Iowa State University - Robotic Mining Competition
2017

 
This was a club I was in back in 2016 and 2017 at Iowa State.  These are a pair of mining robots entered in the NASA robotic mining competition.  I was responsible for all the PCB design, wiring harnesses, and software for the power management system. 
 
  • Zynq based system, using Microzed SOM
    • White box on left side of the rear of the robot
    • Controls all motor drivers
    • Receives all sensor inputs
    • Communicates with base station for remote control
  • Power management system: Smart Management Of Robot Energy (S.M.O.R.E.)
    • Monitors and controls power for all motors, sensors, and the Microzed
    • Manages startup, shutdown, and emergency stop
    • Prevents inrush current
    • Supercapacitor backup to allow graceful shutdown when power is cut
    • Black, brown and white box on the right side of the robot
Front (left) and Back (right) views of the 2017 RMC robots. The Control and Power boxes are visible on the back of the right robot.
Test models of the controller (left) and power management board (right)
MicroZed carrier board (left) and Power Management board (S.M.O.R.E.) (right) prototypes
partway through assembly of the final controllers and power management boxes
Final versions of the Microzed carrier and Power boards, partially assembled.
All images credit to Nicholas Hasto ( https://www.flickr.com/photos/113122323@N05/albums/72157684421887185/with/34809005812/ )