A team of students in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University recently took first place at the SICK TiM$10K robotics competition for their solution to foreign object detection on airport tarmacs.
The team included Godofredo “Freddy” Sanchez, Daniel Hodapp, Madison Bruns and Emily Stuart. They were advised by Dr. Stavros Kalafatis, professor of practice and associate department head, Dr. Kevin Nowka, professor of practice, and Dr. John Lusher II, associate professor of practice. In addition to a $5,000 grand prize, the team also won a trip to SICK, Inc.’s headquarters in Germany.
Founded in 1946 by Dr. E.h. Erwin Sick, SICK, Inc. is a global leader in the manufacturing of industry sensors, safety systems, machine vision, encoders and automatic identification products. Their cutting-edge technologies provide solutions for controlling processes securely and efficiently, protecting individuals from accidents and preventing damage to the environment.
At the inaugural SICK TiM$10K, the company challenged teams across the nation to innovate a robotic prototype that incorporated a 270° SICK LiDAR sensor to solve a real-world problem faced by industry.
As part of their two-semester senior design capstone class, the team identified needs of aircrafts and airports and developed an automated guided vehicle that detects foreign object debris (FOD), such as screws or metal strips from planes, on airport tarmacs. As their robot drives around the runway, it utilizes the 270° SICK LiDAR sensor to scan and locate anything that could affect the tarmac surface and the takeoff and landing of aircrafts.
Now, with the semester over, they took a moment to reminisce about their successful project and lessons learned along the way.
Q: What problem does your project address?
Sanchez: FOD on airport runways are problematic for airports. Boeing has reported that FOD costs the company about $4 billion a year in airplane repairs. Our LiDAR FOD detection system solves this problem by autonomously scanning the runway and reporting the presence of FOD to a web application database within seconds.
Q: Where did the idea for this design come from?
Hodapp: The SICK TiM$10K Challenge was very open-ended. We actually spent a good one to two weeks just brainstorming ideas of what we could do. I had remembered watching a video a couple years ago about FOD walks done by people and thought that using a robotic system to find and create a log of FOD would be a great idea for our project. I pitched it to the team and all of us really liked it. Madison and Emily both have parents in the military and Madison had done a FOD walk before, which added a bit of personal connection to the project.
Q: What factors influenced the design?
Bruns: There were many factors we needed to take into account while designing our prototype. For example, one of the first decisions we needed to make was whether to proceed with a rover or a drone. We decided on a rover because of the capabilities of our LiDAR sensor. The sensor needed to be stable enough and at a constant distance from the ground in order to accurately detect FOD, and we felt like a drone would be too unpredictable for that purpose. Other design aspects, such as the distance between the sensor and camera, were decided based on the speed and timing of the overall system. Our rover was generously provided to us by the electrical and computer engineering department and we built every other aspect around that.
Q: How does this design differ from other solutions to this problem?
Bruns: According to “Current Airport Inspection Practices Regarding FOD” (2011), most airports detect FOD visually and just over one quarter of airports use an electronic database for documenting FOD. Our system allows for an autonomous sweep of runways to check for FOD, minimizing human interaction and reducing the risk of human error. We also provide an electronic database that can be accessed by airport personnel on any device with an internet connection, making it so that records of FOD can be efficiently kept and the FOD itself can be efficiently taken care of.
Q: What impact could this project have?
Stuart: The goal for our project was to minimize human error in the detection of FOD on airport runways and save the aviation industry money by preventing accidents caused by FOD. The current methods of detection include human FOD walks where airport personnel stand shoulder to shoulder and pick up any debris they see. By using the LiDAR sensor, our rover will be able to detect objects that may potentially be overlooked by humans. The industry can save millions of dollars by improving the accuracy of their detection methods.
Q: What were your takeaways from the experience?
Sanchez: Perseverance and team collaboration are the two words that first come to my mind. These were some of the key ingredients necessary to successfully implement a functional prototype that met all the requirements given by SICK.
Hodapp: I really enjoy doing projects like this — creating, designing, programming and building around constraints and specifications. This competition was right up my ally and I think that what I came away with is the importance of teamwork, communication and putting forth the best effort into our work. I was very fortunate to have teammates that I got along with so well and was able to be in close communication with. This allowed us to efficiently and seamlessly integrate the parts of the project we each worked on — something that wouldn’t have been possible without communication. We put our very best efforts into this project and it paid off.
Bruns: I am so humbled to have been part of this team and I am so proud of what we were able to accomplish. Everyone brought something unique to the team and taught me something (or a lot of things) along the way. One of my main takeaways has been the value of personal growth. Looking back to where I was and what I knew a year ago, I am so grateful for all that I have learned throughout this process. It is an incredible feeling to have taken a real-world problem and worked to create a solution that can help save money and lives in the future.
Stuart: One of the big takeaways I got from participating in SICK TiM$10k is how to view a project from a customer solutions viewpoint. It was rewarding to start with nothing but a sensor and create a working prototype of our own idea at the end of the year. I enjoyed working with my team and am grateful for the skills I gained through working alongside them.