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Fall 2018 - Spring 2019
Fall 2018 - Spring 2019
Fall 2018 - Spring 2019
Fall 2018 - Spring 2019
terranova: a lunar subterranean exploratory robot
in collaboration with claire brundage, allison grey, dylan hawkes, greg robinov, & raphael van hoffelen
As signaled by NASA's upcoming Artemis mission, the exploration of lunar caves is vital to scientific progression because it provides valuable insights into the Moon’s geologic history. Lunar subterranean research could pave the way for the establishment of safe habitation for humans or mining operations for precious materials embedded in the Moon’s rocky crust.
The objective of the TerraNova project was to enable the exploration of these uncharted lunar subterranean spaces. TerraNova developed a hybrid jumping and wheeled mechanical robot to spring over boulders and efficiently navigate long, dark caverns.
TerraNova’s spring-based jumping mechanism exerts 215 lbf. to launch the robot to a height of one meter under lunar gravity. TerraNova has four-wheel drive and front-wheel differential steering. An active rocker suspension system, a novel application of advanced motor control, ensures that all four wheels remain in even, constant contact with the surface.
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TerraNova was awarded the William K. Gemmill Memorial Prize for outstanding creativity in the MEAM Senior Design Day Competition. At the SEAS Senior Design Day Competition, the team earned an Honorable Mention. TerraNova also was awarded Second Place in the nationwide 2019 Cornell Cup – Arm Enabled Competition.
My CONTRIBUTIONS
My technical specialty on the team was conducting finite element analysis and topology optimization; in doing so, I reduced the overall mass of the robot by 40% to just 20 lbs. In addition, I designed and modeled the jumping mechanism and performed design reviews for manufacturability and assembly.
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Beyond the engineering, I headed communication with external NASA and SpaceX sponsors, raised funds and component donations from industry sponsors, and designed and edited all TerraNova presentations and materials.
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Some efforts I was involved in:
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Interviewing NASA roboticists and volcanologists
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Developed concrete design metrics for one of the least understood regions of the universe using Quality Function Development
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Practiced design to ASTM and ISO standards as well as NASA Procedural Guidelines for risk mitigation
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Downselected robotic architectures from over 20 concepts to our selected one
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Designed the cam-based jumping mechanism for continuous compression, locking, and rapid release
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Created a MATLAB Simulink model to use physics-based principles to drive the nautilus cam geometry
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Run a web mining program to pull compression spring data from McMaster Carr, Acxess Springs, and Century Springs for data analysis and selection of the optimal spring
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Executed impact studies of jumping mechanism firing to ensure a safety factor of 1.5 on all system components
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Conducted topology analysis of over a dozen system components to reduce overall mass by 40%
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Constructed a probabilistic model which simulated the performance of TerraNova in subterranean spaces to determine the optimal battery sizing
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Built testing environments to validate TerraNova's performance over rocky terrain, misaligned footing, long distances, and tight turns
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Created photo-realistic renderings and animations in KeyShot
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Designed all presentations, graphics, and posters for communication with fellow engineers and non-engineers alike
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terranova in action
the terranova team
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