More on Spirit, the PS3-aided autonomous SUV

Some days ago, we gave you word that a PS3 was aiding in attempts to drive a car up Colorado’s Pike Peak. We’ve got more information on that project by Axion Racing, as well as some video of the autonomous vehicle in action.

LinuxDevices is reporting that Axion Racing is using a PS3 running Linux to help the company with their unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV) project, known as “Spirit”. The Spirit UAV project outfits a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee with state-of-the-art cameras and sensor equipment in an attempt to make the Jeep drive itself.

Axion’s recent addition to the project was a PlayStation 3 unit housing Yellow Dog Linux. The said PS3 unit, along with the Linux system and additional software, would be used to “quickly examine information from a RGB road finding camera,” albeit to help with navigation on roads.

Axion is preparing Spirit to run in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, which has UAVs conducting “simulated military supply missions in a mock urban area.”

In the meantime, if you want to know more about Spirit, we’ve got a video that explains the different components that are used to drive the Grand Cherokee. This is from 2005 though, so it won’t actually showcase the PS3, but it does give you an idea of the kind of processing power they were looking for, something that the PS3 managed to give them in a sleek, black package.

Some days ago, we gave you word that a PS3 was aiding in attempts to drive a car up Colorado’s Pike Peak. We’ve got more information on that project by Axion Racing, as well as some video of the autonomous vehicle in action.

LinuxDevices is reporting that Axion Racing is using a PS3 running Linux to help the company with their unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV) project, known as “Spirit”. The Spirit UAV project outfits a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee with state-of-the-art cameras and sensor equipment in an attempt to make the Jeep drive itself.

Axion’s recent addition to the project was a PlayStation 3 unit housing Yellow Dog Linux. The said PS3 unit, along with the Linux system and additional software, would be used to “quickly examine information from a RGB road finding camera,” albeit to help with navigation on roads.

Axion is preparing Spirit to run in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, which has UAVs conducting “simulated military supply missions in a mock urban area.”

In the meantime, if you want to know more about Spirit, we’ve got a video that explains the different components that are used to drive the Grand Cherokee. This is from 2005 though, so it won’t actually showcase the PS3, but it does give you an idea of the kind of processing power they were looking for, something that the PS3 managed to give them in a sleek, black package.

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