technical report
Contents
1. Table of Contents AD i See ae a AA AA AA 2 BUCCE ELMI AA 3 Software Block Diagram 4 SHED a a an eae ae eae RR 5 DESIEMIRAU ONG JJJJ AT se ri 6 MANG CE KY AA 10 TOUDE NOO AA 11 S e EE eaten ee Gee ee eee 13 a PAA 14 Edel AA AA AA 15 Future Improvements 16 EE a E E A 16 E RT 17 Project Management 18 ENDO CE nes II Se eo ese nee TIT ha 20 RELCrENCCS sisi 21 Acknowledgements 21 Gonzaga ROV 1 Abstract In the harsh tundra like waters off the coast of the small province of Newfoundland there are several large oil reservoirs both tapped and untapped It is these oil reservoirs that serve not only as one of the province s major sources of income but as an amazing front for Remotely Operated Vehicle ROV exploration The province has four main drilling operations that serve to extract crude oil Hibernia Hebron Terra Nova and Sea Rose On these platforms ROVs are used not only to perform repairs but also to carry out scientific research and help create new discoveries in the deep frigid waters There is also the potential to investigate ancient tundra ice in the form of icebergs with these ROVs These icebergs can help us furt2. Cash donated Cash donated Note Because the 2015 competition was held In St Johns Newfoundland the company did not incur any travel costs Gonzaga ROV 3 Category Hardware Hardware General Electronics General Hardware Hardware Electronics Electronics General General General General General Expense Thrusters Fasteners Attachments ESCs Testing Wire Frame Electronics Underwater cam Description Sources No tes 4 thrusters Nuts bolts washers Plasti dip donated heat shrink Lasers PVC pipe donated servo donated mirror donated Electronic speed controllers Trial motors 14 gauge wire 6 rolls of 12 gauge wire 100 feet roll Lexan Donated Joystick laptop Arduino mega Donated Donated Computer drive fundraiser Bake sale fundraiser 3rd Place MATE Regional Competition Participation Clothing Swap Bake sale Total Raised Total Spent Final Balance Amount 52 696 00 538 43 58 47 5255 79 5172 84 5293 73 300 208 33 2 000 750 167 3 3422 83 3 465 26 S42 43 Software Block Diagram GonzagaROV 4 S I D Above Water Below Water Gonzaga ROV 5 Design Rationale The greatest challenge when it came to designing our robot was the chassis design Having the need to completely replace our aging robot chassis we were tasked with the tedious task of starting from scratch There were many design choices to consider Thes
3. Engineer Row 2 Second to top Adam Manuel Co Pilot Electrical Engineer Steven Nerehim Electrical Engineer Stephen Pollett Pilot Electrical Engineer Michael Collis Media Human Resources Row 3 Second to bottom Robyn Bulgin Safety Officer Research Scientist Richelle Bulgin Human resources Zhipu Zhang Communications Officer Design Row 4 Bottom row Andrew Nash C E O Anton Afanassiev CTO Chief Programmer Nitish Bhatt Financial Officer Bridget Kenny CFO Human Resources Gonzaga ROV 20 Acknowledgments Gonzaga ROV would like to thank all the sponsors of the 2015 MATE ROV competition We are especially grateful to our mentor Andrew Walsh who taught us much and was with us through all the tough spots We would also like to thank our teacher sponsors Mr Burke Mr Power and Mrs Curtis without whom this would not be possible Also we would like to thank Mr van Nostrand and Mr Ledrew for their generous support for our company We would also like to thank Oceaneering Canada Ltd for providing advice and mentorship References Crustcrawler Inc 2015 400 HFS L Hi Flow Thruster Product Retrieved from http www crustcrawler com products urov2 docs HiFlow Thruster 400HFS L User Guide and Warranty pdf MATE ROV 2015 2015 MATE ROV Competition Manual Retrieved from http www marinetech org files marine files ROV 20Competition 2015 20files RAN GER MANUAL v6b cover pdf User Manual
4. in house After all this we considered motor placement carefully After much thought we opted for two horizontal motors and two vertical Our vertical motors are mounted on the upper portion of our robot such that the robot has the ability to yaw The same was done with the horizontal motors they were positioned such that we could rotate our ROV around its center of gravity To summarize our design was based upon the greatest versatility and performance for the simplest design It is a testament to our engineers and the construction crew s abilities We believe we have built a device worthy of use for years to come Figure 7A picture of an employee holding the ROV Gonzaga ROV 9 Vehicle Systems For the 2015 competitions we decided to revolutionize our robot with all new designs and parts To achieve this our team combined lessons learned from previous years with a great deal of new research to find the best designs and maximize efficiency Our main goal this year was to reduce the size of our ROV One of the most effective ways to do this was eliminating some of our thrusters we previously had six bilge pump motors Much time testing and research were used in finding the correct thrusters for our ROV Our original ideas included improving on the bilge pumps previously on the vehicle and waterproofing smaller DC motors which would weigh less and take up less space Our testing proved useful here as we discovered that the DC
