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Development of a Robotic Wireless Network for Underground Mine Rescue

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posted on 2021-11-23, 14:16 authored by Wu, Jeffrey

HADES is a mine scout robot designed to be deployed by first responders to assess mine conditions post-disaster. HADES requires the capability of wireless communication between HADES and the operators on the surface station. Post-disaster mine conditions pose significant challenges to communication systems. This thesis discusses a wireless solution using 802.11b ad-hoc radios. The system developed in this thesis, named HERMES, comprises of the node system RF electronics, internal firmware, and ROS interface to the endpoints. A node design is developed in conjunction with a 2.4 GHz radio module capable of transmitting basic video data. The wireless HERMES nodes are stacked in the HADES robot and deployed as the robot traverses the mine. These wireless nodes are operable for at least 8 hours and have a range of 80 m. The wireless network formed by HERMES allows both video data and sensor data to return to a base station outside the mine. A bespoke decimation in time compression video compression strategy is implemented which provides a basic monochrome video stream with 320 x 240 resolution. This enables video to be streamed through the HERMES network with an overall through-put of 160 kbps on the application level. This basic compression is investigated and evaluated and a video stream with a peak refresh-rate of 40 frames per second with an 800 millisecond response delay is achieved.

History

Copyright Date

2018-01-01

Date of Award

2018-01-01

Publisher

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Rights License

Author Retains Copyright

Degree Discipline

Electronic Engineering

Degree Grantor

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Degree Level

Masters

Degree Name

Master of Engineering

ANZSRC Type Of Activity code

970109 Expanding Knowledge in Engineering

Victoria University of Wellington Item Type

Awarded Research Masters Thesis

Language

en_NZ

Victoria University of Wellington School

School of Engineering and Computer Science

Advisors

Carnegie, Dale