DORI: Distributed Outdoor Robotic Instruments

Abstract

DORI (Distributed Outdoor Robotic Instruments) is a remotely controlled vehicle that is designed to simulate a planetary exploration mission. DORI is equipped with over 20 environmental sensors and can perform basic data analysis, logging and remote upload. The individual components are distributed across a fault-tolerant bus for redundancy. A partial sensor list includes atmospheric pressure, rainfall, wind speed, GPS, gyroscopic inertia, linear acceleration, magnetic field strength, temperature, laser and ultrasonic distance sensing, as well as digital audio and video capture. The project uses recycled consumer electronics devices as a low-cost source for sensor components. This report describes the hardware design of DORI including sensor electronics, embedded firmware, and physical construction.