Navlab
Encyclopedia
Navlab is a series of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles developed by teams from The Robotics Institute at the School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
. Later models were produced under a new department created specifically for the research called the "The Carnegie Mellon University Navigation Laboratory".
Several types of vehicles have been developed, including "... robot cars, vans, SUVs, and buses."
Navlab 1 was built in 1986 using a Chevrolet
panel van
. The van had 5 racks of computer hardware, including a Warp supercomputer. The vehicle suffered from software limitations and was not fully functional until the late 80s, when it achieved its top speed of 20 mile per hour.
Navlab 2 was built in 1990 using a US Army HMMWV. Computer power was uprated for this new vehicle with three Sparc 10
computers, "for high level data processing", and two 68000-based computers "used for low level control". The Hummer was capable of driving both off- or on-road. When driving over rough terrain, its speed was limited with a top speed of 6 mile per hour. When Navlab 2 was driven on-road it could achieve as high as 70 mile per hour
Navlab 1 and 2 were semi-autonomous and used "... steering wheel and drive shaft encoders and an expensive inertial navigation system for position estimation."
Navlab 5 was inducted into the Class of 2008 Inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame
, though it was announced in 2007.
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. Later models were produced under a new department created specifically for the research called the "The Carnegie Mellon University Navigation Laboratory".
History
Research on computer controlled vehicles began at Carnegie in 1984 and production of the first vehicle, Navlab 1, began in 1986.Applications
The vehicles in the Navlab series have been designed for varying purposes, "... off-road scouting; automated highways; run-off-road collision prevention; and driver assistance for maneuvering in crowded city environments. Our current work involves pedestrian detection, surround sensing, and short range sensing for vehicle control."Several types of vehicles have been developed, including "... robot cars, vans, SUVs, and buses."
Vehicles
The institute has made vehicles with the designations Navlab 1–11. The vehicles were mainly semi-autonomous, though some were fully autonomous and required no human input.Navlab 1 was built in 1986 using a Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
panel van
Panel van
A panel van is a form of solid van, smaller than a lorry or truck, without rear side windows...
. The van had 5 racks of computer hardware, including a Warp supercomputer. The vehicle suffered from software limitations and was not fully functional until the late 80s, when it achieved its top speed of 20 mile per hour.
Navlab 2 was built in 1990 using a US Army HMMWV. Computer power was uprated for this new vehicle with three Sparc 10
SPARCstation 10
The SPARCstation 10 is a workstation computer made by Sun Microsystems. Announced in May 1992, it was Sun's first desktop multiprocessor...
computers, "for high level data processing", and two 68000-based computers "used for low level control". The Hummer was capable of driving both off- or on-road. When driving over rough terrain, its speed was limited with a top speed of 6 mile per hour. When Navlab 2 was driven on-road it could achieve as high as 70 mile per hour
Navlab 1 and 2 were semi-autonomous and used "... steering wheel and drive shaft encoders and an expensive inertial navigation system for position estimation."
Navlab 5 was inducted into the Class of 2008 Inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame
Robot Hall of Fame
The Robot Hall of Fame was established in 2003 by the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is designed to honor both achievements in robotics technology and robots from science fiction that have served as creative inspiration in robotics...
, though it was announced in 2007.