Explorer51 – Indoor Mapping, Discovery, and Navigation for an Autonomous Mobile Robot; Transportation Automation and Employment in the United States

Automation can increase productivity, reduce costs, improve safety, and relieve humans of drudgery, but it can also introduce new hazards and inequities, induce risk compensation, and displace employment.
With automation, search and rescue operations can be less difficult and hazardous. The research team designed a robotic rover to map search areas and tag points of interest. LiDAR and tracking and depth cameras collect data. The team used libraries and wrote software to turn sensor data into maps and to track positions on the map. Given more time, the team would have programmed the robot to move autonomously to a set position.
Automation may transform surface transportation. In the U.S., developers of automated vehicle systems seek jurisdictions where the regulations governing automated vehicles are lax. Professional drivers organize to protect their jobs from automation.

School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering
Technical Advisor: Madhur Behl
STS Advisor: Peter Norton
Technical Team Members: Gabriel Argush, Jessica Krynitsky, Brian McGuire, Dax Scott, Charlie Tolleson