Catch-Bot: "The Robot That Catches Balls"

thingiverse

This robot skillfully catches the balls you throw at it, thanks to computer vision. It uses two PS3 Eye cameras to accurately pinpoint the ball's position, and a Cartesian coordinate robot swiftly moves into place accordingly. A team of four high school students developed the robot and its software in just two and a half weeks, as part of Rose Hulman's "Operation Catapult" Engineering program. Their innovative project took home the Best Project Award. The robot's design was inspired by the mechanics of generic 3D printers and CNC machines, but was designed entirely from scratch by the students. Note: The included STL file is a CAD design of all the pieces making up the robot, combined together in one detailed drawing. Some of the shown parts are 3D printed (the mounts, brackets, etc.), some are laser cut (the frame), and others were purchased (steppers, smooth rods, etc.). More information can be found here: https://barancode.com/projects/catchbot/