Title: Quantitative assessment of modelling and simulation tools for autonomous navigation of military vehicles over off-road terrains

Authors: Michael Cole; Cesar Lucas; Kumar Kulkarni; Daniel Carruth; Christopher Hudson; Paramsothy Jayakumar; David Gorsich

Addresses: US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Ground Vehicle Systems Center, Warren, MI, 48397, USA ' US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Ground Vehicle Systems Center, Warren, MI, 48397, USA ' US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Ground Vehicle Systems Center, Warren, MI, 48397, USA ' Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA ' Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA ' US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Ground Vehicle Systems Center, Warren, MI, 48397, USA ' US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Ground Vehicle Systems Center, Warren, MI, 48397, USA

Abstract: Autonomous systems are the future of the Army and Ground Vehicle Systems Center has aligned itself accordingly to support unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) development. Physically testing autonomous algorithms and vehicle systems can be expensive and time consuming, a problem addressed by the use of modelling and simulation (M&S) tools. A multitude of both Government owned and commercial off-the-shelf tools (COTS) are widely available, all claim to virtually evaluate autonomous ground vehicles operating on various environments and scenarios. Most of the COTS tools primarily focus on the commercial automotive industry where vehicles are driven in a structured environment. In this paper two M&S tools, viz., Autonomous Navigation Virtual Environment Laboratory (ANVEL) and rover analysis modelling and simulation (ROAMS) are evaluated for military applications, where the demands for navigation include both on-road and off-road, as well as both structured and unstructured environments as a preliminary benchmark.

Keywords: mobility; autonomy; soft soil; simulation; algorithms; ANVEL; Autonomous Navigation Virtual Environment Laboratory; ROAMS; rover analysis modelling and simulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVP.2020.109192

International Journal of Vehicle Performance, 2020 Vol.6 No.3, pp.327 - 355

Received: 25 Nov 2019
Accepted: 03 Dec 2019
Published online: 01 Sep 2020 *

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