Obstacle Detection for Unmanned Ground Vehicle on Uneven Terrain

High-speed navigation of unmanned ground vehicles on uneven terrain using potential fields

Many applications require unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to travel at high speeds on sloped, natural terrain. In this paper a potential field-based method is proposed for UGV navigation in such scenarios. In the proposed approach, a potential field is generated in the two-dimensional “trajectory space” of the UGV path curvature and longitudinal velocity. In contrast to traditional potential fi...

Obstacle Detection for Unmanned Ground Vehicles: A Progress Report*

Passive sensor evaluation for unmanned ground vehicle mud detection

Detecting mud hazards is a significant challenge to unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) autonomous offroad navigation. A military UGV stuck in a mud body during a mission may need to be sacrificed or rescued, both unattractive options. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is currently developing a daytime mud detection capability under the U.S. Army Research Laboratory Robotics Collaborative Technology Alli...

Daytime Mud Detection for Unmanned Ground Vehicle Autonomous Navigation

Detecting mud hazards is a significant challenge to UGV autonomous off-road navigation. A military UGV stuck in a mud body during a mission may need to be sacrificed or rescued, both unattractive options. JPL is currently developing a daytime mud detection capability under the RCTA program using UGV mounted sensors. To perform robust mud detection under all conditions, we expect multiple sensor...

Obstacle and Terrain Avoidance for Miniature Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are playing increasingly prominent roles in defense programs and strategy around the world. While drones have been employed in military applications for many years, the dramatic growth in technological capabilities has increased their utility and versatility. Specifically, advances in microcontrollers, sensors, and batteries have enabled both the significant impr...