Global strategy meeting,
7pm, 2 February 2004
7pm, 3 February 2004

Alan, Rocky, Sue Ann, Thyago, Lars (note taker)

Agenda:

1. Outline major options
2. Decide on single plan of action
3. Distribute work among team members
   

Major options:

• See http://grandchallenge.caltech.edu/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=210

1. GlobalMapHandler (does not yet exist) - does D* (SW in Claraty) path planning on large subset of route (~1-2 km square), generation of target points between waypoints
   
2. GlobalPlanner (exists, working) - waypoint following, no conception of corridor
3. GlobalPlanner2 (Rocky, exists, needs testing) - planar geometry corridor follower, evaluating arcs, waypoint to waypoint)
4. --------------- (does not exist) - genMap based corridor follower, evaluating arcs (with or without static map data)
• if we have static map data, we need methods for transforming between static map and genMap
  
5. GlobalPlanner3 CorridorArcEvaluator (does not yet exist) - extract a genMap from static map and do arc evaluation with corridor
6. Target point follower (does not yet exist) - "carrot on a stick", does not have to pass within a given radius of waypoints
   

Type	Static Map implemention?	Use D* evaluation	genMap (local version) implementation	Target point follower (no corridor)	Corridor follower in arc evaluation
Option 1	Yes	Yes	Yes (extracted from static map)	Could be	Yes (with #4)
Option 2	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Option 3	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes (

• Option 1) in bug 210 =  #4 + D* evaluation (in a separate program GlobalMapHandler) with #1 and possibly evaluating arcs with #4
• Option 2) in bug 210 = similar to Option 1), but arc evaluation is done in the same program as the D* path planning
• Option 3) in bug 210 = uses D* to evaluate over implementation of static map and sends target points to an arc evaluator that's just trying to follow target points

Easy improvements:

1. Detect when we get into the next corridor segment instead of within the radius of the next waypoint
2. Navigate comparing the position of the front of the truck instead of the rear axle

Major routes of development

1. Corridor map generator (genMap version) - Thyago (genMap)
   
2. GlobalPlanner3 CorridorArcEvaluator (arc vote generation) - Rocky
   
3. Static map generator (definition of formats and classes) - Alan
   
4. GlobalMapHandler - Alan
• Storage of static map on disc
• Accessor functions to static map (perhaps storage into genMap)
• Corridor generator (from RDDF)
  
5. D*
6. Target point follower
7. Population of static map - Adam or Sue Ann

Other issues:

• genMaps into simulator (read by stereovision or LADAR) - Thyago + ?