SBIR Phase I: Robotic Pavement Marking

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is increasing road safety by making effective visual street markings more affordable and accessible. This will be achieved through the design of an intelligent mobile robotic system using advanced localization and machine vision to automate the process of producing road markings that are precisely created and accurately placed. The project will push the limits of accuracy of geolocation of robotic material dispensing via a mobile platform. The resulting system will dramatically improve efficiency of road painting, offering greater precision, speed, and flexibility while reducing risk to operators, reducing traffic congestion, and supporting greater road safety through enhanced markings. Success in this effort will have applications beyond road painting, including automated material dispensing more broadly, and intelligent mobile manipulation for manufacturing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address the challenges of automating creation of specific road markings at desired locations. The research will include: design optimization of the mobile robot for large-area, precision painting; sensor fusion for precision localization of the mobile robot; precision hand/eye calibration; and development of adaptive coverage algorithms capable of executing complex fill patterns adjusted spatially based on localization, machine vision and 3-D surface scanning. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.