Autonomous navigation and sensor integration

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Argo, a division of Ontario Drive and Gear, develops, builds and sells top of the line Utility Task Vehicles (UTVs). These UTVs are simple in design and lend themselves well to traversing rugged terrain. As an extension of this work, the Robotics Division of Argo has developed a robust robotic platform called the J5. The J5 is the result of years of research in the design and testing of terrestrial rovers for the Canadian Space Agency. Though the J5 has a mechanically sound design, its control system is rather rudimentary using only remote control or tele-operation for navigation. Argo has approached the Robotics Institute at the University of Guelph to help develop a novel control system for their J5 platform to help make it more autonomous. The use of automated aerial drones has exploded over the last 5 years with everybody from the military, to farmers, to hobbyists using them in one context or another. Terrestrial drones however have yet to become as prevalent. Argo plans to become the first to market with a relatively inexpensive, consumer priced, terrestrial drone that can be automated for a number of different uses. This new automated platform could allow for environmental sampling in remote or hostile locations, scouting for disease detection on farms, and for exploratory mining and logging operations. All of these projects are opportunities for companies to automate time-consuming tasks, make their operations more efficient, and reduce costs.