The Field Robot event is an annually arranged European robot competition. The task for the robots, built by the participating teams, is to navigate and perform tasks autonomously on the maize field.   The tasks differ from year to year but usually they involve navigating the field, detecting obstacles, detecting abnormities and creating maps. In addition, a freestyle assignment is given. Here the team can choose freely what kind of task the robot is to perform. Often the freestyle is realized in form of a trailer that is attached to the main robot.

 

Our team consisted of nine people divided into three groups; automation, mechatronics and agrotechnology. Each group had three members. I was part of the mechatronics group. Our task was to design and build the physical parts of the robot including operating electronics.

 

I ended up focusing mostly on mechanics. I was greatly involved in improving the design of the suspension system. We wanted to create a shorter wheelbase compared to previous years so some changes had to be made. The chassis is the skeleton of the vehicle, so naturally I got to do a lot of the CAD-work when starting to figure out how everything would be fit together. When it finally came to building the robot, I put a lot of effort into machining parts. The robot was mainly built from aluminium. I did both manual and CNC-machining. In addition to my main tasks I every now and then helped out with other things. For instance, the design and CAD-modelling for the plastic cover was made by me.

 

The project gave me more confident in mechanical design and manufacturing. I got to experience the path from creating something very technical from scratch. I also got to see what mechatronics is all about and what goes into creating a mechatronic system. Working in a big group was also educational. To achieve your goal, communication is crucial.