01001486

Monograph

http://onlinepubs.trb.org...y/NCHRP90_Final_Report.pdf

This Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) project was aimed at developing a robotic safety marker system consisting of mobile signs, barrels, cones, and other safety devices to provide safety to workers in the work zone. A robotic safety marker system was designed along with a global laser-based sensor system capable of locating barrels up to 80 m away with an accuracy of a few centimeters. Following the design and fabrication of a robot safety sign to complement the safety barrel robots, a functional system was produced by full integration of the global planning, sensing and communication systems. Both the global and local control schemes were tested without involving a human in the loop. The desired and actual paths for each robot showed good agreement. The control algorithm was successfully used for the relative movements of the robots and the global sensor. A new tracking system software was created to allow the global sensor to track the location of the barrels in real time, and an initial test successfully tracked a group of five robots in a realistic environment. The new tracking software should help develop a new control algorithm that will allow continuous motion of the barrel robots. Initial tests on sign robots were also conducted. Movies on project results showing moving safety robots can be viewed at http://robots.unl.edu/projects/current/barrelrobots/index.html.

This NCHRP-IDEA investigation was conducted by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

NCHRP IDEA Project 90

English

29p

2005-4

NCHRP-IDEA Program Project Final Report

Final Report

Print

Figures; Photos; References

Algorithms; Communication systems; Robotics; Sensors; Signs; Software; Technological innovations; Tracking systems; Traffic cones; Work zone safety; Work zone traffic control

Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) (Program)

Barrels

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I73: Traffic Control

TRIS, TRB

Jun 30 2005 3:22PM