This project involved the development of hardware and controllers for line-of-sight (LOS) object tracking and automatic motion control of a 2-axis turret that is mounted on a mobile vehicle. An emulator for a 2-axis robotic turret was built and various control methodologies, such as bio-mimetic artificial reflex control and layered control schemes, were researched and developed for vehicle motion compensation and object tracking. The objective of the controllers was to automatically locate and maintain an object of interest within the line of sight of the turret while the vehicle and or the object were in motion. Inertial sensors were used to measure the pose of the vehicle during motion and cameras were used for vision based object detection and tracking. Mounting systems were also developed for the turret to dampen high frequency vibrations from the vehicle during motion over rough terrain.

Work on this project was funded by the by the united states army armament research, development and engineering center (ARDEC).