Our robots

Aerial Platform: the Tilt-Hex

The UAV selected for the challenge is our fully actuated hexarotor: the Tilt-Hex. Full actuation gives the Tilt-Hex an advantage over standard platforms with co-linear propellers in performing tasks that require full pose manipulation, e.g., the pick & place operation required by the challenge.

The platform is characterized by a mass of  2.264 [Kg], a diameter of 1.10 [m], and a height (including lander) of 0.33 [m].

The platform is equipped with six MK3638 Brushless DC motors, each with 12 inch propellers, along with their electronic speed controllers (ESC) BL-CTRL 2.0 from Mikrokopter www.mikrokopter.de. The firmware running on the speed controllers is an in-house developed software (tk3-mikrokopter), implementing a closed-loop speed controller which increases the overall precision of the platform.

Related papers:


Ground Platform

The ground platform is based on the Segway RMP 440 with four skid steering wheels. Its volume is 1.4 [m] x 0.85 [m] x 1.20 [m]. The robot is a strong and reliable platform used in our lab since many years. The computing unit of the mobile platform is an Advantech ARK-3440F fanless embedded PC, with an i7 processor. We shall equip the ground robot with a Lightweight Robot 4 (LWR4) Kuka arm