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The following document outlines the requirements, constraints, and operational conditions of the PropBot project. This project is being developed for the UBC Radio Science Lab (RSL) .
The lab’s current research is focused on next-generation wireless and radar systems with the intention of helping to transform numerous industries and systems, including but not limited to marine transportation systems, road safety systems, urban systems, the natural resources sector, and the national defence sector. Further, the UBC RSL values exploring how new technologies, like autonomous systems, can radically change the communications sector.
The UBC RSL requires extensive wireless data collection to facilitate their research endeavours. This involves an arduous and time consuming process of wheeling collection equipment on a cart and recording location data manually. There are currently no commercially available automated solutions specifically for wireless propagation measurement data collection. To address this unmet need, the UBC RSL is developing a six-wheeled autonomous robot, aptly named PropBot for “Propagation Robot”.
The final goal of the PropBot initiative is to qualify the PropBot as a Level 3 autonomous vehicle, as defined by the standards set by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) . Given this broad scope, the initiative is projected to be completed via multiple sequential capstones along with the continuous efforts of the UBC RSL.
PropBot’s current architecture
The final form of "PropBot" will be a fully teleoperable robot that is able to navigate through certain parts of campus autonomously, while recording highly accurate time-stamped location data to be used for research purposes. Achieving this will significantly reduce the time required for collecting propagation measurements. Further, this initiative serves as a basis for the UBC RSL to explore autonomous data collection capabilities. Specifically, PropBot’s real-world driving validation methods include the use of the Aurora Connected Vehicles Testbed , a testing area funded by Transport Canada , the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the Canada Foundation for Innovation . The site was established with the purposes of advancing the use of wireless technology for freight security and efficiency and establishing best practices for use of wireless technology in Canada’s Intelligent Transport Systems Architecture .
As the first capstone involved in the PropBot initiative, our contributions will focus on the development of an autonomy framework, which includes the custom packages for localization, motion planning, motion control, and mission command. Along with the framework, a corresponding autonomy sensor suite has been selected. Finally, to facilitate future hardware improvements, we have selected new electro-mechanical system components to be integrated in the future.