Final Year Project - Robot plays air hockey

Hi, I implemented the bounce trajectory that I developed in simulation to the final system. Bouncing the puck against the table sides reduced its velocity and thus gave the robot more time to react. Although the algorithm is far from perfect, I am glad that I developed this algorithm as the robot would at least move to an estimate future puck position. Possible reason for the error could be the bounce trajectory algorithm which assumes that there is no velocity lost after the puck hits the sides and thus would not alter the direction of travel. Another reason could be the vision of not localising the centre point of the puck properly in some areas of the table. Anyways, below is a video of the robot moving to a predicted future puck positions after a bounce(s). Video of bounce trajectory on final system Immanuel

Hi, I decided to use function compute_cartersian_path despite the results from comparing the duration of trajectories between this function and using the go function. Although, the go function generated shorter trajectory duration and removed the need of planning, both functions applied in the physical system produced similar results and was not capable of compensating with the the initial delay of the robot's motion. From testing time events from the previous posts, I figured that the robot averaged 1242ms from the the time that the puck is moving towards the robot and the time the robot gets to the predicted position. However, as I was using the go function, the average length of the trajectory points is 12 which the robot has to move to before reaching the prediction position. I figured that the current ROS drivers for the robot is to download all trajectory point-by-point before starting the robot's motion. Therefore, I explored ways to reduce the number of trajectory

Hi, This blog will showcase the design of the end-effector that will be used in the final system. The picture below shows the two-part end-effector for easy mounting on the robot's tool flange. It was inspired from the original mallet that came with the table. The top part holds the 6 mm nut and has 4 mounting holes whilst the bottom part holds the screw. The total length of the end-effector is 118 mm and the bottom part has a diameter of 60 mm. Felt is also attached to the bottom of the end-effector to avoid scratching on the table's surface. End-effector Immanuel