mars rover base station group: 08 faculty advisor: dr. klink wei-ting chang, nathan haney, zak...

Mars Rover Base Station

Group: 08Faculty Advisor: Dr. Klink

Wei-Ting Chang, Nathan Haney, Zak Hooper, James Hunsucker, Rylan Maynard, Chris Peyatt

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Problem Statement

The WVU Robotics team has plateaued in the last several years at 4th place in the RASC-AL Mars Rover competition. Much of the difficulty has come with the communications network that has been used. Our goal is to improve the communications capabilities by adding a stationary base station that will perform all communication needs.

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

About the Competition

• NASA RASC-AL Exploration Robo-Ops held in Houston, TX

• Mars Rover Prototype – Travers & Collect “Space Rocks”

• Must be Piloted From Morgantown

• Height & Weight Constraints

• The Heaviest Teams Must Go First in the Competition, While Other Teams Can View the Run to Scout Out Scoring Opportunities

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

WVU Performance History

• 2012: 4th Place Overall – Mechanical Failures

• 2013: 4th Place Overall – Communication Failures

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Our Base Station

• Stationary, Begins Beneath the Rover at Starting Location

• Includes 3G/4G Integrated Router, Omnidirectional Antenna, IP Network Camera

• Will Prevent Signal Loss Across Football Field Sized Competition Field

• Carbon Fiber Arm Extends 2 Meters After Rover Moves

• Handles All Data Compression (Lossy)

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Base Station Prototype

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

User Interface

• UI to Provide All Video Feeds from Rover & Base Station

• Pilot has Options for Camera Functionality

• GPS Coordinates of Rocks Provided

• All Aspects & Nodes of Network Accessible through VPN

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Communications Network

• All Files Accessible Through Remote VPN

• Files can be Modified Mid-Run by Pilot

• Three Main Nodes: Rover, Pilot, Base Station

• Cellular Communications Links Based on Satellite Communications

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Satellite Communications Example (UAV)

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Use Cases

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Dataflow Diagram

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Major Technologies

• 3G/4G to Wifi Integration

• Network Video Streaming

• Remote VPN

• Microcontroller (Raspberry Pi)

• MPEG-4 Lossy Compression

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Procurement Plan

Component CostCradlePoint 3G/4G Industrial Router $700.00

14.8V LiPo Battery DonatedArduino Mega 2560 Board $65.00

Axis IP Dome Camera $450.00Pneumatic Cylinder $30.00Aluminum Casing DonatedCarbon-Fiber Rods $10.00

PING Sensor $12.00

Base Station Procurement Plan

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Creative Aspects

• Utilizing Cellular Data Plan

• Numerous Functions in a Small-Volume Container

• VPN Connectivity

• Microcontroller-Based

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Challenges

• Self-Imposed Weight Restriction of 5 kg

• Height, Length, & Width Restriction

• Dependent on Verizon Carrier

• Must Learn new Programming Languages & Skills

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Expected Outcomes

• Win the 2014 RASC-AL Competition

• Provide the Pilot with Numerous Options

• Stay Within 5kg limit

• Compress Video Feeds to Provide No-to-Minimal Lag

West Virginia UniversityBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Natural Resources

Questions?