Terrain Challenge

A rite of passage in Es451 Mobile robot design is the terrain challenge.

The difficulty of designing vehicles to drive over unforgiving terrain is that there are many types of terrain to consider: steep slopes, bumpy roads, gaps or chasms, sticky surfaces, etc

Worse yet, improving a vehicle's performance in one area, can often hurt is performance in another. For example, shifting the center of gravity forward can help you on the uphill but hurt your chances of making it back down unscathed.

Students in ES451 Mobile Robot Design, as given a Lego Mindstorms kit and asked to build vehicle that can traverse the entire course: (1) a 90 degree turn on super sticky mouse pads; (2) up the bolt studded hill; (3) across the 4" chasm; (5) down the Nastiest Descent You Have Ever Seen; (6) and out the legume pit. On average only 3 of 10 teams can complete the entire challenge.

Here is one of the year's teams. They used a total of 12 wheels (and treads) to make an "active undercarriage" that prevents the vehicle from getting high centered on obstacles, a extra long body to cross the chasm and outriggers to improve stability on the downhill. (It still needs some help on the down hill! )