Robotics in Civil Engineering
* Design and Control of Robotic Highway Safety * MarkersSafety barrels guide traffic and serve as a visible barrier between traffic and work crews. These barrels consist of a brightly colored plastic drum (approximately 130cm high and 50cm in diameter) that is attached to a heavy base. The robotic safety barrel replaces the heavy base with a mobile robot that transports the safety barrel. The robots work in teams to provide traffic control.
Independent, autonomous barrel motion has several advantages. First, the barrels can self-deploy and self-retrieve, eliminating the dangerous task of manually placing barrels.
Second, their positions can be quickly and remotely reconfigured as the work zone changes thus reducing the work zone size. Finally, barrels could continuously follow work * crews.
III. SYSTEM DESIGN
Five barrel robots have been created with two requirements for both the hardware and software: 1) high reliability and 2) low per-robot cost. The robots must be reliable because a malfunctioning robot could become a hazard. Cost per robot is critical because multiple (often >100) markers are used and barrels are often destroyed. Specific constraints include stability in 96 km/h (60 mph) winds, low weight (<12 kg so they can be moved by workers), ability to climb slopes (< 7% grade), travel at 8 km/hr, and traverse small (<8cm) obstructions. Mechanically, the robot has two 20 cm diameter wheels that are independently driven and a passive caster, Fig. 1. This allows the robot to turn on any radius—including turning in place. Each wheel has an encoder so the robot can determine its position over short distances. The robot itself stands less than 30 cm tall and raises the barrel height by 7 cm.
Electrically, the robot is powered by a 12-volt lead acid battery—allowing it to operate continuously for approximately 20 hours. The barrel robot has three 8-bit processors: one is used for robot control (RS2000 Rabbit
Independent, autonomous barrel motion has several advantages. First, the barrels can self-deploy and self-retrieve, eliminating the dangerous task of manually placing barrels.
Second, their positions can be quickly and remotely reconfigured as the work zone changes thus reducing the work zone size. Finally, barrels could continuously follow work * crews.
III. SYSTEM DESIGN
Five barrel robots have been created with two requirements for both the hardware and software: 1) high reliability and 2) low per-robot cost. The robots must be reliable because a malfunctioning robot could become a hazard. Cost per robot is critical because multiple (often >100) markers are used and barrels are often destroyed. Specific constraints include stability in 96 km/h (60 mph) winds, low weight (<12 kg so they can be moved by workers), ability to climb slopes (< 7% grade), travel at 8 km/hr, and traverse small (<8cm) obstructions. Mechanically, the robot has two 20 cm diameter wheels that are independently driven and a passive caster, Fig. 1. This allows the robot to turn on any radius—including turning in place. Each wheel has an encoder so the robot can determine its position over short distances. The robot itself stands less than 30 cm tall and raises the barrel height by 7 cm.
Electrically, the robot is powered by a 12-volt lead acid battery—allowing it to operate continuously for approximately 20 hours. The barrel robot has three 8-bit processors: one is used for robot control (RS2000 Rabbit