What is the SENA project?

      Today it is quite easy to find in the press articles showing the use of robotics in areas that few years ago none could imagine. Thanks to the astonishing technological developments in several fields of knowledge since the 1990s, nowadays robots are expanding their applications far from industries and becoming day-by-day a quotidian object. Due to this, many researchers are turning their attention to the human-machine interaction. In this scenario, the called “car robot”, “intelligent car”, “car-BOT” can contribute greatly to improve the traffic safety and reduce drastically the injured and fatality rates.

      SENA stands for Sistema Embarcado de Navegação Autônoma (Autonomous Embedded Navigation System). It is a project being developed at the Mechatronics Lab at Engineering School of São Carlos – University of São Paulo (EESC - USP). It focuses on the creation of a system that enables a commercial vehicle to:

• Avoid accidents, helping the driver in dangerous situations or imminent risks;
• Increase the overall system safety by cooperating with the driver;
• Move the vehicle autonomously, without any human interference, in urban-like environments.

      There are many mechatronics engineering undergraduate, postgraduate (Master and Doctor of Science) students, and post-doc working on the project. Marcelo Becker and Glauco A. P. Caurin, both professors at EESC, lead the group.

      Other partners engaged in the project are:

• Autonomous System Lab (ASL) – ETHZ, Zurich, Switzerland;
• Mathematics and Computer Sciences Institute (ICMC) - USP São Carlos;
• Physics Institute of São Carlos (IFSC) – USP São Carlos;
• Electrical Engineering Department - EESC-USP.