Project Proposal Design and control of compact legged-wheeled robot

Project Supervisor: Dr. Mohamed Kara-Mohammed

Undergraduate Project 2016/17 BEng Electronic Engineering

Zeeshan Mustafa Latif Ansari

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Table of Contents Page No.

1.0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………2

1.1 Aim……………………………………………………………………………………………….2

1.2 Objectives……………………………………………………………………………………..2

2.0 Rationale………………………………………………………………………………………………..3

2.1 Motivation……………………………………………………………………………………4

2.2 Relevance to Degree Course………………………………………………………….4

3.0 Proposed Activities and Methodology…………………………………………………….5

3.1.0 Research…………………………………………………………………………………….5

3.1.1 Locomotion Systems……………………………………………………………..6

3.1.2 Project Specification………………………………………………………………7

3.2.0 Methodology……………………………………………………………………………14

3.3.0 Proof of Concept………………………………………………………………………17

3.4.0 Build the Actual System……………………………………………………………17

3.4.1 Hardware Assembly……………………………………………………………17

3.4.2 Software Implementation…………………………………………………..17

3.5.0 Testing…………………………………………………………………………………….18

3.5.1 Making Test Plans……………………………………………………………….18

3.5.2 Tests……………………………………………………………………………………18

3.6.0 Evaluation………………………………………………………………..……..………18

3.6.1 Evaluation of Processes………………………………………………………18

3.6.2 Evaluation of Product………………………………………………………….18

3.7.0 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….18

3.7.1 Future Work……………………………………………………………………….18

3.8.0 Report Writing …………………………………………………………………….….19

4.0 Resources………………………………………………………………………………………….….19

4.1 Estimated Expenditure………………………………………………………………..19

4.2 Work Plan – Gantt chart………………………………………………………………19

5.0 Safety Assessment………………………………………………………………………………..21

6.0 Ethical Consideration…………………………………………………………………………….21

7.0 References……………………………………………………………………………………………21

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Design and control of compact legged-wheeled robot

1.0 Introduction

A robot can be defined as a machine designed to perform one or more tasks automatically through

interaction with its own brain (called a controller) and the outside world. Increasing trend of

developing autonomous mobile robots is replacing humans in some of their activities. This is true

especially in situations where human lives are endangered due to the amount of risks attached to

them, or because of significant personal or industrial requirements where human operators should

perform tasks. Therefore, there is a high demand on developing highly robust and multi-functional

robots for different tasks, situations and missions (Jakimovski et al., 2016) [1].

In this work, design and control of compact legged-wheeled robot is being developed; legged and

wheeled robots use two different mechanisms for their operations. Usually, legged robots are slow

that makes them more applicable for uncertain territories where wheeled robots are unsuitable. On

the other hand wheeled robots provide best mobility on even or a hard surface because of rolling

locomotion - locomotion is physical ability to move from one place to another. An important

characteristic being introduced within this hybrid robot is that it must be capable of executing

walking and rolling locomotion. It can further be switched to an autonomous robot that can

automatically switch between legs’ mode for smooth stroll on even surfaces and wheels’ mode to

maximise the speed on approaching uneven surfaces.

Hybrid robots are gaining great amount of recognition due to the characteristics they offer and their

better performance and efficiency over different terrains. This project primarily aims at more

generalised legged-wheeled robotic platform that can manually be switched between legs’ and

wheels’ mode. Finally, walking and rolling locomotion can be modified with sensors and control

strategy to an autonomous robot that can demonstrate the combined capability of legs and wheels

with respect to terrain types they operate on. Final product; autonomous hybrid robot can be used

in wide range of robotic applications such as Search & Rescue, reconnaissance, extraterrestrial

exploration etc.

1.1 Aim

To design and control an autonomous robot with compact legged/wheeled capabilities to maximise

the speed of the robot. Robot must have the capacity to perform two functions; it will switch to

wheels’ mode on even surfaces to amplify the speed and change to legs mode for smooth stroll on

drawing closer to uneven surfaces.

1.2 Objectives

After a research and literature review has been carried out, the following objectives shall be

achieved:

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Determine suitable hardware for robot structure; i.e. Microcontroller, legs, wheels, sensors

and so forth.

