A Delay-Tolerant Potential-Field-Based Network Implementation of an Integrated Navigation System
This work addresses the problem of simplifying and enhancing unmanned ground vehicle navigation for operators, though it appears incremental as it builds on prior network controller implementations.
The paper tackled the design of a network controller using the Internet to integrate a webcam, unmanned ground vehicle, and remote server for real-time navigation, aiming to deskill the process while maintaining robust performance, with experimental results and comparisons to a previous implementation provided.
Network controllers (NCs) are devices that are capable of converting dynamic, spatially extended, and functionally specialized modules into a taskable goal-oriented group called networked control system. This paper examines the practical aspects of designing and building an NC that uses the Internet as a communication medium. It focuses on finding compatible controller components that can be integrated via a host structure in a manner that makes it possible to network, in real-time, a webcam, an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), and a remote computer server along with the necessary operator software interface. The aim is to deskill the UGV navigation process and yet maintain a robust performance. The structure of the suggested controller, its components, and the manner in which they are interfaced are described. Thorough experimental results along with performance assessment and comparisons to a previously implemented NC are provided.