USAF - Looking for guidance with autonomous ATV
Greetings,
I run an Innovation Lab for the USAF and we are prototyping an autonomous 4 Wheeler/ATV. For a few weeks now, I have been pouring through the various tutorials on the the Wiki as well as paying for content on Udemy. All this is to say I am still a bit perplexed. Please go easy on me here.
Project Specifications:
We have succeeded converting an old 4 wheeler/ATV into electric. Meaning no gas motor and steering has been replaced with a brushless DC actuator.
Up to this point, we have been successful using a Pixhawk 2.1 to make the vehicle move to various GPS points.
Available Equipment: 1. Jetson TX2 (QTY3) 2. Jetson Nano (QTY4) 3. RPLIDAR S1 (QTY 2) 4. PIXHAWK 2.1 (QTY 2) 5. Intel RealSense D435 (QTY 2)
Question 1: Is it feasible to use ROS on a platform that will operate outside and potentially a few miles away from a computer running a "master" ROS node?
Question 2: I have been seeing an awful lot of navigation using lasers and maps. What is your trying to operate in the confines of a private property with various terrain (Woods, Ditches, Small Marshes, etc) and the only boundary is chain link fences. Can a map really be made using the LIDAR?
Question 3: Is it worth the time to try and build a URDF model and somehow get terrain data from Google to simulate this project?
Question 4: If you were in my shoes. how would you approach this solution?
Cheers,
Coach
Chirp, Chirp? Did I ask this question the wrong way or just being ignored because it's too rookie?