Maksim Kompanets: Our unmanned quad can identify objects, roadway and people

13 May 17Maksim Kompanets: Our unmanned quad can identify objects, roadway and people

Maksim Kompanets: Our unmanned quad can identify objects, roadway and people

Ukrainian engineers made a huge contribution to the development of the field of smart technology, but didn’t stop on their achievements and continue to develop the field of automated production. One of the companies promoting this sector is Infocom Ltd. Within the exhibition InnoTech Ukraine 2017, we’ve talked with the company representatives and discussed the specifics of their work, the development of an unmanned quad and plans for the future.

Journalist: Yanina Volovyk (Y.V.), Smile-Expo

Speakers: Maksim Kompanets (M.K.) and Sergey Rumyantsev (S.R.)

Y. V.: What do you present on the exhibition?

М. К.: We represent Infocom Ltd. The company focuses on the automation of production. This is an internal project of the company, concerning the system of remote and autonomous control of ground wheeled vehicles.

At the exhibition, we present one of our four prototypes: a quad with a combat automated turret (a vehicle that performs assigned combat tasks independently or under remote control), which can monitor obstacles and skirt them. Typically, these machines are used in the military sector for transporting goods and the wounded.

If we talk, for example, about the Ministry of Emergency Situations, we can add a robotic arm to the ATV, and it will be able to sift through remains after industrial accidents, as well as to be used in various dangerous situations.

Y. V.: Are your machines used in Ukraine?

М. К.: It is just a prototype, and we’ve completed its development right before the exhibition. We are working on its improvement. When we’ll get a final product, the quality of which we can guarantee that it won’t fail in any situation, then, of course, we will offer it to potential customers. Representatives of many industries are interested in it, but so far we can not offer it for commercial use.

S. R.: The main goal of participation in the exhibition is to attract personnel to our project. We opened an office in Kyiv and we want to build a team that will write software to perform such tasks.

Y. V.: Can this vehicle work without involving people?

М. К.: Yes. But currently this function is tested. We are not ready to present it yet. The work is in progress and we already have certain results. Our unmanned quad can identify objects, roadway and people.

Y. V.: How are such objects identified?

М. К.: With the help of cameras, radars and short-range sensors. We are presenting examples of self-driving testing. It is a bit more complicated than remote control.

Y. V.: How long do you think will it take for Ukrainian car market to become unmanned?

М. К.: Considering that such companies as General Motors, Google, Tesla, BMW, Volvo and others are actively developing this industry, it can be assumed that full autonomy of cars will be achieved only by 2030, and taking into account our realities it will take even more time.

We want to create autonomous vehicles that work according to a template. For example, at airports where there are some limits. Public roads there are too variable, so there may be a huge number of different situations. In this regard, we must be responsible for our vehicles.

Autopilot for Ukrainian roads can be developed very quickly, but we can not guarantee that the machine will work 100% even in emergency situations. The world has developed autopilot for 99%, but 1% is still out of reach. To equip the machine with the capabilities of human brain, we need to reproduce several hundred million test situations and teach the machine to cope with them. Unfortunately, the world hasn’t reached this point yet.

Y. V.: Are you planning to enter the international market?

М. К.: When we can present the final product, naturally, we will not be limited only to the Ukrainian market, because we want to engage in business fully. Of course, we are patriots, but in order to maintain a decent level of competitiveness, it is necessary to maintain financial status. If the Ukrainian market turns out to be not ready or uninterested in our product, there are 250 other countries that can show their interest.

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