Mechanical design of legs, wheels and sensors to further assemble the components into a

robot.

Electronic circuit design and configuration of wheels, legs and sensors to aid performance.

Develop block diagram of system hardware to write program for system and algorithm(s)

(high-level description) of the system software.

Derive equations to obtain mathematical model of robot.

Program the microcontroller to implement a suitable control strategy.

Basically implementing manual switch between legged and wheeled modes.

Finally adding sensors to switch it to autonomous control between two modes.

Develop appropriate test plans for circuit simulation and to check the functionality of the

control strategy and robot as a whole.

Evaluate final product as an autonomous robot.

2.0 Rationale

Robots are taking over humans in some of the activities where human life is endangered or in

situations/missions where human operators have become unavailable to perform tasks. Physical

ability to move from one place to another (locomotion) defines the core operation of robots.

Locomotion in even and uneven terrains is important for wide range of robotic applications including

Search& Rescue operations and extraterrestrial exploration etc. A robot that can roll over even

terrains to maximise the speed and walk on uneven terrains to surmount obstacles must be

operated by rolling and walking locomotion.

One of the fundamental problems of mobile robotics is locomotion. Three primary types of

locomotion include legged, wheeled and articulated bodies. Factors that normally effect locomotion

are environment, stability, systems complexity and the cost. Keeping in mind the higher indices of

stability, efficiency and increased payload rolling locomotion is employed in the first place. However

rolling locomotion still prevents its efficient operation on unstructured environments. Despite the

significant effort to overcome the problem of smooth rolling over unstructured terrains wheels are

still far from being perfect for locomotion in all types of environments (Saudabayev et al., 2016) [2].

Inspired from the nature, walking locomotion offers robust mechanism to tackle the difficulties of

rough terrains. Legs ability of efficient navigation on even terrains alongside uneven terrains, walking

locomotion could have claimed to be a universal solution for mobile robot locomotion. However,

static and dynamic stability is still one of the major challenges for legged systems. Hybrid robots

have emerged offering combined capabilities of rolling and walking locomotion. With hybrid

locomotion, a robot would be able to maximise the speed on even terrains using wheels and step

over obstacles on uneven terrains using walking locomotion (Saudabayev et al., 2016) [2].

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2.1 Motivation

Motivation behind undertaking this project was the development of knowledge and skills that this

project offers for a graduate electronics engineer. Required knowledge and skills for this project

include programming skills, electronics circuit design, mechanical design, simulation software,

mathematical modelling, control strategy and dynamic knowledge.

Author wanted to get together, all the knowledge and skills gained previously, in one place to

implement using a new platform and develop something that can be called innovative, while further

polishing his skills to higher level and gaining in-depth theoretical knowledge. As most of the major

modules studied in previous years are pre-requisites for this project which was also a major reason

to choose this project.

Title “Design and control of a compact legged-wheeled robot” itself appealed to the author as a

similar project but at a very large scale to what was conducted in 2nd year which involved design of a

triathlon wheeled-robot. Compact legged-wheeled robot involves design and control of both walking

and rolling locomotion while triathlon wheeled-robot operated just on the rolling locomotion at the

beginner’s level. Although it’s a challenging project but hard work and dedication would provide

good practice for prospective electronics engineer.

To summarise, this project in its entirety will demonstrate 80% of the knowledge and skills acquired

and yet-to-be acquired until the end of the graduate degree; it is a massive step into the world of

robotics; hardware, locomotion systems and control strategies.

2.2 Relevance to Degree Course

This project is purely linked to BEng Electronics engineering. It’s a complete electronics project which

requires excellent knowledge and skills given below:

Mechanical design

Electronic circuit design

Mathematical modelling

Embedded Programming

Simulation Software (e.g. Arduino, Matlab, Solidworks etc.)

Control strategy and dynamic knowledge

The knowledge and skills gained from 1st and 2nd year modules such as Programming for Engineers,

Electronics Project (Design and Build of an IET Triathlon robot), Embedded Systems, Engineering

Mathematics, Signals and Systems, Digital and Analogue Circuit Design will be highly used for the

foundation of product and its design.

