Abstract
Mobile robots and rovers play an important role in many industrial applications. Under certain constraints, they are suitable in harsh environments and conditions in which protracted human activity is not safe or permitted. In many circumstances, mechanical aspects and electrical consumption need to be optimized for autonomous and wheeled mobile robots. The paper illustrates the design of a semi-custom wheeled mobile robot with high-efficiency mono- or polycrystalline photovoltaic panel on the roof that supports the lithium ion batteries during particular tasks (e.g. navigating rough terrain, obstacles or steep paths) to extend the robot’s autonomy. An electronic controller was designed, and data acquisition related to power consumption performed using a specific experimental setup. The robot can detect parameters such as temperature, humidity, concentrations of toxic gas species and the presence of flames, making it particularly suitable for contaminated environments or industrial plants. For this aim, the mobile robot was equipped with a wide range of commercial sensors and a Global Positioning System receiver to track its position. In addition, using an HC-06 Bluetooth transceiver, the robot receives commands and instructions, and sends the acquired data to the developed IoTool smartphone application, where they are displayed to be analysed by user.
Highlights
The safety of human beings working in harsh environments is a theme of major concern for workers, entrepreneurs and policymakers
The highest voltage value obtained in a day of charging was 4.96 V, with about 100,000 lux of irradiance received by solar cells while the robot moved, discharging the batteries during its task
We studied the available mobile robot and related items, and we used a dedicated software, SolidWorks [23], to redesign the whole vehicle and the additional parts that were used to complete the system
Summary
The safety of human beings working in harsh environments is a theme of major concern for workers, entrepreneurs and policymakers. The highest voltage value obtained in a day of charging was 4.96 V, with about 100,000 lux of irradiance received by solar cells while the robot moved, discharging the batteries during its task Another recent contribution discussed the design and implementation of a dual-axis tracker for PV panels able to provide additional power and thereby extend the operating time of a cleaning robot [18]. The robot is equipped with different sensors (e.g. to detect dangerous and harmful gases, flames and temperature) and a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to inspect the considered area and track the vehicle’s position In this context, several applicative scenarios can be identified, such as the inspection of empty tanks that previously contained chemicals, fuels or cereals or environments in which fires or gas leaks have occurred.
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