July 7th 2006:
Team CIMAR will compete as Team Gator Nation in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge.
New Website

March 2nd 2006:
Journal of Field Robotics Paper

October 5th:
Were in! Team CIMAR has been selected as a finalist in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. 23 teams were selected after a week at the National Qualification Event at the California speedway. The poll positions have not yet been announced. We move to Primm Nevada tomorrow.

September 29th:
We did not run today as they are going to start the second round on Friday. We may not even run on Friday as we are late in the rotation. I think we are in about 5-7 place so far... not really sure... Here is the video of the first run:
NQE1_short
NQE1_long
NQE1_high_Res

Pictures

September 28th:
We ran the QID on the first try with a time of approx 13 minutes. We are in about 3rd or 4th place at the moment with about 20 teams attempting. We were the 3rd team to make it all the way. We will probably not run again until Friday.

September 23rd:
We ran the Stoddard Wells road out and back for a total of 39 miles. Top speeds of 20mph. Tomorrow we will up the speeds...

September 21st:
Walkin the Dog

Speed testing at Slash X:
We spent today out at the Slash X doing our first real speed testing. Up until now we have been basically running at 8-12mph and have never even attempted to go faster. Today we created a squared out figure 8 with straight sections approximately 300 meters long. We started at 8mph, ran it twice and then upped the speed 10mph. We continued the process until we reached 20mph. At 20mph the vehicle is rock solid and looks like it could go much faster but I would like to get more time in at 20 before pushing it. Wednesday we will experimentally determine our max obstacle avoidance speed by going through the same drill with barrels in the path.

Speed Test Video

Sptember 19th: "copy of team email update"

Team,

We have been working from 7:00am to 7:00pm every day and are making
steady progress...

Friday Sept 16th:
We continued to upgrade, add features and fix bugs. Basically we were
able to run the full 4 mile path (Stoddard near hotel) out into the
desert and back several times by the end of the day.

Saturday Sept 17th:
1. We moved over to the Slash/X, a little off road racing bar out in the
middle of no where and the start point for the GC 04.
2. We setup to run the first part of the Grand Challenge 04 route.
3. Team Terramax and Axion Racing were also there testing.
4. We had to fix several problem:
- replaced Path Finder (PF) mother board
- Added third LADAR and second Terrain Smart Sensor (TSS) computer
-
5. We ran the GC04 route several times. The first time it appeared that
the GPS was off and the vehicle moved off to one side of the road until
it could no longer fit between what was left of the road and the bushes
on the side of the road. The second run was perfect all the way to the
gate (approx 2 miles). The third run was a bit off but made it all the
way to the gate again. We then created a more difficult path, purposly
recording it off to the side of the road to see if the NaviGATOR could
find the road. (it did not). We finished the day manually driving the
course tweaking the sensors. Got back to the hotel in time for the last
three minutes of the game. Go Gators!

Sunday Sept 18th:
Team Terramax gave us one of there RDDF's (a route they created for
testing). So we headed out early at 6:30 to see if we could run it. We
setup about 5 miles north of the Slash/X at the beginning of the path.
We fought through two bugs for most of the day that were related to the
way Terramax created their RDDF. 1. they had waypoints right on top of
each other and 2 they had consecutive sections that were exactly
parallel. We fixed both problems but it took most of the day. While
that was going on we worked on:
- swapped a LADAR unit
- fixed two computers (power cord came out of one (AC), RAM problem on
the other (SA))
- upgraded the Boundary Smart Sensor (BSS) to allow us to get into the
boundaries a bit more but with a higher cost of traversability to the
planner.
- upgraded the Terrain Smart Sensor and Path Finder software
- we lost Jay's main research computer do to hard disk failure

