The Keweenaw Research Center
The Keweenaw Research Center (KRC) is a multidisciplinary research center of Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) that is active across a broad spectrum of vehicle development. Originally established by the US Army for deep snow mobility testing, KRC has been involved in military, industrial, and commercial vehicle applications for over 60 years. As part of the University, the KRC is a not-for-profit academic entity with an educational mission. Staffed by full-time personnel, the KRC draws upon the expertise and resources within the University community to provide diverse research and educational opportunities.
Our Mission
To generate and conduct externally funded research in science and engineering in support of the University's overall educational mission.
Available Data Sets
For each data set you must request access by clicking the "Obtain Access Credentials" button and completing the necessary information. Once your information is reviewed, you will receive an email with the login credentials. Once you receive the login credentials, click "Access Data Using Credentials" on that particular data set and use your credentials to login and obtain that data set.
Please note that data set access credentials can change over time. When this happens, you will need to request access again to receive the new credentials.
Read Only, Unclassified, Registered Access
Description:
Legacy NRMM uses vehicle and terrain information to create a visual go/no go and max speed decision map for a given region. The current upgrade effort is referred to as the “Next Generation” NRMM and the primary focus is to leverage technological advances in computational capacity and simulation software. Commonly referenced as “Big Data,” data extraction from high resolution aerial imagery and topology scans are increasing the fidelity of the terrain input. Vehicle simulation improvements are focused upon interaction with deformable soil.
Data:
KRC 2-Seat gas MRZR Neutral Coast Down (NCD) Test Data
Description:
A total of 6 runs were conducted. Tests were conducted during mid-April, 2023 in Houghton, Michigan. Pavement was dry and free of snow and ice. Pavement was flat but slightly sloped so three (3) runs were conducted for each direction over the same portion of pavement. Runs were conducted as a ramp up to speed then disengage driveline and coast to stop in neutral. Coast downs going West were downhill, coast downs going East were uphill.
Data:
KRC 2-Seat gas MRZR Acceleration Test Data
Description:
A total of 12 runs were conducted during mid-December, 2022 in Houghton, Michigan. Pavement was wet but free of snow and ice. Pavement was flat but slightly sloped so each run contains two speed ramps, one in each direction over the same portion of pavement.
Data:
Description:
The data provided is intended to be used to develop and validate constitutive models for track soil interaction and is representative of a specific instance of performance for a one-of-a-kind vehicle on specific terrain located at MTU/KRC. Mobility tests were conducted at MTU/KRC in July of 2021. The test article was a M113 A2/A3 one of a kind prototype representative of the M113 A2 power pack, A3 steering, and A3 Hull with External Fuel Pods. Engine was in fair condition. The track and running gear were worn but in fair condition.
Data includes raw test data in both “.csv” and MatLab format, various pictures and videos, and sample data plots for drawbar & motion resistance testing on soil beds typical of KRC, acceleration/braking/coast down, pivot steer, vertical step, V-Ditch, ride quality (half round & RMS), and sand grade.
File format is in “.csv” and Matlab have strings (columns) of data identified by a channel number. The channel map provided is used to determine what the data string or column represents. Each filename contains the test run number. The test log is used to indicate the type of test that file contains.
Data:
Description:
Shear and compressive soil strength measurements are collected using an in-situ soil strength measurement device commonly known as a “Bekker Value Meter” or Bevameter. The KRC Bevameter is a self-contained unit that can be transported in the field by a number of different prime movers. It is designed to take in-situ soil strength measurements in natural terrain conditions, usually in conjunction with mobility testing and modeling. Detailed design data for the KRC developed Bevameter is provided.
Data:
Description:
A terrain soil interaction study was conducted as part of a larger project, Defense Mobility System (DMS), that was focused on improving the understanding of vehicle mobility on soft soils. This study created a detailed chain of physical evidence connecting measured soil properties to subsystem responses and vehicle capability. With this data set, analysis methods can be more precisely validated, and any breakdown in the supporting methods may be more precisely investigated and addressed.
