SEPTEMBER 20--A riderless motorcycle, developed by a team of electrical-engineering graduate students from the University of California at Berkeley, will be guided by Cognex (Natick, MA) In-Sight vision sensors. The team's Ghostrider is one of 40 semifinalists selected for the 2005 Grand Challenge, a 150-mile off-road race for autonomous vehicles sponsored by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration (DARPA). The first vehicle to successfully complete the 150-mile course in the October 8 competition will win a $2 million prize.
The DARPA Grand Challenge is designed to further the development of autonomous vehicle technology for the Department of Defense. It requires self-navigating vehicles to travel on rugged desert roads using onboard sensors and navigation equipment to find the route and avoid obstacles. To guide their vehicle, the University of California team chose Cognex In-Sight vision sensors over other technologies such as lidar, ultrasound, and radar because it offered a compact, robust, and efficient way to both avoid obstacles and help the vehicle stay on the road.
To recognize and avoid obstacles, the Ghostrider uses two In-Sight 5403s, with the cameras mounted on a gyrostabilized gimbal system to keep them level and looking forward, no matter the attitude of the bike. The robotic motorcycle also relies on one In-Sight 5400C, a color vision system, to enable the vehicle to distinguish where the road is and to follow it.
For more information on the DARPA Grand Challenge, visitwww.darpa.mil/GrandChallenge. For video and other information on the Ghostrider, visit www.ghostriderrobot.com. For more on Cognex Insight vision sensors, visit www.cognex.com/insight.
