ROBOT NAME: Intrepid

CATEGORY: Navigator

APPROACH AND OVERALL DESIGN:

Intrepid is a moderate budget outdoor navigation robot with no laser scanners or Industrial grade IMU devices. A Traxxas E-Maxx 4WD R/C vehicle has been used for the chassis. Twin Parallax HB-25 motor drivers has replaced the motor controller, feeding the motors. Intrepid doesn't currently move very fast, only due to safety reasons, but still fast enough to keep you running to keep up. The maker of the robot believes that as the onstacle avoidance systems will evolve, this will reflect on the robot's performance. Several on board microprocessors include a BDMICRO MAVRIC-IIB Atmel ATMega128 controller, to control the sensors, compass, IMU and drive system.

A Pentium-M mini-ITX board which runs on MATLAB controls the mission controller and processes images. There is a serial link between the main processor and embedded controller.Sonar and infrared sensors on board are used for obstacle avoidance and a camera is used to pinpoint and navigate by the cone targets. A GPS receiver is used for odometry drift correction. The robot also has a WiFi data link, for remote testing and data gathering.

LINKS:

http://curry.jandmworks.com/intrepid.html