Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition 2006

Brigham Young University

The Challenge:To design and build a fully autonomous robot capable of

traversing an obstacle course

while staying within the white

boundaries. The fastest robot wins!

The 14th Annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition

Selfridge Air National Guard Base Harrison Township, Michigan

June 10 - 12, 2006

www.igvc.org

Pledge Your Support

The logos of our sponsors of the project will be prominently displayed on our robot and website. We are committed to the success of this project and to helping our sponsors receive recognition for their essential role.

As the following slide explains, it will cost roughly $16,000 to build the robot and $12,000 to attend the competition. Any contribution you can make will help us implement our powerful algorithms with the latest technology.

Major Expenses

• Sensors: $10,000–Color cameras, Three Axis Compass, GPS, Laser range finder

• Electrical System: $3,000– Laptop or Small PC, Microcontroller boards, Frame capture boards   

• Mechanical System: $3,000– Replacement motors, Fiberglass exterior, Treads, Wheel Encoders, Bearings

• Team Expenses: $12,000– Transportation of Team and Robot to the Competition

Senior Project Teams 2005

2005 SuccessLast year’s entry from

BYU took 5th place among 37 teams from across the

world! This was also BYU’s first year to

ever participate in the competition.

Design FeaturesA single camera guided the robot around obstacles

and navigated within the

boundaries.

Design Features

Image processing took place on a Pentium III

system which translated the real-time

visual input into steering commands.

The laptop shown was used for testing the

various subsystems.

Design FeaturesA motorized wheelchair

chassis with independently

controlled wheels allowed the robot to turn on a dime. The robust motors and

gearboxes performed extremely well on the terrain of the course.

Looking Ahead…

Inspired by the extraordinary success of last year’s team, a new group of 12 electrical and

computer engineering students is determined to win this year’s competition.

BYU’s 2005 team faced difficult time and budget constraints, but we will improve on their design:

- Unpowered front wheels swerved on slopes

New tread design provides excellent stability

- Wheels did not include feedback about distance traveled

Wheel encoders will record distances within inches

- Unoptimized frame buffering slowed image processing

New capture boards and frame processing

- Limited funds only allowed for a single camera

Sponsors will make stereo vision and distance sensing feasible

Challenges

We are confident that we can win by:

• Intelligent computing: path planning including short-term memory of the robot’s immediate surroundings and learned reflexes built on familiar situations

• Sensory Input: More advanced sensors will allow us to recognize obstacles quickly and accurately and navigate without sacrificing speed

Concept Drawings of Y-clops

Design Decisions:• Tank tracks on our wheels will decrease

slippage, ensuring the robot will not veer off course on slopes and inclines. They will also make sure our wheel encoders accurately measure distance traveled

• A fiberglass or polymer shell will give our robot a sleek look as we compete in the design competition, and allow us to prominently display logos of our sponsors

Conclusion:• Last year, on a shoestring budget and with

only six months to prepare, our team came in 5th out of 37 teams.

This year, with more time to

prepare and more resources, we’re confident we can win this competition!

Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition 2006

Brigham Young University

http://yclops.ece.byu.edu