Voice Activated Lobber
Quarantine Hobbies
Somewhere around the beginning Covid-19 lockdown, I picked up a “How To” book on the microcontroller Arduino. I studied Mechanical Engineering in college and hadn’t done much of anything with electrical engineering other than the EE 101 course. I chalked up electricity to be akin to witchcraft and called it a day. But after working with an Arduino and electrical engineering concepts for a few months, I can confirm electricity is witchcraft.
Building a Lobber
Design
A majority of the design process was spent learning how to operate an Arduino. I also went through a couple of ideas for both the lobbing motion and the reloading motion. The simplest, most robust idea for lobbing I came up with was to use a pneumatic piston. The best solution for reloading was to use a track for the cans to roll down and two servos acting in concert. I wanted to use Alexa for the voice activation, but I found a circuit board that could do what I needed easier.
Manufacture
Prior to this project, I had done very little electrical engineering and even less soldering, but I had more free time than since I was twelve. After some research and testing, I had a functioning breadboard complete with a solenoid to switch flow of air pressure, transistor to activate a larger voltage source than an Arduino can handle, two controlled servos, and a circuit board for the mic and voice activation.
Performance
This project effectively contained three smaller projects: the voice activation, the lobbing, and the reloading after each lob. Each of these required their own design, manufacturing, and testing process, and then finally I had to tie them together in a wiring diagram. It was integration hell. This wasn’t my most mathematically impressive project, but it definitely contained the most moving parts. As with all projects, finally getting everything to work is an incredible feeling.
Design
Step 1: what's an Arduino? I did about a dozen projects from my "How to Arduino" book to learn about electrical components, Arduino syntax, wiring diagrams, etc. Click the picture for a link to the book. I didn't get paid for any advertisement; it's just a good book.
I needed to figure out how fast does a can need to go to lob however far I want. For these relatively slow speeds and distances, I assumed there was no air resistance which makes this a simple problem straight from high school physics.
I had initially thought of using a 3-bar linkage to lob the cans, kind of like a car piston. But after working with the design for awhile, I decided it was at best, difficult to manufacture and implement, and at worst, an awful idea. I settled on a pneumatic piston for the simplicity. It's either up or down, and it has plenty of power behind it.
I wanted some way to adjust the angle of my piston, so I figured a kickstand of sorts would do the trick. I could make notches for any given angle fairly easily, and then I'd have an adjustable lobber.
My final wiring diagram for all the different components the Arduino was to control. I'd like to say I got here on the first try. I sure would like to.
Manufacture
Performance
Skills Used During This Project
Engineering
Excel
Arduino
Wiring Diagrams
Manufacturing
Woodworking: jigsaw, circular saw, drill, clamps
Soldering
Wiring Arduino
Drimmel to cut PVC