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Biologically-Inspired
Terrain-Based Localization
For millions of years, our ancestors kept track of their location and orientation by looking at invariant features in far distance. The same method is used here as a means to estimate a vehicle's orientation in space, for example matching a real image (above left) to a virtual one (above right). These estimates are important because several key chassis instabilities of a vehicle, namely sliding and rollover, require accurate knowledge of a vehicle's angular orientation in space.
See my Research page for more information.

Terrain-Aware Robotics
High-speed operation of autonomous mobile robots
is challenged by the impact of terrain features on the dynamics and stability of
the chassis. This video shows a new tank robot platform, the Tankbot, that is
currently being used to study high-speed dynamic models, human-vehicle
interaction, and autonomous and driver-assist control of these vehicles. See my Research page for more information.
[AVI 15Mb]
[WMV 2Mb]
to the Intelligent Vehicles and Systems Group at Penn State University, the research group primarily affiliated with and maintained by Dr. Sean Brennan and his colleagues and detailing their interest in vehicle dynamics, control, sensing, and embedded systems. This is a very new site*, so keep checking back regularly for updates.
Contact me at sbrennan@psu.edu.
| Jan 23, 2012 | Andrew Whalen passes his Ph.D. candidacy exam |
| Sep 06, 2011 | Alex Brown and Jesse Pentzer pass their Ph.D. candidacy exam |
| Jul 15, 2011 | Sanket Amin has his M.S. defense, "Determining the Uncertainty of a GPS-based Collision Vehicle Detection System", in Room 214, Reber Building, 9:00 am - 10:30 am |
| Apr 28, 2011 | Sneha Kadetotad has her M.S. defense, "Terrain-aided Localization using Feature-based Particle Filtering", in Room 127, EE East, 10:30 am - 11:30 am |
| Apr 20, 2011 | Tejas Varunjikar has his M.S. defense, "Design of Horizontal Curves with Downgrades using Low-order Vehicle Dynamics Models", in Room 121, Reber Building, 10:30 am - 11:30 pm |
| (more) |
Dr. Brennan's Teaching Portal
Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
The Pennsylvania Transportation Institute
* Web page design courtesy of Jack Langelaan, 2007_02_20