A practical approach to robotic design for the DARPA Urban Challenge

    Authors

    B. J. Patz; Y. Papelis; R. Pillat; G. Stein;D. Harper

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Field Robot.

    Keywords

    MOBILE ROBOT; Robotics

    Abstract

    This article presents a practical approach to engineering a robot to effectively navigate in an urban environment. Inherent in this approach is the use of relatively simple sensors, actuators, and processors to generate robot vision, intelligence, and planning. Sensor data are fused from multiple low-cost, two-dimensional laser scanners With an innovative rotational mount to provide three-dimensional coverage with image processing using both range and intensity data. Information is combined With Doppler radar returns to yield a world view processed by a context-based reasoning control system to yield tactical mission commands forwarded to traditional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control loops. As an example of simplicity and robustness, steering control successfully utilized a relatively simple follow-the-carrot guidance approach that has been successfully demonstrated at speeds of 60 mph (97 km/h). The approach yielded a robot that reached the finals of the Urban Challenge and completed approximately 2 h of the event before being forced to withdraw as a result of a global positioning system data failure. 0 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

    Journal Title

    Journal of Field Robotics

    Volume

    25

    Issue/Number

    8

    Publication Date

    1-1-2008

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    528

    Last Page

    566

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000258269800005

    ISSN

    1556-4959

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