Autonomous utility vehicle - R Gator

The John Deere R Gator is an unmanned ground vehicle capable of operating in urban and off-road terrain with a large payload capacity to carry supplies or a marsupial robot. The R Gator can operate in teleoperation mode, waypoint navigation, direction drive, and path playback. The perception system on the vehicle is able to detect both positive and negative (holes) obstacles in off-road terrain and is capable of driving through tall vegetation while maintaining safety. The remote operator is able to send commands to the R Gator wirelessly, through an intuitive, video game-style, wearable interface, and can see video and telematics from the R Gator in a heads-up display. This video shows the R Gator performing various missions in off-road terrain in a surrogate agricultural environment. Screen shots from the operator display are shown, including an overhead map with waypoint path visible, video views available to the operator, and telematics. The video also shows the R Gator detecting and avoiding fence posts and a negative obstacle, both of which are quite common in orchards.