Abstract
Investigation on a designed and modified standard automatic transmission for a 2017 Yamaha Grizzly All-Terrain Vehicle was carried out to allow it to be controlled remotely and autonomously while maintaining its ability to be manually operated. The vehicle is a part of a project named AutoWeed. This project aims at developing a vehicle which can be used in the Australian outback to control and eradicate weeds. Preliminary tests were conducted on the vehicle to determine the performance parameters required to replace the movement supplied by the operator. Several devices used to achieve this motion were explored. It was concluded that the Motion Dynamics HB-DJ806 - LALI10010 electromechanical linear actuator be used as a proof of concept device for this application. This device is capable of exerting 200 N at 35 mm/seconds. It has a stroke length of 50 mm and was powered by a 12V DC motor, which drew 3 amps at maximum load. Through testing, it was found that the selected actuator did not have enough stroke length to cycle through the five gears on the ATV. This error was rectified allowing the system to function as intended. To achieve a reliable design, however, the Linak LA14 actuator was purchased as a final design as it was stronger, faster and had feedback capabilities. Before procurement, the new actuator was digitally modelled using SolidWorks 2017 and 3D printed to confirm the mounting position and method. An ANSYS FEA was conducted on all the custom-made components including the actuator bracket and mounting plate to ensure reliability. The bracket model was manufactured using 3D printing from ABS. It was recommended that for reliability, the bracket should be constructed from a stronger material such as aluminium. The results gained from testing proved that the autonomous transmission system implemented was reliable and repeatable. This was justified as the system achieved a 100% success rate when cycling through gears.
Highlights
Australia’s agricultural industry is worth over 100 million AU dollars and is one of the world’s largest industries [2, 6]
A fully autonomous all-terrain vehicle would appeal to farmers who want to improve productivity, profitability and reduce the required man time to perform tedious tasks such as spraying weeds
The ANSYS FEA analysis was performed to determine if the design would achieve infinite life criteria and perform correctly for the intended purpose
Summary
Australia’s agricultural industry is worth over 100 million AU dollars and is one of the world’s largest industries [2, 6]. The agricultural industry operated on human power alone, eventually evolving to the utilisation of animals such as horses and donkeys to simplify tasks. Larger autonomous vehicles are being developed, there has been very little advancement in the atomisation of smaller vehicles such as all-terrain vehicles (ATV). The University of Bath, North Carolinas Urban Research University and Harper Adams University, are all institutions, which have developed early design prototypes proving the possibility of manufacturing a fully autonomous and remote-controlled ATV. There is no vehicle of this type that is fully developed, functional or commercially available. A fully autonomous all-terrain vehicle would appeal to farmers who want to improve productivity, profitability and reduce the required man time to perform tedious tasks such as spraying weeds
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