5. motors although small would have been difficult to waterproof and would not output more thrust than we already had After considering our budgetary allotment we decided the best idea was to invest in 400 HFS L Hi Flow ROV thrusters from Crustcrawler To reduce our costs we only purchased four Figure 8A picture of the ROV during the building process thrusters which proved sufficient due to the high thrust output per motor To accommodate the thrusters a new frame had to be built The frame had to be built such that it could incorporate the thrusters directly without an overly complex bracket system The material we chose for the frame was Lexan Lexan was chosen for its high strength and the relative ease with which we could manipulate it In addition we had had experience using Lexan for frame construction from our previous years in the MATE competition With new missions came new tools Our team s skill in innovation was put to the test as we created different tools to accommodate this years missions Many of the tools created were Stationary and for specific missions Despite this the team unanimously decided that we were limited by not having a motorized claw so we built one that could carry items up to four inches in diameter Our claw design was based solely on the items it needed to carry during the Gonzaga ROV 10 missions while also allowing some flexibility so that if needed the claw could be used to fulfill other missio
6. moved on to attempting to alter our program to no success Finally out of ideas we decided to check the amount of resistance in our wires to check if that could be our problem and sure enough we found that the resistance was quite high We checked the wires in our tether and discovered we were running high current motors through a small gauge about 20 AWG wire This contradicted what we understood was in the tether so we had to design our own tether out of lower gauge wire to mitigate this resistance problem We made our new tether out of 12 lengths of 15 2m 12 AWG wire By doing this we increased the cross sectional area of the wire thereby decreasing its resistance From this Gonzaga ROV 12 problem we learned that one should double check materials before using them as this problem could have been avoided entirely if we had confirmed the wire gauge of our tether Figure 10 A picture of the tether connected to the ROV Figure 11 A picture of the tether connected to the ROV Safety At Viking Tech ensuring everyone s safety regarding our ROV is top priority Our philosophy regarding safety is that each member should have a full understanding of their surroundings and is aware of the precautions they must take Even things as simple as wearing appropriate clothing and having a clean work space is are for avoiding injuries Our safety protocol while in the workshop is e Always wear Safety glasses and proper clothing e Have ful
7. e included various geometric shapes Cubes rectangular prisms soheres or even ellipses The ideas behind these designs were as follows Both spherical and elliptical shapes were considered for a proposed alternative propulsion method involving the entire structure rotating with groves for thrust After some calculations the spherical Figure 1A Sketch of the ROV before it was built design was deemed far too complex and difficult to control While the elliptical design was easier the creation of the elliptical shape was deemed much too labour intensive and therefore unreasonable In the end a standard rectangular design was chosen A single sheet of Lexan was cut and bent into a rectangular prism without the base and the two smallest faces This design was chosen because we could modify it add attachments much easier than with the latter choices It allowed for the highest number of hard points to place tools and systems Further any concerns regarding the hydrodynamics were seen to be inconsequential since chunks could be fl cut out to reduce surface area and therefore drag Since there were no on board electronics there was no need to create a waterproof chamber within Instead a horizontal crossbar was added in order to improve the structural integrity of the chassis This allowed for an additional location to potentially mount a camera or other tools Figure 2A picture of the ROV during the building process In r
8. egards to tools we opted for simple tools Our only moving tool is our claw It in itself is simple in design featuring only one servo to control the closing action of the claw Any other tools were decided to be non moving parts These were all made of pieces of Lexan Two such pieces were mounted on the bottom of the crossbar This enabled our robot to turn objects below it which Gonzaga ROV 6 have multiple protruding axles valves Such designs were specifically used with tasks in mind The advantages of such tools include ease of manufacture and ease of replacement Another advantage is the fact that such devices are easily altered to fit other needs as well as being easily swappable Another example of this is our forward prong which can be used to open or push various objects The claw attachment to the ROV was made such that it could be used as the go to tool in any range of situations For this we needed a simple yet effective design After some thought we decided on a pincer like design much like that of a crab claw the most efficient designs can often be found in the natural world We made the claw out of two sections with only one section that moved Figure 3A picture of the ROV during the building process This allowed the claw to be controlled with a single servo making operation very easy as compared to that of a claw that uses multiple servos The second attachment we created was more mission specific th