Knowledge/skills being acquired in current semester in modules such as Embedded System Design,

Digital Microelectronics and Digital Signal Processing will of course be of invaluable use especially

towards the middle and final stages of product development; design and building of compact legged-

wheeled robot.

Software skills gained i.e. in MPLAB IDE, Quartus 2, Matlab, Pspice, and Eagle would also be availed

in learning Arduino IDE and for design, proof of concept and implementation of robot if necessary.

Report writing skills acquired in more than half of the modules throughout the degree would prove

to be of great significance for final report writing.

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3.0 Proposed Activities and Methodology

Research

o Locomotion systems

o Project Specification

Hardware

Robot Chassis

Microcontrollers

Software

Methodology

Proof of Concept

Build the actual system

o Hardware Assembly

o Software Implementation

Testing

o Making Test Plans

o Tests

Evaluation

o Evaluation of Processes

o Evaluation of Product

Conclusion

o Future Work

Report Writing

3.1.0 Research

The primary research methods for design engineer encompass quantitative and qualitative

techniques.

Scope/Sources of data collection

Qualitative

This primary exploratory research is conducted through discussion with friends, colleagues and

lecturers including one to one interviews with friends. It further involves studying the motion design

of robotic vehicles and understand the concepts of different locomotion strategies that are used in

different types of robots. It will also involve designing the specifications of the required robot and

required multi-structure system. It has provided insights into the problem and helped to develop

ideas for potential quantitative research.

Quantitative

Quantitative research helps to formulate facts by use of measurable data and it uncovers patterns in

research. Major part of this project will take positivistic philosophy – focusing on quantitative data.

This project will start from a detailed literature review of robust depth using books, reports,

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electronics journals, conference papers, study and experimentation of mechanical/electrical design,

mathematical modelling, firmware programming and simulation techniques via human interaction,

testing and evaluation.

3.1.1 Locomotion systems

The word locomotion means the act or power of moving from place to place. The capability of

locomotion is a natural feature of humans and animals. Without the capabilities of locomotion

everyday life becomes complicated and tasteless. Handicapped people have long been taken into

account to develop locomotion systems.

Locomotion system drives the vehicle, decides its mode if provided i.e. compact legged/wheeled

mode, and reaches its goals when executed to perform a certain task. A good locomotion is critical

to the successful operations of a robot. Generally robot should be able to perceive the surface

(terrain), plan the path, navigate and obviously avoid the obstacles to reach its destination.

Requirements are to be taken into account in the design process of a locomotion system for a robot.

The main factor is the environment where the robot needs to operate. Typical design factors can

include speed, stability, mode switch between surfaces based on i.e. sensor system and overall

control. Locomotion on even/uneven surfaces can be realised using the principles of rolling, walking,

running, crawling, jumping or wriggling. This project focuses on rolling for even surfaces and

walking/running for uneven surfaces (Leppänen, 2016) [3].

Basically the locomotion system involves the conversion of some source of energy i.e. electricity, air

pressure, noise, sunshine, nuclear power etc. into a mechanical action that moves a vehicle (a

robot). Variety of technique can be used to achieve motion. Most common source of energy used is

electricity or a battery power that operate an electric motor.

This robot will also consume battery power for its operation. Direction of the motors can be changed

to achieve forward or backward motion. Similarly motors can be fed less or more power to slow

down or maximise the speed of the robot. Different kinds of control strategies can also be

implemented for variety of robot movements e.g. dancing, turning etc. This project aims to achieve

wheels and walking locomotion which can be further combined to achieve hybrid locomotion.

Wheels locomotion:

Wheels locomotion is one of the most common method of locomotion. Wheels provide best mobility

on even or hard surfaces depending on its structure, type, size and type, surface, type of motor

driving them and other factors. The wheels can also carry more load in comparison to walking or

other locomotion systems. Two-wheel robot is sometimes hard to balance. Four and six wheels

robot is a better option for this project.

Walking locomotion:

Walking locomotion is most suitable for uneven surfaces, especially in soft grounds or grounds with

obstacles where wheels locomotion becomes almost impossible. Legs can be used to provide better

mobility when robot approaches uneven surfaces, they can step over obstacles and move up and

down the stairs. Again the legs’ mode mobility will also depend on the size, type, structure of legs

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and the motors driving them as well as the structure of the main robot body. Flexibility can be

introduced in robots body to maximise the motion of legs, while maintaining stability and to improve

its ability to surmount obstacles. The realisation of legged locomotion is normally based on two

mechanisms which are slide and level.

