Robot Cars
FIGURE 8. Interior of the robot van that can accommodate
two drivers.
the surrounding road, the road’s lanes, and the location of
other vehicles and pedestrians. The computers in each
vehicle combine this sensory data in conjunction with GPS
data, waypoint following, and other navigation devices to
allow the vans to travel autonomously. Each van has two
human passengers to take over in case of emergencies. I’ve
followed the blog and a few web videos, and they were
only just reaching Kazakhstan in early September with quite
a way left to go.
The purpose of this $2.3 million project was not to
have cars traverse smooth city streets and freeways with
tons of map and street data available, but to travel on
rough, back-country roads at intercontinental distances with
little or no mapped data. The Piaggio Porter Electric vans
are ‘green,’ solar-powered test beds with a lead vehicle
determining the way and data sent to the following van.
Figure 8 shows the interior of one of the vans and Figure
9 shows a close-up of the van and its photovoltaic roof-mounted panel. Two support vehicles contain generators to
charge batteries out in the ‘middle of nowhere,’ as well as
tools and spare parts. Humans can take over when road
FIGURE 10. The Audi TTS ‘Shelly’ will climb Pikes Peak.
78 SERVO 11.2010
FIGURE 9. Robot van and solar panel.
decisions have to be made or unexpected situations occur.
Other trucks will follow the team with supplies,
accommodations, storage, and a machine shop. Traveling at
only 37 mph at four hours a day due to the need for
recharging, the European Research Council and the
University of Parma sponsoring the trip will gather over 100
terabytes of data that can later be used for potential
commercialization purposes.
Robot Cars Climb Mountains
Sliding into a parking space or even driving a rough
road that is flat is certainly a bit easier than maneuvering
around 156 tight turns over 12 plus miles on a dusty gravel
road, while traveling at speeds of up to 90 mph, all under
computer control. We’re talking going straight up Pikes
Peak in Colorado — a mountain over 14,000 feet high. The
part paved, gravel and dirt road that rises 4,721 feet in
altitude at an average 7% grade, tested professional drivers
this past June at the prestigious Pikes Peak International Hill
FIGURE 11. Photo by Jim Merithew of Wired.com shows
Shelly’s computers.
