Safeguarding autonomy through intelligent shared control

This paper overviews the development and operator testing of a shared autonomy system for small unmanned ground vehicles operating in indoor environments. The project focused on creating driving assistance technologies to reduce the burden of performing low-level tasks when operating in cluttered or difficult areas by sharing control between the operator and the autonomous software. The system also provides a safety layer to prevent the robot from becoming disabled due to operator error or environmental hazards. Examples of developed behaviours include obstacle proximity warning, centering the vehicle through narrow doorways, wall following during long traversals, tip-over indicator, stair climbing aid, and retreat from communications loss. The hardware and software were integrated on a QinetiQ Talon IV robot and tested by military operators in a relevant environment.