Full automated LEGO train layout, largest in the world (Sioux.NET on Track at Fontys ICT 50 years)

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At the Fontys ICT 50 years Festival, 17 May 2022, Sioux.NET on Track presented the latest status of the largest, fully automated LEGO train layout.

The PC application (written in C# .NET by Sioux Technologies, which explains the name of the group) connects to 17 Mindstorms EV3 bricks to run this layout. The EV3 bricks have the EV3DEV as base, a C++ program runs on top of it. An own defined handshake protocol is used to communicate between the PC application and the bricks. Apart from the train, all EV3 bricks are connected via an ethernet cable. The train uses Wifi. The orange numbers you see nearby every EV3 brick, refer to the last two digits of the ethernet address. This helps us during testing of a single EV3 brick; you now only have to look at the number instead of walking to the brick and look at the small screen for the IP address ... yes, we're lazy ;-)

In part I of the video (starts at 1:00) you will see how the warehouse is filled. Candies are retrieved from the candy circle storage, moved to the trebuchet and then thrown into an empty container. The empty container is moved to the input location of the warehouse, where one of the two stacker cranes picks up the container and stores it into the warehouse. This is done continuously until the warehouse is full. Or until we ran out of candies, but that has never happened so far.

In part II of the video (starts at 3:00) you will see the user selecting a color with the Wheel of Fortune. After the color (red, blue, green or yellow) is chosen, a ticket with order number is issued. From now on, the visitor can track the status of his order on the monitor. One of the stacker cranes now retrieves a container with the candy color that has been chosen from the warehouse and brings it to the loading station. The awaiting train is now loaded with the container. A total of four orders can be handled in one time. If there is no order queue anymore, the train heads of to the delivery station.

In part III of the video (starts at 4:40) you will see the train arriving at the delivery station. The X-Y pusher moves from sideways to unload the right wagon, then it pushes the container forward to the belt. The lift then moves the container upwards and rotates at the top to get the candy onto the belt. The empty container is then put aside (on the backlog: bring the empty containers back to the start). The candy is moved to the right locker, where the visitor can use his ticket to open the right locker. And enjoy the candy.

From selecting the color at the Wheel of Fortune until opening the locker, takes appr. 5 minutes.