Team Name
IGVC Engineers
Timeline
Spring 2024 – Summer 2024
Students
- Caleb Bryant – Computer Engineering
- Vladimir Caterov – Computer Science
- Alexis Flores – Computer Engineering
- Jefferey Stephens – Computer Engineering
- Sergio Velazquez – Computer Science
Abstract
Our product is a robotic vehicle that is intended to be submitted to the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC). Our IGVC qualifier is an autonomous vehicle that has the ability to navigate around a closed course. The vehicle was developed to comply with the rules and regulations of the IGVC AutoNav challenge. Development was done following the 2024 issued rules. The vehicle is a collection of three systems that are integrated together to achieve successful autonomous navigation. Systems include GPS communication for coordination, drive system for controlled movement and computer vision for path finding and object detection. The product has an associated web application where users can access progress and documentation.
Background
The Intelligent Ground vehicle Competition (IGVC) represents a significant challenge that demands innovative solutions in robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous systems. Our participation in this project also serves as a continuation for CSE 4317 Spring 2024 team’s previous involvement in the IGVC. Building upon our past experience, we aim to further refine our skills and knowledge in this domain while addressing the evolving complexities of autonomous vehicle technology. The business case for this project is strengthened by the increasing demand for autonomous vehicles across various sectors, including seeking advanced solutions to enhance efficiency, safety, and productivity, making our participation in the IGVC an opportune platform to demonstrate our capabilities.
The existing status quo in autonomous vehicle technology often falls short in terms of navigating accuracy, adaptability to dynamic environments, and strength towards diverse terrains. By continuing our engagement with the IGVC and developing a competitive vehicle, we aim to tackle these challenges and contribute to the advancement of autonomous systems. From prior participation in IGVC, we are equipped with valuable insights and lessons learned, which we will leverage to enhance our current work.
In the context of (CSE 4317 Spring) senior design’s relationship with the customer, if there is a clear sponsor or external organization involved, they are likely motivated by the opportunity to support the development of cutting-edge autonomous technology and potentially advantaging outcomes of our project for commercial or strategic purposes. Furthermore, our team’s engagement with the IGVC aligns with the objectives of our senior design curriculum, providing us with a hands-on opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world challenges and contribute meaningfully to the advancement of autonomous vehicle technology.
Project Requirements
- Structural Specifications
- Length: Minimum length 3 ft, maximum length 7 ft.
- Width: The vehicle will be measured to ensure that it is over the minimum of 2 ft wide and under the maximum of 4 ft wide.
- Mechanical E-Stop
- The mechanical E-stop will be checked for location to ensure it is located on the center rear of vehicle at a minimum of two 2 ft high, a maximum of 4 ft high, and for functionality.
- Wireless E-Stop
- The wireless E-Stop will be checked to ensure that it is effective for a minimum of 100 ft. During the performance events the wireless E-stop will be held by the Judges.
- Safety Light
- The safety light will be checked to ensure that when the vehicle is powered up the light is on and solid. When the vehicle is running in autonomous mode, the light goes from solid to flashing, then from flashing to solid when the vehicle comes out of autonomous mode.
- Lane Following
- The vehicle will be measured to ensure that it is over the minimum of two feet wide and under the maximum of four feet wide.
- Obstacle Avoidance
- The vehicle must demonstrate that it can detect and avoid.
- Waypoint Navigation
- The vehicle must prove it can find a path to a single 2 meter navigation way-point by navigating around an obstacle
- Speed
- The vehicle will have to drive over a prescribed distance where its minimum and maximum speeds will be determined. The vehicle must not drop below the minimum of one mile per hour and not exceed the maximum speed of five miles per hour. Minimum speed of one mph will be assessed in the fully autonomous mode and verified over a 44 foot distance between the lanes and avoiding obstacles. No change to maximum speed control hardware is allowed after qualification. If the vehicle completes a performance event at a speed faster than the one it passed qualification at, that run will not be counted.
- Propulsion
- Vehicle power must be generated onboard. Fuel storage or running of internal combustion engines and fuel cells are not permitted in the team maintenance area.
- GPS Communication
- The vehicle will be in communication with a base station to support GPS navigation via the software Mission Planner. The chosen software will be launched on a Windows machine. It is vital to the product that if Mission Planner is to be used in future iterations, a Windows machine is launching the software and that the software is up to date.
- Continuous source code maintenance is required as there are new libraries and software updates that halt code compilation. Furthermore, rigorous vehicle inspection and analysis is mandatory after testing and live performance.
Design Constraints
- Cost:
Due to a limited budget of $800, it was challenging to determine effective allocation of funds. For this project, the available funds were spent on vehicle hardware components. Components include, rover wheelbase, small Arduino/Raspberry Pi camera, and batteries. The given budget was not exceeded as the team had focused on developing a small prototype of the larger vehicle to support incoming team development. - Physical Design:
Must be a ground vehicle (propelled by direct mechanical contact to the ground such as wheels, tracks, pods, etc. or hovercraft. Minimum length three feet, maximum length seven feet. Minimum width two feet, maximum width four feet. Not to exceed 6 six feet (excluding emergency stop antenna). - Speed:
Speed will be checked at the end of a challenge run to make sure the average speed of the competing vehicle is above one (1) mph over the course completed. There will be a stretch of about 44 ft. long at the beginning of a run where the contending vehicle must consistently travel above 1 mph. A maximum vehicle speed of five miles per hour (5 mph) will be enforced. All vehicles must be hardware governed not to exceed this maximum speed. - Schedule:
Development on the vehicle was constrained to a much shorter development time than would have been ideal. After the requirements gathering and planning phase, it was made apparent that there was more work than expected to deliver a complete product. Development was limited to roughly 10 weeks and was during the summer school term. It was difficult aligning schedules with project members as different priorities arise. - Safety:
The E-stop button must be a push to stop, red in color and a minimum of one inch in diameter. It must be in the center rear of vehicle at least two feet from ground, not to exceed four feet above ground. The wireless E-Stop must be effective for a minimum of 100 feet. The vehicle must have an easily viewed solid indicator light which is turned on whenever the vehicle power is turned on.
