Liam Broek

During my time at Quantillion, I developed on all aspects of our navigation stack. This included building simulation environments in Unity, perception, object detection, path planning, localization and control. I also worked closely with the hardware while installing our navigation stack on existing vehicles for testing and demonstrations. I was also the lead engineer in our 3D path planning project.

My internship introduced me to the problem of designing the navigation stack for an autonomous vehicle that would operate in an aluminium smelter. I was the sole member of this R&D endeavour. I began researching this problem and exploring solutions. This lead me to learning how to use ROS and the components of a navigation stack. I explored these components in great detail and started constructing the navigation stack. I built prototype models of vehicles for simulation, created the worlds these vehicles would operate in and developed on existing software to map, localize and navigate in a simulated and real-world environment. I became familiar with various mapping, localization and navigation methods. By the end of this internship I had created the foundation of this navigation stack which led me to a full time position.

During the vacation training, the main project that was undertaken was the installation of a robotic system at Ebersprache. This system consisted of two welding robots which were to weld catalytic converters for the customer. The installation entailed the setting up of the systems fencing, marking out the location for the robots to be situated. Bringing in the robots, bolting them down to the factory floor and attaching any more components to the physical structure of the robots which would have caused trouble for transportation. The PLC’s of the robots had to be set up, along with the wiring and cabling of the robots. Some of these tasks I only witnessed while others I completed myself, depending on the skill level required. Occasionally I would accompany one of the technicians to a breakdown where he would either assist or observe the process of fixing the issue at hand.

During this workshop training the dominant task undertaken was the installation and commissioning of a spray booth at the Volkswagen factory in Uitenhage. During this time, I both assisted and witnessed the installation of the roller bed conveyer system as well as the wiring and teaching of the two paint robots. I was introduced and trained to use a teach pendent. This workshop training gave me a greater understanding of the processes involved during the painting of cars. A second large task which I was part of was the setup and wiring of a testing robot along with its control panel. I became familiar with the components and process involved with this setup.