PerceptOR
Description



Automated Flying Eye

Working in collaboration with its subcontractors, NREC developed the PerceptOR Blitz solution in a three-phase program.

In Phase I, the team developed a vehicle perception system prototype that included three sensing modalities, sensor fusion, terrain classification software, waypoint navigation and path planning software. A commercial ATV, retrofitted for computer control, served as the perception system platform.

In Phase II, the team validated the PerceptOR prototype on unrehearsed courses at test sites spanning four distinctly different types of terrain: sparse woods in Virginia; desert scrub with washes, gullies and ledges in Arizona; mountain slopes with pine forests in California; and dense woods with tall grass and other vegetation in Louisiana. During the test runs, the team demonstrated fully integrated unmanned, air/ground sensing that was used to detect and avoid negative obstacles and other hazards. They also negotiated complex terrain using only passive sensing. Additionally, they classified difficult terrain types (ground cover, meter-high vegetation, desert scrub) by fusing geometric and color sensor data.

In Phase III, the NREC team continues to improve the performance and reliability of the perception system with additional development and field trials. The team advanced UGV autonomous capabilities for operating in sub-optimal conditions, such as with obscurants (dust, smoke or rain), degraded GPS coverage, and reduced communications bandwidth.