System-Level Testing and Evaluation Plan for Field Robots: A Tutorial with Test Course Layouts

Field robotics is a very important sub-field of robotic systems, focusing on systems which need to navigate in open, unpredictable terrain and perform non-repetitive missions while monitoring and reacting to their surroundings. General testing and validation standards for larger robotic systems, inc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: William R. Norris, Albert E. Patterson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-09-01
Series:Robotics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2218-6581/8/4/83
Description
Summary:Field robotics is a very important sub-field of robotic systems, focusing on systems which need to navigate in open, unpredictable terrain and perform non-repetitive missions while monitoring and reacting to their surroundings. General testing and validation standards for larger robotic systems, including field robots, have not been developed yet due to a variety of factors including disagreement over terminology and functional/performance requirements. This tutorial presents a generalized, step-by-step system-level test plan for field robots under manual, semi-autonomous/tele-operated, and autonomous control schemes; this includes a discussion of the requirements and testing parameters, and a set of suggested safety, communications, and behavior evaluation test courses. The testing plan presented here is relevant to both commercial and academic research into field robotics, providing a standardized general testing procedure.
ISSN:2218-6581