Cooperative path following control of multiple nonholonomic mobile robots.

PubMed

Cao, Ke-Cai; Jiang, Bin; Yue, Dong

2017-11-01

Cooperative path following control problem of multiple nonholonomic mobile robots has been considered in this paper. Based on the framework of decomposition, the cooperative path following problem has been transformed into path following problem and cooperative control problem; Then cascaded theory of non-autonomous system has been employed in the design of controllers without resorting to feedback linearization. One time-varying coordinate transformation based on dilation has been introduced to solve the uncontrollable problem of nonholonomic robots when the whole group's reference converges to stationary point. Cooperative path following controllers for nonholonomic robots have been proposed under persistent reference or reference target that converges to stationary point respectively. Simulation results using Matlab have illustrated the effectiveness of the obtained theoretical results. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Fully Sensorized Cooperative Robotic System for Surgical Interventions

PubMed Central

Tovar-Arriaga, Saúl; Vargas, José Emilio; Ramos, Juan M.; Aceves, Marco A.; Gorrostieta, Efren; Kalender, Willi A.

2012-01-01

In this research a fully sensorized cooperative robot system for manipulation of needles is presented. The setup consists of a DLR/KUKA Light Weight Robot III especially designed for safe human/robot interaction, a FD-CT robot-driven angiographic C-arm system, and a navigation camera. Also, new control strategies for robot manipulation in the clinical environment are introduced. A method for fast calibration of the involved components and the preliminary accuracy tests of the whole possible errors chain are presented. Calibration of the robot with the navigation system has a residual error of 0.81 mm (rms) with a standard deviation of ±0.41 mm. The accuracy of the robotic system while targeting fixed points at different positions within the workspace is of 1.2 mm (rms) with a standard deviation of ±0.4 mm. After calibration, and due to close loop control, the absolute positioning accuracy was reduced to the navigation camera accuracy which is of 0.35 mm (rms). The implemented control allows the robot to compensate for small patient movements. PMID:23012551

Emergent of Burden Sharing of Robots with Emotion Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusano, Takuya; Nozawa, Akio; Ide, Hideto

Cooperated multi robots system has much dominance in comparison with single robot system. Multi robots system is able to adapt to various circumstances and has a flexibility for variation of tasks. Robots are necessary that build a cooperative relations and acts as an organization to attain a purpose in multi robots system. Then, group behavior of insects which doesn't have advanced ability is observed. For example, ants called a sociality insect emerge systematic activities by the interaction with using a very simple way. Though ants make a communication with chemical matter, a human plans a communication by words and gestures. In this paper, we paid attention to the interaction based on psychological viewpoint. And a human's emotion model was used for the parameter which became a base of the motion planning of robots. These robots were made to do both-way action in test field with obstacle. As a result, a burden sharing like guide or carrier was seen even though those had a simple setup.

Design principles of a cooperative robot controller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayward, Vincent; Hayati, Samad

1987-01-01

The paper describes the design of a controller for cooperative robots being designed at McGill University in a collaborative effort with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The first part of the paper discusses the background and motivation for multiple arm control. Then, a set of programming primitives, which are based on the RCCL system and which permit a programmer to specify cooperative tasks are described. The first group of primitives are motion primitives which specify asynchronous motions, master/slave motions, and cooperative motions. In the context of cooperative robots, trajectory generation issues will be discussed and the implementation described. A second set of primitives provides for the specification of spatial relationships. The relations between programming and control in the case of multiple robot are examined. Finally, the paper describes the allocation of various tasks among a set of microprocessors sharing a common bus.

Behavior-Based Multi-Robot Collaboration for Autonomous Construction Tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stroupe, Ashley; Huntsberger, Terry; Okon, Avi; Aghazarian, Hrand; Robinson, Matthew

2005-01-01

We present a heterogeneous multi-robot system for autonomous construction of a structure through assembly of long components. Placement of a component within an existing structure in a realistic environment is demonstrated on a two-robot team. The task requires component acquisition, cooperative transport, and cooperative precision manipulation. Far adaptability, the system is designed as a behavior-based architecture. Far applicability to space-related construction efforts, computation, power, communication, and sensing are minimized, though the techniques developed are also applicable to terrestrial construction tasks.

Evolution of Signaling in a Multi-Robot System: Categorization and Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ampatzis, Christos; Tuci, Elio; Trianni, Vito; Dorigo, Marco

We use Evolutionary Robotics to design robot controllers in which decision-making mechanisms to switch from solitary to social behavior are integrated with the mechanisms that underpin the sensory-motor repertoire of the robots. In particular, we study the evolution of behavioral and communicative skills in a categorization task. The individual decision-making structures are based on the integration over time of sensory information. The mechanisms for switching from solitary to social behavior and the ways in which the robots can affect each other's behavior are not predetermined by the experimenter, but are aspects of our model designed by artificial evolution. Our results show that evolved robots manage to cooperate and collectively discriminate between different environments by developing a simple communication protocol based on sound signaling. Communication emerges in the absence of explicit selective pressure coded in the fitness function. The evolution of communication is neither trivial nor obvious; for a meaningful signaling system to evolve, evolution must produce both appropriate signals and appropriate reactions to signals. The use of communication proves to be adaptive for the group, even if, in principle, non-cooperating robots can be equally successful with cooperating robots.

Control of free-flying space robot manipulator systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cannon, Robert H., Jr.

1977-01-01

To accelerate the development of multi-armed, free-flying satellite manipulators, a fixed-base cooperative manipulation facility is being developed. The work performed on multiple arm cooperation on a free-flying robot is summarized. Research is also summarized on global navigation and control of free-flying space robots. The Locomotion Enhancement via Arm Pushoff (LEAP) approach is described and progress to date is presented.

A formation control strategy with coupling weights for the multi-robot system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Xudong; Wang, Siming; Li, Weijie

2017-12-01

The distributed formation problem of the multi-robot system with general linear dynamic characteristics and directed communication topology is discussed. In order to avoid that the multi-robot system can not maintain the desired formation in the complex communication environment, the distributed cooperative algorithm with coupling weights based on zipf distribution is designed. The asymptotic stability condition for the formation of the multi-robot system is given, and the theory of the graph and the Lyapunov theory are used to prove that the formation can converge to the desired geometry formation and the desired motion rules of the virtual leader under this condition. Nontrivial simulations are performed to validate the effectiveness of the distributed cooperative algorithm with coupling weights.

Behavior-based multi-robot collaboration for autonomous construction tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stroupe, Ashley; Huntsberger, Terry; Okon, Avi; Aghazarian, Hrand; Robinson, Matthew

2005-01-01

The Robot Construction Crew (RCC) is a heterogeneous multi-robot system for autonomous construction of a structure through assembly of Long components. The two robot team demonstrates component placement into an existing structure in a realistic environment. The task requires component acquisition, cooperative transport, and cooperative precision manipulation. A behavior-based architecture provides adaptability. The RCC approach minimizes computation, power, communication, and sensing for applicability to space-related construction efforts, but the techniques are applicable to terrestrial construction tasks.

Man-Robot Symbiosis: A Framework For Cooperative Intelligence And Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, Lynne E.; Pin, Francois G.

1988-10-01

The man-robot symbiosis concept has the fundamental objective of bridging the gap between fully human-controlled and fully autonomous systems to achieve true man-robot cooperative control and intelligence. Such a system would allow improved speed, accuracy, and efficiency of task execution, while retaining the man in the loop for innovative reasoning and decision-making. The symbiont would have capabilities for supervised and unsupervised learning, allowing an increase of expertise in a wide task domain. This paper describes a robotic system architecture facilitating the symbiotic integration of teleoperative and automated modes of task execution. The architecture reflects a unique blend of many disciplines of artificial intelligence into a working system, including job or mission planning, dynamic task allocation, man-robot communication, automated monitoring, and machine learning. These disciplines are embodied in five major components of the symbiotic framework: the Job Planner, the Dynamic Task Allocator, the Presenter/Interpreter, the Automated Monitor, and the Learning System.

Hand gesture guided robot-assisted surgery based on a direct augmented reality interface.

PubMed

Wen, Rong; Tay, Wei-Liang; Nguyen, Binh P; Chng, Chin-Boon; Chui, Chee-Kong

2014-09-01

Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is a good alternative to hepatic resection for treatment of liver tumors. However, accurate needle insertion requires precise hand-eye coordination and is also affected by the difficulty of RF needle navigation. This paper proposes a cooperative surgical robot system, guided by hand gestures and supported by an augmented reality (AR)-based surgical field, for robot-assisted percutaneous treatment. It establishes a robot-assisted natural AR guidance mechanism that incorporates the advantages of the following three aspects: AR visual guidance information, surgeon's experiences and accuracy of robotic surgery. A projector-based AR environment is directly overlaid on a patient to display preoperative and intraoperative information, while a mobile surgical robot system implements specified RF needle insertion plans. Natural hand gestures are used as an intuitive and robust method to interact with both the AR system and surgical robot. The proposed system was evaluated on a mannequin model. Experimental results demonstrated that hand gesture guidance was able to effectively guide the surgical robot, and the robot-assisted implementation was found to improve the accuracy of needle insertion. This human-robot cooperative mechanism is a promising approach for precise transcutaneous ablation therapy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robotic Precursor Missions for Mars Habitats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huntsberger, Terry; Pirjanian, Paolo; Schenker, Paul S.; Trebi-Ollennu, Ashitey; Das, Hari; Joshi, Sajay

2000-01-01

Infrastructure support for robotic colonies, manned Mars habitat, and/or robotic exploration of planetary surfaces will need to rely on the field deployment of multiple robust robots. This support includes such tasks as the deployment and servicing of power systems and ISRU generators, construction of beaconed roadways, and the site preparation and deployment of manned habitat modules. The current level of autonomy of planetary rovers such as Sojourner will need to be greatly enhanced for these types of operations. In addition, single robotic platforms will not be capable of complicated construction scenarios. Precursor robotic missions to Mars that involve teams of multiple cooperating robots to accomplish some of these tasks is a cost effective solution to the possible long timeline necessary for the deployment of a manned habitat. Ongoing work at JPL under the Mars Outpost Program in the area of robot colonies is investigating many of the technology developments necessary for such an ambitious undertaking. Some of the issues that are being addressed include behavior-based control systems for multiple cooperating robots (CAMPOUT), development of autonomous robotic systems for the rescue/repair of trapped or disabled robots, and the design and development of robotic platforms for construction tasks such as material transport and surface clearing.

Robot computer problem solving system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Becker, J. D.; Merriam, E. W.

1974-01-01

The conceptual, experimental, and practical phases of developing a robot computer problem solving system are outlined. Robot intelligence, conversion of the programming language SAIL to run under the THNEX monitor, and the use of the network to run several cooperating jobs at different sites are discussed.

Simulation of cooperating robot manipulators on a mobile platform

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, Stephen H.; Wen, John Ting-Yung; Saridis, George N.

1991-01-01

The dynamic equations of motion are presented for two or more cooperating manipulators on a freely moving mobile platform. The system of cooperating robot manipulators forms a closed kinematic chain where the force of interaction must be included in the formulation of robot and platform dynamics. The formulation includes the full dynamic interactions from arms to platform and arm tip to arm tip, and the possible translation and rotation of the platform. The equations of motion are shown to be identical in structure to the fixed-platform cooperative manipulator dynamics. The number of DOFs of the system is sufficiently large to make recursive dynamic calculation methods potentially more efficient than closed-form solutions. A complete simulation with two 6-DOF manipulators of a free-floating platform is presented along a with a multiple-arm controller to position the common load.

Laser-based pedestrian tracking in outdoor environments by multiple mobile robots.

PubMed

Ozaki, Masataka; Kakimuma, Kei; Hashimoto, Masafumi; Takahashi, Kazuhiko

2012-10-29

This paper presents an outdoors laser-based pedestrian tracking system using a group of mobile robots located near each other. Each robot detects pedestrians from its own laser scan image using an occupancy-grid-based method, and the robot tracks the detected pedestrians via Kalman filtering and global-nearest-neighbor (GNN)-based data association. The tracking data is broadcast to multiple robots through intercommunication and is combined using the covariance intersection (CI) method. For pedestrian tracking, each robot identifies its own posture using real-time-kinematic GPS (RTK-GPS) and laser scan matching. Using our cooperative tracking method, all the robots share the tracking data with each other; hence, individual robots can always recognize pedestrians that are invisible to any other robot. The simulation and experimental results show that cooperating tracking provides the tracking performance better than conventional individual tracking does. Our tracking system functions in a decentralized manner without any central server, and therefore, this provides a degree of scalability and robustness that cannot be achieved by conventional centralized architectures.

On position/force tracking control problem of cooperative robot manipulators using adaptive fuzzy backstepping approach.

PubMed

Baigzadehnoe, Barmak; Rahmani, Zahra; Khosravi, Alireza; Rezaie, Behrooz

2017-09-01

In this paper, the position and force tracking control problem of cooperative robot manipulator system handling a common rigid object with unknown dynamical models and unknown external disturbances is investigated. The universal approximation properties of fuzzy logic systems are employed to estimate the unknown system dynamics. On the other hand, by defining new state variables based on the integral and differential of position and orientation errors of the grasped object, the error system of coordinated robot manipulators is constructed. Subsequently by defining the appropriate change of coordinates and using the backstepping design strategy, an adaptive fuzzy backstepping position tracking control scheme is proposed for multi-robot manipulator systems. By utilizing the properties of internal forces, extra terms are also added to the control signals to consider the force tracking problem. Moreover, it is shown that the proposed adaptive fuzzy backstepping position/force control approach ensures all the signals of the closed loop system uniformly ultimately bounded and tracking errors of both positions and forces can converge to small desired values by proper selection of the design parameters. Finally, the theoretic achievements are tested on the two three-link planar robot manipulators cooperatively handling a common object to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incremental inverse kinematics based vision servo for autonomous robotic capture of non-cooperative space debris

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Gangqi; Zhu, Z. H.

2016-04-01

This paper proposed a new incremental inverse kinematics based vision servo approach for robotic manipulators to capture a non-cooperative target autonomously. The target's pose and motion are estimated by a vision system using integrated photogrammetry and EKF algorithm. Based on the estimated pose and motion of the target, the instantaneous desired position of the end-effector is predicted by inverse kinematics and the robotic manipulator is moved incrementally from its current configuration subject to the joint speed limits. This approach effectively eliminates the multiple solutions in the inverse kinematics and increases the robustness of the control algorithm. The proposed approach is validated by a hardware-in-the-loop simulation, where the pose and motion of the non-cooperative target is estimated by a real vision system. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed estimation approach for the target and the incremental control strategy for the robotic manipulator.

Control of free-flying space robot manipulator systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cannon, Robert H., Jr.

1990-01-01

New control techniques for self contained, autonomous free flying space robots were developed and tested experimentally. Free flying robots are envisioned as a key element of any successful long term presence in space. These robots must be capable of performing the assembly, maintenance, and inspection, and repair tasks that currently require human extravehicular activity (EVA). A set of research projects were developed and carried out using lab models of satellite robots and a flexible manipulator. The second generation space robot models use air cushion vehicle (ACV) technology to simulate in 2-D the drag free, zero g conditions of space. The current work is divided into 5 major projects: Global Navigation and Control of a Free Floating Robot, Cooperative Manipulation from a Free Flying Robot, Multiple Robot Cooperation, Thrusterless Robotic Locomotion, and Dynamic Payload Manipulation. These projects are examined in detail.

Emergency response nurse scheduling with medical support robot by multi-agent and fuzzy technique.

PubMed

Kono, Shinya; Kitamura, Akira

2015-08-01

In this paper, a new co-operative re-scheduling method corresponding the medical support tasks that the time of occurrence can not be predicted is described, assuming robot can co-operate medical activities with the nurse. Here, Multi-Agent-System (MAS) is used for the co-operative re-scheduling, in which Fuzzy-Contract-Net (FCN) is applied to the robots task assignment for the emergency tasks. As the simulation results, it is confirmed that the re-scheduling results by the proposed method can keep the patients satisfaction and decrease the work load of the nurse.

Surface Support Systems for Co-Operative and Integrated Human/Robotic Lunar Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, Robert P.

2006-01-01

Human and robotic partnerships to realize space goals can enhance space missions and provide increases in human productivity while decreasing the hazards that the humans are exposed to. For lunar exploration, the harsh environment of the moon and the repetitive nature of the tasks involved with lunar outpost construction, maintenance and operation as well as production tasks associated with in-situ resource utilization, make it highly desirable to use robotic systems in co-operation with human activity. A human lunar outpost is functionally examined and concepts for selected human/robotic tasks are discussed in the context of a lunar outpost which will enable the presence of humans on the moon for extended periods of time.

Peer-to-peer model for the area coverage and cooperative control of mobile sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Jindong; Xi, Ning

2004-09-01

This paper presents a novel model and distributed algorithms for the cooperation and redeployment of mobile sensor networks. A mobile sensor network composes of a collection of wireless connected mobile robots equipped with a variety of sensors. In such a sensor network, each mobile node has sensing, computation, communication, and locomotion capabilities. The locomotion ability enhances the autonomous deployment of the system. The system can be rapidly deployed to hostile environment, inaccessible terrains or disaster relief operations. The mobile sensor network is essentially a cooperative multiple robot system. This paper first presents a peer-to-peer model to define the relationship between neighboring communicating robots. Delaunay Triangulation and Voronoi diagrams are used to define the geometrical relationship between sensor nodes. This distributed model allows formal analysis for the fusion of spatio-temporal sensory information of the network. Based on the distributed model, this paper discusses a fault tolerant algorithm for autonomous self-deployment of the mobile robots. The algorithm considers the environment constraints, the presence of obstacles and the nonholonomic constraints of the robots. The distributed algorithm enables the system to reconfigure itself such that the area covered by the system can be enlarged. Simulation results have shown the effectiveness of the distributed model and deployment algorithms.

Analysis on the Load Carrying Mechanism Integrated as Heterogeneous Co-operative Manipulator in a Walking Wheelchair

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajay Vedaraj, I. S.; Jain, Ritika; Rao, B. V. A.

2014-07-01

After industrial robots came into existence during 1960, the technology of robotics with the design and analysis of robots in various forms in industries as well as in domestic applications were developed. Nowadays, along with the automotive sector the robots are producing a great impact in the form of quality and production rate to register their existence reliable in various other sectors also. Robotic technology has undergone various phase translations from being tortured as humanoids to the present day manipulators. Depending upon the various forms of its existence, robot manipulators are designed as serial manipulators and parallel manipulators. Individually both types can be proved effective though both have various drawbacks in design and the kinematic analysis. The versatility of robots can be increased by making them work in an environment where the same work volume is shared by more than one manipulator. This work volume can be identified as co-operative work volume of those manipulators. Here the interference of manipulators in the work volume of other manipulators is possible and is made obstacle free. The main advantage of co-operative manipulators is that when a number of independent manipulators are put together in a cooperative work envelope the efficiency and ability to perform tasks is greatly enhanced. The main disadvantage of the co-operative manipulators lies in the complication of its design even for a simple application, in almost all fields. In this paper, a cooperative design of robot manipulators to work in co-operative work environment is done and analysed for its efficacy. In the industrial applications when robotic manipulators are put together in more numbers, the trajectory planning becomes the tough task in the work cell. Proper design can remove the design defects of the cooperative manipulators and can be utilized in a more efficient way. In the proposed research paper an analysis is made on such a type of cooperative manipulator used for climbing stairs with three leg design and anlaysis were also done on the mechanism integrated to the system. Kinematics of the legs are analysed separately and the legs are designed to carry a maximum of 175kgs, which is sustained by the center leg and shared by the dual wing legs equally during the walking phase. In the proposed design, screwjack mechanism is used as the central leg to share the load and thus the analysis on the load sharing capability of the whole system is analysed and concluded in terms of failure modes.

Hierarchical Bio-Inspired Cooperative Control for Nonlinear Dynamical Systems and Hardware Demonstration

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-03

cooperative control, LEGO robotic testbed, non-linear dynamics 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 18. NUMBER OF PAGES...testbed The architecture of the LEGO robots (® LEGO is a trademark and/or copyright of the LEGO Group) used in tests were based off the quick-start

Evolutionary Fuzzy Control and Navigation for Two Wheeled Robots Cooperatively Carrying an Object in Unknown Environments.

PubMed

Juang, Chia-Feng; Lai, Min-Ge; Zeng, Wan-Ting

2015-09-01

This paper presents a method that allows two wheeled, mobile robots to navigate unknown environments while cooperatively carrying an object. In the navigation method, a leader robot and a follower robot cooperatively perform either obstacle boundary following (OBF) or target seeking (TS) to reach a destination. The two robots are controlled by fuzzy controllers (FC) whose rules are learned through an adaptive fusion of continuous ant colony optimization and particle swarm optimization (AF-CACPSO), which avoids the time-consuming task of manually designing the controllers. The AF-CACPSO-based evolutionary fuzzy control approach is first applied to the control of a single robot to perform OBF. The learning approach is then applied to achieve cooperative OBF with two robots, where an auxiliary FC designed with the AF-CACPSO is used to control the follower robot. For cooperative TS, a rule for coordination of the two robots is developed. To navigate cooperatively, a cooperative behavior supervisor is introduced to select between cooperative OBF and cooperative TS. The performance of the AF-CACPSO is verified through comparisons with various population-based optimization algorithms for the OBF learning problem. Simulations and experiments verify the effectiveness of the approach for cooperative navigation of two robots.

Autonomous Mobile Platform for Research in Cooperative Robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daemi, Ali; Pena, Edward; Ferguson, Paul

1998-01-01

This paper describes the design and development of a platform for research in cooperative mobile robotics. The structure and mechanics of the vehicles are based on R/C cars. The vehicle is rendered mobile by a DC motor and servo motor. The perception of the robot's environment is achieved using IR sensors and a central vision system. A laptop computer processes images from a CCD camera located above the testing area to determine the position of objects in sight. This information is sent to each robot via RF modem. Each robot is operated by a Motorola 68HC11E micro-controller, and all actions of the robots are realized through the connections of IR sensors, modem, and motors. The intelligent behavior of each robot is based on a hierarchical fuzzy-rule based approach.

Improving robot arm control for safe and robust haptic cooperation in orthopaedic procedures.

PubMed

Cruces, R A Castillo; Wahrburg, J

2007-12-01

This paper presents the ongoing results of an effort to achieve the integration of a navigated cooperative robotic arm into computer-assisted orthopaedic surgery. A seamless integration requires the system acting in direct cooperation with the surgeon instead of replacing him. Two technical issues are discussed to improve the haptic operating modes for interactive robot guidance. The concept of virtual fixtures is used to restrict the range of motion of the robot according to pre-operatively defined constraints, and methodologies to assure a robust and accurate motion through singular arm configurations are investigated. A new method for handling singularities is proposed, which is superior to the commonly used damped-least-squares method. It produces no deviations of the end-effector in relation to the virtually constrained path. A solution to assure a good performance of a hands-on robotic arm at singularity configurations is proposed. (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Laser-Based Pedestrian Tracking in Outdoor Environments by Multiple Mobile Robots

PubMed Central

Ozaki, Masataka; Kakimuma, Kei; Hashimoto, Masafumi; Takahashi, Kazuhiko

2012-01-01

This paper presents an outdoors laser-based pedestrian tracking system using a group of mobile robots located near each other. Each robot detects pedestrians from its own laser scan image using an occupancy-grid-based method, and the robot tracks the detected pedestrians via Kalman filtering and global-nearest-neighbor (GNN)-based data association. The tracking data is broadcast to multiple robots through intercommunication and is combined using the covariance intersection (CI) method. For pedestrian tracking, each robot identifies its own posture using real-time-kinematic GPS (RTK-GPS) and laser scan matching. Using our cooperative tracking method, all the robots share the tracking data with each other; hence, individual robots can always recognize pedestrians that are invisible to any other robot. The simulation and experimental results show that cooperating tracking provides the tracking performance better than conventional individual tracking does. Our tracking system functions in a decentralized manner without any central server, and therefore, this provides a degree of scalability and robustness that cannot be achieved by conventional centralized architectures. PMID:23202171

75 FR 54914 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Robotics...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-09

...; Esys Integration Corporation, Auburn Hills, MI; JADI, Inc., Troy, MI; Mobile Robots Inc., Amherst, NH... Alto, CA; Robot Worx, Marion, OH; RPU Technology, Inc., Needham, MA; Scientific Systems Company, Inc...

Object impedance control for cooperative manipulation - Theory and experimental results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, Stanley A.; Cannon, Robert H., Jr.

1992-01-01

This paper presents the dynamic control module of the Dynamic and Strategic Control of Cooperating Manipulators (DASCCOM) project at Stanford University's Aerospace Robotics Laboratory. First, the cooperative manipulation problem is analyzed from a systems perspective, and the desirable features of a control system for cooperative manipulation are discussed. Next, a control policy is developed that enforces a controlled impedance not of the individual arm endpoints, but of the manipulated object itself. A parallel implementation for a multiprocessor system is presented. The controller fully compensates for the system dynamics and directly controls the object internal forces. Most importantly, it presents a simple, powerful, intuitive interface to higher level strategic control modules. Experimental results from a dual two-link-arm robotic system are used to compare the object impedance controller with other strategies, both for free-motion slews and environmental contact.

Fuzzy variable impedance control based on stiffness identification for human-robot cooperation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Dachao; Yang, Wenlong; Du, Zhijiang

2017-06-01

This paper presents a dynamic fuzzy variable impedance control algorithm for human-robot cooperation. In order to estimate the intention of human for co-manipulation, a fuzzy inference system is set up to adjust the impedance parameter. Aiming at regulating the output fuzzy universe based on the human arm’s stiffness, an online stiffness identification method is developed. A drag interaction task is conducted on a 5-DOF robot with variable impedance control. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is superior.

Control of free-flying space robot manipulator systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cannon, Robert H., Jr.

1988-01-01

The focus of the work is to develop and perform a set of research projects using laboratory models of satellite robots. These devices use air cushion technology to simulate in two dimensions the drag-free, zero-g conditions of space. Five research areas are examined: cooperative manipulation on a fixed base; cooperative manipulation on a free-floating base; global navigation and control of a free-floating robot; an alternative transport mode call Locomotion Enhancement via Arm Push-Off (LEAP), and adaptive control of LEAP.

A robotic system for researching social integration in honeybees.

PubMed

Griparić, Karlo; Haus, Tomislav; Miklić, Damjan; Polić, Marsela; Bogdan, Stjepan

2017-01-01

In this paper, we present a novel robotic system developed for researching collective social mechanisms in a biohybrid society of robots and honeybees. The potential for distributed coordination, as observed in nature in many different animal species, has caused an increased interest in collective behaviour research in recent years because of its applicability to a broad spectrum of technical systems requiring robust multi-agent control. One of the main problems is understanding the mechanisms driving the emergence of collective behaviour of social animals. With the aim of deepening the knowledge in this field, we have designed a multi-robot system capable of interacting with honeybees within an experimental arena. The final product, stationary autonomous robot units, designed by specificaly considering the physical, sensorimotor and behavioral characteristics of the honeybees (lat. Apis mallifera), are equipped with sensing, actuating, computation, and communication capabilities that enable the measurement of relevant environmental states, such as honeybee presence, and adequate response to the measurements by generating heat, vibration and airflow. The coordination among robots in the developed system is established using distributed controllers. The cooperation between the two different types of collective systems is realized by means of a consensus algorithm, enabling the honeybees and the robots to achieve a common objective. Presented results, obtained within ASSISIbf project, show successful cooperation indicating its potential for future applications.

Characteristics of Behavior of Robots with Emotion Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Shigehiko; Nozawa, Akio; Ide, Hideto

Cooperated multi robots system has much dominance in comparison with single robot system. It is able to adapt to various circumstances and has a flexibility for variation of tasks. However it has still problems to control each robot, though methods for control multi robots system have been studied. Recently, the robots have been coming into real scene. And emotion and sensitivity of the robots have been widely studied. In this study, human emotion model based on psychological interaction was adapt to multi robots system to achieve methods for organization of multi robots. The characteristics of behavior of multi robots system achieved through computer simulation were analyzed. As a result, very complexed and interesting behavior was emerged even though it has rather simple configuration. And it has flexiblity in various circumstances. Additional experiment with actual robots will be conducted based on the emotion model.

I Reach Faster When I See You Look: Gaze Effects in Human-Human and Human-Robot Face-to-Face Cooperation.

PubMed

Boucher, Jean-David; Pattacini, Ugo; Lelong, Amelie; Bailly, Gerrard; Elisei, Frederic; Fagel, Sascha; Dominey, Peter Ford; Ventre-Dominey, Jocelyne

2012-01-01

Human-human interaction in natural environments relies on a variety of perceptual cues. Humanoid robots are becoming increasingly refined in their sensorimotor capabilities, and thus should now be able to manipulate and exploit these social cues in cooperation with their human partners. Previous studies have demonstrated that people follow human and robot gaze, and that it can help them to cope with spatially ambiguous language. Our goal is to extend these findings into the domain of action, to determine how human and robot gaze can influence the speed and accuracy of human action. We report on results from a human-human cooperation experiment demonstrating that an agent's vision of her/his partner's gaze can significantly improve that agent's performance in a cooperative task. We then implement a heuristic capability to generate such gaze cues by a humanoid robot that engages in the same cooperative interaction. The subsequent human-robot experiments demonstrate that a human agent can indeed exploit the predictive gaze of their robot partner in a cooperative task. This allows us to render the humanoid robot more human-like in its ability to communicate with humans. The long term objectives of the work are thus to identify social cooperation cues, and to validate their pertinence through implementation in a cooperative robot. The current research provides the robot with the capability to produce appropriate speech and gaze cues in the context of human-robot cooperation tasks. Gaze is manipulated in three conditions: Full gaze (coordinated eye and head), eyes hidden with sunglasses, and head fixed. We demonstrate the pertinence of these cues in terms of statistical measures of action times for humans in the context of a cooperative task, as gaze significantly facilitates cooperation as measured by human response times.

Robotic air vehicle. Blending artificial intelligence with conventional software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcnulty, Christa; Graham, Joyce; Roewer, Paul

1987-01-01

The Robotic Air Vehicle (RAV) system is described. The program's objectives were to design, implement, and demonstrate cooperating expert systems for piloting robotic air vehicles. The development of this system merges conventional programming used in passive navigation with Artificial Intelligence techniques such as voice recognition, spatial reasoning, and expert systems. The individual components of the RAV system are discussed as well as their interactions with each other and how they operate as a system.

Hierarchical HMM based learning of navigation primitives for cooperative robotic endovascular catheterization.

