Battle Bot:
Meet STUX, the Mini Battle Bot!
A compact combat robot featuring a powerful flipper weapon and differential drive system. STUX demonstrates rapid prototyping with 3D-printed components, robust electronics, and battle-tested control systems—all designed for fast, aggressive combat while maintaining serviceability and reliability.
- Drive: Dual DC gearmotors (independent L/R)
- Weapons: Flipper (25 kg servo), Hammer
- Control: IR remote → MCU → drivers
- Power: Logic + servo rails isolated
- Chassis: 3D-printed with reinforcement
Wiring & Control Architecture
The IR receiver feeds a microcontroller that commands the drive motors and the weapon servo. To prevent brownouts, the high-current servo runs on a separate 5–6 V rail; logic stays on its own regulated rail.
- Power split: Battery → Reg A (logic) and Reg B (servos). Common ground maintained.
- Signal integrity: Shielded leads and short runs to the IR module; input debouncing and state tracking in code.
- Failsafe: Kill/disable pin in firmware to drop weapon power immediately.
Weapons & Drivetrain
The flipper uses a 25 kg-class servo geared for torque and snapback. Drive is differential (left/right) for zero-radius turns.
- Flipper: Angle limits and cooldown to protect servo; reinforced mounts after early failures.
- Hammer (sync logic): Short interlock prevents simultaneous weapon spikes that caused brownouts.
- Chassis: 3D-printed with thicker walls at stress risers and metal inserts where screws see high shear.
Problems and How I Overcame Them
- Servo mount strength: Early 3D-printed mounts cracked under 25 kg servo torque → increased wall thickness, added brackets, redistributed load into the chassis.
- IR interference: False/lagging reads → dual receivers, shielding, and code debouncing/state tracking.
- Power distribution: Voltage sag with shared rails → isolated logic/servo rails with a common ground.
- Flipper timing: Over-travel and stress → angle limits plus cooldown for repeatability.
- Wiring management: Congested interior → heat-shrink, zip-tie anchors, and labeled harnesses.
- Servo overload: Thermal risk on repeated hits → movement limits and enforced rest intervals.
- Weapon sync: Brownouts during simultaneous hits → short interlock between hammer and flipper.
What I'd Build Next at Penn/MIT
I'd like to evolve STUX into a modular testbed—hot-swappable weapons, better current limiting, and sensorized impacts—so I can iterate on control, durability, and power systems with a fast CAD-to-print cycle. I'm excited to bring hands-on build energy and rigorous testing to a team that ships working robots.