Adaptive Planning Framework for Situation Assessment and Decision- making on an Autonomous Ground Vehicle

摘要

The primary contribution of this research is the design, implementation, and field testing of an Adaptive Planning Framework (APF) that can address the problem of autonomous operation in a complex, unstructured environment. It encapsulates a new and unique approach to dynamic situation assessment, behavior management, and decision-making. This research also included a literature review and development of a Reference Implementation. The thesis behind this research is that a well-organized, three-stage process of 1) understanding the current situation, 2) understanding the suitability and viability of the available behaviors in light of that situation, and 3) providing the capability to autonomously make and execute behavior-related decisions, all in real-time, provides new levels of intelligence to autonomous ground vehicles (AGV).