Drive-by-Wire
TORC Provides Unmanned Industry with Integration-Ready Robotic Ground Vehicle
ByWire XGV™ Experimental Ground Vehicle Platform Provides Jump Start for Autonomous Research and Development
BLACKSBURG, VA (Dec. 4, 2009) – TORC Technologies, a leading developer of robotic technologies for unmanned and autonomous vehicles, is offering unmanned systems researchers, developers and integrators in the ground vehicle market a faster way to develop and test new technologies.
TORC’s ByWire XGV™ is a JAUS interoperable, drive-by-wire controlled ground vehicle platform which utilizes the Ford Escape Hybrid as the base vehicle. The XGV comes with built-in safety components and an optional onboard power management system. This off-the-shelf, integration-ready platform has been purchased by various universities and robotics companies to have on hand for rapid integration and testing of their autonomous technologies. The platform design is based on TORC’s success as a finalist in the DARPA Urban Challenge and has been proven during thousands of hours of development, testing and operation.
ByWire XGV makes it possible to bypass the drive-by-wire conversion and jump right into the integration phase of more advanced unmanned technologies. By allowing engineering teams to remain focused on higher level technology development, the XGV eliminates the need to spend time, money and resource commitments reinventing an already proven system.
“To develop the next level of unmanned ground vehicle technologies, researchers need a reliable, cost-effective drive-by-wire platform from which they can build upon,” says Andrew Culhane, TORC’s Business Development Manager. “In the full-sized unmanned ground vehicle market this is especially important since large amounts of time and money can be sunk into developing an in-house solution that may be pulling resources away from working on the core technology under development.
“The ByWire XGV is a direct solution to the ‘base platform problem’ experienced by so many in the unmanned systems community. As a rapid go-to-market platform with a great deal of flexibility in its application, the XGV is ready to integrate higher level technologies.”
ByWire XGV focuses on reliability, safety, cost-effectiveness and performance. The conversion package includes three core areas: drive-by-wire (ability for a computer to perform both closed-loop and open-loop control of the vehicle), safety (a fail-safe emergency stop system) and power (set of flexible options for supplying power to any auxiliary equipment).
ByWire XGV utilizes the hybrid Escape’s proven vehicle technologies, tapping into electronic controls, available battery power, and all wheel drive for on-road/off-road ruggedness and flexibility of application. Controlled through a unified Ethernet interface, the drive-by-wire conversion is seamlessly integrated with the vehicle’s factory electronics, providing electronic control of the steering, throttle, shifter, braking and signals. In addition, information such as vehicle speed, warnings and errors can be monitored.
The XGV includes an integrated SafeStop™, TORC’s wireless emergency stop system, providing temporary pause and emergency shutdown functionality. Manual stop buttons are mounted inside and outside of the vehicle for additional safety. A key benefit of the XGV is the availability of onboard DC and AC power, eliminating the need for adding additional power sources to the system. The optional PowerHub™ conditioning and distribution modules allow for use of up to 6 kW of managed power, which is configurable over Ethernet through a web browser.
“The demand for unmanned ground vehicles capable of removing humans from the dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs of the world continually increases as the effectiveness of unmanned systems improve,” Culhane says. “To meet this growing demand, research and development efforts have increased to build up critical technology.”
Examples of such critical areas include sensor range and effectiveness, motion planning techniques in dynamic and unpredictable environments, behavioral architectures, and unobtrusive yet powerful human-computer interfaces. Other important challenges facing unmanned system developers include lowering cost while improving reliability and robustness.
“Achieving all these goals is necessary to boost adoption rates of unmanned vehicles by government and commercial markets,” Culhane says. “Too often these goals are not achieved, however, due to the unavailability of a reliable, cost-effective, and flexible base platform. Too much time and money is put into solving a problem that is not associated with the actual technology under development. The XGV meets this need for the unmanned ground vehicle community.”
To learn more about ByWireXGV, including video demonstrations, please visit www.ByWireXGV.com.
ABOUT TORC TECHNOLOGIES
TORC is a leading robotics engineering and product development company focusing on unmanned and autonomous vehicle systems. The company commercializes intelligent robotic technologies into modular, interoperable, off-the-shelf products that enable customers to rapidly integrate and deploy unmanned solutions. To learn more, visit www.torctech.com.