PubMed

Rafii-Tari, Hedyeh; Liu, Jindong; Payne, Christopher J; Bicknell, Colin; Yang, Guang-Zhong

2014-01-01

Despite increased use of remote-controlled steerable catheter navigation systems for endovascular intervention, most current designs are based on master configurations which tend to alter natural operator tool interactions. This introduces problems to both ergonomics and shared human-robot control. This paper proposes a novel cooperative robotic catheterization system based on learning-from-demonstration. By encoding the higher-level structure of a catheterization task as a sequence of primitive motions, we demonstrate how to achieve prospective learning for complex tasks whilst incorporating subject-specific variations. A hierarchical Hidden Markov Model is used to model each movement primitive as well as their sequential relationship. This model is applied to generation of motion sequences, recognition of operator input, and prediction of future movements for the robot. The framework is validated by comparing catheter tip motions against the manual approach, showing significant improvements in the quality of catheterization. The results motivate the design of collaborative robotic systems that are intuitive to use, while reducing the cognitive workload of the operator.

Robotics technology discipline

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montemerlo, Melvin D.

1990-01-01

Viewgraphs on robotics technology discipline for Space Station Freedom are presented. Topics covered include: mechanisms; sensors; systems engineering processes for integrated robotics; man/machine cooperative control; 3D-real-time machine perception; multiple arm redundancy control; manipulator control from a movable base; multi-agent reasoning; and surfacing evolution technologies.

Cooperative Autonomous Robots for Reconnaissance

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-06

REPORT Cooperative Autonomous Robots for Reconnaissance 14. ABSTRACT 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: Collaborating mobile robots equipped with WiFi ...Cooperative Autonomous Robots for Reconnaissance Report Title ABSTRACT Collaborating mobile robots equipped with WiFi transceivers are configured as a mobile...equipped with WiFi transceivers are configured as a mobile ad-hoc network. Algorithms are developed to take advantage of the distributed processing

I Reach Faster When I See You Look: Gaze Effects in Human–Human and Human–Robot Face-to-Face Cooperation

PubMed Central

Boucher, Jean-David; Pattacini, Ugo; Lelong, Amelie; Bailly, Gerard; Elisei, Frederic; Fagel, Sascha; Dominey, Peter Ford; Ventre-Dominey, Jocelyne

2012-01-01

Human–human interaction in natural environments relies on a variety of perceptual cues. Humanoid robots are becoming increasingly refined in their sensorimotor capabilities, and thus should now be able to manipulate and exploit these social cues in cooperation with their human partners. Previous studies have demonstrated that people follow human and robot gaze, and that it can help them to cope with spatially ambiguous language. Our goal is to extend these findings into the domain of action, to determine how human and robot gaze can influence the speed and accuracy of human action. We report on results from a human–human cooperation experiment demonstrating that an agent’s vision of her/his partner’s gaze can significantly improve that agent’s performance in a cooperative task. We then implement a heuristic capability to generate such gaze cues by a humanoid robot that engages in the same cooperative interaction. The subsequent human–robot experiments demonstrate that a human agent can indeed exploit the predictive gaze of their robot partner in a cooperative task. This allows us to render the humanoid robot more human-like in its ability to communicate with humans. The long term objectives of the work are thus to identify social cooperation cues, and to validate their pertinence through implementation in a cooperative robot. The current research provides the robot with the capability to produce appropriate speech and gaze cues in the context of human–robot cooperation tasks. Gaze is manipulated in three conditions: Full gaze (coordinated eye and head), eyes hidden with sunglasses, and head fixed. We demonstrate the pertinence of these cues in terms of statistical measures of action times for humans in the context of a cooperative task, as gaze significantly facilitates cooperation as measured by human response times. PMID:22563315

Performance impact of mutation operators of a subpopulation-based genetic algorithm for multi-robot task allocation problems.

PubMed

Liu, Chun; Kroll, Andreas

2016-01-01

Multi-robot task allocation determines the task sequence and distribution for a group of robots in multi-robot systems, which is one of constrained combinatorial optimization problems and more complex in case of cooperative tasks because they introduce additional spatial and temporal constraints. To solve multi-robot task allocation problems with cooperative tasks efficiently, a subpopulation-based genetic algorithm, a crossover-free genetic algorithm employing mutation operators and elitism selection in each subpopulation, is developed in this paper. Moreover, the impact of mutation operators (swap, insertion, inversion, displacement, and their various combinations) is analyzed when solving several industrial plant inspection problems. The experimental results show that: (1) the proposed genetic algorithm can obtain better solutions than the tested binary tournament genetic algorithm with partially mapped crossover; (2) inversion mutation performs better than other tested mutation operators when solving problems without cooperative tasks, and the swap-inversion combination performs better than other tested mutation operators/combinations when solving problems with cooperative tasks. As it is difficult to produce all desired effects with a single mutation operator, using multiple mutation operators (including both inversion and swap) is suggested when solving similar combinatorial optimization problems.

A new HLA-based distributed control architecture for agricultural teams of robots in hybrid applications with real and simulated devices or environments.

PubMed

Nebot, Patricio; Torres-Sospedra, Joaquín; Martínez, Rafael J

2011-01-01

The control architecture is one of the most important part of agricultural robotics and other robotic systems. Furthermore its importance increases when the system involves a group of heterogeneous robots that should cooperate to achieve a global goal. A new control architecture is introduced in this paper for groups of robots in charge of doing maintenance tasks in agricultural environments. Some important features such as scalability, code reuse, hardware abstraction and data distribution have been considered in the design of the new architecture. Furthermore, coordination and cooperation among the different elements in the system is allowed in the proposed control system. By integrating a network oriented device server Player, Java Agent Development Framework (JADE) and High Level Architecture (HLA), the previous concepts have been considered in the new architecture presented in this paper. HLA can be considered the most important part because it not only allows the data distribution and implicit communication among the parts of the system but also allows to simultaneously operate with simulated and real entities, thus allowing the use of hybrid systems in the development of applications.

Robots and Humans: Synergy in Planetary Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, Geoffrey A.

2003-01-01

How will humans and robots cooperate in future planetary exploration? Are humans and robots fundamentally separate modes of exploration, or can humans and robots work together to synergistically explore the solar system? It is proposed that humans and robots can work together in exploring the planets by use of telerobotic operation to expand the function and usefulness of human explorers, and to extend the range of human exploration to hostile environments.

Robots and Humans: Synergy in Planetary Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, Geoffrey A.

2002-01-01

How will humans and robots cooperate in future planetary exploration? Are humans and robots fundamentally separate modes of exploration, or can humans and robots work together to synergistically explore the solar system? It is proposed that humans and robots can work together in exploring the planets by use of telerobotic operation to expand the function and usefulness of human explorers, and to extend the range of human exploration to hostile environments.

Experiments in Nonlinear Adaptive Control of Multi-Manipulator, Free-Flying Space Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Vincent Wei-Kang

1992-01-01

Sophisticated robots can greatly enhance the role of humans in space by relieving astronauts of low level, tedious assembly and maintenance chores and allowing them to concentrate on higher level tasks. Robots and astronauts can work together efficiently, as a team; but the robot must be capable of accomplishing complex operations and yet be easy to use. Multiple cooperating manipulators are essential to dexterity and can broaden greatly the types of activities the robot can achieve; adding adaptive control can ease greatly robot usage by allowing the robot to change its own controller actions, without human intervention, in response to changes in its environment. Previous work in the Aerospace Robotics Laboratory (ARL) have shown the usefulness of a space robot with cooperating manipulators. The research presented in this dissertation extends that work by adding adaptive control. To help achieve this high level of robot sophistication, this research made several advances to the field of nonlinear adaptive control of robotic systems. A nonlinear adaptive control algorithm developed originally for control of robots, but requiring joint positions as inputs, was extended here to handle the much more general case of manipulator endpoint-position commands. A new system modelling technique, called system concatenation was developed to simplify the generation of a system model for complicated systems, such as a free-flying multiple-manipulator robot system. Finally, the task-space concept was introduced wherein the operator's inputs specify only the robot's task. The robot's subsequent autonomous performance of each task still involves, of course, endpoint positions and joint configurations as subsets. The combination of these developments resulted in a new adaptive control framework that is capable of continuously providing full adaptation capability to the complex space-robot system in all modes of operation. The new adaptive control algorithm easily handles free-flying systems with multiple, interacting manipulators, and extends naturally to even larger systems. The new adaptive controller was experimentally demonstrated on an ideal testbed in the ARL-A first-ever experimental model of a multi-manipulator, free-flying space robot that is capable of capturing and manipulating free-floating objects without requiring human assistance. A graphical user interface enhanced the robot usability: it enabled an operator situated at a remote location to issue high-level task description commands to the robot, and to monitor robot activities as it then carried out each assignment autonomously.

Rice-obot 1: An intelligent autonomous mobile robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Defigueiredo, R.; Ciscon, L.; Berberian, D.

1989-01-01

The Rice-obot I is the first in a series of Intelligent Autonomous Mobile Robots (IAMRs) being developed at Rice University's Cooperative Intelligent Mobile Robots (CIMR) lab. The Rice-obot I is mainly designed to be a testbed for various robotic and AI techniques, and a platform for developing intelligent control systems for exploratory robots. Researchers present the need for a generalized environment capable of combining all of the control, sensory and knowledge systems of an IAMR. They introduce Lisp-Nodes as such a system, and develop the basic concepts of nodes, messages and classes. Furthermore, they show how the control system of the Rice-obot I is implemented as sub-systems in Lisp-Nodes.

Cooperative Robot Localization Using Event-Triggered Estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iglesias Echevarria, David I.

It is known that multiple robot systems that need to cooperate to perform certain activities or tasks incur in high energy costs that hinder their autonomous functioning and limit the benefits provided to humans by these kinds of platforms. This work presents a communications-based method for cooperative robot localization. Implementing concepts from event-triggered estimation, used with success in the field of wireless sensor networks but rarely to do robot localization, agents are able to only send measurements to their neighbors when the expected novelty in this information is high. Since all agents know the condition that triggers a measurement to be sent or not, the lack of a measurement is therefore informative and fused into state estimates. In the case agents do not receive either direct nor indirect measurements of all others, the agents employ a covariance intersection fusion rule in order to keep the local covariance error metric bounded. A comprehensive analysis of the proposed algorithm and its estimation performance in a variety of scenarios is performed, and the algorithm is compared to similar cooperative localization approaches. Extensive simulations are performed that illustrate the effectiveness of this method.

Robots and humans: synergy in planetary exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, Geoffrey A.

2004-01-01

How will humans and robots cooperate in future planetary exploration? Are humans and robots fundamentally separate modes of exploration, or can humans and robots work together to synergistically explore the solar system? It is proposed that humans and robots can work together in exploring the planets by use of telerobotic operation to expand the function and usefulness of human explorers, and to extend the range of human exploration to hostile environments. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Control of free-flying space robot manipulator systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cannon, Robert H., Jr.

1989-01-01

Control techniques for self-contained, autonomous free-flying space robots are being tested and developed. Free-flying space robots are envisioned as a key element of any successful long term presence in space. These robots must be capable of performing the assembly, maintenance, and inspection, and repair tasks that currently require astronaut extra-vehicular activity (EVA). Use of robots will provide economic savings as well as improved astronaut safety by reducing and in many cases, eliminating the need for human EVA. The focus of the work is to develop and carry out a set of research projects using laboratory models of satellite robots. These devices use air-cushion-vehicle (ACV) technology to simulate in two dimensions the drag-free, zero-g conditions of space. Current work is divided into six major projects or research areas. Fixed-base cooperative manipulation work represents our initial entry into multiple arm cooperation and high-level control with a sophisticated user interface. The floating-base cooperative manipulation project strives to transfer some of the technologies developed in the fixed-base work onto a floating base. The global control and navigation experiment seeks to demonstrate simultaneous control of the robot manipulators and the robot base position so that tasks can be accomplished while the base is undergoing a controlled motion. The multiple-vehicle cooperation project's goal is to demonstrate multiple free-floating robots working in teams to carry out tasks too difficult or complex for a single robot to perform. The Location Enhancement Arm Push-off (LEAP) activity's goal is to provide a viable alternative to expendable gas thrusters for vehicle propulsion wherein the robot uses its manipulators to throw itself from place to place. Because the successful execution of the LEAP technique requires an accurate model of the robot and payload mass properties, it was deemed an attractive testbed for adaptive control technology.

Feasibility and effects of patient-cooperative robot-aided gait training applied in a 4-week pilot trial

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Functional training is becoming the state-of-the-art therapy approach for rehabilitation of individuals after stroke and spinal cord injury. Robot-aided treadmill training reduces personnel effort, especially when treating severely affected patients. Improving rehabilitation robots towards more patient-cooperative behavior may further increase the effects of robot-aided training. This pilot study aims at investigating the feasibility of applying patient-cooperative robot-aided gait rehabilitation to stroke and incomplete spinal cord injury during a therapy period of four weeks. Short-term effects within one training session as well as the effects of the training on walking function are evaluated. Methods Two individuals with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury and two with chronic stroke trained with the Lokomat gait rehabilitation robot which was operated in a new, patient-cooperative mode for a period of four weeks with four training sessions of 45 min per week. At baseline, after two and after four weeks, walking function was assessed with the ten meter walking test. Additionally, muscle activity of the major leg muscles, heart rate and the Borg scale were measured under different walking conditions including a non-cooperative position control mode to investigate the short-term effects of patient-cooperative versus non-cooperative robot-aided gait training. Results Patient-cooperative robot-aided gait training was tolerated well by all subjects and performed without difficulties. The subjects trained more actively and with more physiological muscle activity than in a non-cooperative position-control mode. One subject showed a significant and relevant increase of gait speed after the therapy, the three remaining subjects did not show significant changes. Conclusions Patient-cooperative robot-aided gait training is feasible in clinical practice and overcomes the main points of criticism against robot-aided gait training: It enables patients to train in an active, variable and more natural way. The limited number of subjects in this pilot trial does not permit valid conclusions on the effect of patient-cooperative robot-aided gait training on walking function. A large, possibly multi-center randomized controlled clinical trial is required to shed more light on this question. PMID:22650320

77 FR 66635 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Border Security...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-06

..., Scottsdale, AZ; General Robotics, Sherman Oaks, CA; Global Technical Systems, Virginia Beach, VA; Hurley IR..., TX; Liquid Robotics, Sunnyvale, CA; Lockheed Martin Corporation, Gaithersburg, MD; Morpho Detection...

Patient-cooperative control increases active participation of individuals with SCI during robot-aided gait training

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Manual body weight supported treadmill training and robot-aided treadmill training are frequently used techniques for the gait rehabilitation of individuals after stroke and spinal cord injury. Current evidence suggests that robot-aided gait training may be improved by making robotic behavior more patient-cooperative. In this study, we have investigated the immediate effects of patient-cooperative versus non-cooperative robot-aided gait training on individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). Methods Eleven patients with iSCI participated in a single training session with the gait rehabilitation robot Lokomat. The patients were exposed to four different training modes in random order: During both non-cooperative position control and compliant impedance control, fixed timing of movements was provided. During two variants of the patient-cooperative path control approach, free timing of movements was enabled and the robot provided only spatial guidance. The two variants of the path control approach differed in the amount of additional support, which was either individually adjusted or exaggerated. Joint angles and torques of the robot as well as muscle activity and heart rate of the patients were recorded. Kinematic variability, interaction torques, heart rate and muscle activity were compared between the different conditions. Results Patients showed more spatial and temporal kinematic variability, reduced interaction torques, a higher increase of heart rate and more muscle activity in the patient-cooperative path control mode with individually adjusted support than in the non-cooperative position control mode. In the compliant impedance control mode, spatial kinematic variability was increased and interaction torques were reduced, but temporal kinematic variability, heart rate and muscle activity were not significantly higher than in the position control mode. Conclusions Patient-cooperative robot-aided gait training with free timing of movements made individuals with iSCI participate more actively and with larger kinematic variability than non-cooperative, position-controlled robot-aided gait training. PMID:20828422

Modelling cooperation of industrial robots as multi-agent systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hryniewicz, P.; Banas, W.; Foit, K.; Gwiazda, A.; Sekala, A.

2017-08-01

Nowadays, more and more often in a cell is more than one robot, there is also a dual arm robots, because of this cooperation of two robots in the same space becomes more and more important. Programming robotic cell consisting of two or more robots are currently performed separately for each element of the robot and the cell. It is performed only synchronization programs, but no robot movements. In such situations often placed industrial robots so they do not have common space so the robots are operated separately. When industrial robots are a common space this space can occupy only one robot the other one must be outside the common space. It is very difficult to find applications where two robots are in the same workspace. It was tested but one robot did not do of movement when moving the second and waited for permission to move from the second when it sent a permit - stop the move. Such programs are very difficult and require a lot of experience from the programmer and must be tested separately at the beginning and then very slowly under control. Ideally, the operator takes care of exactly one robot during the test and it is very important to take special care.

ALLIANCE: An architecture for fault tolerant, cooperative control of heterogeneous mobile robots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parker, L.E.

1995-02-01

This research addresses the problem of achieving fault tolerant cooperation within small- to medium-sized teams of heterogeneous mobile robots. The author describes a novel behavior-based, fully distributed architecture, called ALLIANCE, that utilizes adaptive action selection to achieve fault tolerant cooperative control in robot missions involving loosely coupled, largely independent tasks. The robots in this architecture possess a variety of high-level functions that they can perform during a mission, and must at all times select an appropriate action based on the requirements of the mission, the activities of other robots, the current environmental conditions, and their own internal states. Since suchmore » cooperative teams often work in dynamic and unpredictable environments, the software architecture allows the team members to respond robustly and reliably to unexpected environmental changes and modifications in the robot team that may occur due to mechanical failure, the learning of new skills, or the addition or removal of robots from the team by human intervention. After presenting ALLIANCE, the author describes in detail experimental results of an implementation of this architecture on a team of physical mobile robots performing a cooperative box pushing demonstration. These experiments illustrate the ability of ALLIANCE to achieve adaptive, fault-tolerant cooperative control amidst dynamic changes in the capabilities of the robot team.« less

Enabling Interoperable Space Robots With the Joint Technical Architecture for Robotic Systems (JTARS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bradley, Arthur; Dubowsky, Steven; Quinn, Roger; Marzwell, Neville

2005-01-01

Robots that operate independently of one another will not be adequate to accomplish the future exploration tasks of long-distance autonomous navigation, habitat construction, resource discovery, and material handling. Such activities will require that systems widely share information, plan and divide complex tasks, share common resources, and physically cooperate to manipulate objects. Recognizing the need for interoperable robots to accomplish the new exploration initiative, NASA s Office of Exploration Systems Research & Technology recently funded the development of the Joint Technical Architecture for Robotic Systems (JTARS). JTARS charter is to identify the interface standards necessary to achieve interoperability among space robots. A JTARS working group (JTARS-WG) has been established comprising recognized leaders in the field of space robotics including representatives from seven NASA centers along with academia and private industry. The working group s early accomplishments include addressing key issues required for interoperability, defining which systems are within the project s scope, and framing the JTARS manuals around classes of robotic systems.

Exploration of Planetary Terrains with a Legged Robot as a Scout Adjunct to a Rover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colombano, Silvano; Kirchner, Frank; Spenneberg, Dirk; Hanratty, James

2004-01-01

The Scorpion robot is an innovative, biologically inspired 8-legged walking robot. It currently runs a novel approach to control which utilizes a central pattern generator (CPG) and local reflex action for each leg. From this starting point we are proposing to both extend the system's individual capabilities and its capacity to function as a "scout", cooperating with a larger wheeled rover. For this purpose we propose to develop a distributed system architecture that extends the system's capabilities both in the direction of high level planning and execution in collaboration with a rover, and in the direction of force-feedback based low level behaviors that will greatly enhance its ability to walk and climb in rough varied terrains. The final test of this improved ability will be a rappelling experiment where the Scorpion explores a steep cliff side in cooperation with a rover that serves as both anchor and planner/executive.

Cooperative Robots to Observe Moving Targets: Review.

PubMed

Khan, Asif; Rinner, Bernhard; Cavallaro, Andrea

2018-01-01

The deployment of multiple robots for achieving a common goal helps to improve the performance, efficiency, and/or robustness in a variety of tasks. In particular, the observation of moving targets is an important multirobot application that still exhibits numerous open challenges, including the effective coordination of the robots. This paper reviews control techniques for cooperative mobile robots monitoring multiple targets. The simultaneous movement of robots and targets makes this problem particularly interesting, and our review systematically addresses this cooperative multirobot problem for the first time. We classify and critically discuss the control techniques: cooperative multirobot observation of multiple moving targets, cooperative search, acquisition, and track, cooperative tracking, and multirobot pursuit evasion. We also identify the five major elements that characterize this problem, namely, the coordination method, the environment, the target, the robot and its sensor(s). These elements are used to systematically analyze the control techniques. The majority of the studied work is based on simulation and laboratory studies, which may not accurately reflect real-world operational conditions. Importantly, while our systematic analysis is focused on multitarget observation, our proposed classification is useful also for related multirobot applications.

Development of Articulated Competency-Based Curriculum in Automated Systems/Robotics Technology. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luzerne County Community Coll., Nanticoke, PA.

A project was conducted at the Community College of Luzerne County (Pennsylvania) to develop, in cooperation with area vocational-technical schools, the first year of a competency-based curriculum in automated systems/robotics. Existing programs were reviewed by the task force and a list of sample competencies was developed and sent to area…

KALI - An environment for the programming and control of cooperative manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayward, Vincent; Hayati, Samad

1988-01-01

A design description is given of a controller for cooperative robots. The background and motivation for multiple arm control are discussed. A set of programming primitives which permit a programmer to specify cooperative tasks are described. Motion primitives specify asynchronous motions, master/slave motions, and cooperative motions. In the context of cooperative robots, trajectory generation issues are discussed and the authors' implementation briefly described. The relations between programming and control in the case of multiple robots are examined. The allocation of various tasks among a multiprocessor computer is described.

Evolutionary Design and Simulation of a Tube Crawling Inspection Robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Craft, Michael; Howsman, Tom; ONeil, Daniel; Howell, Joe T. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Space Robotics Assembly Team Simulation (SpaceRATS) is an expansive concept that will hopefully lead to a space flight demonstration of a robotic team cooperatively assembling a system from its constitutive parts. A primary objective of the SpaceRATS project is to develop a generalized evolutionary design approach for multiple classes of robots. The portion of the overall SpaceRats program associated with the evolutionary design and simulation of an inspection robot's morphology is the subject of this paper. The vast majority of this effort has concentrated on the use and modification of Darwin2K, a robotic design and simulation software package, to analyze the design of a tube crawling robot. This robot is designed for carrying out inspection duties in relatively inaccessible locations within a liquid rocket engine similar to the SSME. A preliminary design of the tube crawler robot was completed, and the mechanical dynamics of the system were simulated. An evolutionary approach to optimizing a few parameters of the system was utilized, resulting in a more optimum design.

Robotic learning from demonstration of therapist's time-varying assistance to a patient in trajectory-following tasks.

PubMed

Najafi, Mohammad; Adams, Kim; Tavakoli, Mahdi

2017-07-01

The number of people with physical disabilities and impaired motion control is increasing. Consequently, there is a growing demand for intelligent assistive robotic systems to cooperate with people with disability and help them carry out different tasks. To this end, our group has pioneered the use of robot learning from demonstration (RLfD) techniques, which eliminate the need for task-specific robot programming, in robotic rehabilitation and assistive technologies settings. First, in the demonstration phase, the therapist (or in general, a helper) provides an intervention (typically assistance) and cooperatively performs a task with a patient several times. The demonstrated motion is modelled by a statistical RLfD algorithm, which will later be used in the robot controllers to reproduce a similar intervention robotically. In this paper, by proposing a Tangential-Normal Varying-Impedance Controller (TNVIC), the robotic manipulator not only follows the therapist's demonstrated motion, but also mimics his/her interaction impedance during the therapeutic/assistive intervention. The feasibility and efficacy of the proposed framework are evaluated by conducting an experiment involving a healthy adult with cerebral palsy symptoms being induced using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.

Tele-assistance for semi-autonomous robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, Erika; Murphy, Robin R.

1994-01-01

This paper describes a new approach in semi-autonomous mobile robots. In this approach the robot has sufficient computerized intelligence to function autonomously under a certain set of conditions, while the local system is a cooperative decision making unit that combines human and machine intelligence. Communication is then allowed to take place in a common mode and in a common language. A number of exception-handling scenarios that were constructed as a result of experiments with actual sensor data collected from two mobile robots were presented.

Dynamical modelling of coordinated multiple robot systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayati, Samad

1987-01-01

The state of the art in the modeling of the dynamics of coordinated multiple robot manipulators is summarized and various problems related to this subject are discussed. It is recognized that dynamics modeling is a component used in the design of controllers for multiple cooperating robots. As such, the discussion addresses some problems related to the control of multiple robots. The techniques used to date in the modeling of closed kinematic chains are summarized. Various efforts made to date for the control of coordinated multiple manipulators is summarized.

Initial Clinical Trial of Robot of Endovascular Treatment with Force Feedback and Cooperating of Catheter and Guidewire.

PubMed

Jiang, Yuhua; Liu, Keyun; Li, Youxiang

2018-01-01

To evaluate the feasibility and safety of the robot of endovascular treatment (RobEnt) in clinical practice, we carried out a cerebral angiography using this robot system. We evaluated the performance of application of the robot system to clinical practice through using this robotic system to perform the digital subtraction angiography for a patient who was suspected of suffering intracranial aneurysm. At the same time, through comparing the postoperative head nuclear magnetic and blood routine with the preoperative examination, we evaluated the safety of application of the robot system to clinical practice. We performed the robot system to complete the bilateral carotid artery and bilateral vertebral arteriography. The results indicate that there was no obvious abnormality in the patient's cerebral artery. No obvious abnormality was observed in the examination of patients' check-up, head nuclear magnetism, and blood routine after the digital subtraction angiography. From this clinical trial, it can be observed that the robot system can perform the operation of cerebral angiography. The robot system can basically complete the related observation indexes, and its accuracy, effectiveness, stability, and safety basically meet the requirements of clinical application in neurointerventional surgery.

ROBOSIM, a simulator for robotic systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinman, Elaine M.; Fernandez, Ken; Cook, George E.

1991-01-01

ROBOSIM, a simulator for robotic systems, was developed by NASA to aid in the rapid prototyping of automation. ROBOSIM has allowed the development of improved robotic systems concepts for both earth-based and proposed on-orbit applications while significantly reducing development costs. In a cooperative effort with an area university, ROBOSIM was further developed for use in the classroom as a safe and cost-effective way of allowing students to study robotic systems. Students have used ROBOSIM to study existing robotic systems and systems which they have designed in the classroom. Since an advanced simulator/trainer of this type is beneficial not only to NASA projects and programs but industry and academia as well, NASA is in the process of developing this technology for wider public use. An update on the simulators's new application areas, the improvements made to the simulator's design, and current efforts to ensure the timely transfer of this technology are presented.

Human-Robot Cooperation with Commands Embedded in Actions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Kazuki; Yamada, Seiji

In this paper, we first propose a novel interaction model, CEA (Commands Embedded in Actions). It can explain the way how some existing systems reduce the work-load of their user. We next extend the CEA and build ECEA (Extended CEA) model. The ECEA enables robots to achieve more complicated tasks. On this extension, we employ ACS (Action Coding System) which can describe segmented human acts and clarifies the relationship between user's actions and robot's actions in a task. The ACS utilizes the CEA's strong point which enables a user to send a command to a robot by his/her natural action for the task. The instance of the ECEA led by using the ACS is a temporal extension which has the user keep a final state of a previous his/her action. We apply the temporal extension of the ECEA for a sweeping task. The high-level task, a cooperative task between the user and the robot can be realized. The robot with simple reactive behavior can sweep the region of under an object when the user picks up the object. In addition, we measure user's cognitive loads on the ECEA and a traditional method, DCM (Direct Commanding Method) in the sweeping task, and compare between them. The results show that the ECEA has a lower cognitive load than the DCM significantly.

Tele-Manipulation with Two Asymmetric Slaves: Two Operators Perform Better Than One.

PubMed

van Oosterhout, Jeroen; Heemskerk, Cock J M; de Baar, Marco R; van der Helm, Frans C T; Abbink, David A

2018-01-01

Certain tele-manipulation tasks require manipulation by two asymmetric slaves, for example, a crane for hoisting and a dexterous robotic arm for fine manipulation. It is unclear how to best design human-in-the-loop control over two asymmetric slaves. The goal of this paper is to quantitatively compare the standard approach of two co-operating operators that each control a single subtask, to a single operator performing bi-manual control over the two subtasks, and a uni-manual control approach. In a human factors experiment, participants performed a heavy load maneuvering and mounting task using a vertical crane and a robotic arm. We hypothesize that bi-manual control yields worse task performance and control activity compared to co-operation, because of conflicting spatial and temporal constraints. Literature suggests that uni-manual operators should perform better than co-operation, as co-operators critically depend on each other's actions. However, other literature provides evidence that individual operators have limited capabilities in controlling asymmetric axes of two dynamic systems. The results show that the two co-operators perform the maneuvering and mounting task faster than either bi- or uni-manual operators. Compared to co-operators, uni-manual operators required more control activity for the vertical crane and less for the robotic arm. In conclusion, this study suggests that when controlling two asymmetric slaves, a co-operating pair of operators performs better than a single operator.

Ubiquitous Robotic Technology for Smart Manufacturing System.

PubMed

Wang, Wenshan; Zhu, Xiaoxiao; Wang, Liyu; Qiu, Qiang; Cao, Qixin

2016-01-01

As the manufacturing tasks become more individualized and more flexible, the machines in smart factory are required to do variable tasks collaboratively without reprogramming. This paper for the first time discusses the similarity between smart manufacturing systems and the ubiquitous robotic systems and makes an effort on deploying ubiquitous robotic technology to the smart factory. Specifically, a component based framework is proposed in order to enable the communication and cooperation of the heterogeneous robotic devices. Further, compared to the service robotic domain, the smart manufacturing systems are often in larger size. So a hierarchical planning method was implemented to improve the planning efficiency. A test bed of smart factory is developed. It demonstrates that the proposed framework is suitable for industrial domain, and the hierarchical planning method is able to solve large problems intractable with flat methods.

Ubiquitous Robotic Technology for Smart Manufacturing System

PubMed Central

Zhu, Xiaoxiao; Wang, Liyu; Qiu, Qiang; Cao, Qixin

2016-01-01

As the manufacturing tasks become more individualized and more flexible, the machines in smart factory are required to do variable tasks collaboratively without reprogramming. This paper for the first time discusses the similarity between smart manufacturing systems and the ubiquitous robotic systems and makes an effort on deploying ubiquitous robotic technology to the smart factory. Specifically, a component based framework is proposed in order to enable the communication and cooperation of the heterogeneous robotic devices. Further, compared to the service robotic domain, the smart manufacturing systems are often in larger size. So a hierarchical planning method was implemented to improve the planning efficiency. A test bed of smart factory is developed. It demonstrates that the proposed framework is suitable for industrial domain, and the hierarchical planning method is able to solve large problems intractable with flat methods. PMID:27446206

Control and applications of cooperating disparate robotic manipulators relevant to nuclear waste management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lew, Jae Young; Book, Wayne J.

