United Rentals
Autonomous Testing Robot

United Rentals Autonomous Testing Robot – Hero

We set out to create a scalable autonomous testing solution that gathers information and provides insights about future modifications and retesting

The Challenge

We needed to tackle the challenge of decreasing downtime for testing larger vehicles, easily fine-tuning sensors, and creating a more efficient engineering development process overall. The solution lay in a robot designed specifically to gather actionable data, optimizing development when building larger autonomous vehicles.

Our Solution

Autonomous vehicles start small before progressing to larger, more sophisticated solutions. We strategized about how to create a manageable robot that serves as a mobile testing platform. We fit the solution with various sensors that provide information for modification, allowing our team to identify opportunities for resting and additional fine-tuning before advancing to future stages of development.

Key Contributors

Griffin Dziok
Griffin Dziok
Chaise Conn
Chaise Conn
M Kusold
M Kusold
Andrew Hwang
Andrew Hwang
Xiao Ai
Xiao Ai
Kevin Ulrich
Kevin Ulrich
Adam Jentzsch
Adam Jentzsch
Yanick Duchesne
Yanick Duchesne
Mariana Araújo
Mariana Araújo
Mark Nader
Mark Nader
Anthony Walker
Anthony Walker
Jeff Alexander
Jeff Alexander
Steve Hulet
Steve Hulet
Aravind Ravi
Aravind Ravi
Julia Yemelianov
Julia Yemelianov
Jeff Dance
Jeff Dance
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Planning for autonomous mobility

Autonomous vehicles can increase work productivity by utilizing technology to optimize speed, efficiency, and safety. Removing operator error and adding numerous safety sensors results in fewer accidents and is more capable of accident avoidance. The robot allowed us to understand how similarly operated vehicles would behave in the field.

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Testing for real-world scenarios

Creating a smaller robotics platform allows for less downtime and testing on larger vehicles in simulated and real-world environments. Our robots gather various information such as Lidar and visual data to make sense of the world around them, allowing us to improve technology in the field.

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