research - Advanced Platforms Daredevil

The Need:

For autonomous robots to be useful on the battlefield, they need the ability to operate in all types of environmental conditions, including rain, snow, fog and dust. They will also need the ability to navigate through foliage, such as tall grass, and be able to distinguish between foliage and solid obstacles.

The
Project:

The Daredevil Project is developing an all-weather perception payload for the iRobot® PackBot® tactical mobile robot that can see through rain, snow, dust and foliage. The Daredevil Multisensor Payload will include ultra wideband (UWB) radar that can penetrate rain, snow, fog, dust, and some types of foliage. The UWB radar will be fused with high-resolution range data from LIDAR and stereo vision to create a detailed map of the surrounding terrain.

The
Goals:

• Increase the reconnaissance capabilities of the PackBot by enabling it to drive autonomously through rain, snow, fog, dust and sparse foliage.
• Develop an all-weather map-building capability for the PackBot that can produce accurate maps showing the locations of solid objects, including those concealed by foliage.

Funding
provided by:

Partner:

Project leader:

See All Core Technologies.

Daredevil

Advanced Platforms

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