DigSafe Autonomous Cable Detection

Jester, Zachary

Student Work

DigSafe Autonomous Cable Detection

Público Deposited

Underground utility marking is a task that is labor-intensive, repetitive, and in some cases dangerous. In the New England area, utility providers fund the Dig Safe nonprofit which provides this service for free. The operating costs of this service are almost entirely in labor and transport as opposed to consumables. As a result, our sponsor, Eversource, has expressed interest in using semi-autonomous robots to speed up the scanning and marking process. Dig Safe and similar nationwide organizations are also often required to operate next to active roadways, presenting a major safety hazard to their workers. Due to these factors, Eversource has sponsored WPI to create a robot capable of detecting and marking utilities, specializing in the simple but dangerous cables located near or under roads. Previous teams have created 3 iterations of a 2-DOF marking arm on the back of the robot, however this arm had several issues that led to the decision to completely redesign it. The redesign focused on decreasing its weight, increasing its rigidity, and replacing over- and under-specified mechanical parts with strong, lightweight alternatives.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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