ENGR 491-509: AggiE Challenge—Multi-Disciplinary Project
Ground & Marine Robotics to facilitate Rapid Arms Control Verification
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Department of Nuclear Engineering
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U.S. Department of State |
Instructors: Dr. Robin Murphy, Dr. Craig Marianno, and Dr. Dylan Shell
Contact: Dr. Robin Murphy
| Office | : | HRBB 333 |
| Phone | : | (979) 845-8737 |
| : | murphy_at_cse.tamu.edu | |
| Web | : | http://faculty.cs.tamu.edu/murphy/ |
| Office hours | : | T.B.A. |
TA Information
| Name | : | Grant A Wilde |
| : | gwilde1@neo.tamu.edu | |
| Office hours | : | T.B.A. |
| Mailbox | : | On HRBB 3rd floor. |
Fall 2014 -- Spring 2015
| Lecture Time | : | Mondays, 7:30pm-9:30pm |
| Lecture Location | : | HRBB 210 |
Document Template:
Critical Design Review Template
Class Overview:
This two-semester project will adapt existing ground and marine rescue robots to help the U.S. State Department verify nuclear arms control.
Prerequisites
Open to any Engineering Undergrad.
Class Theme and Motivation:
This two-semester project will set up and verify the operational concept (CONOPS) of using ground and marine robotics for rapid nuclear verification scenarios. The US State Department is interested in the idea of using robotics for verification in arms control for several reasons. First, countries can be hesitant to allow inspectors to “hunt around” their facilities, especially if there are sensitivities involved beyond a simple ”yes/no” verification (i.e., yes/no there is a nuclear weapon present, but definitely any information beyond that is sensitive). Second, sites can be dangerous, and inspectors are reluctant to inspect them given unknown materials. For example, a regime suddenly falls and leaves chemical nerve agents buried in unknown locations, or records and controls have been poorly kept or maintained. Third, gradual degradation of containment sites under state control creates a need for inspection and possibly cleanup procedures. Fourth, resources of inspectors can be limited, and robotics can serve as a potential large-scale searching and monitoring solution to verify that a region is free of treaty-limited materials or that declared sites have remained unchanged.
Class Organization and Management:
The students will be in either the ground robotics or marine robotics team and work under the supervision of the faculty members and the graduate student. There will be a weekly all-hands-on-deck meeting to provide introductory material on robotics, nuclear science, software engineering, project management, etc.; exploit the synergies between the ground and marine robotics solutions; and assess progress. The graduate student will host a separate technical weekly meeting with each team individually. The students on each team are expected to self-organize, have a common website and repository, and set their own schedule using the Critical Path Method.
Resources:
Deliverables:
Two working robotics systems (multi-agent ground robots and a marine robot solution) with performance data. The contributions will be disseminated as open source software with user manuals; technical reports from each team detailing the entire project; posters on algorithms; and a summary video.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completition of this course students will have demonstrated:- an ability to identify, scope, and formulate a problem space, design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs;
- an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data;
- an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams;
- an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility;
- an ability to communicate effectively;
- an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.
Course Topics, Activities, and Description of the Project:
Fall 2014:
- Addition and integration of RADIAC radiation sensors on AEOS Marcy marine robot.
- Addition and integration of RADIAC radiation sensors on QinetiQ Dragonrunner robot.
- Identification of indoor sensor-directed search algorithm for a ground robot.
- Identification of indoor sensor-directed search algorithm for a pair of heterogeneous ground robots.
- Identification of a surveillance algorithm for a marine robot.
- Evidential model of location of nuclear source from robot sensor data .
- Visualization "heat map" of the radiation readings and the uncertainty of the location of nuclear source.
Spring 2015:
- Implementation of indoor sensor-directed search algorithm using input from evidential model.
- Implementation of multi-agent indoor sensor-directed search algorithm using input from evidential model.
- Implementation of a surveillance algorithm using input from evidential model.
- Visualization "heat map" of the radiation readings and the uncertainty of the location of nuclear source with Google Maps or similar mapserver.
- Field demonstration at Disaster City using iRobot Packbot and Dragonrunner robot with radiological detection and AEOS Marcy marine robot.
- Creation of final Engineering For You style video documenting the project.
- Final reports, posters, and articles for publication.
Grading Policies
Students with Disabilities
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact Disability Services, in Cain Hall, Room B118, or call 979-845-1637. For additional information visit http://disability.tamu.edu.
Academic Integrity
For additional information please visit: http://student-rules.tamu.edu/aggiecodePolicy on Missed Work
Material missed due to recognized absences (illness with doctor's excuse, death in the family) can be made up for full credit. Late material is accepted solely at the discretion of the instructor, at least 1 class period's prior notice must be given for consideration of acceptance of late material.