The data set presented here only covers the collection of the physical evidence. This represents Section 1 of the DMS final report which is included, “DMS Section 1 Simple TM Testing UQ Validation”. Also, a conference paper, “2023 GVSETS Paper - Tire-Soil Interaction Study”, is included. The report and conference paper both outline the procedures used to perform both laboratory and field mobility testing, measurements made during testing, and preliminary results derived.
The laboratory testing consisted of a single-tire testing regimen that included three soils, two tires, two tire pressures, two-wheel loads, and multiple soil moistures. For nearly all configurations several repetitions were performed for each test. For each soil, cone penetrometer, density, moisture, and Bevameter measurements were conducted. With this testing array, the influence of many factors could be documented for subsequent analysis and investigation.
Following the single tire testing, full-vehicle field tests were performed using an instrumented FED-Alpha vehicle to support validation of resultant vehicle-level mobility predictions. Although the data generated from the testing activities contributed to all of the subsequent modelling and mobility prediction activities performed, a summary of the testing activities has been incorporated into Section 1 of the project documentation. Detailed documentation of the tests, procedures, and resultant data is found in Appendices A-D.
Data:
Description:
- KRC Loop 2 and Circle Lanes - Classified Clouds
Description coming soon - KRC Loop 2 and Circle Lanes – Waypoints
Description coming soon - KRC Reduced Point Cloud Data - Released 220318
Description coming soon - KRC Test Course Colorized TIN - Released 220422
Description coming soon - KRC Test Course Geotiffs – 231026
Description coming soon - KRC Test Course NATO Area HiRes TIN & LAS
Description coming soon - KRC Unfiltered Point Cloud Data - Released 220318
Description coming soon
Data:
Description:
Vehicle scan providing the position of the specific vehicle mounted exteroceptive sensors used during the data collection runs contained in “KRC Test Course Scan LiDAR Data”.
Data:
Description:
Exteroceptive sensor data collected from an assortment of tests and traverses conducted on the KRC proving grounds is provided in various formats. Sensor pod configurations vary but most contain lidar, radar, and multiple camera types and fields of view.
- 20200730-03 5pm
Description coming soon - FED-A Traverse RGB
Description coming soon - FED-Alpha
Description coming soon - KRC MRZR Data
Description coming soon - KRC Test Course Scan LiDAR Data
Description coming soon - UofMRZR
Description coming soon
Data:
Description:
Soil and bevameter data collected during the field experiments carried out on 2–15 August 2021 in Estonia as part of a research project between the Estonian Military Academy, the University of Tartu, the Keweenaw Research Center of the Michigan Technological University (KRC), and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center.
The database is the property of the Estonian Defense Forces and includes the following data:
- Land use type and drainage conditions (drained/not drained);
- Soil type according to World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB);
- Soil texture according to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) classification;
- Soil gravimetric water content;
- Soil bulk density;
- Cone index values for layer 0-6 in, 6-12 in, 12-18 in (measured with Humboldt penetrometer);
- Bekker-Wong parameters measured with KRC bevameter.
The database is shared with other parties for using the data in scientific publications, teaching, and popularization of science. When using the data, the Delivery Receipt (akt) No. KV-0.7-1.1/22/6316 of 9 March 2022 for handing the database over to the Estonian Military Academy should be referred to.
Data:
Description:
The UAV data set augments the ground collected LiDAR data set with additional information to fill in the areas that were missing. It also provides additional info for graphics artists to use to improve virtual representations.
Data:
Description:
The validation data serves two purposes:
- To prove out and supply shapefile data to vet the correction to a previous CSYS transform error.
- As reference material to aid in applying correct transforms to virtual worlds or at a minimum a reference to check that the correct import of the data
Data:
Description:
This data is useful for pre-visit site planning or just reference survey information for working with a variety of data types. The data set was created specifically for the NATO test area TIN and some of the data supplied may cause confusion for users not familiar with the NATO test effort. If a general survey control data set would be useful, KRC can create specific exports for post/share.
Data:
Read Only, NATO Unclassified, NATO Access
Description:
Modeling and simulation data used to create virtual representations of the vehicle, sensor, and environment used to demonstrate autonomous mobility tools.
Data:
If you appreciate the availability of this open source data, please Support the Mission with a donation to the Keweenaw Research Center.
