As robotic ground systems advance in capabilities and begin to fulfill new roles in both civilian and military life, the limitation of slow operational speed has become a hindrance to the wide-spread adoption of these systems. For example, military convoys are reluctant to employ autonomous vehicles when these systems slow their movement from 60 miles per hour down to 40. However, these autonomous systems must operate at these lower speeds due to the limitations of the sensors they employ. Robotic Research, with its extensive experience in ground autonomy and associated problems therein, in conjunction with CERDEC/Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), has performed a study to specify system and detection requirements; determined how current autonomy sensors perform in various scenarios; and analyzed how sensors should be employed to increase operational speeds of ground vehicles. The sensors evaluated in this study include the state of the art in LADAR/LIDAR, Radar, Electro-Optical, and Infrared sensors, and have been analyzed at high speeds to study their effectiveness in detecting and accounting for obstacles and other perception challenges. By creating a common set of testing benchmarks, and by testing in a wide range of real-world conditions, Robotic Research has evaluated where sensors can be successfully employed today; where sensors fall short; and which technologies should be examined and developed further. This study is the first step to achieve the overarching goal of doubling ground vehicle speeds on any given terrain.

Date Published: 18 June 2015
PDF: 15 pages
Proc. SPIE 9494, Next-Generation Robotics II; and Machine Intelligence and Bio-inspired Computation: Theory and Applications IX, 949408 (18 June 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2176596

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9494:
Next-Generation Robotics II; and Machine Intelligence and Bio-inspired Computation: Theory and Applications IX
Misty Blowers; Dan Popa; Muthu B. J. Wijesundara, Editor(s)