Autonomous Navigator Mobile Robot Upgrade

The mobile robot platform has been developed over the course of 10 years at USM. In Spring 2020, Belle-Isle and Werner updated the previous framework by rewriting the software to use the ROS framework running on an on-board Raspberry Pi 3. They also implemented navigation using an A* motion planning algorithm and image processing. In Summer 2021, Ames incorporated Lidar and Kinect sensors onto the robot to improve its real-time navigation capabilities. He also made improvements to the power distribution systems. This project aimed to build on the ROS frameworks developed by the previous 2 teams with the main goal of mounting a modern, lightweight, robotic arm onto the platform. An arm was selected among several candidates and then bench tested with an open-source joint angle control software package. The software package was then integrated into the existing mobile robot’s code. From a remote Linux PC, the arm can be controlled manually, or it can run programed movements defined in Python scripts. The arm mounts to the robot on a height adjustable and modular platform. The arm gives the robot and future teams more capabilities as the robot can now manipulate objects in its environment