Hybrid locomotion:

In hybrid locomotion; wheeled and legged locomotion can be combined as hybrids to obtain

maximum mobility for greatly varying ground conditions. Hybrid locomotion can guarantee a high

speed on wheels and good negotiating capabilities of legged locomotion (Leppänen, 2016).

Locomotion is performed by wheels while adapting to slow terrain’s changes to legs. In other words

on approaching obstacles bigger than the wheels size or when obstacles prevent driving the robot

switches to walking locomotion. The idea is to make best use of both the locomotion capabilities for

greater mobility.

3.1.2 Project Specification

Hardware – Robot Chassis

In-depth research has been conducted on hardware/software specification for this project.

Hardware options considered were wheeled and legged; humanoid, quadruped and hexapod robots.

Microcontrollers included Arduino, Microchip PIC MCU, and Atmel AVR MCU. Software options

involved any software that’s compatible for C/C++ programming.

Three different hardware models that were analysed to greater extent for this project are given

below:

Wheeled-robots

Re-visiting, aim is to design and control an autonomous robot with compact legged/wheeled

capabilities to maximise the speed of the robot. Keeping aim in mind, wheeled robots have been

researched and studied in detail but results revealed that they are very hard to be modified to

include legs and to further build it to meet the aim of this project.

Figure 3.1 mBot-Blue Educational Programmable Robot (Bluetooth Version) (Robotshop.com, 2016)

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The first model is a wheeled-robot called mBot, mBot comes with electronics based on arduino open

source platform; a blue tooth version for wireless connections can be used for projects like wall

avoidance, line following, games with other mBots etc. The major disadvantage is that mbot don’t

offer enough room to add legs to it, adding legs seems very hard on this robot.

Humanoid (Legged-robots)

Humanoid (legged) robot kits like “Mindstorm” were considered but detailed study on these found

out that it is not very suitable for a robot that needs to switch between wheeled and legged

locomotion on approaching even and uneven surfaces. Adding wheels to humanoid robot is of

course possible but as robot needs switching between two modes its stability on wheels while

maximising its speed becomes a big challenge for graduate project. Humanoid robots are not even a

good economical option as they are expensive than the Spider robots.

Figure 3.2 LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3 (EU Version) (Robotshop.com, 2016)

Second model under research was humanoid robot “LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3 (EU Version)”

This robot is a comprehensive robotics construction kit with powerful ARM9 processor. It comes

with a programmable brick with an intuitive user interface and sound, 3 interactive servo motors to

move the robot in multiple directions, and it also includes infrared, touch and colour sensors and

everything to build a different but more humanoid-like robot (Robotshop.com, 2016)

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Mindstorms EV3 could have been used to perform excellent walking locomotion but its biggest

drawback is that adding wheels to it restricts the speed to almost zero because its structure is such

that it compromises on its dynamic stability.

Spider (Legged-robots)

Spider (legged) robots were found to be the best for this project. Quadruped and Hexapod can be

first programmed to walk/crawl and then two wheels can be added for wheeled locomotion.

Hardware of Spider robots give enough space to add and fix two big wheels to it. Spider robot is

small and has no problem of dynamic stability (while in operation) as long as the control strategy is

well implemented. Considering its small body and legs’ movements (degree of freedom) and overall

control makes two wheeled locomotion possible and efficient. Hexapod robot can be best designed,

modified, controlled and implemented to meet the aims and objectives of this project.

Lynxmotion AH2 Hexapod Robot

Keeping aims and objectives in mind, variety of hexapod and quadruped robots were then searched

in robust depth and consequently the third model considered was Lynxmotion AH2 hexapod robot

kit.

Figure 3.3 Lynxmotion AH2 Hexapod Robot Kit (BotBoarduino) (Robotshop.com, 2016)

Lynxmotion AH2 Hexapod Robot kit comes with advanced mechanical advantage leg design with

2DOF (degree of freedom), supports forward, reverse, gradual and in place turning, it also includes

BotBoarduino microcontroller and SSC-32 servo controller. The robot uses 12 HS-422 servos for legs

(Robotshop.com, 2016) [6].

