Project KOORMA: Rugged Robotic mobility chassis for Military/Civilian applications
Rugged, water proof Robotic chassis Military and Civilian Applications. Payloads can be built on this extensible chassis for both autonomy and Remote Controlled modes.

Background

Koorma is a robotic mobility chassis designed to have open and extensible interfaces so payloads can be designed and integrated easily. It is designed for mostly outdoor work and payloads, and an IP Compliant chassis which can handle reasonably rough terrains. The chassis can be extended with Payloads that can operate in Autonomy Mode or Remote Controlled Mode or a mix of both.

The Koorma Chassis is driven by our own Proprietary "Drive By Wire" technology for both the hardware and software aspects of this vehicle.

The remote control and communication systems on board can be customized to communicate through a variety of Communicatio protocols like WiFi, Bluetooth, RF and 4G/5G as well. The Remote control interface can also be extended with Payload specific controls interface so same RF communication link and infrastructure can be used for controlling payload too.

This product from the scratch was designed and developed at our lab in Mysuru, India.

Also visit following pages which provide more info about Koorma platform:
  1. Project KOORMA - Smart features of the Koorma Platform
  2. Project Koorma - Weed cutter Payload

Koorma Mobility chassis

Rugged platform designed for outdoor use

Can negotiate difficult terrain as well

Outdoor use with sizeable payload capability

Dual BLDC Drive, with two wheel castors.

Koorma Chassis getting assembled

The mobility chassis itself doesnt have any kind of autonomous capabilities, but any kind of autonomy can be built into payload which works with the Comms module. This reduces the cost of the chassis as well as allows any kind of Autonomy ppayloads to be integrated.
Brief video of Project Koorma Chassis!

High Level Specifications - Koorma 1.0

Mechanical Specifications

  1. Chassis Dimensions: 16 inches (breadth) X 12.5 inches (length) X 11 inches (Height)
  2. Rugged Aluminum 6060 Alloy chassis
  3. Wheel Specifications:
    1. Dual 10 Inch Tyres with tubes
    2. 25-32 psi pressure based on load.
  4. Brakes System:
    1. Disc brakes System with electrically actuated calipers and Stainless steel disc
    2. DC Geared Motors driven braking system with current sense.
  5. Drive System:
    1. 150 Watt Geared Motor on either side
    2. Planetary Gear box for smooth drive and High Gear Ratio

Electrical/Electronics Specifications

  1. Battery System:
    • 24V Lithium Ferro-Phosphate Battery
    • 5-6 hours driving capability with payload
  2. Wheel Drive:
    • Dual BLDC Motors, Differential Drive Configuration
    • 150 Watts, Geared Motor
  3. "Drive by Wire" Technology
    • All systems of the robot running on our proprietary “Drive by Wire” tech
    • Drive by wire refers to systems where all controls are electrically actuated and software controlled
    • 24 V Dual BLDC Motors with Hall Sensors for fine control of motors
    • Communication System: 433MHz ISM Band Radio

Software/Functional Specifications

  1. Simple to easy to setup and run it: Power up the robot first, Power up the remote, Start Driving!
  2. Software and hardware interface for Payload Extension and Remote Control Extension
  3. Safety mode driving in Remote Controlled mode (Auto disc brake engage feature etc)

Project Koorma Architecture

The chassis of Koorma is identified defined by various aspects of specifications: Koorma is a generic mobility chassis which can be used in various configurations as the application needs. For demonstration, we have incorporated a RF remote

Koorma Mobility chassis used in Remote Controlled mode.

Koorma Mobility chassis used in Autonomy mode.

Koorma Architecture: The Complete Mobility chassis - DRIVE BY WIRE Technology

The Mobility Layer/chassis consists of "Drive by Wire technology" developed at Ideas Unlimited, Mysuru for comprehensive control of robotic chassis or electric vehicles. (Same tech can be adapted in Electric vehicles too)

Koorma Architecture: Autonomy Mode

In autonomy mode, the Payload electronics can be mounted on top of Koorma Drive-by-Wire chassis with a powerful computing device like Android device along with capabilities like and the high performance computing device does all the autonomy functions like outdoor navigation, path planning and guidance.

Koorma Architecture: Remote Controlled Mode

The chassis of Koorma is identified defined by various aspects of specifications: Koorma is a generic mobility chassis which can be used in various configurations as the application needs. For demonstration, we have incorporated a RF remote

Koormba Mobilty Remote. RF 433Mhz band, 20mW - Complete mobility remote with extension for payload remotes.

Specifications of Koorma Remote Control

  1. Communication System
    • 433MHz RF Standalone Communication
    • Range - 0.5 kms Line of Sight.
    • TBD - List channels Supported
  2. Power System
    • 3.7V Li-ion in built battery
    • In-built charge control system
    • Can be charged with any ordinary mobile charger
    • Type-C Charging Pin (Standard 5V DC)
    • On-Off Switch next to Charging pin.
  3. Software Features:
    • )Instant power on and run - No pairing hassle each time you switch it on.
    • Safety features when brakes engaged manually.
    • Auto-Brake Features while novice is driving/driving in difficult terrain.

RF Remote User Interface

  1. Analog Joystick for driving
    1. Both in High Speed and Low Speed mode
      • Brakes disengage in all modes as soon as you start driving.
      • Forward, Forward Left, Forward Right
      • Reverse, Reverse Left, Reverse Right
    2. Hold On-Axis button and run joystick
      1. Steep left and Steep right will do on-axis turn of the vehicle
    3. If auto brake is turned on, the brakes engage as soon as you stop driving in all modes. Otherwise, brakes do not engage unless the Brakes button is hit explicitly by the user.
  2. LED Indicators
    1. Power Indicator - White LED
    2. Comms Indicator
      • Indicates the remote has established connection with the bot.
      • Should not light up unless it gets ACK packet from bot.
      • Steady on - Indicates booting
      • Slow Blinking - Indicates active communication
    3. Brakes Indicator
      1. Steady on - Indicates Auto brakes are engaged.
      2. Fast Blinking - Indicates that manual brakes has been hit and analog joystick has been disabled. Until Analog joystick is released, drive function is disabled. Once user release analog joystick, drive function enabled and brakes indicator goes steady.
    4. Remote Battery Low Indicator - Indicates when Remote battery is low
    5. Robot battery Reserve - Indicates when Robot battery has reached reserve. Ideally you should plan to stop the robot and plan to charge battery soon.
    6. Robot battery low - Indicates when Robot battery has reached Low level (Below driving range). Remote will not drive the robot unless you charge robot battery
    7. Remote Battery Charging Indicator, Remote Battery Charge Complete indicator - Not software controlled. Directly from Charge Control Circuit
  3. Push Buttons [Momentary On state when pushed]
    1. Hazard - Press once to toggle (software based toggle function)
      1. No indicator on UI - Visualize looking at bot
    2. On-Axis - Hold and use joystick to get On-Axis functions
      1. No indicator on UI - Holding down behavior of drive will change.
    3. Brakes - Manual Forced brake
      1. Irrespective of what you are doing, pressing this button will hit brakes on the bot, whether driving or not, or whether auto brake mode is on or not.
  4. Toggle Switches - [On/Off state]
    1. Speed Control
      1. Low Speed/High Speed
    2. Auto Brake
      1. On/off.
      2. If auto brake is turned on, the brakes engage as soon as you stop driving.
      3. Brakes disengage in all modes as soon as you start driving.
    3. Head Light
      1. On/Off

Koorma Payloads

Coming Soon. Watch this space!!!