The Burn-Outs

Over Sand Vehicle - Fire Suppression Mission

Jacob Hogan| Andy Osiander | Kerry Slingluff | Emily Sun | Zaafira Elham
Ryan Mahoney | Kim Nagel
ENES100 Section 0601 — Spring 2018
University of Maryland
Purpose: To build an over sand vehicle (OSV) that will be deployed onto sandy terrain and be able to navigate,
collect, and transmit data that is specific to mission, while avoiding obstacles.
Main Objectives:
Over Sand Vehicle General Requirements:
1. Navigate to within 250 mm of the fire site
1. Autonomous 2. Measure and transmit the number of active flames present
2. 350 mm x 350 mm footprint
3. Mass no more than 3 kg Advanced Objectives:
4. Cost less than $350 1. Contain the fire by extinguishing all flames except for the middle flame
5. 10 minute run time 2. Clear all wood debris within a 250 mm radius of the fire site

Structure and Propulsion Design Mission Design

● 2 DC gear motors were used to
propel OSV forward.
● The motors were mounted within
the frame on the sides of the OSV.
● Propulsion system consists of 4
drive belts that attach each wheel
to one of the motors.
● Created and installed gears to
attach the drive belts to the wheel
axles and motor shaft.
● Fire blanket was attached to 3D printed arms
that was connected to servo motor and
mounted to OSV.
● To extinguish all flames but the middle, a
hole was cut in the middle of the fire blanket.
● Four thermistors to detect flames were
attached to the top of the fire blanket by
poking holes.
● Three ultrasonic distance sensors to navigate
to the fire site.
Power Design

● 12V battery used to drive two drive motors

(I=484 mA)
● 9V Energizer battery used to power arduino
(With arduino and sensors, I =245 mA)
● Small 6V battery pack (4 AA batteries) was
used to power the servo motor attached to
the fire blanket.
● Expected runtime was 86 minutes
● Only needed to recharge 12V battery once.

OSV Performance

● First run was not successful due to problems with the wiring.
● On second run, OSV was able to successfully move with constant speed and
power, turn, and navigate towards fire site while avoiding obstacles.
● OSV was able to successfully align with the mission site, accurately measure and
transmit the number of active flames, and lower the arm with the fire blanket to
extinguish all flames except the middle one.
● Wheels at times would get stuck in the sand, so slight assistance was needed to
come out.

Lessons Learned
● Learned the importance of planning ahead and developing a cohesive plan.
Although we were on track at first, because we didn’t have a solid schedule for day
to day plans, we had trouble with timing which cost us points.
● There were many challenges we had to overcome to get our OSV to work.
Although it was frustrating we learned that every challenge comes with many trials
and errors - it’s part of the process.
● It’s good to have some basic understanding of programming, mechanics, and/or
CAD to further help the team when needed.
● Communication and a strong team chemistry is essential for success.