From an article in Interesting Engineering by Ameya Paleja.
The technology can potentially deliver stealth capabilities for the military while finding applications in space and agriculture.
Modern autonomous driving solutions rely extensively on light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensors to visualize objects around the vehicle. A software solution then identifies the objects nearby and helps the vehicle’s computer decide whether to halt or slow down.
The visualization is made possible using high-energy lasers sent out in all directions to determine the depth and distance from various objects.
While this technology can work for civilian transport, the light from the LIDAR sensors is easy to detect. It can easily compromise the location of a unit if used on military vehicles. Similarly, RADAR technology that uses radio waves is also easy to detect, and the Global Position System (GPS), which uses satellites, can be blocked.
Where can VORA help?
This is why researchers at the SwRI developed Vision for Off-Road Autonomy (VORA), a suite of tools to perceive objects passively, create environment models, and localize units on a map, even in off-road environments.
Abe Garza, a research engineer at the Intelligent Systems Division at SwRI, said, “We reflected on the toughest machine vision challenges and then focused on achieving dense, robust modeling for off-road navigation.”
The system was envisioned as an alternative to LIDAR and focused on cameras since they do not emit light or laser signals when working. However, the team had to develop new software to use the camera data to perform high-precision tasks usually achieved with LIDAR.
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