NSF EOD Robotics Development
• Summer 2019: ten weeks full-time (45-50 hrs./wk.) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in a team of seven interns.
• Interfaced LiDAR sensors in a Linux environment (Ubuntu) using the robot operating system (ROS) to assemble a 3D point cloud of topography, tested 3D scanning capabilities, documented full wiring and improved mechanical design of an explosive ordnance robot using SolidWorks and 3D printing.
• Graphed chemical data on Excel and ran MATLAB thermodynamic calculations for an ordnance de-arming device with one other team member, and performed successful test fires at a field testing site.
• Constructed and flew a six rotor drone using local components and documented its flight controller set-up, and soldered printed circuit boards for a brush navigation robot.
This project stems from Villanova’s Center for Nonlinear Dynamics and Control and is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in collaboration with the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation (GWHF), where I was a research fellow/intern. The goal was to create and refine an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robot that can be obtained by developing countries in need of such technology at an affordable cost. The overarching mission was to create a robot that can be locally sourced, transported internationally, and under $10,000, as typical EOD robots can be upwards of $100,000 and have difficulty with overseas sourcing/shipment. Cambodia is particularly in need of ordnance relief, as remnants of war from the Vietnam War and Cambodian Genocide have left its citizens prone to loss of life and high rates of injury and amputation. The goals were maintained throughout my time in the project, and my team focused on further development of the robot. I worked on 3 projects in total: EOD robot autonomy, de-arming device, and hexacopter.
A central task of mine was to improve quality of life and documentation of the Villanova ground robot while laying the framework for an eventual autonomous EOD robot through sensor integration and testing. I documented the entirety of the robot’s circuitry, which required me to deconstruct the robot and rewire it to create the diagram shown. Due to the rewiring, I designed a control board for the buttons, switches, meters, and fusebox that an operator would need access to in the field. I laser cut this out of acrylic at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), the most prestigious STEM University in the country, and used an angle grinder to re-cut the sheet metal on the robot body to fit the control board. Finally, I 3D printed a self-designed part to fix a faulty actuator of the robot arm (which I unfortunately do not have documentation of due to my hard drive being corrupted before I returned to America). Sensor integration allowed me to gain experience with the Robot Operating System (ROS) and a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor which can map the surrounding terrain of the robot. In a team of three, I ran ROS in an Ubuntu/Linux-based environment to research a 16-beam LiDAR which efficiently maps surrounding terrain to be stored in a high density 3D point cloud. In the future, the goal is to have the EOD robot analyze the 3D point cloud data and determine the optimal path or method of removing/remediating a given ordnance. This may also include the ability to cut external wires or aim and fire ballistic de-arming device provided a user-interface. I was responsible for running the environment that allowed the LiDAR to collect data, and mapped my Cambodian apartment and a portion of ITC to validate the sensor which is shown.
Another one of my projects was the continuation of a Villanova senior design team ordnance de-arming device. The DeArmer is a proof of concept project for a non explosive disposal system (NEDS) for the remediation of unexploded ordnance (UXO). The DeArmer fires a projectile at the UXO to either destroy it or disrupt its firing mechanism to render the UXO inert. Existing technology uses a modified rifle cartridge to power the projectile, but the cartridges are difficult to travel with internationally and difficult to source locally. The DeArmer uses the controlled combustion of easily sourced propane and oxygen as its power source, allowing for the simple remediation of UXO without detonation of the main charge. The projectile being used is a 20x50mm cylinder encased in a custom designed and 3D printed sabot to guide it down the barrel. I worked with a Villanova graduate student to adapt the DeArmer's propane combustion reaction into the more efficient propane-oxygen reaction explained above. I was responsible for creating graphs of chemical data using Excel to obtain enthalpy and gas constant values used in the MATLAB calculations of the de-armer, including the slug velocity and kinetic energy. This gave me experience with determining the thermodynamics of a combustion reaction and how to simulate this in MATLAB. I helped with the firing procedure and setup of the DeArmer and tested it at the GWHF Applied Technology Training Center in Kampong Chhnang province. After successful test fires, a proposal was to be submitted to the Foundation for continued research of the device as it was deemed practical and useful.
My third main project was in collaboration with ITC, Penn State, and Carnegie Mellon graduate students to construct a multirotor drone capable of communicating with the EOD ground robot for easier and safer UXO remediation. It involved equipping a six rotor drone with a GPS, inertial measurement unit (IMU), and a single beam LiDAR sensor to map terrain. I was tasked with the mechanical processes of constructing the drone and the configuration and documentation of the Naza-M V2 flight controller software used on the aircraft. This required me to troubleshoot and travel to local electronics stores in Phnom Penh for any necessary parts while communication with my team to meet payload and functionality needs. I gained more exposure to LiDAR during this project and became familiar with basic Raspberry Pi coding, which the team used to integrate the sensors explained above.
