Control System Architecture for Unmanned Land Vehicles

A second major effort is currently underway toward the development of vehicles with autonomous capabilities. The Autonomous Land Vehicle and Advanced Ground Vehicle Technology programs highlighted the first efforts in autonomous vehicles. The second push is fueled by the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) program. The Surrogate Teleoperated Vehicle and Demo I programs have placed current technology into the soldiers' hands. Demo II seeks to advance the state-of-art in multiple autonomous military vehicles. In the commercial arena, the effects of increased traffic congestion and competition from abroad have pushed the U.S. Department of Transportation to institute the Intelligent Vehicle Highway System (IVHS) program as an instrument to advance the nation's highway systems into the next century. A major thrust of IVHS is also increased vehicle automation. While such government supported research has produced a plethora of component technology (i.e., software, hardware and systems that satisfy various requirements for autonomous vehicles), it has become increasingly more difficult to evaluate the technology to determine its worth. In addition, managing the technology development and guiding the participating industries, both crucial to an efficient program, are becoming as difficult as controlling our nation's highways. The role of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (under the Department of Commerce) becomes apparent under such conditions. Its role serves two purposes. First, NIST, serving as a technical resource, is often called upon by other Government agencies to evaluate various technologies that could improve the competitiveness of the United States. Second, in the cases where the required systems and components do not exist, NIST works with industry and academia in developing the necessary technology. NIST's role in autonomous vehicle development started with the U.S. Army LABCOM techbase program. This program became part of OSD's Robotics Master plan and culminated in Demo I. NIST's responsibility included development of an architecture for UGV's which would support integration and evaluation of various