Updates 11/3/23

Currently, we've made a design for a possible claw shape and tested it by digging into grass. We've been designing and testing multiple ideas for a mechanized claw system, from pneumatics to gears. Our best design so far has been a pneumatic based claw which uses leverage to open and close a claw. Before landing on the pneumatic idea, we tried to use a rail carriage system with the hope that the individual claws would naturally close as it was plunged into the ground. Unfortunately, this design did not really work so we had to scrap this idea. While designing the pneumatic claw in Fusion 360, we were having difficulties modeling the motion and were considering to just move on. Luckily, we decided to continue with the model and were able to figure out that the cylinder was not fit for our use case; this saved us from accidentally buying a pneumatic cylinder that would've gone to waste.

Updates 12/1/23

Design Changes

We've changed up our design a bit, and decided to change how we were going to remove of weeds. Instead of pursuing a pneumatic claw design we instead decided to focus more on using chemicals to kill the weeds. We did this because it was a lot simpler to design and required less moving parts. In addition, we believed that it would look more aesthetically pleasing with this design instead of having numerous holes throughout a garden. Also, this would be better suited to deal with obstacles like mulch and other debris on the ground that could impede the removal of the weed with the claw. In addition, we've also begun work on our AI model for identifying weeds. We've begun researching the native weeds in our area and finding databases online. Also, we've been looking around our community for common weeds we might take pictures of in the future for our own database.

Updates 2/16/24

Design Finalized

After many months of designing and refining, we have finally decided on our end design. The base of the system is designed after a 4-wheel drive system with each wheel being able to move forward and backward individually. We have designed a way to spray weeds using an electric pump which will pump a specialized weed killing solution through the "turret" system. The turret in the front of the robot can also move independently and aim a nozzle to guarantee an accurate weed spraying. We are also proud to announce that the robot is finally moving! After planning out and connecting the wire diagrams, we were able to start writing code which allows us to manually control the robot from a computer. It might only be able to spin in circles right now, but it's a good start nontheless.