Autoware Center of Excellence Launched
The Autoware Foundation is excited to announce the launch of the Autoware Center of Excellence (CoE) located at the Pennovation Center near the University of Pennsylvania campus.
The Autoware CoE will be led by Professor Rahul Mangharam from the University of Pennsylvania General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab with the objective of bringing together industry and academia to advance Autonomous Driving (AD) technology based on Autoware Open-Source Software. The Autoware CoE will work closely with the technical working groups of the Autoware Foundation to create opportunities for students and academia to perform advanced AD research, as well as participate in the development of Autoware Core functionality used in commercial applications and deployments of autonomous vehicles worldwide. In addition, the Autoware CoE will work closely with university professors to developed Autoware based AD education programs allowing students work with actual autonomous vehicles capable of operating on public roads.
Autoware Center of Excellence will bring together Industry and Academia to advance autonomous driving solutions based on Autoware Open Source Software
The Autoware CoE is housed in one of the Garage labs located on the ground level of the Pennovation Center. The CoE lab space will include equipment and resources for AD software development, as well as storage of autonomous vehicles to be used in research and development testing.
Day 1: Autoware CoE Director, Professor Rahul Mangharam opens the CoE Garage lab
“The Autoware CoE for autonomous driving was setup because we believe that all machines that move people and goods will have a significant element of autonomy”, said Rahul Mangharam, Director of the Autoware CoE. “Our goal is to develop OpenAV software for OpenEV platforms. As electric vehicle platforms get standardized, we produce production-grade open-source autonomy software stacks for systems in logistics, material handling, cargo delivery, last-mile and closed-system transportation solutions. Our team of engineers develop the autonomous driving modules of perception, planning and control to lower the barrier of entry and expand the availability of autonomous driving capability for industry, government and researchers. The CoE enjoys collaboration of the Penn PRECISE Center for Safe Autonomous Systems, Penn DoT Mobility21 National University Transportation Center and Penn GRASP Robotics Laboratory to serve as a physical developer laboratory for over 60 Autoware partners.”
The Pennovation Center also provides access to meeting spaces which can be used to host training and education events. One of the first of such events hosted at the CoE was an Autoware bootcamp for university students to learn the fundamentals of Robot Operating System (ROS) and Autoware. A key objective of the bootcamp was to enable students to begin developing with Autoware. The students were tasked with developing a Drive-by-Wire driver update for an autonomous vehicle such that it would be compatible with the latest version of Autoware. Future Autoware bootcamps to be conducted at the CoE will tackle development and testing of complex functions of the AD software (e.g. computer vision/perception, planning/control algorithms).
Autoware Bootcamp: Students from University of Pennsylvania (including students visiting from Prague) and University of Buffalo attend the Autoware bootcamp at CoE
Hands-on Experience: Students downloading the newly developed Drive-by-Wire driver software into an Autoware based autonomous vehicle
Real-world Testing: Drive-by-Wire driver software is tested on an Autoware based autonomous vehicle at the Autoware CoE
Stay tuned for more exiting news and developments coming from the Autoware Center of Excellence!
About Pennovation Center
The Pennovation Works is anchored by the Pennovation Center, a business incubator and laboratory that aligns and integrates researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs for the commercialization of research discoveries. Intended to marry entrepreneurs with an expert workforce and scientifically advanced facilities, key features of the Pennovation Center are the common creative spaces, including coworking areas, a cafe, and a venue for events and programs.
Additional information about the Pennovation Center can be found at the following link.
