West Virginia University Robotics Team

West Virginia University Robotics Team was to design and fabricate a sample collection Rover for the NASA Rasc-Al Robo-ops competition hosted at the NASA Johnson Space Center’s Rock Yard.

Before acquiring the Pepwave MAX HD2 system, they were using a pair of CradlePoint cellular modem/router combos that were bridged over a WiFi network. They positioned one of the CradlePoint routers at a stationary base station and affixed the other to the Rover.

This solution worked well untill the Rover lost line of sight to the base station. The Rover was sluggish due to the decreased bandwidth and increased latency.

They needed a more reliable and rebust solution.

Case Study: West Virginia University Robotics Team

West Virginia University Robotics Team was to design and fabricate a sample collection Rover for the NASA Rasc-Al Robo-ops competition hosted at the NASA Johnson Space Center’s Rock Yard.

This solution worked well untill the Rover lost line of sight to the base station. The Rover was sluggish due to the decreased bandwidth and increased latency.

They needed a more reliable and rebust solution.

Challenges

Lightweight – the competition order is determined by the weight of the Rover; a lighter Rover has a more favorable position in the lineup. As such, weight is at a premium.

Rugged – this competition is held in a rugged environment meant to simulate the Martian surface. The components selected needed to be rugged, able to resist dust and moisture.

Solutions

Pepwave MAX HD2 Mini – on the Rover. Light, rugged and robust making it ideal for the task. Built-in GPS elimiates the need for an extra component.

Peplink Balance 210 – on the stationary base station.

Peplink SpeedFusion bandwidth bonding – for unbreakable connectivity between Pepwave MAX HD2 Mini and Peplink Balance 210.

Benefits

Reliable communication with the Rover as if it was connected on a local network. This allowed speedy development of network related features for their Rover.

A single AT&T was recorded an average speed of 0.7Mbps. When combined with Verizon, they recorded an average speed of 1.13Mbps, a 61% increase in bandwidth. When using external network tests, their average speeds were 27.3Mbps down and 11.1Mbps up.

The lightweight nature of the Pepwave MAX HD2 Mini allowed them to use it in a weight critical situation. SpeedFusion Bandwidth Bonding allowed them to operate the Rover without worrying about network failures.

“Our previous networking solution wasn’t reliable enough to guarantee mission success. We needed a reliable solution that could handle the loss of one of the cellular connections and still function reliably.”

Eric Loy

Team Captain, West Virginia University Robotics Team

The NASA Rasc-Al Robo-ops competition

West Virginia University Robotics Team was to design and fabricate a sample collection Rover for the NASA Rasc-Al Robo-ops competition hosted at the NASA Johnson Space Center’s Rock Yard.

Before acquiring the Pepwave MAX HD2 system, they were using a pair of CradlePoint cellular modem/router combos that were bridged over a WiFi link. They positioned one of the CradlePoint routers at a stationary base station and affixed the other to the Rover.

This solution worked well untill the Rover lost line of sight to the base station. The Rover was sluggish due to the decreased bandwidth and increased latency.

They needed a more reliable and robust solution.

Peplink Unbreakable Mobile Internet

They used the Pepwave MAX HD2 Mini on the Rover and a Peplink Balance 210 in mission control. The inclusion of the Balance 210 router in their networking solution allowed them to take advantage of SpeedFusion bandwidth bonding. This allowed them to unplug one of the WAN connections, simulating a network fault, from the MAX HD2 Mini and still have control over the Rover. This gave them the best balance of speed and reliability.

The Robotics Team ordered their Pepwave router three months in advance of the completion to allow time to mount and integrate it into the Rover. They printed a base by 3D printing to affix the MAX HD2 Mini allowing the antennas maximum clearance. Their Balance 210 router took advantage of SpeedFusion bandwidth bonding. Once the router was installed, they configured the two routers following the online guides and were able to successfully run speed tests using the PepVPN test and analyzer.

The deployment of Pepwave MAX HD2 Mini and Peplink Balance 210 allowed them to communicate with the Rover as if they were on a local network, allowing them easier development of network related features for their Rover.

Using the PepVPN Test tool, they tested a single AT&T connection and recorded an average speed of 0.7Mbps. When they tested the combined AT&T and Verizon connections, they recorded an average speed of 1.13Mbps, a 61% increase in bandwidth. When using external network tests, their average speeds were 27.3Mbps down and 11.1Mbps up.

The lightweight nature of the Pepwave Max HD2 Mini allowed them to use it in a weight critical situation. The SpeedFusion Bandwidth Bonding allowed them to operate the Rover without worrying about network failures.

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