Bryan Jackson EEL 5666 IMDL Spring 2010

Summary  Mobile platform based on the Jeep Hurricane  Platform will have a near zero turning radius to aid in reducing the amount of travel that the platform must have to travel in tight spaces  This will aid the platform as it seeks to collect ping pong balls in a confined area

Introduction  This presentation will discuss the proposed concepts that will be used in developing the mobile platform for the IMDL course.  The student is required to design, build, and program an autonomous mobile robot using kit parts combined with novel circuits and mechanics or build a completely pre-designed robot kit and then program sophisticated machine intelligence behaviors.  This can encompass a particular activity (i.e., inverse kinematics for robotic motion) that demonstrates all of the necessary concepts as outlined in the class syllabus.

Presentation: Specifications  The driving force behind the proposed platform is the 2005 Jeep Hurricane Concept.  The Jeep Hurricane is equipped with 4 wheel or all-wheel steering.  Each wheel can turn independently of the others as well as toe in, allowing it to “crab”

Presentation  The vehicle was equipped with a patented system that allowed it to reduce the amount of room that it needed to turn or steer, allowing it to have a (near) zero- turning radius.  This is the ability for all four wheels to be turned to in different directions at high or low speeds  These concepts will be applied in some fashion to the Quadro robot.

Quadro  Quadro will have a similar type of steering system  This will allow it to maneuver adroitly as it seeks to collect ping pong balls  This type of platform is better suited to use parts from LEGO Technic rather than wood.

Conclusions  Concept needs more research to understand how to bridge the gap between the Lego control elements and the Atmel board  Thus far, there isn’t a defined set of directions available for the design and construction of the type of steering found on the Hurricane.  This may entail a reduction in scope due to the number of parts.

Future Work  Finding a suitable source of funding  Developing the four-wheel steering system  Sensor layout  Developing code for needed sensors