Finally, at 4:00pm we restarted the entire system and started off on the
TerraMAx run. Now keep in mind that this route was given to us and we
had not even driven it manually ahead of time and so we did not know
where it would lead. We also were not having much luck the whole day so
we were not expecting to go far and so we did not pack any drinks and we
only had a little over 1/4 tank of gas in the NaviGATOR. Anyway, we hit
the run button and the NaviGATOR roars off at 10 miles per hour down the
path. After about 4 miles things are looking really good and its
running perfectly. next thing you know we start heading up into the
mountains. I expect we will make a turn and head back down but we just
keep climbing and its getting steeper. After about a 1000ft climb, its
starting to get really torturous. We are looking a cliffs on one side
and hills on the other with some serious washouts running across the
road. We are not ready for this level of difficulty! The NaviGATOR
drives on fearlessly as it weaves near the edge of the cliff in some
places. I am riding on the NaviGATOR with one foot resting on the
brake, one hand hanging on to the roll bar, and the other hand hovering
over the red kill button that I believe will stop the vehicle in about 6
feet if necessary. This goes on for about 2 miles until we crest the
ridge and start heading down. Now there is a new problem, as we come
over the top of hills the navigator overshoots on speed and you end up
going about 13-15 mph at the top of a steep hill headed down with cliffs
still on the side. NaviGATOR still shows no fear but passenger is
nervous...
Now I got a few problems but at least the NaviGATOR is built to handle
this type of terrain. The guys in the truck behind me however are
fighting with some problems of there own. The Ford F250 4X4 is great
for pulling the trailer, but it aint no picnic in the mountains. They
are getting bounced all over the road and having a difficult time just
keeping up with the NaviGATOR. Finally we make it down the other side
and come into a new problem. It's the desert and guess what the dessert
has a lot of? SAND! The NaviGATOR struggles a bit but makes it through
relatively easily. The truck on the other hand is in some real trouble.
Roberto hold back and then gets up some speed to make it through the
tough parts, running up on the banks and ridges of the road to keep
traction. Remember they guys in the truck are connected by a wireless
network and so they have to stay close to the NaviGATOR but can't pass
making it more difficult to not get stuck. Finally we hit the 10 mile
mark and expect to see the paved road at the end but we are out in the
middle of no-where. There are mountains all around and we are just
slowly driving along through them. The NaviGATOR is running so smoothly
now that I start to daydream and look around at the scenery without
really paying to much attention to the system. Its so thrilling because
none uf us had ever been there before and only the NaviGATOR actually
new where we were going. We ended up hitting back into the paved road
20 MILES from where we started. As Mike Griffis would say...We got a
chance...

David
PS. After that we had to drive the NaviGATOR 20 miles back to the camp.
Got the truck and trailer stuck after dark, 32 thousand pound Terramax
pulled us out. But that's another story...

RAW Video: 157M (PG-13, language)

August 25th
The NaviGATOR suffered a shock failure today during testing at CITRA. One of the rear shocks snapped and the engine and frame dropped onto the rear drive shaft and odometer gear. The sudden stop also caused the front sensor cage struts to break and the sensor cage collapsed forward. The cause of the failures have been determined and the damage is being assessed. So its back to the shop for design changes and repairs...

July 26th:
Team CIMAR has been assigned #08. Maybe we could get Junior to drive it...

July 22nd:
The NaviGATOR is at Eigenpoint getting a few upgrades. Redundant power supplies are being added to most systems including the vehicle itself. The "chunk" has been removed and all the wiring is being cleaned up, redistributed and routed better. We will be testing these changes soon and then get back to sensor integration including: Terrain LADAR, Path Finder, 3D-LADAR, Stereo, Preco-Radar, and VORAD-Radar.

July 1st:
Since making the semifinals, we have been going back and "shoring up" various systems. The vehicle is currently up at Georgia ATM getting a front hood, roof, benders, new bumper, new front differential, new 31 gallon gas tank (we may actually need it), new suspension, and more! The software is also getting an upgrade. Current focus is on the CORE JAUS messaging system as well as the Reactive Driver.

June 14th:
Today we demonstrated the NaviGATOR at Smiths Aerospace in Grand Rapids Michigan. It went very well and the folks at Smiths all came out to see it. They say there were some 2,000 people there. The event was covered by all the local television stations and the Grand rapids Press. Smiths has stepped up to help us once again by providing more support and it is greatly appreciated. We could not do this without them.

May 20th:
Team CIMAR runs 12 miles while avoiding 120 barrels.
Summary of run
Video of Run

April 20th:
New test site constructed.
Team CIMAR has constructed a new test site that includes a figure eight, oval, and tight switch backs. The largest rout is 1/3 mile. We hope to get the NaviGATOR out there this weekend.

April 4th:
Team CIMAR selected for site visit.
Team CIMAR has been selected as 1 of 118 teams out of 195 to receive a site visit from DARPA. Our site visit will take place on April 11th or 12th. We will be working 24/7 to put on the best show possible and secure one of the 40 spots available to proceed to the California Speedway in September.

March 9th:
Official Video Submitted
Click here for video

March 7th:
Basic Drive by Wire Achieved:
Progress continues as the enclosure is mounted in its unique vibration isolation system. The power system, including the two 130Amp alternators from Leece Neville, 4 batteries, and the two 4,800Watt invertors are installed. Wire, switches, fuses and meters are also installed. Animatics Smart Motor actuator systems are completed and are under "superboard" control. Next we build the Primitive Driver.

December 15th:
The NaviGATOR is in final assemble at Georgia ATM.

November 10th:
The NaviGATOR starts to take shape at Georgia ATM.