Silverback's RoboCup Jr Soccer Robot

Started in November 2022, Team Silverback at Fort Street High School comprises four enthusiastic year 10 students. Our primary objective is to create the finest robots possible for the RoboCup Soccer Opens competitions, and we're driven by our passion to push the boundaries of what's achievable in these competitions.

The RoboCup Soccer Opens involves 2v2 matches with autonomous soccer robots.

Our latest robot, Goku V3, was meticulously designed for the Australian RoboCup Jr Open 2023 competition. Its predecessor, Goku V2, achieved remarkable success in the 2023 NSW State competition, clinching the 1st place trophy with an impressive point ratio of 73:3 (scored: conceded). Throughout this journey, our team demonstrated tremendous resilience and determination in refining Goku V2.

You can witness Goku V2 in action at the state competition.

Both of our robots feature custom PCBs, consisting of two main parts: the Line PCB and the Main PCB.

The LINE PCB boasts 16 reflective light sensors and 16 LEDs. Its primary function is to detect when the robot crosses the white perimeter and goes out of bounds. Additionally, this PCB serves as a robust baseplate for our robot due to the lightweight and durable FR4 material. The Line PCB incorporates I2C communication and utilizes a Teensy 4.1 to process signals, determining the robot's position and angle relative to the white line.

MAIN PCB:

On the other hand, the MAIN PCB houses all the remaining electronic components. It includes power electronics and battery management circuitry for the 4S Lipo battery. Furthermore, it contains the primary microcontroller (Teensy 4.1) and features Serial Bus breakouts to connect to a Raspberry Pi, which handles the computer vision processing. The Teensy also acts as a motor controller PID, utilizing data from motor encoders, the BN055 IMU, and the TB67H420FTG motor drivers.

Our team would greatly appreciate the support from PCBWay. As a team dedicated to designing and constructing robots for competitions, we often face challenges in sourcing and manufacturing components within our budget and timeline constraints. Quick prototyping capabilities would grant us the flexibility to experiment with new concepts and foster innovation.

PCBWay's support would empower us to create superior robots and inspire the next generation of robotics engineers. We are eagerly looking forward to the prospect of collaborating with PCBWay to achieve our objectives with their valuable support.