ATI’s FireGL™ Technology Implemented by Carnegie Mellon’s
Robotics Institute for Visualization and Routing Applications
in Robot Race
Imagine being able to have your car navigate through rush hour
traffic, carefully dodge oncoming cars, sense and avoid a pothole
and have you safely at your office by 9am while you drink your
latte and read the paper. Or perhaps exploring an environment
even harsher than that of your daily commute, like the ocean
floor, the Arctic,
or another planet. Certainly few humans would volunteer for the
task, which leaves robots as the perfect candidates for the job.
Today’s robotics technology has only touched the surface
of what is possible, however a revolution led by Carnegie Mellon’s
Robotics Institute is underway.
As a pioneer in robotics technology, Carnegie Mellon’s
Robotics Institute is paving a path towards the future and relying
on advanced ATI FireGL™ technology solutions to help get them
there. Led by Professor William Whittaker, who has developed
more the
60 autonomous robots, the Institute believes they are on the
cusp of widespread adoption and use of robots.
DARPA’s $1 Million Grand Challenge
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has developed “The
Grand Challenge” to spark innovation in self-driving vehicles,
where endless possibilities ranging from military functions to
common every day applications are foreseen. However, it was the
scientific challenge and the wide-ranging effects of the competition
and not the generous prize money that kindled interest in the
project at Carnegie Mellon.
Intrigued by DARPA’s $1 Million Grand Challenge, Carnegie
Mellon’s “Red Team” has developed Sandstorm,
a modified Humvee set to compete in the 210-mile driverless
race from Barstow, California towards Las Vegas. Twenty race
teams
will be given the course details just two hours before the start
of the event. The unmanned off road race for autonomous robots
requires extensive mapping and route planning to successfully
complete the course in under 10 hours, as teams will not be able
to communicate with their vehicles once the race begins. The
various different obstacles that Sandstorm may encounter include
surfaced and unsurfaced roads, overpasses, water and other natural
phenomenon, manmade creations such as fences, power lines and
even other vehicles.
The team has worked on highly sophisticated
projects in the past, but never a challenge with so many variables
thrown into the mix. To conquer a course that is unknown until
two hours before the race, the Red Team has relied on ATI FireGL
graphics technology to help them develop extensive 3D terrain
maps, forming a database for the robot to refer to come race
day.
Developing Sandstorm
In 2003, the Red Team went to task, compiling data from aerial
and space imagery, GPS co-ordinates, and topographical maps
of the course area, and then employed ATI FireGL technology to
develop the most complex maps ever created of the Mojave Desert.
As Prof. Whittaker explains, “By integrating these various
data sources and utilizing ATI FireGL’s onboard graphics
memory, we can now easily create and manipulate very detailed
3D maps of the course.”
In compiling these exhaustive maps, the Red Team is attempting
to plan every scenario the Sandstorm may encounter along the
way. Once the race begins, the Red Team’s vehicle will
maneuver without outside assistance or human intervention, using
laser scanners, radar sensors and stereoscopic cameras to continuously
correct its steering and adjust its speed. Based on the terrain
data assembled on ATI FireGL based workstations and its real-time
visualization systems, Sandstorm will be free to decide on alternate
routes as it avoid obstacles and other vehicles.
Never before has a robot traveled so far, so fast, but Dr. Whittaker
is no stranger to a challenge. Dr. Whittaker’s other projects
have included unmanned robots to explore planetary surfaces and
volcano interiors, automation of mining machines and farm equipment,
remote work systems for nuclear facility decommissioning and
mobile robots for hazardous waste site investigation.
Race Day
Like any scientific experiment, the route to Las Vegas contains
so many unknown variables that the team’s goal has been
to give Sandstorm as much information as possible to rely on
for race day. Among its significant benefits to the team, the
stability and power of ATI FireGL technology has enabled the Red
Team to develop a sophisticated navigational and mapping systems
gathered from a large range of sources.
On March 13th, somewhere near Barstow, California, the culmination
of a year of dedicated work and years of accumulated knowledge
and experience will be put to the test as Sandstorm competes
in the DARPA $1 Million Grand Challenge. By providing Sandstorm
with a vast bank of knowledge to reference, it is fully equipped
to deal with the unplanned obstacles waiting for it in the Mojave
Desert.
It will then only be a matter of time before this technology
is advanced enough to deploy in everyday situations, just as
PC’s have become an integral part of life as we know it
today. The possibilities and applications are endless and are
bound
to have a major impact in the years to come. ATI and Carnegie
Mellon’s Robotics Institute are working together to make
this vision a reality.
Product Information
ATI
FireGL™ Product
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