Systems engineering approach to develop guidance, navigation and control algorithms for unmanned ground vehicle

Despite the growing popularity of unmanned systems being deployed in the military domain, limited research efforts have been dedicated to the progress of ground system developments. Dedicated efforts for unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) focused largely on operations in continental environments, places where vegetation is relatively sparse compared to a tropical jungle or plantation estate commonly found in Asia. This research explore methods for the development of an UGV that would be capable of operating autonomously in a densely cluttered environment such as that found in Asia. This thesis adopted a systems engineering approach to understand the pertinent parameters affecting the performance of the UGV in order to evaluate, design and develop the necessary guidance, navigation and control algorithms for the UGV. The thesis uses methodologies such as the pure pursuit method for path following and the vector field histogram method for obstacle avoidance as the main guidance and control algorithm governing the movement of the UGV. The thesis then considers the use of feature recognition method of image processing to form the basis of the target identification and tracking algorithm.http://archive.org/details/systemsengineeri1094550579Outstanding ThesisMajor, Republic of Singapore ArmyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Marketing of Tourism Destination in the Context of Tiger Safari

Tiger tourism plays a significant role in the overall scenario of Indian tourism. The forest destination managers face a major challenge in satisfying their visitors since tigers are elusive by nature and most of the time tourists return dissatisfied without sighting a tiger after a forest safari. This paper is the first scientific study of its kind based on empirical data in the context of tiger tourism and proposed a model to identify the optimum path in the forest with a higher probability of tiger sighting

Stealthy River Navigation in Jungle Combat Conditions

One of the biggest challenges for Brazilian military logisticians is to support effective jungle warfare for both real and training operations carried out by their combat forces in the Amazonian region. The jungle\u27s heat, humidity, and dense vegetation put significant demands on the supply chain. Further, because of the difficulties of land or air transportation, water transport is the most reasonable transportation option to sustain these deployed forces. Planners must select from among the available watercourses those whose surroundings provide stealthy navigation to the combat force location where the requested supplies can be safely unloaded. We seek a method of determining a path through a river network that blends short transit times with maximal shade coverage from forest growth along the riverbanks. We combine an astronomical algorithm for computing shadow coverage with Dijkstra\u27s shortest path algorithm to determine the start time and routing information necessary for a supply boat to travel from a depot to a resupply point that minimizes weighted risk, which is defined as the product of shade coverage and arc transit time

Syntax-based guidance for autonomous aggressive aerobatics in urban environments

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-76).This document proposes and implements a new guidance paradigm for an autonomous aerobatic helicopter. In addition, it presents the design of a hammerhead aerobatic maneuver on the same helicopter, and validates both designs in flight. The proposed guidance architecture integrates a new path-following algorithm with a syntax-based dynamically-reconfigurable automaton to enable autonomous flight with aggressive aerobatics in a spatially-constrained urban environment.by Rodin Lyasoff.S.M

Automatic Speed Control For Navigation in 3D Virtual Environment

As technology progresses, the scale and complexity of 3D virtual environments can also increase proportionally. This leads to multiscale virtual environments, which are environments that contain groups of objects with extremely unequal levels of scale. Ideally the user should be able to navigate such environments efficiently and robustly. Yet, most previous methods to automatically control the speed of navigation do not generalize well to environments with widely varying scales. I present an improved method to automatically control the navigation speed of the user in 3D virtual environments. The main benefit of my approach is that automatically adapts the navigation speed in multi-scale environments in a manner that enables efficient navigation with maximum freedom, while still avoiding collisions. The results of a usability tests show a significant reduction in the completion time for a multi-scale navigation task

