A Vision System for Autonomous Ground Vehicles with a Wide Range of Maneuvering Capabilities

This paper gives a survey on UBM's new Expectation-based Multi-focal Saccadic Vision (EMS-Vision) system for autonomous vehicle guidance. The core element of the system is a new camera arrangement, mounted on a high bandwidth pan and tilt head (TACC) 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. Results from autonomous turn-off maneuvers, performed on army proving grounds, are discussed.

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