VT&R Strikes Again!

Members of ASRL were at the Canadian Space Agency this week to help integrate our stereo visual teach and repeat (VT&R) algorithm with one of CSA's vehicles under the Robot Operating System (ROS).  This represents a big step forwards as CSA's new plan is provide ROS interfaces to all their new rovers in order to more easily share code and collaborate with external partners, including universities, in the future.  We had VT&R up and running in less than a day of integration, showing the strength of this approach.

Critical Mass

The Canadian Space Agency made a big announcement this week to let the world know about several planetary rover prototypes it has built over the last three years.  This came out of a $110M stimulus package announced by the Canadian Federal Government in January 2009.  The official CSA webpage can be found here.  A CBC article on the rover announcement can be found here.  Our lab was involved in the Mars Exploration Science Rover (shown at right) as well as the Lunar Exploration Light Rover; we provided algorithms for visual odometry, sun sensor attitude determination, and stereo visual teach and repeat.