REQUESTFORPROPOSAL

FORENGINEERINGDESIGN

R o b o Rat
Automatedropeclimbingrobot

DepartmentofElectricalandComputerEngineering
DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering

EGR3380
EngineeringDesignI

Spring2010

1.

STATEMENTOFWORK
Qualifiedengineeringdesignteamsareinvitedtosubmittechnicalproposalsforthe
designofanAutomatedRopeClimbingRobot,hereinafterreferredtoastheRobo
Rat.ProposalsaretobesubmittedtotheinstructorsofEGR3380,hereinafter
referredtoastheclient.Uponclientapprovalofaconceptualdesign,each
engineeringdesignteam,hereinafterreferredtoastheteam,shallbuild,test,and
evaluateaprototypedevice,andshallprovidetheclientwithfullengineering
documentationoftheprototypedesign.
AdditionalinstructionsandschedulesnotincludedinthisRFPforcompletingdesign,
presentation,construction,testing,anddocumentationmilestoneswillbefoundin
thecoursecalendar,milestoneassignmentdocuments,andotherspecificdocuments
tobedistributedbytheclientatappropriatetimesduringtheproject.Thedesign,
construction,testing,andreportingoftheRoboRatisarequirementforcompletion
ofEngineering3380EngineeringDesignIatBaylorUniversityfortheSpring
Semester2010.

2.
2.1

DESIGNSPECIFICATION
Background
Inrecentyearstherehasbeenalotofengineeringresearchanddevelopmentwork
onautonomousroboticdevicescapableofvarioustypesoflocomotionindifferent
environments.Theseincluderobotsthatfly,swim,walk,andclimb.Therearemany
reasonsforthedevelopmentofsuchdevices,includingperformingtasksinhostile
environmentsorlocationsotherwisedifficultordangeroustoaccessbyhumans.
Theseincluderoboticdeviceusedtoseekoutbombsandmines,ortooperatein
environmentswithradioactiveortoxicsubstances.Also,autonomousroboticdevices
canbeusedtocarryoutinspectionsinhardtoaccesslocationsofstructuresor
machines,suchasthehullsofships,theinsidesofpipessystems,orinsidethewalls
ofbuildings.Therehaveevenbeenproposalsformicroroboticdevicestonavigate
withinthehumanbodyfordiseasediagnosisandtreatment.
Onerecentproposedapplicationofarope
climbingrobotisforthestructural
inspectionoflargewindturbines(figureat
right:FraunhoferInstituteforFactory
OperationandAutomation).Robotshave
alsobeendesignedtoclimbalonghigh
voltagepowerlinestoinspectthewiresfor
damage.

2.2
2.2.1

DesignRequirements
General function:
ThegeneralobjectiveoftheRoboRatdeviceistoautonomouslyclimbalengthof
rope.TheprocesswillbeginbysecuringtheRoboRattothelowerendoftherope.
Theteamwilltheninitiatethedevicewithasingleelectricalswitchingaction.The
devicewillthenascendtheropeuntilitreachestheceiling.Uponreachingthe
ceiling,thedeviceshallswitchitselfoff.TheRoboRatdeviceshallemploya
climbinglikemethodofascension.Theuseofrollersorwheelstoascendtherope
inarollingtypemotion,willnotbeallowed.
DesiredattributesoftheRoboRatdeviceare,amongothers,speedofclimb,
reliability,creativityofconcept,andvisualappeal.TheteamshalldesigntheRobo
Ratdevicetomeetorexceedallofthecriterialistedbelow.

2.2.2

Climbing:
Thedeviceshallclimban8ftverticallengthofrope.Theropeshallbesecuredatthe
topandbottom.Theteamshallinitiallyattachthedevicetotheropewithinthe
loweronefootsection.Theteammayhaveaccesstothelowerendoftheropeif
necessary.Theropewillbeoftype:TBD.Thedeviceshallascendtheropeusinga
climbingtypeaction.Rollinguptheropeonwheels/rollersisnotallowed.

2.2.3

Power:
PowerfortheRoboRatdeviceshallbesuppliedfromasingle,18Vrechargeable
batterymanufacturedforusewithcordlesshandtoolssuchasdrills.Theweightof
thebatterywillbeinexcessof1pound.

