The brawn of
our vehicle lies in our actuation system. The VAMPIRE
manipulates a series of actuators and relays that
can control the vehicle. The obvious controls are
the same that a human driver would use, namely steering,
gas/throttle, and brakes. We also control the vehicle
transmission and transfer case to react to environmental
conditions. Even systems as simple as vehicle starting
and warning sirens and lights can be controlled
by the actuation system.