LADA Kalina

2019: A pilotless catafalque based on the LADA Kalina car

The Russian students provided in the summer of 2019 a prototype of a pilotless catafalque based on the LADA Kalina car. He is capable to move on narrow drives at cemeteries with a speed up to five kilometers per hour. The project could not receive financing from NTI "Avtonet" and has limited perspectives as it stands, reported N+1 in the press service of the organization^[1].

Many developers of unmanned vehicles set the task at once to create the unmanned vehicle of the fourth or fifth level of autonomy capable to go independently in many situations, including to city. However it is technically difficult task, but also, it is complicated by lack of full regulation of pilotless transport in the world. Therefore some developers create the specialized UAVs capable to work independently only in certain conditions — for example, in the port cargo terminal.

The team of the Russian students from several Siberian universities (the representative of NTI "Avtonet" refused to reveal specific educational institutions) created the unmanned vehicle for work as a catafalque at the cemetery. It is constructed based on the cargo version of LADA Kalina of VIS-234900, and developers increased its wheel base that in a cargo compartment the coffin was located. Besides, engineers had to equip pedals and the lever of a box of gear shifting with linear actuators because in this car their status cannot be changed through an electronic control unit.

Sketch of a prototype of LADA Kalina catafalque

The car is equipped with three lidars of Velodyne and camera, however it is not used for driving yet. The representative of NTI "Avtonet" told that in the UAV control algorithms and perceptions of the environment of own development are used. They allow the car to go on a straight line, to turn and distinguish some objects around. Meanwhile developers tested the car at a speed up to five kilometers per hour on the narrow road imitating drives of the cemetery.

As serious changes were made to construction of the car, it can move only across the closed territories, but not on roads of open use. The press service of NTI "Avtonet" stated that the project did not receive financing from the organization, but she offered students the help from other developers of unmanned vehicles, such as Yandex, Moscow Administrative Road Inspectorate and KAMAZ.

Robotics