SOLo.
AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY VEHICLE
01. INTRODUCTION
SOLO is the next generation Autonomous Delivery Vehicle that accommodates the need of an Intelligent Transportation System i.e., it can transport packages to a desired destination without human aid. She represented Project MANAS (Manipal Institute of Technology's official AI Robotics team) at 27th Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC) held at Oakland University, MI, USA. A true example of Craft, Innovation and Technology, she was awarded the Grand Prize and was the runner-up at the Design Challenge.
As the Mechanical Design Head for this project, I was leading the design and manufacturing of SOLO, to develop a successor to ADAM, the first generation Autonomous Delivery Vehicle for 26th IGVC.
ADAM
SOLO
02. Design overview
SENSORS
DRIVE TRAIN
FRAME
MAIN HOUSING UNIT
All the dimensions were carefully chosen and calibrated to achieve swift maneuverability, accurate sensor data readings and to be within the range of competition rules.
03. cONCEPTualisation
SOLO was designed to be more advanced version of ADAM, and a true example of how an Intelligent Transportion System should look like with not only meeting the competition requirements but to be an ideal prototype for a commercial Autonomous Delivery Vehicle for ground transportation of packages with enormous scope of further modification and development to match different working environments.
04. BEHIND THE SCENES
MANUFACTURING
The tray to mount the BLDC motors and encoders that forms the Power Train. Plates were CNC-ed, then welded together.
The development process of the Main Housing Unit.
First a wooden frame was constructed that acted as a mold. Then PVC sheets where bent over this mold using heat gun to get the desired shape. Later side walls, inner compartments and holes were added according to the design.
Time lapse of building SOLO's frame.
Aluminium extrusions ( T-slots), di-cast brackets and allen nuts and bolts were used.
TESTING
Testing the autonomous mode while checking its maneuverability and analyzing the focal vibration points.
Identifying Obstacles and avoiding them is a part of its algorithm. But it can also target an object and continue to follow it. Checking out the "follow me" mode.
COMPETITION
1st rank worldwide(Grand Prize)
1st in Interoperability Challenge (IOP)
2nd in Design Challenge
6th in Cyber Security