Australian Robotics Centre Pushes the State of the Art in Industrial Automation
IVsource.net
12 September 2000

The ACFR conducts both fundamental and applied research.  The fundamental  research program encompasses work on sensor technologies (such as radar, lasers, and inertial sensing), vehicle navigation, guidance and data fusion systems, modeling & control of vehicles and machines, systems safety, vehicle motion planning and traffic scheduling, collision detection and condition monitoring.  The applied research program includes the development of autonomous or enhanced machines to serve the industries noted above.

Focus on Sensors

Sensors and sensor data interpretation is a key enabling technology area in the development of autonomous field robotic systems.  The ACFR has a substantial fundamental research program in sensor technology appropriate to outdoor robotic applications in particular.   The program encompasses work on a range of navigation and terrain sensors, including GPS, radar, lasers, and undersea sonar, as well as "internal" sensors such as inertial navigation systems.  The focus of their work is on the development of integrated sensor systems or packages to support broader, advanced navigation and vehicle control systems -- not on the development of basic sensor technology.
 

The development and use of millimeter-wave radar (MMWR) for autonomous vehicle navigation systems is receiving special attention.  The advantage of millimeter-wave radar over other sensors in outdoor vehicle applications is the ability to operate at high accuracy over long ranges in all weather and environment conditions.  This makes MMWR an ideal navigation and collision detection sensor for autonomous vehicles in applications such as mining and cargo handling.  The ACFR employs what they call "the most advanced MMWR technology available in the world" to develop systems capable  both of sub-centimeter navigation accuracy and of mapping terrain and obstacles in a variety of all weather and terrain applications.  The image shows ACFR's current top-performing MMWR system; current and future work is seeking to use MMWR to perform terrain imaging and three-dimensional mapping in applications such as underground mining and unmanned air vehicles.

Environmental Awareness Through Laser Scanning

ACFR also considers laser ranging and imaging technology to be particularly attractive in applications where an instantaneous representation of the environment is required.  The focus of ACFR research in laser systems is in the use of this technology to solve problems in map building, terrain profiling, vehicle localization, obstacle detection and work handling operations.  State-of-the-art  commercial systems using time-of-flight, ranging and imaging, and bearing-only laser subsystems are used.  For example, data in the image below was obtained using a Sick PLS- 200 laser scanner mounted on a 4x4 vehicle in an underground hard rock mine.  The size of the imaged area is 140 x 100 meters (455 x 325 feet). 

The plot is of a typical time-of-flight laser scan of a tunnel in an underground mine -- the green 'cloud' represents the tunnel profile as provided by the SICK laser; the small "X"s denote identified beacon locations; and the solid line is the estimated vehicle path.  Information from these devices is integrated into sensory systems that allow autonomous vehicles to build detailed pictures of their environment. These environment representations may be used subsequently in tasks such as automatic soil excavation, precision vehicle docking and collision avoidance. 

The center also has research strengths in development of navigation 
algorithms -- particularly for high-integrity navigation, terrain navigation, and simultaneous localization and map building. 

Industrial Linkages in Place for Port and Mining Applications

Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte is the Director of ACFR, backed by about 10 research staff, 18 Ph.D. students, and 10 technical staff, including Rattie, the Centre's mascot.  Dr. Durrant-Whyte maintains a strong emphasis on industry connections, to ensure that the Centre's research remains relevant.  According to their mission statement, "AFCR seeks to build and maintain links that support the commercial involvement of both system developer and end-user industries and to deploy and commercially exploit the results of the research programs."

$2.2M of contract R&D has been completed or is currently underway, with $1.7M in new work starting up.  About $400,000 in public grant monies from the Australian state and federal governments also supports the Centre.  Industrial investments have been courted from well beyond Australia's borders: the Centre has received some funding from Europe and Japan as well.

Covering the High-Tech Waterfront

For automated container handling at seaports, ACFR completed an automated straddle carrier in 1999.  Developed in  partnership with Patrick Stevedores, the carrier is a large, 65 ton automated machine operating up to 30km/h (18 mph).  It employs a twin-redundant guidance system using GPS/INS and MMWR encoder system.  According to ACFR, their "strad" is one of the first fully free-ranging field robotic vehicles worldwide.  Following successful demonstration of a proof-of-concept vehicle in early 1999, a second phase is now underway to demonstrate an operating berth.  This is a wholly industry-funded project geared explicitly towards commercialization, involving the world's largest straddle carrier manufacturer, Kalmar Industries of Finland.  The Centre has also automated vehicles such as flatbeds and cranes for waterfront environments.  "The world's most efficient and technically advanced waterfront will soon be in Australia," trumpets ACFR's 1999 Annual Report.

Obstacle Detection for Massive Mining Trucks

ACFR has successfully completed a project with Komatsu (Japan) to provide 
a millimeter wave collision detection system for an automated mining haul truck.  Hauling at the huge surface mines in Australia constitutes a major part of the operation, as distances between the mining site and the material processing machinery can be thirty kilometers or more.  Full automation of such vehicles offers significant operational advantages, and obstacle detection a key building block.  The radar on these 200 ton trucks is a very high resolution, high accuracy, long range radar that differs significantly from most highway radars.  With the truck traveling at speeds of 60 km/hour (36 mph),  the radar must be capable of discriminating objects as small as a person lying on the ground at a 100 m (325 ft) range to ensure safety.  The unit must also operate at full performance in the dusty conditions of the mine.  Six radar units were built for this phase of the work, which was fully industry funded.  AFCR is involved in other surface mining automation work as well, including excavators, drag-lines, and dozers. 

True to their mission statement, AFCR has spawned an entirely new start-up company, NavTech Engineering, to develop and manufacture production radars for both mining and stevedoring applications. 

Other Projects Go Underground ... and All Around

For underground mining, AFCR has collaborated with the Center for Mining Technology and Equipment to develop a natural-terrain guidance system for underground mining vehicles.  Building on the research noted above, the system uses inertial and laser sensing and is being commercialized by a company called Elphinstone. 

AFCR is also tackling defense applications through its involvement in a number of all-terrain vehicle projects for the military.  These include both tracked-vehicle and wheeled-vehicle systems on the ground, and substantial UAV (unmanned air vehicle) and AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) projects as well.  These projects are mostly commercially funded, in stark contrast to similar development efforts elsewhere in the world that depend nearly wholly on government funding. 

Putting Australian Robotics on the Map

Robotics research within Australia has become well focused, with the establishment in 1999 of the Australian Robotics Network (ARN), which includes the Australian National University, the University of Sydney, and the Wollongong National Field Robotics Research Facility.  Internationally, ACRF has strong links with Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute in the USA and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Robotics Center in  Toulouse. 
 

[Top]
 

ACFR's Current Favored Outdoor Autonomous Vehicle Sensor: Millimeter Wave Radar

... contact Dr. Hugh Durrant-Whyte, ACFR Director at hugh@acfr.usyd.edu.au ... or access the Centre's web site at www.acfr.usyd.edu.au.
 

[Top]