Preview Day Welcome

Kevin Horn, senior in Mechanical Engineering-Robotics, welcomed attendees to Prescott\u27s 2017 Discovery Day festivities with a discussion of his work as a student, which included the Discovery Day 2017 projects with which he was involved: 1. Development of a Walking Robotic-Hexapod Platform (with Magnus Bergman, Davis Fischer, Evan Kline, Trentin Post, Steven Rudrich, Mariah Sampson, Kristin Sandager, David Olson, and Sarah Pearson; under the direction of Iacopo Gentilini and Rick Magnum) - The purpose of this project was to design and build a robot capable of competing in the 2017 RoboGames Walker Challenge and interfacing with the optionally attached manipulator. The competition consists of a 3-meterlong course covered with various objects to create an unstable surface, which the hexapod must be capable of traversing quickly. The hexapod must also be capable of interfacing with the attachable manipulator, mechanically and electrically, and communicating via software. While this robotic hexapod has been designed to complete a specific task, the long term intent is for this project to become a prototype for future projects. There are several applications in which a walking mobile robot would be more useful than a wheeled one. Walking robots are capable of navigating more treacherous terrain, such as stairs or rubble in a condemned or burning building. Additionally, hexapods can utilize a variety of gaits which allows them to optimize their movement. A wave gait offers the most amount of stability and least amount of speed with five legs always in contact with the ground, a tripedal gait offers a moderate amount of stability and speed with three legs always in contact with the ground, and a bipedal gait offers the least amount of stability and most speed with two legs in contact with the ground. This project implements a tripedal gait to allow for quick completion of the Walker Challenge while also maintaining mechanical stability. Eagle Prize Award, Poster Presentation and Demonstration 2. Eagle Robotics Autonomous Fire-Fighting Robot (with Emma Hutchinson, Ryan Burns, Zachary Parrish, David Sanders, Blake Games, Tristan Minkoff, and Alex Young; under the direction of Stephen Bruder) - The Eagle Robotics team is focused on the creation of an autonomous mobile robot platform capable of competing in the 2017 RoboGames firefighting robot competition. In order to fulfill the requirements of the challenge, the student led team must design a robot capable of navigating a small maze in search of a lit candle. Upon identifying the flame of the candle, the robot must extinguish the fire and then return to its starting location thus completing its mission. To address this challenge, the students on the Eagle Robotics team have implemented a variety of sensors to allow their robot to interpret the environment of the maze. For the purpose of navigation, the team has included a 360o laser distance scanner, an infrared line sensor, and an ultrasonic range sensor. In order to identify the flame of the candle the team has implemented an array of infrared light intensity sensors and a non-contact infrared thermometer. The information from all of these sensors is processed by an on-board microcontroller which allows the robot to analyze its environment and respond appropriately. Additionally, the navigation routine includes methods of path optimization to reduce the time of operation, which may improve the teams score during the competition. Beyond the scope of the competition, this robot demonstrates the properties of a self-controlled system that could aid in firefighting applications in industrial or residential environments, reducing the need for people to enter such a dangerous environment. Eagle Prize Award, Poster Presentation, and Invited Oral Presentation 3. Human-Powered Aircraft Technologies (with Mark Van Bergen, Ryan Burns, Chris Jacobs, Duke Millett, Zachary Parrish, Laura Rudnik, Gillian Blumer, and Michael Chastain; under the direction of Gary Yale) - The Human-Powered Aircraft Project is focused on the design and development of technologies to be used in the next generation of human-powered aircraft technologies. Human-powered aircraft are a specific and unique type of aircraft powered by only the physical input its pilot (or pilots) can provide. These aircraft require the use of the most current composite technologies combined with creative engineering solutions to create a strong, efficient, and extremely lightweight design. These engineering solutions involve making an aircraft with the wingspan of a commercial airliner (~120 ft) that weighs less than 80 pounds and achieves flight using only the 0.35 horsepower that its human pilot can provide. The Human-Powered Aircraft Project currently has two focuses. The first is to explore the effectiveness of contra-rotating propellers for improving the efficiency and flight qualities, and the second is to develop a flight simulator to be used in the testing and training of pilots. It is expected that the new propeller design will increase the efficiency of the propulsion system and aircraft stability while reducing the overall aircraft size. The team has already created a prototype of the contrarotating gearbox and test stand and is in the process of fabricating the propellers. The team is also currently constructing a mock-up of the cockpit for use in a full cockpit simulator Ignite Grant Award, Poster Presentation and Demonstratio