PRE2019 3 Group9
Group members
| Name | Study | Student Number |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Reniers | Technische Wiskunde | 1258362 |
| Jankatiri Boon | Werktuigbouwkunde | 1003254 |
| Milan Hutten | Software Science | 0997241 |
| Mendel van der Vleuten | Technische Wiskunde | |
| Ferenc | Werktuigbouwkunde |
Introduction
Problem statement
Animal researchers are unable to effectively gather data of subterranean species without destroying their burrows or tunnel systems.
Users
Researchers of subterranean animals or underground tunnel systems
Requirements
The robot should be able to:
- Safely and autonomously navigate the specified underground systems
- Map these systems adequately
- Be able to return to the user after completing its tasks
Approach
We approach the problem in a very practical manner, we opt to create a robot that autonomously investigates underground tunnels and maps them. We first make a selection of subterranean animals for which we can map their corresponding burrows, and then research details of these animals and underground systems as to prepare a robot that can safely navigate them
Objectives and milestones
- Make a selection of animals for which it is feasible to construct a robot that navigates their burrows
- Research the animals specified in the first milestone and their corresponding underground systems
- Make a construction plan for a robot that could navigate said tunnels adequately
- Prepare software for path finding in burrowss
- Prepare software for mapping the underground systems
- Construct the robot
- Validate the workings of the robot and summarize our findings
Task division
State-of-the-art
A robotics-oriented taxonomy of how ethologists characterize the traversability of animal environments surveys 21 studies of how ethologists characterize the environments through which animals traverse and groups the found characteristics into three broad catergories: local navigational constraints, surface properties, and global layout properties. From these the article makes four recommendations to aid roboticists in selecting a suitable robot for particular environments, building testbeds for the testing and comparing of robots and the collection of data about an environment.
Burrowing rescue robot referring to a mole's shoveling motion proposes an novel inspecting robot designed to inspect survivors at landslide disaster sites. Its proposed propulsion method is inspired by the shoveling motion of a mole.
Deformable Octahedron Burrowing Robot explores the use of a deformable octahedron robot for the autonomous exploration of complex confined spaces. Unlike most other robots, it is able to adapt its shape to better traverse intricate sections of cavities.
Soft Robotic Burrowing Device with Tip-Extension and Granular Fluidization proposes a soft robotic device that burrows through dry sand, leveraging the principles of both tip-extension and granular fluidization.
A Remote Operated Multi-Tracked Vehicle for Subterranean Exploration of Gopher Tortoise Burrows discusses a topic closely related to the one discussed on this page. This article describes a remotely operated vehicle designed to survey and investigate gopher turtoise burrows for the estimation of populations.
CRABOT: A Biomimetic Burrowing Robot Designed for Underground Chemical Source Location describes a prototype burrowing robot called CRABOT developed to help find leaks in undergroud piplines transporting chemicals.
Cockroaches traverse crevices, crawl rapidly in confined spaces, and inspire a soft, legged robot explains how cockroaches way of traversing small crevices support a model of a new unexplored mode of locomotion "body-friction legged crawling" which could be applied in robotics.
| Name | Total | Break-down |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Reniers | ||
| Jankatiri Boon | ||
| Milan Hutten | 7.5 | Introduction lecture (2h), Meeting discussing subject (2h), Studied papers (3.5h) |
| Mendel van der Vleuten | ||
| Ferenc |