rod to a 3D-printed rod so the mechanism could move more effectively.
Outcome
The finished robot could drive and intake balls successfully.
Early tests revealed reversed intake motors, inconsistent turns, slanted driving, and weak intake behavior. Iteration improved each of those areas. The next steps we identified were distance-based paths, tighter turning, remote control, and a more capable outtake system.
Team: Aditya Bhavsar, Aditya Hari, Rhoy Xu, Vansh Gutgutia, and Ryan Xu.