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Brooke Chalmers, who research pc science, and Jason Kobrin, who research mechanical engineering, work on the Mars Rover within the Richards Hall Makerspace. Credit: Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
When the scholar leaders of the Northeastern University Mars Rover Team determined they had been going to take part within the inaugural Winter Canadian International Rover Challenge, they thought it will be good observe greater than anything.
They didn’t count on to win the competitors. Yet, that’s precisely what occurred.
The Northeastern group took house the gold final month, beating McMaster University for the highest spot with a rating of 237.71 factors to McMaster’s 137.13.
“It was pretty huge for us in terms of team morale,” stated Brooke Chalmers, a third-year pupil at Northeastern and the mixing lead and software program co-lead for the Mars rover group. “It really felt like all the hours that we put in during the prior weeks paid off in a way.”
It’s the primary competitors win for the six-year-old membership, which consists of scholars finding out pc science, engineering, and life science.
The college group of about 50 college students had been laborious at work growing and iterating on its newest robotic rover: the Watney, Mark V.
Coming in at 50 kg (110 lb.), the rover incorporates a 5052 aluminum alloy chassis, six 3D-printed nylon wheels, a robotic arm with end-of-arm tooling (EOAT), a life-detection module for pattern assortment, and 14 onboard cameras.
The Canadian competitors was damaged up into 4 challenges designed to place college students’ rovers by means of simulated environments much like duties a rover may need to finish whereas on Mars’ floor. Each problem was ranked utilizing a 100-point scale.
In the Arm Dexterity Challenge, for instance, college students had been tasked with controlling the rover’s robotic arm to revive energy to a campsite. The problem concerned navigating the robotic by means of 4 management panels the place the robotic arm needed to press buttons and flip switches, defined Jason Kobrin, a fourth-year pupil at Northeastern and a mechanical operations co-lead for the Mars rover group.
The robotic arm on the Northeastern group’s Mars Rover. Credit: Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Northeastern group redesigns robotic arm for power
Of the 4 groups collaborating within the problem, Northeastern scored the very best for the problem, with a rating of 49.49 factors.
Kobrin stated the group has spent the previous 12 months finishing redesigning the robotic’s arm, which was one of many rover’s weak factors throughout earlier competitions. It’s now one of many rover’s largest strengths. The robotic arm has six levels of freedom and may carry hundreds as much as about 10 kg (22 lb.).
“In order to improve that, we redesigned our arm this year to use better motors and to be easier to control overall,” he stated.
It’s by collaborating in these competitions and thru common testing the place the group was capable of slim in on the rover’s shortcomings and enhance its capabilities, Kobrin stated. By engaged on the rover, college students are additionally getting the chance to enhance their very own expertise.
“Every week, it’s continuous improvement,” he famous. “Whether it’s adding a new portion of software code [or] whether designing a new mount for our cameras, every little improvement makes a huge difference.”
“For everybody to be able to design and build this robot to function well but also to be able to control it in high-pressure situations and to reach the goals we were seeking to reach, is just really impressive,” added Kobrin.
The group thought the two-day occasion hosted in Niagara Falls, Ontario, could be a terrific primer to check out the capabilities of the machine earlier than the group took half within the upcoming annual University Rover Challenge (URC). The URC is the Mars Society’s premier Mars rover pupil competitors held on the Mars Desert Research Center outdoors Hanksville, Utah.
The URC competitors is previous hat for the group, having participated within the problem in 2019, 2022, and 2023. The competitors was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
“We went into this competition thinking, ‘OK, we’re going to use this as an opportunity to prepare for URC. We’re going to test stuff to make sure it all works,’” Chalmers stated.
The college students can be competing on the University Rover Challenge this spring. Photos by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Difficult terrain and group pleasure
The group had its finest exhibiting in the course of the Winter Transversal Challenge, with a ending rating of 84.72 factors. For the problem, the rover needed to roll by means of treacherous and uneven terrain whereas avoiding obstacles.
“All the challenges involved some degree of the rover driving around and moving over difficult terrain, but this challenge was focused entirely on that,” stated Chalmers.
With the general win, Chalmers stated she’s hopeful that new members can be excited to hitch.
“Most people on the team have been talking about this with their friends and family and talking about what we are doing, which is really cool,” she stated. “I know a few of my friends have expressed interest in joining the team since. It’s very exciting to have something to talk about and have something to show for all the effort we put in.”
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About the creator
Cesareo Contreras is a Northeastern Global News reporter and has coated robotics extensively. This article is reposted with permission.