This kit includes everything to build the robot except the wheels which can be bought or requested

to be made from BCU’s Mechanical Workshop. Price is £393.61, on top buying wheels and sensors

add up to £450, which is not an economical option.

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DIY Six Feet Robot 6-Legged 6DOF Hexapod4 Spider Robot with Servo

Similar robot in hardware/software specification was then searched for cheaper price. One of the

best resembling option found out to be “DIY Six Feet Robot 6-Legged 6DOF Hexapod4 Spider Robot

with Servo” and it is shown below:

Figure 3.4 DIY Six Feet Robot 6-Legged 6DOF Hexapod4 Spider Robot with Servo

(www.banggood.com, 2016)

This hexapod robot comes with even more options i.e. 6DOF (Degree of freedom) instead of 2DOF in

Lynxmotion AH2 Hexapod Robot; it offers flexible control, more movements and joy. Its light weight,

servo, circuit plate and its battery needs to be installed. Size is about 24(L)*18(W)*12(H) cm

(www.banggood.com, 2016) [7]. Pack at a price of £47.94 includes 1*Hexapod Robot Frame and

12*9g Servos. One drawback is that it does not include microcontroller which can be bought

separately. This robot has been chosen as final option based on its hardware structure, features and

price. Then further research for microcontrollers made author to decide the best economical

microcontroller especially designed for spider robots.

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Hardware – Microcontroller

Two microcontrollers Axon 2 and Dagu spider robot controller were mainly compared based on their

processors and other features i.e. FLASH, SRAM, EEPROM, USB interface, I/O pins, number of servos

support, analogue inputs, PWM, serial communication, external interrupt pins and boot-loader etc.

Axon 2 Microcontroller

Axon 2 has been developed for robotics hobbyists including beginners and experts. It comes with

many great features for different operations of robots. Numbers of important features are given

below:

58 I/O Total

16 ADC

25+ Servos

I2C, SPI

3 UART + USB

Up to 8 external interrupts

15 PWM Channels

64KB Flash, 4KB EEPROM, 8KB SRAM

16 MIPS throughput at 16 MHz

6 Timers (four 16-bit, two 8-bit)

pre-programmed with a bootloader - no programmer required

numerical LED display

built in 3.3V, 5V, and unregulated power buses

external memory support (port A)

all software is free

100% open source, large support community

Windows, Mac, and Linux compatible

(Societyofrobots.com, 2016) [8]

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Figure 3.5 The Axon II (Societyofrobots.com, 2016)

Dagu Spider Robot Microcontroller

Chosen microcontroller; Dagu spider robot controller priced at £35.30 is shown below in figure 3.6.

It is an Arduino compatible robot controller designed specifically for robots that use a large number

of servos such as humanoids, hexapods and serpents. Dagu uses a very powerful ATmega1280 as its

processor with 128K FLASH, 8K SRAM and 4K EEPROM, its drives are up to 48 servos, it has 3A, 5V

switch mode power supply and input voltage is from 7V TO 30V. Detailed features are given below:

Features:

70 I/O pins terminated with a servo compatible 3 pin male header and a female header

USB interface and ISP socket

Power switch and reset button

Pin spacing allows custom shields to be made using standard prototype PCB's

Comes with Arduino bootloader installed

16x 10 bit analogue inputs

Up to 15x PWM outputs (depends on the number of servos in use)

4x serial ports (1 used by USB interface)

1x I²C interface

Can drive up to 48 servos using the Arduino servo library

(Robotshop.com, 2016)

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Figure 3.6 Dagu Spider Robot Controller (Robotshop.com, 2016)

The Dagu controller has twice the processing power of the axon 2, and its other features have

almost twice the capability of those of the axon two. Dagu is way more powerful than axon 2, its

powerful features will especially aid in walking and rolling locomotion and other control strategies.

The reason for selecting this is its powerful features (given above) that allow optimum operations

and excellent control of a robot with maximum servos. Data sheets can be used later on for detailed

implementation. Once walking and rolling locomotion is achieved, sensors can then be researched in

detail to modify the robot to an autonomous compact legged-wheeled robot. Sensor selection is left

to the end of the project.

