Design of a telepresence robot : a systematic approach

Abstract

This thesis documents the development of a prototype telepresence robot following the systematic engineering approach by Pahl and Wallace and Feldhusen and Beitz and Grote and Blessing. A telepresence robot allows for a remote use to ‘call’ the robot and control its movement, thus adding a ‘physical’ layer of interaction to traditional video conferencing.

The process was initiated by clearly defining the needs of the end user: The Jamie Hyneman Center (JHC). Then followed a gradual process where the alternatives solutions for technical problems were explored at each stage prior to fixing a solution. In the embodiment design stage, the solution was technically and economically evaluated to gauge improvements prior to fixing all aspects of the design. The final robot design utilised a 2-wheel rear drive system and established a remote connection via MQTT over the internet. A remote use could utilise a standard video conferencing app to directly call the smart device attached to the robot, thus enabling vision and control.

Technical calculations, CAD models and renders have been presented to represent the robot and a BOM with detailed manufacturing details are given to physically realise it.