Autonomous path-planning navigation system for site characterization

Arturo L. Rankin; Carl D. Crane III; David G. Armstrong II; Allen D. Nease; H. Edward Brown

doi:10.1117/12.241081

27 May 1996 Autonomous path-planning navigation system for site characterization

Arturo L. Rankin, Carl D. Crane III, David G. Armstrong II, Allen D. Nease, H. Edward Brown

Proceedings Volume 2738, Navigation and Control Technologies for Unmanned Systems; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.241081
Event: Aerospace/Defense Sensing and Controls, 1996, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

The location and removal of buried munitions is an important yet hazardous task. Current development is aimed at performing both the ordnance location and removal tasks autonomously. An autonomous survey vehicle (ASV) named the Gator has been developed at the Center for Intelligent Machines and Robotics, under the direction of Wright Laboratory, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Maryland. The primary task of the survey vehicle is to autonomously traverse an off-road site, towing behind it a trailer containing a sensor package capable of characterizing the sub-surface contents. Achieving 00 percent coverage of the site is critical to fully characterizing the site. This paper presents a strategy for planning efficient paths for the survey vehicle that guarantees near-complete coverage of a site. A small library of three in-house developed path planners are reviewed. A strategy is also presented to keep the trailer on-path and to calculate the percent of coverage of a site with a resolution of 0.01 m². All of the algorithms discussed in this paper were initially developed in simulation on a Silicon Graphics computer and subsequently implemented on the survey vehicle.

Citation Download Citation

Arturo L. Rankin, Carl D. Crane III, David G. Armstrong II, Allen D. Nease, and H. Edward Brown "Autonomous path-planning navigation system for site characterization", Proc. SPIE 2738, Navigation and Control Technologies for Unmanned Systems, (27 May 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.241081

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available