Software

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware

and software. It’s intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating

interactive objects or environments (MakeUseOf, 2016).

All arduino boards are completely open-source, empowering users to build them independently and

eventually adapt them to their particular needs (Arduino.cc, 2016). Ardunio, as a piece of hardware

can be either used independently in a robot, connected to a computer, or connected to other

ardunios, or other electronics devices and controller chips. In this project it will be connected to the

Atmel1280 processor embedded in Dagu spider robot controller. Thousands of people and

organizations use it for smaller and larger level projects. The language that it normally uses is Jave or

similar langugaes i.e C/C++.

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3.2.0 Methodology

This section discusses the various suitable methods available to design engineers and selection of

most appropriate method for this project that ensures reliability, efficiency and viability.

Methodology for this project must encompass developing the concept of the product, research and

literature review, design and development of mechanical, electronics and software components,

proof of concept, final testing and evaluation before release. Numbers of relevant existing project

methodologies are discussed below:

Software and Spiral methodologies

These methodologies when read and understood in greater detail, found out to be more specifically

designed for detailed software development (https://www.cms.gov, 2016). Elaborating

methodologies above and some other project methodologies i.e. agile development, rapid

application development, lightweight methodologies seem irrelevant here. These methodologies do

not fulfil all the requirements of this project as this project is not a pure software development one;

it involves development of a physical product through hardware and software implementation.

Waterfall

Waterfall methodology is a sequential (non-iterative) design process which demands that one task be completed before going to the next. This methodology progresses through the phases of conception, initiation, analysis, design, construction, software implementation, testing, integration, deployment (installation) and maintenance as shown below in figure.

Figure 3.7 Waterfall Method (Bowes, 2016)

This methodology originated in the manufacturing and construction industries; it’s basically a hardware-oriented model which has also been adopted for software development.

Chosen methodology

As per the requirements of this project given above, this waterfall methodology with flowchart approach and with slight modifications, to meet the requirements of this project, is chosen to be the

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best. Methodology made for this project ensures reliability, efficiency and viability of the project. Methodology made for this project is summarized in bullet points below:

Research the available locomotion systems for different robotic vehicles.

Set the required specification of the vehicle.

Design the vehicle in software and prove its functionality.

Build the actual system.

Test the robot.

Evaluate construction, design processes and functionality.

Write the final report of the project. Flowchart given below provides a deep insight into project methodology: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Conceptual Design; Hardware/Software

Mechanical design (drawing hardware)

Research on chosen locomotion systems

Determining robot hardware

Determining suitable software

Proof of concept

Design the vehicle in software and prove its functionality.

Does it match

specification?

Building Actual System

Assembling robot

Block diagram of system hardware

Mathematical Modelling

Algorithm of system software

Writing up program for system

Synthesis and Simulation

Problem Definition

Clarify Objectives

Research on available

locomotion systems for

different robotic vehicles

Identify constrains

Revise problem statement

Problem Statement

To design and control of an autonomous robot with compact

legged-wheeled capabilities to maximise the speed of the robot.

Yes

No

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3.3.0 Proof of Concept

Proof of concept will be acquired using a solid modelling computer-aided design (CAD) and

computer-aided engineering (CAE) computer program called SOLIDWORKS, It runs on Microsoft

Windows and is published by Dassault Systems.

Solidworks help to create 2D/3D solid models quickly without any complexity and in a cost effective

way. Being a very simple graphics user interface as compared to other CAD solid modelling

softwares, Its features include Solid modelling, Motion, Simulation, Toolbox, Tolanalyst,

CircuiteWorks, PhotoView 360, ScanTo3D, e-drawing and DWG editor. It has wide range of industrial

applications including product design and engineering services. It’s a wonderful tool for designing

various products and services, testing them to prove functionality in a very cost effective way like

Model and prototype testing (ShoutMeTutorials.com, 2016).

3.4.0 Build the Actual System

3.4.1 Hardware Assembly

Once the hardware has arrived and proof of concept is acquired using SolidWorks, hardware

assembly can be started. Robot hardware will be assembled using the given user guide and then

Testing

Making test plans

Test processes

Evaluation

Evaluate product construction

Evaluate design processes

Evaluate construction

Identify Future Work

Everything

functions as

expected?

