Development of Small Conch-Shaped Underwater Aquarium-Bottom Cleaning Robot

• Main Authors: De-Li Chiu, 邱得力
• Other Authors: Yih-Lin Cheng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/r9pycg

碩士 === 國立臺灣科技大學 === 機械工程系 === 104 === Fishkeeping has been known as a popular hobby for many people. In order to maintain an aesthetic tank display and optimize the environment for fish, it often takes owners enormous time and effort to keep their tanks clean. The purpose of this research is to develop a robotic cleaner for large aquarium, operated through wireless technology by an APP on mobile devices. The conch-shaped cleaning robot roams in the water freely without cables. Based on the design of last generation bottom cleaning robot, this research aims to improve the automation control and reduce application of motors. The conch-shaped robot comprises three major topics: movement control, cleaning system, and appearance design. A caterpillar track design is adopted for the movement control to imitate the movement of a real conch. Each caterpillar track is driven by a DC motor, which is controlled by a motor driven module. The robot then moves with motors rotating in the same direction and turns while motors rotating in opposite direction. Furthermore, an automatic cleaning mode is developed so that the robot avoids obstacles automatically in the tank during operation. The cleaning system is comprised of a cleaning module, a water-filtration module, and a pump module. The three modules are combined to serve as system to maintain water quality. Dirty particles at the bottom and objects are stir up by the cleaning module and caught by the filter. Finally, the pump ejects clean water. As for the appearance, a hand-made plastic mold was made to imitate the appearance of a real conch. 3D CAD software was used to design the parts and the parts were made with additive manufacturing technology. The size of the robot is 250×120×180mm, and the total weight is 894g. All three modules were assembled and underwent underwater tests. The best performing cleaning mechanism was then selected to be installed on the final cleaning robot. Finally, the overall performance of the robot was tested and rated based on effectiveness of cleaning and movement coverage of the tank.