1 / 38

CajunBot: Lessons

CajunBot: Lessons. Arun Lakhotia The Center for Advanced Computer Studies. Agenda. DARPA Grand Challenge Future plans Lessons. Grand Challenge Track. Route Definition: Input. Terrain. 2005 Evaluation Process. Application: 195 Site visits: 116 Semi-finals: 43 Finals: 43 Finishers: 5.

trevor-camacho
Download Presentation

CajunBot: Lessons

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. CajunBot: Lessons Arun Lakhotia The Center for Advanced Computer Studies

  2. Agenda • DARPA Grand Challenge • Future plans • Lessons

  3. Grand Challenge Track

  4. Route Definition: Input

  5. Terrain

  6. 2005 Evaluation Process • Application: 195 • Site visits: 116 • Semi-finals: 43 • Finals: 43 • Finishers: 5

  7. CajunBot in Action

  8. CajunBot in Media

  9. National/International Media

  10. Local Media

  11. CajunBot Day in Louisiana

  12. Future

  13. DARPA Grand Challenge 2007 • Autonomous Vehicles in traffic • Model vehicles in cities • New issues • Detect other vehicles on road • Follow road rules (right of ways) • Challenge date • November 2007

  14. Unveiling CajunBot-II

  15. DOD: Robotic Systems • Single autonomous system not sufficient • DOD expects collection of autonomous robots

  16. Robotic Systems: Bottleneck • Critical path technology • Software • Human computer interface • Training of personnel • Testing requires • Need fully equipped, functioning vehicles • Trained personnel • Testing area • Our proposal: • Move testing and training to virtual world

  17. CajunBot in LITE

  18. Lessons Learned

  19. Lesson 1: Its all in the attitude • Louisiana attitude • Self-flogging • Focus on all that is wrong • Not appreciate what you have • Aim low, so you will not fail • CajunBot attitude • Impossible is nothing • Others earned their keep; we got to earn ours • Take your licks; and keep going for more

  20. CajunBot 4 Months => CajunBot March 2004 CajunBot MAX IV ATV Nov 2003 Started work Time line

  21. Lesson 2: Choose ‘Area’ wisely • Choice of area defines growth potential • Spent 10 years in ‘reverse engineering’ • Very difficult to attract students, collaborators, funds, media excitement • Entered Robotics three years ago • Several hundred thousand dollars from university • Over forty students ‘touched’ directly • Five collaborators • Several sponsors • Media overdose

  22. Lesson 3: Don’t box yourself • People identify themselves by their degrees and training: • Computer Scientist working on tools to reverse engineer legacy systems • Identity defines what you do • and also What you do not do • Most people are multifaceted • Degrees should not limit what you can do

  23. Computer Science/Engg guys changing transmission

  24. Lesson 4: Aim high, people will follow • Reasons for not aiming high • No support from community, family • Resources needed do not exist • CajunBot lesson • No dearth of resources in community • People love to support risk takers • Majors of Melville – gave ATV on a phone call • Chance of C&C – gave equipment worth several $100K • Lafayette Motors – new Jeep • Firefly – Web support • Pixus – Decals • Honda of Lafayette – Generator • “2 the max ATV” – a full new ATV to use for spare parts

  25. Angels in the Desert Gave new ATV to use as spare parts bin

  26. Attitude in Louisiana Consider ourselves second Limit ourselves on what we can do CajunBot experience shows Plenty of talents around Not enough opportunities to challenge the talent 2005 Team CajunBot Berwick High Baton Rouge High Catholic High, New Iberia Slidell High Kenner High Lafayette High Carencro Comeaux India, Nigeria, China Lesson 5: Do not underestimate your local talents

  27. Lesson 6: Buy, don’t build • Common attitude • I can build it myself • Will save money • CajunBot experience • Started with buying inexpensive equipment • Spent time in chasing wrong problems • Finally bought the more expensive equipment • People, even students, are not free • 2007 GC • Acquired the best sensors

  28. Lesson 7: Team fails, not individuals • Common attitude • Pin fault to an individual • CajunBot experience • Failures result from succession of poor judgment • Team succeeds together; team fails together

  29. Lesson 8: Choose competitors • Common wisdom: • You are defined by the company you keep • CajunBot experience: • You are defined by your competitors

  30. Lesson 9: Don’t underestimate your competitors • Common attitude • Gauge competition by their past performance • CajunBot experience • Team Gray of Gray Insurance Company outperformed us (and everyone else)

  31. Insurance company beat us

  32. Lesson 10: Have fun • Don’t take yourself too seriously • Excitement of challenge also wears off

More Related