Write Report

Yes

No

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controller will be mounted on top of the robot chassis, wire connections (small electronics) will be

made between controller and other hardware components of the robot. Two wheels to be attached

at either side of the robot chassis for rolling locomotion will either be bought or requested to be

made from university’s mechanical lab. Components for wheels adjustment to the robot can be

made with the help of 3D printer available at university.

Once the Hardware assembly is complete it will lead to mathematical modelling; mathematical

modelling will be a process or technique to express the system by a set of mathematical equations

(algebraic or differential in nature). Following mathematical modelling block diagram of system

hardware will be drawn to construct algorithms for the system software (programming).

3.4.2 Software Implementation

Based on mathematical modelling, block diagram of system hardware and system software’s

algorithms programs will be written in C/C++ language for all kinds of processes for a suitable control

strategy (which will be laid down based on block diagram of system hardware and objectives, for

overall operations of the robot). C programs will then build up to acquire a robust control strategy.

3.5.0 Testing

3.5.1 Making Test Plans

Test plans will be made in parallel with C programs of processes. Programming will be carried out

keeping all the test plans in front.

3.5.2 Tests

Further, the programs will be executed, debugged to match the test plans. Test plan for every single

program will verify its functionality. If required then the program(s) will be modified or made new in

parallel with new test plan(s).

3.6.0 Evaluation

3.6.1 Evaluation of Processes

Aim and objectives will be fundamental source of information to conduct evaluation of processes.

3.6.2 Evaluation of Product

Evaluation of product would include the hardware assembly evaluation alongside software

implementation (processes and operations). Aim and objectives will then aid in finalising the

evaluation of our product.

3.7.0 Conclusion

Conclusion will be made preceding findings, problems faced, objectives met etc.

3.7.1 Future Work

Future work will be decided throughout the design and development phases and especially at the

end, while keeping conclusion in mind, when product will be fully ready to release.

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3.8.0 Report Writing

Log book / e-log will be kept up to date and literature review for the report will also be written as

the project progresses through each task. Although the time for report writing is allocated towards

the end of the project but draft report writing will be taking place at the end of each task/activity.

Draft report writing along with Log book/e-log would definitely prove very useful towards the final

report writing.

4.0 Resources

Software:

Microsoft Office 2013

Arduino IDE

SolidWorks

Matlab

Hardware:

PC

Robot Chassis (DIY Six Feet Robot 6-Legged 6DOF Hexapod4 Spider Robot with Servo)

Microcontroller (Dagu Spider robot controller with ATmega1280 processor)

Debugger

Wheels

Sensors

Batteries

Wires

4.1 Estimated Expenditures

Robots chassis with servo motors and microcontroller is about £100. Sensors and batteries are about

£40. Wheels, screws and wires are available at the university. The programs (software) are also

installed in embedded lab at the university.

4.2 Work Plan – Gantt chart

Gantt chart given below (figure 4.1) illustrates the estimated times to complete the tasks within the

project. Timing deadlines would be followed closely as there are good number of tasks and activities

encapsulated in the project. Ideally tasks must be completed before the deadlines and next task

should be started as soon as possible to compensate the time for any particular task (i.e. software

implementation) that might take longer than its scheduled time on the Gantt chart.

Log book/e-log will be kept up to date and literature review for the report will also be written as the

project progresses through each task. Although the time for report writing is allocated towards the

end of the project but draft report writing will be taking place at the end of each task/activity. Draft

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report writing along with Log book/e-log would definitely prove very useful towards the final report

writing.

Meetings with the supervisor are taking place every week. Draft work is sent to supervisor before

every meeting for feedback and it is further discussed in the one-to-one meeting. Minutes, tasks

discussed and next week actions of each meeting are recorded in logbook on weekly bases. It would

continue to take place until the completion of the project.

Main milestones of the project:

Logbook / e-logbook

Meetings with supervisor

Project Research

Project Registration

Project Proposal

Interim Presentation Upload

Project Design and Development

Evaluation

Presentation and Poster

Project Report

Final Product

Deliverables of the project:

Project Registration

Project Proposal

Interim Report / Presentation

Log book

Poster and Presentation

Physical product (Robot)

Project Report

Gantt chart given below (Figure 4.1) can be maximised, using zoom options, for clear view.

