BIO

My name is Diego Abad, I'm 19 years old, and I'm a Computer Engineer at FSU. I transferred in Fall 2021, and I enjoy the environment at the College of Engineering. I like computers in general, programming, and robotics. I was part of my high school robotics team, and I'm always looking for new ways to implement my knowledge into fun projects.

Design of an All-terrain Unmanned Ground Vehicle

Abstract

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV’s) are invaluable for public safety tasks such as Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). In collaboration with L3Harris Technologies, we are exploring alternative designs to the traditional “treaded” robot design in favor of designs more capable of reliable stair-climbing. We designed and built a motorized Lego device for testing to evaluate a promising alternative “articulated” design combining wheels and legs since if it is possible to create it using Lego pieces, it should be possible to build it with more complex equipment. The current model can be moved using a game controller, and it can both spin its wheels and rotate its legs about an offset axis. Currently, the current prototype is capable of climbing 17-cm tall obstacles. The future for this project will aim to create a robot that can easily climb stairs while being sturdy enough to allow other tasks like bomb defusing. Ongoing work will systematically test control strategies for climbing over obstacles and upstairs, automatic movement, and other additional features.

Keywords: Technology Engineering Robots