Showing papers by "Alberto Broggi published in 2009"

Vehicle diagnostics based on information communicated between vehicles

Abstract: A system and method for controlling a convoy of vehicles. The convoy of vehicles including a leader vehicle in communication with a plurality of autonomous follower vehicles. The leader vehicle is configured to receive a first autonomous follower vehicle data and compare the first autonomous follower vehicle data to at least one of a leader vehicle data, a second autonomous follower vehicle data and/or a threshold value. The first autonomous follower vehicle data, the leader vehicle data, the second autonomous follower vehicle data and the threshold value relate to a vehicle performance characteristic.

A New Approach to Urban Pedestrian Detection for Automatic Braking

Abstract: This paper presents an application of a pedestrian-detection system aimed at localizing potentially dangerous situations under specific urban scenarios. The approach used in this paper differs from those implemented in traditional pedestrian-detection systems, which are designed to localize all pedestrians in the area in front of the vehicle. Conversely, this approach searches for pedestrians in critical areas only. The environment is reconstructed with a standard laser scanner, whereas the following check for the presence of pedestrians is performed due to the fusion with a vision system. The great advantages of such an approach are that pedestrian recognition is performed on limited image areas, therefore boosting its timewise performance, and no assessment on the danger level is finally required before providing the result to either the driver or an onboard computer for automatic maneuvers. A further advantage is the drastic reduction of false alarms, making this system robust enough to control nonreversible safety systems.

TerraMax: Team Oshkosh Urban Robot.

Abstract: Team Oshkosh, composed of Oshkosh Corporation, Teledyne Scientific and Imaging Company, VisLab of the University of Parma, Ibeo Automotive Sensor GmbH, and Auburn University, participated in the DARPA Urban Challenge and was one of the 11 teams selected to compete in the final event Through development, testing, and participation in the official events, we experimented and demonstrated autonomous truck operations in (controlled) urban streets of California, Wisconsin, and Michigan under various climate and traffic conditions In these experiments TerraMax™, a modified medium tactical vehicle replacement (MTVR) truck by Oshkosh Corporation, negotiated urban roads, intersections, and parking lots and interacted with manned and unmanned traffic while observing traffic rules We accumulated valuable experience and lessons on autonomous truck operations in urban environments, particularly in the aspects of vehicle control, perception, mission planning, and autonomous behaviors, which will have an impact on the further development of large-footprint autonomous ground vehicles for the military In this article, we describe the vehicle, the overall system architecture, the sensors and sensor processing, the mission planning system, and the autonomous behavioral controls implemented on TerraMax We discuss the performance of some notable autonomous behaviors of TerraMax and our experience in implementing these behaviors and present results of the Urban Challenge National Qualification Event tests and the Urban Challenge Final Event We conclude with a discussion of lessons learned from all of the above experience in working with a large robotic truck © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Vehicle Detection Based on Laser Radar

Abstract: This paper describes the detection of moving obstacles using laser radar in road environments. This application is designed to be implemented in further research on data fusion technologies. The developed application uses only a laser radar which provides information to sort objects according to their shape and movement. The subsequent detection and classification provide higher level tracking.

Multi Stereo-Based Pedestrian Detection by Daylight and Far-Infrared Cameras

Abstract: This chapter presents a tetravision (4-camera) system for the detection of pedestrians by means of the simultaneous use of two far infrared and visible camera stereo pairs. The main idea is to exploit the advantages of both far infrared and visible cameras to develop a system that combines the advantages of using far infrared or daylight technologies. Different approaches are used to process the two stereo flows in an independent fashion to produce a list of areas of attention that potentially contain pedestrians. Then, four different following approaches are used to refine and filter this list and to validate the presence of a pedestrian. Preliminary results show that the combined use of two vision systems as well as the use of different and independent validation steps enable the system to effectively detect pedestrians in different conditions of illumination and background.

Scenario-driven search for pedestrians aimed at triggering non-reversible systems

Abstract: This paper presents the results of an innovative approach to pedestrian detection for automotive applications in which a non-reversible system is used; therefore the aim is to reach a very low false detection rate, ideally zero, by searching for pedestrians in specific areas only.

Road to Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems: A Decade's Success

Abstract: The paper discusses the journal efforts on intelligent transport systems. 2009 marks the end of the first decade of our IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems (T-ITS). Over the past ten years, we have experienced various ups and downs, but we survived, and now, we thrive. In this last issue of the passing decade, the Founding, Past, and Current Editors in Chief would like to join everyone in celebrating the tenth anniversary of this great journal. We would like to take this opportunity to share some ideas and reflections on the past, present, and future of this publication.

Boat Speed Monitoring Using Artificial Vision

Abstract: This paper describes a method to detect, measure the speed, and extract statistics of boats moving on a wide water surface using a single image stream taken from grayscale camera. The approach is based on a background subtraction technique combined with classification and tracking to improve robustness; it provides a stable detection even with sea waves and strong light reflections. The method returns correct speed values within the range ±5% in the 97% of use cases. The algorithm has been integrated in a speed warning prototype system on the Burano island in Venice, monitoring a 250 m wide channel slice. Images are captured by a high resolution camera and processed on site in real-time. Processing results can be accessed remotely for monitoring purposes. The system has been up and running for more than two years.

The Road to Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems: A Decade's Success [Transactions on ITS]

Abstract: As the year draws to a close, it marks the end of the first decade of our IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems (T-ITS). Over the past 10 years, we experienced various ups and downs, but we survived and now we thrive. In this last issue of the passing decade, the Founding, Past and Current Editors in Chief would like to join everyone in celebrating the 10th anniversary of this great journal. We would like to take this opportunity to share some ideas and reflections on the past, present, and future of this publication.

Camera-Based Automotive Systems

Abstract: This chapter addresses the most important issues involved in the selection, installation, and calibration of a camera system onboard a vehicle, taking into consideration all the specific characteristics of the automotive environment and the requirements of the various applications.