PeRL STUDIES AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION & MAPPING FOR MOBILE ROBOTS IN A PRIORI UNKNOWN ENVIRONMENTS.

Recent News

RMS Titanic Redux

Ongoing research towards the SLAM problem (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) has helped to map the wreck of the RMS Titanic.

New Slam Findings

Read more on our projects page.

Automated Inspection

A new ship hull analysis project is just getting underway with the goal of automating ship hull inspection for the US Navy using an AUV.

Automated Hull Inspection

Read more on our projects page.

Welcome to PeRL

The Perceptual Robotics Laboratory (PeRL) at the University of Michigan studies problems related to autonomous navigation and mapping for mobile robots in a priori unknown environments with a directed focus on computer vision techniques for perceptual sensing. More...

What's New

We've completed the design and development of our multi-AUV SLAM testbed, which consists of two modified Iver2 AUVs. PeRL upgraded the vehicles with additional navigation and perceptual sensors, including 12-bit stereo downlooking Prosilica cameras, a Teledyne RDI 600 kHz Explorer DVL for 3-axis bottom-lock velocity measurements, a KVH single-axis FOG for yaw rate, and a WHOI Micro-modem for communication, along with other sensor packages. More...

Photo Gallery

Here are some pictures from current projects and past research expeditions!

Getting ready to deploy the HAUV for hull inspection during AUVfest'08. Learn more about our Work.

Exploded CAD model of PeRL's custom redesigned Iver2 nosecone. Learn more about our Work.

Team IVS's entry in the 2007 DARPA Urban Grand Challenge... Learn more about our Work.

...and a new logo. Learn more about our Work.

Launching AUVs under the Arctic ice on the 2007 AGAVE Engineering Cruise. Learn more about our Work.

PeRL's Iver2 AUV, NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Aug 2008. Learn more about our Work.

Sidescan sonar of a new wreck discovered in NOAA TBNMS with PeRL's AUVs. Learn more about our Work.

PeRL's Iver2 AUV, UofM Biological Station. Learn more about our Work.