9. her understand our planet from its early days when it suffered the first great freeze Here at Gonzaga ROV we have spent the past year attempting to design the best possible ROV to work in these unique conditions As a result of a year of hardships and effort we managed to develop Perseus our proud ROV named by popular vote We believe that while being cost efficient and eco friendly Perseus is perfectly equipped for all manner of subsea exploration off the Newfoundland coast and beyond The success of Perseus in previous competitions and testing serves to prove how even when faced with economic limitations and mechanical hardships ROVs can still be practically designed to accomplish all sorts of task Within this report we outline all the challenges we have faced the logistics behind our design and how we prevailed even when placed in some tough situations Gonzaga ROV is proud to present this technical report 2015 International ROV competition di i i 5 ig INTERNATIONAL ROV COMPETITION i tere zone pA i i AT aa VI cher art ind ai vom and rechi N re k Y in the Arti Se E _ Gonzaga ROV 2 Date 1 20 2015 1 20 2015 3 18 2015 2 3 2015 2 3 2015 4 6 2015 11 19 2014 3 11 2015 4 30 2015 4 30 2015 5 28 2015 Budget Type Purchased Purchased Purchased Purchased Purchased Purchased Parts donated Parts donated Re used Cash donated Cash donated Cash donated
10. is attachment was the bent piece of Lexan mounted on the bottom of the ROV This piece would allow the ROV to catch onto the handles of a pipe valve and then turn it It is very simplistic in design as it is simply a bent piece of Lexan but it has proved very effective Another mission specific attachment is the bottom facing prong designed to hook an O ball Since O balls have a large amount of holes we felt that if we could hook through one of these holes we could trap the O ball until it could be brought to the surface However a traditional sharp prong would be a safety concern This meant we had to think outside the box leading us to develop a prong that used multiple zip ties in the place of prongs In testing this could reliably trap an O ball while posing no safety hazard Finally we needed to create an attachment to collect algae represented by Ping Pong balls Firstly we needed a view of the ping pong balls With one camera this could only be possible with Figure 4A picture of the ROV during the a mirror After we had attached the mirror we created a basket regional competition like attachment that used two elastic band as a top This would Gonzaga ROV 7 allow the ping pong ball to be pushed through the elastic bands when we applied sufficient upward thrust but would trap the ping pong ball inside until it could be brought to the surface When it came to camera placement prudence was required Much thought was p
11. l understanding of a machine before using it and have someone with you at all times e When handling objects that are hot always wear safety gloves e When around harmful chemicals always wear a mask to cover your mouth and nose e If you do not feel comfortable doing a job you are not obliged to do it e After using a harmful tool always return it to its rightful place to avoid injuries e Act sensible around machines Gonzaga ROV 13 On our ROV we used Plasti Dip on all bare wires to avoid short any potential short circuits We also used yellow Caution tape on the protective barrels around the propellers to prevent future accidents from happening To ensure complete safety we even filed the edges of our ROV s frame to a curve to exclude any sharp edges The best safety precaution is a careful worker so we encourage our team to practice safety and take it seriously Figure 12 A picture of an employee filing the sharp edges off Figure 13 A picture of an employee taping over a soldered wire the tether Challenges While preparing for the competition our company encountered two major challenges in the technical and non technical aspects of ROV construction The main technical challenge that we encountered was the erratic and unreliable performance of our motors during initial testing This issue threatened to put our team out of contention if it was not solved However through extensive troubleshooting we discovered the two underl
