Date of Award
2018
Document Type
Open Access Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MS)
Administrative Home Department
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Advisor 1
Nina Mahmoudian
Committee Member 1
Mo Rastgaar
Committee Member 2
Wayne Weaver
Abstract
Application of mobile robots to microgrid formation has value for disaster response and service of forward operating bases. This thesis describes the development, testing and demonstration of broad effort across multiple disciplines to enable outdoor positioning and connection of mobile microgrids for the first time. This work includes an outdoor waypoint controller for a UGV agent, specifically the Clearpath Husky. It details sensor fusion of 2D LiDAR and stereo vision, and fusion of odometry sources using an Extended Kalman Filter. Development of these software tools entails integration of many of the packages available through the Robot Operating System (ROS), with control code for this application primarily written in Python. Hardware improvements were necessary to support these developments, including the integration of a GPU on the Husky UGV, and design and installation of a active electrical cable delivery system. Results begin with representation of the capabilities of each of these contributions. Finally, outdoor demonstration results are presented and a code appendix is included.
Recommended Citation
Naglak, John, "APPLICATIONS OF ROBOT OPERATING SYSTEM (ROS) TO MOBILE MICROGRID FORMATION OUTDOORS", Open Access Master's Thesis, Michigan Technological University, 2018.