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Fig. 4.1 Gantt chart taken from MS Project

5.0 Safety Assessment

Although this project do not involve any kind of serious risks, couple of safety measures are defined

for better work execution to the end of the project.

To avoid eye strain and tiredness frequent breaks are important while looking at the PC for

long period of times.

To avoid battery leakage they must be kept at room temperature.

Proper wires are to be used to avoid any burning or small fire explosions.

While testing the robot keeping eyes at least a feet away from the robot is unavoidable.

6.0 Ethical Considerations

Qualitative research conducted with friends, colleagues and lectures is completely anonymous. No

names or any kind of personal data is kept for any reason.

7.0 References

Jakimovski, B., Hoerenz, M., Kotke, M. and Maehle, E. (2016). Design of a hybrid wheeled-legged

robot - WheeHy - IEEE Xplore Document. [online] Ieeexplore.ieee.org. Available at:

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=5756943 [Accessed 4 Nov. 2016].

Saudabayev, A., Kungozhin, F., Nurseitov, D. and Varol, H. (2016). Locomotion Strategy Selection for

a Hybrid Mobile Robot Using Time of Flight Depth Sensor. [online] Available at:

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/js/2015/425732/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2016].

Leppänen, I. (2016). Automatic locomotion mode control of wheel-legged robots. [online]

Aaltodoc.aalto.fi. Available at: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/2915 [Accessed 21 Oct.

2016].

Robotshop.com. (2016). Makeblock mBot-Blue Educational Programmable Robot (Bluetooth

Version). [online] Available at: http://www.robotshop.com/uk/makeblock-mbot-blue-educational-

programmable-robot-bluetooth-version.html [Accessed 5 Nov. 2016].

Robotshop.com. (2016). LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3 (EU Version). [online] Available at:

http://www.robotshop.com/uk/lego-mindstorms-ev3-eu-version.html [Accessed 5 Nov. 2016].

Robotshop.com. (2016). Lynxmotion AH2 Hexapod Robot Kit (BotBoarduino). [online] Available at:

http://www.robotshop.com/uk/lynxmotion-ah2-hexapod-robot-kit-botboarduino.html [Accessed 18

Nov. 2016].

www.banggood.com. (2016). DIY Six Feet Robot 6-Legged 6DOF Hexapod4 Spider Robot with Servo.

[online] Available at: http://www.banggood.com/DIY-Six-Feet-Robot-6-Legged-6DOF-Hexapod4-

Spider-Robot-with-Servo-p-1029370.html [Accessed 23 Nov. 2016].

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Societyofrobots.com. (2016). How to Build a Robot Tutorials - Society of Robots. [online] Available at:

http://www.societyofrobots.com/axon2/ [Accessed 27 Nov. 2016].

Robotshop.com. (2016). Dagu Spider Robot Controller. [online] Available at:

http://www.robotshop.com/uk/dagu-spider-robot-controller.html [Accessed 26 Nov. 2016].

MakeUseOf. (2016). What Is Arduino & What Can You Do With It? [Technology Explained]. [online]

Available at: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/arduino-technology-explained/ [Accessed 3 Dec.

2016].

Arduino.cc. (2016). Arduino - Introduction. [online] Available at:

https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Introduction [Accessed 6 Dec. 2016].

https://www.cms.gov. (2016). SELECTING A DEVELOPMENT APPROACH. [online] Available at:

https://www.cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systems/cms-information-

technology/xlc/downloads/selectingdevelopmentapproach.pdf [Accessed 7 Oct. 2016].

Bowes, J. (2016). Agile vs Waterfall - Comparing project management methods. [online] Manifesto.

Available at: https://manifesto.co.uk/agile-vs-waterfall-comparing-project-management-

methodologies/ [Accessed 7 Oct. 2016].

ShoutMeTutorials.com. (2016). What is Solidworks CAD Software?. [online] Available at:

http://shoutmetutorials.com/solidworks-basics/ [Accessed 1 Dec. 2016].