Shannon Ridgeway

Effectively Traverses Confined Spaces in Environments Unfit for Human Occupation

This robotic vehicle traverses obstacles and navigates through confined spaces in harsh environments to perform inspections and maintenance in areas unfit for human occupation. Many enclosed or confined spaces, tunnels, or tanks involved in nuclear or chemical industrial processing are often too dangerous for humans to enter. Designs for robotic vehicles that conduct inspections, surveys, or maintenance in these harsh environments face a trade-off between mobility within the confined space and durability to withstand extreme winds or temperatures. Inspections and maintenance of certain confined spaces are not possible or incomplete because available robotic vehicles cannot withstand these hazardous environments while achieving sufficiently high mobility.

Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a highly configurable robotic vehicle with a drive control system that allows it to traverse obstacles and uneven ground, move through sludge, and fit into tight spaces. The robotic vehicle can execute mission critical tasks in harsh environments and return intact for decontamination.

Application

Remote controllable robotic vehicle with high durability and mobility that performs inspections and maintenance in harsh environments

Advantages

• Easily navigates previously inaccessible confined spaces, operating in extreme environments unfit for human entry
• Enables precision steering and climbing, improving navigation in confined spaces and over obstacles
• Moves on four flexible steering flippers, adopting various compact or elevated formations as the environment requires

Technology

This robotic vehicle enters, traverses, and operates remotely in confined spaces that may be unfit for human occupation. The vehicle employs a drive control system that governs four rotatable flippers, each with two wheels, which facilitate precise navigation and movement across uneven surfaces. These flippers each have three degrees of freedom to allow various movement formations. Tucking the wheels under the body reduces the robot’s width, allowing it to fit through narrow openings. Raising the flippers allows the robot to climb over obstacles or to traverse puddles without submerging its body. Likewise, rotating the flippers allows the robot to paddle through sludge in the event that any wheels become stuck.

Engages Road Surface to Equalize Braking for Improved Driver Control

This ground-engaging braking mechanism quickly reduces speed without causing a semi-truck to jackknife. Semi-trucks, also called "18-wheelers", “tractor-trailers” and "big rigs," typically measure 53 feet long and can carry up to 80,000 pounds of cargo—the weight of 20 standard cars—at highway speeds. Over two million semi-trucks operate within the United States. The weight of these trucks puts a significant burden on the trucks’ braking systems. Over time, friction and heat wear down brake shoes, rendering them hard and smooth. A glazed shoe won’t grip as effectively, making it difficult to stop. At 55 mph, even a properly functioning semi-truck requires 100 yards, the length of a football field, to stop. In an emergency, a driver may need to pound the brakes, which increases the risk of jackknifing—a situation where the back end of a semi-truck continues moving forward and swivels to the side as it hurtles toward the cab. In the U.S. alone, semi-truck accidents kill approximately 3,500people a year and cost more than $20 billion in damages. Researchers at the University of Florida have designed the Bud-E-Bar braking mechanism to allow the driver to maintain control by equalizing the trailer braking system under adverse driving conditions, including snow, ice, wet roads, slippery terrain, mountains, and hills. This technology has the potential to reduce the number of semi-truck accidents, saving lives and reducing property damage.

Application

Braking mechanism that slows down runaway semi-trucks and prevents jackknifing

Advantages

• Reduces the speed of semi-trucks rapidly while simultaneously preventing the trucks from jackknifing on roads and highways, potentially saving lives
• Gives drivers added control over the vehicle, preventing accidents
• Prevents loss of freight and property damage, saving time and money
• Uses customizable components, allowing application to vehicles of different sizes, such as trailers or planes

Technology

The Bud-E-Bar braking system employs customizable components to achieve rapid, safe braking of a semi-truck. The system activates via motion sensor, causing the mechanism to deploy. When the driver steps on the brake, a signal transmits to the sensors, which detect if the vehicle is continuing to move forward after applying the brakes. Once deployed, a pad member makes contact with the surface of the road. The pressure between the pad and the road surface slows the truck down. An optional lever inside the cab may also allow drivers to activate the Bud-E-Bar manually and to increase the pressure between the pad member and the road. The braking system then employs the retraction sequence, disengaging the pad member from the road and returning the assembly to its original position.