Navigation, Guidance, Control, and Dynamics Commons^™

On-Board Artificial Intelligence For Failure Detection And Safe Trajectory Generation, Eduardo Morillo

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The use of autonomous flight vehicles has recently increased due to their versatility and capability of carrying out different type of missions in a wide range of flight conditions. Adequate commanded trajectory generation and modification, as well as high-performance trajectory tracking control laws have been an essential focus of researchers given that integration into the National Air Space (NAS) is becoming a primary need. However, the operational safety of these systems can be easily affected if abnormal flight conditions are present, thereby compromising the nominal bounds of design of the system's flight envelop and trajectory following. This thesis focuses on …

Instance Segmentation-Based Depth Completion Using Sensor Fusion And Adaptive Clustering For Autonomous Vehicle Perception, Mohammad Z. El-Yabroudi

Dissertations

Depth sensing is critical for safe and accurate maneuvering in robotics and self-driving car (SDC) applications. Most recent LiDAR sensors, such as Ouster and Velodyne, offer 360 degrees of scanning at the rate of ten frames per second, making them very appropriate for autonomous driving applications. However, LiDAR point cloud data show many shortcomings, especially its data sparsity and unassigned nature, making it very challenging to utilize in applications such as perception, 3D object detection, 3D scene reconstruction, and simultaneous localization and mapping.

In this study, a novel framework using instance image segmentation and the raw LiDAR data for the …

Multi-Robot Symbolic Task And Motion Planning Leveraging Human Trust Models: Theory And Applications, Huanfei Zheng

All Dissertations

Multi-robot systems (MRS) can accomplish more complex tasks with two or more robots and have produced a broad set of applications. The presence of a human operator in an MRS can guarantee the safety of the task performing, but the human operators can be subject to heavier stress and cognitive workload in collaboration with the MRS than the single robot. It is significant for the MRS to have the provable correct task and motion planning solution for a complex task. That can reduce the human workload during supervising the task and improve the reliability of human-MRS collaboration. This dissertation relies …

Machine Learning To Predict Warhead Fragmentation In-Flight Behavior From Static Data, Katharine Larsen

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Accurate characterization of fragment fly-out properties from high-speed warhead detonations is essential for estimation of collateral damage and lethality for a given weapon. Real warhead dynamic detonation tests are rare, costly, and often unrealizable with current technology, leaving fragmentation experiments limited to static arena tests and numerical simulations. Stereoscopic imaging techniques can now provide static arena tests with time-dependent tracks of individual fragments, each with characteristics such as fragment IDs and their respective position vector. Simulation methods can account for the dynamic case but can exclude relevant dynamics experienced in real-life warhead detonations. This research leverages machine learning methodologies to …

Reduced Fuel Emissions Through Connected Vehicles And Truck Platooning, Paul D. Brummitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication enable the sharing, in real time, of vehicular locations and speeds with other vehicles, traffic signals, and traffic control centers. This shared information can help traffic to better traverse intersections, road segments, and congested neighborhoods, thereby reducing travel times, increasing driver safety, generating data for traffic planning, and reducing vehicular pollution. This study, which focuses on vehicular pollution, used an analysis of data from NREL, BTS, and the EPA to determine that the widespread use of V2V-based truck platooning—the convoying of trucks in close proximity to one another so as to reduce air drag …

Modeling And Control Of A Planar Bounding Quadrupedal Robot, Patrick John Ward

Master's Theses

Legged robots have the potential to be a valuable technology that provides agile and adaptive locomotion over complex terrain. To realize legged locomotion's full abilities a control design must consider the nonlinear piecewise dynamics of the systems. This paper aims to develop a controller for the planar bounding of a quadrupedal robot.

The bounding of the quadruped robot is characterized by a simplified hybrid model that consists of two subsystems for stance and flight phases and the switching laws between the two states. An additional model, the Multibody model, with fewer simplifications, is used concurrently to best approximate real-world behavior. …

Influence Of Level 1 And Level 2 Automated Vehicles On Fatal Crashes And Fatal Crash Occurrence, Hardik Gajera, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha, Sonu Mathew

Mineta Transportation Institute

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) are expected to improve safety by gradually reducing human decisions while driving. However, there are still questions on their effectiveness as we transition from almost 0% CAVs to 100% CAVs with different levels of vehicle autonomy. This research focuses on synthesizing literature and identifying risk factors influencing fatal crashes involving level 1 and level 2 CAVs in the United States. Fatal crashes involving level 0 vehicles—ones that are not connected and automated—were compared to minimize unobserved heterogeneity and randomness associated with the influencing risk factors. The research team used the fatal crash data for the …

