LAB 10 – PILOT

Lab 10 is system integration, with a focus on the C3 Pilot process. Let’s review the previous steps:

1. Introduction
   Vehicle architecture.
2. Drive-by-wire
   Ability to operate actuators by C2 computer.
3. Cyclometer
   Ability to tell speed and distance travelled
4. Drive in straight line or circle
   Start and stop based on odometer. Serial communications from C6 to C3 to C2.
5. Obstacle detection
   Be able to make a turn, moving around obstacles.
6. INU
   Use the compass and accelerometer on C6 to drive in a square.
7. GPS
   Read GPS signal and log route to an SD card on C6.
8. Kalman filter
   Fuse GPS, INU, Cyclometer and Dead Reckoning on C6 for more accurate position.
9. Mapping
   C4 selects a route from origin to destination.

When we bring all this together, we should be able to move to the destination that was initially selected. The remaining step is to communicate the route selected by the C4 mapping processor to the C3 pilot processor. At this point the destination is fixed; in the next step (Lab 11 vision) the exact position of the destination will vary. As obstacles force us off the planned route, we may wind up with an entirely new route. Thus C4 continually re-plans its route, and C3 only needs to know the next segment.

An additional complication is that the C4 planning is at a high level, from intersection to intersection. The path that we will actually drive needs to be more detailed: What is the exact shape of the intersection, what is the turning radius, when does the turn start and stop? Are there curves in the path between intersections? This information needs to be determined. Then we need to find the next piece of the route and pass it to the C3 pilot.

Hardware: None.

Software: Depends on Lab 9, which has been completed. The pilot task can be developed on a PC.

Status (8/29/14) Nothing done.