Autonomous Vehicle Initiatives at Princeton University Alain L. Kornhauser Professor, Operations Research & Financial Engineering Director, Transportation Research Program Team Leader, DARPA Challenges Presented at TECHNIX 2009 The Annual Technical Information Exchange of the Advanced Transit Association January 11, 2009 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge Prospect Twelve 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge Prospect Twelve The DARPA Grand Challenges Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA Grand Challenge Created in response to a Congressional and DoD mandate: a field test intended to accelerate R&D in autonomous ground vehicles to help save American lives on the battlefield. The Grand Challenge brings together individuals and organizations from industry, the R&D community, government, the armed services, academia, students, backyard inventors, and automotive enthusiasts in the pursuit of a technological challenge. The First Grand Challenge: Across the Mojave, March 2004 Across the Mojave from Barstow, California to Primm, Nevada : $1 million prize. From the qualifying round at the California Speedway, 15 finalists emerged to attempt the Grand Challenge. The prize went unclaimed as no vehicles were able to complete more than 7.4 miles. The 2005 Grand Challenge GC final event 132 miles through the Nevada desert on October 8, 2005: $2 million prize. Multi-step qualification process: Site Visits, NQE Semifinals,. Course supplied as list of GPS waypoints. First place went to Stanford University, second and third to Carnegie Mellon 2005 Grand Challenge Team Constraints Very little budget Constraints Very little budget Objective Enrich the academic experience of the students Objective Enrich the academic experience of the students Guiding Principles Simplicity Guiding Principles Simplicity Homemade Unlike the fancy drive by wire system employed by Stanford and VW, Princetons students built a homemade set of gears to drive their pickup. I could see from the electronics textbook they were using that they were learning as they went. It wasnt so easy The Making of a Monster November 2004 October 2005 Pimp My Ride Journey to the Grand Challenge Video Submission March, 2005 Site Visit May, nd Site Visit August, 2005 Semifinals September, 2005 Final Event October 3, teams 40 semi- finalists 10 th Seed of 23 finalists 9 alternate semi-finalists 3 additional semi-finalists 195 entries Completed 9.5 miles autonomously Return to the Mojave 3 weeks later Achievements in 2005 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge Prospect Twelve The Urban Challenge 60 miles of autonomous driving in under 6 hours. Navigate within a simulated urban environment handling GPS outages. ParkingIntersectionsDynamic ReplanningPassing Sample Behaviors 2007 Urban Challenge Team January 2007 October 2007 Our Approach Constraints Same as in 2005; limited budget Extent of requirements increased complexity of our software architecture Homebrew drive-by-wire modifications Unique sensor suite relying primarily on vision technology Urban Challenge Site Visit Video Drive-By-Wire Vision Technologies Christopher Baldassano09 Obstacle Detection 1 2 Lane Detection 1 2 3 Route to the Urban Challenge Video Submission April, 2007 Site Visit & Tech Paper July, 2007 Semifinals October, teams 35 semi-finalists 89 entries Further Development Final Event November 3, finalists Boss Tartan Racing Junior Stanford Racing Team Odin Victor Tango Talos MIT Skynet Cornell Little Ben Ben Franklin Racing Prospect Twelve 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge NJ State Drivers Exam Milestones Robust and reliable subsystems Drive down marked roads using vision alone Parallel parking New Jersey state drivers test TodayNovember, 2009 Fully autonomous vehicle PRT for NJ