EMS-Vision: a perceptual system for autonomous vehicles

The paper gives a survey on the new Expectationbased Multifocal Saccadic Vision (EMS-Vision) system for autonomous vehicle guidance developed at the Universität der Bundeswehr München (UBM). EMS-Vision is the third generation dynamic vision system following the 4-D approach. Its core element is a new camera arrangement, mounted on a high bandwidth pan-tilt head for active gaze control. Central knowledge representation and a hierarchical system architecture allow efficient activation and control of behavioral capabilities for perception and action. The system has been implemented on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware components in both UBM test vehicles VaMoRs and VaMP. Results from autonomous turnoff maneuvers, performed on army proving grounds, are discussed.