Primary Contacts:
Dan Fenton
667 Baugher Avenue
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
484-888-6606 (cell)
Recent Sightings:
- Semester meeting times will be posted soon.
- On January 14, 2011, Elizabethtown College will be hosting an executive meeting for Phoenix Contact, and the robot will hold a demonstration.
Want to learn more?
Click here for details about how the Wunderbot works.
Wunderbot VI Project
Project Summary
The Robot is driven bytwo 1.75 HP DC motors at a pulse-width-modulation (PWM) frequency of 16 kHz, the 300 lb. robot utilizes a differential steering scheme and is exceptionally maneuverable. To achieve the necessary level of autonomy, software and hardware redundancy is employed in high and low-level sensor arrays. Current low-level sensor techniques include a combinational logic based collision detection system, ultrasonic ranging for short-range proximity detection, and IR sensors for drop-off detection. Low-level sensor data is first preprocessed by slave microcontrollers, and then bussed to the onboard PC, whereas high-level sensors communicate with the PC directly. The high-level sensor array is presently comprised of a PNI TCM2-50 three-axis digital compass module and a Trimble AgGPS 114 differential global positioning system (DGPS).
Future additions to the high-level array include a stereo vision system, and laser range finder. Using a wireless VLAN, a remote laptop can access the onboard computer and monitor all system parameters in real-time via a custom GUI interface. Specific GUI display features include real-time obstacle mapping, path-planning simulations, compass heading information, collision and low battery alarms, plus plots of motor current and vehicle velocity vs. time.
The versatile WunderBot V will undoubtedly serve as a base platform for advanced engineering projects in the future.
Autonomous Tour Guide
In addition to designing the WunderBot V platform for the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition, our team has opted to impose several additional system constraints that will allow the robot system to function as an autonomous tour guide. The tour guide will function as follows:
1. The GPS will act as a guiding device for WunderBot's navigation as it provides campus tours to prospective students. The robot will recognize specific GPS coordinate locations and associate them with narratives about particular campus locations (i.e. buildings, monuments, and sports fields) stored in the robot's memory.
2. A stereo vision system combined with a neural network will enable the robot to recognize obstacles (i.e. people or debris) in its predefined path, and adapt to them in real-time.
3. Internet users will be permitted to control an on-board, motor mounted web cam, allowing a 360 degree view of the robot's environment. This will allow prospective students to receive campus tours via the World Wide Web.
Competitions
In 2008 , the IGVC celebrated the 16th consecutive year in which teams from around the globe push the limits of machine intelligence. Sponsors such as DARPA, The Department of Defense, GM, and the US Army provided generous monetary awards to winning teams in all three of the competition challenges:
1. Autonomous Vehicle Competition - An autonomous ground vehicle must navigate through an outdoor obstacle course within a prescribed amount of time and without exceeding 5 mph.
2. Navigation Challenge Competition - A vehicle must autonomously travel from a starting point to a number of target destinations and then return to its initial location given only the GPS coordinates of the targets.
3. Vehicle Design Competition - A panel of expert judges will review a written report, an oral presentation, and examine each vehicle in order to determine which is the most innovative.