LiDAR Backpack for Scanning Trails in Hawaii
This UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) project was intended to "Develop a novel backpack mobile laser scanning system with a navigation-grade IMU and assess its performance for precise tree mapping in GNSS-denied environment."
As someone who has worked in systems analysis, design, and 3-D printing, I was very interested in working on a project with systems I have never used before. Working with commercial grade LiDAR and IMUs is exciting, especially because it has not been done before on this small form factor and this budget. Bringing the knowledge of my teammates on this technology and my own knowledge of CAD, Battery Management systems, IT, and product development allowed us to efficiently put this project together and benefit from each other.
One of the main challenges we experienced with this project was the procurement of a battery management system with 110VAC that complied with the weight restriction of the project. As this is intended to be worn while hiking through mile-long trails, weight is a vital constraint. The initial design consisted of battery systems weighing 5 lbs to 12 lbs. These solutions offered more power than necessary in a bigger form factor and many options that were not needed, such as a 12v car power outlet, multiple 110VAC outputs, and USB power outlets. Furthermore, the lack of an option to swap batteries reduced the usability of the backpack, as we would have to purchase multiple packs to achieve a full day of scanning. Given my experience in the trades, I knew that Milwaukee Tool had just come out with a product that would love our problem while reducing weight by at least 50% when compared to the lightest previous option and at most 600% when compared to the biggest option. Furthermore, this product allowed for weight distribution; multiple batteries would not be carried by one person and can be switched out when needed. Lastly, though the cost was only 20% lower than other options, it allowed us to not place parts of the budget in a system that would require another full payment for an entirely new solution - rather, we would only have to replace the batteries and reuse the adapter and charger that we already have.
Another less challenging yet vital part of this design was finding or creating a backpack that was waterproof, lightweight, big enough to hold all materials, and stood on its own to mitigate the risk of damage to the sensitive component. Again because of my experience in the trade industry, the team and I decided that the HUSKY tool backpack would be the best option as it is meant for construction site conditions and fulfills all of the needed constraints. Also, Husky and Milwaukee are two of my favorite tool brands, which may have caused a bias, though the team still agreed this would be the best option.
Though I added value to the team via my experience, I learned much about GIS (geographical information systems) and how they work from my teammates. Creating a system where an IMU and a LiDAR work together to 3 dimensionally map a hiking trail showed me what is necessary to create accurate maps of regions and introduced me to what car manufacturers use for their lidar systems. Understanding that the IMU and LiDAR must have a minimal movement difference to accurately track the point cloud challenged me to create a mounting system that obliges this constraint.
As this project is still current, we are still experiencing challenges as we come to the finalized solution. This project will be updated with the results as it is finalized!
As someone who has worked in systems analysis, design, and 3-D printing, I was very interested in working on a project with systems I have never used before. Working with commercial grade LiDAR and IMUs is exciting, especially because it has not been done before on this small form factor and this budget. Bringing the knowledge of my teammates on this technology and my own knowledge of CAD, Battery Management systems, IT, and product development allowed us to efficiently put this project together and benefit from each other.
One of the main challenges we experienced with this project was the procurement of a battery management system with 110VAC that complied with the weight restriction of the project. As this is intended to be worn while hiking through mile-long trails, weight is a vital constraint. The initial design consisted of battery systems weighing 5 lbs to 12 lbs. These solutions offered more power than necessary in a bigger form factor and many options that were not needed, such as a 12v car power outlet, multiple 110VAC outputs, and USB power outlets. Furthermore, the lack of an option to swap batteries reduced the usability of the backpack, as we would have to purchase multiple packs to achieve a full day of scanning. Given my experience in the trades, I knew that Milwaukee Tool had just come out with a product that would love our problem while reducing weight by at least 50% when compared to the lightest previous option and at most 600% when compared to the biggest option. Furthermore, this product allowed for weight distribution; multiple batteries would not be carried by one person and can be switched out when needed. Lastly, though the cost was only 20% lower than other options, it allowed us to not place parts of the budget in a system that would require another full payment for an entirely new solution - rather, we would only have to replace the batteries and reuse the adapter and charger that we already have.
Another less challenging yet vital part of this design was finding or creating a backpack that was waterproof, lightweight, big enough to hold all materials, and stood on its own to mitigate the risk of damage to the sensitive component. Again because of my experience in the trade industry, the team and I decided that the HUSKY tool backpack would be the best option as it is meant for construction site conditions and fulfills all of the needed constraints. Also, Husky and Milwaukee are two of my favorite tool brands, which may have caused a bias, though the team still agreed this would be the best option.
Though I added value to the team via my experience, I learned much about GIS (geographical information systems) and how they work from my teammates. Creating a system where an IMU and a LiDAR work together to 3 dimensionally map a hiking trail showed me what is necessary to create accurate maps of regions and introduced me to what car manufacturers use for their lidar systems. Understanding that the IMU and LiDAR must have a minimal movement difference to accurately track the point cloud challenged me to create a mounting system that obliges this constraint.
As this project is still current, we are still experiencing challenges as we come to the finalized solution. This project will be updated with the results as it is finalized!
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