WOOMERAROBOTIC
INSP
RELEASED  ECTION–MAYFIELD
TRIPREPORT
BY 
28thMay–1stJuneARPANSA 
UNDER 
FOI 
FEBRUARY 
2019 
ErinMcCol 
CSIROData61|1TechnologyCourt,Pullenvale,QLD

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Introduction
TheMayfieldtriptotheWoomeraTestrange,28thMay–1stJune,wasaninitial
investigativetripfortheData61Roboticsteam.

Aim
Theaimofthistripwastotoevaluatetheenvironmentandtestanelementarypallet
inspectionrobot.Thisallowedustoevaluatethefunctionalityoftheplatformwithrespect
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tomobilityandsafetythroughtheenvironment,allowingustobetterunderstandthe
challengesandevaluatetherobotdesignsothatimprovementscanbemadeforfuture
phases.

Scope
Giventheorientationofthepalletsinthehanger,asubsetofpalletrunswereinvestigated
duringthisfieldtrip.Thesepalletswerethoseaccessiblethroughbaydoor1asindicatedin
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Figure1.Therunswerelabelledfollowingtheco-ordinatesystemshowninFigure1.

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Thescopeofthisworkwasprimarilytestingtheabilityofthepalletrobottomove
consistentlyandeffectivelythroughtheenvironment.Therefore,itwasprincipallyatestof
thechosenmechanicaldesignandthepowerandcontrolsystems.Anominalsensing
packagewasincludedtoassistinthenavigation,thisincludedasinglefrontfacingcamera,
lightingandasmalllowcostdepthsensor.Whilstthescopeofthistripwasnotfocused
aroundsensinganddatagatheringthesesensorsdidallowforsomedatacaptureduringthe
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testruns.
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2019

Figure1–Locationandco-ordinatesystemofpalletrunsaccessedduringtrial

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PalletRobotDesign
Aminimalviableplatformwasdesignedforthistrip,toassesstheplatformsenvironmental
suitability.ThepalletrobotusedforthistestingisshowinFigure2,itconsistsoftwohalves
butwithatotallengthof832mm,atotalwidthof325mmand64mmheightasdefinedin
theFiguresonthetitlepage.

Thefrontsectionincludeslighting,acamera,anddepthsensor(Figure2a),Thebackhasthe
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connectionpointforthetetherandpowerswitch(Figure2c).Thetethercarries110Vpower
andcommunicationoverEthernet,allcontrolisdoneoffboardusingtheRobotoperating
system(ROS)onaLinuxlaptop,controlledwithagamepadcontroller.Internallythereisa
voltageregulator(110và12V),2xmotorcontrollers,and4motors.Thetetheralsoactsas
aretrievalsystemshouldtherobotgetstuck.

BY ARPANSA 

Figure2a:Thefrontoftherobot.ThewhiterectanglesdirectlynexttothetracksoneachsideareLED
lightswithaplasticcover.Thecentreuppercameraisastandardvideocamera.Thecentrelowercamera
isatime-of-flight3Dcamera-thepicoflexx. UNDER 
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Figure2b:Thecompleterobotwithoutatetherattached.Thefronthalfoftherobot(withthecameras)is
ontherightsideoftheimage.Theleftsideoftheimageisthebackhalfwiththetetherconnectionpoint
andpowerswitch.
2019

Figure2c:Thebackfaceoftherobot.Thetetherconnectionpointisshowncentrewiththepowerswitch
totheright.

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PalletRunResults
Intotal,12uniquepalletrunswereattemptedincludingrunsinthetop(3),middle(5)and
bottomlayers(4).Inmanyinstanceafullruncouldnotbecompletedduetoobstaclessuch
asbrokenpallets,hangingplasticandbowedboards.Afewrunsonthebottomlayerof
palletsweretestedtoadistanceof7m,howevertherobotcouldnoproceedfurther
beyondthisasadifferentpalletconfiguration(4stringer,asopposedto3)werefoundat
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thisdepth–Figure3.Eachofthepalletrunsarelistedbelowdetailingtheobstaclesand
complicationsaswellastheassociatedvideofileaccompanyingthisrun.
BY ARPANSA 


