Robot: Geronimo’s Suspension System

A major part of Geronimo’s original strategy involved jumping down from the upper level of the course to the lower level in order to bypass the wall of fire. Unfortunately, last minute setbacks prevented us from making it to the upper level. We were, however, still able to utilize the suspension system and jump from the ramp down into the safety zone.

The original concept for Geronimo’s suspension system can be seen below. The sled was designed to absorb the majority of the impact from the resulting drop, while the spring system (consisting of rubber bands) was intended to absorb the rest.

Concept of suspension system, minus hardware and elastics.

In addition to absorbing impact, the sled was also intended to act as the forward pivot point in the drive system, thereby simplifying steering operations. As such, the QRD’s used for tape following were placed in the sled, so as to put as much distance between them and the motors as possible.

Initial tests showed that the suspension system was fundamentally flawed, as Geronimo would flip forward following his jump. This can be seen in the following video.

Video shot showing Geronimo flipping.

After analyzing the footage above, we determined that the problem was that the sled was not rigidly attached to the rest of the suspension system, thereby allowing Geronimo to rotate about the sled following the jump. This problem was solved by replacing the foremost axle with M6 hardware, which held the sled more rigidly in place.

Unpowered test ran to test updated suspension system.

The final version of the suspension system can be seen in the following figures.