University Rover Challenge

Project Overview

The University Rover Challenge (URC) is an annual university level robotics competition held by the Mars Society to design and build a rover that could be used in Martian environments.

• My Role: Software Technical Lead
• Overhauled the entire software architecture into a modular system
  • ROS for data and communications
  • Embedded C++ for peripheral control
• Hosted design reviews for electrical, mechanical, and software teams.

URC Missions

• Science Mission: Visit sites of biological interest and collect and analyze samples.
• Extreme Retrieval & Delivery Mission: Pick up and deliver objects in the field.
• Equipment Servicing Mission: Perform several dexterous tasks, including typing on a keyboard, using a screwdriver, and plugging in a USB stick.
• Autonomous Travel Mission: Autonomously traverse between staged markers.

Technical Contributions

• Team Mentorship: Provided guidance to underclassmen on the team across multiple disciplines.
• Led full-team meetings to review rover architecture and subsystems.
• Hosted cross-disciplinary design reviews for electrical, mechanical, and software teams.
• Advised on PCB design practices to ensure robust hardware development.
• Mentored software team members on robotics theory, ROS architecture, and software design principles.
• Modular Software Architecture: Designed a scalable architecture using ROS (Python) for data handling and communications.
• Implemented on ROS Melodic with a Jetson Nano, with the team actively transitioning to a Jetson Orin Nano.
• Created custom ROS messages for encoding and decoding CAN communication.
• Enables a common message structure between both the ROS network and the embedded network, where each message has an ID and an 8-bit buffer.
• Messages are encoded and decoded on both ends depending on their application.
• A singular CAN node sends and receives messages between UART and their respective ROS topics.
• Integrated custom kinematic libraries for the drive base and robotic arm control.
• Developed a custom state machine for mission planning and execution.
• Interface with higher bandwidth sensors including LiDAR, GPS, Cameras, communication channels.
• Embedded Systems Development: Developed firmware for sensor integration and peripheral control in C++.
• Used Teensy 4.1 microcontroller boards for subsystem management and peripheral control.
• Main Body Board: Drive base, temperature control, UART interface with Jetson.
• Arm Board: Robotic arm control.
• Science Board: Science payload control. Peripherals include soil collection actuator, fluorometer, micropump.
• Utilized the FlexCAN library for efficient CAN communication between microcontrollers and UART for communication with the main computer.
• Integration and Autonomy Support: Serve as an active resource for team members to address integration challenges, autonomy concerns, and high-level design questions.

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