The vehicle built for this competition used 9V drills as the drive motors. These were connected
via a chain drive designed by Aaron Trask. The wheels of this vehicle were 10 inch toy bicycle
wheels and were chosen because of their good grip capability. A front mounted robotic arm was
manufactured to act as the scoop for the sphere/ball at the end of the course.
For the demolition rounds, the vehicle upgraded with several weapons, in addition to the existing
robotic arm. These extra weapons included a set of rear mounted saw blades powered by another
9V drill motor, and a side mounted crossbow. Due to the safety issue with a crossbow, the actual
arrow was tethered to the vehicle via aircraft wire...it was definitely menacing. Many of the
other contestants opposed our use of a crossbow and due to this fear, many reinforced their vehicles
with metal plates to protect their electronics....the arrow was fired a couple of times, but the
vertical saw blades did much more damage.
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