Embedded Systems Design Europe - August/September 2008 - (Page 22)

design Graphical design empowers life saving BY POM YUAN LAM, MARCO SCHMID & ANDERS FREDERIKSEN spider robots T he prime purpose of any life saving equipment is to ensure no additional loss of human life and to ﬁnd any casualties as fast as possible. With this is in mind, the development of the six legged robotic spider to support life rescuing operations during catastrophe response missions, such as collapsed buildings after an earth-quake empowers a complete robotic solution. Thanks to its mobility, small size and onboard intelligence, the spider can avoid a variety of obstacles and move to remote, difﬁcult-to-reach locations to look for trapped victims. Another potential application area is to replace humans in dangerous missions, such as sweeping and neutralizing mine-ﬁelds. These challenges are met by a highly mobile walking scheme: the robot has independent legs allowing it to move in an omni-directional fashion, even on terrain where robotic movement is not normally possible or is too risky. ‘Walking’ and ‘rotating’ belong to the basic high-level motion patterns that have been adopted from six-legged insects. Three moving and lifting ‘feet’ enable the desired walking speed and provide the required equilibrium for harsh terrain. ‘Creeping’ is a special motion which allows the robot to squeeze through tight spaces and narrow slots. The leg mechanics and motion control are both key features of the spider robot. A total of 24 ‘smart’ dc brushless motors not only drive the legs but also function as integral joints of the walking mechanics. This leads to a sturdy, yet light-weight construction, reducing the power consumption and improving the motion dynamics. Besides the legs, the robot features typical autonomous robotic subsystems including machine vision, distance measuring and wireless communication. The embedded hardware and two 7.2V lithium polymer batteries including the fuel gauges reside inside the rigid body of the robot. Mission parameters, I/O settings and new motion gaits can be transferred either wirelessly or by removable media. The spiders’ low-level movements rely on complex mathematical models calculated at run-time. Thanks to the embedded computing power of the Analog Devices Blackﬁn Processor and Schmid Engineering’s deterministic real-time services, the motion looks is dynamic and smooth. High-level LabVIEW VIs as well as hand-optimized Blackﬁn maths 22 AUGUST – SEPTEMBER 2008 | embedded systems design europe | www.embedded.com/europe 022-023_ESDE.indd 22 28/08/08 11:53:01 http://www.embedded.com/europe

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Embedded Systems Design Europe - August/September 2008 Contents TI Overhauls DSP Lineup, Adds 15 Processors QNX Publishes Source Code for File System Congatec to Take on Proprietary Market Swiss Multicore Project Wins Microsoft Grant OpenCores Bundles Development Tool ARM Compiler Boosts Freescale i.MX31 LabVIEW Updated for Multicore and Wireless Cover Feature: Interactive Tool Supports Multiprocessor SoC Design Wanted: Benchmaking for Embedded VMM Hypervisors Graphical Design Empowers Spider Robots Building a Power Supply for Discontinuous Transmission Wireless Networks RTOS Selection & Best Practices Achieving Cache Coherence in a MIPS32 Multicore Design New Products Advertising Contacts

Embedded Systems Design Europe - August/September 2008

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