TORC’s ByWire XGV Tested at 102 Miles per Hour Under Drive-By-Wire Control
TORC Technologies Successfully Operates its Commercially Available Drive-By-Wire Platform in Excess of 100 Miles per Hour While in Computer Control
Blacksburg, VA – February 9, 2009 – TORC Technologies (www.torctech.com) reports that its ByWire XGV™, drive-by-wire converted Hybrid Escape platform, was successfully operated at speeds of up to 102 miles per hour in January of 2009. The tests were run on the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s “Smart Road,” a 2.2 mile road closed to outside traffic and pedestrians. The ByWire XGV provides unmanned system developers, researchers, and integrators with a scalable, computer controlled ground vehicle platform with integrated SafeStop™ safety and PowerHub™ power management systems.
Ready for the addition of an autonomous navigation system, the ByWire XGV conversion is tightly integrated to the existing vehicle systems. Controlled through a single interface using JAUS (Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems) or other proprietary standard over Ethernet, the steering, throttle, shifter, braking, and signals can all be controlled electronically. The safety systems on the XGV are centered around the TORC SafeStop, an off-the-shelf wireless emergency stop system, which provides up to a six mile line-of-sight range and allows for both disable and pause-vehicle states. An internally mounted emergency stop button, easily accessible from both front seats, and two optional externally mounted emergency stop buttons provide for additional safety.
A key benefit of the XGV is the availability of onboard electric power, which prevents the need for adding additional sources of power. TORC’s PowerHub power conditioning and distribution options allow for use of up to 2 kW of managed power, configurable over Ethernet through a web browser.
“The XGV is another product that TORC has developed based on needs from the DARPA Grand Challenges and other robotic programs from a variety of government groups and industry sectors. We see cutting edge robotic organizations spending too many resources reinventing drive-by-wire, safety, and power details rather than focusing on the higher level perception, planning, and control issues. The XGV allows organizations to leverage our experience solving the ‘Base Platform’ problem,” states Michael Fleming, CEO of TORC. “We are excited to demonstrate the XGV at closed-loop control at speed at over 100 miles per hour.”
The ByWire XGV uses multiple embedded modules to convert the stock vehicle to by-wire control. At the heart of this system is the National Instruments CompactRIO (cRIO) real-time system. The cRIO handles closed-loop control of the steering, throttling, and braking, as well as shifting, and lighting commands and feedback. Furthermore, the National Instruments cRIO provides the user access to the XGV system through a unified input over Ethernet.
“National Instruments is excited about TORC Technology’s’ ability to leverage LabVIEW and NI CompactRIO for leading autonomous vehicle design and deployment. TORC has been able to create unique offerings in the market through drive-by-wire technology,” states Shelley Gretlein, Robotics Business Development Manager at National Instruments.
A number of other performance tests were also completed in addition to the high speed runs. An operator was able to safely change lanes at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour, and the ByWire XGV was also able to slalom between two lanes at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. Both tests demonstrate the quick response time of the drive-by-wire conversion, and the accuracy at which desired commands can be achieved.
The ByWire XGV is currently available for purchase through TORC Technologies. The clean installation, intuitive user interface, and rapid conversion make the XGV ideal for unmanned system developers, system integrators and research universities. See the ByWire XGV in action, reaching 102 mph, in the online video at www.ByWireXGV.com.
About TORC Technologies
TORC is automating dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks by commercializing intelligent robotic technologies into interoperable off-the-shelf products, providing the essential building blocks for rapidly enabling autonomy on virtually any platform. TORC’s product line offers an integrated set of functionalities necessary for implementing varying levels of unmanned and autonomous operation that can increase your speed to market while reducing risks and development costs.
Sales Contact:
Andrew Culhane, Sales Engineer
TORC Technologies
540-443-9262 x 4251
http://www.torctech.com
Media Contact:
David Cutter, Marketing Manager
TORC Technologies
540-443-9262 x 4256
http://www.torctech.com
TORC Announces ByWire XGV: Commercially-Available Drive-by-Wire Ford Escape for Unmanned Research and Development
TORC Turns DARPA Urban Challenge Success into New Product Launch
SAN DIEGO – June 10, 2008 – TORC Technologies (www.torctech.com) has announced the commercial availability of the ByWire XGV™, a drive-by-wire converted Ford Escape Hybrid. The unmanned system is based on the company’s successful partnership with Virginia Tech on Odin, the fully autonomous Ford Escape Hybrid that placed 3rd in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge.