12. lete 1 21 2015 Start installation of motors Complete Gonzaga ROV 18 2 9 2015 2 11 2015 2 23 2015 3 4 2015 3 9 2015 3 11 2015 3 16 2015 3 18 2015 3 23 2015 3 20 2015 4 1 2015 4 6 2015 4 11 2015 4 13 2015 4 30 2015 5 4 2015 5 6 2015 5 8 2015 5 20 2015 5 25 2015 5 28 2015 6 1 2015 6 3 2015 6 8 2015 Note This report was submitted on May 28 2015 so some deadlines may be missing or incomplete Gonzaga ROV 19 Finish installation of motors Begin bug testing program ESC s Start finalizing Poster Begin to design attachments for missions Attach legs to ROV and build stand Print poster Attach mirror amp Ping Pong ball trap Attach O ball trap Double check all safety Begin in water testing Determined motor 3 faulty Order new motor Re design ROV vertical to use 1 motor Finish 3 Motor upgraded ROV Resume in water testing Qualify for Internationals Review of Regionals Assign roles for Tech Report Install 4th motor Collect all pieces of Tech Report Compile Tech Report Send tech report to MATE center Attach bilge pump to ROV Attach laser system to ROV Begin in water testing Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Incomplete Incomplete Incomplete Employees From left to right Row 1 top Joshua Veber Chief Mechanical
13. ment So we proceeded to shut the ROV down and test the ability of the propellers to spin using our fingers We found that there was in fact some resistance when we spun the propellers which meant that something was impeding the movement of the motor shaft Upon investigation we found that the screws used to attach the motor to our mounting bracket were in fact long enough to scrape the moving shaft of the motor So we removed the screws and created a new Lexan bracket that would remove the need to use the screws We then sealed the holes as they exposed the motor shaft and tested it again We found success in this run Through troubleshooting this problem we learned that homemade solutions can be the best as compared to traditional solutions Gonzaga ROV 11 The second major issue that we encountered was a calibration issue in our Electronic Speed Controllers ESC s When setting up ESC s there is normally a one time control range calibration that needs to be done and they are ready to be used for controlling motors ae Fi However when we set our range we found that W amp N ba a our motors were having varied degrees of effectiveness such as having a rough start up or being unable to go in reverse In order to troubleshoot this we first looked at the control program s code and double checked there were no errors in the programming We also checked to make sure that we had the same settings being applied to each motor Afte
14. n our electronics would have to be revamped To control brushless motors we discovered that Electronic Speed Controllers ESCs were necessary Using current usage specifications provided by Crustcrawler we selected 100A Quik Car ESCs to control our motors This choice was mostly influenced by the large range of voltage that the Quik ESCs can handle up to 17V the very high current rating and the affordable price Finally we had to consider the problem of motor control After a failed attempt with using an Xbox 360 Controller to control the ROV we decided to instead use a joystick intended more towards flight simulation After testing the usability of such a joystick we decided to use it Gonzaga ROV 8 Then came the problem of interfacing with the ESCs via program After some research we discovered that ESCs could be controlled via a simple servo signal square wave This could be easily generated via an Arduino which is a commonly available micro controller Creating a program to interface with the Arduino and joystick was challenging as our chief Figure 6 Control Box w ESC s pictured bottom left programmer was skilled in JavaScript which is not typically used to interface with hardware After some more research the library Johnny Five for node js was found this would allow us to interface with an Arduino However there were no libraries to interface with a joystick of our type so we decided to create such a library
15. n tasks for which it was not originally designed The new thrusters also needed a new electrical system Our previous tether when tested proved to have a large amount of resistance therefore not allowing us to run the thrusters to their full potential This was alleviated through the use of 12 gauge wire in our tether We also had to add in four new electronic speed controllers ESCs to be able to control our motors These ESCs would also allow us to control the speed of our motors and use the motors in reverse The final aspect added to our electronics was a programmable Arduino microcontroller which allowed us to upgrade our controls from switches to a joystick for precision driving Troubleshooting During construction of our robot we ran into a few difficult issues that were addressed by our team and repaired or improved Through troubleshooting and a multitude of issues our whole team not only learned more about our robot but about construction principles in general The first major issue we encountered was a mounting issue that was affecting our motors ability to move When we had designed our frame we had several team meetings until we all settled on a design we all liked as a group Following that we had our mechanical engineer create a sketch in Google Sketch Up and build it Early in the project when we installed our motors and had a test run we found that the horizontal motors were stuttering as if something was impeding their move
