The Elcano Project is developing low-cost hardware and software kits to convert any vehicle to self-drive. We are concentrating on recumbent tricycles, since that produces a real people mover at a total cost of under $5000. Our kits could also be used in full-sized cars or toy RC cars.
The kits are based on Arduino microcontrollers, and allow you to connect them robustly into a compact, low power package. The open source software is written in C++ and can run on many other platforms. The basic package uses several processors:
Processing is supported by a set of custom circuit boards:
The low level processor is C2, which is concerned with the specific vehicle. Other processors form the high-level Artificial Intelligence.
The HighLevel board originally held three processors. However the C4 mapping processor software has outgrown the original Arduino Micro, and is now hosted on an Arduino Mega. The standard configuration uses an Arduino Mega for C6 and C4, and Arduino Micros for C3 and C5. The Mega SDK is a USB host and will interface to an Android smart phone.. The main communications link between processors is serial.
The C7 vision processor may be any suitable platform (such as Raspberry Pi), and communicates with C6 over USB at low-bandwidth. The link is restricted to text with images staying on the C7 processor. The C7 processor could be quite extensive, and incorporate V2V, I2V, radar and Lidar. The system will work without any C7 processor.
Unlike some other approaches to self-drive, we do not depend on the Cloud, Machine Learning or an Operating System. Our architecture gives a secure, deterministic core that cannot be hacked remotely. Software components are small enough to allow mathematically proving that they meet their specification.
Tyler C. Folsom
Email: [email protected]
Affiliate Professor
Division of Computing and Software Systems
School of Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
University of Washington Bothell
321B UW-1 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, WA 98011