1991-01-01

Remote handling in nuclear waste management requires a robotic system with precise motion as well as a large workspace. The concept of a small arm mounted on the end of a large arm may satisfy such needs. However, the performance of such a serial configuration lacks payload capacity which is a crucial factor for handling a massive object. Also, this configuration induces more flexibility on the structure. To overcome these problems, the topology of bracing the tip of the small arm (not the large arm) and having an end effector in the middle of the chain is proposed in this paper. Also, control of these cooperating disparate manipulators is accomplished in computer simulations. Thus, this robotic system can have the accuracy of the small arm, and at the same time, it can have the payload capacity and large workspace of the large arm.

Determining of a robot workspace using the integration of a CAD system with a virtual control system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herbuś, K.; Ociepka, P.

2016-08-01

The paper presents a method for determining the workspace of an industrial robot using an approach consisting in integration a 3D model of an industrial robot with a virtual control system. The robot model with his work environment, prepared for motion simulation, was created in the “Motion Simulation” module of the Siemens PLM NX software. In the mentioned model components of the “link” type were created which map the geometrical form of particular elements of the robot and the components of “joint” type mapping way of cooperation of components of the “link” type. In the paper is proposed the solution in which the control process of a virtual robot is similar to the control process of a real robot using the manual control panel (teach pendant). For this purpose, the control application “JOINT” was created, which provides the manipulation of a virtual robot in accordance with its internal control system. The set of procedures stored in an .xlsx file is the element integrating the 3D robot model working in the CAD/CAE class system with the elaborated control application.

A Pneumatic Tactile Sensor for Co-Operative Robots

PubMed Central

He, Rui; Yu, Jianjun; Zuo, Guoyu

2017-01-01

Tactile sensors of comprehensive functions are urgently needed for the advanced robot to co-exist and co-operate with human beings. Pneumatic tactile sensors based on air bladder possess some noticeable advantages for human-robot interaction application. In this paper, we construct a pneumatic tactile sensor and apply it on the fingertip of robot hand to realize the sensing of force, vibration and slippage via the change of the pressure of the air bladder, and we utilize the sensor to perceive the object’s features such as softness and roughness. The pneumatic tactile sensor has good linearity, repeatability and low hysteresis and both its size and sensing range can be customized by using different material as well as different thicknesses of the air bladder. It is also simple and cheap to fabricate. Therefore, the pneumatic tactile sensor is suitable for the application of co-operative robots and can be widely utilized to improve the performance of service robots. We can apply it to the fingertip of the robot to endow the robotic hand with the ability to co-operate with humans and handle the fragile objects because of the inherent compliance of the air bladder. PMID:29125565

Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huntsberger, Terrance; Aghazarian, Hrand; Estlin, Tara; Gaines, Daniel

2008-01-01

Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing (CARACaS) is a recent product of a continuing effort to develop architectures for controlling either a single autonomous robotic vehicle or multiple cooperating but otherwise autonomous robotic vehicles. CARACaS is potentially applicable to diverse robotic systems that could include aircraft, spacecraft, ground vehicles, surface water vessels, and/or underwater vessels. CARACaS incudes an integral combination of three coupled agents: a dynamic planning engine, a behavior engine, and a perception engine. The perception and dynamic planning en - gines are also coupled with a memory in the form of a world model. CARACaS is intended to satisfy the need for two major capabilities essential for proper functioning of an autonomous robotic system: a capability for deterministic reaction to unanticipated occurrences and a capability for re-planning in the face of changing goals, conditions, or resources. The behavior engine incorporates the multi-agent control architecture, called CAMPOUT, described in An Architecture for Controlling Multiple Robots (NPO-30345), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 11 (November 2004), page 65. CAMPOUT is used to develop behavior-composition and -coordination mechanisms. Real-time process algebra operators are used to compose a behavior network for any given mission scenario. These operators afford a capability for producing a formally correct kernel of behaviors that guarantee predictable performance. By use of a method based on multi-objective decision theory (MODT), recommendations from multiple behaviors are combined to form a set of control actions that represents their consensus. In this approach, all behaviors contribute simultaneously to the control of the robotic system in a cooperative rather than a competitive manner. This approach guarantees a solution that is good enough with respect to resolution of complex, possibly conflicting goals within the constraints of the mission to be accomplished by the vehicle(s).

Sustainable Cooperative Robotic Technologies for Human and Robotic Outpost Infrastructure Construction and Maintenance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stroupe, Ashley W.; Okon, Avi; Robinson, Matthew; Huntsberger, Terry; Aghazarian, Hrand; Baumgartner, Eric

2004-01-01

Robotic Construction Crew (RCC) is a heterogeneous multi-robot system for autonomous acquisition, transport, and precision mating of components in construction tasks. RCC minimizes resources constrained in a space environment such as computation, power, communication and, sensing. A behavior-based architecture provides adaptability and robustness despite low computational requirements. RCC successfully performs several construction related tasks in an emulated outdoor environment despite high levels of uncertainty in motions and sensing. Quantitative results are provided for formation keeping in component transport, precision instrument placement, and construction tasks.

Control system of the inspection robots group applying auctions and multi-criteria analysis for task allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panfil, Wawrzyniec; Moczulski, Wojciech

2017-10-01

In the paper presented is a control system of a mobile robots group intended for carrying out inspection missions. The main research problem was to define such a control system in order to facilitate a cooperation of the robots resulting in realization of the committed inspection tasks. Many of the well-known control systems use auctions for tasks allocation, where a subject of an auction is a task to be allocated. It seems that in the case of missions characterized by much larger number of tasks than number of robots it will be better if robots (instead of tasks) are subjects of auctions. The second identified problem concerns the one-sided robot-to-task fitness evaluation. Simultaneous assessment of the robot-to-task fitness and task attractiveness for robot should affect positively for the overall effectiveness of the multi-robot system performance. The elaborated system allows to assign tasks to robots using various methods for evaluation of fitness between robots and tasks, and using some tasks allocation methods. There is proposed the method for multi-criteria analysis, which is composed of two assessments, i.e. robot's concurrency position for task among other robots and task's attractiveness for robot among other tasks. Furthermore, there are proposed methods for tasks allocation applying the mentioned multi-criteria analysis method. The verification of both the elaborated system and the proposed tasks' allocation methods was carried out with the help of simulated experiments. The object under test was a group of inspection mobile robots being a virtual counterpart of the real mobile-robot group.

Aerial cooperative transporting and assembling control using multiple quadrotor-manipulator systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Yuhua; Wang, Jianan; Shan, Jiayuan

2018-02-01

In this paper, a fully distributed control scheme for aerial cooperative transporting and assembling is proposed using multiple quadrotor-manipulator systems with each quadrotor equipped with a robotic manipulator. First, the kinematic and dynamic models of a quadrotor with multi-Degree of Freedom (DOF) robotic manipulator are established together using Euler-Lagrange equations. Based on the aggregated dynamic model, the control scheme consisting of position controller, attitude controller and manipulator controller is presented. Regarding cooperative transporting and assembling, multiple quadrotor-manipulator systems should be able to form a desired formation without collision among quadrotors from any initial position. The desired formation is achieved by the distributed position controller and attitude controller, while the collision avoidance is guaranteed by an artificial potential function method. Then, the transporting and assembling tasks request the manipulators to reach the desired angles cooperatively, which is achieved by the distributed manipulator controller. The overall stability of the closed-loop system is proven by a Lyapunov method and Matrosov's theorem. In the end, the proposed control scheme is simplified for the real application and then validated by two formation flying missions of four quadrotors with 2-DOF manipulators.

Optimization of power utilization in multimobile robot foraging behavior inspired by honeybees system.

PubMed

Ahmad, Faisul Arif; Ramli, Abd Rahman; Samsudin, Khairulmizam; Hashim, Shaiful Jahari

2014-01-01

Deploying large numbers of mobile robots which can interact with each other produces swarm intelligent behavior. However, mobile robots are normally running with finite energy resource, supplied from finite battery. The limitation of energy resource required human intervention for recharging the batteries. The sharing information among the mobile robots would be one of the potentials to overcome the limitation on previously recharging system. A new approach is proposed based on integrated intelligent system inspired by foraging of honeybees applied to multimobile robot scenario. This integrated approach caters for both working and foraging stages for known/unknown power station locations. Swarm mobile robot inspired by honeybee is simulated to explore and identify the power station for battery recharging. The mobile robots will share the location information of the power station with each other. The result showed that mobile robots consume less energy and less time when they are cooperating with each other for foraging process. The optimizing of foraging behavior would result in the mobile robots spending more time to do real work.

Optimization of Power Utilization in Multimobile Robot Foraging Behavior Inspired by Honeybees System

PubMed Central

Ahmad, Faisul Arif; Ramli, Abd Rahman; Samsudin, Khairulmizam; Hashim, Shaiful Jahari

2014-01-01

Deploying large numbers of mobile robots which can interact with each other produces swarm intelligent behavior. However, mobile robots are normally running with finite energy resource, supplied from finite battery. The limitation of energy resource required human intervention for recharging the batteries. The sharing information among the mobile robots would be one of the potentials to overcome the limitation on previously recharging system. A new approach is proposed based on integrated intelligent system inspired by foraging of honeybees applied to multimobile robot scenario. This integrated approach caters for both working and foraging stages for known/unknown power station locations. Swarm mobile robot inspired by honeybee is simulated to explore and identify the power station for battery recharging. The mobile robots will share the location information of the power station with each other. The result showed that mobile robots consume less energy and less time when they are cooperating with each other for foraging process. The optimizing of foraging behavior would result in the mobile robots spending more time to do real work. PMID:24949491

Evaluating the Dynamics of Agent-Environment Interaction

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-05-01

a color sensor in the gripper, a radio transmitter/receiver for communication and data gathering, and an ultrasound /radio triangulation system for...Cooperative Mobile Robot Control’, Autonomous Robots 4(4), 387{403. Vaughan, R. T., Sty, K., Sukhatme, G. S. & Mataric, M. J. (2000), Whistling in the Dark...sensor in the gripper, a radio transmitter/receiver for communication and data gathering, and an ultrasound /radio triangu- lation system for

Movement Performance of Human-Robot Cooperation Control Based on EMG-Driven Hill-Type and Proportional Models for an Ankle Power-Assist Exoskeleton Robot.

PubMed

Ao, Di; Song, Rong; Gao, JinWu

2017-08-01

Although the merits of electromyography (EMG)-based control of powered assistive systems have been certified, the factors that affect the performance of EMG-based human-robot cooperation, which are very important, have received little attention. This study investigates whether a more physiologically appropriate model could improve the performance of human-robot cooperation control for an ankle power-assist exoskeleton robot. To achieve the goal, an EMG-driven Hill-type neuromusculoskeletal model (HNM) and a linear proportional model (LPM) were developed and calibrated through maximum isometric voluntary dorsiflexion (MIVD). The two control models could estimate the real-time ankle joint torque, and HNM is more accurate and can account for the change of the joint angle and muscle dynamics. Then, eight healthy volunteers were recruited to wear the ankle exoskeleton robot and complete a series of sinusoidal tracking tasks in the vertical plane. With the various levels of assist based on the two calibrated models, the subjects were instructed to track the target displayed on the screen as accurately as possible by performing ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion. Two measurements, the root mean square error (RMSE) and root mean square jerk (RMSJ), were derived from the assistant torque and kinematic signals to characterize the movement performances, whereas the amplitudes of the recorded EMG signals from the tibialis anterior (TA) and the gastrocnemius (GAS) were obtained to reflect the muscular efforts. The results demonstrated that the muscular effort and smoothness of tracking movements decreased with an increase in the assistant ratio. Compared with LPM, subjects made lower physical efforts and generated smoother movements when using HNM, which implied that a more physiologically appropriate model could enable more natural and human-like human-robot cooperation and has potential value for improvement of human-exoskeleton interaction in future applications.

Intelligent robotics can boost America's economic growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erickson, Jon D.

1994-01-01

A case is made for strategic investment in intelligent robotics as a part of the solution to the problem of improved global competitiveness for U.S. manufacturing, a critical industrial sector. Similar cases are made for strategic investments in intelligent robotics for field applications, construction, and service industries such as health care. The scope of the country's problems and needs is beyond the capability of the private sector alone, government alone, or academia alone to solve independently of the others. National cooperative programs in intelligent robotics are needed with the private sector supplying leadership direction and aerospace and non-aerospace industries conducting the development. Some necessary elements of such programs are outlined. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) can be key players in such national cooperative programs in intelligent robotics for several reasons: (1) human space exploration missions require supervised intelligent robotics as enabling tools and, hence must develop supervised intelligent robotic systems; (2) intelligent robotic technology is being developed for space applications at JSC (but has a strong crosscutting or generic flavor) that is advancing the state of the art and is producing both skilled personnel and adaptable developmental infrastructure such as integrated testbeds; and (3) a NASA JSC Technology Investment Program in Robotics has been proposed based on commercial partnerships and collaborations for precompetitive, dual-use developments.

Combined virtual and real robotic test-bed for single operator control of multiple robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sam Y.-S.; Hunt, Shawn; Cao, Alex; Pandya, Abhilash

2010-04-01

Teams of heterogeneous robots with different dynamics or capabilities could perform a variety of tasks such as multipoint surveillance, cooperative transport and explorations in hazardous environments. In this study, we work with heterogeneous robots of semi-autonomous ground and aerial robots for contaminant localization. We developed a human interface system which linked every real robot to its virtual counterpart. A novel virtual interface has been integrated with Augmented Reality that can monitor the position and sensory information from video feed of ground and aerial robots in the 3D virtual environment, and improve user situational awareness. An operator can efficiently control the real multi-robots using the Drag-to-Move method on the virtual multi-robots. This enables an operator to control groups of heterogeneous robots in a collaborative way for allowing more contaminant sources to be pursued simultaneously. The advanced feature of the virtual interface system is guarded teleoperation. This can be used to prevent operators from accidently driving multiple robots into walls and other objects. Moreover, the feature of the image guidance and tracking is able to reduce operator workload.

CESAR robotics and intelligent systems research for nuclear environments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mann, R.C.

1992-07-01

The Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) encompasses expertise and facilities to perform basic and applied research in robotics and intelligent systems in order to address a broad spectrum of problems related to nuclear and other environments. For nuclear environments, research focus is derived from applications in advanced nuclear power stations, and in environmental restoration and waste management. Several programs at CESAR emphasize the cross-cutting technology issues, and are executed in appropriate cooperation with projects that address specific problem areas. Although the main thrust of the CESAR long-term research is on developingmore » highly automated systems that can cooperate and function reliably in complex environments, the development of advanced human-machine interfaces represents a significant part of our research. 11 refs.« less

CESAR robotics and intelligent systems research for nuclear environments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mann, R.C.

1992-01-01

The Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) encompasses expertise and facilities to perform basic and applied research in robotics and intelligent systems in order to address a broad spectrum of problems related to nuclear and other environments. For nuclear environments, research focus is derived from applications in advanced nuclear power stations, and in environmental restoration and waste management. Several programs at CESAR emphasize the cross-cutting technology issues, and are executed in appropriate cooperation with projects that address specific problem areas. Although the main thrust of the CESAR long-term research is on developingmore » highly automated systems that can cooperate and function reliably in complex environments, the development of advanced human-machine interfaces represents a significant part of our research. 11 refs.« less

Robot-assisted ultrasound imaging: overview and development of a parallel telerobotic system.

PubMed

Monfaredi, Reza; Wilson, Emmanuel; Azizi Koutenaei, Bamshad; Labrecque, Brendan; Leroy, Kristen; Goldie, James; Louis, Eric; Swerdlow, Daniel; Cleary, Kevin

2015-02-01

Ultrasound imaging is frequently used in medicine. The quality of ultrasound images is often dependent on the skill of the sonographer. Several researchers have proposed robotic systems to aid in ultrasound image acquisition. In this paper we first provide a short overview of robot-assisted ultrasound imaging (US). We categorize robot-assisted US imaging systems into three approaches: autonomous US imaging, teleoperated US imaging, and human-robot cooperation. For each approach several systems are introduced and briefly discussed. We then describe a compact six degree of freedom parallel mechanism telerobotic system for ultrasound imaging developed by our research team. The long-term goal of this work is to enable remote ultrasound scanning through teleoperation. This parallel mechanism allows for both translation and rotation of an ultrasound probe mounted on the top plate along with force control. Our experimental results confirmed good mechanical system performance with a positioning error of < 1 mm. Phantom experiments by a radiologist showed promising results with good image quality.

Gesteme-free context-aware adaptation of robot behavior in human-robot cooperation.

PubMed

Nessi, Federico; Beretta, Elisa; Gatti, Cecilia; Ferrigno, Giancarlo; De Momi, Elena

2016-11-01

Cooperative robotics is receiving greater acceptance because the typical advantages provided by manipulators are combined with an intuitive usage. In particular, hands-on robotics may benefit from the adaptation of the assistant behavior with respect to the activity currently performed by the user. A fast and reliable classification of human activities is required, as well as strategies to smoothly modify the control of the manipulator. In this scenario, gesteme-based motion classification is inadequate because it needs the observation of a wide signal percentage and the definition of a rich vocabulary. In this work, a system able to recognize the user's current activity without a vocabulary of gestemes, and to accordingly adapt the manipulator's dynamic behavior is presented. An underlying stochastic model fits variations in the user's guidance forces and the resulting trajectories of the manipulator's end-effector with a set of Gaussian distribution. The high-level switching between these distributions is captured with hidden Markov models. The dynamic of the KUKA light-weight robot, a torque-controlled manipulator, is modified with respect to the classified activity using sigmoidal-shaped functions. The presented system is validated over a pool of 12 näive users in a scenario that addresses surgical targeting tasks on soft tissue. The robot's assistance is adapted in order to obtain a stiff behavior during activities that require critical accuracy constraint, and higher compliance during wide movements. Both the ability to provide the correct classification at each moment (sample accuracy) and the capability of correctly identify the correct sequence of activity (sequence accuracy) were evaluated. The proposed classifier is fast and accurate in all the experiments conducted (80% sample accuracy after the observation of ∼450ms of signal). Moreover, the ability of recognize the correct sequence of activities, without unwanted transitions is guaranteed (sequence accuracy ∼90% when computed far away from user desired transitions). Finally, the proposed activity-based adaptation of the robot's dynamic does not lead to a not smooth behavior (high smoothness, i.e. normalized jerk score <0.01). The provided system is able to dynamic assist the operator during cooperation in the presented scenario. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Visual Detection and Tracking System for a Spherical Amphibious Robot

PubMed Central

Guo, Shuxiang; Pan, Shaowu; Shi, Liwei; Guo, Ping; He, Yanlin; Tang, Kun

2017-01-01

With the goal of supporting close-range observation tasks of a spherical amphibious robot, such as ecological observations and intelligent surveillance, a moving target detection and tracking system was designed and implemented in this study. Given the restrictions presented by the amphibious environment and the small-sized spherical amphibious robot, an industrial camera and vision algorithms using adaptive appearance models were adopted to construct the proposed system. To handle the problem of light scattering and absorption in the underwater environment, the multi-scale retinex with color restoration algorithm was used for image enhancement. Given the environmental disturbances in practical amphibious scenarios, the Gaussian mixture model was used to detect moving targets entering the field of view of the robot. A fast compressive tracker with a Kalman prediction mechanism was used to track the specified target. Considering the limited load space and the unique mechanical structure of the robot, the proposed vision system was fabricated with a low power system-on-chip using an asymmetric and heterogeneous computing architecture. Experimental results confirmed the validity and high efficiency of the proposed system. The design presented in this paper is able to meet future demands of spherical amphibious robots in biological monitoring and multi-robot cooperation. PMID:28420134

Visual Detection and Tracking System for a Spherical Amphibious Robot.

PubMed

Guo, Shuxiang; Pan, Shaowu; Shi, Liwei; Guo, Ping; He, Yanlin; Tang, Kun

2017-04-15

With the goal of supporting close-range observation tasks of a spherical amphibious robot, such as ecological observations and intelligent surveillance, a moving target detection and tracking system was designed and implemented in this study. Given the restrictions presented by the amphibious environment and the small-sized spherical amphibious robot, an industrial camera and vision algorithms using adaptive appearance models were adopted to construct the proposed system. To handle the problem of light scattering and absorption in the underwater environment, the multi-scale retinex with color restoration algorithm was used for image enhancement. Given the environmental disturbances in practical amphibious scenarios, the Gaussian mixture model was used to detect moving targets entering the field of view of the robot. A fast compressive tracker with a Kalman prediction mechanism was used to track the specified target. Considering the limited load space and the unique mechanical structure of the robot, the proposed vision system was fabricated with a low power system-on-chip using an asymmetric and heterogeneous computing architecture. Experimental results confirmed the validity and high efficiency of the proposed system. The design presented in this paper is able to meet future demands of spherical amphibious robots in biological monitoring and multi-robot cooperation.

The effect of collision avoidance for autonomous robot team formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seidman, Mark H.; Yang, Shanchieh J.

2007-04-01

As technology and research advance to the era of cooperative robots, many autonomous robot team algorithms have emerged. Shape formation is a common and critical task in many cooperative robot applications. While theoretical studies of robot team formation have shown success, it is unclear whether such algorithms will perform well in a real-world environment. This work examines the effect of collision avoidance schemes on an ideal circle formation algorithm, but behaves similarly if robot-to-robot communications are in place. Our findings reveal that robots with basic collision avoidance capabilities are still able to form into a circle, under most conditions. Moreover, the robot sizes, sensing ranges, and other critical physical parameters are examined to determine their effects on algorithm's performance.

Cooperative Exploration of Rough Martian Terrains with the "Scorpion" Legged Robot as an Adjunct to a Rover.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colombano, Silvano P.; Kirchner, Frank; Spenneberg, Dirk; Starman, Jared; Hanratty, James; Kovsmeyer, David (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

NASA needs autonomous robotic exploration of difficult (rough and/or steep) scientifically interesting Martian terrains. Concepts involving distributed autonomy for cooperative robotic exploration are key to enabling new scientific objectives in robotic missions. We propose to utilize a legged robot as an adjunct scout to a rover for access to difficult - scientifically interesting - terrains (rocky areas, slopes, cliffs). Our final mission scenario involves the Ames rover platform "K9" and Scorpion acting together to explore a steep cliff, with the Scorpion robot rappelling down using the K9 as an anchor as well as mission planner and executive. Cooperation concepts, including wheeled rappelling robots have been proposed before. Now we propose to test the combined advantages of a wheeled vehicle with a legged scout as well as the advantages of merging of high level planning and execution with biologically inspired, behavior based robotics. We propose to use the 8-legged, multifunctional autonomous robot platform Scorpion that is currently capable of: Walking on different terrains (rocks, sand, grass, ...). Perceiving its environment and modifying its behavioral pattern accordingly. These capabilities would be extended to enable the Scorpion to: communicate and cooperate with a partner robot; climb over rocks, rubble piles, and objects with structural features. This will be done in the context of exploration of rough terrains in the neighborhood of the rover, but inaccessible to it, culminating in the added capability of rappelling down a steep cliff for both vertical and horizontal terrain observation.

Development and Evaluation of Sensor Concepts for Ageless Aerospace Vehicles: Report 6 - Development and Demonstration of a Self-Organizing Diagnostic System for Structural Health Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batten, Adam; Edwards, Graeme; Gerasimov, Vadim; Hoschke, Nigel; Isaacs, Peter; Lewis, Chris; Moore, Richard; Oppolzer, Florien; Price, Don; Prokopenko, Mikhail;

Applying Biomimetic Algorithms for Extra-Terrestrial Habitat Generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birge, Brian

2012-01-01

The objective is to simulate and optimize distributed cooperation among a network of robots tasked with cooperative excavation on an extra-terrestrial surface. Additionally to examine the concept of directed Emergence among a group of limited artificially intelligent agents. Emergence is the concept of achieving complex results from very simple rules or interactions. For example, in a termite mound each individual termite does not carry a blueprint of how to make their home in a global sense, but their interactions based strictly on local desires create a complex superstructure. Leveraging this Emergence concept applied to a simulation of cooperative agents (robots) will allow an examination of the success of non-directed group strategy achieving specific results. Specifically the simulation will be a testbed to evaluate population based robotic exploration and cooperative strategies while leveraging the evolutionary teamwork approach in the face of uncertainty about the environment and partial loss of sensors. Checking against a cost function and 'social' constraints will optimize cooperation when excavating a simulated tunnel. Agents will act locally with non-local results. The rules by which the simulated robots interact will be optimized to the simplest possible for the desired result, leveraging Emergence. Sensor malfunction and line of sight issues will be incorporated into the simulation. This approach falls under Swarm Robotics, a subset of robot control concerned with finding ways to control large groups of robots. Swarm Robotics often contains biologically inspired approaches, research comes from social insect observation but also data from among groups of herding, schooling, and flocking animals. Biomimetic algorithms applied to manned space exploration is the method under consideration for further study.

Research on the man in the loop control system of the robot arm based on gesture control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Lifeng; Peng, Jinbao

2017-03-01

The Man in the loop control system of the robot arm based on gesture control research complex real-world environment, which requires the operator to continuously control and adjust the remote manipulator, as the background, completes the specific mission human in the loop entire system as the research object. This paper puts forward a kind of robot arm control system of Man in the loop based on gesture control, by robot arm control system based on gesture control and Virtual reality scene feedback to enhance immersion and integration of operator, to make operator really become a part of the whole control loop. This paper expounds how to construct a man in the loop control system of the robot arm based on gesture control. The system is a complex system of human computer cooperative control, but also people in the loop control problem areas. The new system solves the problems that the traditional method has no immersion feeling and the operation lever is unnatural, the adjustment time is long, and the data glove mode wears uncomfortable and the price is expensive.

SWARMs Ontology: A Common Information Model for the Cooperation of Underwater Robots.

PubMed

Li, Xin; Bilbao, Sonia; Martín-Wanton, Tamara; Bastos, Joaquim; Rodriguez, Jonathan

2017-03-11

In order to facilitate cooperation between underwater robots, it is a must for robots to exchange information with unambiguous meaning. However, heterogeneity, existing in information pertaining to different robots, is a major obstruction. Therefore, this paper presents a networked ontology, named the Smart and Networking Underwater Robots in Cooperation Meshes (SWARMs) ontology, to address information heterogeneity and enable robots to have the same understanding of exchanged information. The SWARMs ontology uses a core ontology to interrelate a set of domain-specific ontologies, including the mission and planning, the robotic vehicle, the communication and networking, and the environment recognition and sensing ontology. In addition, the SWARMs ontology utilizes ontology constructs defined in the PR-OWL ontology to annotate context uncertainty based on the Multi-Entity Bayesian Network (MEBN) theory. Thus, the SWARMs ontology can provide both a formal specification for information that is necessarily exchanged between robots and a command and control entity, and also support for uncertainty reasoning. A scenario on chemical pollution monitoring is described and used to showcase how the SWARMs ontology can be instantiated, be extended, represent context uncertainty, and support uncertainty reasoning.

Cooperative Control for A Hybrid Rehabilitation System Combining Functional Electrical Stimulation and Robotic Exoskeleton

PubMed Central

Zhang, Dingguo; Ren, Yong; Gui, Kai; Jia, Jie; Xu, Wendong

2017-01-01

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) and robotic exoskeletons are two important technologies widely used for physical rehabilitation of paraplegic patients. We developed a hybrid rehabilitation system (FEXO Knee) that combined FES and an exoskeleton for swinging movement control of human knee joints. This study proposed a novel cooperative control strategy, which could realize arbitrary distribution of torque generated by FES and exoskeleton, and guarantee harmonic movements. The cooperative control adopted feedfoward control for FES and feedback control for exoskeleton. A parameter regulator was designed to update key parameters in real time to coordinate FES controller and exoskeleton controller. Two muscle groups (quadriceps and hamstrings) were stimulated to generate active torque for knee joint in synchronization with torque compensation from exoskeleton. The knee joint angle and the interactive torque between exoskeleton and shank were used as feedback signals for the control system. Central pattern generator (CPG) was adopted that acted as a phase predictor to deal with phase confliction of motor patterns, and realized synchronization between the two different bodies (shank and exoskeleton). Experimental evaluation of the hybrid FES-exoskeleton system was conducted on five healthy subjects and four paraplegic patients. Experimental results and statistical analysis showed good control performance of the cooperative control on torque distribution, trajectory tracking, and phase synchronization. PMID:29311798

Cooperative Control for A Hybrid Rehabilitation System Combining Functional Electrical Stimulation and Robotic Exoskeleton.

PubMed

Zhang, Dingguo; Ren, Yong; Gui, Kai; Jia, Jie; Xu, Wendong

2017-01-01

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) and robotic exoskeletons are two important technologies widely used for physical rehabilitation of paraplegic patients. We developed a hybrid rehabilitation system (FEXO Knee) that combined FES and an exoskeleton for swinging movement control of human knee joints. This study proposed a novel cooperative control strategy, which could realize arbitrary distribution of torque generated by FES and exoskeleton, and guarantee harmonic movements. The cooperative control adopted feedfoward control for FES and feedback control for exoskeleton. A parameter regulator was designed to update key parameters in real time to coordinate FES controller and exoskeleton controller. Two muscle groups (quadriceps and hamstrings) were stimulated to generate active torque for knee joint in synchronization with torque compensation from exoskeleton. The knee joint angle and the interactive torque between exoskeleton and shank were used as feedback signals for the control system. Central pattern generator (CPG) was adopted that acted as a phase predictor to deal with phase confliction of motor patterns, and realized synchronization between the two different bodies (shank and exoskeleton). Experimental evaluation of the hybrid FES-exoskeleton system was conducted on five healthy subjects and four paraplegic patients. Experimental results and statistical analysis showed good control performance of the cooperative control on torque distribution, trajectory tracking, and phase synchronization.

Robust and efficient vision system for group of cooperating mobile robots with application to soccer robots.

PubMed

Klancar, Gregor; Kristan, Matej; Kovacic, Stanislav; Orqueda, Omar

2004-07-01

In this paper a global vision scheme for estimation of positions and orientations of mobile robots is presented. It is applied to robot soccer application which is a fast dynamic game and therefore needs an efficient and robust vision system implemented. General applicability of the vision system can be found in other robot applications such as mobile transport robots in production, warehouses, attendant robots, fast vision tracking of targets of interest and entertainment robotics. Basic operation of the vision system is divided into two steps. In the first, the incoming image is scanned and pixels are classified into a finite number of classes. At the same time, a segmentation algorithm is used to find corresponding regions belonging to one of the classes. In the second step, all the regions are examined. Selection of the ones that are a part of the observed object is made by means of simple logic procedures. The novelty is focused on optimization of the processing time needed to finish the estimation of possible object positions. Better results of the vision system are achieved by implementing camera calibration and shading correction algorithm. The former corrects camera lens distortion, while the latter increases robustness to irregular illumination conditions.

