Final Hovercraft & Controller

Final Hovercraft (LOBBYIST)

The final hovercraft was a sea turtle, Shelton, with a jet pack or turbines strapped on its back. It has a fuel gauge to let the audience know when the pairing time is going to run out, and cool sunglasses to indicate an active pair. The large diffusers on the back house the LED strips to indicate what team color is currently under control, while also giving an indication of an unpaired state when no one is in control. The flippers give Shelton the appearance of swimming while it is being maneuvered.

Hovercraft CAD

The structure of the hovercraft was created from a combination of lasercut duron, 3D printed plastic, and off-the-shelf components for the shell and the turtle body. While our hovercraft was relatively heavy compared to others in the lab, the brushed DC motors found in the bin of freedom did not hav any trouble thrusting the hovercraft forward, steering, nor reversing. Please see the Play Time! tab for a video of the hovercraft in operation.

Hovercraft Mechanical Drawing

The hovercraft fits well within the mandated 72" perimeter envelope, and while it was relatively tall compared to others around the lab, it still managed to maintain a small footprint.

Skirt Design

The illustration below explains how our skirt design functions. The design was directly inspired by Matty, Anne, & Derrick's team's design. It consists of a top level layer with an airtight ripstop nylon seal around the perimeter. We found it easiest to achieve an airtight seal by bonding it with tape on top face of the platform rather than the bottom on the top layer. The lower level layer is a hoop of the same outside dimension and the nylon is bonded to it on the inside. Using this design, the provided lift fan can comfortably lift our hovercraft's weight plus a few extra NiCd batteries. It is important that the weight of the heaviest components roughly balances out evenly over the hovercraft to minimize opportunities for the hovercraft to become unstable.

Sunglasses/Paired Status Servo

To give the audience an indication that our LOBBYIST was paired with a controller, Shelton's sunglasses would immediately lower in instant preparation for the summer sun. To accommodate Shelton's small head, the sunglasses were scored with a soldering iron on the inside face and bent into shape. Modifying them in this manner maintained their structural rigidity and no adhesives had to be used.

As seen in the images below, the servo horn was screwed to the sunglass frames on one end, and mounted to a pivot on the other end.
Once installed, the servo bracket assembly is well consealed inside the head.

Flipper Arms

One of Shelton's unique features is that it responds to human control by gently swimming.
As the controller of the PAC thrusts the hovercraft forward, these lasercut arms that were attached to the servos drive the flippers.
Check out the Play Time! tab to see the flippers in action.

Final Controller

The final controller allows the user to take on a rare form of part pilot part sea turtle. A unique feature of our PAC is that the user actually wears it, thus becoming one with Shelton. By flailing the arms of the PAC, the user is able to maneuver the hovercraft in the forward direction, and by hitting the sides of the helmet, the user could make the hovercraft reverse. Finally, there was an added brake button that would trigger the lift fan to turn off for a quick response.