GTRI CUSTD Project – Click above for high-res image gallery
By now, cars that drive themselves have become old news. Every time we turn around there's another organization out to wander half the globe with a driverless van or tackle one of the world's most demanding hill climb events with an automated Audi TT. It just never ends. But the guys and gals at Georgia Tech Research Institute have taken things one step further with its Collaborative Unmanned Systems Technology Demonstrator. During a demonstration for the US Army, the school effectively demonstrated how vastly different robotic vehicles could work together. You know, to get us coffee, take over the world or whatever.
As a part of the 2010 Robotic Rodeo, GTRI used two unmanned aerial vehicles to work in coordination with a roboticized Porsche Cayenne. Once airborne, the two RC planes take over everything from navigation and target location.
So what can all this tech do? GTRI says that in one instance, one of the UAVs can locate a target and radio the location back to the UGV, or unmanned ground vehicle, which then navigates around buildings and obstacles to the location. Meanwhile, the second UAV can continue to use its sensors to evaluate the surroundings. Welcome to the new world.
