Staged Experiments in Mobile Vehicle Autonomy. Procedures and Results with the SegwayRMP

Abstract : This paper presents details and results for experiments conducted at DRDC Suffield in autonomous robot control of the Segway RMP (Robotic Mobility Platform). The autonomous control was a demonstration of robotic abilities achievable with an inexpensive, rapid implementation by a small team using off-the-shelf hardware and software. It was based upon the Player/Stage robot software development environment, and used a basic sensor suite consisting of a SICK laser scanner, GPS localization, and robot distance encoders. The demonstration was able to achieve basic teleoperation, as well as autonomous deadreckoning, GPS waypoint following, obstacle avoidance and leader/follower behaviour. Safety procedures and robot performance metrics applicable to all autonomous vehicle research were also developed over the course of this project, and are documented in this report.