Figure3:a)Astackofpal etswherethetopthreehave3stringers,whilstthebottomisa4-stringer
configuration.B)Lookingatthesamestackfromthesidethetopthreepal etshave5baseboards,whilst
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the4-stringerpal ethas4baseboards.
Allvideofilescanbelockedinthefol owingfolder:
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VideoResults
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PalletRun Notes
VideoFile
RunB-2a
Thesecondpalletinhasbeenplacedontopof
B-2a_pallet_robot_2018-
somethingandbrokenabottombaseboard.
05-30-14-40-43
Somepalletswith3baseboardsnot5.
2019
RunB-2b
@5minthereisabrokentopdeckboard(3:15of
B-2b_pallet_robot_2018-
Video)
05-30-10-38-43
@7mapalletwith4stringerboardscouldbeseen
(4:25ofVideo)
Thisrunincludedamixofpalletswith5and3base
boards.Thecurrentrobotconfigurationismorelikely
togetstuckinthe3-baseboardconfiguration

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particularlygoingbackwards-whichdidoccurinthis
run(6:00ofVideo)
RunB-3a
AFewrocks
B-3a_pallet_robot_2018-
05-29-13-53-08
Extrapieceoftimberlayingonground–caused
minordifficultiesreversingout
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Thisrunwascompletedagainwithagammameter
attached(seegraphbelow)
RunB-3b
Thisrunhadasheetofblackplastichangingdown.
B-3b_pallet_robot_2018-
Wepushedthroughokaybuttherobotgotcaughtin 05-30
itreversingout.Toremovetherobotphysical
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interventionwasrequiredasacombinationofpulling
onthetetherinco-ordinationwithdrivingthetrack
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forwardandmanoeuvringoftherobot.
RunM-1a Brokenbaseboard@0:18ofvideo
M-
1a_pallet_robot_2018-
stoppedallfurtherprogression
05-30-12-05-20
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RunM-1b Warped+Brokenbaseboard@0:50ofvideo
M-
1b_pallet_robot_2018-
Narrowedheighttoomuch,couldnotproceed.
05-30-12-05-20
RunM-2a Stuckonthetetherclampreversingout–a4base
M-
board,3stringerpallet.
2a_pallet_robot_2018-
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Alooseboltwasseensittingonabaseboard
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RunM-3b Abrokentopboardinthe2ndPalletobstructedthe
M-
path,couldnotgofurther.
3b_pallet_robot_2018-
05-30-14-13-13
RunM-4a Abaseboardbowedupandadeckboardbowed
M-
down.Thebaseboardhaseitherfractured,oris
4a_pallet_robot_2018-
aboutto.Wedidnotproceedfurthergiventhe
05-30-11-57-41
2019
difficultyinaccessingtherobotandtetherifstuck.
T-3b_pallet_robot_2018-
RunT-3b
Noobstruction,butdidnotwanttoproceedtoo
05-30-14-21-33
deepasthetoplevel(withoutaplatform)makesit

difficulttoaccessthetetherandrobotforretrieval.
T-4a_pallet_robot_2018-
RunT-4a
Abrokentopboardinthe2ndpalletobstructedthe
05-30-14-17-01
path,couldnotgofurther.

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T-4b_pallet_robot_2018-
RunT-4b
Aslightrisefromonepalletstacktothenext.Didnot 05-30-14-17-01
wanttoriskgettingstuckontoplayeranddidnot
proceedbeyondthispoint.

DepthMappingResults
Alongsidethecameraforvisualinspectionwasatime-off-flight3Dcamera.Multipleof
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thesesensorsmaybeusedinfutureplatforms.Incombinationwithothersensing
components,thedatagatheredfromthissensorcouldbeusedtobuild3Dmapsofthe
environmentexploredbytheplatform.