Reducing robotic guidance during robot-assisted gait training improves gait function: a case report on a stroke survivor.

PubMed

Krishnan, Chandramouli; Kotsapouikis, Despina; Dhaher, Yasin Y; Rymer, William Z

2013-06-01

To test the feasibility of patient-cooperative robotic gait training for improving locomotor function of a chronic stroke survivor with severe lower-extremity motor impairments. Single-subject crossover design. Performed in a controlled laboratory setting. A 62-year-old man with right temporal lobe ischemic stroke was recruited for this study. The baseline lower-extremity Fugl-Meyer score of the subject was 10 on a scale of 34, which represented severe impairment in the paretic leg. However, the subject had a good ambulation level (community walker with the aid of a stick cane and ankle-foot orthosis) and showed no signs of sensory or cognitive impairments. The subject underwent 12 sessions (3 times per week for 4wk) of conventional robotic training with the Lokomat, where the robot provided full assistance to leg movements while walking, followed by 12 sessions (3 times per week for 4wk) of patient-cooperative robotic control training, where the robot provided minimal guidance to leg movements during walking. Clinical outcomes were evaluated before the start of the intervention, immediately after 4 weeks of conventional robotic training, and immediately after 4 weeks of cooperative control robotic training. These included: (1) self-selected and fast walking speed, (2) 6-minute walk test, (3) Timed Up & Go test, and (4) lower-extremity Fugl-Meyer score. Results showed that clinical outcomes changed minimally after full guidance robotic training, but improved considerably after 4 weeks of reduced guidance robotic training. The findings from this case study suggest that cooperative control robotic training is superior to conventional robotic training and is a feasible option to restoring locomotor function in ambulatory stroke survivors with severe motor impairments. A larger trial is needed to verify the efficacy of this advanced robotic control strategy in facilitating gait recovery after stroke. Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Olfaction and Hearing Based Mobile Robot Navigation for Odor/Sound Source Search

PubMed Central

Song, Kai; Liu, Qi; Wang, Qi

2011-01-01

Bionic technology provides a new elicitation for mobile robot navigation since it explores the way to imitate biological senses. In the present study, the challenging problem was how to fuse different biological senses and guide distributed robots to cooperate with each other for target searching. This paper integrates smell, hearing and touch to design an odor/sound tracking multi-robot system. The olfactory robot tracks the chemical odor plume step by step through information fusion from gas sensors and airflow sensors, while two hearing robots localize the sound source by time delay estimation (TDE) and the geometrical position of microphone array. Furthermore, this paper presents a heading direction based mobile robot navigation algorithm, by which the robot can automatically and stably adjust its velocity and direction according to the deviation between the current heading direction measured by magnetoresistive sensor and the expected heading direction acquired through the odor/sound localization strategies. Simultaneously, one robot can communicate with the other robots via a wireless sensor network (WSN). Experimental results show that the olfactory robot can pinpoint the odor source within the distance of 2 m, while two hearing robots can quickly localize and track the olfactory robot in 2 min. The devised multi-robot system can achieve target search with a considerable success ratio and high stability. PMID:22319401

Research on Multirobot Pursuit Task Allocation Algorithm Based on Emotional Cooperation Factor

PubMed Central

Fang, Baofu; Chen, Lu; Wang, Hao; Dai, Shuanglu; Zhong, Qiubo

2014-01-01

Multirobot task allocation is a hot issue in the field of robot research. A new emotional model is used with the self-interested robot, which gives a new way to measure self-interested robots' individual cooperative willingness in the problem of multirobot task allocation. Emotional cooperation factor is introduced into self-interested robot; it is updated based on emotional attenuation and external stimuli. Then a multirobot pursuit task allocation algorithm is proposed, which is based on emotional cooperation factor. Combined with the two-step auction algorithm recruiting team leaders and team collaborators, set up pursuit teams, and finally use certain strategies to complete the pursuit task. In order to verify the effectiveness of this algorithm, some comparing experiments have been done with the instantaneous greedy optimal auction algorithm; the results of experiments show that the total pursuit time and total team revenue can be optimized by using this algorithm. PMID:25152925

Research on multirobot pursuit task allocation algorithm based on emotional cooperation factor.

PubMed

Fang, Baofu; Chen, Lu; Wang, Hao; Dai, Shuanglu; Zhong, Qiubo

2014-01-01

Multirobot task allocation is a hot issue in the field of robot research. A new emotional model is used with the self-interested robot, which gives a new way to measure self-interested robots' individual cooperative willingness in the problem of multirobot task allocation. Emotional cooperation factor is introduced into self-interested robot; it is updated based on emotional attenuation and external stimuli. Then a multirobot pursuit task allocation algorithm is proposed, which is based on emotional cooperation factor. Combined with the two-step auction algorithm recruiting team leaders and team collaborators, set up pursuit teams, and finally use certain strategies to complete the pursuit task. In order to verify the effectiveness of this algorithm, some comparing experiments have been done with the instantaneous greedy optimal auction algorithm; the results of experiments show that the total pursuit time and total team revenue can be optimized by using this algorithm.

Sandia National Laboratories: Cooperative Research and Development

Science.gov Websites

; Technology Defense Systems & Assessments About Defense Systems & Assessments Program Areas Robotics R&D 100 Awards Laboratory Directed Research & Development Technology Deployment Centers Audit Sandia's Economic Impact Licensing & Technology Transfer Browse Technology Portfolios

Exploring types of play in an adapted robotics program for children with disabilities.

PubMed

Lindsay, Sally; Lam, Ashley

2018-04-01

Play is an important occupation in a child's development. Children with disabilities often have fewer opportunities to engage in meaningful play than typically developing children. The purpose of this study was to explore the types of play (i.e., solitary, parallel and co-operative) within an adapted robotics program for children with disabilities aged 6-8 years. This study draws on detailed observations of each of the six robotics workshops and interviews with 53 participants (21 children, 21 parents and 11 programme staff). Our findings showed that four children engaged in solitary play, where all but one showed signs of moving towards parallel play. Six children demonstrated parallel play during all workshops. The remainder of the children had mixed play types play (solitary, parallel and/or co-operative) throughout the robotics workshops. We observed more parallel and co-operative, and less solitary play as the programme progressed. Ten different children displayed co-operative behaviours throughout the workshops. The interviews highlighted how staff supported children's engagement in the programme. Meanwhile, parents reported on their child's development of play skills. An adapted LEGO ® robotics program has potential to develop the play skills of children with disabilities in moving from solitary towards more parallel and co-operative play. Implications for rehabilitation Educators and clinicians working with children who have disabilities should consider the potential of LEGO ® robotics programs for developing their play skills. Clinicians should consider how the extent of their involvement in prompting and facilitating children's engagement and play within a robotics program may influence their ability to interact with their peers. Educators and clinicians should incorporate both structured and unstructured free-play elements within a robotics program to facilitate children's social development.

An integrated control scheme for space robot after capturing non-cooperative target

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Mingming; Luo, Jianjun; Yuan, Jianping; Walter, Ulrich

2018-06-01

How to identify the mass properties and eliminate the unknown angular momentum of space robotic system after capturing a non-cooperative target is of great challenge. This paper focuses on designing an integrated control framework which includes detumbling strategy, coordination control and parameter identification. Firstly, inverted and forward chain approaches are synthesized for space robot to obtain dynamic equation in operational space. Secondly, a detumbling strategy is introduced using elementary functions with normalized time, while the imposed end-effector constraints are considered. Next, a coordination control scheme for stabilizing both base and end-effector based on impedance control is implemented with the target's parameter uncertainty. With the measurements of the forces and torques exerted on the target, its mass properties are estimated during the detumbling process accordingly. Simulation results are presented using a 7 degree-of-freedom kinematically redundant space manipulator, which verifies the performance and effectiveness of the proposed method.

A Biologically Inspired Cooperative Multi-Robot Control Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howsman, Tom; Craft, Mike; ONeil, Daniel; Howell, Joe T. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A prototype cooperative multi-robot control architecture suitable for the eventual construction of large space structures has been developed. In nature, there are numerous examples of complex architectures constructed by relatively simple insects, such as termites and wasps, which cooperatively assemble their nests. The prototype control architecture emulates this biological model. Actions of each of the autonomous robotic construction agents are only indirectly coordinated, thus mimicking the distributed construction processes of various social insects. The robotic construction agents perform their primary duties stigmergically i.e., without direct inter-agent communication and without a preprogrammed global blueprint of the final design. Communication and coordination between individual agents occurs indirectly through the sensed modifications that each agent makes to the structure. The global stigmergic building algorithm prototyped during the initial research assumes that the robotic builders only perceive the current state of the structure under construction. Simulation studies have established that an idealized form of the proposed architecture was indeed capable of producing representative large space structures with autonomous robots. This paper will explore the construction simulations in order to illustrate the multi-robot control architecture.

A Stigmergic Cooperative Multi-Robot Control Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howsman, Thomas G.; O'Neil, Daniel; Craft, Michael A.

2004-01-01

In nature, there are numerous examples of complex architectures constructed by relatively simple insects, such as termites and wasps, which cooperatively assemble their nests. A prototype cooperative multi-robot control architecture which may be suitable for the eventual construction of large space structures has been developed which emulates this biological model. Actions of each of the autonomous robotic construction agents are only indirectly coordinated, thus mimicking the distributed construction processes of various social insects. The robotic construction agents perform their primary duties stigmergically, i.e., without direct inter-agent communication and without a preprogrammed global blueprint of the final design. Communication and coordination between individual agents occurs indirectly through the sensed modifications that each agent makes to the structure. The global stigmergic building algorithm prototyped during the initial research assumes that the robotic builders only perceive the current state of the structure under construction. Simulation studies have established that an idealized form of the proposed architecture was indeed capable of producing representative large space structures with autonomous robots. This paper will explore the construction simulations in order to illustrate the multi-robot control architecture.

Creature co-op: Achieving robust remote operations with a community of low-cost robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bonasso, R. Peter

1990-01-01

The concept is advanced of carrying out space based remote missions using a cooperative of low cost robot specialists rather than monolithic, multipurpose systems. A simulation is described wherein a control architecture for such a system of specialists is being investigated. Early results show such co-ops to be robust in the face of unforeseen circumstances. Descriptions of the platforms and sensors modeled and the beacon and retriever creatures that make up the co-op are included.

SWARMs Ontology: A Common Information Model for the Cooperation of Underwater Robots

PubMed Central

Li, Xin; Bilbao, Sonia; Martín-Wanton, Tamara; Bastos, Joaquim; Rodriguez, Jonathan

2017-01-01

In order to facilitate cooperation between underwater robots, it is a must for robots to exchange information with unambiguous meaning. However, heterogeneity, existing in information pertaining to different robots, is a major obstruction. Therefore, this paper presents a networked ontology, named the Smart and Networking Underwater Robots in Cooperation Meshes (SWARMs) ontology, to address information heterogeneity and enable robots to have the same understanding of exchanged information. The SWARMs ontology uses a core ontology to interrelate a set of domain-specific ontologies, including the mission and planning, the robotic vehicle, the communication and networking, and the environment recognition and sensing ontology. In addition, the SWARMs ontology utilizes ontology constructs defined in the PR-OWL ontology to annotate context uncertainty based on the Multi-Entity Bayesian Network (MEBN) theory. Thus, the SWARMs ontology can provide both a formal specification for information that is necessarily exchanged between robots and a command and control entity, and also support for uncertainty reasoning. A scenario on chemical pollution monitoring is described and used to showcase how the SWARMs ontology can be instantiated, be extended, represent context uncertainty, and support uncertainty reasoning. PMID:28287468

LABRADOR: a learning autonomous behavior-based robot for adaptive detection and object retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamauchi, Brian; Moseley, Mark; Brookshire, Jonathan

2013-01-01

As part of the TARDEC-funded CANINE (Cooperative Autonomous Navigation in a Networked Environment) Program, iRobot developed LABRADOR (Learning Autonomous Behavior-based Robot for Adaptive Detection and Object Retrieval). LABRADOR was based on the rugged, man-portable, iRobot PackBot unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) equipped with an explosives ordnance disposal (EOD) manipulator arm and a custom gripper. For LABRADOR, we developed a vision-based object learning and recognition system that combined a TLD (track-learn-detect) filter based on object shape features with a color-histogram-based object detector. Our vision system was able to learn in real-time to recognize objects presented to the robot. We also implemented a waypoint navigation system based on fused GPS, IMU (inertial measurement unit), and odometry data. We used this navigation capability to implement autonomous behaviors capable of searching a specified area using a variety of robust coverage strategies - including outward spiral, random bounce, random waypoint, and perimeter following behaviors. While the full system was not integrated in time to compete in the CANINE competition event, we developed useful perception, navigation, and behavior capabilities that may be applied to future autonomous robot systems.

Real-time Cooperative Behavior for Tactical Mobile Robot Teams

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-02-01

control of multirobot missions. In particu- lar he used videogame scenarios to develop these skills, which might account for the intuition that those...to develop the following innovative research results for tacti- cal mobile robot teams: 1. A suite of new fault-tolerant reactive behaviors, 2. A...depicts the overall system architecture developed for this effort. It contains 3 major subsystems: Executive, Premission, and Runtime. The executive

Consensus seeking, formation keeping, and trajectory tracking in multiple vehicle cooperative control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Wei

Cooperative control problems for multiple vehicle systems can be categorized as either formation control problems with applications to mobile robots, unmanned air vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles, satellites, aircraft, spacecraft, and automated highway systems, or non-formation control problems such as task assignment, cooperative transport, cooperative role assignment, air traffic control, cooperative timing, and cooperative search. The cooperative control of multiple vehicle systems poses significant theoretical and practical challenges. For cooperative control strategies to be successful, numerous issues must be addressed. We consider three important and correlated issues: consensus seeking, formation keeping, and trajectory tracking. For consensus seeking, we investigate algorithms and protocols so that a team of vehicles can reach consensus on the values of the coordination data in the presence of imperfect sensors, communication dropout, sparse communication topologies, and noisy and unreliable communication links. The main contribution of this dissertation in this area is that we show necessary and/or sufficient conditions for consensus seeking with limited, unidirectional, and unreliable information exchange under fixed and switching interaction topologies (through either communication or sensing). For formation keeping, we apply a so-called "virtual structure" approach to spacecraft formation flying and multi-vehicle formation maneuvers. As a result, single vehicle path planning and trajectory generation techniques can be employed for the virtual structure while trajectory tracking strategies can be employed for each vehicle. The main contribution of this dissertation in this area is that we propose a decentralized architecture for multiple spacecraft formation flying in deep space with formation feedback introduced. This architecture ensures the necessary precision in the presence of actuator saturation, internal and external disturbances, and stringent inter-vehicle communication limitations. A constructive approach based on the satisficing control paradigm is also applied to multi-robot coordination in hardware. For trajectory tracking, we investigate nonlinear tracking controllers for fixed wing unmanned air vehicles and nonholonomic mobile robots with velocity and heading rate constraints. The main contribution of this dissertation in this area is that our proposed tracking controllers are shown to be robust to input uncertainties and measurement noise, and are computationally simple and can be implemented with low-cost, low-power microcontrollers. In addition, our approach allows piecewise continuous reference velocity and heading rate and can be extended to derive a variety of other trajectory tracking strategies.

Hybrid FES-robot cooperative control of ambulatory gait rehabilitation exoskeleton.

PubMed

del-Ama, Antonio J; Gil-Agudo, Angel; Pons, José L; Moreno, Juan C

2014-03-04

Robotic and functional electrical stimulation (FES) approaches are used for rehabilitation of walking impairment of spinal cord injured individuals. Although devices are commercially available, there are still issues that remain to be solved. Control of hybrid exoskeletons aims at blending robotic exoskeletons and electrical stimulation to overcome the drawbacks of each approach while preserving their advantages. Hybrid actuation and control have a considerable potential for walking rehabilitation but there is a need of novel control strategies of hybrid systems that adequately manage the balance between FES and robotic controllers. Combination of FES and robotic control is a challenging issue, due to the non-linear behavior of muscle under stimulation and the lack of developments in the field of hybrid control. In this article, a cooperative control strategy of a hybrid exoskeleton is presented. This strategy is designed to overcome the main disadvantages of muscular stimulation: electromechanical delay and change in muscle performance over time, and to balance muscular and robotic actuation during walking.Experimental results in healthy subjects show the ability of the hybrid FES-robot cooperative control to balance power contribution between exoskeleton and muscle stimulation. The robotic exoskeleton decreases assistance while adequate knee kinematics are guaranteed. A new technique to monitor muscle performance is employed, which allows to estimate muscle fatigue and implement muscle fatigue management strategies. Kinesis is therefore the first ambulatory hybrid exoskeleton that can effectively balance robotic and FES actuation during walking. This represents a new opportunity to implement new rehabilitation interventions to induce locomotor activity in patients with paraplegia.Acronym list: 10 mWT: ten meters walking test; 6 MWT: six minutes walking test; FSM: finite-state machine; t-FSM: time-domain FSM; c-FSM: cycle-domain FSM; FES: functional electrical stimulation; HKAFO: hip-knee-ankle-foot orthosis; ILC: iterative error-based learning control; MFE: muscle fatigue estimator; NILC: Normalized stimulation output from ILC controller; PID: Proportional-Integral-derivative Control; PW: Stimulation pulse width; QUEST: Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology; SCI: Spinal cord injury; TTI: torque-time integral; VAS: Visual Analog Scale.

Hybrid FES-robot cooperative control of ambulatory gait rehabilitation exoskeleton

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Robotic and functional electrical stimulation (FES) approaches are used for rehabilitation of walking impairment of spinal cord injured individuals. Although devices are commercially available, there are still issues that remain to be solved. Control of hybrid exoskeletons aims at blending robotic exoskeletons and electrical stimulation to overcome the drawbacks of each approach while preserving their advantages. Hybrid actuation and control have a considerable potential for walking rehabilitation but there is a need of novel control strategies of hybrid systems that adequately manage the balance between FES and robotic controllers. Combination of FES and robotic control is a challenging issue, due to the non-linear behavior of muscle under stimulation and the lack of developments in the field of hybrid control. In this article, a cooperative control strategy of a hybrid exoskeleton is presented. This strategy is designed to overcome the main disadvantages of muscular stimulation: electromechanical delay and change in muscle performance over time, and to balance muscular and robotic actuation during walking. Experimental results in healthy subjects show the ability of the hybrid FES-robot cooperative control to balance power contribution between exoskeleton and muscle stimulation. The robotic exoskeleton decreases assistance while adequate knee kinematics are guaranteed. A new technique to monitor muscle performance is employed, which allows to estimate muscle fatigue and implement muscle fatigue management strategies. Kinesis is therefore the first ambulatory hybrid exoskeleton that can effectively balance robotic and FES actuation during walking. This represents a new opportunity to implement new rehabilitation interventions to induce locomotor activity in patients with paraplegia. Acronym list: 10mWT: ten meters walking test; 6MWT: six minutes walking test; FSM: finite-state machine; t-FSM: time-domain FSM; c-FSM: cycle-domain FSM; FES: functional electrical stimulation; HKAFO: hip-knee-ankle-foot orthosis; ILC: iterative error-based learning control; MFE: muscle fatigue estimator; NILC: Normalized stimulation output from ILC controller; PID: Proportional-Integral-derivative Control; PW: Stimulation pulse width; QUEST: Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology; SCI: Spinal cord injury; TTI: torque-time integral; VAS: Visual Analog Scale. PMID:24594302

Commercialization of JPL Virtual Reality calibration and redundant manipulator control technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Won S.; Seraji, Homayoun; Fiorini, Paolo; Brown, Robert; Christensen, Brian; Beale, Chris; Karlen, James; Eismann, Paul

1994-01-01

Within NASA's recent thrust for industrial collaboration, JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) has recently established two technology cooperation agreements in the robotics area: one on virtual reality (VR) calibration with Deneb Robotics, Inc., and the other on redundant manipulator control with Robotics Research Corporation (RRC). These technology transfer cooperation tasks will enable both Deneb and RRC to commercialize enhanced versions of their products that will greatly benefit both space and terrestrial telerobotic applications.

Optimal Modality Selection for Cooperative Human-Robot Task Completion.

PubMed

Jacob, Mithun George; Wachs, Juan P

2016-12-01

Human-robot cooperation in complex environments must be fast, accurate, and resilient. This requires efficient communication channels where robots need to assimilate information using a plethora of verbal and nonverbal modalities such as hand gestures, speech, and gaze. However, even though hybrid human-robot communication frameworks and multimodal communication have been studied, a systematic methodology for designing multimodal interfaces does not exist. This paper addresses the gap by proposing a novel methodology to generate multimodal lexicons which maximizes multiple performance metrics over a wide range of communication modalities (i.e., lexicons). The metrics are obtained through a mixture of simulation and real-world experiments. The methodology is tested in a surgical setting where a robot cooperates with a surgeon to complete a mock abdominal incision and closure task by delivering surgical instruments. Experimental results show that predicted optimal lexicons significantly outperform predicted suboptimal lexicons (p <; 0.05) in all metrics validating the predictability of the methodology. The methodology is validated in two scenarios (with and without modeling the risk of a human-robot collision) and the differences in the lexicons are analyzed.

Influence of part orientation on the geometric accuracy in robot-based incremental sheet metal forming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Störkle, Denis Daniel; Seim, Patrick; Thyssen, Lars; Kuhlenkötter, Bernd

2016-10-01

This article describes new developments in an incremental, robot-based sheet metal forming process (`Roboforming') for the production of sheet metal components for small lot sizes and prototypes. The dieless kinematic-based generation of the shape is implemented by means of two industrial robots, which are interconnected to a cooperating robot system. Compared to other incremental sheet metal forming (ISF) machines, this system offers high geometrical form flexibility without the need of any part-dependent tools. The industrial application of ISF is still limited by certain constraints, e.g. the low geometrical accuracy. Responding to these constraints, the authors present the influence of the part orientation and the forming sequence on the geometric accuracy. Their influence is illustrated with the help of various experimental results shown and interpreted within this article.

Decision rules for spaceborne operations planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Jeffrey H.

1992-01-01

Recent study of Space Station Freedom requirements for extravehicular activity (EVA) to perform external maintenance tasks emphasize an oversubscription of resources for performing on-orbit tasks. Extravehicular robotics (EVR) and cooperative EVA combined with EVR (using crew and robots synergistically to perform tasks) have been suggested as a part of the solution to reduce EVA. The question remains however, 'Under what conditions is it cost-effective to use the EVA and/or EVR resource.' The answer to such a question also has implications for the Space Station Freedom and its external maintenance as well as the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) where the issue of work-system allocation is magnified by the long distances and scope of EVA work. This paper describes a simple technique of interest to operational planners and robot technology planners for determining in an economic context whether to use EVA alone, EVR alone, or Cooperative EVA. It is also shown that given: (1) the task times for these alternatives; and (2) the marginal costs of EVA, EVR, and IVA, the appropriate work system for performing the task can be identified. The paper illustrates how the work system choice is based on the ratio of costs. An example using Space Station Freedom data is presented to illustrate the trade-offs among alternative work-systems.

Robot-Beacon Distributed Range-Only SLAM for Resource-Constrained Operation

PubMed Central

Torres-González, Arturo; Martínez-de Dios, Jose Ramiro; Ollero, Anibal

2017-01-01

This work deals with robot-sensor network cooperation where sensor nodes (beacons) are used as landmarks for Range-Only (RO) Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). Most existing RO-SLAM techniques consider beacons as passive devices disregarding the sensing, computational and communication capabilities with which they are actually endowed. SLAM is a resource-demanding task. Besides the technological constraints of the robot and beacons, many applications impose further resource consumption limitations. This paper presents a scalable distributed RO-SLAM scheme for resource-constrained operation. It is capable of exploiting robot-beacon cooperation in order to improve SLAM accuracy while meeting a given resource consumption bound expressed as the maximum number of measurements that are integrated in SLAM per iteration. The proposed scheme combines a Sparse Extended Information Filter (SEIF) SLAM method, in which each beacon gathers and integrates robot-beacon and inter-beacon measurements, and a distributed information-driven measurement allocation tool that dynamically selects the measurements that are integrated in SLAM, balancing uncertainty improvement and resource consumption. The scheme adopts a robot-beacon distributed approach in which each beacon participates in the selection, gathering and integration in SLAM of robot-beacon and inter-beacon measurements, resulting in significant estimation accuracies, resource-consumption efficiency and scalability. It has been integrated in an octorotor Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and evaluated in 3D SLAM outdoor experiments. The experimental results obtained show its performance and robustness and evidence its advantages over existing methods. PMID:28425946

Robot-Beacon Distributed Range-Only SLAM for Resource-Constrained Operation.

PubMed

Torres-González, Arturo; Martínez-de Dios, Jose Ramiro; Ollero, Anibal

2017-04-20

This work deals with robot-sensor network cooperation where sensor nodes (beacons) are used as landmarks for Range-Only (RO) Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). Most existing RO-SLAM techniques consider beacons as passive devices disregarding the sensing, computational and communication capabilities with which they are actually endowed. SLAM is a resource-demanding task. Besides the technological constraints of the robot and beacons, many applications impose further resource consumption limitations. This paper presents a scalable distributed RO-SLAM scheme for resource-constrained operation. It is capable of exploiting robot-beacon cooperation in order to improve SLAM accuracy while meeting a given resource consumption bound expressed as the maximum number of measurements that are integrated in SLAM per iteration. The proposed scheme combines a Sparse Extended Information Filter (SEIF) SLAM method, in which each beacon gathers and integrates robot-beacon and inter-beacon measurements, and a distributed information-driven measurement allocation tool that dynamically selects the measurements that are integrated in SLAM, balancing uncertainty improvement and resource consumption. The scheme adopts a robot-beacon distributed approach in which each beacon participates in the selection, gathering and integration in SLAM of robot-beacon and inter-beacon measurements, resulting in significant estimation accuracies, resource-consumption efficiency and scalability. It has been integrated in an octorotor Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and evaluated in 3D SLAM outdoor experiments. The experimental results obtained show its performance and robustness and evidence its advantages over existing methods.

On the hitchhiker Robot Operated Materials Processing System: Experiment data system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kizhner, Semion; Jenstrom, Del

1995-01-01

The Space Shuttle Discovery STS-64 mission carried the first American autonomous robot into space, the Robot Operated Materials Processing System (ROMPS). On this mission ROMPS was the only Hitchhiker experiment and had a unique opportunity to utilize all Hitchhiker space carrier capabilities. ROMPS conducted rapid thermal processing of the one hundred semiconductor material samples to study how micro gravity affects the resulting material properties. The experiment was designed, built and operated by a small GSFC team in cooperation with industry and university based principal investigators who provided the material samples and data interpretation. ROMPS' success presents some valuable lessons in such cooperation, as well as in the utilization of the Hitchhiker carrier for complex applications. The motivation of this paper is to share these lessons with the scientific community interested in attached payload experiments. ROMPS has a versatile and intelligent material processing control data system. This paper uses the ROMPS data system as the guiding thread to present the ROMPS mission experience. It presents an overview of the ROMPS experiment followed by considerations of the flight and ground data subsystems and their architecture, data products generation during mission operations, and post mission data utilization. It then presents the lessons learned from the development and operation of the ROMPS data system as well as those learned during post-flight data processing.

Optimization and Control of Cyber-Physical Vehicle Systems

PubMed Central

Bradley, Justin M.; Atkins, Ella M.

2015-01-01

A cyber-physical system (CPS) is composed of tightly-integrated computation, communication and physical elements. Medical devices, buildings, mobile devices, robots, transportation and energy systems can benefit from CPS co-design and optimization techniques. Cyber-physical vehicle systems (CPVSs) are rapidly advancing due to progress in real-time computing, control and artificial intelligence. Multidisciplinary or multi-objective design optimization maximizes CPS efficiency, capability and safety, while online regulation enables the vehicle to be responsive to disturbances, modeling errors and uncertainties. CPVS optimization occurs at design-time and at run-time. This paper surveys the run-time cooperative optimization or co-optimization of cyber and physical systems, which have historically been considered separately. A run-time CPVS is also cooperatively regulated or co-regulated when cyber and physical resources are utilized in a manner that is responsive to both cyber and physical system requirements. This paper surveys research that considers both cyber and physical resources in co-optimization and co-regulation schemes with applications to mobile robotic and vehicle systems. Time-varying sampling patterns, sensor scheduling, anytime control, feedback scheduling, task and motion planning and resource sharing are examined. PMID:26378541

Optimization and Control of Cyber-Physical Vehicle Systems.

PubMed

Bradley, Justin M; Atkins, Ella M

2015-09-11

A cyber-physical system (CPS) is composed of tightly-integrated computation, communication and physical elements. Medical devices, buildings, mobile devices, robots, transportation and energy systems can benefit from CPS co-design and optimization techniques. Cyber-physical vehicle systems (CPVSs) are rapidly advancing due to progress in real-time computing, control and artificial intelligence. Multidisciplinary or multi-objective design optimization maximizes CPS efficiency, capability and safety, while online regulation enables the vehicle to be responsive to disturbances, modeling errors and uncertainties. CPVS optimization occurs at design-time and at run-time. This paper surveys the run-time cooperative optimization or co-optimization of cyber and physical systems, which have historically been considered separately. A run-time CPVS is also cooperatively regulated or co-regulated when cyber and physical resources are utilized in a manner that is responsive to both cyber and physical system requirements. This paper surveys research that considers both cyber and physical resources in co-optimization and co-regulation schemes with applications to mobile robotic and vehicle systems. Time-varying sampling patterns, sensor scheduling, anytime control, feedback scheduling, task and motion planning and resource sharing are examined.

Designing a Social Environment for Human-Robot Cooperation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amram, Fred M.

Noting that work is partly a social activity, and that workers' psychological and emotional needs influence their productivity, this paper explores avenues for improving human-robot cooperation and for enhancing worker satisfaction in the environment of flexible automation. The first section of the paper offers a brief overview of the…

Robotic Cooperative Learning Promotes Student STEM Interest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mosley, Pauline; Ardito, Gerald; Scollins, Lauren

2016-01-01

The principal purpose of this investigation is to study the effect of robotic cooperative learning methodologies on middle school students' critical thinking, and STEM interest. The semi-experimental inquiry consisted of ninety four six-grade students (forty nine students in the experimental group, forty five students in the control group), chosen…

Exhaustive geographic search with mobile robots along space-filling curves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spires, S.V.; Goldsmith, S.Y.

