CajunBot: Architecture and algorithms

CajunBot, an autonomous ground vehicle and a finalist in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, is built on the chassis of MAX IV, a six-wheeled ATV. Transformation of the ATV to an AGV (Autonomous Ground Vehicle) required adding drive-by-wire control, LIDAR sensors, an INS, and a computing system. Significant innovations in the core computational algorithms include an obstacle detection algorithm that takes advantage of shocks and bumps to improve visibility; a path planning algorithm that takes into account the vehicle’s maneuverability limits to generate paths that are navigable at high speed; efficient data structures and algorithms that require just a single Intel Pentium 4 HT 3.2 Ghz machine to handle all computations and a middleware layer that transparently distributes the computation to multiple machines, if desired. In addition, CajunBot also features support technologies such as a simulator, playback of logged data and live visualization on off-board computers to aid in development, testing, and debugging.