Function-based design process for an intelligent ground vehicle vision system

Abstract

An engineering design framework for an autonomous ground vehicle vision system is discussed. We present both the conceptual and physical design by following the design process, development and testing of an intelligent ground vehicle vision system constructed for the 2008 Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition. During conceptual design, the requirements for the vision system are explored via functional and process analysis considering the flows into the vehicle and the transformations of those flows. The conceptual design phase concludes with a vision system design that is modular in both hardware and software and is based on a laser range finder and camera for visual perception. During physical design, prototypes are developed and tested independently, following the modular interfaces identified during conceptual design. Prototype models, once functional, are implemented into the final design. The final vision system design uses a ray-casting algorithm to process camera and laser range finder data and identify potential paths. The ray-casting algorithm is a single thread of the robot's multithreaded application. Other threads control motion, provide feedback, and process sensory data. Once integrated, both hardware and software testing are performed on the robot. We discuss the robot's performance and the lessons learned. Nagel et al.: Function-based design process for an intelligent ground vehicle vision system Robert L. Nagel is currently an assistant professor with the School of Engineering at James Madison University. Dr. Nagel received his PhD degree from Oregon State University, his MS degree from the University of Missouri-Rolla (known now as Missouri University of Science and Technology), and his BS degree from Tri-State University (known now as Trine University). He has been a member of the Design Engineering Lab, a researcher at General Motors in the Vehicle Development Research Lab, and has worked on contract projects with both the United States Army and United States Air Force. His research interests include understanding customer needs, functional and process modeling, failure analysis, design for sustainability, design of mechatronic systems, and systems integration. Kenneth L. Perry is currently the lead developer for Interdisciplinary Design Collaborative, LLC, in Rolla, Missouri. Perry is working toward his MS degree in the area of software compilers with the Computer Science Department at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he received his BS degree. Perry has been an undergraduate researcher with the Design Engineering Lab and has worked on several software development projects such as FunctionCAD (a functional modeling design tool), and the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC) robot MAX. Nagel et al.: Function-based design process for an intelligent ground vehicle vision system Robert B. Stone is a professor with the School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University. Dr. Stone's research interests include design theories an...