Ideation and Validation Plan

The process we followed to determine the most optimal design for our project was by using a design matrix. The four design we decided to evaluate were a 4-tracked tank, 2-tracked tank, 4-wheeled car, and a 4-wheel jointed car. The parameters we evaluated these designs upon were cost, pressure exerted from the car to the ground, adaptability to outdoors terrain, and battery life. In order to evaluate these designs using these parameters fairly, we made reasonable assumptions (that can be seen below) based on research of most common terrains where mine fields are located (such as Egypt, Iran, and Afghanistan), common electrical components that are responsible of most battery consumption (such as DC motors, servo motors, etc.), and assuming the same length, width, and weight of each design to calculate their pressures fairly. The weights that we chose to implement into our design matrix's parameters are 0.85, 0.85, 0.7, 0.55 for the cost, pressure, adaptability to terrain, and battery life, respectively. Additionally, we scaled all of our rating between 1 and 5 (5 being the best-case scenario), and all of our ratings have a defined specification that can be seen below. The cost and weight are the highest weight parameters due to our main project priorities if developing a low cost and low ground pressure device. Low ground pressure is essential because we want to try to eliminate all possibilities of accidental detonation of an anti-personnel mine; low-cost is also equally as essential because in the case that anti-personnel mine detonates unexpectedly, we want to be able to replace that device with as little financial burden to our stakeholders, as possible. The adaptability of terrain is our second most important parameter because our device needs to complete its missions/operations effectively regardless of operating environment; however, we believe that it is more important to our stakeholders that the device is low-cost and has low ground pressure than the device have 100% adaptability to environment. And lastly, the total battery life of the design is our lest important parameter simply because the battery can always be quickly replaced or charged and then resume operation. Below is our design matrix and our assumptions.

​​​​​​​As explained before it is estimated that there are 110 million land mines in the ground right now and Mines kill or maim more than 7,000 people annually. Our purpose of the model is to create a low-cost, agile, and adaptable robot to assist humanitarian and military demining operations that are working to create a safer living environment for those in war remnant-ridden countries.

After the decision process and the matrix design results, we decided that the best option is to create a 2-tracked tank to assist humanitarians’ daily efforts to locate land mines. Our model is going to be a low-cost, low weight, and agile autonomous tank with two separate tracks. We estimate that the total cost of the prototype will be $560 dollars, the estimated weight is going to be 20 lbs. The design will be able to work effectively on uneven terrain. Using the proper sensors, environmental restrictions should trigger lower-level behaviors that oversee avoiding obstacles and maintaining stability. The tank will be guided by the navigation layer along a predetermined path, ensuring coverage of a desired area. It will have autonomous, path planning, and tracking abilities, it will return its GPS location/path and detect anti-personnel mines. The robot will video feed of robot's vision using a camera and will be remotely operated at a minimum. 

The tank will produce less pressure on the ground than the force required to detonate an antipersonnel landmine, and the battery will last approximately 45 minutes. The design will have a mounting bracket that will hold the portable metal detectors for mine detection. We are planning to use a material that is non-conducting to heat and electricity since we must take into consideration the average outdoor temperatures of common minefields locations and the appropriate cooling system for components. The robot will most likely be operated in environments that induce physical stress onto the robot.

There will be a series of tests that will be needed to test our sub-systems (robotics, navigation, metal detector, and mount/casing). These tests will work to test the accuracy and functionality of the sub-system. For the robotics sub-system, its limitations will be tested to ensure that it is able to pass the variety of terrain features, as listed in the design matrix, it may encounter. This will be done by creating a prototype and exposing the system to terrain features through test routes, which will then be used again to test the accuracy of the GPS and navigation system. The GPS and navigation will be first mapped through a behavioral layer model. Once the software is developed the sensors will be integrated and tested individually. The test will depend on the sensor. Once the sensors are successfully integrated, they will be combined with the robotic system. Once combined, they will undergo the same test routes, while also retrieving and examining the GPS data. For the metal detector, we will first create a metal prototype. We will then test the metal detector ability to detect metal above and below the ground. We will begin by placing metal on a flat surface and test the max distance from the metal for accurate detection. Following surface detection, we will test the ability to detect metal underground. The depth of the metal will be varied as well as the distance of the metal detector from the ground. With these results we will be able to determine the height of the metal detector on the robot. Once the metal detector height has been determined, it will be incorporated into the central casing/mount. The whole system will then be tested through the same test routes with added metal objects underground to evaluate the whole system as a whole on detecting and reporting the location of the placed metal objects. ​​​​​​​