A team comprising students of three of the University’s Faculties has made it through to the finals of the competition “DHL Robotics Challenge 2016“. Their “Last Mile Assistant Robot” (LaMA) impressed the jury so much that on November 17, 2016, the team has been invited to present the cart they designed to facilitate the work of couriers on package delivery in front of 180 handpicked experts in the DHL Innovation Center in Troisdorf near Bonn. The robot was gradually built up over the course of several years in teaching projects at the University of Bremen’s BIBA – Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik GmbH. The current team is made up of seven students from six nations on four different continents!
The task set for the “Robotics Challenge 2016” was to develop a “Prototype of a Self-driving Delivery Cart”, as a demonstrator. The cart should be autonomous and able to take the load off the courier on the so-called “last mile” of a delivery trip. Fully loaded and moving at walking speed, it must therefore be capable of moving around typical urban and rural environments. Moreover, it should be easy to control, robust, and weather-resistant.
“Our vehicle meets all the requirements but there is still a lot to do before we’re completely ready for the presentation”, says Nils Hoppe, the team member responsible for LaMA’s mechanics. A student of Production Engineering, next year Nils will be writing his master’s thesis. Together with his fellow students, he has been working on the project for several months.
Video shows LaMA in action and how it functions
For the innovative competition, the students had to submit a report on the development process and produce a video (see BIBA’s Youtube channel). The clip shows the cart in action and describes how it works. The battery-powered tracked vehicle is controlled solely by simple gestures of the hands and arms. It moves forwards and sideways as required, following the delivery person and lifting the packages so she/he doesn’t have to stoop.
Innovative concept ensures flexibility, stability, and maneuverability
A special feature of the cart is its innovative drive concept that lends it exceptional flexibility and maneuverability. This is made possible by the functionality of its Mecanum wheel transmission via a chain drive system. The Bremen patent and valorization agency InnoWi has already helped register a European patent. The original idea for such a drive technique came from Dipl.-Ing. & Pat.-Ing. Claudio Uriarte, who has been occupied with the concept over the course of several research projects. The BIBA researchers is also one of the three leaders of the “LaMA” research-based teaching project.
“Mecanum wheels function differently from the wheels of an automobile. Rollers set diagonally to the surface to be negotiated transmit the drive at a 45° angle to the cart’s axel instead of the usual 90° for automobiles. A change of direction is not brought about by steering the wheels but by means of adjusting the rotation speed of each individual wheel”, Uriarte explains. “They enable a so-called ‘omnidirectional’ drive. That makes it possible for the vehicle to move in any direction and virtually to turn on the spot.” LaMA’s chain drive transmission therefore allows excellent maneuverability as well as maximum mobility and stability even on rough ground.
“To b e successful, teaching must also be fun”
“It was no easy task and I’m impressed how the students set about solving it – highly imaginative and professional. I was especially taken by the robot’s compact construction”, says Uriarte. The head of BIBA, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Freitag, is also proud of the students’ success. “They really did a great job. Full of enthusiasm and within a relatively short period, they managed to produce a functioning system that is clearly capable of impressing practitioners in industry.”
Freitag also sees the results of the student project as confirmation of the quality of education provided in the University’s Faculty of Production Engineering, in which the BIBA is closely embedded. “To teach methodological knowledge is one thing. It’s quite another, though, to maintain such close orientation to the practice and at the same time in the face of often boring theory and increasingly school-like university studies to motivate students to show such initiative and creative capabilities as we can see with the robotic vehicle”, says Freitag. “We shouldn’t forget that to be successful, university teaching must always be application-oriented – and it must also be fun.”
Decision at “DHL Innovation Day” per live vote
The three finalists of the robotics competition now have the possibility to present their innovative idea at “DHL Innovation Day” in front of experts from all over the world. The winner sequence – and thus who will take the prize money between 2,000 and 10,000 euros – will be made known during a live vote. Moreover, the team that takes first prize will also be able to present their idea at the DHL Innovation Centers in Troisdorf and Singapore, and is invited to explore its feasibility going forward in the frame of a study to be carried out in cooperation with DHL.
For further information and contact persons:
Prof.Dr.-Ing. Michael Freitag
Phone: +49 421 218 50002
email: freprotect me ?!biba.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
Dipl.-Ing. & Pat.-Ing. Claudio Uriarte
Phone: +49 421 218 50163
email: uriprotect me ?!biba.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de