Consulting report - Euromotors S.A

Euromotors S.A. is the exclusive brand representative of the Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and SEAT brands among others within 11 strategic business units in Peru. Since its foundation, the firm has since grown exceptionally in size, scope and sophistication from their original operational function as an automobile importer to their current status engaged in the sale of vehicles, new and used cars, servicing and sale of original spare parts. As a multi-brand firm, it maintains 1,052 employees who function relatively autonomously within each business division for the separate brands. In order to propel the firm forward as a cohesive unit, synergies within need to be created to eliminate the replication of processes and procedures and to ultimately streamline overall organizational function. After a few years of declining profitability, Euromotors is looking at opportunities to improve its competitive position within the Peruvian automotive retail sector, which is rapidly changing and increasingly competitive market. In order to withhold a competitive advantage, a micro-pilot project has been designed within the consulting process, which has taken deep rooted analysis at both the internal and external environmental factors, to be implemented with Euroshop, Euromotors’ most profitable division. A cultural transformation will impact the sales force team of Euroshop; however, before it can be properly administered, overcoming organizational resistance to change must be dealt with. The proposed solution develops method for Euromotors to incrementally overcome the resistance to change in a multi-step system, to increase employee motivation and unity while increasing intrinsic responsibility to function as a team throughout the entire firm. This proposal considers the necessity of maintaining commitment to the strategic goals of the company. Through the development of a strategic map and a KPI based scorecard, the firm will have visibility on the key factors in garnering true change. Project timeframe is estimated in six months and total budget in USD 25,500Euromotors S.A. es la representante exclusiva de las marcas Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche y SEAT entre otras dentro de once unidades estratégicas de negocios en Perú. Desde su fundación, la empresa ha crecido excepcionalmente en tamaño, alcance y sofisticación desde su función original de importador de automóviles hasta su estado actual de venta de vehículos, automóviles nuevos y usados, servicio y venta de repuestos originales. Como empresa multimarca, mantiene 1,052 empleados que funcionan de forma relativamente autónoma dentro de cada división de negocios para las marcas separadas. Con el fin de impulsar la empresa hacia adelante como una unidad cohesiva, las sinergias dentro de la necesidad de ser creado para eliminar la replicación de los procesos y procedimientos y, en última instancia, racionalizar la función organizativa en general. Después de unos años de caída en la rentabilidad, Euromotors está buscando oportunidades para mejorar su posición competitiva en el sector de la venta automotriz peruana, que está cambiando rápidamente y cada vez más competitivo en el mercado. Con el fin de retener una ventaja competitiva, se ha diseñado un proyecto de micro proyecto dentro del proceso de consultoría, que ha tenido un análisis profundamente arraigado tanto en factores ambientales internos como externos, para ser implementado con Euroshop, la división más rentable de Euromotors. Una transformación cultural fortaecerá al equipo de la fuerza de ventas de Euroshop; sin embargo, antes de que pueda administrarse adecuadamente, debe superarse la resistencia al cambio. La solución propuesta desarrolla un método para que Euromotors pueda superar gradualmente esta resistencia para aumentar la motivación y la unidad de los empleados, al tiempo que aumenta la responsabilidad intrínseca de funcionar como un equipo en toda la empresa. El objetivo de la propuesta busca mantener el compromiso con los objetivos estratégicos de la empresa. Mediante el desarrollo de un mapa estratégico y un cuadro de mando, la firma tendrá visibilidad sobre los factores clave para lograr una verdadera transformación. Se estima que la implementación del proyecto se realice en seis meses y que el presupuesto ascienda a 25,500 dólares americanosTesi

Tactical Satellite (TacSat) feasibility study a scenario driven approach

The objective of this project was to examine the feasibility of developing a tactically controlled, operationally responsive satellite system. A specific mission scenario, the Philippine Sea Scenario, was chosen to guide and bound the analysis. Within the bounds of this scenario, this high level space systems engineering exercise provided insights into operations and military utility as well as enough granularity to estimate costs for such a system. The operational approach and high level design concept is based on the Space Mission Analysis and Design (SMAD) process authored by Wiley J. Larson and Kames R. Wertz. The study shows that there are tactical scenarios in which space capabilities provide military utility and cost effectiveness above what is provided by traditional tactical assets such as UAVs. This is particularly true when large operational areas are involved and long periods of service are required.http://archive.org/details/tacticalsatellit109456927N

Reducing Object Detection Uncertainty from RGB and Thermal Data for UAV Outdoor Surveillance

Recent advances in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have resulted in their quick adoption for wide a range of civilian applications, including precision agriculture, biosecurity, disaster monitoring and surveillance. UAVs offer low-cost platforms with flexible hardware configurations, as well as an increasing number of autonomous capabilities, including take-off, landing, object tracking and obstacle avoidance. However, little attention has been paid to how UAVs deal with object detection uncertainties caused by false readings from vision-based detectors, data noise, vibrations, and occlusion. In most situations, the relevance and understanding of these detections are delegated to human operators, as many UAVs have limited cognition power to interact autonomously with the environment. This paper presents a framework for autonomous navigation under uncertainty in outdoor scenarios for small UAVs using a probabilistic-based motion planner. The framework is evaluated with real flight tests using a sub 2 kg quadrotor UAV and illustrated in victim finding Search and Rescue (SAR) case study in a forest/bushland. The navigation problem is modelled using a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP), and solved in real time onboard the small UAV using Augmented Belief Trees (ABT) and the TAPIR toolkit. Results from experiments using colour and thermal imagery show that the proposed motion planner provides accurate victim localisation coordinates, as the UAV has the flexibility to interact with the environment and obtain clearer visualisations of any potential victims compared to the baseline motion planner. Incorporating this system allows optimised UAV surveillance operations by diminishing false positive readings from vision-based object detectors

Rotate and Hold and Scan (RAHAS): Structured Light Illumination for Use in Remote Areas

As a critical step after the discovery of material culture in the field, archaeologists have a need to document these findings with a slew of different physical measurements and photographs from varying perspectives. 3-D imaging is becoming increasingly popular as the primary documenting method to replace the plethora of tests and measurements, but for remote areas 3-D becomes more cumbersome due to physical and environmental constraints. The difficulty of using a 3-D imaging system in such environments is drastically lessened while using the RAHAS technique, since it acquires scans untethered to a computer. The goal of this thesis is to present the RAHAS Structured Light Illumination technique for 3-D image acquisition, and the performance of the RAHAS technique as a measurement tool for documentation of material culture on a field trip to the Rio Platano Biosphere in Honduras