Armadillo was developed by the University of Southern Denmark and Aarhus University in 2011. It is a tracked toolcarrier featuring the FroboMind architecture implemented in Robot Operating System ROS.org and a high degree of modularization.



Projects
The Armadillo is currently being utilized in two projects within precision navigation in row crops and humanitarian demining. For more informaton please visit the Projects page.

Partners
Lynex www.lynex.dk
DanChurchAid www.danchurchaid.dk

Description
The Armadillo platform consists of two independent track modules and an exchangeable tool carrier module in between. Removing a track module from the tool carrier module requires only removal of 8 bolts and disconnecting the power and communication cables, a process which takes a few minutes.

Armadillo has electrical propulsion allowing different power sources such as battery packs, generators and future sustainable energy sources like fuel cells etc.

Each of the Armadillo track modules can be regarded as self contained propulsion modules, with on-board electric motor, motor controller and gearbox. This gives rise to a flexible vehicle platform where track modules, and the supporting hardware such as battery packs and robot computer, can be mounted in different configurations favouring e.g. weight distribution or other requirements of the implement that must be carried.

The track module is powered by a 3.5kW brushless DC motor. With a 1/25 gear ratio, which gives a top speed of 7.4 km/h and an expected 25% loss in the powertrain, one track module can deliver 1kN continous thrust and up to 1.7kN thrust in 30 second bursts.

Currently the Armadillo carries two exchangable 48V 100Ah battery weighing 150kg each. The battery packs are based on deep-cycle lead-acid batteries supporting a 50% discharge. This gives the Armadillo 40 minutes of worst case operating time at maximum continous power. In normal operating conditions, where a vehicle with two track modules have to overcome a dynamic friction of 500N, an effective operating time of 2.6 hours can be expected. With additional battery packs ready and charged, the vehicle can be operational as long as desired. Each battery pack can be recharged in 4.5 hours. More advanced and expensive battery technologies, such as Lithium-ion, will improve performance in terms of weight and operating time per charge.