Researchers Shathushan Sivashangaran and Azim Eskandarian, affiliated with Virginia Tech, have developed a groundbreaking experimental vehicle platform designed to advance research in connected autonomy and all-terrain applications. Their innovation, XTENTH-CAR, offers a scalable, cost-effective solution for testing autonomous vehicle technologies in controlled environments.
XTENTH-CAR is a one-tenth scaled experimental vehicle platform that replicates the physics of full-size on-road vehicles. This proportional scaling allows researchers to conduct experiments in compact, safe, and cost-efficient settings, addressing the challenges of time and expense associated with full-size vehicle testing. The platform is equipped with state-of-the-art components, including the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin System on Module (SOM), stereo cameras, and 2D LiDAR, which enable advanced perception, motion planning, and control research.
One of the key features of XTENTH-CAR is its compatibility with both versions of the Robot Operating System (ROS 1 & ROS 2), thanks to open-source Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) drivers. This flexibility allows researchers to incorporate computationally intensive algorithms, such as Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL), into their experiments. The platform’s design ensures that it can be used for a wide range of applications, including disaster response, automated mining, agriculture, military operations, search and rescue missions, and even planetary exploration.
The researchers emphasize that XTENTH-CAR is designed to increase the accessibility of experimental research in connected autonomy and all-terrain ground vehicles. By providing a low-cost, open-source platform with complete autonomous vehicle hardware and software architectures, XTENTH-CAR enables efficient cross-platform development between small-scale and full-scale vehicles. This innovation is particularly relevant for defence and security sectors, where testing autonomous systems in real-world conditions can be both dangerous and expensive.
The development of XTENTH-CAR represents a significant step forward in the field of autonomous vehicle research. Its scalable design and advanced capabilities make it a valuable tool for researchers and developers looking to push the boundaries of connected autonomy and all-terrain applications. As the defence and security sectors continue to explore the potential of autonomous systems, platforms like XTENTH-CAR will play a crucial role in accelerating innovation and ensuring the safety and effectiveness of these technologies. Read the original research paper here.