Project Overview

Inspired by the an episode of Fight Science on National Geographic, where a martial artist attempted to strike faster than rattle snake, Project Venom aims to replicate the strike movement of this apex predator mechanically. The major challenges for this task are: coming up with a mechanical design that is light but strong so that it can allow the motors to work as efficiently as possible without collapsing in on itself, generating enough torque using strong motors without exceeding the budget to match the strike speed of an actual rattle snake, finding the right material to serve as the skin of the snake which has to be both strong and flexible, utilizing a proximity sensor as the primary input device and then programming the microcontroller accordingly. The project can be broken down into five major parts i.e. Literature Study/Training and Research, Mechanical Design, Electrical Design, System integration, and the Aesthetics. Each part is explained in detail in later sections. Once complete, Project venom will detect a balloon three feet away and will begin to rattle its tail as a warning. Then it will strike, opening its jaws and revealing deadly fangs as it extends forward. It will coil back into a defensive position after bursting the balloon and will eventually stop rattling when it no longer senses a threat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UknX1Sp26ns