Robotic Door-opening Kit (RDK)

Military and Law Enforcement groups are increasingly relying on unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to perform life-threatening tasks such as urban reconnaissance operations in and around buildings and other structures. The seemingly simply task of having the UGV open doors and entering rooms is a crucial element of this mission. However, the ability of currently fielded UGVs to open doors is time-consuming for some vehicles and, due to mechanical and control limitations, nearly impossible for others. Although some expert operators may be able to use currently fielded UGVs to open doors, the task typically requires careful, fully-committed attention and a great deal of skill, which increases user fatigue, total mission duration, and time-on-target. This SBIR effort aims to design a sophisticated end-effector for opening a wide variety of doorknob shapes and styles that can be used with currently fielded and next generation mobile manipulator robotic platforms. The end-effector is designed to be a modular tool that can be used with RE2’s existing modular and tool-interchange technology. This Phase II effort will also develop the sensing and coordinated control algorithms to allow an operator to simply position the UGV in front of a door, initiate the door opening procedure, and then let the robot do the rest by autonomously opening the door and passing through the doorway. This capability will vastly improve the proficiency and usability of unmanned ground vehicle systems in all environments and missions where doors and doorways must be accessed.