Browsing by Author "Johnson, Reed"
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Item Autonomous Navigation On Urban Sidewalks Under Winter Conditions(2020-04) Johnson, ReedWe describe a multi-step approach to facilitate autonomous navigation in snow by small vehicles in urban environments, allowing travel only on sidewalks and paved paths. Our objective is to have a vehicle autonomously navigate from point A on one urban block to point B on another block, crossing from one block to another only at curb-cuts, and stopping when pedestrians get in the way. A small mobile platform is first manually driven along the sidewalks to continuously record LIDAR and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data when little to no snow is on the ground. Our algorithm automatically post processes the data to generate a labeled traversability map. During this automated process, areas such as grass, sidewalks, stationary obstacles, roads and curb-cuts are identified. By differentiating between these areas using only LIDAR, the vehicle is later able to create a path for travel on only sidewalks or roads and not in other areas. Our localization approach uses an Extended Kalman Filter to fuse the Lightweight and Ground-Optimized LIDAR Odometry and Mapping (LeGO-LOAM) approach with high accuracy GNSS where available, to allow for accurate localization even in areas with poor GNSS, which is often the case in cities and areas covered by tree canopy. This localization approach is used during the data capture stage, prior to the post-processing stage when labeled segmentation is performed, and again during real time autonomous navigation, carried out using the ROS navigation stack. By using LIDAR odometry combined with GNSS, the robot is able to localize under many different weather conditions, including snow and rain, where other algorithms (e.g. AMCL) will likely fail. We were able to successfully have the vehicle autonomously plan and navigate a 1.6km path in an urban snow-covered neighborhood. Our methodology facilitates autonomous navigation functionality under most weather conditions including autonomous wheelchair navigation.Item Development of a Workshop on Automated Vehicle Technologies(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2019-07) Davis, Brian; Johnson, ReedConnectivity and automation in vehicles have the potential to change nearly every aspect of our transportation system. Vehicles with these capabilities are already being tested on public roads and are beginning to enter the national fleet. These vehicles have the potential to bring numerous benefits to the public, but these benefits come with tradeoffs that must be carefully considered by transportation professionals. This project focuses on the development and delivery of a two-day workshop on connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) for an audience of public transportation professionals. This workshop was designed to not only provide an overview of CAV technologies but to also to take an in-depth look at Global Navigation Satellite Systems, LIDAR, and the software and algorithms that use these sensors for localization and navigation. The goal of the workshop was to help develop technical literacy about these technologies among workshop participants to provide context when encountering CAV technologies. A workshop was developed that incorporates classroom lectures and demonstrations using a robotic unmanned ground vehicle. A pilot offering of the workshop was delivered in May 2019, which was attended by eight public transportation professionals representing different agencies at different levels of government. Participant feedback was collected to evaluate the efficacy of the workshop. Responses were almost exclusively positive, highlighting participants' interest in both classroom sessions and demonstrations. Using constructive feedback, improvements have been identified for future offerings. Workshop participants found the workshop to be interesting and reported learning about the topics covered, motivating future offerings.Item Development of a Workshop on Automated Vehicle Technologies(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2019-07) Davis, Brian; Johnson, ReedConnectivity and automation in vehicles have the potential to change nearly every aspect of our transportation system. Vehicles with these capabilities are already being tested on public roads and are beginning to enter the national fleet. These vehicles have the potential to bring numerous benefits to the public, but these benefits come with tradeoffs that must be carefully considered by transportation professionals.This project focuses on the development and delivery of a two-day workshop on connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) for an audience of public transportation professionals. This workshop was designed to not only provide an overview of CAV technologies but to also to take an in-depth look at Global Navigation Satellite Systems, LIDAR, and the software and algorithms that use these sensors for localization and navigation. The goal of the workshop was to help develop technical literacy about these technologies among workshop participants to provide context when encountering CAV technologies. A workshop was developed that incorporates classroom lectures and demonstrations using a robotic unmanned ground vehicle. A pilot offering of the workshop was delivered in May 2019, which was attended by eight public transportation professionals representing different agencies at different levels of government. Participant feedback was collected to evaluate the efficacy of the workshop. Responses were almost exclusively positive, highlighting participants’ interest in both classroom sessions and demonstrations. Using constructive feedback, improvements have been identified for future offerings. Workshop participants found the workshop to be interesting and reported learning about the topics covered, motivating future offerings.