Amount of funding awarded
$2,842.24
Budget Report
View budget report.
How the program has supported you
PAF funding enabled the purchase of necessary resources for building the winch rover system. The funds were split in buying acrylic plastic sheets for focused prototypes, carbon fiber plates for the final design, and a variety of hardware for telecommunication, driving controls, and an intelligent braking system. The winch system was integrated with an autonomous release mechanism which ensures the rover is lowered to the ground without causing any damage to it. The rover included GPS systems, and an autonomous driving system. Part of the funding also went into rapid prototyping material such as TPU for the airless tires on the rover.
Outcomes
During competition the AUVSI Winch Rover system was extensively tested and proven capable of completing the objective. Unfortunately due to unforeseen safety concerns, the rover winch system was disabled during the competition due to errors on the aircraft’s onboard computer. Regardless, the innovative design helped us in placing 15 out of 71 teams.
This integral payload system allowed multiple students in various engineering disciplines to develop skills in electromechanical design, building, and testing prototypes, performing simulation, designing PCBs, soldering and assembling components, writing efficient code in different languages, and conducting documented quality checks.
Members developed skills in a professional team environment, communicating efficiently in an online setting, problem solving, networking, and team organization- all crucial for members and their careers for all disciplines.