1998-03-01

Swarms of mobile robots can be tasked with searching a geographic region for targets of interest, such as buried land mines. The authors assume that the individual robots are equipped with sensors tuned to the targets of interest, that these sensors have limited range, and that the robots can communicate with one another to enable cooperation. How can a swarm of cooperating sensate robots efficiently search a given geographic region for targets in the absence of a priori information about the target`s locations? Many of the obvious approaches are inefficient or lack robustness. One efficient approach is to have themore » robots traverse a space-filling curve. For many geographic search applications, this method is energy-frugal, highly robust, and provides guaranteed coverage in a finite time that decreases as the reciprocal of the number of robots sharing the search task. Furthermore, it minimizes the amount of robot-to-robot communication needed for the robots to organize their movements. This report presents some preliminary results from applying the Hilbert space-filling curve to geographic search by mobile robots.« less

System Integration and In Vivo Testing of a Robot for Ultrasound Guidance and Monitoring During Radiotherapy.

PubMed

Sen, Hasan Tutkun; Bell, Muyinatu A Lediju; Zhang, Yin; Ding, Kai; Boctor, Emad; Wong, John; Iordachita, Iulian; Kazanzides, Peter

2017-07-01

We are developing a cooperatively controlled robot system for image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) in which a clinician and robot share control of a 3-D ultrasound (US) probe. IGRT involves two main steps: 1) planning/simulation and 2) treatment delivery. The goals of the system are to provide guidance for patient setup and real-time target monitoring during fractionated radiotherapy of soft tissue targets, especially in the upper abdomen. To compensate for soft tissue deformations created by the probe, we present a novel workflow where the robot holds the US probe on the patient during acquisition of the planning computerized tomography image, thereby ensuring that planning is performed on the deformed tissue. The robot system introduces constraints (virtual fixtures) to help to produce consistent soft tissue deformation between simulation and treatment days, based on the robot position, contact force, and reference US image recorded during simulation. This paper presents the system integration and the proposed clinical workflow, validated by an in vivo canine study. The results show that the virtual fixtures enable the clinician to deviate from the recorded position to better reproduce the reference US image, which correlates with more consistent soft tissue deformation and the possibility for more accurate patient setup and radiation delivery.

Proposed Methodology for Application of Human-like gradual Multi-Agent Q-Learning (HuMAQ) for Multi-robot Exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narayan Ray, Dip; Majumder, Somajyoti

2014-07-01

Several attempts have been made by the researchers around the world to develop a number of autonomous exploration techniques for robots. But it has been always an important issue for developing the algorithm for unstructured and unknown environments. Human-like gradual Multi-agent Q-leaming (HuMAQ) is a technique developed for autonomous robotic exploration in unknown (and even unimaginable) environments. It has been successfully implemented in multi-agent single robotic system. HuMAQ uses the concept of Subsumption architecture, a well-known Behaviour-based architecture for prioritizing the agents of the multi-agent system and executes only the most common action out of all the different actions recommended by different agents. Instead of using new state-action table (Q-table) each time, HuMAQ uses the immediate past table for efficient and faster exploration. The proof of learning has also been established both theoretically and practically. HuMAQ has the potential to be used in different and difficult situations as well as applications. The same architecture has been modified to use for multi-robot exploration in an environment. Apart from all other existing agents used in the single robotic system, agents for inter-robot communication and coordination/ co-operation with the other similar robots have been introduced in the present research. Current work uses a series of indigenously developed identical autonomous robotic systems, communicating with each other through ZigBee protocol.

Relative Orientation and Position Detections Based on an RGB-D Sensor and Dynamic Cooperation Strategies for Jumping Sensor Nodes Recycling

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jun; Yang, Xi; Song, Guang-Ming; Chen, Tian-Yuan; Zhang, Yong

2015-01-01

This paper presents relative orientation and position detection methods for jumping sensor nodes (JSNs) recycling. The methods are based on motion captures of the JSNs by an RGB-D sensor mounted on a carrier robot and the dynamic cooperation between the carrier and the JSNs. A disc-like label with two different colored sides is mounted on the top of the JSNs. The RGB-D sensor can detect the motion of the label to calculate the orientations and positions of the JSNs and the carrier relative to each other. After the orientations and positions have been detected, the JSNs jump into a cabin mounted on the carrier in dynamic cooperation with the carrier for recycling. The performances of the proposed methods are tested with a prototype system. The results show that the carrier can detect a JSN from up to 2 m away and sense its relative orientation and position successfully. The errors of the JSN’s orientation and position detections relative to the carrier could be reduced to the values smaller than 1° and 1 cm, respectively, by using the dynamic cooperation strategies. The proposed methods in this paper could also be used for other kinds of mobile sensor nodes and multi-robot systems. PMID:26393589

Technology transfer: Imaging tracker to robotic controller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Otaguro, M. S.; Kesler, L. O.; Land, Ken; Erwin, Harry; Rhoades, Don

1988-01-01

The transformation of an imaging tracker to a robotic controller is described. A multimode tracker was developed for fire and forget missile systems. The tracker locks on to target images within an acquisition window using multiple image tracking algorithms to provide guidance commands to missile control systems. This basic tracker technology is used with the addition of a ranging algorithm based on sizing a cooperative target to perform autonomous guidance and control of a platform for an Advanced Development Project on automation and robotics. A ranging tracker is required to provide the positioning necessary for robotic control. A simple functional demonstration of the feasibility of this approach was performed and described. More realistic demonstrations are under way at NASA-JSC. In particular, this modified tracker, or robotic controller, will be used to autonomously guide the Man Maneuvering Unit (MMU) to targets such as disabled astronauts or tools as part of the EVA Retriever efforts. It will also be used to control the orbiter's Remote Manipulator Systems (RMS) in autonomous approach and positioning demonstrations. These efforts will also be discussed.

Distributed cooperating processes in a mobile robot control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skillman, Thomas L., Jr.

1988-01-01

A mobile inspection robot has been proposed for the NASA Space Station. It will be a free flying autonomous vehicle that will leave a berthing unit to accomplish a variety of inspection tasks around the Space Station, and then return to its berth to recharge, refuel, and transfer information. The Flying Eye robot will receive voice communication to change its attitude, move at a constant velocity, and move to a predefined location along a self generated path. This mobile robot control system requires integration of traditional command and control techniques with a number of AI technologies. Speech recognition, natural language understanding, task and path planning, sensory abstraction and pattern recognition are all required for successful implementation. The interface between the traditional numeric control techniques and the symbolic processing to the AI technologies must be developed, and a distributed computing approach will be needed to meet the real time computing requirements. To study the integration of the elements of this project, a novel mobile robot control architecture and simulation based on the blackboard architecture was developed. The control system operation and structure is discussed.

Planning collision free paths for two cooperating robots using a divide-and-conquer C-space traversal heuristic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weaver, Johnathan M.

1993-01-01

A method was developed to plan feasible and obstacle-avoiding paths for two spatial robots working cooperatively in a known static environment. Cooperating spatial robots as referred to herein are robots which work in 6D task space while simultaneously grasping and manipulating a common, rigid payload. The approach is configuration space (c-space) based and performs selective rather than exhaustive c-space mapping. No expensive precomputations are required. A novel, divide-and-conquer type of heuristic is used to guide the selective mapping process. The heuristic does not involve any robot, environment, or task specific assumptions. A technique was also developed which enables solution of the cooperating redundant robot path planning problem without requiring the use of inverse kinematics for a redundant robot. The path planning strategy involves first attempting to traverse along the configuration space vector from the start point towards the goal point. If an unsafe region is encountered, an intermediate via point is identified by conducting a systematic search in the hyperplane orthogonal to and bisecting the unsafe region of the vector. This process is repeatedly applied until a solution to the global path planning problem is obtained. The basic concept behind this strategy is that better local decisions at the beginning of the trouble region may be made if a possible way around the 'center' of the trouble region is known. Thus, rather than attempting paths which look promising locally (at the beginning of a trouble region) but which may not yield overall results, the heuristic attempts local strategies that appear promising for circumventing the unsafe region.

The Practicality of Cooperative Education between an Industry and University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oomichi, Takeo; Jianming, Yang; Matsubara, Takenori; Tatsuno, Kyoichi; Takahashi, Tomoichi

Some cooperative methods have been proposed and executed as the R&D (research and development) between universities and industries meld together to form a new hybeid business. This paper proposes the ides of “Fusion Education” for the advancement of education and for fostering new business. In fusion education, university students will begin by mainly verifying the application potential of a developed system such as modulated robotic software, for example, and improve specific areas when and if needed. Then, the university will rank the systems according to its reliability or safety record (based on the student) complete verification test which includes data on when the robot will be operated and under what varying conditions (such as performance in various private houses). The university essentially gives students the chance to find a solution to practical problems while the industry gets a reliable (fully authorized) system as result of this education process. The concept and feasibility of this “fusion education” will now be discussed.

A Human-Robot Co-Manipulation Approach Based on Human Sensorimotor Information.

PubMed

Peternel, Luka; Tsagarakis, Nikos; Ajoudani, Arash

2017-07-01

This paper aims to improve the interaction and coordination between the human and the robot in cooperative execution of complex, powerful, and dynamic tasks. We propose a novel approach that integrates online information about the human motor function and manipulability properties into the hybrid controller of the assistive robot. Through this human-in-the-loop framework, the robot can adapt to the human motor behavior and provide the appropriate assistive response in different phases of the cooperative task. We experimentally evaluate the proposed approach in two human-robot co-manipulation tasks that require specific complementary behavior from the two agents. Results suggest that the proposed technique, which relies on a minimum degree of task-level pre-programming, can achieve an enhanced physical human-robot interaction performance and deliver appropriate level of assistance to the human operator.

Design and Performance Evaluation of Real-time Endovascular Interventional Surgical Robotic System with High Accuracy.

PubMed

Wang, Kundong; Chen, Bing; Lu, Qingsheng; Li, Hongbing; Liu, Manhua; Shen, Yu; Xu, Zhuoyan

2018-05-15

Endovascular interventional surgery (EIS) is performed under a high radiation environment at the sacrifice of surgeons' health. This paper introduces a novel endovascular interventional surgical robot that aims to reduce radiation to surgeons and physical stress imposed by lead aprons during fluoroscopic X-ray guided catheter intervention. The unique mechanical structure allowed the surgeon to manipulate the axial and radial motion of the catheter and guide wire. Four catheter manipulators (to manipulate the catheter and guide wire), and a control console which consists of four joysticks, several buttons and two twist switches (to control the catheter manipulators) were presented. The entire robotic system was established on a master-slave control structure through CAN (Controller Area Network) bus communication, meanwhile, the slave side of this robotic system showed highly accurate control over velocity and displacement with PID controlling method. The robotic system was tested and passed in vitro and animal experiments. Through functionality evaluation, the manipulators were able to complete interventional surgical motion both independently and cooperatively. The robotic surgery was performed successfully in an adult female pig and demonstrated the feasibility of superior mesenteric and common iliac artery stent implantation. The entire robotic system met the clinical requirements of EIS. The results show that the system has the ability to imitate the movements of surgeons and to accomplish the axial and radial motions with consistency and high-accuracy. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Distributed Fault-Tolerant Control of Networked Uncertain Euler-Lagrange Systems Under Actuator Faults.

PubMed

Chen, Gang; Song, Yongduan; Lewis, Frank L

2016-05-03

This paper investigates the distributed fault-tolerant control problem of networked Euler-Lagrange systems with actuator and communication link faults. An adaptive fault-tolerant cooperative control scheme is proposed to achieve the coordinated tracking control of networked uncertain Lagrange systems on a general directed communication topology, which contains a spanning tree with the root node being the active target system. The proposed algorithm is capable of compensating for the actuator bias fault, the partial loss of effectiveness actuation fault, the communication link fault, the model uncertainty, and the external disturbance simultaneously. The control scheme does not use any fault detection and isolation mechanism to detect, separate, and identify the actuator faults online, which largely reduces the online computation and expedites the responsiveness of the controller. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, a test-bed of multiple robot-arm cooperative control system is developed for real-time verification. Experiments on the networked robot-arms are conduced and the results confirm the benefits and the effectiveness of the proposed distributed fault-tolerant control algorithms.

Distributed Planning and Control for Teams of Cooperating Mobile Robots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parker, L.E.

2004-06-15

This CRADA project involved the cooperative research of investigators in ORNL's Center for Engineering Science Advanced Research (CESAR) with researchers at Caterpillar, Inc. The subject of the research was the development of cooperative control strategies for autonomous vehicles performing applications of interest to Caterpillar customers. The project involved three Phases of research, conducted over the time period of November 1998 through December 2001. This project led to the successful development of several technologies and demonstrations in realistic simulation that illustrated the effectiveness of the control approaches for distributed planning and cooperation in multi-robot teams.

What Role for Emotions in Cooperating Robots? - The Case of RH3-Y

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dessimoz, Jean-Daniel; Gauthey, Pierre-François

The paper reviews key aspects of emotions in the context of cooperating robots (mostly, robots cooperating with humans), and gives numerous concrete examples from RH-Y robots. Emotions have been first systematically studied in relation to human expressions, and then the shift has come towards a machine-based replication. Emotions appear to result from changes, from convergence or deviation between status and goals; they trigger appropriate activities, are commonly represented in 2D or 3D affect space, and can be made visible by facial expressions. While specific devices are sometimes created, emotive expressions seem to be conveniently rendered by a set of facial images or more simply by some icons; they can also possibly be parameterized in a few dimensions for continuous modulation. In fact however, internal forces for activities and changes may be expressed in many ways other than faces: screens, panels, and operational behaviors. Relying on emotions ensures useful aspects, such as experience reuse, legibility or communication. But it also includes limits such as due to the nature of robots, of interactive media, and even of the very domain of emotions. For our goal, the design of effective and efficient, cooperating robots, in domestic applications, communication and interaction play key roles; best practices become evident after experimental verification; and our experience gained so far, over 10 years and more, points at a variety of successful strategic attitudes and expression modes, much beyond classic human emotions and facial or iconic images.

Hybrid position/force control of multi-arm cooperating robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayati, Samad

1986-01-01

This paper extends the theory of hybrid position/force control to the case of multi-arm cooperating robots. Cooperation between n robot arms is achieved by controlling each arm such that the burden of actuation is shared between the arms in a nonconflicting way as they control the position of and force on a designated point on an object. The object, which may or may not be in contact with a rigid environment, is assumed to be held rigidly by n robot end-effectors. Natural and artificial position and force constraints are defined for a point on the object and two selection matrices are obtained to control the arms. The position control loops are designed based on each manipulator's Cartesian space dynamic equations. In the position control subspace, a feature is provided which allows the robot arms to exert additional forces/torques to achieve compression, tension, or torsion in the object without affecting the execution of the motion trajectories. In the force control subspace, a method is introduced to minimize the total force/torque magnitude square while realizing the net desired force/torque on the environment.

The Role of Autobiographical Memory in the Development of a Robot Self

PubMed Central

Pointeau, Gregoire; Dominey, Peter Ford

2017-01-01

This article briefly reviews research in cognitive development concerning the nature of the human self. It then reviews research in developmental robotics that has attempted to retrace parts of the developmental trajectory of the self. This should be of interest to developmental psychologists, and researchers in developmental robotics. As a point of departure, one of the most characteristic aspects of human social interaction is cooperation—the process of entering into a joint enterprise to achieve a common goal. Fundamental to this ability to cooperate is the underlying ability to enter into, and engage in, a self-other relation. This suggests that if we intend for robots to cooperate with humans, then to some extent robots must engage in these self-other relations, and hence they must have some aspect of a self. Decades of research in human cognitive development indicate that the self is not fully present from the outset, but rather that it is developed in a usage-based fashion, that is, through engaging with the world, including the physical world and the social world of animate intentional agents. In an effort to characterize the self, Ulric Neisser noted that self is not unitary, and he thus proposed five types of self-knowledge that correspond to five distinct components of self: ecological, interpersonal, conceptual, temporally extended, and private. He emphasized the ecological nature of each of these levels, how they are developed through the engagement of the developing child with the physical and interpersonal worlds. Crucially, development of the self has been shown to rely on the child's autobiographical memory. From the developmental robotics perspective, this suggests that in principal it would be possible to develop certain aspects of self in a robot cognitive system where the robot is engaged in the physical and social world, equipped with an autobiographical memory system. We review a series of developmental robotics studies that make progress in this enterprise. We conclude with a summary of the properties that are required for the development of these different levels of self, and we identify topics for future research. PMID:28676751

78 FR 13896 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Robotics...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-01

... Production Act of 1993--Robotics Technology Consortium, Inc. Notice is hereby given that, on February 5, 2013... seq. (``the Act''), Robotics Technology Consortium, Inc. (``RTC'') has filed written notifications... Institute LLC, Monticello, FL; Humanistic Robotics, Inc., Philadelphia, PA; Polaris Sales, Inc., Medina, MN...

76 FR 59160 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Robotics...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-23

... Production Act of 1993--Robotics Technology Consortium, Inc. Notice is hereby given that, on July 27, 2011... seq. (``the Act''), the Robotics Technology Consortium (``RTC'') has filed written notifications... Machining, Longmont, CA; Carnegie Robotics LLC, Pittsburgh, PA; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University...

77 FR 34067 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Robotics...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-08

... Production Act of 1993--Robotics Technology Consortium, Inc. Notice is hereby given that, on April 30, 2012... seq. (``the Act''), Robotics Technology Consortium, Inc. (``RTC'') has filed written notifications... Inc., Huntsville, AL; John H. Northrop & Associates, Inc., Burke, VA; Lithos Robotics Corporation...

Embodied Computation: An Active-Learning Approach to Mobile Robotics Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riek, L. D.

2013-01-01

This paper describes a newly designed upper-level undergraduate and graduate course, Autonomous Mobile Robots. The course employs active, cooperative, problem-based learning and is grounded in the fundamental computational problems in mobile robotics defined by Dudek and Jenkin. Students receive a broad survey of robotics through lectures, weekly…

Holarchical Systems and Emotional Holons : Biologically-Inspired System Designs for Control of Autonomous Aerial Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ippolito, Corey; Plice, Laura; Pisanich, Greg

2003-01-01

The BEES (Bio-inspired Engineering for Exploration Systems) for Mars project at NASA Ames Research Center has the goal of developing bio-inspired flight control strategies to enable aerial explorers for Mars scientific investigations. This paper presents a summary of our ongoing research into biologically inspired system designs for control of unmanned autonomous aerial vehicle communities for Mars exploration. First, we present cooperative design considerations for robotic explorers based on the holarchical nature of biological systems and communities. Second, an outline of an architecture for cognitive decision making and control of individual robotic explorers is presented, modeled after the emotional nervous system of cognitive biological systems. Keywords: Holarchy, Biologically Inspired, Emotional UAV Flight Control

Humanoids for lunar and planetary surface operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoica, Adrian; Keymeulen, Didier; Csaszar, Ambrus; Gan, Quan; Hidalgo, Timothy; Moore, Jeff; Newton, Jason; Sandoval, Steven; Xu, Jiajing

2005-01-01

This paper presents a vision of humanoid robots as human's key partners in future space exploration, in particular for construction, maintenance/repair and operation of lunar/planetary habitats, bases and settlements. It integrates this vision with the recent plans, for human and robotic exploration, aligning a set of milestones for operational capability of humanoids with the schedule for the next decades and development spirals in the Project Constellation. These milestones relate to a set of incremental challenges, for the solving of which new humanoid technologies are needed. A system of systems integrative approach that would lead to readiness of cooperating humanoid crews is sketched. Robot fostering, training/education techniques, and improved cognitive/sensory/motor development techniques are considered essential elements for achieving intelligent humanoids. A pilot project in this direction is outlined.

Method and apparatus for hybrid position/force control of multi-arm cooperating robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayati, Samad A. (Inventor)

1989-01-01

Two or more robotic arms having end effectors rigidly attached to an object to be moved are disclosed. A hybrid position/force control system is provided for driving each of the robotic arms. The object to be moved is represented as having a total mass that consists of the actual mass of the object to be moved plus the mass of the moveable arms that are rigidly attached to the moveable object. The arms are driven in a positive way by the hybrid control system to assure that each arm shares in the position/force applied to the object. The burden of actuation is shared by each arm in a non-conflicting way as the arm independently control the position of, and force upon, a designated point on the object.

Distributed Finite-Time Cooperative Control of Multiple High-Order Nonholonomic Mobile Robots.

PubMed

Du, Haibo; Wen, Guanghui; Cheng, Yingying; He, Yigang; Jia, Ruting

2017-12-01

The consensus problem of multiple nonholonomic mobile robots in the form of high-order chained structure is considered in this paper. Based on the model features and the finite-time control technique, a finite-time cooperative controller is explicitly constructed which guarantees that the states consensus is achieved in a finite time. As an application of the proposed results, finite-time formation control of multiple wheeled mobile robots is studied and a finite-time formation control algorithm is proposed. To show effectiveness of the proposed approach, a simulation example is given.

76 FR 79218 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Robotics...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-21

... Production Act of 1993--Robotics Technology Consortium, Inc. Notice is hereby given that, on November 22....C. 4301 et seq. (``the Act''), Robotics Technology Consortium, Inc. (``RTC'') has filed written...., Arlington, VA; Jaybridge Robotics, Cambridge, MA; Klett Consulting Group, Inc., Virginia Beach, VA; and Next...

The Snackbot: Documenting the Design of a Robot for Long-term Human-Robot Interaction

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

distributed robots. Proceedings of the Computer Supported Cooperative Work Conference’02. NY: ACM Press. [18] Kanda, T., Takayuki , H., Eaton, D., and...humanoid robots. Proceedings of HRI’06. New York, NY: ACM Press, 351-352. [23] Nabe, S., Kanda, T., Hiraki , K., Ishiguro, H., Kogure, K., and Hagita

Towards multi-platform software architecture for Collaborative Teleoperation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domingues, Christophe; Otmane, Samir; Davesne, Frederic; Mallem, Malik

2009-03-01

Augmented Reality (AR) can provide to a Human Operator (HO) a real help in achieving complex tasks, such as remote control of robots and cooperative teleassistance. Using appropriate augmentations, the HO can interact faster, safer and easier with the remote real world. In this paper, we present an extension of an existing distributed software and network architecture for collaborative teleoperation based on networked human-scaled mixed reality and mobile platform. The first teleoperation system was composed by a VR application and a Web application. However the 2 systems cannot be used together and it is impossible to control a distant robot simultaneously. Our goal is to update the teleoperation system to permit a heterogeneous collaborative teleoperation between the 2 platforms. An important feature of this interface is based on the use of different Virtual Reality platforms and different Mobile platforms to control one or many robots.

Distributing Planning and Control for Teams of Cooperating Mobile Robots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parker, L.E.

2004-07-19

This CRADA project involved the cooperative research of investigators in ORNL's Center for Engineering Science Advanced Research (CESAR) with researchers at Caterpillar, Inc. The subject of the research was the development of cooperative control strategies for autonomous vehicles performing applications of interest to Caterpillar customers. The project involved three Phases of research, conducted over the time period of November 1998 through December 2001. This project led to the successful development of several technologies and demonstrations in realistic simulation that illustrated the effectiveness of our control approaches for distributed planning and cooperation in multi-robot teams. The primary objectives of this researchmore » project were to: (1) Develop autonomous control technologies to enable multiple vehicles to work together cooperatively, (2) Provide the foundational capabilities for a human operator to exercise oversight and guidance during the multi-vehicle task execution, and (3) Integrate these capabilities to the ALLIANCE-based autonomous control approach for multi-robot teams. These objectives have been successfully met with the results implemented and demonstrated in a near real-time multi-vehicle simulation of up to four vehicles performing mission-relevant tasks.« less

Vision-based mapping with cooperative robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Little, James J.; Jennings, Cullen; Murray, Don

1998-10-01

Two stereo-vision-based mobile robots navigate and autonomously explore their environment safely while building occupancy grid maps of the environment. The robots maintain position estimates within a global coordinate frame using landmark recognition. This allows them to build a common map by sharing position information and stereo data. Stereo vision processing and map updates are done at 3 Hz and the robots move at speeds of 200 cm/s. Cooperative mapping is achieved through autonomous exploration of unstructured and dynamic environments. The map is constructed conservatively, so as to be useful for collision-free path planning. Each robot maintains a separate copy of a shared map, and then posts updates to the common map when it returns to observe a landmark at home base. Issues include synchronization, mutual localization, navigation, exploration, registration of maps, merging repeated views (fusion), centralized vs decentralized maps.

[Surgical robotics, short state of the art and prospects].

PubMed

Gravez, P

2003-11-01

State-of-the-art robotized systems developed for surgery are either remotely controlled manipulators that duplicate gestures made by the surgeon (endoscopic surgery applications), or automated robots that execute trajectories defined relatively to pre-operative medical imaging (neurosurgery and orthopaedic surgery). This generation of systems primarily applies existing robotics technologies (the remote handling systems and the so-called "industrial robots") to current surgical practices. It has contributed to validate the huge potential of surgical robotics, but it suffers from several drawbacks, mainly high costs, excessive dimensions and some lack of user-friendliness. Nevertheless, technological progress let us anticipate the appearance in the near future of miniaturised surgical robots able to assist the gesture of the surgeon and to enhance his perception of the operation at hand. Due to many in-the-body articulated links, these systems will have the capability to perform complex minimally invasive gestures without obstructing the operating theatre. They will also combine the facility of manual piloting with the accuracy and increased safety of computer control, guiding the gestures of the human without offending to his freedom of action. Lastly, they will allow the surgeon to feel the mechanical properties of the tissues he is operating through a genuine "remote palpation" function. Most probably, such technological evolutions will lead the way to redesigned surgical procedures taking place inside new operating rooms featuring a better integration of all equipments and favouring cooperative work from multidisciplinary and sometimes geographically distributed medical staff.

Co-robotic ultrasound imaging: a cooperative force control approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finocchi, Rodolfo; Aalamifar, Fereshteh; Fang, Ting Yun; Taylor, Russell H.; Boctor, Emad M.

2017-03-01

Ultrasound (US) imaging remains one of the most commonly used imaging modalities in medical practice. However, due to the physical effort required to perform US imaging tasks, 63-91% of ultrasonographers develop musculoskeletal disorders throughout their careers. The goal of this work is to provide ultrasonographers with a system that facilitates and reduces strain in US image acquisition. To this end, we propose a system for admittance force robot control that uses the six-degree-of-freedom UR5 industrial robot. A six-axis force sensor is used to measure the forces and torques applied by the sonographer on the probe. As the sonographer pushes against the US probe, the robot complies with these forces, following the user's desired path. A one-axis load cell is used to measure contact forces between the patient and the probe in real time. When imaging, the robot augments the axial forces applied by the user, lessening the physical effort required. User studies showed an overall decrease in hand tremor while imaging at high forces, improvements in image stability, and a decrease in difficulty and strenuousness.

Architectural setup for online monitoring and control of process parameters in robot-based ISF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Störkle, Denis Daniel; Thyssen, Lars; Kuhlenkötter, Bernd

2017-10-01

This article describes new developments in an incremental, robot-based sheet metal forming process (Roboforming) for the production of sheet metal components for small lot sizes and prototypes. The dieless kinematic-based generation of the shape is implemented by means of two industrial robots, which are interconnected to a cooperating robot system. Compared to other incremental sheet forming (ISF) machines, this system offers high geometrical design flexibility without the need of any part-dependent tools. However, the industrial application of ISF is still limited by certain constraints, e.g. the low geometrical accuracy. Responding to these constraints, the authors introduce a new architectural setup extending the current one by a superordinate process control. This sophisticated control consists of two modules, i.e. the compensation of the two industrial robots' low structural stiffness as well as a combined force/torque control. It is assumed that this contribution will lead to future research and development projects in which the authors will thoroughly investigate ISF process parameters influencing the geometric accuracy of the forming results.

Distributed cooperative H∞ optimal tracking control of MIMO nonlinear multi-agent systems in strict-feedback form via adaptive dynamic programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luy, N. T.

2018-04-01

The design of distributed cooperative H∞ optimal controllers for multi-agent systems is a major challenge when the agents' models are uncertain multi-input and multi-output nonlinear systems in strict-feedback form in the presence of external disturbances. In this paper, first, the distributed cooperative H∞ optimal tracking problem is transformed into controlling the cooperative tracking error dynamics in affine form. Second, control schemes and online algorithms are proposed via adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) and the theory of zero-sum differential graphical games. The schemes use only one neural network (NN) for each agent instead of three from ADP to reduce computational complexity as well as avoid choosing initial NN weights for stabilising controllers. It is shown that despite not using knowledge of cooperative internal dynamics, the proposed algorithms not only approximate values to Nash equilibrium but also guarantee all signals, such as the NN weight approximation errors and the cooperative tracking errors in the closed-loop system, to be uniformly ultimately bounded. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is shown by simulation results of an application to wheeled mobile multi-robot systems.

Human-directed local autonomy for motion guidance and coordination in an intelligent manufacturing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alford, W. A.; Kawamura, Kazuhiko; Wilkes, Don M.

1997-12-01

This paper discusses the problem of integrating human intelligence and skills into an intelligent manufacturing system. Our center has jointed the Holonic Manufacturing Systems (HMS) Project, an international consortium dedicated to developing holonic systems technologies. One of our contributions to this effort is in Work Package 6: flexible human integration. This paper focuses on one activity, namely, human integration into motion guidance and coordination. Much research on intelligent systems focuses on creating totally autonomous agents. At the Center for Intelligent Systems (CIS), we design robots that interact directly with a human user. We focus on using the natural intelligence of the user to simplify the design of a robotic system. The problem is finding ways for the user to interact with the robot that are efficient and comfortable for the user. Manufacturing applications impose the additional constraint that the manufacturing process should not be disturbed; that is, frequent interacting with the user could degrade real-time performance. Our research in human-robot interaction is based on a concept called human directed local autonomy (HuDL). Under this paradigm, the intelligent agent selects and executes a behavior or skill, based upon directions from a human user. The user interacts with the robot via speech, gestures, or other media. Our control software is based on the intelligent machine architecture (IMA), an object-oriented architecture which facilitates cooperation and communication among intelligent agents. In this paper we describe our research testbed, a dual-arm humanoid robot and human user, and the use of this testbed for a human directed sorting task. We also discuss some proposed experiments for evaluating the integration of the human into the robot system. At the time of this writing, the experiments have not been completed.