Avideofiletitled“DepthData.mp4”showsashortclipofaninstantaneouspointcould
gatheredbythiscameraalongsidethestandardvideofootageastherobotmovedthrougha
pallet.
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GammaDoseMeterResults
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Duringthefinalpalletrunofthetrip,agammadosemeter(PDS-GO)wasaddedtothe
robotandsentthroughpalletrun,B-3a–therunweweremostconfidenttraversing.The
additionofthissensorcompromisedthemechanicalintegrityofthejoinerbetweenthe
frontandbackhalfoftherobotshence,greatercarewasrequired.Thiswasalsothelastrun
achievableasduringthistestareartrackoftherobotwaslostduetofatigueof3Dprinted
componentsandtrackquality.Ashortclipshowingtheleftbehindtrackisvisiblehere:
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titled s 33 - security

GammaDetectionFOI 
60
50
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40
dose
30
rateuR/h
background
se 20
Do 10
2019
0
1
50
99
148
197
246
295
344
393
442
491
540
589
638
687
736
785
Time(second)

Figure4:GraphofthedataobtainfromthePDS-GoDosemeterforonepal etrun–LocationB-3a

FortheresultsseeninFigure4,therobotwasinthepalletsforapproximately14mins,
whichisreflectedbythetimeinsecondonthexaxis.Thisincludedgoingintoandoutofthe
palletrun,thereforetheresultontheright-handsideofthegraphareareflectionofthose

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ontheleft.Thespikeseenat99secondsand~760secondswouldhavebeentakenatthe
samedepthintothepalletrun.Atthisstagewithlimitedpositioncontrolontherobotexact
positioncannotbedeterminedbutthiswillbeavailableinthefutureversionoftherobot.It
shouldbenotedthatthetimespentundereachdrumwasnotconsistentormonitored
whichwillaffecttheaccuracyofthedosereadingastimeisrequiredtoobtainstable
accuratereadings.
Overal notes
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QualityofPalletRuns
Mostrunswelookedathadsomesortofcomplicationorinterestingfeature.
-  Rocks(notanobstacle)
-  Bolts(notanobstacle)
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-  Brokenbaseanddeckboards(onlyanobstacleifextremebrakeage)
-  Warped/bentbaseanddeckboards
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o  (onlyan14minobstacleifsignificantwarpingdecreasedtheheightto<
70mm)
-  Hangingplastic
Themiddlepalletrunhassignificantbowingandbreakage,whicheitherlimitsaccess
completelywithbrokenbeams,createslargedrops,ornarrowsthespacebeyondwhatis
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accessible.Themiddlerunwilllikelyhavethemostdamageandbethemostdifficultto
transverse.Thegroundlayergivesustheflattestsurfacetomoveacross.Thetoplayer
palletswilllikelyhavelessdamagethanthemiddlelayerbutgiventheelevatedheightitis
difficulttoretrieveastuckrobotwithoutanelevatedplatform.
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Accesstotheallotherpallets
Foraccesstotheremainingdrums,duetothealignmentofthepallets,theendwallofthe
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hangerwillneedtoberemoved.Additionally,theconcreteBundingattheendofthe
hangerwilllikelyobstructtheentrancetothegroundlayerpallets(Figure5).Wewillneed
toinvestigateifwecanremovethisBundingtoachieveaccess.
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Figure5:Bundingattheendofhangerfive.A)showinghowthebundingsitsabovegroundlevelthatthe
palletsareplacedon.B)themetalsheetingoverthebundingandplubingfeturesalongthiswall.

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Thegapbetweenthepalletsatdoor5(Figure6)couldbeusedtoplacetherobotintoarun
ifregulatorypermissionisgivenandtherobotisdesignedaccordingly.–i.e.theabilityto
bendtherobot,haveitplacedinassmallersectionsatatimeorthefunctionalitytoturn
underitsownpowerintoeachrun.Thiswouldbeusefulifanyofthefollowingoccur:
1.  TheBundingdoesnotallowaccesstothebottomlayerofpallets–orifwecannot
destroyit.
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2.  Ifwedogetaccessfromtheendofthebuildingbutthereisanobstructionwithina
palletrunandthefullruncannotbecompleted-thegapatbaydoor3could(with
significantengineeringeffort)allowfortherobottodothesamerunfromtheother
direction.
3.  Thesecondsetofpalletsafterthegapmaynotbeaccessiblefromtheoriginalset
duetomisalignment–bothverticalandhorizontal.
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Figure6:Thesmallgapthatexistsapproximatelynearbaydoor5.
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However,thereislikelyasignificantsafetyissueforpeopletoaccessthisspaceand
manuallyplacetherobot,participiallytoreachdeeperpalletruns.Effortcouldbespent
deigningarobotwhichcoulddriveitselfdownthislocationandturnintoarun,butthisis
accompaniedwithsignificantcomplicationstothedesign-articulatedsections,pulleyson
tethersetc.Thiswilllikelyonlybeconsideredafterfirsttestingthemoreachievablerigid
bodydesigninthissectionofpallets.
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Differentpalletconfigurations
Itwasdiscoveredthroughtestingthatthereareanumberofdifferentpalletconfigurations
withinthehanger.Therepalletsdonotappeartobeorderedorplacedinanyspecific
locationthefollowingconfigurationshavebeenfoundsofar.
1.  3stringer–5baseboards
2.  3stringer–3baseboards
3.  4stringer-3baseboards.

