Project information
This project involved the development of Henry, the autonomous robot dog, on the initiative of the Safety & Security Campus in collaboration with the police, fire brigade, and defence. The aim of Henry is to support field service providers by taking over physically demanding loads, such as a battering ram weighing approximately twenty kilograms. Carrying such heavy objects restricts the mobility of service providers, and placing these loads on an autonomous robot platform would remove this impediment.
What has been realised?
The project group has taken over the project from the previous group from last year, who used a camera. This year, the group has made an addition based on UWB (Ultra-Wideband). The UWB enables the robot to continue tracking the operator even if the camera can no longer see them, allowing the robot to follow straight lines more effectively. Additionally, a start and stop function has been added to prevent the system from halting abruptly. Although there were technical issues with route tracking, the concept for this has been developed and can serve as a good starting point for future groups.
What have they learned?
Within this project, the project members have learned a great deal about both the technical aspects of the robot and a strategic project approach. By returning to basics and thoroughly researching the project, they have made progress in innovation. Despite some miscommunication and collaboration issues, the project members have been able to learn a lot from each other. The diversity within the group, consisting of one mechatronics student and three computer science students, has contributed to the sharing of knowledge about hardware and software. The students have successfully completed the project with a great final result.
