Snow Boss

Specification Document

www.digilentinc.com/events/DDC2013

Snow Boss
Nik Schulte
Nikolaus.schulte@loras.edu
Jon Powers
Jonathan.powers@loras.edu
Submitted for the 2013 Digilent Design Contest
US
February 8, 2013
Advisor: Danial J. Neebel, PhD, PE
Loras College
Dubuque, IA, USA

page 1 of 6
Copyright Digilent, Inc. All rights reserved. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Snow Boss Specification Document

www.digilentinc.com

page 2 of 6

Copyright Digilent, Inc. All rights reserved. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Snow Boss Specification Document

Project Name
The Snow Boss: this superior machine will remove snow with authority!

Brief Overview
The Snow Boss is the ultimate snow removal machine. The Snow Boss is named so because
the automated system is able to properly plow sidewalks and any other surfaces without hassles
unlike any other product. It rules over other snow removers with the fact that it does not require
manual assistance. Without the need for human support, the Snow Boss is able to eliminate injuries
and hassles that result from both snow shovels and snow blowers that require manual manipulation.
The Snow Boss is able to solve the problem of accumulating weight (main source of injuries)
that the snow generates with plowing it across distances. The Snow Boss churns up the snow into
selectable states specific to the customer. There is even the option of adding a salt spreader that
would impede the accumulation of snow in the future.
The Snow Boss is a feat of the future. This automatic machine is able to spare people of the
need to venture into the cold weather and manually remove it themselves. By saving time and injury, it
will replace the need for conventional snow removers and all the problems that are the direct result
from using improper machines.

Design Overview
General architecture schematic

www.digilentinc.com

page 3 of 6

Copyright Digilent, Inc. All rights reserved. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Snow Boss Specification Document

Implementation plans
The project type is:

Microcontroller

Development Environment

MPIDE
MPLAB
Other - please specify

uC board chosen

ChipKit uC32
ChipKit Max32
Cerebot MX3cK
Cerebot MX4cK
ChipKit shields - please specify

ChipKit Shield: PMOD Shield UNO

Implementation Tools:
Loras College is a laptop campus. We will use our laptop to run the MPIDE software to write sketches
for the microcontroller.
Digilent products chosen and their role in the project:

ChipKit Uno32 or uC32: will be used to read sensors and make decisions about the direction
of travel for the robot.
PMOD Shield Uno will be used to provide easy connectivity between the microcontroller and
the motors and sensors.
PMOD HB5: The motors must be able to travel in both directions. The H-Bridge circuitry
allows us to change direction as well as use pulse width modulation to control speed.
IR Range Sensor: the robot will need to sense obstacles and walls. The IR range sensor will
give feedback to the controller concerning distances from obstacles.
PMOD CON3: This is simply to provide simple connectivity for the IR range sensors.
Motor/Gearbox: The robot needs to have a drivetrain with enough torque to move the robot
consistently.
Wheal Kit: These wheels will easily attached to the motor gearbox and therefore provide good
control of motion.

www.digilentinc.com

page 4 of 6

Copyright Digilent, Inc. All rights reserved. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Snow Boss Specification Document

Draw a figure here:

Sample figure: (modify for your project)

chipKIT
Uno 32

Other sensors?

HB5
H-bridge
PMOD
Shield Uno

IR Range
sensor (2)

Left gear
motor

HB5
H-bridge
Right gear
motor

4 wheels
4 motors
2 IR Range sensors
Car or truck body?
Cart or hauling mechanism?
Something flashy?

www.digilentinc.com

page 5 of 6

Copyright Digilent, Inc. All rights reserved. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Snow Boss Specification Document

Digilent products requested for the project

No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Product
ChipKit Uno32 or uC32
PMOD Shield Uno
PMOD HB5
IR Range Sensor
PMOD CON3
Motor/Gearbox
Wheel Kit

Quantity
1
1
2
2
4
4
2

Notes
Can use either Uno32 or uC32
To interface to PMOD devices
To drive DC motors
To sense objects around the room.
Connect IR Range Sensor to ChipKit
Drive train for robot
Drive train for robot

Signatures
{Participants printed name, signature}
{Participants printed name, signature}

www.digilentinc.com

Danial J. Neebel, PhD, PE

page 6 of 6

Copyright Digilent, Inc. All rights reserved. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.