BYU Mars Rover
Encyclopedia
The BYU Mars Rover is a student designed, built and run project overlooked and funded primarily by the Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Physics departments at Brigham Young University
. The rover competes annually in the University Rover Challenge
(URC) near Hanksville, Utah
at the Mars Desert Research Station
, and is currently being evaluated for research use.
for the chassis
, and a four wheel drive, skid steer type drivetrain
using brushless motors. The rover also had stereo video transmitted over 900 MHz analog video
links.
The first year the BYU rover took second place at the competition, coming in behind the University of Nevada, Reno
rover, and ahead of Penn State and UCLA.
After solving computer issues the first day of events, the BYU rover competed in the Soil Science task on the morning of the second day, but broke their drivetrain within minutes of leaving the start gate. This failure led the BYU team to finish in fifth place.
on the rover from Windows XP
to Debian Linux.
Another goal of the team was to test the rover a month before the URC, a task that was accomplished with the drivetrain and other basic controls, but not with video or the arm.
At the event, the rover was able to actually compete in all of the tasks for the first time, with no major failures. The primary limitations were radio range, and limited testing with the robotic arm. As such, the rover did well at competition, finishing in second place.
The rover arm is a student designed and built 5 degree of freedom robotic arm
using high resolution optical encoders
and high torque planetary gear motors as well as timing belt
gearing.
(SBC) running Ubuntu
Linux
and connected to the communications radios over Ethernet
. In addition, the arm and servo
control is handled by an ARM
SBC running at 500 MHz and a Lynxmotion
32 output servo controller.
The rover uses a 900 MHz radio with a theoretical throughput
of 54 Mb/s and an output power of up to 700 mW. Both the base station
and rover side radios are connected to omnidirectional antenna
s.
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
. The rover competes annually in the University Rover Challenge
University Rover Challenge
The University Rover Challenge is an annual international competition hosted by the Mars Society for University and College students to complete a given scenario using a rover the team has built.-Location:...
(URC) near Hanksville, Utah
Hanksville, Utah
Hanksville is a small town in Wayne County, Utah, United States, at the junction of State Routes 24 and 95. The town is just south of the confluence of the Fremont River and Muddy Creek, which together form the Dirty Devil River, which then flows southeast to the Colorado River...
at the Mars Desert Research Station
Mars Desert Research Station
The Mars Desert Research Station is the second of four planned simulated Mars surface exploration habitats owned and operated by the Mars Society.-Background:...
, and is currently being evaluated for research use.
History
The BYU Mars Rover project is currently in its fifth year, after being started by BYU Physics Professor Dr. David Allred when he announced the upcoming URC in his second semester physics class.2007
After deciding to compete in the first URC, and being funded primarily by the BYU Physics Department and Dr. Allred, the team began construction on a simple rover design, using 3/4" square aluminum tubingPipe (material)
A pipe is a tubular section or hollow cylinder, usually but not necessarily of circular cross-section, used mainly to convey substances which can flow — liquids and gases , slurries, powders, masses of small solids...
for the chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
, and a four wheel drive, skid steer type drivetrain
Powertrain
In a motor vehicle, the term powertrain or powerplant refers to the group of components that generate power and deliver it to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the engine, transmission, drive shafts, differentials, and the final drive...
using brushless motors. The rover also had stereo video transmitted over 900 MHz analog video
Analog video
Analog video is a video signal transferred by an analog signal. An analog color video signal contains luminance, brightness and chrominance of an analog television image...
links.
The first year the BYU rover took second place at the competition, coming in behind the University of Nevada, Reno
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
rover, and ahead of Penn State and UCLA.
2008
For the 2008 season, the BYU rover was completely redesigned and rebuilt from scratch, with a completely new drivetrain, a suspension, and a custom designed and built robotic arm. Unfortunately, the redesign left no time for testing, and the rover did not complete its first drive until the team was actually at the event.After solving computer issues the first day of events, the BYU rover competed in the Soil Science task on the morning of the second day, but broke their drivetrain within minutes of leaving the start gate. This failure led the BYU team to finish in fifth place.
