RC Tank Mk I - Requirements

I've drawn a few diagrams and schematics for the RC Tank. The concept is that the tank will have a laser pointer and an ultrasonic rangefinder which can be aimed up and down. When the wireless remote says to fire, the tank will calculate the proper angle of the gun to hit the target painted by the laser. To do this, I have to follow the mantra: Get it to work. Then, get it to work well.

A few assumptions have to be made. These assumptions can be removed in future incarnations of the tank using better hardware and algorithms.

• The tank will be fired from a level surface
• The tank will not move with being fired
• The projectile will always be able to reach the target
• The target will be stationary
• The ammunition supply is infinite (No empty-barrel checking)
• The mass of the ammunition is known
• The ammunition is spherical

To reduce the size of my blog posts and increase my posting frequency, I will write a few of the requirements I've identified. I'll explain all of my reasoning and design later. The reason for this is that I've got a working prototype of the chassis, which makes me happy for now. I have a more pressing project right now: keep my fish alive.

Mark I Requirements

• Has remote control
• Can go forwards/backwards
• Can vary speed
• Has solenoid gun
• Gun equipped with laser sight and range finder
• Sight and finder operate independently of gun
• When "fire" button is pressed, the robot will aim the gun and fire in such a way as to hit the laser-painted target
• The robot may not be moved during a firing sequence
• The robot should have the capability to reload itself
• The laser/range finder should be capable of movement while the robot is in motion
• The robot will assume that all ammunition has the same mass
• After firing, the robot will refuse to fire until an appropriate cool-down time has occurred
• Use a small battery pack
• Use mostly parts that I already own

Mark I Requirements than can be improved for Mark II

• The robot will assume that it is level when calculating gun angle
• The gun and laser/range finder will have one vertical degree of freedom
• The remote control will have an RF transmitter. The robot will have an RF receiver.

Derived Requirements

• Microcontroller requires 5V
• Motors require 12V
• Solenoids require 12-24V
• Need boost converter to drive solenoids, possibly motors