Robot Land Mine Detector

Minesweepers

The ultimate goal of the Minesweepers competition is applying robotics technology to solve landmines problem, which matches with the new strategic mission of IEEE, “…to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity”.

3D educational fabrication mine robot robot arm rover Solidworks visualizer wheel

Description of the mechanical design and locomotion system

The environment that the robot is exposed to is one of the most important criteria that must be taken in the design steps of the robot. The design must maintain the stability of the robot, the electrical box, and internal components despite the encountered difficult environment and uneven terrain and thus, enables reaching difficult areas and performing tasks that are difficult for humans to perform safely.

The rocker-Bogie mechanism was chosen. The mechanism consists of six wheels designed by making the front 4 wheels have the ability to take the shape of the terrain by rotating freely around a cylinder specially designed for this.

The Main Mechanics

Electrical box: The robot will be exposed to mechanical vibrations and high temperature, so it was necessary to design an electrical box that keeps the electrical components together, we added ventilation fan slots and additional air vents

Electrical box Assembly

The landmine disposal and marking mechanisms

This is the most challenging part of the minesweeper which is solved using a robotic arm . It is designed to hold the mine from the minefield using three electromagnets distributed in a triangular manner on the iron plate. The magnetic force is used to carry the mine from the ground and raise it to the level of the robot and by using rotating gears and disengaging the electromagnet, the mine is dropped in a box designed to keep the mine safe. Pulleys are used to raise the electromagnet to the appropriate height because it distributes the weight of the load, 4 on each side, which gives stability to the motors in carrying the mine from the ground to the surface of the robot safely.

Robotic Arm

Facing the rough environment and the high heat

Unlike urban robots, minesweepers are required to navigate in hostile environments setting the bar higher for engineers to tackle such obstacles. Robo-Tech engineers addressed the rough ground problem in a creative way leaving behind the traditional rubber wheel design and taking advantage of a larger contact area of the specially designed aluminum wheels.
The wheel is designed from a group of small parts that act as the tread in the rubber wheels , which makes contact with the ground to transfer the largest amount of torque from the motor to the ground and interconnect with the sandy ground until the slip is eliminated.

Two cylinders with holes were designed to install these small parts and connect them to each other , additionally, a coupler was designed between the wheel and the motor to ensure the connection between the motor and the wheel parts .

Wheel Assembly

The lightweight aluminum design harvests the maximum force out of the motors, transfers traction force to the ground, and reduces the unsprung weight keeping the whole structure stable in difficult situations. The thin sheet metal structure not only cuts the weight down but also serves as a big heat sink to tackle high-temperature operation issues. In addition, expansion rates of all body parts are harmonized leaving no space for unexpected deformations due to ambient temperature. Moreover, a ventilation system is incorporated into the sheet metal design and an electric fan is mounted for better airflow into the internal components. Furthermore, the power system is split into four modules and configured in a way that the current through each module is limited to the minimum value keeping the power bed cool under all situations.