Multi-Terrain Adaptable Post Disaster Rescue navigation Vehicle
Abstract:
Bibliography/Citations:
No additional citationsAdditional Project Information
Project files
Research Plan:
Research Plan
Motif：
Recently, Gansu in China experienced severe earthquakes up to level 6.2, causing hundreds of deaths. Firefighters put their lives on risk to save the victims:
And I believe that it is crucial to guarantee the safety of these heroes, so I want to build a multi-terrain adaptable machine, that could detect the terrain to decide whether it’s suitable for firefighters to advance or not.
Goal:
My goal is to create a remote controllable and autonomous automobile that is cheaper than current prototypes.
Description:
The pictures shown above are the design of the robot that I drew. The entire design could be classified into several parts:
- Gripping and Clamping (The mechanic claw and the camera). A camera will be added but at this phase I am still unsure where to install it, so it is not shown on the graph.
- Crawler (The caterpillar bands and the parts that propel the machine)
- Control Core (Power, Controller Chip, wires etc.)
Required Materials:
- Screws and Bolts of different sizes.
- PMW Servos of 180 and 270 degrees
- Arduino controller
- Caterpillar bands.
- PS2 controller and camera.
- Connectors such as Flange Ring
- Other components created through laser cutter and 3d printer, made of acrylic plate.
Methods:
Mechanical Phase:
- Buy the components required online.
- Use AutoCAD and a laser cutter to create the plates to build the structure of the machine.
- Use Fusion to create a 3d model of the entire project.
- Wiring
- Testing and Improvements.
Coding Phase:
- Use Arduino to code the basic movements of the machine.
- Code the movements of the mechanic claw, simply arrange the servos to the buttons on the controller.
- Code the advance movements of the machine
- Debug and improve.
Risk and Safety Considerations:
The entire project is relatively safe since it doesn’t have dangerous procedures or a lot of sharp components. However, it is important to make sure that the battery and power source does not burn due to short circuit. Besides, I must be careful when using the screwing machine and hammers to avoid hurting my fingers. Finally, I will be extra careful when wielding the wires to avoid getting burned.
Questions and Answers
1. What was the major objective of your project and what was your plan to achieve it?
- Was that goal the result of any specific situation, experience, or problem you encountered?
I want to help the firefighters to explore some complex or dangerous terrains so that they do not need to risk their lives to explore in person.
- Were you trying to solve a problem, answer a question, or test a hypothesis?
I am trying to solve a problem.
2. What were the major tasks you had to perform in order to complete your project?
- For teams, describe what each member worked on.
I have to engineering a vehicle that is able to navigate through difficult terrains. I have to design some materials by my own, and acquire the other components through purchasing online. I also have to code for the machine.
3. What is new or novel about your project?
- Is there some aspect of your project's objective, or how you achieved it that you haven't done before?
The creativity of my vehicle is a lot more compared to the project I did before, since this design is not commo at all.
- Is your project's objective, or the way you implemented it, different from anything you have seen?
c. If you believe your work to be unique in some way, what research have you done to confirm that it is?
I did a lot of research and saw a lot of other rescue robots. But none of them are using the design of my rotational caterpillar track. Their cost is also extremely high.
4. What was the most challenging part of completing your project?
- What problems did you encounter, and how did you overcome them?
The main problem is the design of my own parts that fits the components that I bought online. I have to control the sizes very well, and it requires a strong 3-d imagination ability
- What did you learn from overcoming these problems?
I learned that details determine the success.
5. If you were going to do this project again, are there any things you would you do differently the next time?
I would try to think whether my design make sense, and list my goals. It is because after I finished my version 1, there were a lot of bugs and problems. I should’ve expected these problems before I starting doing the work, since these are some basic problems such as caterpillar bands getting stuck and could be avoided.
6. Did working on this project give you any ideas for other projects?
Not really. I did a wheel chair that could controlled by the motion of head. I could apply the rotational caterpillar track design on it, but it is not cost-effective and is not that useful .
- How did COVID-19 affect the completion of your project?