16. nd the installation of a second camera Due to the problems we had with power transmission to the motors we feel that we would benefit from on board electronics This is due to the fact that such an improvement would allow us to use only two wires for the majority of power transmission which could be an even lower gauge than our current 12 AWG to ensure that we have absolutely no more problems with power transmission This would also allow us to have a more streamlined and easier to manage tether Additionally from our in water experience we found that we had some difficulty spotting objects especially those below us Because of this we feel that a second downward facing camera should be added to the ROV to make sure we have no more vision problems Figure 16 A picture of the ROV control box Reflections In reflection our year with Gonzaga ROV was fraught with many challenges challenges that we overcame and challenges that taught us much These challenges taught us things from every aspect of ROV creation from design and assembly to electronics and software But more importantly it taught us concepts such as teamwork and leadership creating an impact on us that will last us the rest of our lives Gonzaga ROV 16 Teamwork Designing constructing and operating an ROV like Perseus to an advanced level involves all members of a dedicated team Different members of our group were tasked throughout the year with separate jobs t
17. o ensure that the robot as well as the poster were completely finished in time of the competition Group member s roles were based upon skills that were valuable for certain areas We also set deadlines for team members to ensure that they were completing their tasks well in advance of their due dates With our writing and computer team the different report sections were categorized and then equally divided among a group of people to ensure quality and efficiency of work When building the ROV itself we had different members build different sections such as the claw the frame and the thruster brackets We also had different members who programmed the robot as well as complete the complex electronic systems present on Perseus This project has taught all team members the values of teamwork It helped to bring similarly minded people together to accomplish something great and develop long lasting friendships We learned cooperation management and work ethic through our experiences together Figure 17A picture of the team at the Regional competition Gonzaga ROV 17 Project Management Near the beginning of the year it was established that company meetings would take place twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays Because not all members could attend both Monday and Wednesday due to other commitments a lunchtime meeting on Tuesdays was put in place so members who did not attend both practices would not be out of the loop After a few week
18. of Quik Series ESC for Car n d Retrieved from http www hobbyking com hobbyking store uploads 764731122X1256999X25 pdf Gonzaga ROV 21
19. r verifying that we proceeded to check the motors for damage or Figure 9 A picture of the control box of the ROV motion impeding issues like we had experienced earlier and found none We then checked the pulse widths coming out of the ESC s to make sure that they were actually sending a signal to our motors and they were After testing all the obvious possibilities we read online that ESCs could only accept PWM signals with a pulse width of 1000 2000 us We decided to try and change this from the control program We also changed reverse thrust settings and start up speed settings on the ESCs In the end this gave us a setup that worked with the motors Through this issue we learned that sometimes the simplest solution is the best we had assumed that the issue was a bigger deal than it was and spent hours troubleshooting what should have been an easy fix It also taught us that all parts of a system are important and need to be checked while trying to find a problem The last issue we encountered was related to the tether we were using to transmit power and control signals to our motors As we were testing our ROV we found that the motors were not working as in the way that we had seen in videos So we decided to look for a way to improve this The first thing we did was checking the motors themselves for damage to make sure we did not damage them in installation and testing We could not find any issues with our motors when we checked them so we
