SBIR Phase I: Robotic Pavement Marking

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过使有效的视觉街道标记更负担得起和更容易获得来提高道路安全。这将通过设计一种智能移动机器人系统来实现，该系统使用先进的定位和机器视觉来自动化产生精确创建和准确放置的道路标记的过程。该项目将通过移动平台推动机器人配料地理定位的精度极限。由此产生的系统将极大地提高道路喷漆的效率，提供更高的精度、速度和灵活性，同时降低运营商的风险，减少交通拥堵，并通过增强标记支持更大的道路安全。这项工作的成功将在道路喷漆以外的领域得到应用，包括更广泛的自动化材料分配，以及用于制造的智能移动操纵。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将解决在所需位置自动创建特定道路标记的挑战。这项研究将包括：移动机器人的设计优化，用于大面积、精确的绘画；用于移动机器人精确定位的传感器融合；精确的手眼校准；以及能够执行基于定位、机器视觉和3-D表面扫描的空间调整的复杂填充图案的自适应覆盖算法的开发。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is increasing road safety by making effective visual street markings more affordable and accessible. This will be achieved through the design of an intelligent mobile robotic system using advanced localization and machine vision to automate the process of producing road markings that are precisely created and accurately placed. The project will push the limits of accuracy of geolocation of robotic material dispensing via a mobile platform. The resulting system will dramatically improve efficiency of road painting, offering greater precision, speed, and flexibility while reducing risk to operators, reducing traffic congestion, and supporting greater road safety through enhanced markings. Success in this effort will have applications beyond road painting, including automated material dispensing more broadly, and intelligent mobile manipulation for manufacturing.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address the challenges of automating creation of specific road markings at desired locations. The research will include: design optimization of the mobile robot for large-area, precision painting; sensor fusion for precision localization of the mobile robot; precision hand/eye calibration; and development of adaptive coverage algorithms capable of executing complex fill patterns adjusted spatially based on localization, machine vision and 3-D surface scanning.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.