VT CRO — SEC Mechanical Team

Overview

The Virginia Tech Competitive Robotics Organization (VT CRO) competes in nationally recognized competitions including the Southeastern Conference Robotics Competition hosted by IEEE. I was onboarded into the Mechanical sub-team during winter break of 2024.

Through this I gained experience in problem identification, mechanical design, rapid prototyping, and testing — all while considering constraints and timelines across Mechanical, Software, and Electrical sub-teams. I built confidence in OnShape's CAD and version control, and developed a strong understanding of Dead Wheel Odometry, AprilTag recognition, SLAM mapping, and ROS-based communication between our Teensy microcontroller and Nvidia Jetson.

The Challenge

The robot was required to pick up, sort, and dispense two types of icosahedral particles — "Geodinium" (heavier) and "Nebulite" (lighter) — then identify storage bins and place them in designated map locations.

The robot's process followed six structured stages:

1. Particle Intake — collecting icosahedral particles
2. Particle Transportation — moving particles within the robot
3. Particle Sorting — differentiating Geodinium from Nebulite
4. Particle Storage — storing sorted particles appropriately
5. Bin Intake — managing storage bins
6. Particle and Bin Delivery — placing filled bins at map locations

My Contributions

My personal contributions focused on mechanisms that interact with particles before and after the elevator transports them vertically:

• Particle intake "comb" ramp with flip-out dead zone blockers
• Diagonal hopper sorter
• Storage bin design
• Delivery "flap" system
• Vibration module to prevent particle clogging
• Computer vision camera mount
• Robotic drawbridge arm payload system ("beacon")
• Central battery mount

Beyond direct design work I contributed to planning elevator head designs, particle intake mechanisms, component positioning, and team assignments. I emphasized modularity to enable faster prototyping and promoted effective cross-team communication.

Robot Progression