Development of the RATEL UGV platform

Abstract

Robotic research technologies and their implementations are in a constant state of development and improvement. The Robotics and Agents Research Laboratory at the University of Cape Town desired an extensible platform onto which technologies could be implemented. The RoboCup Rescue competition was identified as an ideal research focus for man-portable UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) development and testing, both for the mobility of the platform and the deployment of various associated technologies in real-world conditions. As such the RATEL platform was developed as a multi-purpose man-portable UGV which was to be evaluated according to the challenges of the RoboCup Rescue competition.