Cooperative Three-Robot System for Traversing Steep Slopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stroupe, Ashley; Huntsberger, Terrance; Aghazarian, Hrand; Younse, Paulo; Garrett, Michael

2009-01-01

Teamed Robots for Exploration and Science in Steep Areas (TRESSA) is a system of three autonomous mobile robots that cooperate with each other to enable scientific exploration of steep terrain (slope angles up to 90 ). Originally intended for use in exploring steep slopes on Mars that are not accessible to lone wheeled robots (Mars Exploration Rovers), TRESSA and systems like TRESSA could also be used on Earth for performing rescues on steep slopes and for exploring steep slopes that are too remote or too dangerous to be explored by humans. TRESSA is modeled on safe human climbing of steep slopes, two key features of which are teamwork and safety tethers. Two of the autonomous robots, denoted Anchorbots, remain at the top of a slope; the third robot, denoted the Cliffbot, traverses the slope. The Cliffbot drives over the cliff edge supported by tethers, which are payed out from the Anchorbots (see figure). The Anchorbots autonomously control the tension in the tethers to counter the gravitational force on the Cliffbot. The tethers are payed out and reeled in as needed, keeping the body of the Cliffbot oriented approximately parallel to the local terrain surface and preventing wheel slip by controlling the speed of descent or ascent, thereby enabling the Cliffbot to drive freely up, down, or across the slope. Due to the interactive nature of the three-robot system, the robots must be very tightly coupled. To provide for this tight coupling, the TRESSA software architecture is built on a combination of (1) the multi-robot layered behavior-coordination architecture reported in "An Architecture for Controlling Multiple Robots" (NPO-30345), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 10 (October 2004), page 65, and (2) the real-time control architecture reported in "Robot Electronics Architecture" (NPO-41784), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 32, No. 1 (January 2008), page 28. The combination architecture makes it possible to keep the three robots synchronized and coordinated, to use data from all three robots for decision- making at each step, and to control the physical connections among the robots. In addition, TRESSA (as in prior systems that have utilized this architecture) , incorporates a capability for deterministic response to unanticipated situations from yet another architecture reported in Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing (NPO-43635), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 32, No. 10 (October 2008), page 40. Tether tension control is a major consideration in the design and operation of TRESSA. Tension is measured by force sensors connected to each tether at the Cliffbot. The direction of the tension (both azimuth and elevation) is also measured. The tension controller combines a controller to counter gravitational force and an optional velocity controller that anticipates the motion of the Cliffbot. The gravity controller estimates the slope angle from the inclination of the tethers. This angle and the weight of the Cliffbot determine the total tension needed to counteract the weight of the Cliffbot. The total needed tension is broken into components for each Anchorbot. The difference between this needed tension and the tension measured at the Cliffbot constitutes an error signal that is provided to the gravity controller. The velocity controller computes the tether speed needed to produce the desired motion of the Cliffbot. Another major consideration in the design and operation of TRESSA is detection of faults. Each robot in the TRESSA system monitors its own performance and the performance of its teammates in order to detect any system faults and prevent unsafe conditions. At startup, communication links are tested and if any robot is not communicating, the system refuses to execute any motion commands. Prior to motion, the Anchorbots attempt to set tensions in the tethers at optimal levels for counteracting the weight of the Cliffbot; if either Anchorbot fails to reach its optimal tension level within a specified time, it sends message to the other robots and the commanded motion is not executed. If any mechanical error (e.g., stalling of a motor) is detected, the affected robot sends a message triggering stoppage of the current motion. Lastly, messages are passed among the robots at each time step (10 Hz) to share sensor information during operations. If messages from any robot cease for more than an allowable time interval, the other robots detect the communication loss and initiate stoppage.

A 2.5D Map-Based Mobile Robot Localization via Cooperation of Aerial and Ground Robots

PubMed Central

Nam, Tae Hyeon; Shim, Jae Hong; Cho, Young Im

2017-01-01

Recently, there has been increasing interest in studying the task coordination of aerial and ground robots. When a robot begins navigation in an unknown area, it has no information about the surrounding environment. Accordingly, for robots to perform tasks based on location information, they need a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) process that uses sensor information to draw a map of the environment, while simultaneously estimating the current location of the robot on the map. This paper aims to present a localization method based in cooperation between aerial and ground robots in an indoor environment. The proposed method allows a ground robot to reach accurate destination by using a 2.5D elevation map built by a low-cost RGB-D (Red Green and Blue-Depth) sensor and 2D Laser sensor attached onto an aerial robot. A 2.5D elevation map is formed by projecting height information of an obstacle using depth information obtained by the RGB-D sensor onto a grid map, which is generated by using the 2D Laser sensor and scan matching. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for its accuracy in location recognition and computing speed. PMID:29186843

A 2.5D Map-Based Mobile Robot Localization via Cooperation of Aerial and Ground Robots.

PubMed

Nam, Tae Hyeon; Shim, Jae Hong; Cho, Young Im

2017-11-25

Recently, there has been increasing interest in studying the task coordination of aerial and ground robots. When a robot begins navigation in an unknown area, it has no information about the surrounding environment. Accordingly, for robots to perform tasks based on location information, they need a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) process that uses sensor information to draw a map of the environment, while simultaneously estimating the current location of the robot on the map. This paper aims to present a localization method based in cooperation between aerial and ground robots in an indoor environment. The proposed method allows a ground robot to reach accurate destination by using a 2.5D elevation map built by a low-cost RGB-D (Red Green and Blue-Depth) sensor and 2D Laser sensor attached onto an aerial robot. A 2.5D elevation map is formed by projecting height information of an obstacle using depth information obtained by the RGB-D sensor onto a grid map, which is generated by using the 2D Laser sensor and scan matching. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for its accuracy in location recognition and computing speed.

Avoiding space robot collisions utilizing the NASA/GSFC tri-mode skin sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prinz, F. B.

1991-01-01

Sensor based robot motion planning research has primarily focused on mobile robots. Consider, however, the case of a robot manipulator expected to operate autonomously in a dynamic environment where unexpected collisions can occur with many parts of the robot. Only a sensor based system capable of generating collision free paths would be acceptable in such situations. Recently, work in this area has been reported in which a deterministic solution for 2DOF systems has been generated. The arm was sensitized with 'skin' of infra-red sensors. We have proposed a heuristic (potential field based) methodology for redundant robots with large DOF's. The key concepts are solving the path planning problem by cooperating global and local planning modules, the use of complete information from the sensors and partial (but appropriate) information from a world model, representation of objects with hyper-ellipsoids in the world model, and the use of variational planning. We intend to sensitize the robot arm with a 'skin' of capacitive proximity sensors. These sensors were developed at NASA, and are exceptionally suited for the space application. In the first part of the report, we discuss the development and modeling of the capacitive proximity sensor. In the second part we discuss the motion planning algorithm.

Cooperative mission execution and planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flann, Nicholas S.; Saunders, Kevin S.; Pells, Larry

1998-08-01

Utilizing multiple cooperating autonomous vehicles to perform tasks enhances robustness and efficiency over the use of a single vehicle. Furthermore, because autonomous vehicles can be controlled precisely and their status known accurately in real time, new types of cooperative behaviors are possible. This paper presents a working system called MEPS that plans and executes missions for multiple autonomous vehicles in large structured environments. Two generic spatial tasks are supported, to sweep an area and to visit a location while activating on-board equipment. Tasks can be entered both initially by the user and dynamically during mission execution by both users and vehicles. Sensor data and task achievement data is shared among the vehicles enabling them to cooperatively adapt to changing environmental, vehicle and tasks conditions. The system has been successfully applied to control ATV and micro-robotic vehicles in precision agriculture and waste-site characterization environments.

Ant-like task allocation and recruitment in cooperative robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krieger, Michael J. B.; Billeter, Jean-Bernard; Keller, Laurent

2000-08-01

One of the greatest challenges in robotics is to create machines that are able to interact with unpredictable environments in real time. A possible solution may be to use swarms of robots behaving in a self-organized manner, similar to workers in an ant colony. Efficient mechanisms of division of labour, in particular series-parallel operation and transfer of information among group members, are key components of the tremendous ecological success of ants. Here we show that the general principles regulating division of labour in ant colonies indeed allow the design of flexible, robust and effective robotic systems. Groups of robots using ant-inspired algorithms of decentralized control techniques foraged more efficiently and maintained higher levels of group energy than single robots. But the benefits of group living decreased in larger groups, most probably because of interference during foraging. Intriguingly, a similar relationship between group size and efficiency has been documented in social insects. Moreover, when food items were clustered, groups where robots could recruit other robots in an ant-like manner were more efficient than groups without information transfer, suggesting that group dynamics of swarms of robots may follow rules similar to those governing social insects.

Humanoids in Support of Lunar and Planetary Surface Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoica, Adrian; Keymeulen, Didier

2006-01-01

This paper presents a vision of humanoid robots as human's key partners in future space exploration, in particular for construction, maintenance/repair and operation of lunar/planetary habitats, bases and settlements. It integrates this vision with the recent plans for human and robotic exploration, aligning a set of milestones for operational capability of humanoids with the schedule for the next decades and development spirals in the Project Constellation. These milestones relate to a set of incremental challenges, for the solving of which new humanoid technologies are needed. A system of systems integrative approach that would lead to readiness of cooperating humanoid crews is sketched. Robot fostering, training/education techniques, and improved cognitive/sensory/motor development techniques are considered essential elements for achieving intelligent humanoids. A pilot project using small-scale Fujitsu HOAP-2 humanoid is outlined.

Construction of multi-agent mobile robots control system in the problem of persecution with using a modified reinforcement learning method based on neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patkin, M. L.; Rogachev, G. N.

2018-02-01

A method for constructing a multi-agent control system for mobile robots based on training with reinforcement using deep neural networks is considered. Synthesis of the management system is proposed to be carried out with reinforcement training and the modified Actor-Critic method, in which the Actor module is divided into Action Actor and Communication Actor in order to simultaneously manage mobile robots and communicate with partners. Communication is carried out by sending partners at each step a vector of real numbers that are added to the observation vector and affect the behaviour. Functions of Actors and Critic are approximated by deep neural networks. The Critics value function is trained by using the TD-error method and the Actor’s function by using DDPG. The Communication Actor’s neural network is trained through gradients received from partner agents. An environment in which a cooperative multi-agent interaction is present was developed, computer simulation of the application of this method in the control problem of two robots pursuing two goals was carried out.

Dynamics modelling and Hybrid Suppression Control of space robots performing cooperative object manipulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zarafshan, P.; Moosavian, S. Ali A.

2013-10-01

Dynamics modelling and control of multi-body space robotic systems composed of rigid and flexible elements is elaborated here. Control of such systems is highly complicated due to severe under-actuated condition caused by flexible elements, and an inherent uneven nonlinear dynamics. Therefore, developing a compact dynamics model with the requirement of limited computations is extremely useful for controller design, also to develop simulation studies in support of design improvement, and finally for practical implementations. In this paper, the Rigid-Flexible Interactive dynamics Modelling (RFIM) approach is introduced as a combination of Lagrange and Newton-Euler methods, in which the motion equations of rigid and flexible members are separately developed in an explicit closed form. These equations are then assembled and solved simultaneously at each time step by considering the mutual interaction and constraint forces. The proposed approach yields a compact model rather than common accumulation approach that leads to a massive set of equations in which the dynamics of flexible elements is united with the dynamics equations of rigid members. To reveal such merits of this new approach, a Hybrid Suppression Control (HSC) for a cooperative object manipulation task will be proposed, and applied to usual space systems. A Wheeled Mobile Robotic (WMR) system with flexible appendages as a typical space rover is considered which contains a rigid main body equipped with two manipulating arms and two flexible solar panels, and next a Space Free Flying Robotic system (SFFR) with flexible members is studied. Modelling verification of these complicated systems is vigorously performed using ANSYS and ADAMS programs, while the limited computations of RFIM approach provides an efficient tool for the proposed controller design. Furthermore, it will be shown that the vibrations of the flexible solar panels results in disturbing forces on the base which may produce undesirable errors and perturb the object manipulation task. So, it is shown that these effects can be significantly eliminated by the proposed Hybrid Suppression Control algorithm.

Hand-held medical robots.

PubMed

Payne, Christopher J; Yang, Guang-Zhong

2014-08-01

Medical robots have evolved from autonomous systems to tele-operated platforms and mechanically-grounded, cooperatively-controlled robots. Whilst these approaches have seen both commercial and clinical success, uptake of these robots remains moderate because of their high cost, large physical footprint and long setup times. More recently, researchers have moved toward developing hand-held robots that are completely ungrounded and manipulated by surgeons in free space, in a similar manner to how conventional instruments are handled. These devices provide specific functions that assist the surgeon in accomplishing tasks that are otherwise challenging with manual manipulation. Hand-held robots have the advantages of being compact and easily integrated into the normal surgical workflow since there is typically little or no setup time. Hand-held devices can also have a significantly reduced cost to healthcare providers as they do not necessitate the complex, multi degree-of-freedom linkages that grounded robots require. However, the development of such devices is faced with many technical challenges, including miniaturization, cost and sterility, control stability, inertial and gravity compensation and robust instrument tracking. This review presents the emerging technical trends in hand-held medical robots and future development opportunities for promoting their wider clinical uptake.

A Hierarchical Auction-Based Mechanism for Real-Time Resource Allocation in Cloud Robotic Systems.

PubMed

Wang, Lujia; Liu, Ming; Meng, Max Q-H

2017-02-01

Cloud computing enables users to share computing resources on-demand. The cloud computing framework cannot be directly mapped to cloud robotic systems with ad hoc networks since cloud robotic systems have additional constraints such as limited bandwidth and dynamic structure. However, most multirobotic applications with cooperative control adopt this decentralized approach to avoid a single point of failure. Robots need to continuously update intensive data to execute tasks in a coordinated manner, which implies real-time requirements. Thus, a resource allocation strategy is required, especially in such resource-constrained environments. This paper proposes a hierarchical auction-based mechanism, namely link quality matrix (LQM) auction, which is suitable for ad hoc networks by introducing a link quality indicator. The proposed algorithm produces a fast and robust method that is accurate and scalable. It reduces both global communication and unnecessary repeated computation. The proposed method is designed for firm real-time resource retrieval for physical multirobot systems. A joint surveillance scenario empirically validates the proposed mechanism by assessing several practical metrics. The results show that the proposed LQM auction outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms for resource allocation.

Kinematics and control algorithm development and simulation for a redundant two-arm robotic manipulator system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hennessey, Michael P.; Huang, Paul C.; Bunnell, Charles T.

1989-01-01

An efficient approach to cartesian motion and force control of a 7 degree of freedom (DOF) manipulator is presented. It is based on extending the active stiffness controller to the 7 DOF case in general and use of an efficient version of the gradient projection technique for solving the inverse kinematics problem. Cooperative control is achieved through appropriate configuration of individual manipulator controllers. In addition, other aspects of trajectory generation using standard techniques are integrated into the controller. The method is then applied to a specific manipulator of interest (Robotics Research T-710). Simulation of the kinematics, dynamics, and control are provided in the context of several scenarios: one pertaining to a noncontact pick and place operation; one relating to contour following where contact is made between the manipulator and environment; and one pertaining to cooperative control.

Satellite Servicing's Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking Testbed on the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Naasz, Bo J.; Strube, Matthew; Van Eepoel, John; Barbee, Brent W.; Getzandanner, Kenneth M.

2011-01-01

The Space Servicing Capabilities Project (SSCP) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has been tasked with developing systems for servicing space assets. Starting in 2009, the SSCP completed a study documenting potential customers and the business case for servicing, as well as defining several notional missions and required technologies. In 2010, SSCP moved to the implementation stage by completing several ground demonstrations and commencing development of two International Space Station (ISS) payloads-the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) and the Dextre Pointing Package (DPP)--to mitigate new technology risks for a robotic mission to service existing assets in geosynchronous orbit. This paper introduces the DPP, scheduled to fly in July of 2012 on the third operational SpaceX Dragon mission, and its Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) instruments. The combination of sensors and advanced avionics provide valuable on-orbit demonstrations of essential technologies for servicing existing vehicles, both cooperative and non-cooperative.

Proceedings of the 1989 CESAR/CEA (Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research/Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique) workshop on autonomous mobile robots (May 30--June 1, 1989)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harber, K.S.; Pin, F.G.

1990-03-01

The US DOE Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique's (CEA) Office de Robotique et Productique within the Directorat a la Valorization are working toward a long-term cooperative agreement and relationship in the area of Intelligent Systems Research (ISR). This report presents the proceedings of the first CESAR/CEA Workshop on Autonomous Mobile Robots which took place at ORNL on May 30, 31 and June 1, 1989. The purpose of the workshop was to present and discuss methodologies and algorithms under development at the two facilities in themore » area of perception and navigation for autonomous mobile robots in unstructured environments. Experimental demonstration of the algorithms and comparison of some of their features were proposed to take place within the framework of a previously mutually agreed-upon demonstration scenario or base-case.'' The base-case scenario described in detail in Appendix A, involved autonomous navigation by the robot in an a priori unknown environment with dynamic obstacles, in order to reach a predetermined goal. From the intermediate goal location, the robot had to search for and locate a control panel, move toward it, and dock in front of the panel face. The CESAR demonstration was successfully accomplished using the HERMIES-IIB robot while subsets of the CEA demonstration performed using the ARES robot simulation and animation system were presented. The first session of the workshop focused on these experimental demonstrations and on the needs and considerations for establishing benchmarks'' for testing autonomous robot control algorithms.« less

Educational Robotics: Open Questions and New Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alimisis, Dimitris

2013-01-01

This paper investigates the current situation in the field of educational robotics and identifies new challenges and trends focusing on the use of robotic technologies as a tool that will support creativity and other 21st-century learning skills. Finally, conclusions and proposals are presented for promoting cooperation and networking of…

Enhanced control & sensing for the REMOTEC ANDROS Mk VI robot. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spelt, P.F.; Harvey, H.W.

1997-08-01

This Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Lockheed Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., and REMOTEC, Inc., explored methods of providing operator feedback for various work actions of the ANDROS Mk VI teleoperated robot. In a hazardous environment, an extremely heavy workload seriously degrades the productivity of teleoperated robot operators. This CRADA involved the addition of computer power to the robot along with a variety of sensors and encoders to provide information about the robot`s performance in and relationship to its environment. Software was developed to integrate the sensor and encoder information and provide control input to the robot. ANDROS Mkmore » VI robots are presently used by numerous electric utilities to perform tasks in reactors where substantial exposure to radiation exists, as well as in a variety of other hazardous environments. Further, this platform has potential for use in a number of environmental restoration tasks, such as site survey and detection of hazardous waste materials. The addition of sensors and encoders serves to make the robot easier to manage and permits tasks to be done more safely and inexpensively (due to time saved in the completion of complex remote tasks). Prior research on the automation of mobile platforms with manipulators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR, B&R code KC0401030) Laboratory, a BES-supported facility, indicated that this type of enhancement is effective. This CRADA provided such enhancements to a successful working teleoperated robot for the first time. Performance of this CRADA used the CESAR laboratory facilities and expertise developed under BES funding.« less

Controlling Herds of Cooperative Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quadrelli, Marco B.

2006-01-01

A document poses, and suggests a program of research for answering, questions of how to achieve autonomous operation of herds of cooperative robots to be used in exploration and/or colonization of remote planets. In a typical scenario, a flock of mobile sensory robots would be deployed in a previously unexplored region, one of the robots would be designated the leader, and the leader would issue commands to move the robots to different locations or aim sensors at different targets to maximize scientific return. It would be necessary to provide for this hierarchical, cooperative behavior even in the face of such unpredictable factors as terrain obstacles. A potential-fields approach is proposed as a theoretical basis for developing methods of autonomous command and guidance of a herd. A survival-of-the-fittest approach is suggested as a theoretical basis for selection, mutation, and adaptation of a description of (1) the body, joints, sensors, actuators, and control computer of each robot, and (2) the connectivity of each robot with the rest of the herd, such that the herd could be regarded as consisting of a set of artificial creatures that evolve to adapt to a previously unknown environment. A distributed simulation environment has been developed to test the proposed approaches in the Titan environment. One blimp guides three surface sondes via a potential field approach. The results of the simulation demonstrate that the method used for control is feasible, even if significant uncertainty exists in the dynamics and environmental models, and that the control architecture provides the autonomy needed to enable surface science data collection.

Dense range map reconstruction from a versatile robotic sensor system with an active trinocular vision and a passive binocular vision.

PubMed

Kim, Min Young; Lee, Hyunkee; Cho, Hyungsuck

2008-04-10

One major research issue associated with 3D perception by robotic systems is the creation of efficient sensor systems that can generate dense range maps reliably. A visual sensor system for robotic applications is developed that is inherently equipped with two types of sensor, an active trinocular vision and a passive stereo vision. Unlike in conventional active vision systems that use a large number of images with variations of projected patterns for dense range map acquisition or from conventional passive vision systems that work well on specific environments with sufficient feature information, a cooperative bidirectional sensor fusion method for this visual sensor system enables us to acquire a reliable dense range map using active and passive information simultaneously. The fusion algorithms are composed of two parts, one in which the passive stereo vision helps active vision and the other in which the active trinocular vision helps the passive one. The first part matches the laser patterns in stereo laser images with the help of intensity images; the second part utilizes an information fusion technique using the dynamic programming method in which image regions between laser patterns are matched pixel-by-pixel with help of the fusion results obtained in the first part. To determine how the proposed sensor system and fusion algorithms can work in real applications, the sensor system is implemented on a robotic system, and the proposed algorithms are applied. A series of experimental tests is performed for a variety of configurations of robot and environments. The performance of the sensor system is discussed in detail.

A concept for ubiquitous robotics in industrial environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sallinen, Mikko; Heilala, Juhani; Kivikunnas, Sauli

2007-09-01

In this paper a concept for industrial ubiquitous robotics is presented. The concept combines two different approaches to manage agile, adaptable production: firstly the human operator is strongly in the production loop and secondly, the robot workcell will be more autonomous and smarter to manage production. This kind of autonomous robot cell can be called production island. Communication to the human operator working in this kind of smart industrial environment can be divided into two levels: body area communication and operator-infrastructure communication including devices, machines and infra. Body area communication can be supportive in two directions: data is recorded by means of measuring physical actions, such as hand movements, body gestures or supportive when it will provide information to user such as guides or manuals for operation. Body area communication can be carried out using short range communication technologies such as NFC (Near Field communication) which is RFID type of communication. In the operator-infrastructure communication, WLAN or Bluetooth -communication can be used. Beyond the current Human Machine interaction HMI systems, the presented system concept is designed to fulfill the requirements for hybrid, knowledge intensive manufacturing in the future, where humans and robots operate in close co-operation.

Finite-time tracking control for multiple non-holonomic mobile robots based on visual servoing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ou, Meiying; Li, Shihua; Wang, Chaoli

2013-12-01

This paper investigates finite-time tracking control problem of multiple non-holonomic mobile robots via visual servoing. It is assumed that the pinhole camera is fixed to the ceiling, and camera parameters are unknown. The desired reference trajectory is represented by a virtual leader whose states are available to only a subset of the followers, and the followers have only interaction. First, the camera-objective visual kinematic model is introduced by utilising the pinhole camera model for each mobile robot. Second, a unified tracking error system between camera-objective visual servoing model and desired reference trajectory is introduced. Third, based on the neighbour rule and by using finite-time control method, continuous distributed cooperative finite-time tracking control laws are designed for each mobile robot with unknown camera parameters, where the communication topology among the multiple mobile robots is assumed to be a directed graph. Rigorous proof shows that the group of mobile robots converges to the desired reference trajectory in finite time. Simulation example illustrates the effectiveness of our method.

Intra-hospital use of a telepathology system.

PubMed

Ongürü, O; Celasun, B

2000-01-01

Utilization of telepathology systems to cover distant geographical areas has increased recently. However, the potential usefulness of similar systems for closer distances does not seem to be widely appreciated. In this study, we present data on the use of a simple telepathology system connecting the pathology department and the intra-operative consultation room within the operating theaters of the hospital. Ninety-eight frozen section cases from a past period have been re-evaluated using a real-time setup. Forty-eight of the cases have been re-evaluated in the customary fashion; allowing both ends to communicate and cooperate freely. Fifty of the cases, however, were evaluated by the consultant while the operating room end behaved like a robot; moving the stage of the microscope, changing and focusing the objectives. The deferral rate was lower than the original frozen section evaluations. Overall, the sensitivity was 100%, specificity 98%, negative predictive value 96, 5% and positive predictive value 100%. No significant difference was found for the diagnostic performances between the cooperative and robotic simulation methods.Our results strengthen the belief that telepathology is a valuable tool in offering pathology services to remote areas. The far side of a hospital building can also be a remote area and a low cost system can be helpful for intraoperative consultations. Educational value of such a system is also commendable.

Anthropomorphism in Human–Robot Co-evolution

PubMed Central

Damiano, Luisa; Dumouchel, Paul

2018-01-01

Social robotics entertains a particular relationship with anthropomorphism, which it neither sees as a cognitive error, nor as a sign of immaturity. Rather it considers that this common human tendency, which is hypothesized to have evolved because it favored cooperation among early humans, can be used today to facilitate social interactions between humans and a new type of cooperative and interactive agents – social robots. This approach leads social robotics to focus research on the engineering of robots that activate anthropomorphic projections in users. The objective is to give robots “social presence” and “social behaviors” that are sufficiently credible for human users to engage in comfortable and potentially long-lasting relations with these machines. This choice of ‘applied anthropomorphism’ as a research methodology exposes the artifacts produced by social robotics to ethical condemnation: social robots are judged to be a “cheating” technology, as they generate in users the illusion of reciprocal social and affective relations. This article takes position in this debate, not only developing a series of arguments relevant to philosophy of mind, cognitive sciences, and robotic AI, but also asking what social robotics can teach us about anthropomorphism. On this basis, we propose a theoretical perspective that characterizes anthropomorphism as a basic mechanism of interaction, and rebuts the ethical reflections that a priori condemns “anthropomorphism-based” social robots. To address the relevant ethical issues, we promote a critical experimentally based ethical approach to social robotics, “synthetic ethics,” which aims at allowing humans to use social robots for two main goals: self-knowledge and moral growth. PMID:29632507

Assistance dogs provide a useful behavioral model to enrich communicative skills of assistance robots.

PubMed

Gácsi, Márta; Szakadát, Sára; Miklósi, Adám

2013-01-01

These studies are part of a project aiming to reveal relevant aspects of human-dog interactions, which could serve as a model to design successful human-robot interactions. Presently there are no successfully commercialized assistance robots, however, assistance dogs work efficiently as partners for persons with disabilities. In Study 1, we analyzed the cooperation of 32 assistance dog-owner dyads performing a carrying task. We revealed typical behavior sequences and also differences depending on the dyads' experiences and on whether the owner was a wheelchair user. In Study 2, we investigated dogs' responses to unforeseen difficulties during a retrieving task in two contexts. Dogs displayed specific communicative and displacement behaviors, and a strong commitment to execute the insoluble task. Questionnaire data from Study 3 confirmed that these behaviors could successfully attenuate owners' disappointment. Although owners anticipated the technical competence of future assistance robots to be moderate/high, they could not imagine robots as emotional companions, which negatively affected their acceptance ratings of future robotic assistants. We propose that assistance dogs' cooperative behaviors and problem solving strategies should inspire the development of the relevant functions and social behaviors of assistance robots with limited manual and verbal skills.

Intelligent vehicle control: Opportunities for terrestrial-space system integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shoemaker, Charles

1994-01-01

For 11 years the Department of Defense has cooperated with a diverse array of other Federal agencies including the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Department of Energy, to develop robotics technology for unmanned ground systems. These activities have addressed control system architectures supporting sharing of tasks between the system operator and various automated subsystems, man-machine interfaces to intelligent vehicles systems, video compression supporting vehicle driving in low data rate digital communication environments, multiple simultaneous vehicle control by a single operator, path planning and retrace, and automated obstacle detection and avoidance subsystem. Performance metrics and test facilities for robotic vehicles were developed permitting objective performance assessment of a variety of operator-automated vehicle control regimes. Progress in these areas will be described in the context of robotic vehicle testbeds specifically developed for automated vehicle research. These initiatives, particularly as regards the data compression, task sharing, and automated mobility topics, also have relevance in the space environment. The intersection of technology development interests between these two communities will be discussed in this paper.

Update on Controlling Herds of Cooperative Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quadrelli, Marco; Chang, Johnny

2007-01-01

A document presents further information on the subject matter of "Controlling Herds of Cooperative Robots". The document describes the results of the computational simulations of a one-blimp, three-surface-sonde herd in various operational scenarios, including sensitivity studies as a function of distributed communication and processing delays between the sondes and the blimp. From results of the simulations, it is concluded that the methodology is feasible, even if there are significant uncertainties in the dynamical models.

Integrating PCLIPS into ULowell's Lincoln Logs: Factory of the future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgee, Brenda J.; Miller, Mark D.; Krolak, Patrick; Barr, Stanley J.

1990-01-01

We are attempting to show how independent but cooperating expert systems, executing within a parallel production system (PCLIPS), can operate and control a completely automated, fault tolerant prototype of a factory of the future (The Lincoln Logs Factory of the Future). The factory consists of a CAD system for designing the Lincoln Log Houses, two workcells, and a materials handling system. A workcell consists of two robots, part feeders, and a frame mounted vision system.

A Survey of Space Robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pedersen, L.; Kortenkamp, D.; Wettergreen, D.; Nourbakhsh, I.; Korsmeyer, David (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

In this paper we summarize a survey conducted by NASA to determine the state-of-the-art in space robotics and to predict future robotic capabilities under either nominal and intensive development effort. The space robotics assessment study examined both in-space operations including assembly, inspection, and maintenance and planetary surface operations like mobility and exploration. Applications of robotic autonomy and human-robot cooperation were considered. The study group devised a decomposition of robotic capabilities and then suggested metrics to specify the technical challenges associated with each. The conclusion of this paper identifies possible areas in which investment in space robotics could lead to significant advances of important technologies.

A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective on Embodied Language for Human-Robot Cooperation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Madden, Carol; Hoen, Michel; Dominey, Peter Ford

2010-01-01

This article addresses issues in embodied sentence processing from a "cognitive neural systems" approach that combines analysis of the behavior in question, analysis of the known neurophysiological bases of this behavior, and the synthesis of a neuro-computational model of embodied sentence processing that can be applied to and tested in the…

Cooperative Control of UAVs for Localization of Intermittently Emitting Mobile Targets

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-08-01

as lawn - mower serpentine patterns [21]. Second, due to the limited energy supplies intrinsic to UAV applications, it is also important that the search...Robotic Embedded Systems Laboratory, Univ. Southern Calif., Los Angeles, CA, 2002. Tech. Rep. [21] J. Ousingsawat and M. G. Earl, “Modified lawn - mower search

Dual-Arm Generalized Compliant Motion With Shared Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Backes, Paul G.

