Robot Bus Low Level Control System Transformation to an Open-Source Solution
Heiko Pikner,
Raivo Sell,
Junyi Gu
February, 2024
Abstract
This paper presents an approach to transfer the whole set of low-level control systems from one robot bus i.e. autonomous shuttle to another one that has different specifications in electronics and mechanical perspectives. In this work, we executed a series of experiments to test the reliability and safety of the autonomous shuttle after transferring the critical control systems related to the steering and brakes into the shuttle. To fulfill the requirements to register an autonomous shuttle as a legal vehicle on the road in Estonia, we carried out several vital tests of the shuttle’s low-level control system. For example, we manually disconnected the different subsystems to simulate the sudden failure to check whether the shuttle acts with the corresponding protocols (i.e., when the steering Control Area Network fails, the shuttle should initiate the braking and cut off the high-voltage power). This paper proves the possibility of transferring the low-level control systems between the different models of the autonomous shuttle without risking encountering safety/reliability-related issues. Our open-source solution will be helpful for the practical promotion and commercialization of autonomous shuttles in the future.
Publication
American Institute of Physics Conference Proceedings