Facilities

From RoMeLa

RoMeLa I

RoMeLa I is located in the basement of Randolph Hall on Virginia Tech’s campus and is a 1,074 sq. ft. a state-of-the-art robotics research facility for graduate and undergraduate research and education with an emphasis on studying mobile robot locomotion.

This laboratory has an office space area with desks and workstations, a conference room with modular furniture, a computer projector, a teleconferencing system for meetings, a library of technical journals/publications, and a kitchenette. The flexible conference room can be reorganized to perform larger scale experiments when RoMeLa II is unavailable; similar to RoMeLa II, it has 2 large white walls with grids on them for recording and measuring the motion of robots, and a modular lighting system with dimmers for controlling the lighting condition for robot vision systems.

RoMeLa I also hosts a Server (Xserve dual G5) with 2.2 TB of storage (Xserve RAID), 12 PCs (a combination of PCs and Macs for graduate students and for community use e.g. undergraduates and K-12 RET Fellows). Each PC has necessary software: e.g. Mathematica, Matlab, LabVIEW, ADAMS, CAD/CAM tools (e.g. Solid Works and NX) for research and design work.

Additionally, RoMeLa I has a number of fabrication tools including a laser cutter, vacuum former, and CNC mill.

Universal Laser System: V-460 Laser Cutter

The Universal Laser Systems V-460 Laser Cutter is designed to make intricate engravings or precision cuts through thin wood or metal.

24” x 18” work area
Patented Cross-Platform Compatibility with all ULS aircooled
Quick Change Laser Cartridges™
RACER™ Motion Technology for fast job processing
Complete selection of productivity accessories

The device is a free-standing unit with a motorized Z-axis, auto-focus, and X-Y beam positioning. The maximum work volume is 2 x 1.5 x 0.75 feet. This laser system is mostly used to cut Acrylic parts (as thick as 0.5 inches), however a few other plastics and woods can be cut easily. For additional info go to http://www.ulsinc.com/.

Rapid Prototyping Maching

Formech Compac Midi Vacuum Forming Machine

Housed in the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory, the Formech Compac Midi Vacuum Forming Machine can produce 18”x18”plastic moldings with a maximum draw height of 8”.

The following materials are used with this vacuum forming machine: Polystyrene, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETG), Low Density and High Density Polyethylene, Polypropylene. Other plastics can be used, but with more difficulty. Additionally, the maximum material dimensions are 18”(Width) x 18” (Depth) x 0.25” (Thickness). For more information visit http://www.formech.com.

Tormach Pcnc 1100 Cnc Milling Machine

Housed in the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory, the PCNC 1100 Mill is capable of machining plastics, wood, aluminum, and steel at feed rates up to 65 IMP. Accessories include an 8” 4th Axis Table and a Deluxe Machine Stand which incorporates a coolant system. The table size is 34” x 9.5”, with a maximum working area of 18” x 9.5” x 16.25” (X,Y,Z). For more information see http://www.tormach.com/.

RoMeLa II

RoMeLa II is also located in the basement of Randolph Hall on Virginia Tech’s campus, and is a critical 1,500 sq. ft. extension to RoMeLa's state-of-the-art research facility. RoMeLa II provides an assembly and experiment area with workbenches and cabinets with mechanical components and various mechatronics equipment, and a fully operational machine shop with various general purpose machine tools. This large laboratory is used to perform larger scale experiments equipped with 2 large white gridded walls for recording and measuring the motion of robots, a modular lighting system with dimmers for controlling the lighting condition for robot vision systems, a transportable full-scale RoboCup regulation robot soccer playing field, and a display area for displaying the many robot prototypes developed at RoMeLa.

General Purpose Machine Shop

The equipment includes:

Grizzly G8689 Milling Machine
24” Sheet Metal Brake
Craftsman 1.0 HP 12” Band Saw
Craftsman 1.0 HP Drill Press
Grizzly G8688 Variable Speed Lathe
Grizzly 1.0 HP Belt Sander – Grinder
13” Arbor Press

Mechatronics Capital Equipment

Electronics equipment: a Tektronix TDS2012 oscilloscope, Agilent E3631A power supplies, an Agilent 33220A function generator, Agilent 34401A benchtop multimeters, soldering stations, etc...
Electro mechanical components and development kits: wireless vision system (with IEEE-1394 cameras), various sensors (including a Xsens MT9 IMU, tactile sensors), RS-485 networked intelligent servo motors (Robotis Dynamixel motors & CM-2 controllers), etc...
Embedded computing: National Instruments cRIO and cDAQ, Galil DCM-1280 PC104 based 8 axis servo controller, Galil AMP-1940 amplifier, Versa Logic Jaguar PC104 SBC (Pentium III 850 MHz), and various sizes of DC motors (Pittman, Maxon, Portescap)

RoMeLa III

The new 2,000 Sq. Ft. RoMeLa III is planned to open on the second floor of the new Signature Engineering Building. For more information, visit the COE Signature Engineering Building page. http://www.eng.vt.edu/signaturebuilding/need.php

Ware Lab

The Joseph F. Ware Jr. Advanced Engineering Lab (Ware Lab) is the focal point for undergraduate hands-on projects in the College of Engineering. The Ware lab is not a part of RoMeLa, but there are a number of RoMeLa projects located there including the Blind Driver Challenge. For more information, visit the Ware Lab's home page. http://www.eng.vt.edu/warelab/