2.2.4

Control:
Afterthedeviceisattachedwithintheloweronefootsectionoftheropeasis
readiedforclimb,itshallbeactivatedbyasingleelectricalswitchingaction.After
activation,thedeviceshalloperateautonomouslyunderthecontrolofanonboard
microcontroller.Theprogrammingofthemicrocontrollershallguidetheclimbing
actionandshallterminatetheclimbingattheupperendoftherope.Nohuman
interventionisallowedonceclimbingbegins.

2.2.5

Setup&Reset:
Whentheteamiscalledupontotesttheirdevice,theywillhavetwominutesto
securetheirdevicetothelowerendoftheropeandreadyitforoperation.Whenthe
devicehasfinishedclimbing(reachesthetopandswitchesitselfoff),theteamwill
haveanothertwominutestoresetthedevicetothelowerendoftheropeandready
itforasecondtrial.

2.2.6

Safety:
Thedevicemustbedeemedsafebytheclient.Thisincludes,butisnotlimitedto,to
thefollowingconsiderationswithrespecttotheoperatorandothersnearby:safety
fromelectricalshockhazards;safetyfrompinchpoints;safetyfromsharpedgesand
points;safetyfromflyingdebris;safetyfromchemicalcontaminants.Thedeviceshall
alsooperatewithoutdamagingtheropeoranyotherpartofthetestingapparatus.

3.

SAFETYREQUIREMENTS
Theteamshallconductallconstructionandtestingwithsafetyastheparamount
consideration.Failuretoobserveworkplacesafetyruleswillleadtopenaltiesin
performanceevaluation.Egregiousorrepeatedsafetyviolations,ordisregardfor
SafetyOfficers,canresultindismissalfromthecourse.
Cleanlinessintheworkplaceisexpectedatalltimesandinallworkareas.Failureto
observeworkplaceruleswillleadtopenaltiesinperformanceevaluation.Thedesign
teamshallcleanallworkareaswitheachuse.

4.

REPORTING&DOCUMENTATIONREQUIREMENTS
Theteamshalldocumentthedesignbyuseofmanuscripts,calculations,schematics,
flowcharts,computercode,anddesignmodels/drawings.Specificationsforrequired
documentationandduedatesnototherwisecontainedhereinwillbecontainedin
thecoursecalendarand/orwillbedistributedbytheclientatappropriatepoints
duringtheproject.

4.1
4.1.1

PRELIMINARYCONCEPTUALDESIGNREVIEW(PCDR)
Date
2/11/2010

4.1.2

Objective
ThePCDRisaformalpresentation.Theclientshouldbeapprisedofyourconceptual
designprogress;i.e.,youshoulddescribeoneormoresolutionconceptsthatyour
teamisconsidering.Themaingoalistofosterconstructivediscussionofpossible
designapproachesforthepurposeofadvancingtheteamtowardconceptselection.

4.1.3

Format

Duration:58Minutes
Givenbyoneteammember.
VisualaidsusingPowerPointand/orElmo
Businesscasualdress.

4.2
4.2.1

CONCEPTUALDESIGNREVIEW(CDR)
Date
2/18/2010

4.2.2

Objective
TheCDRisatopdownformalpresentationtotheclientoftheselecteddesign
concept.Theclientshouldunderstandhowyourproposeddesignwillmeetthe
specificationsinthisRFP.Theclientshouldgainaclearpictureofthemajor
components/systemsandtheiroverallarrangement/function.Furthermore,the
clientshouldunderstandyourteamsimplementationplanforcompletingthe
project.

4.2.3

Format

Duration:710Minutes
Givenbytwoteammembers,withapproximatelyequivalentcontributions.
Professionalqualityvisualaids(PowerPointasprimaryplatform);othervisual
aidsasappropriate
Businesscasualdress.

