Event Location: GHC 2109
Bio: Gustavo Freitas is a control and automation engineer, formed at the
Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) — Brazil, in 2005. He
acquired his Masters and now he is pursuing his Ph.D at the Federal
University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). During this time, he has worked in
different projects, including: implementation of a multi-axis foot force
sensor for the six leg robot TarryIIb, at the University of Bielefeld,
Germany; software development for the Roboturb, an autonomous system
capable of recovering hydraulic turbine surfaces, at UFSC; concept of
mechanical parts, electrical installation and development of kinematic
reconfigurability control strategies for the Environmental Hybrid Robot
from the Brazilian Oil Company Petrobras S.A.

Abstract: The Environmental Hybrid Robot is being designed by the Brazilian Oil
Company Petrobras S.A. for monitoring missions in the Amazon rain forest
region close to the Coari-Manaus pipeline. An innovative locomotion
system was developed according to the conditions encountered in the
Amazon. The wheel-legged architecture is adopted. Aiming to enable the
robot to float in the water, the wheels have large volume and are made
of low-density material. Each wheel is coupled to an independent
suspension system, also referred to as legs. This system is able to
collect data and samples and perform tasks in difficult-access areas of
the forest. The robot is designed to overcome certain obstacles and to
operate in different terrains, as water surface, land, marshes, swamps,
and sand.