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The4stringerpalletsaddcomplicationastheyhave3runsperpalletasopposedtothe2in
a3-stringerpallet(Figure3).This4-stringerpalletbecomesparticularlydifficultifitis
alignedwitha3-stringerpalletasthechannelwidthavailablefortherobottotransverseis
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Theotherconfigurationwhichprovedchallengingfortherobottotransversewasthe3-
stringer,3-baseboardconfiguration.Thiswillbeeasilyrectifiedinthenewdesignasthe
robotwillbesectionedsothatnoonelengthislessthanthelengthbetweenthesebase
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boards.

Robotcontroloptions
Thetetherprovidedtobeagoodcontrol/poweroptionforthepalletrobotasitisgoing
intoextremelydifficulttoreachplacesandoccasionallyneededassistancetoberemoved
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fromtheselocations.Therefore,thetetherprovidestheabilitytopullbackandretrievethe
robot.Additionally,giventhelimitedsizethereisnoroomforon-boardpower.
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However,afterinvestigatingtheenvironmentthatthetopofdrumsrobotwillbetraversing
itwasconcludedthatthetethercouldprovefarmorecomplicatedforthisscenario.Thetop
ofdrumsrobotwillbemakingmultipleturnswhichcomplicatestheengineeringrequired
fortetherdeploymentsystems.Additionally,therecouldbethepotentialforthetetherto
dropdownbetweenbarrels,particularlythosearoundtheedgeswhichcouldcausesafety
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hazard.

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CollaborationwithAntso
Oneoftheprojectpartnersworkingondetectiontechnologiesforthisprojectisthe
AustralianNuclearScienceandTechnologyOrganisation.Throughdiscussionwithstaffon
siteduringtheMayfieldtrip,thereissignificantpotentialtotakesomeoftheirprototype
sensingequipment,specificallythescintillatordetectorsandmountingtheseinourrobotic
platforms.Thispotentiallyincludesthelow-profilepalletrobot,dependingonfinalsizeand
2019
configuration.
Additionally,givenCSRIOData61’sexperiencewith3Dmappingthereisawealthof
knowledgeinthisareawhichcouldbesharedwiththoseworkingontheANSTO
technologies.ANSTOstaffonsiteexpressedinterestinincorporatingstationarylaser
scanningintotheirgammadetectionsystemwhichData61staffcanassistwith.

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TechnicalLearningforPal etRobot
Thereweresignificanttechnicallearningsgainedthroughtestingthepalletrobotthrough
theenvironment.Thesearemostlyincludedherefordocumentationpurposeandinsight
intotheengineeringworkweplantoinvestigatebetweennowandthenexttrip.These
ideasarenotaguaranteeforwhatwillbeincludedintheproceedingdesignsbutitdoes
showwhatinformationwewereabletogatherfromthistrip.
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Sensing
Whilstthisproductwasdesignedasaminimalviableplatformwithlimitedsensing,the
learningsfromthistriphavehelpedshapethedirectionandrequirementsofthosesensing
modalitiesweplannedtoincludeforfuturetests.
•  Morecameras:
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o  Lifecamfrontandbackfornavigation–includesautofocusandbrightness,
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bothusefulfeatures.
o  Upwardanddownwardfacingcamerafordruminspection.Wideangle,close
rangefocus.
•  MultiplePicoflexdepthsensors?
o  needtoconfirmifthisdataisgoodforreconstruction
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o  AlternativelylookatOuster(https://www.ouster.io/)LIDAR.However,itis
verylargefortherobotformfactor.(80mmx63mm)
•  Morelights
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o  ThediffusedLEDsweregoodforclosetomediumrange
o  Potentiallygetafocusedhighlumenspotlightforlongdistanceillumination.
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Thiswouldallowforvisualinspectionfurtherdownthepalletrunevenifthe
pathifblocked.
•  LiveOdometry
o  Enableanddisplaydistancemeasurementsonscreen(usingPicoflex)whilst
operatingtherobottoconfirmifaspaceisaccessibleornot.
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Mechanical
Theprimarypurposeofthisexcursionwastotestthemechanicaldesignofthethrough
palletrobot,themoremechanicallycomplexofthetwoproposedsystems.Alargeamount
waslearntandwillbeimplementedtofurtherrefinethedesign.
•  Makeitevennarrower
o  ~140-150mmwidetoensureitcanmovethrough4stringerpallets.
o  Putthemotorswithinthetrackstoenablemorespaceforsensorsinternally.

