Development of a Vision-Based Robotic Follower Vehicle

Abstract

Abstract : This report provides an overview of the development of a vision-based leader/follower robotic vehicle at Defence R&D Canada - Suffield, with the eventual goal of autonomous convoying for military logistics. The experimental system uses a pan/tilt/zoom camera to track a lead vehicle or human, estimating the leader's path and following it autonomously. This vision-based approach frees the system from reliance on GPS, radios, and active sensing equipment necessary for current leader/follower systems. Included in this report are the details of the computer vision, camera control, and vehicle control algorithms, as well as the results of field trials of the camera tracking system. Finally, it reports on experiments with the complete follower system following other vehicles and even dismounted humans.