OSCAR: Outdoor Scientific Center for Autonomy and Robotics
Abstract
As part of its nation-leading investments in Robotics and Autonomy, the University of Michigan has completed construction of M-Air, a $900K outdoor netted drone arena that is 861 m2 (9,600 sq ft) and 15 m tall (50 ft). In addition, next door to this facility, we have just broken ground on a $75M, 13,300 m2 (143,000 sq ft) four-story building for the Robotics Institute that will be completed in March 2020, with an industrial partner occupying the fourth floor. Through this DURIP proposal, the PIs are seeking the budget to transform the outdoor netted arena from a Òsafe space for flying dronesÓ into a scientific facility for the study of autonomy and collaborative robotics in the ÒwildÓ, with emphasis on dealing with the full range of Michigan weather, -30C to 38C, with rain, sleet, wind, and snow. To accomplish this, the PIs seek funding for a large-scale, dense high-speed motion capture and tracking system. Along with the digital weather station being currently installed, the proposed system will provide researchers with the unique capability to conduct detailed analysis of highly-dynamic land and aerial robot movements and their interactions with both other robots and humans in a variety of real-world flight conditions. The substantial contained volume of the proposed scientific facility will enable testing of swarms of drones, multi-agent planning and coordination of ground vehicle fleets, mini fixed-wing aircraft, and other multi-modal autonomous robotic research projects. The planned high-tech facility will directly impact the DoD funded research of faculty across the University of Michigan, including: Necmiye Ozay, ONR Program Officer: Dr. Marc Steinberg, Science of Autonomy; Ram Vasudevan, ONR Program Officer: Dr. Thomas Fu, Ship Systems and Engineering Research; Dimitra Panagou, AFOSR Program Officer: Dr. Frederick Leve, Dynam- ics and Controls; Jason Corso, ARO Program Officer: Dr. Cliff Wang, Information and Software Assurance; Zhengya Zhang, ONR Program Officer Dr. Brian Bennett, Electromagnetic Materials Program. In addition, as part of the Robotics Institute, the facility will be made available to seven (7) undergraduate teams comprised of over 250 students who compete nationally and internationally in events involving autonomy and robotics, from drones, to Mars rovers, and autonomous boats. Finally, the facility will be integrated into graduate courses on drones and autonomous systems and a freshman design course on autonomous systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 08, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1910216
Entities
People
- Ella Atkins
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of Michigan