PAVE has worked on a variety of robotics projects. Our most recent work includes the ongoing augmentation and enhancement of the capabilities of Prospect 12, an autonomous vehicle we entered into the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, and Argos, Our entry in the 2009 Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC).

Prospect 12

PAVE continues to work on Prospect 12, the autonomous vehicle platform we entered into the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. Our failure to make it to the finals in the DARPA Urban Challenge highlighted several weaknesses in our previous system. Our current efforts focus on rebuilding our electromechanical systems to be more robust, as well as improving our software algorithms. Our current goal is to have the vehicle successfully complete the road-test portion of the New Jersey State Driver’s Exam. Future research will augment the vehicle’s capabilities to handle traffic and road conditions beyond the scope of the DARPA Urban Challenge.

Learn more about Prospect 12.

Autonomous Recognition and Manipulation (ARM)

PAVE started the ARM project at the end of 2009 to develop a new software test bed for object recognition code while working on interesting hardware and design problems. The ARM team has set out to create a small robotic arm with the ability to autonomously identify and manipulate objects in a crowded environment. We are currently working on construction of several components of the arm and have begun development of control software. The immediate goal of our future work is to complete the hardware components of the arm.

Learn more about ARM.

2010 Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition

Phobetor is PAVE ‘s entry into the 2010 IGVC. Based on the design of Argos, Phobetor is the group’s third autonomous platform that builds off of the experience of previous years. Designed to be a more robust, modular and advanced platform that its predecessors, it is a 270 lb robot that represents the culmination of three years of hardware and software innovation. Phobetor won acclaim in the 2010 IGVC design challenge, allowing the Princeton team to take 2nd place in the category.

Learn more about Phobetor, or visit the official IGVC website for more information on the competition.

2009 Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition

In 2009, PAVE once again returned to compete in the IGVC with Argos, a 280 lb robot based on its predecessor but redesigned to be more maneuverable and agile. Building on the experience gained from Kratos in the 2008 IGVC, the team made numerous software improvements that resulted in a 1st place finish in the Navigation (waypoint-following) Challenge.

Learn more about Argos.

2008 Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition

Following the Urban Challenge, PAVE entered the 2008 Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition. The team designed and built Kratos, a 200 lb. autonomous ground robot. Using only a single color stereo camera for sensing, Kratos navigated grass fields strewn with fences, trash bins, cones and other static obstacles. It also performed lane-following challenges while avoiding an array of obstacles. PAVE won 1st place for its Technical Paper and Presentation; won 4th place in the waypoint-following challenge; and won 6th place in the lane-following challenge. Overall, the team finished 3rd among 47 teams and won the Rookie-of-the-year award.

Learn more about Kratos.

2007 DARPA Urban Challenge

For the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, the Ford Motor Company graciously donated a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid that we modified for drive-by-wire operation and named Prospect Twelve. The vehicle’s complex autonomous system passed under scrutiny in several DARPA milestones, including a 5-minute video demonstration, a Technical Paper submission and a Site Visit evaluation. PAVE was invited to the National Qualifying Event as one of 35 semifinalists teams, out of an original field of 89 entrants. Unfortunately, Prospect Twelve was not selected as one of the 11 finalists in the Urban Challenge.

Learn more about our involvement in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge or visit the official 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge Website.

2005 DARPA Grand Challenge

PAVE entered the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge with a silver pickup truck named Prospect Eleven. After successfully passing a site-visit evaluation and numerous runs at the semifinals event, Prospect Eleven was seeded 10th out of 23 entrants who were selected to compete in the final race. Ultimately, a memory leak caused the vehicle to shut down after 9.5 miles of autonomous travel. After the conclusion of the Grand Challenge, the bug was fixed by changing one line of code. In November of 2005, the group returned to the desert and Prospect Eleven subsequently navigated the majority of the 2004 and 2005 Grand Challenge Courses under autonomous control.

Learn more about our involvement in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge or visit the official 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge Website.