PoolBot – Pool playing robot

Program: Summer Internship with Grown Sector (in collaboration with CCSF)

Role: Team Leader

Overview:

PoolBot was a robotics project developed during an accelerated summer internship program. The objective was to design and build a robot capable of collecting ping pong balls and pool balls and depositing them into the pockets of a pool table. Our team had only two nights to design, prototype, and assemble the robot before competing against seven other teams.

Technical Details:

• Chassis: Reused and modified from a previous robot

• Actuation: Two-motor “sweeper arm” system designed to funnel balls into a collection area

• Controller: Custom-built handheld controller using switches, ribbon cables, and two 9V batteries in series

• Construction: Breadboarded wiring; sweeper stabilized with string-based linear guides to keep the mechanism upright

• Mechanical Challenge: Asymmetrical motor pull due to non-parallel sweep arms, which we corrected through on-the-fly adjustments

Outcome & Takeaways:

PoolBot successfully swept balls into the pockets using a two-phase process—first gathering with the arms, then activating the sweeper to push them into the holes via a sloped plane. Despite tight time constraints and mechanical issues, our robot won first place in a bracket of eight competitors. This project honed my leadership, rapid prototyping, and problem-solving skills under pressure.