High Speed Hazard Avoidance for Unmanned Ground Vehicles in Emergency Situations

摘要

Rapid hazard avoidance maneuvers will be required for unmanned ground vehicles operating at high speeds in rough changing terrain. Without rapidly decreasing speed in every situation, there is limited time to perform navigation calculations based on detailed vehicle and terrain models. This paper presents a novel method for high speed navigation and hazard avoidance based on the two dimensional trajectory space, which is a compact model-based representation of a robot's dynamic performance limits on natural terrain. Simulation and experimental results on a small high-speed UGV demonstrate the method's effectiveness performed either by selecting from a set of predetermined paths (i.e. search techniques over small spaces), or by reactive behaviors, which evoke a predetermined action in response to specific sensor signals. Since the majority of mobile robots have been designed for use on flat or slightly rolling terrain at speeds that do not excite vehicle dynamics, these techniques have not had to consider vehicle dynamics and vehicle/terrain interaction. This paper addresses the problem of navigation and hazard avoidance on flat, rough, and uneven terrain at speeds that excite the vehicle's dynamics.