The Autonomous Vehicle Systems Laboratory SWARM Lab for Human and Autonomous System Collaboration
Abstract
This proposal requests HBCU/MI funds to purchase equipment to develop new indoor and outdoor research capabilities in the area of large-scale autonomous vehicle swarming and human and autonomous system teaming at the Autonomous Vehicle Systems (AVS) Research and Education Laboratory at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW). The AVS Lab is focused on the science of autonomy. The long-term research goal for the AVS Lab is to discover techniques for decentralized collaborative decision making and control of autonomous vehicles in uncertain, stochastic, and complex environments. To meet this goal, the PI, Dr. Michael Frye, is developing a new laboratory focused on the science of swarming and teaming. The purchase of the equipment described in this proposal will equip the SWARM Lab. This new laboratory will be dedicated to the research of large-scale decentralized autonomous systems and collaborative teaming of human and autonomous systems. The SWARM Lab will complement current research within the Guidance, Navigation, and Control Lab and the Computational Intelligence Lab which are all part of the AVS Lab. Specifically, the equipment purchased will allow the AVS Lab to research, develop, and test new techniques in the use of multi-vehicle ground and air teaming techniques in areas, such as task allocation, mission conflict resolution, robustness to incomplete and noisy information, scalability, communication, and security. Additionally, fundamental research in mannedunmanned teaming will focus on common control for multiple ground and air vehicles, increased coordination and movability, and situational awareness. Finally, the SWARM Lab will perform research in the area of computational intelligence, where the AVS Lab will develop the theoretical foundation and the practical tools for an architecture that will perform internal and external performance verification for assured autonomous operations. The equipment from this grant funding will demonstrate the effectiveness of these techniques both indoors within the SWARM Lab and outdoors at the UIW testing ground. Additionally, the new equipment will give the AVS Lab, as a whole, the ability to develop and test new algorithms starting from theory to computer simulation, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and finally full vehicle demonstration outdoors, a capability that the lab currently lacks. HBCU/MI funds will allow the SWARM Lab to develop an important new research capability in real-time autonomous distributed collaborative control for UIW and create new learning opportunities for engineering students. HBCU/MI funds will allow the purchase of the following equipment: 1) The Quanser Autonomous Vehicles Research Studio for indoor swarming and teaming, 2) Twelve Quanser QDrone unmanned air system platforms for indoor swarming and teaming research, 3) Six Quanser QCar autonomous ground vehicles for manned-unmanned teaming research, and 4) One FLIR R70 SkyRanger unmanned air system platform for outdoor testing. The addition of the new equipment will enhance the STEM curriculum at UIW and assist to graduate diverse and highly-qualified professionals who fill STEM occupations of national need. As part of the AVS Lab outreach, high school and middle school students and teachers will have the opportunity to learn more about autonomous systems and STEM fields through the various programs hosted during the academic year and each summer at the lab.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 25, 2021
- Source ID
- W911NF2110163
Entities
People
- Michael Frye
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- University of the Incarnate Word