December saw great progress in the form of the design, assessment and printing of a PCB for our microhouse’s infrared navigation system. Utilising six IR sensors and 4 IR LEDs, our carefully designed circuit was etched onto a copper-silicon plate using a Ferric Chloride solution, using a negative image to wash away the copper surface, leaving a silicon disc with copper traces.
Peter came up with the innovative idea of using both sides of the disc, allowing for a much more intricate and orderly design, at the cost of a slightly more fiddley etching process.
Consideration was given as to the “special feature” our mouse would have, ideas included: “Spotibot”: A built in speaker to play music; “Flashbang”: Blasting infrared and/or ultrasonic signals at an opposing micromouse to overwhelm its sensors and confuse its navigation, “Emotibot”: A built in LCD screen to display useful diagnostic data and emoticons.
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