Disclaimer:
Since URC2025's complete competition requirements have not yet been released, All the technical details described in this document are based on URC 2024. Based on past experience, the overall architecture will not differ hugely yearly, and the foundation of the rover will always remain consistent(Drivetrain, Arm, Autonomy). When URC2025 come out, our team can easily accommodate the new requirement and continue the design cycle.
Summary:
This report served as a technical review of the team vehicle design. The following highlights the three key objectives our team is going to accomplish in the URC 2024-2025 competition cycle:
Complete the full rover system, qualify and compete in the URC 2025 competition
Reformulate a proper team structure and ensure the team's sustainability
Reconnect with past or future potential sponsorship companies and maintain positive relationships with the UW engineering department, the Waterloo community, and the outside world.
Executive summary:
Our team has flattened our team structure right now as we believe this will relieve the communication barrier and prioritize the rover development with the amount of resources our team currently has. However, project managers/ Leads are still in place to deal with conflict, better onboard new team members, and ensure the rover design aligns with our main objective. Here is a list of project managers/ leads and their roles in the team:
Yuchen Lin - Technical Lead (Propose and maintain the rover architecture; Maintain a positive relationship within UWRT and with the outside)
Saheed Quadri - Mechanical Lead (Mechanical team supervising; Rover Mechanical design)
Yu-Ming He - Mechanical Lead(Main rover mechanical design)
@Melissa Jacob - Electrical Leads(Rover electrical design)
Rayyan Mahmood - Electrical Advisor (Electrical team supervising & support)
Alex Szabo - Software Lead (Software team supervising; Rover software design)
Josh Magder - Firmware Advisor (Firmware team supervising; Rover firmware design)
Maya Wei - Business Lead (Team advertising, sponsorship and team social)
We have optimized our team structure over time; this is our understanding of a better team structure. All the leads have worked closely for at least the last two months and can support the team in meeting the URC 2025 deadline.
Competition Summary:
University Rover Challenge is a difficult competition due to its competitive nature. Our team experienced much disappointment when applying to the competition and trying to pass the System Acceptance Review(SAR). However, after carefully reading the competition guidelines and seeing some other teams invited, the UWRT executive team has made the following changes to secure our invitation for SAR.
Define the Key Selling point the competition requires
Ensure the selling point covers all the main systems required by the competition guidelines
Setup Milestones aim to finish the selling point step by step
Not trying to accomplish all the missions, focus on the high-priority ones.
Not to push the SAR review component until the last minute
Record the section of the SAR video after each milestone is completed
Develop an integration knowledge base
Ensure the team’s ability to prototype things and iterate to meet the competition requirement.
Constantly testing the rover to ensure all system functionality.
Competition requirement:
The competition consists of four discrete missions.
Delivery Mission:
Environment: soft sandy areas, gravel, rough stony areas, rock and boulder fields, vertical drops, and steep, loosely consolidated slopes
Operating distance: 1 km (beyond visual Line of Sight)
Follow Marked Path
Open Toolbox (using hinged Lids)
Pick up, carry, and deliver objects
weight: less than 5kg
grasp feature no greater than 7.5cm
max dimension: 40cm x 40cm x 40 cm
Visual object search
Read Signs
Visually identify Rock
Optional: Carry multiple items with provided cars
Equipment Service Mission:
Operating distance: 250 meters
Environment: Flat terrain
Equipment max height: 1.5 meter
Insert a max 5kg Cache container and deliver it to a drawer
Tighten 5/16” Allen(hex) head
undo the latch and open a panel
Type the keyboard and follow the directions on a computer display
Observe a Gauge and operate a Joystick
Insert USB A stick
Push buttons and flip the switch, and turn the knob
Autonomy Mission:
Fully autonomous operation
Travel to two GNSS-only locations stopped within 3 meter
Recognize 3 AR-tag posts. Detect and stop within 2 meter
Recognize 2 objects on the ground. Detect and stop within 2 meter
LED Indicator for 3 operational status and display message to judge
abort the operation if needed
Science Mission:
Distance: 500 meters
Take three photo
Wide angle panorama with scale
high-resolution picture with scale
Stratigraphic profile for depositional environment and history of water
Record GPS Coordinate of each site
Camera or other life-detection mechanism
Collect sub-surface samples (at least 10cm deep) from 2 sites at least 5g
Seal sample and return cache to command station
Require a science plan
Mission optimization:
Based on the previous mission requirement section, this section describes the features UWRT will prioritize to finish and some nice-to-have features that we will try to accomplish if there is plenty of time remaining.
