URC Lander Research

Owned by
s36gong@uwaterloo.ca
Last updated: Oct 13, 2021
2 min read

Read the rules first: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qlLfx9sDniEUvQr1B3vMOcHAvCPzXo06/view

We are building a URC Lander to simulate the Equipment Servicing Mission as part of the URC Challenge. Our rover will need to perform several dexterous operations on a mock-up equipment system. The rover shall have to travel up to 0.25 km across relatively flat terrain to reach the equipment. The equipment servicing mission will involve delivering a cached science sample to a lander and performing maintenance on the lander. It will include some subset of the following sub-tasks:

  • Pick up the cache container and transport it to the lander rocket. The cache will have a handle at least 10 cm long and not more than 5 cm in diameter. Cache will weigh
    less than 5 kg.
  • Open a drawer on the lander. Insert cache into a close-fitting space in the drawer, and close the drawer.
  • Tighten captive screw to secure drawer. Screw will be a 5/16” Allen (hex) head. Teams may build the hex driver into the rover, or pick up the screwdriver provided
  • Undo a latch on a hinged panel of the lander and open panel.
  • Type commands on a keyboard and follow directions on a computer display. Typing must be correct for full points, but spelling mistakes or repeated letters
    may be corrected using the delete button or ignored for partial points. 
  • Operate a joystick (4-position, spring-return) to direct an antenna while observing a gauge. The gauge will be up to 20cm away from the joystick.
  • Pick up and insert a rugged USB memory stick into a USB (type A) slot on the lander.
  • Push buttons, flip switches, turn knobs.

Specifications

→ Equipment will be between 1.5m in height and the ground.

The height of most of the gadgets is a bit under waist level of average human being.


→ Teams will receive points for every sub-task completed successfully. Teams will have 30 minutes to complete the mission.

Features that our Equipment Servicing Lander build should have, based on what we know above

  1. A Drawer that you can pull open and close
    1. This drawer should be big enough to insert a container that's around 5kg
    2. There will be a screwdriver slot to untighten and tighten
  2. A sort of door latch that the robot should be able to open, a.k.a. access panel
    1. Put a keyboard hidden behind this door latch
    2. Display above the keyboard, to show that the robot can use the keyboard with a lot of precision (typing, for ex: "URC")
  3. Different controls on a panel
    1. Joystick
    2. Clickable buttons,
    3. flip switches
    4. Turn knobs
    5. Slot to insert USB (type A)


  • Maybe...
    • Large power switch → this was on the URC2018 Lander
    • thing that turns (like a driving wheel) → I saw this on the Michigan Robotics Team