PRELIMINARYDESIGNREVIEW1(PDR1)&DRAWINGSET1(DS1)

4.3

Date

4.3.1

2/25/2010
Objective

4.3.2

PDR1&DS1isforthepurposeofcommunicatingthedetaileddesignofamajor
subsystemthroughapresentationanddrawings.
PresentationFormat

4.3.3

Duration:58Minutes
Givenbyoneteammember
Professionalqualityvisualaids(PowerPointasprimaryplatform);othervisual
aidsasappropriate
Businesscasualdress

DrawingFormat

4.3.4

SubsystemDrawings
o Assemblydrawing(s)ofsubsystemincludingbill(s)ofmaterials.
o Circuitschematic(s)forsubsystem.
o Detaileddrawingsofsubsystempartsthatmustbemanufactured

4.4
4.4.1

SUBSYSTEMTEST(SST)
Date
3/4/2010

4.4.2

Objective
Thesubsystemtestisahardwaredemonstrationoftheperformanceofthe
subsystemdescribedinthePDR1&DS1.

4.5
4.5.1

PDR2&DS2
Date
3/18/2010

4.5.2

Objective
PDR2isforthepurposeofcommunicatingthedetaileddesignandintegrationoftwo
majorsubsystemsthroughapresentationanddrawings.

4.5.3

PresentationFormat

4.5.4

DrawingFormat

4.6
4.6.1

Duration:58Minutes
Givenbyoneteammember
Professionalqualityvisualaids(PowerPointasprimaryplatform);othervisual
aidsasappropriate
Businesscasualdress

SubsystemDrawings
o Assemblydrawing(s)ofallsubsystemsinvolved,includingbill(s)of
materials(andincludingrevisionsofDS1).
o Circuitschematic(s)forsubsystems.
o Detaileddrawingsofsubsystempartsthatmustbemanufactured

SYSTEMINTEGRATIONTEST(SIT)
Date
3/25/2010

4.6.2

Objective
Thesystemintegrationtestisahardwaredemonstrationoftheintegrated
performanceofthetwosubsystemdescribedinthePDR2&DS2.

4.7
4.7.1

PDR3&DS3
Date
4/1/2010

4.7.2

Objective
PDR3isforthepurposeofcommunicatingthedetaileddesignoftheentiredevice
throughapresentationanddrawings.

4.7.3

PresentationFormat

4.7.4

DrawingFormat

4.8
4.8.1

Duration:58Minutes
Givenbyoneteammember
Professionalqualityvisualaids(PowerPointasprimaryplatform);othervisual
aidsasappropriate
Businesscasualdress

SystemDrawings
o Assemblydrawing(s)ofentiresystemandallsubsystemsincluding
bill(s)ofmaterials.
o Circuitschematic(s)forentiresystem.
o Detaileddrawingsofpartsthatmustbemanufactured

PRELIMINARYSYSTEMTEST(PST)
Date
4/8/2010

4.8.2

Objective
Thepreliminarysystemtestisapreliminaryhardwaredemonstrationofthe
performanceoftheentiresystemasdescribedinthePDR3&DS3.

4.9
4.9.1

COMPLIANCETEST(CT)
Date
4/15/2010

Objective

4.9.2

Thecompliancetestisthefinalandcriticalhardwareevaluation.System
performancewillbeevaluatedagainstallspecifications.Datawillbecollectedand
analyzed.
FINALDESIGNREVIEW(FDR)

4.10
4.10.1

Date

4/19/2010
4.10.2

Objective

TheFDRisapublicpresentationofthedesigntoageneralaudienceincludingthe
client,otherdesignteams,invitedfaculty,students,andguests.
4.10.3

PresentationFormat

Duration:34Minutes
Givenbyoneteammember
Professionalqualityvisualaids(PowerPointasprimaryplatform);othervisual
aidsasappropriate
Professionaldress

FinalReportandFinalDrawingSet(FR&FDS)

4.11
4.11.1

Date

4/26/2010
4.11.2

Objective

TheFinalReportandDrawingsarearchivaldocumentsthatprovideacompleteand
permanentrecordofthedesign.
4.11.3

ReportFormat

Theformatforthefinalreportwillbecommunicatedtothedesignteamsbythe
clientby4/9/2010
4.11.4

DrawingFormat

SubsystemDrawings
o Assemblydrawing(s)ofentiresystemandallsubsystemsincluding
bill(s)ofmaterials.
o Circuitschematic(s)forentiresystem.
o Detaileddrawingsofpartsthatmustbemanufactured