Integration and demonstration of MEMS-scanned LADAR for robotic navigation

Barry L. Stann; John F. Dammann Jr.; Mark Del Giorno; Charles DiBerardino; Mark M. Giza; Michael A. Powers; Nenad Uzunovic

doi:10.1117/12.2050687

3 June 2014 Integration and demonstration of MEMS-scanned LADAR for robotic navigation

Barry L. Stann, John F. Dammann Jr., Mark Del Giorno, Charles DiBerardino, Mark M. Giza, Michael A. Powers, Nenad Uzunovic

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9084, Unmanned Systems Technology XVI; 90840J (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2050687
Event: SPIE Defense + Security, 2014, Baltimore, MD, United States

Abstract

LADAR is among the pre-eminent sensor modalities for autonomous vehicle navigation. Size, weight, power and cost constraints impose significant practical limitations on perception systems intended for small ground robots. In recent years, the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) developed a LADAR architecture based on a MEMS mirror scanner that fundamentally improves the trade-offs between these limitations and sensor capability. We describe how the characteristics of a highly developed prototype correspond to and satisfy the requirements of autonomous navigation and the experimental scenarios of the ARL Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance (RCTA) program. In particular, the long maximum and short minimum range capability of the ARL MEMS LADAR makes it remarkably suitable for a wide variety of scenarios from building mapping to the manipulation of objects at close range, including dexterous manipulation with robotic arms. A prototype system was applied to a small (approximately 50 kg) unmanned robotic vehicle as the primary mobility perception sensor. We present the results of a field test where the perception information supplied by the LADAR system successfully accomplished the experimental objectives of an Integrated Research Assessment (IRA).

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Barry L. Stann, John F. Dammann Jr., Mark Del Giorno, Charles DiBerardino, Mark M. Giza, Michael A. Powers, and Nenad Uzunovic "Integration and demonstration of MEMS-scanned LADAR for robotic navigation", Proc. SPIE 9084, Unmanned Systems Technology XVI, 90840J (3 June 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2050687

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