The CyCab:: a car-like robot navigating autonomously and safely among pedestrians

The recent development of a new kind of public transportation system relies on a particular double-steering kinematic structure enhancing manoeuvrability in cluttered environments such as downtown areas. We call bi-steerable car a vehicle showing this kind of kinematics. Endowed with autonomy capacities, the bi-steerable car ought to combine suitably and safely a set of abilities: simultaneous localisation and environment modelling, motion planning and motion execution amidst moderately dynamic obstacles. In this paper we address the integration of these four essential autonomy abilities into a single application. Specifically, we aim at reactive execution of planned motion. We address the fusion of controls issued from the control law and the obstacle avoidance module using probabilistic techniques. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.