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•  Makeitlonger
o  Slightlytooshort.Currentlyonesectioncannotbridgethedistancebetween
baseboardsona3-baseboardpallet.Whichenabletherobottodipintothe
gapsandpotentiallygetstuck.
•  Cooling
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o  Voltageregulatorisgettingveryhot.
o  Copperheatsinks+heatsinkepoxy.
o  Thestainlesssteel(requirediftherobotwheretoundergochemical
decontamination)isaverypoorheatconductorandthereisnoactive
cooling.Theexclusionofactivecoolingisintentionaltolimittheintakeof
dustinternaltotherobot.
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•  Trackmaterialandquality
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o  Thesetoftracksusedonthebackhalfwereoflowerqualityandcausedfar
moreproblems(trackslippage,couldn’ttensionthemeasily)thanthefront
higherqualitytracks.
•  Tetherattachmentdesign
o  Thetetherclampusedtoprovidestrainreliefprotrudedtoofarbeyondthe
lengthofthetracksandwouldcausingjammingoftherobotagainstapallet.
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•  Haveaskidplateonthebackbaseoftherobot,adesignsimilartothefrontof
robot.
•  Needtoreconfigurethetetherinputlocationastherearfacingcamerawillneedto
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becentred.
•  Generally,moreoftherobotwillbemachinedandnotmadeof3Dprintedparts.
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Particularlysectionslikethetrackrollersandwheelswhichareundertension.
•  Rigidorarticulated?
o  Weareundecidedwhethertokeeptherobotrigid,ortoarticulatethe
sectionsbetweeneachtracklength.Rigiditysimplifiesthecontrolbutlimits
theabilitytoturn.Mayalsogetwedgedwhensignificantrisesandfallsare
found.
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o  Testingrequired.WillstartwithRigid.Farsimplercontrol.

Control
•  Someonboarddatalogging
o  PotentiallytheUPboard
o  RunningaROScontrolnodeloggingdataonboard.

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o  Limitstheamountofdatarequiredtostream.Lendingitselftobetterdata
integrity.
•  PotentiallyuseFibreforcommunication
o  Lightweight(50-60mlength)
o  Unlikelywewillhitbandwidthissues.
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•  Motors.
o  morepower.
•  Encoders
o  Duetolastminutecomponentfailure,DCmotorshadtobeincludedinthis
porotypewhichhadnoencodersandthereforetherobothadnoposition
feedbackandcontrol.
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•  Autodistancingoftherobotfromsideofpallet.
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o  Anicetohavefeaturewouldbetheabilitytoautodistancetherobotfrom
thepalletstringer.
o  Orameasurementofhowfartherobotisfromthestringertobetterposition
therobotalongthepallettohelpwithnavigationinnarrowspaces.

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TechnicalLearningforTopofDrumsrobot
•  Wificontrol–asdiscussedabove.
•  3DmappingusingVelodineorSlowrevo
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•  AngelfishattachmentforcameraandLIDAR
o  Thiswillenableustoseedownbetweenthebarrels.
o  Itwillalsomeantherobotcanavoidtheouteredgeofdrumstoensureit
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won’tcauseadrumtotopple.
•  IMUonboard(GM3)

2019

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