Engineering Portfolio: Chris Berthelet

          This project was for my Introduction to Robotics course at UC Berkeley; the requirements called for the use of an available robotic platform to perform a task using sensing, control, and actuation. Our project utilized both the UR5 robotic arm and the Zumy (custom tank-drive robot). The project was programmed in Python/Robotic Operating System (ROS) on a Linux machine. The main goal of our project is to have the two robots cooperatively work together to reach a goal.

         

          The collective goal is to drive the Zumy safely across an unknown terrain, represented by a grid of blocks. The safe path is constructed of wooden blocks, while the unsafe terrain is made up of foam blocks. Using an overhead camera, inverse kinematics, and a force sensor, the UR5 is used to probe each tile and determine the material underneath. From the acquired data, an optimal path is determined and relayed to the Zumy. If a valid path is found, the Zumy proceeds to drive across the terrain to safety.

         

Please see the Narrated Walk-through video below for a detailed explanation.