Delivery mission:
Prioritizing:
Working Drivetrain able to navigate through different environments
1km beyond the line of sight radio link
High-Quality Camera feed to support all visual search
End effector and arm to grab any object
Nice to Have:
End effector capable of opening the hinge
Gimbal for easier object search
Video zoom into and out of feature
Close-to-ground video feed for trace following
Equipment Service Mission:
Prioritizing:
Working drivetrain to deliver the product
Pick up a max container and insert the container into a drawer
use a normal end effector to push the button
use a normal end effector to flip the switch
Use a normal end effector to undo the latch and open a panel
end effector camera for situational awareness
Nice to have:
5/16” Allen(hex) head end effector module
Small end effector module that can type keyboard
normal End effector and to operate the joystick
Special motion for turning the knob
Special motion to insert USB and reverse the polarity if needed
Autonomy Mission:
Prioritize:
Working drivetrain can follow the GPS path
Tested GPS Accuracy(VN-300 should provide enough accuracy)
Tag Detection
Status information display
Abort ability
Nice to Have:
Object detection
Obstacles avoidance
Distance sensing
Science Mission:
Prioritize:
Working drivetrain
photo taking capability
GPS Coordinate measuring capability
Nice to have:
Collect sub-surface soil sample module
Seal cache and deliver back to ground station
Rover Capability:
Our team has divided the Rover into six main systems. Each system focuses on accomplishing one aspect of the mission. This section illustrates the functionality of each subsystem; during the actual mission, the multiple systems need to interact to complete the mission objective.
Drivetrain
The current drivetrain system is almost reach it’s end of it’s design cycle. The only thing left is to cleanup the current system to create a better fundation interacting with the rest of the system, since drivetrain is considerably the most critical system in the whole rover. The figure illustrate a render for the current drivetrain system.
The Drivetrain system is designed with the following requirements:
Rocker Bogie system to traverse through rough terrain
Minimum drivetrain ground clearance 1 meter
Max drivetrain system weight less than 20kg (ebox included)
Custom airless tire with enough grip on dirt and sand
Ability to climb a curve within a 15-degree elevation
Able to overcome obstacles with height within 20 cm
Independent control on each wheel
Arcade controller for easier operator control
Input interface to interact with command-based operation
Arm
The mechanical design of the arms project is completed. However, this project is undergoing validation and testing to study the system's performance before entering the full manufacturing stage.
The arm system is designed with the following requirements:
At a minimum, the arm has 4 degrees of freedom
The arm can pick up a 5kg object and hold the object
Able to adjust rover center of mass after picking up heavy object
Able to reach at least a workspace and pick up the end effect module
Able to grab a handle, flip a switch, and push a button
Science
The full design of the science module will wait until F24, when the competition guideline is released, since science missions change the most every year. But a lesson learned from the past is that rapid prototyping and iterating over is the best way to develop the science module and usually helps the team accomplish the most objectives and score the highest. The team also has the past design and prototype of the science module.
The science system is designed with the following requirements:
Able to dig the hole and extract soil
Able to perform onboard analysis (software analysis or chemical analysis)
Able to seal the sample and transport the sample back
Autonomy
Power
Communication
Rover Vehicle Design:
When our team tried to attend URC for the last two seasons, most parts of the rover, especially mechanical, had already been designed. Therefore, this year's Rover Vehicle Design focuses not on recreating the whole rover but on validating the current design, making necessary improvements, and integrating the system to make it work. The following is the breakdown of the detailed vehicle design architecture decisions our team will make to ensure the final product's success.
Team Management:
Risk analysis:
Project Timeline:
Note: the timeline is subject to change. As highlighted in the diagram, the team's goal is to complete the whole rover system as soon as possible, test it, and optimize it for the competition, which aligns with the iterative design process.