IGF::OT::IGF AURORA PROPOSES TO TRANSITION UMD METHODS FOR INSECT-INSPIRED, LIGHTWEIGHT VISION- AND OPTICAL…

Public award description

IGF::OT::IGF AURORA PROPOSES TO TRANSITION UMD METHODS FOR INSECT-INSPIRED, LIGHTWEIGHT VISION- AND OPTICAL SENSOR-BASED NAVIGATION METHODS FOR A COMBINED AIR-GROUND SYSTEM THAT LEVERAGES THE UNIQUE CAPABILITIES OF AIRBORNE SYSTEMS TO ACHIEVE A PROGRESSIVELY REFINED MAP OF THE EXPLORATION REGION WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED BY AGENTS WITHIN THE AUTONOMOUS TEAM FOR LOCALIZATION, AND BY SCIENTISTS AND OTHER GROUND OBSERVERS. RESEARCH DURING THE PHASE I DEVELOPED REQUIREMENTS, PERFORMED ANALYSES AND BASIC RESEARCH THAT PROVIDED PROOF-OF-CONCEPT DEMONSTRATIONS FOR NAVIGATIONAL CAPABILITIES THAT WILL ENHANCE THE AUTONOMOUS PLANETARY AND ASTEROID ROBOTIC EXPLORATION. TECHNIQUES DERIVED FROM RECENT RESEARCH WERE EXPLORED TO DEMONSTRATE A CONCEPT FOR AUTONOMOUS BIO-INSPIRED VISION AIDED NAVIGATION TO ACHIEVE NAVIGATION IN GPS AND MAGNETOMETER DENIED ENVIRONMENTS, GENERATE OBSTACLE MAPS AND A 3 DIMENSIONAL MAP OF THE ENVIRONMENT BASED ON OPTICAL FLOW AND NAVIGATING TO THE ORIGIN OF A MAP ONLY BASED ON OPTICAL FLOW INPUT. THIS INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IS PROVIDING A DEMONSTRATION OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DEVELOPING LOW SIZE, WEIGHT AND POWER SOLUTIONS FOR VISION BASED NAVIGATION BY LEVERAGING RESEARCH ON BIOINSPIRED METHODOLOGIES. DURING PHASE-II FURTHER MATURATION OF THE ALGORITHMS, IMPLEMENTATION ON A HIGHER FIDELITY SIMULATION AND PROTOTYPES AND A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR A FLIGHT SYSTEM WILL BE PURSUED.