Engineering Standards
- ASTM D7386 –
This is a standard that provides guidelines for testing the performance of shipping packages to ensure they can withstand the physical demands of parcel delivery systems, protecting their contents from damage during transport. The recommended test levels vary depending on the shipping and handling environment. The practice must be uniform in a testing site where units do not exceed 150lb. - ISO 21448:2019 –
Focuses on the safety of the intended functionality (SOTIF) of the systems, ensuring that the vehicle performs its obstacle avoidance tasks safely and effectively under all operating conditions. This is applied to intended functionality where situational awareness is critical in areas such as complex sensor input and processing algorithms. Intended also for emergency braking systems and advanced driver assistance systems. - ISO 11270:2014 –
Lane Keeping Assistance Systems – this standard specifies the requirements and test methods for Lane Keeping Assistance Systems (LKAS) in vehicles. Provides safe lane support while not engaging in automatic driving or lane departure. Should react consistently with guidance from visible lanes detected. - ISO 17185-1:2014 –
It specifies the standards framework for public transport user information. It covers the requirements and performance metrics for systems providing public transport information to users, ensuring accurate, timely, and reliable data for navigation and transport services. Surface public transport information must be provided to transport users in an appropriate way. - NFPA 70 –
The standard for safe electrical design, installation, and inspection. It is enforced across all 50 states to safeguard individuals and property from electrical dangers. All electrical wiring must meet the requirements outlined in the National Electric Code. This covers everything from how wires are installed to their insulation, grounding, enclosures, over-current protection, and any other specifications mentioned in the code. - Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHA) 1910.147 –
Covers the control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout). This standard outlines specific requirements for energy control procedures, ensuring that detailed procedures are in place for the control of hazardous energy during service and maintenance activities. Minimum performance requirements are defined with this standard.
System Overview
The IGVC Qualifier consists has three key interconnected layers, Web layer, GPS Communication layer, Navigation Layer, and Computer Vision layer, that have bidirectional data flow and one external layer that has unidirectional data flow. The navigation layer connects to the required safety stop utilizing an RF system. The website layer takes as input documentation and displays the documentation through a public facing web application. Within the web app users may view project progress or access project files if they are a valid team member. The drive system layer is connected to both the computer vision layer and GPS communication layer. Input includes coordinate calculations and path predictions to signal movement. This was deemed necessary as most subsystems connect to the NVIDIA Jetson TX2.
Results
While we did not achieve a proper prototype to showcase as a demonstration of the vehicle, we have concluded the project with various modules having been worked on. The power distribution block has been verified to work as intended but needs to be reconfigured for proper Cube Orange signaling. Mission Planner had been loaded on various machines and has achieved successful communication with Here 3 GPS and Cube Orange via hardwire connection. ROS2 library is loaded on local machine running NVIDIA Jetson Nano OS. This library also includes Nav2 navigation with had proven to simulate lane following and obstacle avoidance successfully. There have been several custom Python scripts that have been developed to support modular computer vision requirements. These include lane following with Python library cv2 and object detection utilizing YOLOv8. A website has been developed to support future club integration with several features such as documentation hosting, mailing lists, on boarding, and project tracking. The small prototype wheelbase and functions as expected and supports Jetson Nano controller board.
Future Work
As the product remains in a modular state several upgrades necessary to achieve success with the small prototype. It may be worth exploring different wheelbase options as the one selected does not support turning at any degree, making it unable to perform effectively. Mission Planner needs to communicate with the Cube Orange via wireless communication (telemetry kit). The power distribution block should be enhanced to support larger motors and the control unit should be replaced to only use the Jetson TX2. The large vehicle should be modified to support larger omni-wheels in order to support inclined obstacles and uneven terrain. The different computer vision modules must be enhanced and output should be processed to continuously send to a larger path finding algorithm. The ROS2 platform should support node services like the path finding algorithm, instead of the NAV2 navigation system. All safety requirements must be fulfilled when assembling the larger vehicle.
Project Files
Project Charter
System Requirements Specification
Architectural Design Specification
Detailed Design Specification
Poster
Closeout Materials
References
National Fire Protection Association. National Electrical Code, 2024. Accessed: 2024-07-30.
Robotics Industries Association. American National Standard for Industrial Robots and Robot Systems – Safety Requirements, 2012. Accessed: 2024-07-30.
Azure DevOps. Organization management overview, 2023. Accessed: 2024-04-18.
ECMA. Ecma-335: Common language infrastructure (cli), 2012. Accessed: 2024-04-18.
ECMA. Ecma-334: C language specification, 2023. Accessed: 2024-04-18.
International Organization for Standardization. Intelligent transport systems, 2014. Accessed: 2024-07-30.
International Organization for Standardization. Lane keeping assistance systems (lkas), 2014. Accessed: 2024-07-30.
International Organization for Standardization. Safety of the intended functionality, 2019. Accessed: 2024-07-30.
IGVC. Official competition details, rules and format, 2024. Accessed: 2024-04-18.
ASTM International. Standard Practice for Performance Testing of Packages for Single Parcel Delivery Systems, 2016. Accessed: 2024-07-30.
Mono. Cross platform, open source .net framework, 2024. Accessed: 2024-04-18.
Mission Planner. Installing mission planner, 2024. Accessed: 2024-04-18.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), 2024. Accessed: 2024-07-30.