1994-01-01

Dual-Arm Generalized Compliant Motion (DAGCM) primitive computer program implementing improved unified control scheme for two manipulator arms cooperating in task in which both grasp same object. Provides capabilities for autonomous, teleoperation, and shared control of two robot arms. Unifies cooperative dual-arm control with multi-sensor-based task control and makes complete task-control capability available to higher-level task-planning computer system via large set of input parameters used to describe desired force and position trajectories followed by manipulator arms. Some concepts discussed in "A Generalized-Compliant-Motion Primitive" (NPO-18134).

Time-of-flight-assisted Kinect camera-based people detection for intuitive human robot cooperation in the surgical operating room.

PubMed

Beyl, Tim; Nicolai, Philip; Comparetti, Mirko D; Raczkowsky, Jörg; De Momi, Elena; Wörn, Heinz

2016-07-01

Scene supervision is a major tool to make medical robots safer and more intuitive. The paper shows an approach to efficiently use 3D cameras within the surgical operating room to enable for safe human robot interaction and action perception. Additionally the presented approach aims to make 3D camera-based scene supervision more reliable and accurate. A camera system composed of multiple Kinect and time-of-flight cameras has been designed, implemented and calibrated. Calibration and object detection as well as people tracking methods have been designed and evaluated. The camera system shows a good registration accuracy of 0.05 m. The tracking of humans is reliable and accurate and has been evaluated in an experimental setup using operating clothing. The robot detection shows an error of around 0.04 m. The robustness and accuracy of the approach allow for an integration into modern operating room. The data output can be used directly for situation and workflow detection as well as collision avoidance.

Laboratory systems integration: robotics and automation.

PubMed

Felder, R A

1991-01-01

Robotic technology is going to have a profound impact on the clinical laboratory of the future. Faced with increased pressure to reduce health care spending yet increase services to patients, many laboratories are looking for alternatives to the inflexible or "fixed" automation found in many clinical analyzers. Robots are being examined by many clinical pathologists as an attractive technology which can adapt to the constant changes in laboratory testing. Already, laboratory designs are being altered to accommodate robotics and automated specimen processors. However, the use of robotics and computer intelligence in the clinical laboratory is still in its infancy. Successful examples of robotic automation exist in several laboratories. Investigators have used robots to automate endocrine testing, high performance liquid chromatography, and specimen transportation. Large commercial laboratories are investigating the use of specimen processors which combine the use of fixed automation and robotics. Robotics have also reduced the exposure of medical technologists to specimens infected with viral pathogens. The successful examples of clinical robotics applications were a result of the cooperation of clinical chemists, engineers, and medical technologists. At the University of Virginia we have designed and implemented a robotic critical care laboratory. Initial clinical experience suggests that robotic performance is reliable, however, staff acceptance and utilization requires continuing education. We are also developing a robotic cyclosporine which promises to greatly reduce the labor costs of this analysis. The future will bring lab wide automation that will fully integrate computer artificial intelligence and robotics. Specimens will be transported by mobile robots. Specimen processing, aliquotting, and scheduling will be automated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Self-Reconfiguration Planning of Robot Embodiment for Inherent Safe Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uchida, Masafumi; Nozawa, Akio; Asano, Hirotoshi; Onogaki, Hitoshi; Mizuno, Tota; Park, Young-Il; Ide, Hideto; Yokoyama, Shuichi

In the situation in which a robot and a human work together by collaborating with each other, a robot and a human share one working environment, and each interferes in each other. In other ward, it is impossible to avoid the physical contact and the interaction of force between a robot and a human. The boundary of each complex dynamic occupation area changes in the connection movement which is the component of collaborative works at this time. The main restraint condition which relates to the robustness of that connection movement is each physical charactristics, that is, the embodiment. A robot body is variability though the embodiment of a human is almost fixed. Therefore, the safe and the robust connection movement is brought when a robot has the robot body which is well suitable for the embodiment of a human. A purpose for this research is that the colaboration works between the self-reconfiguration robot and a human is realized. To achieve this purpose, a self-reconfiguration algorithm based on some indexes to evaluate a robot body in the macroscopic point of view was examined on a modular robot system of the 2-D lattice structure. In this paper, it investigated effect specially that the object of learning of each individual was limited to the cooperative behavior between the adjoining modules toward the macroscopic evaluation index.

An Integrated Testbed for Cooperative Perception with Heterogeneous Mobile and Static Sensors

PubMed Central

Jiménez-González, Adrián; Martínez-De Dios, José Ramiro; Ollero, Aníbal

2011-01-01

Cooperation among devices with different sensing, computing and communication capabilities provides interesting possibilities in a growing number of problems and applications including domotics (domestic robotics), environmental monitoring or intelligent cities, among others. Despite the increasing interest in academic and industrial communities, experimental tools for evaluation and comparison of cooperative algorithms for such heterogeneous technologies are still very scarce. This paper presents a remote testbed with mobile robots and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) equipped with a set of low-cost off-the-shelf sensors, commonly used in cooperative perception research and applications, that present high degree of heterogeneity in their technology, sensed magnitudes, features, output bandwidth, interfaces and power consumption, among others. Its open and modular architecture allows tight integration and interoperability between mobile robots and WSN through a bidirectional protocol that enables full interaction. Moreover, the integration of standard tools and interfaces increases usability, allowing an easy extension to new hardware and software components and the reuse of code. Different levels of decentralization are considered, supporting from totally distributed to centralized approaches. Developed for the EU-funded Cooperating Objects Network of Excellence (CONET) and currently available at the School of Engineering of Seville (Spain), the testbed provides full remote control through the Internet. Numerous experiments have been performed, some of which are described in the paper. PMID:22247679

An integrated testbed for cooperative perception with heterogeneous mobile and static sensors.

PubMed

Jiménez-González, Adrián; Martínez-De Dios, José Ramiro; Ollero, Aníbal

2011-01-01

Cooperation among devices with different sensing, computing and communication capabilities provides interesting possibilities in a growing number of problems and applications including domotics (domestic robotics), environmental monitoring or intelligent cities, among others. Despite the increasing interest in academic and industrial communities, experimental tools for evaluation and comparison of cooperative algorithms for such heterogeneous technologies are still very scarce. This paper presents a remote testbed with mobile robots and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) equipped with a set of low-cost off-the-shelf sensors, commonly used in cooperative perception research and applications, that present high degree of heterogeneity in their technology, sensed magnitudes, features, output bandwidth, interfaces and power consumption, among others. Its open and modular architecture allows tight integration and interoperability between mobile robots and WSN through a bidirectional protocol that enables full interaction. Moreover, the integration of standard tools and interfaces increases usability, allowing an easy extension to new hardware and software components and the reuse of code. Different levels of decentralization are considered, supporting from totally distributed to centralized approaches. Developed for the EU-funded Cooperating Objects Network of Excellence (CONET) and currently available at the School of Engineering of Seville (Spain), the testbed provides full remote control through the Internet. Numerous experiments have been performed, some of which are described in the paper.

Intelligent control and cooperation for mobile robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stingu, Petru Emanuel

The topic discussed in this work addresses the current research being conducted at the Automation & Robotics Research Institute in the areas of UAV quadrotor control and heterogenous multi-vehicle cooperation. Autonomy can be successfully achieved by a robot under the following conditions: the robot has to be able to acquire knowledge about the environment and itself, and it also has to be able to reason under uncertainty. The control system must react quickly to immediate challenges, but also has to slowly adapt and improve based on accumulated knowledge. The major contribution of this work is the transfer of the ADP algorithms from the purely theoretical environment to the complex real-world robotic platforms that work in real-time and in uncontrolled environments. Many solutions are adopted from those present in nature because they have been proven to be close to optimal in very different settings. For the control of a single platform, reinforcement learning algorithms are used to design suboptimal controllers for a class of complex systems that can be conceptually split in local loops with simpler dynamics and relatively weak coupling to the rest of the system. Optimality is enforced by having a global critic but the curse of dimensionality is avoided by using local actors and intelligent pre-processing of the information used for learning the optimal controllers. The system model is used for constructing the structure of the control system, but on top of that the adaptive neural networks that form the actors use the knowledge acquired during normal operation to get closer to optimal control. In real-world experiments, efficient learning is a strong requirement for success. This is accomplished by using an approximation of the system model to focus the learning for equivalent configurations of the state space. Due to the availability of only local data for training, neural networks with local activation functions are implemented. For the control of a formation of robots subjected to dynamic communication constraints, game theory is used in addition to reinforcement learning. The nodes maintain an extra set of state variables about all the other nodes that they can communicate to. The more important are trust and predictability. They are a way to incorporate knowledge acquired in the past into the control decisions taken by each node. The trust variable provides a simple mechanism for the implementation of reinforcement learning. For robot formations, potential field based control algorithms are used to generate the control commands. The formation structure changes due to the environment and due to the decisions of the nodes. It is a problem of building a graph and coalitions by having distributed decisions but still reaching an optimal behavior globally.

Practice of Project-based Learning on Fused Multiple Department and Educational Effect by Assignment System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okada, Masato; Muranaka, Takayuki; Kameyama, Kentaro; Kitagawa, Hirokazu; Suzuki, Hidekazu

In this paper, a new subject based on PBL (Project Based Learning) and its educational effects are discussed. The feature in this subject is that problems are solved based on the division of labor. In this subject, students break into four-member groups, and develop a line trace robot together cooperatively. Then, they share their responsibility for mechanism, electric circuit and programming, and learn basic knowledge of assigned area from teachers. After that, they develop the robot based on discussions. This procedure is like that in companies and the main objective of this subject is to get this skill. Each robot is evaluated by competition held in a public space of campus. From the questionnaire, very active posture and high attendance degree of satisfaction was gotten.

Query Processing for Probabilistic State Diagrams Describing Multiple Robot Navigation in an Indoor Environment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Czejdo, Bogdan; Bhattacharya, Sambit; Ferragut, Erik M

2012-01-01

This paper describes the syntax and semantics of multi-level state diagrams to support probabilistic behavior of cooperating robots. The techniques are presented to analyze these diagrams by querying combined robots behaviors. It is shown how to use state abstraction and transition abstraction to create, verify and process large probabilistic state diagrams.

Enhanced control and sensing for the REMOTEC ANDROS Mk VI robot. CRADA final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spelt, P.F.; Harvey, H.W.

1998-08-01

This Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc., and REMOTEC, Inc., explored methods of providing operator feedback for various work actions of the ANDROS Mk VI teleoperated robot. In a hazardous environment, an extremely heavy workload seriously degrades the productivity of teleoperated robot operators. This CRADA involved the addition of computer power to the robot along with a variety of sensors and encoders to provide information about the robot`s performance in and relationship to its environment. Software was developed to integrate the sensor and encoder information and provide control input to the robot. ANDROS Mkmore » VI robots are presently used by numerous electric utilities to perform tasks in reactors where substantial exposure to radiation exists, as well as in a variety of other hazardous environments. Further, this platform has potential for use in a number of environmental restoration tasks, such as site survey and detection of hazardous waste materials. The addition of sensors and encoders serves to make the robot easier to manage and permits tasks to be done more safely and inexpensively (due to time saved in the completion of complex remote tasks). Prior research on the automation of mobile platforms with manipulators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR, B&R code KC0401030) Laboratory, a BES-supported facility, indicated that this type of enhancement is effective. This CRADA provided such enhancements to a successful working teleoperated robot for the first time. Performance of this CRADA used the CESAR laboratory facilities and expertise developed under BES funding.« less

Information driven self-organization of complex robotic behaviors.

PubMed

Martius, Georg; Der, Ralf; Ay, Nihat

2013-01-01

Information theory is a powerful tool to express principles to drive autonomous systems because it is domain invariant and allows for an intuitive interpretation. This paper studies the use of the predictive information (PI), also called excess entropy or effective measure complexity, of the sensorimotor process as a driving force to generate behavior. We study nonlinear and nonstationary systems and introduce the time-local predicting information (TiPI) which allows us to derive exact results together with explicit update rules for the parameters of the controller in the dynamical systems framework. In this way the information principle, formulated at the level of behavior, is translated to the dynamics of the synapses. We underpin our results with a number of case studies with high-dimensional robotic systems. We show the spontaneous cooperativity in a complex physical system with decentralized control. Moreover, a jointly controlled humanoid robot develops a high behavioral variety depending on its physics and the environment it is dynamically embedded into. The behavior can be decomposed into a succession of low-dimensional modes that increasingly explore the behavior space. This is a promising way to avoid the curse of dimensionality which hinders learning systems to scale well.

Distance-Based Behaviors for Low-Complexity Control in Multiagent Robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierpaoli, Pietro

Several biological examples show that living organisms cooperate to collectively accomplish tasks impossible for single individuals. More importantly, this coordination is often achieved with a very limited set of information. Inspired by these observations, research on autonomous systems has focused on the development of distributed control techniques for control and guidance of groups of autonomous mobile agents, or robots. From an engineering perspective, when coordination and cooperation is sought in large ensembles of robotic vehicles, a reduction in hardware and algorithms' complexity becomes mandatory from the very early stages of the project design. The research for solutions capable of lowering power consumption, cost and increasing reliability are thus worth investigating. In this work, we studied low-complexity techniques to achieve cohesion and control on swarms of autonomous robots. Starting from an inspiring example with two-agents, we introduced effects of neighbors' relative positions on control of an autonomous agent. The extension of this intuition addressed the control of large ensembles of autonomous vehicles, and was applied in the form of a herding-like technique. To this end, a low-complexity distance-based aggregation protocol was defined. We first showed that our protocol produced a cohesion aggregation among the agent while avoiding inter-agent collisions. Then, a feedback leader-follower architecture was introduced for the control of the swarm. We also described how proximity measures and probability of collisions with neighbors can also be used as source of information in highly populated environments.

Distributed optimization system and method

DOEpatents

Hurtado, John E.; Dohrmann, Clark R.; Robinett, III, Rush D.

2003-06-10

A search system and method for controlling multiple agents to optimize an objective using distributed sensing and cooperative control. The search agent can be one or more physical agents, such as a robot, and can be software agents for searching cyberspace. The objective can be: chemical sources, temperature sources, radiation sources, light sources, evaders, trespassers, explosive sources, time dependent sources, time independent sources, function surfaces, maximization points, minimization points, and optimal control of a system such as a communication system, an economy, a crane, and a multi-processor computer.

Distributed Optimization System

DOEpatents

Hurtado, John E.; Dohrmann, Clark R.; Robinett, III, Rush D.

2004-11-30

A search system and method for controlling multiple agents to optimize an objective using distributed sensing and cooperative control. The search agent can be one or more physical agents, such as a robot, and can be software agents for searching cyberspace. The objective can be: chemical sources, temperature sources, radiation sources, light sources, evaders, trespassers, explosive sources, time dependent sources, time independent sources, function surfaces, maximization points, minimization points, and optimal control of a system such as a communication system, an economy, a crane, and a multi-processor computer.

Cascaded Kalman and particle filters for photogrammetry based gyroscope drift and robot attitude estimation.

PubMed

Sadaghzadeh N, Nargess; Poshtan, Javad; Wagner, Achim; Nordheimer, Eugen; Badreddin, Essameddin

2014-03-01

Based on a cascaded Kalman-Particle Filtering, gyroscope drift and robot attitude estimation method is proposed in this paper. Due to noisy and erroneous measurements of MEMS gyroscope, it is combined with Photogrammetry based vision navigation scenario. Quaternions kinematics and robot angular velocity dynamics with augmented drift dynamics of gyroscope are employed as system state space model. Nonlinear attitude kinematics, drift and robot angular movement dynamics each in 3 dimensions result in a nonlinear high dimensional system. To reduce the complexity, we propose a decomposition of system to cascaded subsystems and then design separate cascaded observers. This design leads to an easier tuning and more precise debugging from the perspective of programming and such a setting is well suited for a cooperative modular system with noticeably reduced computation time. Kalman Filtering (KF) is employed for the linear and Gaussian subsystem consisting of angular velocity and drift dynamics together with gyroscope measurement. The estimated angular velocity is utilized as input of the second Particle Filtering (PF) based observer in two scenarios of stochastic and deterministic inputs. Simulation results are provided to show the efficiency of the proposed method. Moreover, the experimental results based on data from a 3D MEMS IMU and a 3D camera system are used to demonstrate the efficiency of the method. © 2013 ISA Published by ISA All rights reserved.

A parametric analysis of a controlled deployable space manipulator for capturing a non-cooperative flexible satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stolfi, A.; Gasbarri, P.; Sabatini, M.

2018-07-01

In the near future robotic systems will be playing an increasingly important role in space applications such as repairing, refueling, re-orbiting spacecraft and cleaning up the increasing amount of space debris. Space Manipulator Systems (SMSs) are robotic systems made of a bus (which has its own actuators such as thrusters and reaction wheels) equipped with one or more deployable arms. The present paper focuses on the issue of maintaining a stable first contact between the arms terminal parts (i.e. the end-effectors) and a non-cooperative target satellite, before the actual grasp is performed. The selected approach is a modified version of the Impedance Control algorithm in which the end-effector is controlled in order to make it behave like a mass-spring-damper system regardless of the reaction motion of the base, so to absorb the impact energy. The effects of non-modeled dynamics in control determination such as the structural flexibility of the manipulator and the target satellite are considered as well, and their impact on control effectiveness is analyzed. The performance of the proposed control architecture and a parametric analysis are studied by means of a co-simulation involving the MSC Adams multibody code (for describing the dynamics of the space robot and target) together with Simulink (for the determination of the control actions). The results show that the first contact phase of the grasping operation of a large satellite requires careful tuning of the control gains and a proper selection of the end-effector dimensions; otherwise, the large geometric and inertia characteristics of the target could lead to a failure with serious consequences. Both successful and underperforming cases are presented and commented in the paper.

Capturing method for integral three-dimensional imaging using multiviewpoint robotic cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeya, Kensuke; Arai, Jun; Mishina, Tomoyuki; Yamaguchi, Masahiro

2018-03-01

Integral three-dimensional (3-D) technology for next-generation 3-D television must be able to capture dynamic moving subjects with pan, tilt, and zoom camerawork as good as in current TV program production. We propose a capturing method for integral 3-D imaging using multiviewpoint robotic cameras. The cameras are controlled through a cooperative synchronous system composed of a master camera controlled by a camera operator and other reference cameras that are utilized for 3-D reconstruction. When the operator captures a subject using the master camera, the region reproduced by the integral 3-D display is regulated in real space according to the subject's position and view angle of the master camera. Using the cooperative control function, the reference cameras can capture images at the narrowest view angle that does not lose any part of the object region, thereby maximizing the resolution of the image. 3-D models are reconstructed by estimating the depth from complementary multiviewpoint images captured by robotic cameras arranged in a two-dimensional array. The model is converted into elemental images to generate the integral 3-D images. In experiments, we reconstructed integral 3-D images of karate players and confirmed that the proposed method satisfied the above requirements.

A novel passive/active hybrid robot for orthopaedic trauma surgery.

PubMed

Kuang, Shaolong; Leung, Kwok-sui; Wang, Tianmiao; Hu, Lei; Chui, Elvis; Liu, Wenyong; Wang, Yu

2012-12-01

Image guided navigation systems (IGNS) have been implemented successfully in orthopaedic trauma surgery procedures because of their ability to help surgeons position and orient hand-held drills at optimal entry points. However, current IGNS cannot prevent drilling tools or instruments from slipping or deviating from the planned trajectory during the drilling process. A method is therefore needed to overcome such problems. A novel passive/active hybrid robot (the HybriDot) for positioning and supporting surgical tools and instruments while drilling and/or cutting in orthopaedic trauma surgery is presented in this paper. This new robot, consisting of a circular prismatic joint and five passive/active back-drivable joints, is designed to fulfill clinical needs. In this paper, a system configuration and three operational modes are introduced and analyzed. Workspace and layout in the operating theatre (OT) are also analyzed in order to validate the structure design. Finally, experiments to evaluate the feasibility of the robot system are described. Analysis, simulation, and experimental results show that the novel structure of the robot can provide an appropriate workspace without risk of collision within OT environments during operation. The back-drivable joint mechanism can provide surgeons with more safety and flexibility in operational modes. The mean square value of the positional accuracy of this robot is 0.811 mm, with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.361 mm; the orientation is accurate to within 2.186º, with a SD of 0.932º. Trials on actual patients undergoing surgery for distal locking of intramedullary nails were successfully conducted in one pass using the robot. This robot has the advantages of having an appropriate workspace, being well designed for human-robot cooperation, and having high accuracy, sufficient rigidity, and easy deployability within the OT for use in common orthopaedic trauma surgery tasks such as screw fixation and drilling assistance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Robots and Humans in Planetary Exploration: Working Together?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, Geoffrey A.; Lyons, Valerie (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Today's approach to human-robotic cooperation in planetary exploration focuses on using robotic probes as precursors to human exploration. A large portion of current NASA planetary surface exploration is focussed on Mars, and robotic probes are seen as precursors to human exploration in: Learning about operation and mobility on Mars; Learning about the environment of Mars; Mapping the planet and selecting landing sites for human mission; Demonstration of critical technology; Manufacture fuel before human presence, and emplace elements of human-support infrastructure

Some Effects of Target Cooperation and Reciprocated Promises on Conflict Resolution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonoma, Thomas V.; And Others

Forty female subjects were given intermittent options to transmit noncontingent promises of intent to cooperate during the course of a mixed-motive laboratory game. In a 2 x 2 experimental design, a robot target either reciprocated subjects' promise statements or concealed her behavioral intentions, and was either always cooperative or always…

Precision Pointing Control to and Accurate Target Estimation of a Non-Cooperative Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VanEepoel, John; Thienel, Julie; Sanner, Robert M.

2006-01-01

In 2004, NASA began investigating a robotic servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Such a mission would not only require estimates of the HST attitude and rates in order to achieve capture by the proposed Hubble Robotic Vehicle (HRV), but also precision control to achieve the desired rate and maintain the orientation to successfully dock with HST. To generalize the situation, HST is the target vehicle and HRV is the chaser. This work presents a nonlinear approach for estimating the body rates of a non-cooperative target vehicle, and coupling this estimation to a control scheme. Non-cooperative in this context relates to the target vehicle no longer having the ability to maintain attitude control or transmit attitude knowledge.

Learning Multirobot Hose Transportation and Deployment by Distributed Round-Robin Q-Learning.

PubMed

Fernandez-Gauna, Borja; Etxeberria-Agiriano, Ismael; Graña, Manuel

2015-01-01

Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) algorithms face two main difficulties: the curse of dimensionality, and environment non-stationarity due to the independent learning processes carried out by the agents concurrently. In this paper we formalize and prove the convergence of a Distributed Round Robin Q-learning (D-RR-QL) algorithm for cooperative systems. The computational complexity of this algorithm increases linearly with the number of agents. Moreover, it eliminates environment non sta tionarity by carrying a round-robin scheduling of the action selection and execution. That this learning scheme allows the implementation of Modular State-Action Vetoes (MSAV) in cooperative multi-agent systems, which speeds up learning convergence in over-constrained systems by vetoing state-action pairs which lead to undesired termination states (UTS) in the relevant state-action subspace. Each agent's local state-action value function learning is an independent process, including the MSAV policies. Coordination of locally optimal policies to obtain the global optimal joint policy is achieved by a greedy selection procedure using message passing. We show that D-RR-QL improves over state-of-the-art approaches, such as Distributed Q-Learning, Team Q-Learning and Coordinated Reinforcement Learning in a paradigmatic Linked Multi-Component Robotic System (L-MCRS) control problem: the hose transportation task. L-MCRS are over-constrained systems with many UTS induced by the interaction of the passive linking element and the active mobile robots.

Robot-Assisted Retinal Vein Cannulation with Force-Based Puncture Detection: Micron vs. the Steady-Hand Eye Robot*

PubMed Central

Gonenc, Berk; Tran, Nhat; Gehlbach, Peter; Taylor, Russell H.; Iordachita, Iulian

2018-01-01

Retinal vein cannulation is a demanding procedure where therapeutic agents are injected into occluded retina veins. The feasibility of this treatment is limited due to challenges in identifying the moment of venous puncture, achieving cannulation and maintaining it throughout the drug delivery period. In this study, we integrate a force-sensing microneedle with two distinct robotic systems: the handheld micromanipulator Micron, and the cooperatively controlled Steady-Hand Eye Robot (SHER). The sensed tool-to-tissue interaction forces are used to detect venous puncture and extend the robots’ standard control schemes with a new position holding mode (PHM) that assists the operator hold the needle position fixed and maintain cannulation for a longer time with less trauma on the vasculature. We evaluate the resulting systems comparatively in a dry phantom, stretched vinyl membranes. Results have shown that modulating the admittance control gain of SHER alone is not a very effective solution for preventing the undesired tool motion after puncture. However, after using puncture detection and PHM the deviation from the puncture point is significantly reduced, by 65% with Micron, and by 95% with SHER representing a potential advantage over freehand for both. PMID:28269417

Introduction of symbiotic human-robot-cooperation in the steel sector: an example of social innovation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colla, Valentina; Schroeder, Antonius; Buzzelli, Andrea; Abbà, Dario; Faes, Andrea; Romaniello, Lea

2018-05-01

The introduction of new technologies, which can support and empower human capabilities in a number of professional tasks while possibly reducing the need for cumbersome operations and the exposure to risk and professional diseases, is nowadays perceived as a must in any industrial field, process industry included. However, despite their relevant potentials, new technologies are not always easy to introduce in the professional environment. A design procedure which takes into account the workers' acceptance, needing and capabilities as well as a continuing education and training process of the personnel who must exploit the innovation, is as fundamental as the technical reliability for the successful introduction of any new technology in a professional environment. An exemplary case is provided by symbiotic human-robot-cooperation. In the steel sector, the difficulties for the implementation of symbiotic human-robot-cooperation is bigger with respect to the manufacturing sector, due to the environmental conditions, which in some cases are not favorable to robots. On the other hand, the opportunities and potential advantages are also greater, as robots could replace human operators in repetitive, heavy tasks, by improving workers' health and safety. The present paper provides an example of the potential and opportunities of human-robot interaction and discusses how this approach can be included in a social innovation paradigm. Moreover, an example will be provided of an ongoing project funded by the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, "ROBOHARSH", which aims at implementing such approach in the steel industry, in order to develop a very sensitive task, i.e. the replacement of the refractory components of the ladle sliding gate.

Three-dimensional construction and omni-directional rolling analysis of a novel frame-like lattice modular robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Wan; Wu, Jianxu; Yao, Yan'an

2015-07-01

Lattice modular robots possess diversity actuation methods, such as electric telescopic rod, gear rack, magnet, robot arm, etc. The researches on lattice modular robots mainly focus on their hardware descriptions and reconfiguration algorithms. Meanwhile, their design architectures and actuation methods perform slow telescopic and moving speeds, relative low actuation force verse weight ratio, and without internal space to carry objects. To improve the mechanical performance and reveal the locomotion and reconfiguration binary essences of the lattice modular robots, a novel cube-shaped, frame-like, pneumatic-based reconfigurable robot module called pneumatic expandable cube(PE-Cube) is proposed. The three-dimensional(3D) expanding construction and omni-directional rolling analysis of the constructed robots are the main focuses. The PE-Cube with three degrees of freedom(DoFs) is assembled by replacing the twelve edges of a cube with pneumatic cylinders. The proposed symmetric construction condition makes the constructed robots possess the same properties in each supporting state, and a binary control strategy cooperated with binary actuator(pneumatic cylinder) is directly adopted to control the PE-Cube. Taking an eight PE-Cube modules' construction as example, its dynamic rolling simulation, static rolling condition, and turning gait are illustrated and discussed. To testify telescopic synchronization, respond speed, locomotion feasibility, and repeatability and reliability of hardware system, an experimental pneumatic-based robotic system is built and the rolling and turning experiments of the eight PE-Cube modules' construction are carried out. As an extension, the locomotion feasibility of a thirty-two PE-Cube modules' construction is analyzed and proved, including dynamic rolling simulation, static rolling condition, and dynamic analysis in free tipping process. The proposed PE-Cube module, construction method, and locomotion analysis enrich the family of the lattice modular robot and provide the instruction to design the lattice modular robot.

Mobile robotic sensors for perimeter detection and tracking.

PubMed

Clark, Justin; Fierro, Rafael

2007-02-01

Mobile robot/sensor networks have emerged as tools for environmental monitoring, search and rescue, exploration and mapping, evaluation of civil infrastructure, and military operations. These networks consist of many sensors each equipped with embedded processors, wireless communication, and motion capabilities. This paper describes a cooperative mobile robot network capable of detecting and tracking a perimeter defined by a certain substance (e.g., a chemical spill) in the environment. Specifically, the contributions of this paper are twofold: (i) a library of simple reactive motion control algorithms and (ii) a coordination mechanism for effectively carrying out perimeter-sensing missions. The decentralized nature of the methodology implemented could potentially allow the network to scale to many sensors and to reconfigure when adding/deleting sensors. Extensive simulation results and experiments verify the validity of the proposed cooperative control scheme.

Global Astrophysical Telescope System - GATS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polińska, M.; Kamiński, K.; Dimitrov, W.; Fagas, M.; Borczyk, W.; Kwiatkowski, T.; Baranowski, R.; Bartczak, P.; Schwarzenberg-Czerny, A.

2014-02-01

The Global Astronomical Telescope System is a project managed by the Astronomical Observatory Institute of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Poland) and it is primarily intended for stellar medium/high resolution spectroscopy. The system will be operating as a global network of robotic telescopes. The GATS consists of two telescopes: PST 1 in Poland (near Poznań) and PST 2 in the USA (Arizona). The GATS project is also intended to cooperate with the BRITE satellites and supplement their photometry with spectroscopic observations.

Autonomous mobile robot research using the HERMIES-III robot

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pin, F.G.; Beckerman, M.; Spelt, P.F.

1989-01-01

This paper reports on the status and future directions in the research, development and experimental validation of intelligent control techniques for autonomous mobile robots using the HERMIES-III robot at the Center for Engineering Systems Advanced research (CESAR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). HERMIES-III is the fourth robot in a series of increasingly more sophisticated and capable experimental test beds developed at CESAR. HERMIES-III is comprised of a battery powered, onmi-directional wheeled platform with a seven degree-of-freedom manipulator arm, video cameras, sonar range sensors, laser imaging scanner and a dual computer system containing up to 128 NCUBE nodes in hypercubemore » configuration. All electronics, sensors, computers, and communication equipment required for autonomous operation of HERMIES-III are located on board along with sufficient battery power for three to four hours of operation. The paper first provides a more detailed description of the HERMIES-III characteristics, focussing on the new areas of research and demonstration now possible at CESAR with this new test-bed. The initial experimental program is then described with emphasis placed on autonomous performance of human-scale tasks (e.g., valve manipulation, use of tools), integration of a dexterous manipulator and platform motion in geometrically complex environments, and effective use of multiple cooperating robots (HERMIES-IIB and HERMIES- III). The paper concludes with a discussion of the integration problems and safety considerations necessarily arising from the set-up of an experimental program involving human-scale, multi-autonomous mobile robots performance. 10 refs., 3 figs.« less

Large space structures and systems in the space station era: A bibliography with indexes (supplement 03)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Bibliographies and abstracts are listed for 1221 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system between January 1, 1991 and June 30, 1991. Topics covered include large space structures and systems, space stations, extravehicular activity, thermal environments and control, tethering, spacecraft power supplies, structural concepts and control systems, electronics, advanced materials, propulsion, policies and international cooperation, vibration and dynamic controls, robotics and remote operations, data and communication systems, electric power generation, space commercialization, orbital transfer, and human factors engineering.