20. rn the inner workings of a motor without risking our costly main motors This knowledge of motors is invaluable as installing and operating similar motors will undoubtedly be a key aspect of some of our careers Many of our team members had also had no Figure 14 A picture of one of the ROV s motors experience with operating power tools a critical aspect of ROV construction Through our supervisors and mentors we all learned how to safely operate the tools each of us would need to use in our varied roles This again was invaluable as almost any of the technical job sectors would require the use of power tools Finally some of our members learned how to effectively carry a leadership position At first they had little experience with leadership and found organisation could take a long time especially when they had to consider everyone s varied roles However as time went on they became more adept at organization and leadership of the team to the point where these skills now come easily and fluently This has prepared the team members with leadership roles for future careers where they will have to take the lead once again Figure 15 A picture of an employee learning to solder a wire Gonzaga ROV 15 Future Improvements From the problems we encountered with our motors as well as during our in water experiences we have created a plan for future improvements This plan involves placing some of our electronics on board the ROV a
21. s of unorganized meetings a schedule was established as shown below Whenever something needed to be done it was added to the schedule and given a deadline Creation and enforcement of deadlines was handled by Gonzaga ROV C E O Andrew Nash Andrew identified what needed to be done by personally talking to each company employee Using each employees input and information received from consultation with the heads of each branch of Gonzaga ROV he planned out what needed to be done and gave each team member a role This was especially effective when he hosted a team meeting after the MATE regional competition The team went through every task and questioned each other on how they were going to do it better at the international competition Once Andrew had taken note on what improvements needed to be done he created deadlines for each one These deadlines were essential in organizing the team Deadline Date Objective Result 10 15 2014 First meeting Gather team members Complete 10 20 2014 Assign Roles Complete 10 22 2014 Start ROV Design Complete 10 27 2013 Assign Poster team roles Complete 11 3 2014 Finish ROV design and start ordering parts Complete 11 10 2014 Make sure all parts ordered and start building frame Complete 11 19 2014 Start coding controller Complete 11 24 2014 Finish ROV frame wait for motors Complete 12 15 2014 Test Motors arrive Order actual motors Complete 12 17 2014 Finish controller program Complete 1 20 2015 Motors Arrive Comp
22. ut into this task Several mounts were considered including a dual mount for stereoscopic 3 D support and a gyroscopic mount The gyroscopic mount was discarded due to energy limitations The latter was discarded due to it being deemed unnecessary and over expensive with our modest budget Camera was ultimately placed as an attachment to the upper face of the chassis The angled camera allowed for excellent views of the fore mounted tools In addition to this we had a mirror positioned in view of the camera so that we could have a view of what was above the ROV This was mainly designed to address the algae sample retrieval task mentioned previously but it also proved useful when navigating as it allowed us to determine the position of the ROV in relation to the ice sheet Choice of thrusters was perhaps the most Figure 5A picture ia ROV thruster important decision that had to be taken on We researched different motor types and found two main types brushed and brushless Through our research we found that brushless motors would be the most efficient and so we placed a preference towards brushless motors Then we researched commercially available ROV thrusters that fit within our budget finding only a few options all of which were approximately the same price However after comparing specifications we realized that the 400 HFS thrusters would offer the best performance likely due to their brushless design This brushless design would mea
23. ying problems responsible the first of these was that the high gauge of the tether wires 20 AWG was causing heavy power loss and the second being that some Arduino pins were not functioning properly We fully restored the use of our motors by building a new tether with lower gauge wire 12 AWG and switching Arduino pins The primary non technical challenge for our company was scheduling meeting times Many of our members were engaged in school activities or other work throughout the week and thus a singular meeting day would not work We polled our group members about which days were best and scheduled our twice weekly meetings accordingly This would allow each member to be present to at least one of the meetings Gonzaga ROV 14 Lessons Learned Throughout the entire build process we learned a multitude of lessons These lessons included knowledge about electrical motors the usage of power tools and of course effective organization of a group of people in which each member s role can vary significantly The first main lesson we learned was the usage of electrical motors Many of the company members responsible for construction were new to the team and had no experience with how electrical motors worked Through research we gained valuable knowledge about power transmission speed control and even the inner design of the motors For this it was particularly helpful to have small test motors to demo lia pr L12 j our designs and lea
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search