Prototyping an autonomous delivery vehicle

Abstract In this paper, we describe the hardware and software components of a fully autonomous prototype delivery vehicle. Equipped with a robotic arm, the demonstrator is capable of delivering packages and picking up new ones by interacting with custom-made delivery boxes. As highly accurate positioning w. r. t. a box is required for successful handover of packages, we track the pose (position and orientation) of the box using a high-resolution on-board camera. The resulting estimate is relayed to our planning and control modules, which ensure that the vehicle reaches its required pose with centimeter-level accuracy. In order to deliver packages, the car needs to autonomously navigate our test facility, avoiding static and dynamic obstacles while obeying simple traffic rules. As one focus is on the practical challenges encountered when building a prototype, we cover issues ranging from sensor calibration and system identification to perception, planning, control, and the implementation of high-level behaviors. While some of the proposed solutions to these problems are not necessarily novel, they allowed us to demonstrate the vehicle’s capabilities after a development phase of less than 12 months.