For the Stingray project, funded by the US Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), iRobot Corporation and Chatten Associates developed technologies to enable teleoperation of small Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) at high speeds through urban terrain.

The Stingray project combined immersive telepresence, which gives the operator the impression of being in the vehicle, along with semi-autonomous driver-assist behaviors, which command the vehicle to safely maneuver according to the driver’s intent.

iRobot's portion of the development included:

• High-speed UGV
• Semi-autonomous driver assist behaviors

Chatten Associates' portion of the development included:

• Head-aimed vision system optimized for high-speed teleoperation
• Low latency digital video

Project Information:

Type of Project: Phase II SBIR
Contract: Subcontractor to iRobot Corporation
Period of Performance: November 2008 - April 2011

Publications:

Yamauchi, B. “Driver Assist Behaviors for High-Speed Small UGVs,” Unmanned Systems Technology XIII, Douglas W. Gage; Charles M. Shoemaker; Robert E. Karlsen; Grant R. Gerhart, Editors, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 8045, 80450J, 2011

Yamauchi, B., Massey, K., "Stingray: High-speed control of small UGVs in urban terrain" Unmanned Systems Technology XI, edited by Grant R. Gerhart, Douglas W. Gage, Charles M. Shoemaker, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7332, 73321T, 2009

Yamauchi, B., Massey, K. “Stingray: High-Speed Teleoperation of UGVs in Urban Terrain Using Driver-Assist Behaviors and Immersive Telepresence,” Proceedings of the 26th Army Science Conference, Orlando, FL, December 2008.