Unmanned Systems Technology 036

80 In operation | Aurrigo shuttle for its operations, and before the shuttle would be activated, an extensive inspection checklist would be run through, which were divided into three sections. The first of these were standard automotive inspections, such as checking tyre pressures, wheel hub fasteners and transmission oil levels. Second, checks of the electric powertrain – particularly the battery pack’s state of health and state of charge – were carried out to ensure a full charge and optimal performance. Third, checks and diagnostics of the autonomy system – largely ping-type tests across the shuttle’s software and sensors – were carried out to ensure navigation data could be collected and used safely. Checks were also made on the automatic door, to ensure no touching was needed to enter or exit, with a full tank of dispensable hand sanitiser being placed by the entry. Playing through As indicated, the shuttle meshes GNSS, Lidar and camera data together to localise itself within a pre-constructed and uploaded map, and navigate its way towards its next waypoint. The Lidars and cameras are also key to the shuttle’s real- time sense & avoid capability, which was vital for driving around the resort as the roads were often cluttered with pedestrians such as camera crews and organisers, and other vehicles such as golf buggies. The shuttle has one frontal Lidar on its roof, with two more on its forward corners (one left, one right), and a ‘safety Lidar’ lower down the front face of the vehicle, near the forward bumper. That one is aimed at the road and has a 20 º radius. “That last one is effectively the last Lidar to catch anything running across the road,” Garner adds. “It is there mainly for emergencies in case something suddenly appears in front of the shuttle. “We used 16-layer Lidars at Celtic Manor, but we’re planning to use 32-layer scanners in our next trials. That said, Lidar technology changes quickly these days, and performance is getting better, especially in minimising interference from rain and snow, and in reducing system costs, so we’re routinely testing new systems from different manufacturers – even if we won’t do full integrations of new Lidars all the time because of how much we’d need to change our software to use them.” On the rear are two more corner Lidars, while eight COTS EO cameras are mounted around the shuttle’s perimeter, to produce images and point clouds of February/March 2021 | Unmanned Systems Technology The shuttle’s sensor and intelligence architecture is based on that of Aurrigo’s PodZero autonomous taxi Aurrigo’s technicians performed extensive pre- tournament mapping at Celtic Manor Resort to ensure the shuttle could be programmed to navigate the route independently