My RLSC Internship

By: Joseph Yudasz

RLSC Overview • RLSC (Robot Logistics Support Center) • Robot logistics, maintenance sustainment and training of Non-

standard Army equipment.• Repairing, resetting and training for today’s Warfighters on the

robots of the past, present and future. • Supporting units across the United States and overseas• Customers include: United States Air Force, United States

Marine Corps, United States Navy, United States Army, and The United States Army National Guard

Internship Responsibilities• Develop decontamination procedure for the TALON and PackBot

CBRNe (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High Yield Explosives) robots. • Participate in IPT (Integrated Product Team)• Develop TSP (Training Support Packages)• Coordinate with Robot OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacture) • Introduce the uPoint MRC (Multiple Robot Controller) to the RLSC • Upgrading and resetting robots

Develop Decontamination Process for TALON IV and PackBot 510 CBRN

• Created documentation for the iRobot 510 PackBot and the TALON IV robots • Each manual has instructions on how to handle and

decontaminate each part of the robot depending on the type of expositor it endures• Researched the military standards for decontamination

and consulted with the OEM’s regarding the make-up of each part so that I could categorized each for different decontamination • When I was finished my document was reviewed by

the director of the RLSC, the OEM’s, and the user community for approval and acceptance

Participate in IPT• IPT (Integrated Product Team)• I was responsible to sit in on IPT meetings where discussions were held on all products and

projects that I was involved in• In the case of iRobot meeting that we had every Friday, I was identified as the SME (Subject

Matter Expert) at the RLSC when it came to questions about the PackBot CBRNe decontamination

• I was involved in testing and operation meetings on the new TALON IV CBRNe Robot • I was involved in the meetings regarding the new plans for the TSP and the training of the new

TALON IV robot• These meetings had members from each of the individual teams that make up the RLSC as a

whole and outside agencies the RLSC cooperates and coordinates with• This gave me a great opportunity to step in and participate as one of the team members in the

technical and professional discussions

Develop TSP (Training Support Packages)

• The TSP includes five different sections:• Intro• PMCS ( Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services ) • Drive Operation• Reconnaissance • Manipulation

• Each of these sections are very important in the operation and sustainment of all robotic platforms

• In Developing a TSP for the TALON IV, I worked closely with other members of the RLSC team to assist them in the development process

• We upgraded the TALON IIIB TSP to reflect the new TALON IV features• We took updated pictures and wrote out the capabilities and steps on how

to use the features and maintain the platform• After all the documents are updated and approved by the training lead at

the RLSC, they are sent to MSCoE (Maneuver Support Center of Excellence) for final approval before these documents are used in a period of instruction for Combat Engineers

Introducing iRobot uPoint MRC to the RLSC

• As an intern at the RLSC I had a chance to work with iRobot's Business Development Team to help introduce their new uPoint Robot controller to the RLSC • Being accountable for the uPoint at the RLSC meant that I

had to learn how to use the system and all of its features • I also had to demonstrate and educate any user community

that came to the RLSC about the future robot controller • Collected feedback from the user community and relayed

that information back to the iRobot team in order to improve the interface of a still-in-development system

Integrate with Robot OEMs

• I interacted with the Robot OEM’s (iRobot & QinetiQ) on their robots regarding their new CBRNe platforms• We had the opportunity to research and observe the TALON and PackBot versions of the CBRNe Platform • We observed the OEM’s upgrading current robotic platforms to the newer CBRNe versions of that platform

• TALON IV to TALON IV CBRNe• PackBot 510 to PackBot 510 CBRNe

• We had a chance to travel out to Boston to visit with both OEM’s• At iRobot, we got to tour the facilities, test out the new uPoint system and talk to their engineers about the

CBRNe platform and my decontamination document• At QinetiQ, we gave a capabilities demonstration of the new TALON IV system and met with the engineers

about the CBRNe platform. Along with the demonstration we got a chance to work with the CST units (U.S. Army National Guard Civil Support Teams) that are being trained on how to use the platform during the week at QinetiQ.

• We were able to obtain a lot of user feedback from the CST members in regards to the platform which will be useful to us in future training and fielding of these robots

Upgrading and Resetting Robots• One of my smaller yet important tasks was to help reset iRobot 310 robots• Resetting a robot entails taking a older non-mission capable robot completely apart

and discovering all of the deficiencies that the robot has then replacing the broken or missing parts and reassembling it

• After discovering the errors we then begin to clean the robot and all of its components • Once the cleaning was completed we then determined what parts can be saved to

reassemble a brand new robot once the robot is reassembled.• The parts that we did not save for the robot were discarded and replaced • After gathering all of my replacement parts for my robot I then reassembled my entire

robot, tested it and the set it on to the QA Team (Quality and Assurance) for the final robot functions check.

• The other hands on task that I had was to upgrade a TALON IIIB to a TALON IV Robot for our training purposes.

• This upgrade includes taking the old OCU (Operator Control Unit) and replacing it with the new LCU (Laptop Control Unit)

• The upgrade also includes changing out the light, the battery tray, the radio hardware, and software upgrades

Challenges and Successes • One of the challenges I had right from the start of my internship was getting up to speed as fast as

I could on the robots I was going to be working with• Right after joining the RLSC I joined a robot familiarization class • In the class we went over all the basic operations and maintenance procedures of each robotic platforms

that the RLSC supports• This right away gave me all the knowledge I needed to operate each robot correctly along with

understanding all the parts on each robot • Another one of my challenges I had to overcome was obtaining the knowledge necessary to create and

complete my decontamination procedures for both the TALON and PackBot robots • I had to do a lot of research to obtain the information I needed to create this documents for each robot• That research included information on all of the parts that made up each robot, the material compositions

of each part, and what the military standers are for decontaminating each different part depending on what it is made up

• After the research was completed I had all the necessary information needed to complete the documents to decontaminate each robot successfully

Internship Take Away • My internship at the RLSC has taught me many valuable things about all different types of robots • I have learned how to identify, disassemble, and repair many different faults in different robots• I had the chance to familiarize myself in the operation and maintenance of all the robots that the RLSC

supports• I observed and I had the chance myself to program a robot during the upgrading process• I have seen first hand how companies work together behind the scenes to support each other in a real

world setting• I had the chance to create two decontamination procedures that will be used by the CST’s for the CBRNe

robots for years to come • I have also had the opportunity to meet and connect with a lot of great people here at the RLCS• My mentor at the RLSC has really given me a great incite into the world of military robot training and

sustainment and has helped me so much during my 10 week internship• This has been a valuable experience for me and I know I will be able to use many if not everything I

learned here in my time at the RLSC to better myself personally and professionally going into my future

Future Plans • I am going into my senior year at Lawrence Tech University this fall in

my continued pursuit of a Bachelor of Science in Robotics Engineering degree• This will also be my last season as a part of LTU’s Men’s Lacrosse Team,

which I have been the captain of for three seasons now• My expected graduation will be in the Spring of 2017 • My Future Career goals after college are to stay in the robotics

industry, hopefully working in military robotics in one way or another!