Explorer 51: First Iteration
Our Capstone project revolves around the development and testing of an autonomous robot. The first iteration of our robot, running on a Jetson TX2 Module with SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) capabilities on-board, has been supplied by MITRE Corporation, who is sponsoring our project.

The robot uses a LIDAR sensor (black, cylindrical device in the back of the picture) to create a visual map of an indoor space, which we then can see on an external device. A standard LiPo battery powers the robot. We control the robot using a standard RC transmitter, with dedicated “disarm” and steering switches:

We have determined several milestones to meet for the Fall 2019 semester, which will carry over into the spring:
- Become familiar with ROS (Robot Operating System).
- Become familiar with the robot and its current mapping technology.
- Explore possibilities for advancements to the robot’s operation and communication abilities.
Currently, the functionalities we hope to improve on are:
- Robot navigation in an indoor space.
- Accurate mapping of an indoor space, including the surrounding area and targets of interest.
- Ability to return to a designated point on the map, à la “return to base”.
- Better integration of existing and new hardware/software.
Testing:
Object Avoidance
Some of our initial testing involved running the existing object and collision avoidance code. Currently, the robot should detect any obstacle (wall, chair, etc.) in front of itself, and stop a certain distance away, based on its speed:
We ran into the problem of not being able to move directly backward after the collision avoidance kicks in- the robot can only move left or right to escape. This is obviously not optimal, considering there may be other obstacles on the robot’s sides.
Indoor Mapping
