Victoria Cheng

University of Toronto

WINNER OF THE

2017 AER201: ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSE

AUTONOMOUS ROBOT COMPETITION

The goal of this project was to design and manufacture a proof-of-concept prototype for a machine that can separate various batteries based on their type and voltage.

This particular machine was able to distinguish itself in the competition due to it's compact size, accurate sorting ability, and ease of use. I worked in a team with 2 other students, where the roles were divided into Coding, Mechanical, and Circuits. As the Circuits member, I was in charge of the instrumentation and interfacing between the Coding and Mechanical members. This involved planning and constructing all the digital and analog interfacing circuits to connect the sensors and actuators to the micro-controller boards, as well as implementing all of the wiring on the machine.

Each team member was also required to keep a detailed design notebook about the prototypes and design decisions that they made and encountered throughout the project. At the end of the course, our team also write a Final Design Proposal document that detailed the progression of our robot throughout the course.