Background
Many modern cars are equipped with a system of parking cameras that provides the driver with 360 degree birds-eye view during low speed driving. This is very useful when maneuvering in tight spaces such as parking houses. The autonomous ferry milliAmpere 2 may also have to maneuver in confined spaces, between other boats of various sizes in the Trondheim City Canal. It is equipped with several cameras, which together will provide a full 360 degree view. However, these have so far been primarily intended as a data source for autonomous operation.
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| 360 Degree Camera on a Mercedes. |
Scope
The goal of this project is to develop a system that enables the operator of milliAmpere 2 to obtain 360 degree vision around milliAmpere 2, to improve the operator’s situational awareness during remote control.
Proposed Tasks for the 5th year project
In the 5th year project the goal is to develop a system for image stitching, fusion and transformation that can be used to achieve the 360 degree vision.
- Calibrate cameras.
- Chose and implement a solution for synchronsiation. Should all cameras be triggered simultaneously, or do you want to fuse images slightly apart in time?
- Record test data.
- Derive correct transformations to obtain a bird eye view.
- Implement a method for fusing the images.
- Assess the suitability of the implementation for remote control.
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| milliAmpere 2 pictured 15th of June 2021. The cabinets for cameras can be seen. |
Proposed Tasks for the master thesis
Several variations of the subsequent master thesis are possible. All of these are focused on making the image stitching system into a more elaborate system for situational awareness. Possible tasks may include some of the following:
- Make a real-time fused video stream onboard milliAmpere 2.
- Make a complete system for transferring the fused video stream to the shore control centre at Nyhavna.
- Integrate sensor fusion and automated situational awareness from the autonomy system into the fused video stream.
- Would it be useful to install additional downwards tilted cameras on milliAmpere 2 or stationary surroundings to further improve the operator’s situational awareness?
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| The shore control centre at Nyhavna where a remote operator may be located. |
Autoferry
The candidate will be associated with the AUTOFERRY project, which is about the concept of small autonomous passenger ferries in urban areas as a more flexible and environmentally-friendly alternative to bridges or manned ferries. The candidate will also collaborate with researchers in SFI AUTOSHIP, which is an 8-years research-based innovation centre that will contribute to Norwegian players taking a leading role in the development of autonomous ships for safe and sustainable operations.
Contact
Supervisor: Edmund F. Brekke.
Prerequisites
The candidate should have taken the course TTK4255 Robotic Vision or similar before beginning this 5th year project.
References
- Brekke, E. et al. (2022): “milliAmpere: An Autonomous Ferry Prototype”, To appear in Proc. ICMASS.
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| Link to video of milliAmpere autonomy demonstration. |