2009
After the past year's mechanical failures and software issues, the rover was modified, as the team felt that the basic design of the rover was sound, it just needed revision. As such, the chassis was kept mostly the same, but a completely new suspension was designed and built, and a new drivetrain was selected, as well as switched the operating systemOperating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
on the rover from Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
to Debian Linux.
Another goal of the team was to test the rover a month before the URC, a task that was accomplished with the drivetrain and other basic controls, but not with video or the arm.
At the event, the rover was able to actually compete in all of the tasks for the first time, with no major failures. The primary limitations were radio range, and limited testing with the robotic arm. As such, the rover did well at competition, finishing in second place.
Mechanical systems
As of 2009, the BYU Mars Rover is a four wheel drive, skid steer type vehicle, approximately 36" long, 40" wide, and 20" tall (excluding antenna and camera mast). Each wheel is approximately 12" in diameter, and is powered by a brushless electric motor and planetary gearbox. The suspension is a fully independent A-arm design, with CNC milled A-arms, and is well integrated into the rover chassis in order to reduce weight and complexity.The rover arm is a student designed and built 5 degree of freedom robotic arm
Robotic arm
A mechanical arm is a robotic, usually programmable, with similar functions to a human arm. The links of such a manipulator are connected by joints allowing either rotational motion or translational displacement. The links of the manipulator can be considered to form a kinematic chain...
using high resolution optical encoders
Rotary encoder
A rotary encoder, also called a shaft encoder, is an electro-mechanical device that converts the angular position or motion of a shaft or axle to an analog or digital code. The output of incremental encoders provides information about the motion of the shaft which is typically further processed...
and high torque planetary gear motors as well as timing belt
Timing belt
A timing belt, or cam belt , is a part of an internal combustion engine that controls the timing of the engine's valves. Some engines, such as the flat-4 Volkswagen air-cooled engine, and the straight-6 Toyota F engine use timing gears...
gearing.
Control systems
The rover is controlled using a variety of off the shelf computing platforms. The primary computer is a 1 GHz Intel single-board computerSingle-board computer
A single-board computer is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor, memory, input/output and other features required of a functional computer. Unlike a typical personal computer, an SBC may not include slots into which accessory cards may be plugged...
(SBC) running Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and connected to the communications radios over Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
. In addition, the arm and servo
Servomechanism
thumb|right|200px|Industrial servomotorThe grey/green cylinder is the [[Brush |brush-type]] [[DC motor]]. The black section at the bottom contains the [[Epicyclic gearing|planetary]] [[Reduction drive|reduction gear]], and the black object on top of the motor is the optical [[rotary encoder]] for...
control is handled by an ARM
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
SBC running at 500 MHz and a Lynxmotion
Lynxmotion
Lynxmotion is a robot parts and kits manufacturing company based in Pekin, Illinois. They design and manufacture a variety of hobby and research level robot kits and parts, and specialize in a modular robotics building system known as the Servo Erector Set....
32 output servo controller.
The rover uses a 900 MHz radio with a theoretical throughput
Throughput
In communication networks, such as Ethernet or packet radio, throughput or network throughput is the average rate of successful message delivery over a communication channel. This data may be delivered over a physical or logical link, or pass through a certain network node...
of 54 Mb/s and an output power of up to 700 mW. Both the base station
Base station
The term base station can be used in the context of land surveying and wireless communications.- Land surveying :In the context of external land surveying, a base station is a GPS receiver at an accurately-known fixed location which is used to derive correction information for nearby portable GPS...
and rover side radios are connected to omnidirectional antenna
Omnidirectional antenna
In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is an antenna which radiates radio wave power uniformly in all directions in one plane, with the radiated power decreasing with elevation angle above or below the plane, dropping to zero on the antenna's axis. This radiation pattern is often...
s.
Awards
- Second Place, 2007 University Rover Challenge - Rover 1
- Fifth Place, 2008 University Rover Challenge - Rover 2
- Second Place, 2009 University Rover Challenge - Rover 2.1
- Fourth Place, 2010 University Rover Challenge - Rover 2.2