Waypoint Guided Control of An Unmanned Ground Vehicle

Abstract

Waypoint guidance and navigation are indispensable fields in the research in autonomous vehicles. Following user-defined paths and seeking goal locations is the main objective in waypoint guidance. In this work, an autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) is commanded to drive itself along a path defined by a series of waypoints, which will be userdefined through a mapping interface. In the case of autonomous navigation, the UGV employs Sharp IR proximity sensors, cameras, and Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to avoid obstacles and follow a set of GPS waypoints that define a path for the UGV to cover. It has to autonomously navigate through its surroundings and execute its mission; hence including obstacle detection and avoidance. This research consists of implementing an environment mapping system that can detect potential obstacles using real-time sensor data. Implementation will be done through National Instruments (NI) LabVIEW, with NI myRIO being used as the main processor. Data will be communicated through a wireless network