Ario Barin Ostovary

Software Engineering, University of Waterloo

2AK-Bot

Mars Rover built in a day. MasseyHacks Best Overall.

You know you did something right when they have to rewrite the rulebook because of you. ;)

We made a Mars Rover with a gripper and arm that moves around and cameras on it. Won Best Overall at MasseyHacks. It was the kind of project you'd normally spend a month on, but we got it done in a day. My first real all-nighter. No cheating though: we followed the rules, we just came way more prepared than anyone else. They actually changed the hackathon rules after that.

2AK-Bot Mars Rover

I made the Bluetooth communication between the controller, computer, and ESP32 to control the driving motors and servo motors. I also designed the gripper and arm and helped with the design of the base.

The rover's arm and gripper moving during a test.
The rover assembly, including the arm and gripper.
Exploded CAD view showing the rover base, body, rotating arm, and gripper

We had designed and printed the parts in advance and tested them individually. Putting them together was another matter. Components got fried, some printed parts needed holes melted into them with a soldering iron, and the battery bank ended up outside because there wasn't enough room inside.

The open chassis on the workbench, and the team working beside it at MasseyHacks X.
The rover chassis open on the workbench, showing the wiring inside with the arm absentWorking on the bot
Team photoTeam photo 2Full team photoJudging session