Air and Ground Robotic Interaction

Abstract

By Rebecca Gilligan, Mechanical Engineering

Advisor: Kelly Cohen

Presentation ID: 70

Abstract: The objective of the All-Terrain Aerial Robotic Interface (ATARI) project is to develop and test a collaborative unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) pair to allow takeoff and landing on uneven terrain and increase useful flight time. The UGV serves as a dynamic takeoff and landing platform for the UAV. In addition, it features a levelling platform, and is capable of handling various testing terrain. The UAV will test sensor options for autonomous takeoff and landing on the levelling platform. Phase 1 designed a 690mm hexacopter that features an IR-Lock sensor as the first autonomous landing option to be tested. The UGV is 600 x 600 x 300 mm with a 4-wheel skid-steer configuration. The UGV features a self-levelling, landing platform for the UAV. Both vehicles use a Pixhawk Cube Orange autopilot with Ardupilot firmware and a Raspberry Pi as the on-board computer, running the UAV MASTER Lab's custom software suite. Phase 2 involves the construction of the prototype vehicles, software development, and basic testing (in progress). The vehicles are nearly ready to begin flight testing once requirements are verified and a Test Readiness Review is completed. Phase 3 involves dynamic collaborative testing. Vehicle testing will follow a crawl-walk-run approach, beginning with subsystems and independent flight/drive before moving on to collaborative testing, and finishing with a demonstration mission. Phase 4 will involve implementing additional features and capabilities such as recharging, adding manipulators, testing additional payloads, and scaling up the project to support larger vehicles and swarming.