Development of an Autonomous Navigation Technology Test Vehicle

摘要

The Center for Intelligent Machines and Robotics (CIMAR) at the University of Florida has been a leader in the field of autonomous vehicles since 1991. In order to continue these research activities at CIMAR, a new Kawasaki Mule All-Terrain Vehicle was chosen to be automated as a test-bed for the purpose of developing and testing autonomous vehicle technologies. This Mule will be referred to as the Navigational Test Vehicle II (NTV2), because it is the second generation of the Navigational Test Vehicle (NTV) that was first automated at CIMAR in 1991. This thesis describes in detail the design and implementation of the software and hardware systems necessary for converting the stock Kawasaki Mule ATV into an unmanned vehicle capable of remote control or fully autonomous operation. As part of the automation project, servo actuators were added to the throttle, brake, and steering systems in order to control the mobility functions of the Mule, allowing it to operate as an autonomous vehicle. The operational theory of servo control systems is discussed, and the throttle, brake, and steering actuator systems are described in detail. In addition, transfer function models have been developed to predict the transient response of each actuator control system. A description is given of the Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS), which was used as the vehicle control architecture. Because the Mule control software has been designed according to the modular ideology of the JAUS Reference Architecture, new software and hardware components can be readily implemented as part of the autonomous vehicle system, allowing it to be modernized as new technologies develop. Finally, the goals of this project were accomplished, and the Mule was converted into a reliable development vehicle for autonomous systems technology.