Advice needed for Sumo Robot

blankguitarist

Hey, I'm in college at the moment and we have to make an autonomous sumo robot for a module this semester.

It's going to run using a PIC microcontroller powering two DC motors and two servo motors, as well as ultrasonic sensors. I don't have all the details at the moment, as we're still at the design stage.

What I'm wondering is how viable of an option would it be to use lithium ion batteries, maybe recycled from a mobile phone or something instead of 9v batteries or AAs.

Would this give us extended battery life over the 9v or would it make much of a difference? We can gain an extra ten percent if our robot wins a small competition in the class, so any advantage helps.

Thanks in advance!

Sparks

Extended battery life in a sumo robot is a bit superfluous given the average match is measured in minutes or less. You want high torque, low center of gravity and a body design that's hard to shove.

blankguitarist

Yea, we're focusing on all of that, but our lecturer mentioned that some of the robots last year were running out of battery towards the end of the matches, which meant they lost. We're thinking in terms of the weight restriction as well. It'd be much better for us if we could use one battery as opposed to a few 9v or AA batteries.

ED E

It strikes me that a LiPo pack might be of use to you:

http://www.airsofteire.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=852&category_id=150&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26

longhalloween

Mobile phone batteries are usually less that 5V. They use a charge pump to reach the required voltage. Probably not ideal for sumobots.