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Natural Interface and Control for a Segway RMP Robot
OBJECTIVE
The Segway RMP is an experimental platform to explore the benefits and
issues involved with using a dynamically stable robotic platform. It is
expected that the long battery life and high speed of the RMP, combined
with high payload capacities and the ability to traverse moderately rough
terrain, will improve the usefulness of robotic ground vehicles that must
work in conjuction with people, such as to U. S. Marine forces on the
ground.
APPROACH
The RMP is provided with a low level interface for control and retrieving
drive system state data implemented for Windows computers. The NRL-developed
"Wax" system, which provides basic capabilities such as mapping, path
planning, and collision avoidance, has been extended to work with the
RMP in addition to other robotic platforms. With the lower level applications
ported, the higher level interface, knowledge representation, and decision
making applications that are current research can be used with the RMP,
providing a comparison between the RMP and other robotic platforms in
the course of ongoing research.
Carnegie Mellon University's "Carmen" system, already ported to work with
the RMP by Stanford University, is also being examined as an alternative
to Wax. Such a system would similarly be controlled by the high-level
applications under development. Details about NRL's work on the RMP can be
found on the following pages:
TRANSITIONS
Results of this project are reported to DARPA for evaluation alongside
other RMP projects outside of NRL for a broader assessment of the RMP's
performance. The results are also shared with the other academic and government
research groups using RMPs.
SPONSOR
The Segway RMP is provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) under the Mobile Autonomous Robot Software program managed by
Dr. Douglas Gage.
REFERENCES
http://www.darpa.mil/ipto/programs/mars/rmp.htm
CONTACT
[pending]
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