October 2005: Eurosot 2005
IdMind was included in the team "Departamento de Intervenção em Catástrofes do Regimento de Sapadores de Bombeiros de Lisboa" from the Lisbon Firefighters, that participated on the international exercise Eurosot, in Sicilia, Italy from 13 to 16 de October, 2005. In this simulated earthquake, Raposa was used to explore a pipeline system of a collapsed building.
July 2005: Public presentation of the Robot
Public presentation of the RAPOSA robot at Instituto Superior Tecnico, at 14 July 2005, by IST and IdMind members. Several media were present, both from Portugal and abroad, and some of its reports are available at the media references section.
March 2005: Robot finished and under testing
The software is finished, allowing real time switching between all the cameras on the robot, and bandwidth management. The robot is being tested at the Lisbon fire-fighters (Regimento Sapadores Bombeiros de Lisboa). The robot can climb standard stairs, according to the project, and operate in no-light conditions. There are some photos on the photos section.
O Robo está agora em testes no quartel do Regimento Sapadores Bombeiros de Lisboa, em Chelas. O robot consegue subir escadas de inclinação standard, conforme planeado, assim como operar em condições de luminosidade nula. Pode encontrar algumas fotos na secção de fotos.December 2004: Funtional Robot
As a result of the preliminary tests some adjustments were made to the robot. The tracks had low adherence to the ground, so soft rubber teeth were attached all over. This increased both the ground clearance and adherence. The real time docking system was finished and is being tested. The high level software allows controlling the robot in real time from the remote operation console and reading sensors. The video transmission is being worked on.
September 2004: Robot chassis and electronics completed
The mechanical adjustments were completed. The electronic boards were built and assembled on the robot. Only the innovative docking system is not yet completed .The preliminary test stage started at IdMind. The low to high level communication protocol was successfully tested, allowing the PC to access low level readings and to directly control the motors. The high level software is also being developed, not only for the RAPOSA PC, but also to the remote operation control. At this last one, the main objective is to develop an easily usable interface, so that future robot operators have a small learning curve.
2004, May: First iteration of the RAPOSA prototype is completed
The first iteration of the physical chassis of the RAPOSA robot is concluded. Some photos can be seen on photos. The electronic boards, sensors and cameras are now being installed, and some relevant changes are being done to the robot structure, as a result of the preliminary testing.
2003, November: Visit to the University of South Florida
Two project members of the Portuguese team have visited the Perceptual Robotics Laboratory of the University of South Florida from 31st October to 9th November of 2003, as agreed on the terms of the partnership. The main goals of this visit were:
The Portuguese team members were Eng. Carlos Marques from IdMind, and Eng. João Frazão, the IST student.
2003, March to August: Mechanical and Electronic Project
The project first stage was to carefully list the entire robot’ requirements based on the IST and RSBL recommendations. The resulting data implied a set of restrictions that the robot should fulfill, such as body size and environmental hazard. Being aware of those restrictions, a preliminary draft of the robot’ mechanical structure and internal electronics was designed.
It was carried out a market research for the intended equipment, and the first drafts were revised in order to accommodate the available components.
2003, March 10: Project RAPOSA Startup
The RAPOSA project, an innovative Portuguese project in the field of Robotics Search and Rescue operations, has begun.
The importance of this kind of robots is gaining increased exposure as they prove to be a helpful alternative to conventional means.
This project is being developed in a partnership leaded by IdMind, featuring technical advisory by the Lisbon Firefighters
("Regimento de Bombeiros Sapadores de Lisboa") and the technical cooperation of the Instituto Superior Técnico,
a Portuguese University that will be the robot’ final owner.
The RAPOSA project is a R&D project, it is funded
POSI program (medida 1.3 - "Investigação em Consórcio") through the FEDER program and the Portuguese Budget, and is managed by ADI (The Innovation Agency).