How to create a robot car that will crack nuts and sugar lumps?

Question

Robotics

In programming for about two weeks, I managed to take a course for beginners in Python, I solved the first 10 problems on the Euler project, each with two methods (through compiling my own algorithms, and through programming ready-made mathematical algorithms), and that's it. Strongly interested in the creation of robots. I read that it is better to start with simple things. I want to create a device that will perform two functions:

- Grind solid pieces of sugar.
- Chop walnuts

The device should have two buttons "Sugar" and "Nut", when you click on "Sugar", the crushing component of the device goes down to the end so that the sugar lump turns into granulated sugar. When you press the "Nut" button, the device lowers the crushing mechanism until it collides with a walnut, and gently splits it. I think to break the task into two stages. To begin with, create a machine that only crushes sugar, and after that try to improvise it to version 2.0, in which to add just the function of cracking walnuts.

My experience in creating such devices is zero. Please help with advice, in which direction to move, where to start? What do I actually need to achieve my goal? A microcontroller, an actuator for crushing, wires, a board, a case for all this goodness, something else? How to make it all be a single mechanism and work? So far, all this is a dark forest, but I really want to figure it out.

Answer 1

The most difficult part of this work will be the mechanical part. You will need skills in working with metal, at least at the level of "welding-grinder" and an appropriate fleet of tools.
The software part in this case is trivial, the worst thing will be to make the mechanics.

Answer 2

Let's omit the question of mechanics - let's say you have it.
Task: the robot takes a nut and cracks it.
a simple solution: a nut is put in its place, the machine determines that something has appeared there, cracks the nut with a tedious number of movements and waits until the place is vacated and returns to its initial state.
difficult solution: the nut is placed in an arbitrary place on the table, the robot notices and recognizes a new object, realizing that it is a nut - the manipulator is activated to perform the capture, after the capture it directs the object to split it, splits it, takes the contents and returns to its original place.
for each solution, you need a set of sensors and actions that the program sends before triggering certain sensors.

Answer 3

For cracking nuts, it is advisable to take measurements in advance, because. nuts are different.