Posts tagged SafeStop
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 & Virginia Tech Finish 3rd in 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge
On November 3rd, 2007, Team VictorTango’s race vehicle Odin, successfully completed the 60 mile DARPA Urban Challenge. Originally slated for the second pole position, Odin was first out of the gates at 8:04 am. Odin ramped up his speed to 25 miles per hour while rounding the traffic circle and disappeared into the morning mist of the California desert. Four hours and thirty six minutes later, Odin returned safely, 26 minutes behind the winner. During the race, Odin encountered four-way intersections, where he yielded to manned and unmanned traffic. Odin merged onto busy city streets avoiding traffic drivers trying to confuse him and other robots that often forgot to follow California highway rules.
At times, the DARPA provided mission file sent him to areas where he was called him to park in a specific parking place, demonstrating a simulated military re-supply mission. In the end, Odin’s courteous and calculated nature helped to hold off any fender benders. After a long day in traffic, Odin and Team VictorTango were awarded 3rd place in the competition. As one of only three robots to finish under the DARPA imposed time limit, Odin’s journey was fraught with peril. Many of the competitors were pulled from the course due to collisions with other robots and buildings. The completion of the course marks a huge success for TORC Technologies (TORC) and Virginia Tech Unmanned Systems, which allowed them to display the incredible advances that have been made in autonomous vehicle technology. The success in the challenge was the crowning achievement of thousands of hours of research and development spent in the lab, in the simulator, and on the road.
Odin, the competition vehicle, was based on a Ford Escape Hybrid donated by Ford Motor Company. TORC served as lead software architect and developer for the team. The modular software architecture utilized the SAE AS-4 JAUS (Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems) standard for inter-process communication. JAUS promoted interoperability between systems and increased the efficiency of system development, testing, data logging, and playback. Using a simulation environment tailored for urban ground vehicle navigation, TORC was able to develop and debug software, safely test autonomous behaviors and verify interactions with sensors and the environment. Prior to the Urban Challenge Race, Team VictorTango had navigated similar courses and environments thousands of times in the simulator. This approach significantly improved overall robustness of the software. New behaviors and algorithms were proven well before they hit the street with real vehicles and live drivers.
Due to the inherent need for improved safety in unmanned grounds systems and the specialized needs of large vehicles preparing for the DARPA Urban Challenge, TORC developed the SafeStop™ Wireless Emergency Stop System. The SafeStop™ was utilized by several teams during site visit and qualification. Based on technology inspired by efforts on the Urban Challenge, TORC also commercialized several JAUS-interoperable products such as the ByWire™ Drive-by-Wire Conversion Module, AutonoNav™ Autonomous Navigation Controller, and InterOp™ Collaborative Online JAUS Integration Environment. These products serve to provide vehicle-independent, JAUS-interoperable, autonomous solutions. The combination of these TORC products allows for complete autonomous vehicle solutions, autonomy and safety, as well as simulated environment to develop and evaluate algorithms.
TORC Technologies, LLC is an applied research company focusing on improving our quality of life by automating dull, dirty, and dangerous work through modular and interoperable robotic technologies. TORC employs mechanical, electrical, and software engineers and provides turn-key robotic solutions to system integrators. TORC is located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.
JAUS Standard Emerges In DARPA Urban Challenge Final Event
On November 3rd, 2007, Team VictorTango’s race vehicle Odin, successfully completed the 60 mile DARPA Urban Challenge. Originally slated for the second pole position, Odin was first out of the gates at 8:04 am. Odin ramped up his speed to 25 miles per hour while rounding the traffic circle and disappeared into the morning mist of the California desert. Four hours and thirty six minutes later, Odin returned safely, 26 minutes behind the winner. During the race, Odin encountered four-way intersections, where he yielded to manned and unmanned traffic. Odin merged onto busy city streets avoiding traffic drivers trying to confuse him and other robots that often forgot to follow California highway rules.
At times, the DARPA provided mission file sent him to areas where he was called him to park in a specific parking place, demonstrating a simulated military re-supply mission. In the end, Odin’s courteous and calculated nature helped to hold off any fender benders. After a long day in traffic, Odin and Team VictorTango were awarded 3rd place in the competition. As one of only three robots to finish under the DARPA imposed time limit, Odin’s journey was fraught with peril. Many of the competitors were pulled from the course due to collisions with other robots and buildings. The completion of the course marks a huge success for TORC Technologies (TORC) and Virginia Tech Unmanned Systems, which allowed them to display the incredible advances that have been made in autonomous vehicle technology. The success in the challenge was the crowning achievement of thousands of hours of research and development spent in the lab, in the simulator, and on the road.
Odin, the competition vehicle, was based on a Ford Escape Hybrid donated by Ford Motor Company. TORC served as lead software architect and developer for the team. The modular software architecture utilized the SAE AS-4 JAUS (Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems) standard for inter-process communication. JAUS promoted interoperability between systems and increased the efficiency of system development, testing, data logging, and playback. Using a simulation environment tailored for urban ground vehicle navigation, TORC was able to develop and debug software, safely test autonomous behaviors and verify interactions with sensors and the environment. Prior to the Urban Challenge Race, Team VictorTango had navigated similar courses and environments thousands of times in the simulator. This approach significantly improved overall robustness of the software. New behaviors and algorithms were proven well before they hit the street with real vehicles and live drivers.
Due to the inherent need for improved safety in unmanned grounds systems and the specialized needs of large vehicles preparing for the DARPA Urban Challenge, TORC developed the SafeStop™ Wireless Emergency Stop System. The SafeStop™ was utilized by several teams during site visit and qualification. Based on technology inspired by efforts on the Urban Challenge, TORC also commercialized several JAUS-interoperable products such as the ByWire™ Drive-by-Wire Conversion Module, AutonoNav™ Autonomous Navigation Controller, and InterOp™ Collaborative Online JAUS Integration Environment. These products serve to provide vehicle-independent, JAUS-interoperable, autonomous solutions. The combination of these TORC products allows for complete autonomous vehicle solutions, autonomy and safety, as well as simulated environment to develop and evaluate algorithms.
TORC Technologies, LLC is an applied research company focusing on improving our quality of life by automating dull, dirty, and dangerous work through modular and interoperable robotic technologies. TORC employs mechanical, electrical, and software engineers and provides turn-key robotic solutions to system integrators. TORC is located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.