Autonomous Systems Lab

Before a new autonomous system is set loose in the world, it must be thoroughly tested. That's where the Autonomous Systems Lab at the UTA Research Institute (UTARI) steps in. Small companies that develop technologies to control autonomous vehicles or to counter unmanned aircraft system (UAS) applications often do not have the ability to test their technology. The Autonomous Systems Lab has the expertise and equipment to design, test, and program robots and unmanned vehicles—often in tandem with small businesses—to ensure that they will perform as expected.

“The sheer number of vehicles we have and the amount of space available to us allow us to do all kinds of testing, from heterogeneous swarms of robots to augmented reality to a system that can track human motion inside a building,” says Nick Gans, UTARI's division head for Automation and Intelligent Systems. “We also provide research and design support to test autonomous systems indoors and outdoors, and we can provide access to other technologies that most small companies don't have.”

This fall, UTARI is beginning construction on a massive outdoor testing facility for both unmanned aerial and ground vehicles (UAVs and UGVs), giving researchers the ability to take on more complex tasks with larger groups of unmanned vehicles. ₪