Mission Statement
Autonomy and Collaborative Control
Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance Program
GTRI researchers are contributing to the Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance Program, a five-year initiative sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL).
Auction-Based Heterogeneous Collaboration
GTRI has developed several approaches to unmanned systems collaborative control. Most recently, they have developed auction-based autonomy algorithms where UAVs and UGVs bid for tasks to execute, such as searching an area or attacking a target. Auctions are efficient in that agents have local knowledge and compute in parallel, and where only bidding information is communicated. Cost functions ensure that cooperative mission execution is realized at a lower cost than if the unmanned systems operated independently.
Automated Raised Pavement Marker (RPM) System
Working with the Georgia Department of Transportation, GTRI researchers developed a first-of-its-kind, truck-mounted system for automatically placing raised pavement markers (RPMs) on road surfaces. The system automatically compensates for driver error and bad strip placements by visually tracking the lane stripes and automatically adjusting the RPM placement system.
Multi-Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV)
X-MAV Health is a health management system for multi-UAV systems. It allows human operators the capability to concentrate on higher-level tasks rather than struggling with the maintenance operations of a large number of vehicles.
Hardware Systems Development and Testing
Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Quiet Propulsion Package
GTRI researchers are developing advanced noise-reduction technologies for UAVs through novel propulsion and airframe integration. The team has characterized the acoustic signature of various UAV systems through multiple sponsored programs.
Intuitive Motion Control of Unmanned Systems
GTRI researchers have successfully created an intuitive generic input system for control of diverse robotic systems. The system dramatically reduces the training and the need for expert operators.
Imaging Payload on an Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV)
GTRI researchers developed a system that links a camera with a GPS receiver and an inertial measurement unit to record geo-registered images. Developed for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the system is used to monitor refugee sites.
3D Vision and Control of Unmanned Systems
Work at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) has focused on an implementation of technologies based on visual servoing to (1) guide a robot arm to a prescribed pose with respect to a feature of interest (like a window opening) and then (2) provide a more intuitive user interface for finding and manipulating a discovered object. Experiments based on a common scenario of peering inside an unknown opening (a mocked-up car window, in our case) to look for suspicious objects are reported. It is demonstrated that using visual servoing results in a more intuitive and efficient operator experience.
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Testing and Evaluation
Serious Gaming
GTRI has been investigating and developing use of video game technology to thoroughly test and evaluate autonomous, collaborative unmanned systems in virtual worlds. Game engines can provide a feature-rich environment to stimulate intelligent, autonomous systems allowing their behaviors to be exercised in a controlled, repeatable manner, as well as supporting environments with unforeseen circumstances. The use of game engines for simulation leverages extensive graphics, sound, networking physics, and artificial intelligence developments in the commercial sector.
Student-Led Projects
Blue Dart
Blue Dart is a student-led project to build an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to perform complex missions. Students explore the rapid development and implementation of unmanned maritime systems technology from readily-available commercial products and the integration of custom and innovative modifications.
Flying Android
Flying Android is a student-led project to explore the use of smart phones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for technology surprise. The team will create a prototype mobile system that automatically captures images, performs basic image processing, tags images with GPS information, and relays the tagged images to another smart phone. The prototype system will be portable and attached to a small unmanned aerial vehicle for demonstration.
UxV Systems
Collaborative Unmanned Systems (CUSTD)
GTRI has developed an unmanned systems platform for performing collaborative autonomy research. The primary research aim of this platform is to explore distributed, collaborative, autonomy algorithms for controlling multiple unmanned systems vehicles. Learn more >
Homogeneous Control of Multiple Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs)
GTRI researchers are building multiple small UUVs for homogeneous collaborative operations. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) have demonstrated an excellent capability to collect valuable data for commercial, scientific, and military purposes. Read more >
Common Standards and Protocols
GTRI recognizes that standardization and commonality will be key to affordability and multi-platform interoperability. Using standard protocols such as JAUS and STANAG-4586, messaging standards will facilitate the rapid integration of unmanned systems technology components. GTRI’s demonstrator programs will communicate and collaborate using these standard protocols.