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Description

Last year, I worked on a school project inspired by the RobotAtFactory Lite challenge. The goal was to design and build a robot capable of navigating a predefined course while performing specific tasks.

The course was outlined with black lines on a white surface, and one side featured colored boxes placed in a random order. The robot’s mission? Identify these boxes by color and move them to their designated spots on the other side of the course.

To help the robot achieve it’s mission, we equipped LENN·E with an array of sensors:

• Ultrasonic sensor for detecting obstacles.
• Color sensor for recognizing the color of the boxes.
• Line-tracking sensor for tracking the course.

Through programming and extensive testing, LENN·E successfully navigated the course and performed various tasks, albeit with a couple of challenges along the way.

Reflection

I was very excited to work on this project, but not all of my teammates appeared to share the same enthusiasm, which slowed our progress. Along the way, we faced several setbacks. One of the most significant was when a teammate accidentally dropped the robot, breaking many of the 3D-printed parts and damaging the line-tracking sensor.

While the 3D-printed parts were easy to replace, the line-tracking sensor wasn’t delivered in time for the initial testing phase. This setback caused us to fail on our first attempt. However, once the sensor arrived, we resumed testing and fine-tuning the robot.

By the end of the project, LENN·E was working mostly as intended, though it occasionally struggled to identify junctions where it needed to turn. Despite not achieving perfection, the experience taught me invaluable lessons about teamwork, troubleshooting, and the importance of perseverance in problem-solving.

Takeaways

Building LENN·E wasn’t just a robotics challenge – it was a learning experience that highlighted the importance of collaboration, resilience, and iteration. While there is always room for improvement, I am proud of what we have accomplished and excited to apply the knowledge I gained to future projects.

Pictures