A vision-based system that allows off-road vehicles to drive autonomously has been developed by a team at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI).

The technology is being positioned as a useful tool for the military, as well as space and agriculture clients. The system pairs stereo cameras with algorithms to eliminate the need for lidar and active sensors, which are typically used on autonomous vehicles meant for roads.

“We reflected on the toughest machine vision challenges and then focused on achieving dense, robust modelling for off-road navigation,” said research engineer Abe Garza.

The engineers developed a suite of tools known as the Vision for Off-Road Autonomy (VORA), which can perceive objects and model environments in real time to navigate.

Though highly reliable, lidar sensors used by many driverless cars today produce light that can be detected by hostile forces. Radar, which emits radio waves, is also detectable. With a focus on military clients, the VORA system has been designed...