Hi_Lite Scott Fukuda Chad Kawakami

Background ► The DARPA Grand Challenge ► The Defense Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA) established a contest in 2004 to set a new level of accomplishment for autonomous land vehicles. This was in response to a goal set by Congress that by 2015 twenty percent of U.S. military vehicles on a battlefield would be unmanned. In The Grand Challenge, contestants vied for a one million dollar prize by racing for 150 miles.

HI_Lite Vehicle ► Modified from a Columbia Par Car electric scout vehicle ► Akamai Research LLC hosted and led the Hawaii effort with volunteers and sponsorship from e-Vehicles of Hawaii. ► In only three months the car was born. ► HI_Lite stayed in consideration up to the semi finals of the DARPA challenge.

HI_Lite Vehicle

Current status ► Vehicle is currently dismantled. ► No longer bounded by the DARPA contest rules. ► Looking to improve operational capabilities/ strategies and robotic controls, integrate wireless feedback and multiple remote controllers, including human operators, and allow for “urban” environments.

Our Project ► To explore the capabilities of the vehicle’s “eyes” and derive a primitive useful “environment describing” system. ► Coupling simple optical devices to create an enhanced “environment describing” system.

Hardware ► Videre Design - Variable baseline digital stereo Camera head ► IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface ► Uncompressed video at megapixel resolution (7.5 fps) or VGA (30 fps) ► Subsampling modes (decimation) for smaller frame sizes, faster frame rates, lower noise

Small Vision System ► Developer Kit for stereo applications ► Functions:  Calibrate a stereo head  Rectify the images to account for distortion, perform stereo correlation to compute a range image, and display the range image in OpenGL 3D form.

Small Vision System

Other Hardware ► Laser Pointers ► SICK Laser Range Detector ► Color lenses

Test Bed 5 Feet 5 1/2 Feet 6 Feet

5 Feet 5 1/2 Feet 6 Feet Test Bed 2 Filters Laser “array”

Process ► Create a laser grid and illuminate grid on objects within the camera's view ► Use the SICK Laser Range Detector to establish numerical calibration points ► Calibrate/tune the stereo camera using the SICK's data ► If necessary, external "pre-processing" will be done using color lenses as filters ► Record stereo images ► Rectify the images to account for distortion ► If necessary, "post-processing" (via computer) to provide other types of filtering ► Perform stereo correlation to compute a range image (depth contours) ► Interpret data and perform numerical analysis to provide useful outputs

Work to be done ► Setup Test bed in a lab ► Test hardware and find performance curves ► Find or develop and useful simple algorithm for object detection ► Test effects of coupling devices

Hi-Lite Gant ChartScott Fukuda and Chad Kawakami 18-Feb25-Feb4-Mar11-Mar18-Mar25-Mar1-Apr8-Apr15-Apr22-Apr29-Apr Tests Setup Test Bed 1 Run Test Bed 1 Setup Test Bed 2 Run Test Bed 2 Data organize algorithm Exploratory additional Tests

QUESTIONS?