Overview of technology
Simulator software for testing ground vehicle autonomy systems in off-road and environmental conditions.
Background of technology
As software and sensors that enable autonomous navigation in ground vehicles become more complex, so does the task of testing these systems for safety and reliability. A vital part of autonomous vehicles is a forensic analysis of complex neural networks in an emergency or accident. However, this technology is not available or produced as fast as the rate of autonomous automobiles or companies developing in-house autonomous automobiles to serve their specific goal.
Technology Description
MAVS (Mississippi State University Autonomous Vehicle Simulator) is a software tool that addresses the gap for simulating self-driving ground vehicles in off‑road environments. MAVS allows autonomous vehicle setups to be created to the user’s specifications and uses state‑of‑the‑art computing techniques to generate realistic synthetic data for laser rangers (LIDAR), cameras, and GPS sensors to enable virtual experimentation for autonomous ground vehicles. This allows forensic data to be evaluated. Simulations can run in real‑time or accelerated‑time.
MAVS currently has a technology readiness level of 5 (technology demonstration capable), and is going through QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control). Additional features are also being developed like dust and fog environmental settings.
Benefits
Opportunity
This technology is seeking a licensing partner, particularly in appeal to developers looking to package the technology into their product/service.