B.A.C.O.N. (Battery-Powered Autonomous Cart Conversion) Autonomous Vehicle Design, Robyn C. Ribet, Damond Li, Tanner Hillman, Christopher Or

Mechanical Engineering

The goal of our project is to convert an electric go cart into an autonomous testing platform. We must enable autonomous braking, steering, and acceleration with electro-mechanical systems. We began the project with ideation to create our initial design and have since received ample feedback from faculty, students, and our sponsor. With this feedback we were able to refine our preliminary ideas and produce a detailed design supported with ample analysis, research, and external advice. We have developed our project in four main subsystems: Steering, braking, acceleration, and emergency braking. Following, we procured, manufactured, and assembled all of our designed …

Deployment Considerations For Autonomous And Integrated Mobility Services Of The Future, Panagiotis Georgakis

CONTROL 2022: 13th United Kingdom Automatic Control Council (UKACC) International Conference

No abstract provided.

Programming An Autonomous Vehicle Ethical Decision Maker Based On Injury Severity, James E. Pickering

CONTROL 2022: 13th United Kingdom Automatic Control Council (UKACC) International Conference

No abstract provided.

Issues Building An Autonomous Vehicle, Paul King

CONTROL 2022: 13th United Kingdom Automatic Control Council (UKACC) International Conference

No abstract provided.

Automotive Sensor Fusion Systems For Traffic Aware Adaptive Cruise Control, Jonah T. Gandy

Theses and Dissertations

The autonomous driving (AD) industry is advancing at a rapid pace. New sensing technology for tracking vehicles, controlling vehicle behavior, and communicating with infrastructure are being added to commercial vehicles. These new automotive technologies reduce on road fatalities, improve ride quality, and improve vehicle fuel economy. This research explores two types of automotive sensor fusion systems: a novel radar/camera sensor fusion system using a long shortterm memory (LSTM) neural network (NN) to perform data fusion improving tracking capabilities in a simulated environment and a traditional radar/camera sensor fusion system that is deployed in Mississippi State’s entry in the EcoCAR Mobility …

Control, Decision-Making, And Learning Approaches For Connected And Autonomous Driving Systems With Humans-In-The-Loop, Fangjian Li

All Dissertations

By virtue of vehicular connectivity and automation, the vehicle becomes increasingly intelligent and self-driving capable. However, no matter what automation level the vehicle can achieve, humans will still be in the loop despite their roles. First, considering the manual driving car as a disturbance to the connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), a novel string stability is proposed for mixed traffic platoons consisting of both autonomous and manual driving cars to guarantee acceptable motion fluctuation and platoon safety. Furthermore, humans are naturally considered as the rider in the passenger vehicle. A human-centered cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) is designed to improve …

Advancements Of Autonomous Applications, Jessica Massey, Jeremy Evert

Student Research

This material is based upon work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Grant Agreement No. 80NSSC20M0114 issued through Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium. This research is in support of the Fire Dawgs competition team for this year’s SpeedFest competition at Oklahoma State University. This NASA OK Space Grant Consortium funded competition team will compete in the Charlie Class, where an autonomous vehicle will navigate a course and put out a fire.

Robots and self-driving vehicles are useful, especially for hazardous jobs, such as firefighting. The use of high-tech sensing technology is a small part of how self-driving vehicles …

A Brief Literature Review For Machine Learning In Autonomous Robotic Navigation, Jake Biddy, Jeremy Evert

Student Research

Machine learning is becoming very popular in many technological aspects worldwide, including robotic applications. One of the unique aspects of using machine learning in robotics is that it no longer requires the user to program every situation. The robotic application will be able to learn and adapt from its mistakes. In most situations, robotics using machine learning is designed to fulfill a task better than a human could, and with the machine learning aspect, it can function at the highest level of efficiency and quality. However, creating a machine learning program requires extensive coding and programming knowledge that can be …

Efficiency Of Functioning Of Intersections With High-Intensity Traffic And Pedestrian Flows, Aziz Ernazarov

Technical science and innovation

The article studies the interaction of traffic and pedestrian flows with high intensity at regulated intersections to improve the capacity of such intersections. To study the parameters of traffic flows, in particular, the length of traffic jams, a traffic flow model was used. To study the parameters of traffic flows, in particular, the length of traffic jams, a traffic flow model was used, which includes a psychophysiological model of following a vehicle that moves in front, for the longitudinal movement of vehicles and a model that is based on the rules of the road, for turning traffic. The research methodology …

Distributed Control And Learning Of Connected And Autonomous Vehicles Approaching And Departing Signalized Intersections, Joshua Onyeka Ogbebor

