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Though
off-road equipment is moving more and more towards autonomous
control, practical implementation does not fully eliminate human
interaction. Teleoperation
is a promising compromise between manual control and fully
autonomous operation. An especially compelling solution to
teleoperation is the use of virtual reality to create a simulated
yet realistic environment in which the operator can feel immersed,
as if at the site, while still being located at a distance.
Our
research presents a collaboration between Japan’s National
Agriculture Research Center (NARC) and Valparaiso University’s
Scientific Visualization Laboratory (SVL) to improve control of a
remotely operated farm vehicle. Located in Hokkaido, Japan,
the NARC semi-autonomous off-road vehicle utilizes GPS and heading
sensors with a wireless network for data transfer. The vehicle
has actuators for control of throttle, transmission, and auxiliary
controls; all computer-controlled. The vehicle sends sensor
status and receives actuation commands over the Internet.gs is pre-programmed
into the system and the vehicle is rendered at its real-time pos
The
SVL’s stereoscopic 3-D virtual reality display system located in
Valparaiso, Indiana, receives this information over the Internet in
real-time and allows the user in the SVL to visualize and control
the operation of the vehicle in Japan.
A 3-D model of the terrain and buildinition. The system
allows the user to have several views, such as cockpit,
bird’s-eye, and aerial. Using
a handheld controller, the user is able to start the engine, sound
the horn, activate the blinkers, control auxiliary hydraulics, and
control the speed of the left and right tracks of the vehicle.
Environment
Identification Technique using Hyper Omni-Vision and Image Map
Presented at 3rd International Federation of
Automatic Control International Workshop on Bio-Robotics, Fall 2006.
Valparaiso
University Tests Vehicle Operated Through a Virtual system InsideIndianaBusiness.com
Report
Valparaiso University
College of Engineering Recruiting Postcard
Use
of Virtual Reality for Teleoperation of Autonomous
Vehicles
Presented at
National Conferences on Undergraduate Research, Fall 2007.
Presented at
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Biological Sensorics Conference, Summer 2007.
Presentation
on Use of Virtual Reality for Teleoperation of Autonomous
Vehicles (MS PowerPoint)
Presented at
National Conferences on Undergraduate Research, Fall 2007.
Presented at
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Biological Sensorics Conference, Summer 2007.
2007
Valparaiso University Celebration of Undergraduate
Scholarship poster (MS PowerPoint)
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