• Interfaced LiDAR sensors in a Linux environment (Ubuntu) using the robot operating system (ROS) to assemble a 3D point cloud of topography, tested 3D scanning capabilities, documented full wiring and improved mechanical design of an explosive ordnance robot using SolidWorks and 3D printing.
• Graphed chemical data on Excel and ran MATLAB thermodynamic calculations for an ordnance de-arming device with one other team member, and performed successful test fires at a field testing site.
• Constructed and flew a six rotor drone using local components and documented its flight controller set-up, and soldered printed circuit boards for a brush navigation robot.
This project stems from Villanova’s Center for Nonlinear Dynamics and Control and is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in collaboration with the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation (GWHF), where I was a research fellow/intern. The goal was to create and refine an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robot that can be obtained by developing countries in need of such technology at an affordable cost. The overarching mission was to create a robot that can be locally sourced, transported internationally, and under $10,000, as typical EOD robots can be upwards of $100,000 and have difficulty with overseas sourcing/shipment. Cambodia is particularly in need of ordnance relief, as remnants of war from the Vietnam War and Cambodian Genocide have left its citizens prone to loss of life and high rates of injury and amputation. The goals were maintained throughout my time in the project, and my team focused on further development of the robot. I worked on 3 projects in total: EOD robot autonomy, de-arming device, and hexacopter.
A central task of mine was to improve quality of life and documentation of the Villanova ground robot while laying the framework for an eventual autonomous EOD robot through sensor integration and testing. I documented the entirety of the robot’s circuitry, which required me to deconstruct the robot and rewire it to create the diagram shown. Due to the rewiring, I designed a control board for the buttons, switches, meters, and fusebox that an operator would need access to in the field. I laser cut this out of acrylic at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), the most prestigious STEM University in the country, and used an angle grinder to re-cut the sheet metal on the robot body to fit the control board. Finally, I 3D printed a self-designed part to fix a faulty actuator of the robot arm (which I unfortunately do not have documentation of due to my hard drive being corrupted before I returned to America). Sensor integration allowed me to gain experience with the Robot Operating System (ROS) and a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor which can map the surrounding terrain of the robot. In a team of three, I ran ROS in an Ubuntu/Linux-based environment to research a 16-beam LiDAR which efficiently maps surrounding terrain to be stored in a high density 3D point cloud. In the future, the goal is to have the EOD robot analyze the 3D point cloud data and determine the optimal path or method of removing/remediating a given ordnance. This may also include the ability to cut external wires or aim and fire ballistic de-arming device provided a user-interface. I was responsible for running the environment that allowed the LiDAR to collect data, and mapped my Cambodian apartment and a portion of ITC to validate the sensor which is shown.
Another one of my projects was the continuation of a Villanova senior design team ordnance de-arming device. The DeArmer is a proof of concept project for a non explosive disposal system (NEDS) for the remediation of unexploded ordnance (UXO). The DeArmer fires a projectile at the UXO to either destroy it or disrupt its firing mechanism to render the UXO inert. Existing technology uses a modified rifle cartridge to power the projectile, but the cartridges are difficult to travel with internationally and difficult to source locally. The DeArmer uses the controlled combustion of easily sourced propane and oxygen as its power source, allowing for the simple remediation of UXO without detonation of the main charge. The projectile being used is a 20x50mm cylinder encased in a custom designed and 3D printed sabot to guide it down the barrel. I worked with a Villanova graduate student to adapt the DeArmer's propane combustion reaction into the more efficient propane-oxygen reaction explained above. I was responsible for creating graphs of chemical data using Excel to obtain enthalpy and gas constant values used in the MATLAB calculations of the de-armer, including the slug velocity and kinetic energy. This gave me experience with determining the thermodynamics of a combustion reaction and how to simulate this in MATLAB. I helped with the firing procedure and setup of the DeArmer and tested it at the GWHF Applied Technology Training Center in Kampong Chhnang province. After successful test fires, a proposal was to be submitted to the Foundation for continued research of the device as it was deemed practical and useful.
My third main project was in collaboration with ITC, Penn State, and Carnegie Mellon graduate students to construct a multirotor drone capable of communicating with the EOD ground robot for easier and safer UXO remediation. It involved equipping a six rotor drone with a GPS, inertial measurement unit (IMU), and a single beam LiDAR sensor to map terrain. I was tasked with the mechanical processes of constructing the drone and the configuration and documentation of the Naza-M V2 flight controller software used on the aircraft. This required me to troubleshoot and travel to local electronics stores in Phnom Penh for any necessary parts while communication with my team to meet payload and functionality needs. I gained more exposure to LiDAR during this project and became familiar with basic Raspberry Pi coding, which the team used to integrate the sensors explained above.