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis outlines methods for achieving energy-optimal control policies for autonomous vehicles approaching and departing a signalized traffic intersection. Connected and autonomous vehicle technology has gained wide interest from both research institutions and government agencies because it offers immense promise in advancing efficient energy usage and abating hazards that beset the current transportation system. Energy minimization is itself crucial in reducing the greenhouse emissions from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles and extending the battery life of electric vehicles which are presently the major alternative to fossil-fuel-powered vehicles. Two major forms of fuel minimization are studied. First, the eco-driving problem is solved for a …

Baja Sae Semi-Active Suspension, Philip Pang, Stassa Cappos, Harrison Hirsch, John Deboer

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review (FDR) Report outlines the senior design project of the Baja SAE Semi-Active Suspension group, which includes mechanical and electrical engineering students at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. This document compiles the Baja SAE Semi-Active Suspension senior project team’s research and development of a semi-active suspension system for the Cal Poly Racing Baja SAE racecar. The goal is to design a system that adjusts the damping constant of the racecar’s spring-damper suspension while the vehicle is being driven in order to improve vehicle dynamics and driver comfort. None of the semi-active dampers that exist on …

Ground Vehicle Navigation With Depth Camera And Tracking Camera, Hongseok Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this research is to provide autonomous navigation of a 4 wheel vehicle using commercial, off-the-shelf depth and tracking cameras. Some sensitive operations need accuracy within a few inches of navigation ability for indoor or outdoor scenarios where GPS signals are not available. Combination of the Visual Odometry (VO), Distance-Depth (D-D), and Object Detection data from the cameras can be used for accurate navigation and object avoidance. The Intel RealSense D435i, a depth camera, generates depth measurements and the relative position vector of an object. The Intel RealSense T265, a tracking camera, generates its own coordinate system and …

Engineering Countermeasures For Left Turns At Signalized Intersections: A Review, Siby Samuel, Amandeep Singh, Yusuke Yamani

Psychology Faculty Publications

Left turn crashes can impact the safety of the drivers due to the speed and angle at which they occur. Left turns are specifically reported to affect older drivers more than the other types of crashes. This paper provides a review of the existing engineering countermeasures that have been evaluated to improve driver safety at left turns. Twenty- eight studies on left turn signal displays (protected left turns, flashing yellow arrow, and digital countdown timers), intersection geometry (offset left turn lanes, diverging diamond interchange, roundabouts, exit lanes for left turn, left turn bay extension, and contraflow left turn lanes), and …

Drivers’ Response To Scenarios When Driving Connected And Automated Vehicles Compared To Vehicles With And Without Driver Assist Technology, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha, Raghuveer Gouribhatla

Mineta Transportation Institute

Traffic related crashes cause more than 38,000 fatalities every year in the United States. They are the leading cause of death among drivers up to 54 years in age and incur $871 million in losses each year. Driver errors contribute to about 94% of these crashes. In response, automotive companies have been developing vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that aid in various driving tasks. These features are aimed at enhancing safety by either warning drivers of a potential hazard or picking up certain driving maneuvers like maintaining the lane. These features are already part of vehicles with Driver …

Deeppose: Detecting Gps Spoofing Attack Via Deep Recurrent Neural Network, Peng Jiang, Hongyi Wu, Chunsheng Xin

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has become a foundation for most location-based services and navigation systems, such as autonomous vehicles, drones, ships, and wearable devices. However, it is a challenge to verify if the reported geographic locations are valid due to various GPS spoofing tools. Pervasive tools, such as Fake GPS, Lockito, and software-defined radio, enable ordinary users to hijack and report fake GPS coordinates and cheat the monitoring server without being detected. Furthermore, it is also a challenge to get accurate sensor readings on mobile devices because of the high noise level introduced by commercial motion sensors. To this …

Human Powered Vehicle Team Challenge, Sydney Nedlik, Spencer Brodie, Maria Griffin, William Schell, Ryan Serraglio

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Design and build a Human Powered Vehicle in a team of five. Compete at the ASME HPVC competition in March of 2022. Re-establish the Human Powered Vehicle Team at the University of Akron.

Decentralized Cooperative Localization For Multi-Robot Systems In Challenging Environments, Eduardo Gutierrez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Multi-robot systems provide more adaptability and robustness than conventional single-robot systems. This is because they have the ability to achieve partial completion of a task in the presence of failures due to the intrinsic inclusion of non-single-point failure. In multi-robot systems, cooperative localization refers to the use of relative measurements to improve the group’s overall localization performance. While centralized architectures in the system may result in unfeasible cases due to the high cost of computation and communication, decentralized methods distribute the computation among the robots in the group, enhancing the performance and making the system more efficient. Achieving a reliable …