Barry A. Bodt
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses the results of the Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance (RCTA) 2011 baseline assessment conducted over three days in August at the Combined Arms Collective Training Facility at Fort Indiantown Gap, PA. The focus of the effort was on behavior primitives that are necessary for a small robot to autonomously perceive, "Look", and maneuver, "Move", which are two of the five fundamental UGV capabilities identified by the RCTA ("think," "look," "move," "talk," and "work"). An autonomous Talon UGV was challenged to autonomously navigate cul-de-sacs, avoid pedestrians, climb stairs, and negotiate drop-offs, doorways, alleys, and street clutter having both static and dynamic obstacles present. Each of these experimental vignettes had a more detailed set of experimental conditions to be varied (e.g., door width, stair configuration, and obstacle density in a scene.) In addition, a mapping capability was exercised within two buildings to locate walls and room clutter, and a "street view" camera function provided an opportunity for remote interpretation of vision acuity charts mounted on walls within the buildings. The intent was not to revisit physical capabilities of the Talon but rather to determine its autonomous performance over a set of primitive behaviors required for successfully operating in an urban environment with the potential to assist soldiers in reconnaissance or other tasks. The study was successful in identifying some limitations to autonomy, for example, with regard to pedestrian interactions, drop-offs, and doorways but also highlighted an intelligent control system able to overcome varying degrees of disruption in the planned route due to minor and major obstacles.
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- Robotics collaborative technology alliance (RCTA) 2011 baseline assessment
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