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High Level Term Goals

Each bullet point is roughly organized in order. Term goals for each subsystem are ideally run in parallel (i.e. dedicated equal resources to develop drivetrain, arm science simultaneously).

Drivetrain

  • Source a new battery

  • Bring drive train to “M1 (milestone 1)” stage

    • fully functional prototype with controller (ebox, battery, comms equipment, gimbal, arm/science mounting plates, e-stop)

    • wired power, while looking for new batteries

    • wired cabling for controller

  • Complete FW to commutate drivetrain motors with odrives

  • Develop code to allow for drivetrain operation with physical controller (steering, driving speed modes)

  • Comprehensively test the following attributes

    • Top speed / speed verification

    • Physical constraints (size and weight, module specific mass)

    • Threshold/terrain traversal capabilities

    • Motor performance / battery life

    • Gimbal vision stability

  • Identify areas for improvement (hardware, fw, sw, controls)

 Bonus Goals (stuff we need to do but might be excessive for one term)

  • Verify comms to fully “detach” drivetrain (no wired power or wired controller)

  • Develop code to log individual RPM/current logging for each drivetrain motor (csv format or similar)

  • Create SW behaviours to detect extended periods of motor stall, and cut power to prevent burnout

    • Motor stalling safetys - detect wheel stall and cut power to prevent permanent motor damage

    • Speed control modes (i.e. top speed, half speed, etc)

      • Different speeds may serve different functions. Full speed for traversal, half speed for fine readjustments, etc. We can learn more about this as we test/evolve with the drivetrain

  • Test on various terrain and record/detail poor mobility situations. Being developing operator, SW or hardware solutions to sort these out

    • I.e. on loose dirt and sand when going up hill, wheels loose traction and free spin without rover moving

    • Rover gets “beached”; some object gets lodged on drivetrain links - how can we get out?

  • Develop comprehensive and repeatable testing plans for:

    • Size constraints

    • Weight constraints (IRL vs CAD)

    • 1m drop test (scale up, test confidence)

    • Top speed test

    • Threshold test

    • Terrain testing (sand vs dirt vs pebbles vs whatever)

    • Upward slope testing (what limit can we hit / can we hit our design intent)

    • General traversal capabilities

    • Turn in place

    • Battery life for peak drivetrain usage

  • Start working on mechanical redesigns to address:

    • Weight reductions

    • Part count reductions / improved serviceability

    • Addressing any mechanical failures that arise during testing

    • Wheel design investigation - compliant wheels, treaded tires, etc???

  • Max range wireless drivetrain control

Gimbal

  • Determine if gimbal provides adequate 360deg vision when operating rover (subjective)

  • determine if additional static cams on (but not limited to) the following locations are required

    • bottom of rover

    • corners/edges

    • back/front of rover

  • Optimize viewing angle of wrist camera / downsize wrist camera if possible

Ebox

  • First implementation will have everything kind of thrown in there. Once we are comfortable with what goes in the ebox, redesign layout/frame to most effectively use space and allow accessibility to key connections

  • Hot weather jetson testing - making sure jetson does not throttle under peak load (autonomy or IK?) when inside the ebox

Arm

  • Bring arm to “m1 (milestone 1)” stage

    • Completely finish hardware assembly for each individual joint

      • Measure mass of each joint

      • Verify joint controls / positional control resolution

      • Independently test each joint for PID control, torque/speed output, endstop functionality, holding torque, accuracy/backlash

  • Bring end effector to “M1 (milestone 1)” stage

    • Fully assembled end effector (parallel to point 1)

      • Determine gripping capabilities (various objects, rocks, tools, 5kg weights, ensure gripper is capable of holding said items within its motors operating range)

      • Begin determining if we can detect if we are holding something (stall current? do we need an additional sensor? etc)

  • Finalize arm odrive enclosure design package

 Bonus Goals (stuff we need to do but might be excessive for one term)

  • Fully assemble arm/implement IK

  • Play with wrist camera to determine optimal viewing angle

    • Reduce camera size if possible

  • Test workspace on static platform; verify loading capabilities

  • Determine precision/accuracy, get lots of pick and place training for operators

  • Finish allen key tool, create SW behaviour to pick up/stow tool or find alternate solution

  • Reduce arm weight with mechanical redesigns

  • Investigate controls with a dedicated operator (whats easy to use? xbox, space mouse, etc)

  • Implement proper wire strain relief hardware (make sure we arent tangling up during operations)

  • Mount arm on full rover - test COM / tipping capabilties at full loading / extension

  • Create workspace limitations in SW for mounted arm to prevent bad edge cases / collisions

  • Optimize odrive enclsoure for lower space claim/easier modularity. First implementation is going to be hacky.

Science

  • Fully assemble all hardware for science module (mechanical + electrical assembly)

  • Science chemical testing (in parallel to system assembly)

    • Performing chemical tests in labs on soil samples to create a baseline for expected results

  • Push code to independently drive each science module system (low level control hardware, just on computer or motor drivers is fine)

  • Verify functionality of each science module

    • Drill/vacuum system’s dirt collection capabilities (ideal power output for vacuum, catch points for dirt, augur redesigns, etc.)

    • Sensor read head calibration (compare sensor results to known tested values to determine if sensors for CO2, moisture, methane, etc. are reliable)

    • Elevator control functionality

    • Dino cam stability

    • Dirt to test tube delivery module (and test tube rack design)

 Bonus Work

  • After modules are verified, test/optimize full sample collection processes

  • Multiple repeated tests to figure out potential risks of false positives/negatives for chemical/ninhydrin tests

  • Study more rocks lol

Autonomy

  • Overall we are pretty behind on autonomy, so we should keep our goals this term simple

  • Autonomy mission strategy - what pathing/behaviours should our rover use when it reaches goal posts to identify QR codes?

  • Static camera QR code identification - use our zed2 to identify and recognize comp QR codes and integrate with LED matrix

    • Gimbal vibration testing - will a dynamic gimbal with its current mounting system vibrate too much and negatively impact autonomy capabilities?

  • Goal post testing hardware

  • Determine our next steps

Comms

  • We are also pretty behind on comms. We should start slow this term to understand where we are. I dont know much about comms so hopefully someone can fill the gap here

  • Get comms operational - turn on base station and small mobile antenna platform. Carry it around on a bike lol, and see if we can reach full range and when comms drop

    • Map out a small area with varying terrain, maybe a local park or forested area. Keep track of where comms drops and where we can keep communication

  • Determine our next steps

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