Team DAD Digital Auto Drive

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Team DAD (Digital Auto Drive)

• Accelerating Change 2004
• November 6, 2004

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Agenda

• What is the DARPA Grand Challenge?
• Who is Velodyne/Team DAD?
• Technology Overview
• Grand Challenge I March, 2004
• Grand Challenge 2005 October, 2005
• Summary

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What is the DARPA Grand Challenge?

• DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)
  sponsored event
• A field test intended to accelerate research and
  development in autonomous ground vehicles that
  will help save American lives on the
  battlefield.
• Congressional Mandate 1/3 of all military
  vehicles will be autonomous by 2015
• Vehicles must travel 142 miles across rugged
  desert terrain autonomously
• Autonomously no external control whatsoever
• Vehicles follow a preset series of GPS waypoints
• Must detect and avoid obstacles automatically
• 2M prize to the vehicle completing the course in
  the best time

The vehicle that wins this event will be very
valuable indeed. - Dr. Anthony Tether Director,
DARPA
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Who is Velodyne?

• Velodyne Acoustics, Inc.
• Recognized industry leader in subwoofers at all
  price levels
• Founded in 1983 by Dave Hall
• Currently employs gt50, ships over 70,000
  subwoofers/yr.
• Patented, revolutionary servo subwoofer
  technology
• 7 other patents
• Use of TI technology
• Extensive use of 2407, 2401 DSP, other chips
• DSP logo used in print advertising, collateral

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Who is Team DAD?

• Grand Challenge participant
• Dave Hall / Velodyne driven RD project
• Uses extensive technological mastery of
• Automotive mechanics
• Robotics
• Servo control systems
• Vision systems
• DSP related electronics
• Velodyne provides RD platform, EE, mechanical,
  support, PR, marcomm resources

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Technology Overview

• Real-time stereo-imaging obstacle detection
  system
• Dual CCD cameras
• Dedicated over-clocked 1.1 GHz 6416 DSP per
  camera
• Creates a 3D terrain map 60 times per second
  based on pixel overlap
• Selects best course based on 100 possibilities
• Each route scored based on tilt, ramp, adherence
  to prescribed route
• State-of-the-art performance
• 36 billion pixel operations per second

Digital Auto Drive of Morgan Hill, California,
developed an innovative new robot vision system
that, leaders claim, nearly won them the race.
- Popular Mechanics
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Technology Overview (cont.)

• 2407 DSP used for all functions except vision
  system
• Vehicle Control
• CAN Bus based servo motor systems for brake,
  steering
• Hacked into Toyota Electronic Throttle
• GPS following
• Serial interface to Navcom GPS unit
• Dead Reckoning
• Gyros, accelerometers used to calculate vehicle
  position during GPS outages

We observed Team DAD's robot at the different
venues and noticed its apparently very smooth
motion - none of the abrupt stop-and-go action
noticeable in most other vehicles. Team DAD
credits its smooth motion to its low-level
control system that uses multiple DSP processors
and innovative algorithms.
- DARPA Independent Test and Evaluation Team
(ITET)
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Team DAD Approach

• Non-intrusive
• All electronics in one 1 x 2 box
• Steering, brake motors mounted unobtrusively
• Autonomous mode achieved through three simple
  switches

Also note-worthy is that all of the support
electronics, sensors and actuators were built
into the small truck so unobtrusively that the
vehicle was perfectly drivable by a human driver
on regular highways. - DARPA ITET
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Alternative Approaches

• Axion Racing (pictured, right)
• Stack of Dell rack mounts, other laptops, tower
  needed
• Team Caltech (below)
• Massive computers, extraneous hardware
• Red Team
• Numerous Itanium processors onboard

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DARPA Grand Challenge I

• Qualification event held week of 3-8-04
• 1.2 mile qualifying course
• Completed course 8 times, more than any other
  team
• Pole position 4th

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DARPA GC I (cont.)

• Left Starting gate at 645 AM on 3-13-04
• Smoothly left starting area
• Followed course, crossed road as planned
• Drove off into the desert (out of camera view)
• Mission Accomplished!

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DARPA GC I (cont.)

• Completed 6.0 miles on the DARPA GC course
• Hung on a rock after being paused by DARPA
• Finish position 3rd
• Sound bite One programming day away from
  winning
• Best finisher CMU Red Team (Pictured)
• 7.4 miles

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GC I - PR Opportunity Realized

• Press
• Covered by over 150 print, TV, radio and online
  media organizations
• 457 segments ran including
• ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, CBS
  Nightly News, CNN, NPR.
• Estimated print only ad equivalency 2.9M
• Numerous technical interviews discussing DSP
  technology
• TI promotional video
• Embedded Systems Conference Best of Show award

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Team DAD and Grand Challenge 2005

• October, 2005
• 2M prize
• Team DADs participation
• Possibly two vehicle entries
• Enhancement of obstacle detection
• Vision
• DSP-based laser
• Significant testing/ hardening
• Extended, proactive PR opportunities
• Chances of winning good to excellent

As I look back on the first race, you guys did
the best. - Dr. Tether, as spoken to Dave and
Bruce Hall, August 14, 2004
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TI and Grand Challenge 2005

• Message Building
• Innovation
• DSP for video
• Saving lives
• Brand Building
• Media relations
• Marcom to maintain
• Media exposure
• Ad equivalency ROI
• e.g. PBS/NOVA
• Special appearances
• e.g. CES Keynote
• Event presence
• Perk for special customers/employees
• Sales
• First mover in commercial/ military autonomous
  systems

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See You in October 2005!