Designing a flexible robotics research platform

Background

The NLR carries out research on automated inspection, which may require robotic solutions. Such robotics research depends on experimental setups that change often. Robots, sensors and controllers are added, replaced or reconfigured from one project to the next, and new technologies need to be tried out quickly and efficiently. In practice, research setups are often built around one specific combination of hardware and software, which makes every change time-consuming. NLR therefore wants a robotics research platform in which components can be switched easily and new components can be introduced with little effort.

The challenge lies in the overall design of such a platform. Flexibility has to be built into both the hardware and the software. On the hardware side, modular control systems such as the Beckhoff MX-System make it easier to add or exchange components. On the software side, open frameworks such as the Robot Operating System (ROS) offer standard interfaces and reusable building blocks. How such elements can be combined into one platform, with an operating environment that supports changing research needs, is an open question. This project aims to develop a high-level design of the overall system and its control, and shows the concept in a small demonstration.

Assignment

The assignment will include the following tasks:

• A study of approaches to modular and reconfigurable robotic systems, covering both control hardware and software frameworks (e.g., the Beckhoff MX-System and ROS).

• Drawing up the requirements for a flexible robotics research platform together with NLR researchers.

• Making a high-level design of the overall system and its control, including the interfaces that allow components to be switched and new components to be introduced, and the operating environment that enables this flexibility.

• Building a small demonstration of the concept.

Results

The final outcomes of this assignment will be:

§  An overview of approaches to modular and reconfigurable robotic systems, together with the requirements for the research platform.

§  A high-level design of the overall system and its control, including the operating environment.

§  A small demonstration of the concept.

§  A technical report, either an internship report or a graduation thesis following the guidelines of your programme, describing the approach, results, and conclusions of the work.

Duration

For an MSc thesis, the standard duration of a thesis at your faculty applies (typically 9 months). For an internship, the duration is 6 months.

Profile

• You are an MSc student or HBO graduate student in Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Technical Computer Science or a similar master/bachelor.

• You have an interest in the system design and control of robotic or mechatronic systems.

• You have some experience with programming, for instance in Python or C++. Experience with robotics software or industrial control systems is a plus.

• You enjoy hands-on work with hardware and software, and are motivated to turn a design into a working demonstration.

What we offer

• A challenging graduation project/internship in a high-tech result orientated work environment

• Weekly supervision and availability of the technical staff for support

• An internship allowance

• Working in an actual R&D project as part of the team

• Internship results to be used in the current and future projects

About NLR

Royal NLR has been the ambitious research organisation with the will to keep innovating for over 100 years. With that drive, we make the world of transportation safer, more sustainable, more efficient and more effective. We are on the threshold of breakthrough innovations. Plans and ideas start to move when these are fed with the right energy. Over 800 driven professionals work on research and innovation, from aircraft engineers to psychologists and from mathematicians to application experts. Our colleagues are happy to tell you what it's like to work at NLR. This assignment will be managed by the Avionics Systems and Maintenance Engineering (ASAM) department.

Interested?

Submit your application via the NLR portal, together with your (i) Motivation letter and (ii) CV and we will contact you as soon as possible. For more information about the assignment contact Anish Jadoenathmisier (Anish.Jadoenathmisier@nlr.nl) or Alex Hurd (Alex.Hurd@nlr.nl).