The ByWire XGV is a seamless integration of the TORC ByWire™ technology using National Instruments CompactRIO FPGA-based hardware and LabVIEW graphical system design software, TORC SafeStop™ emergency stop system, and the Ford Escape Hybrid sports utility vehicle. The result is a drive-by-wire converted, Join Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS) interoperable Ford Escape Hybrid, ready for industry applications or further autonomous research and development.
“It’s important for TORC to continue to commercialize these technologies into off-the-shelf products so developers of autonomous systems can spend their time working on higher level autonomy, not converting vehicles or building components such as an emergency stop system,” said Michael Fleming, CEO of TORC. Fleming adds “LabVIEW plays an important role in facilitating this development by providing a powerful and flexible programming language for sensor and actuator interface development, advanced control algorithm engineering, and custom communication protocol design.”
The ByWire XGV provides a unified interface that controls the throttle, brake and steering, with additional sensor feedback for control. The clean installation consists of a touch screen interface in the center console, a system arm key and a fully integrated safety system utilizing TORC’s SafeStopTM product. The SafeStop provides manual internal and external emergency stop buttons mounted on the vehicle in addition to the wireless handheld transmitter unit. The tightly packaged conversion leaves the front and rear seats open and unaltered, providing for extreme flexibility in its potential applications while leaving plenty of room for additional customization. Additional options include custom operator control units, power supply and a proprietary power distribution system located in the cargo space of the vehicle.
“TORC extended LabVIEW and CompactRIO to create an off-the-shelf autonomous vehicle development platform,” said Pete Zogas, senior vice president of sales and marketing at National Instruments. “The combination of LabVIEW, CompactRIO and their integrated vehicle platform makes it easy for engineers to implement complex control and vehicle communications on a flexible FPGA-based embedded system.”
Because of its extreme flexibility and cost effectiveness, the ByWire XGV is ideal for universities, unmanned systems developers and lead system integrators for further research and development. It is a rapid go-to-market option for industry and government organizations with mission-specific objectives such as surveillance and perimeter security. The ByWire XGV also is available with varying levels of autonomy with the addition of the AutonoNav™ product line, an autonomous navigational system from TORC.
The ByWire XGV now is available for purchase through TORC Technologies. Visit torctech.com to learn more about the ByWire XGV. To learn more about National Instruments technology used in robotic applications including autonomous vehicles such as Odin, visit ni.com/robotics.
About TORC Technologies, LLC
TORC Technologies is automating dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks by commercializing intelligent robotic technologies into interoperable off-the-shelf products, providing the essential building blocks for rapidly enabling autonomy on virtually any platform. TORC’s product line offers an integrated set of functionalities necessary for implementing varying levels of autonomous operation. From teleoperation to autonomy, TORC’s modular solutions can increase your speed to market while reducing risks and development costs.
CompactRIO, LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments.
Sales Contact:
Andrew Culhane, Sales Engineer
TORC Technologies, LLC
540-443-9262 x 4251
http://www.torctech.com
Media Contact:
David Cutter, Marketing Manager
TORC Technologies, LLC
540-443-9262 x 4256
http://www.torctech.com
TORC announces the ByWire system for rapidly converting ground vehicle platforms to teleoperated and remote control
TORC Technologies, a research and development company focusing on unmanned vehicle systems for industrial and military clients, announced the availability of the ByWire™. The ByWire™ BW-100 rapidly converts ground and surface vehicle platforms to electronic drive-by-wire and teleoperated control. The ByWire™ BW-100 interfaces to vehicle platforms through relays, serial, Ethernet, CAN, and analog and digital I/O. Integrated closed-loop speed and steering control ensures precision vehicle control. A web-based interface allows the user to easily input the vehicle’s physical parameters and hardware interface. The ByWire™ BW-100 is JAUS (Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems) interoperable and seamlessly integrates with other JAUS-interoperable components. “TORC is pleased to announce another JAUS-based product to assist system integrators in developing unmanned ground vehicle system,” says Michael Fleming, CEO of TORC Technologies. “TORC’s adoption to the DoD JAUS standard allows the ByWire™ system to be integrated with other JAUS-interoperable systems such as autonomous navigation systems, perception systems, and operator control units.”