Offroad Navigation Using Adaptable Motion Patterns

Abstract

We present a navigation system which is able to steer an electronically controlled ground vehicle to given destinations considering all obstacles in its vicinity. The approach is designed for vehicles without a velocity controlled drive-train, making it especially useful for typical remote-controlled vehicles. The vehicle is controlled by sets of commands, each set representing a specific maneuver. These sets are combined in a tree-building procedure to form trajectories towards the given destination. While the sets of commands are executed the vehicle’s behavior is measured to refine the prediction used for path generation. This enables the approach to adapt to surface alterations. We tested our system using a 400 kg EOD robot in an outdoor environment.