Decentralized sensor fusion for Ubiquitous Networking Robotics in Urban Areas.

PubMed

Sanfeliu, Alberto; Andrade-Cetto, Juan; Barbosa, Marco; Bowden, Richard; Capitán, Jesús; Corominas, Andreu; Gilbert, Andrew; Illingworth, John; Merino, Luis; Mirats, Josep M; Moreno, Plínio; Ollero, Aníbal; Sequeira, João; Spaan, Matthijs T J

2010-01-01

In this article we explain the architecture for the environment and sensors that has been built for the European project URUS (Ubiquitous Networking Robotics in Urban Sites), a project whose objective is to develop an adaptable network robot architecture for cooperation between network robots and human beings and/or the environment in urban areas. The project goal is to deploy a team of robots in an urban area to give a set of services to a user community. This paper addresses the sensor architecture devised for URUS and the type of robots and sensors used, including environment sensors and sensors onboard the robots. Furthermore, we also explain how sensor fusion takes place to achieve urban outdoor execution of robotic services. Finally some results of the project related to the sensor network are highlighted.

An Application of Self-Organizing Map for Multirobot Multigoal Path Planning with Minmax Objective.

PubMed

Faigl, Jan

2016-01-01

In this paper, Self-Organizing Map (SOM) for the Multiple Traveling Salesman Problem (MTSP) with minmax objective is applied to the robotic problem of multigoal path planning in the polygonal domain. The main difficulty of such SOM deployment is determination of collision-free paths among obstacles that is required to evaluate the neuron-city distances in the winner selection phase of unsupervised learning. Moreover, a collision-free path is also needed in the adaptation phase, where neurons are adapted towards the presented input signal (city) to the network. Simple approximations of the shortest path are utilized to address this issue and solve the robotic MTSP by SOM. Suitability of the proposed approximations is verified in the context of cooperative inspection, where cities represent sensing locations that guarantee to "see" the whole robots' workspace. The inspection task formulated as the MTSP-Minmax is solved by the proposed SOM approach and compared with the combinatorial heuristic GENIUS. The results indicate that the proposed approach provides competitive results to GENIUS and support applicability of SOM for robotic multigoal path planning with a group of cooperating mobile robots. The proposed combination of approximate shortest paths with unsupervised learning opens further applications of SOM in the field of robotic planning.

An Application of Self-Organizing Map for Multirobot Multigoal Path Planning with Minmax Objective

PubMed Central

Faigl, Jan

2016-01-01

In this paper, Self-Organizing Map (SOM) for the Multiple Traveling Salesman Problem (MTSP) with minmax objective is applied to the robotic problem of multigoal path planning in the polygonal domain. The main difficulty of such SOM deployment is determination of collision-free paths among obstacles that is required to evaluate the neuron-city distances in the winner selection phase of unsupervised learning. Moreover, a collision-free path is also needed in the adaptation phase, where neurons are adapted towards the presented input signal (city) to the network. Simple approximations of the shortest path are utilized to address this issue and solve the robotic MTSP by SOM. Suitability of the proposed approximations is verified in the context of cooperative inspection, where cities represent sensing locations that guarantee to “see” the whole robots' workspace. The inspection task formulated as the MTSP-Minmax is solved by the proposed SOM approach and compared with the combinatorial heuristic GENIUS. The results indicate that the proposed approach provides competitive results to GENIUS and support applicability of SOM for robotic multigoal path planning with a group of cooperating mobile robots. The proposed combination of approximate shortest paths with unsupervised learning opens further applications of SOM in the field of robotic planning. PMID:27340395

75 FR 14190 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Joint Venture To...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-24

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Antitrust Division Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993--Joint Venture To Perform Project Entitled Robotic Rehabilitation of Aging Water... Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, 15 U.S.C. 4301 et sect. (``the Act''), Joint [[Page 14191...

Interactive robots in experimental biology.

PubMed

Krause, Jens; Winfield, Alan F T; Deneubourg, Jean-Louis

2011-07-01

Interactive robots have the potential to revolutionise the study of social behaviour because they provide several methodological advances. In interactions with live animals, the behaviour of robots can be standardised, morphology and behaviour can be decoupled (so that different morphologies and behavioural strategies can be combined), behaviour can be manipulated in complex interaction sequences and models of behaviour can be embodied by the robot and thereby be tested. Furthermore, robots can be used as demonstrators in experiments on social learning. As we discuss here, the opportunities that robots create for new experimental approaches have far-reaching consequences for research in fields such as mate choice, cooperation, social learning, personality studies and collective behaviour. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

TROTER's (Tiny Robotic Operation Team Experiment): A new concept of space robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Su, Renjeng

1990-01-01

In view of the future need of automation and robotics in space and the existing approaches to the problem, we proposed a new concept of robots for space construction. The new concept is based on the basic idea of decentralization. Decentralization occurs, on the one hand, in using teams of many cooperative robots for construction tasks. Redundancy and modular design are explored to achieve high reliability for team robotic operations. Reliability requirement on individual robots is greatly reduced. Another area of decentralization is manifested by the proposed control hierarchy which eventually includes humans in the loop. The control strategy is constrained by various time delays and calls for different levels of abstraction of the task dynamics. Such technology is needed for remote control of robots in an uncertain environment. Thus, concerns of human safety around robots are relaxed. This presentation also introduces the required technologies behind the new robotic concept.

An Informationally Structured Room for Robotic Assistance †

PubMed Central

Tsuji, Tokuo; Mozos, Oscar Martinez; Chae, Hyunuk; Pyo, Yoonseok; Kusaka, Kazuya; Hasegawa, Tsutomu; Morooka, Ken'ichi; Kurazume, Ryo

2015-01-01

The application of assistive technologies for elderly people is one of the most promising and interesting scenarios for intelligent technologies in the present and near future. Moreover, the improvement of the quality of life for the elderly is one of the first priorities in modern countries and societies. In this work, we present an informationally structured room that is aimed at supporting the daily life activities of elderly people. This room integrates different sensor modalities in a natural and non-invasive way inside the environment. The information gathered by the sensors is processed and sent to a centralized management system, which makes it available to a service robot assisting the people. One important restriction of our intelligent room is reducing as much as possible any interference with daily activities. Finally, this paper presents several experiments and situations using our intelligent environment in cooperation with our service robot. PMID:25912347

HERMIES-3: A step toward autonomous mobility, manipulation, and perception

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weisbin, C. R.; Burks, B. L.; Einstein, J. R.; Feezell, R. R.; Manges, W. W.; Thompson, D. H.

1989-01-01

HERMIES-III is an autonomous robot comprised of a seven degree-of-freedom (DOF) manipulator designed for human scale tasks, a laser range finder, a sonar array, an omni-directional wheel-driven chassis, multiple cameras, and a dual computer system containing a 16-node hypercube expandable to 128 nodes. The current experimental program involves performance of human-scale tasks (e.g., valve manipulation, use of tools), integration of a dexterous manipulator and platform motion in geometrically complex environments, and effective use of multiple cooperating robots (HERMIES-IIB and HERMIES-III). The environment in which the robots operate has been designed to include multiple valves, pipes, meters, obstacles on the floor, valves occluded from view, and multiple paths of differing navigation complexity. The ongoing research program supports the development of autonomous capability for HERMIES-IIB and III to perform complex navigation and manipulation under time constraints, while dealing with imprecise sensory information.

Heterogeneous Multi-Robot Cooperation

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-02-01

1992a) Maja Mataric. Designing emergent behaviors: From local interac- tions to collective intelligence. In J. Meyer, H. Roitblat , and S. Wilson, editors...1992] Lynne E. Parker. Adaptive action selection for cooperative agent teams. In Jean-Arcady Meyer, Herbert Roitblat . and Stewart Wilson. editors

Mesofluidic controlled robotic or prosthetic finger

DOEpatents

Lind, Randall F; Jansen, John F; Love, Lonnie J

2013-11-19

A mesofluidic powered robotic and/or prosthetic finger joint includes a first finger section having at least one mesofluidic actuator in fluid communication with a first actuator, a second mesofluidic actuator in fluid communication with a second actuator and a second prosthetic finger section pivotally connected to the first finger section by a joint pivot, wherein the first actuator pivotally cooperates with the second finger to provide a first mechanical advantage relative to the joint point and wherein the second actuator pivotally cooperates with the second finger section to provide a second mechanical advantage relative to the joint point.

Introduction to Space Resource Mining

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, Robert P.

2013-01-01

There are vast amounts of resources in the solar system that will be useful to humans in space and possibly on Earth. None of these resources can be exploited without the first necessary step of extra-terrestrial mining. The necessary technologies for tele-robotic and autonomous mining have not matured sufficiently yet. The current state of technology was assessed for terrestrial and extraterrestrial mining and a taxonomy of robotic space mining mechanisms was presented which was based on current existing prototypes. Terrestrial and extra-terrestrial mining methods and technologies are on the cusp of massive changes towards automation and autonomy for economic and safety reasons. It is highly likely that these industries will benefit from mutual cooperation and technology transfer.

Controlling multiple manipulators using RIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Yulun; Jordan, Steve; Mangaser, Amante; Butner, Steve

1989-01-01

A prototype of the RIPS architecture (Robotic Instruction Processing System) was developed. A two arm robot control experiment is underway to characterize the architecture as well as research multi-arm control. This experiment uses two manipulators to cooperatively position an object. The location of the object is specified by the host computer's mouse. Consequently, real time kinematics and dynamics are necessary. The RIPS architecture is specialized so that it can satisfy these real time constraints. The two arm experimental set-up is discussed. A major part of this work is the continued development of a good programming environment for RIPS. The C++ language is employed and favorable results exist in the targeting of this language to the RIPS hardware.

Land, sea, and air unmanned systems research and development at SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Hoa G.; Laird, Robin; Kogut, Greg; Andrews, John; Fletcher, Barbara; Webber, Todd; Arrieta, Rich; Everett, H. R.

2009-05-01

The Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) has a long and extensive history in unmanned systems research and development, starting with undersea applications in the 1960s and expanding into ground and air systems in the 1980s. In the ground domain, we are addressing force-protection scenarios using large unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and fixed sensors, and simultaneously pursuing tactical and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) operations with small man-portable robots. Technology thrusts include improving robotic intelligence and functionality, autonomous navigation and world modeling in urban environments, extended operational range of small teleoperated UGVs, enhanced human-robot interaction, and incorporation of remotely operated weapon systems. On the sea surface, we are pushing the envelope on dynamic obstacle avoidance while conforming to established nautical rules-of-the-road. In the air, we are addressing cooperative behaviors between UGVs and small vertical-takeoff- and-landing unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). Underwater applications involve very shallow water mine countermeasures, ship hull inspection, oceanographic data collection, and deep ocean access. Specific technology thrusts include fiber-optic communications, adaptive mission controllers, advanced navigation techniques, and concepts of operations (CONOPs) development. This paper provides a review of recent accomplishments and current status of a number of projects in these areas.

Towards multi-platform software architecture for Collaborative Teleoperation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Domingues, Christophe; Otmane, Samir; Davesne, Frederic

2009-03-05

Augmented Reality (AR) can provide to a Human Operator (HO) a real help in achieving complex tasks, such as remote control of robots and cooperative teleassistance. Using appropriate augmentations, the HO can interact faster, safer and easier with the remote real world. In this paper, we present an extension of an existing distributed software and network architecture for collaborative teleoperation based on networked human-scaled mixed reality and mobile platform. The first teleoperation system was composed by a VR application and a Web application. However the 2 systems cannot be used together and it is impossible to control a distant robotmore » simultaneously. Our goal is to update the teleoperation system to permit a heterogeneous collaborative teleoperation between the 2 platforms. An important feature of this interface is based on the use of different Virtual Reality platforms and different Mobile platforms to control one or many robots.« less

Evolution of Implicit and Explicit Communication in Mobile Robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Greeff, Joachim; Nolfi, Stefano

This work investigates the conditions in which a population of embodied agents evolved for the ability to display coordinated/cooperative skills can develop an ability to communicate, whether and to what extent the evolved communication system can complexify during the course of the evolutionary process, and how the characteristics of such communication system varies evolutionarily. The analysis of the obtained results indicates that evolving robots develop a capacity to access/generate information which has a communicative value, an ability to produce different signals encoding useful regularities, and an ability to react appropriately to explicit and implicit signals. The analysis of the obtained results allows us to formulate detailed hypothesis on the evolution of communication for what concern aspects such us: (i) how communication can emerge from a population of initially non-communicating agents, (ii) how communication systems can complexify, (iii) how signals/meanings can originate and how they can be grounded in agents' sensory-motor states.

Robust Behavior-Based Control for Distributed Multi-Robot Collection Tasks

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

Department, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0781 USA (e-mail: mataric @usc.edu) For a given task environment and set of robots...Press: Cambridge, Mas- sachusetts. [17] Richard T. Vaughan, Kasper Sty, Gaurav S. Sukhatme, and Maja J Mataric, \\Whistling in the dark : Cooperative

Manipulation strategies for massive space payloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Book, Wayne J.

1991-01-01

Motion planning and control for the joints of flexible manipulators are discussed. Specific topics covered include control of a flexible braced manipulator, control of a small working robot on a large flexible manipulator to suppress vibrations, control strategies for ensuring cooperation among disparate manipulators, and motion planning for robots in free-fall.

ROVs in a Bucket: Contagious, Experiential Learning by Building Inexpensive, Underwater Robots

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

R., “Toward an applied theory of experiential learning ,” in C. Cooper (ed.) Theories of Group Process, London: John Wiley. (1975) [8] C. Beard, JP...ROVs in a Bucket” Contagious, Experiential Learning by Building Inexpensive, Underwater Robots Douglas R. Levin Krista Trono Christine...Contagious, Experiential Learning by Building Inexpensive, Underwater Robots 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S

Decentralized Sensor Fusion for Ubiquitous Networking Robotics in Urban Areas

PubMed Central

Sanfeliu, Alberto; Andrade-Cetto, Juan; Barbosa, Marco; Bowden, Richard; Capitán, Jesús; Corominas, Andreu; Gilbert, Andrew; Illingworth, John; Merino, Luis; Mirats, Josep M.; Moreno, Plínio; Ollero, Aníbal; Sequeira, João; Spaan, Matthijs T.J.

2010-01-01

In this article we explain the architecture for the environment and sensors that has been built for the European project URUS (Ubiquitous Networking Robotics in Urban Sites), a project whose objective is to develop an adaptable network robot architecture for cooperation between network robots and human beings and/or the environment in urban areas. The project goal is to deploy a team of robots in an urban area to give a set of services to a user community. This paper addresses the sensor architecture devised for URUS and the type of robots and sensors used, including environment sensors and sensors onboard the robots. Furthermore, we also explain how sensor fusion takes place to achieve urban outdoor execution of robotic services. Finally some results of the project related to the sensor network are highlighted. PMID:22294927

Experiments in cooperative-arm object manipulation with a two-armed free-flying robot. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koningstein, Ross

1990-01-01

Developing computed-torque controllers for complex manipulator systems using current techniques and tools is difficult because they address the issues pertinent to simulation, as opposed to control. A new formulation of computed-torque (CT) control that leads to an automated computer-torque robot controller program is presented. This automated tool is used for simulations and experimental demonstrations of endpoint and object control from a free-flying robot. A new computed-torque formulation states the multibody control problem in an elegant, homogeneous, and practical form. A recursive dynamics algorithm is presented that numerically evaluates kinematics and dynamics terms for multibody systems given a topological description. Manipulators may be free-flying, and may have closed-chain constraints. With the exception of object squeeze-force control, the algorithm does not deal with actuator redundancy. The algorithm is used to implement an automated 2D computed-torque dynamics and control package that allows joint, endpoint, orientation, momentum, and object squeeze-force control. This package obviates the need for hand-derivation of kinematics and dynamics, and is used for both simulation and experimental control. Endpoint control experiments are performed on a laboratory robot that has two arms to manipulate payloads, and uses an air bearing to achieve very-low drag characteristics. Simulations and experimental data for endpoint and object controllers are presented for the experimental robot - a complex dynamic system. There is a certain rather wide set of conditions under which CT endpoint controllers can neglect robot base accelerations (but not motions) and achieve comparable performance including base accelerations in the model. The regime over which this simplification holds is explored by simulation and experiment.

Nurses' Needs for Care Robots in Integrated Nursing Care Services.

PubMed

Lee, Jai-Yon; Song, Young Ae; Jung, Ji Young; Kim, Hyun Jeong; Kim, Bo Ram; Do, Hyun-Kyung; Lim, Jae-Young

2018-05-13

To determine the need for care robots among nurses and to suggest how robotic care should be prioritized in an integrated nursing care services. Korea is expected to be a super-aged society by 2030. To solve care issues with elderly inpatient caused by informal caregivers, the government introduced 'integrated nursing care services'; these are comprehensive care systems staffed by professionally trained nurses. To assist them, a care robot development project has been launched. The study applied a cross-sectional survey. In 2016, we conducted a multi-center survey involving 302 registered nurses in five hospitals including three tertiary and two secondary hospitals in Korea. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of nurses and their views on and extents of agreement about issues associated with robotic care. Trial center nurses and those with ≥10 years of experience reported positively on the prospects for robotic care. The top three desired primary roles for care robots were 'measuring/monitoring', 'mobility/activity' and 'safety care'. 'Reduction in workload', especially in terms of 'other nursing services' which were categorized as non-value-added nursing activities, was the most valued feature. The nurses approved of the aid by care robots but were concerned about device malfunction and interruption of rapport with patients. Care robots are expected to be effective in integrated nursing care services, particularly in 'measuring/monitoring'. Such robots should decrease nurses' workload and minimize non-value-added nursing activities efficiently. No matter how excellent care robots are, they must co-operate with and be controlled by nurses. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Increasing motivation in robot-aided arm rehabilitation with competitive and cooperative gameplay

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Several strategies have been proposed to improve patient motivation and exercise intensity during robot-aided stroke rehabilitation. One relatively unexplored possibility is two-player gameplay, allowing subjects to compete or cooperate with each other to achieve a common goal. In order to explore the potential of such games, we designed a two-player game played using two ARMin arm rehabilitation robots. Methods The game was an air-hockey task displayed on a computer monitor and controlled using shoulder movements in the ARMin robot. Three game modes were tested: single-player (competing against computer), competitive (competing against human), and cooperative (cooperating with human against computer). All modes were played by 30 unimpaired subjects and 8 impaired chronic stroke subjects. The subjects filled out the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory questionnaire after each game mode, as well as a final questionnaire about game preferences and their personality. Results Nearly all unimpaired subjects preferred playing the two-player game modes to the single-player one, as they enjoyed talking and interacting with another person. However, there were two distinct player groups: one liked the competitive mode but not the cooperative mode while the other liked the cooperative but not the competitive mode. Unimpaired subjects who liked the competitive mode also put significantly more effort into it than into the other modes. Results from impaired subjects were similar, with even impaired subjects over 60 years old enjoying competitive gameplay. The subjects’ personalities roughly predicted which mode they would prefer, which was especially evident in a poorly-matched impaired pair that preferred the single-player mode. Conclusions Results indicate great potential for two-player rehabilitation games, in the form of greater enjoyment as well as potentially more intensive exercise compared to single-player games. However, the right game type needs to be chosen for each subject depending on skill and personality, along with selecting an appropriate co-player. Further studies with patients that are currently enrolled in rehabilitation programs are recommended, and the subjective measures used in our study should be augmented with objective measures such as electromyography. PMID:24739255

Increasing motivation in robot-aided arm rehabilitation with competitive and cooperative gameplay.

PubMed

Novak, Domen; Nagle, Aniket; Keller, Urs; Riener, Robert

2014-04-16

Several strategies have been proposed to improve patient motivation and exercise intensity during robot-aided stroke rehabilitation. One relatively unexplored possibility is two-player gameplay, allowing subjects to compete or cooperate with each other to achieve a common goal. In order to explore the potential of such games, we designed a two-player game played using two ARMin arm rehabilitation robots. The game was an air-hockey task displayed on a computer monitor and controlled using shoulder movements in the ARMin robot. Three game modes were tested: single-player (competing against computer), competitive (competing against human), and cooperative (cooperating with human against computer). All modes were played by 30 unimpaired subjects and 8 impaired chronic stroke subjects. The subjects filled out the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory questionnaire after each game mode, as well as a final questionnaire about game preferences and their personality. Nearly all unimpaired subjects preferred playing the two-player game modes to the single-player one, as they enjoyed talking and interacting with another person. However, there were two distinct player groups: one liked the competitive mode but not the cooperative mode while the other liked the cooperative but not the competitive mode. Unimpaired subjects who liked the competitive mode also put significantly more effort into it than into the other modes. Results from impaired subjects were similar, with even impaired subjects over 60 years old enjoying competitive gameplay. The subjects' personalities roughly predicted which mode they would prefer, which was especially evident in a poorly-matched impaired pair that preferred the single-player mode. Results indicate great potential for two-player rehabilitation games, in the form of greater enjoyment as well as potentially more intensive exercise compared to single-player games. However, the right game type needs to be chosen for each subject depending on skill and personality, along with selecting an appropriate co-player. Further studies with patients that are currently enrolled in rehabilitation programs are recommended, and the subjective measures used in our study should be augmented with objective measures such as electromyography.

Physics-based approach to chemical source localization using mobile robotic swarms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zarzhitsky, Dimitri

2008-07-01

Recently, distributed computation has assumed a dominant role in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics. To improve system performance, engineers are combining multiple cooperating robots into cohesive collectives called swarms. This thesis illustrates the application of basic principles of physicomimetics, or physics-based design, to swarm robotic systems. Such principles include decentralized control, short-range sensing and low power consumption. We show how the application of these principles to robotic swarms results in highly scalable, robust, and adaptive multi-robot systems. The emergence of these valuable properties can be predicted with the help of well-developed theoretical methods. In this research effort, we have designed and constructed a distributed physicomimetics system for locating sources of airborne chemical plumes. This task, called chemical plume tracing (CPT), is receiving a great deal of attention due to persistent homeland security threats. For this thesis, we have created a novel CPT algorithm called fluxotaxis that is based on theoretical principles of fluid dynamics. Analytically, we show that fluxotaxis combines the essence, as well as the strengths, of the two most popular biologically-inspired CPT methods-- chemotaxis and anemotaxis. The chemotaxis strategy consists of navigating in the direction of the chemical density gradient within the plume, while the anemotaxis approach is based on an upwind traversal of the chemical cloud. Rigorous and extensive experimental evaluations have been performed in simulated chemical plume environments. Using a suite of performance metrics that capture the salient aspects of swarm-specific behavior, we have been able to evaluate and compare the three CPT algorithms. We demonstrate the improved performance of our fluxotaxis approach over both chemotaxis and anemotaxis in these realistic simulation environments, which include obstacles. To test our understanding of CPT on actual hardware, we have implemented chemotaxis on three laboratory-scale robots. Chemotaxis requires only chemical sensors; eventually, when small-scale anemometers capable of reliably detecting low air velocities become available, we plan to implement anemotaxis and fluxotaxis on the robots as well. Our chemotaxis robots use the physicomimetics control algorithm to arrange the team of vehicles into a triangular formation, which then traces an ethanol vapor plume to its source emitter. In agreement with our theoretical predictions, the swarm implementation shows a consistent gain in CPT performance as compared to a single-robot solution.

An Advice Mechanism for Heterogeneous Robot Teams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniluk, Steven

The use of reinforcement learning for robot teams has enabled complex tasks to be performed, but at the cost of requiring a large amount of exploration. Exchanging information between robots in the form of advice is one method to accelerate performance improvements. This thesis presents an advice mechanism for robot teams that utilizes advice from heterogeneous advisers via a method guaranteeing convergence to an optimal policy. The presented mechanism has the capability to use multiple advisers at each time step, and decide when advice should be requested and accepted, such that the use of advice decreases over time. Additionally, collective collaborative, and cooperative behavioural algorithms are integrated into a robot team architecture, to create a new framework that provides fault tolerance and modularity for robot teams.

Development of an evolutionary simulator and an overall control system for intelligent wheelchair

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imai, Makoto; Kawato, Koji; Hamagami, Tomoki; Hirata, Hironori

The goal of this research is to develop an intelligent wheelchair (IWC) system which aids an indoor safe mobility for elderly and disabled people with a new conceptual architecture which realizes autonomy, cooperativeness, and a collaboration behavior. In order to develop the IWC system in real environment, we need design-tools and flexible architecture. In particular, as more significant ones, this paper describes two key techniques which are an evolutionary simulation and an overall control mechanism. The evolutionary simulation technique corrects the error between the virtual environment in a simulator and real one in during the learning of an IWC agent, and coevolves with the agent. The overall control mechanism is implemented with subsumption architecture which is employed in an autonomous robot controller. By using these techniques in both simulations and experiments, we confirm that our IWC system acquires autonomy, cooperativeness, and a collaboration behavior efficiently.

Microgravity, Mesh-Crawling Legged Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Behar, Alberto; Marzwell, Neville; Matthews, Jaret; Richardson, Krandalyn; Wall, Jonathan; Poole, Michael; Foor, David; Rodgers, Damian

2008-01-01

The design, fabrication, and microgravity flight-testing are part of a continuing development of palm-sized mobile robots that resemble spiders (except that they have six legs apiece, whereas a spider has eight legs). Denoted SpiderBots (see figure), they are prototypes of proposed product line of relatively inexpensive walking robots that could be deployed in large numbers to function cooperatively in construction, repair, exploration, search, and rescue activities in connection with exploration of outer space and remote planets.

Robot Control Based On Spatial-Operator Algebra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodriguez, Guillermo; Kreutz, Kenneth K.; Jain, Abhinandan

1992-01-01

Method for mathematical modeling and control of robotic manipulators based on spatial-operator algebra providing concise representation and simple, high-level theoretical frame-work for solution of kinematical and dynamical problems involving complicated temporal and spatial relationships. Recursive algorithms derived immediately from abstract spatial-operator expressions by inspection. Transition from abstract formulation through abstract solution to detailed implementation of specific algorithms to compute solution greatly simplified. Complicated dynamical problems like two cooperating robot arms solved more easily.

The blackboard model - A framework for integrating multiple cooperating expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erickson, W. K.

1985-01-01

The use of an artificial intelligence (AI) architecture known as the blackboard model is examined as a framework for designing and building distributed systems requiring the integration of multiple cooperating expert systems (MCXS). Aerospace vehicles provide many examples of potential systems, ranging from commercial and military aircraft to spacecraft such as satellites, the Space Shuttle, and the Space Station. One such system, free-flying, spaceborne telerobots to be used in construction, servicing, inspection, and repair tasks around NASA's Space Station, is examined. The major difficulties found in designing and integrating the individual expert system components necessary to implement such a robot are outlined. The blackboard model, a general expert system architecture which seems to address many of the problems found in designing and building such a system, is discussed. A progress report on a prototype system under development called DBB (Distributed BlackBoard model) is given. The prototype will act as a testbed for investigating the feasibility, utility, and efficiency of MCXS-based designs developed under the blackboard model.

The Summer Robotic Autonomy Course

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nourbakhsh, Illah R.

2002-01-01

We offered a first Robotic Autonomy course this summer, located at NASA/Ames' new NASA Research Park, for approximately 30 high school students. In this 7-week course, students worked in ten teams to build then program advanced autonomous robots capable of visual processing and high-speed wireless communication. The course made use of challenge-based curricula, culminating each week with a Wednesday Challenge Day and a Friday Exhibition and Contest Day. Robotic Autonomy provided a comprehensive grounding in elementary robotics, including basic electronics, electronics evaluation, microprocessor programming, real-time control, and robot mechanics and kinematics. Our course then continued the educational process by introducing higher-level perception, action and autonomy topics, including teleoperation, visual servoing, intelligent scheduling and planning and cooperative problem-solving. We were able to deliver such a comprehensive, high-level education in robotic autonomy for two reasons. First, the content resulted from close collaboration between the CMU Robotics Institute and researchers in the Information Sciences and Technology Directorate and various education program/project managers at NASA/Ames. This collaboration produced not only educational content, but will also be focal to the conduct of formative and summative evaluations of the course for further refinement. Second, CMU rapid prototyping skills as well as the PI's low-overhead perception and locomotion research projects enabled design and delivery of affordable robot kits with unprecedented sensory- locomotory capability. Each Trikebot robot was capable of both indoor locomotion and high-speed outdoor motion and was equipped with a high-speed vision system coupled to a low-cost pan/tilt head. As planned, follow the completion of Robotic Autonomy, each student took home an autonomous, competent robot. This robot is the student's to keep, as she explores robotics with an extremely capable tool in the midst of a new community for roboticists. CMU provided undergraduate course credit for this official course, 16-162U, for 13 students, with all other students receiving course credit from National Hispanic University.

3min. poster presentations of B01

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foing, Bernard H.

We give a report on recommendations from ILEWG International conferences held at Cape Canaveral in 2008 (ICEUM10), and in Beijing in May 2010 with IAF (GLUC -ICEUM11). We discuss the different rationale for Moon exploration. Priorities for scientific investigations include: clues on the formation and evolution of rocky planets, accretion and bombardment in the inner solar system, comparative planetology processes (tectonic, volcanic, impact cratering, volatile delivery), historical records, astrobiology, survival of organics; past, present and future life. The ILEWG technology task group set priorities for the advancement of instrumenta-tion: Remote sensing miniaturised instruments; Surface geophysical and geochemistry package; Instrument deployment and robotic arm, nano-rover, sampling, drilling; Sample finder and collector. Regional mobility rover; Autonomy and Navigation; Artificially intelligent robots, Complex systems. The ILEWG ExogeoLab pilot project was developed as support for instru-ments, landers, rovers,and preparation for cooperative robotic village. The ILEWG lunar base task group looked at minimal design concepts, technologies in robotic and human exploration with Tele control, telepresence, virtual reality; Man-Machine interface and performances. The ILEWG ExoHab pilot project has been started with support from agencies and partners. We discuss ILEWG terrestrial Moon-Mars campaigns for validation of technologies, research and human operations. We indicate how Moon-Mars Exploration can inspire solutions to global Earth sustained development: In-Situ Utilisation of resources; Establishment of permanent robotic infrastructures, Environmental protection aspects; Life sciences laboratories; Support to human exploration. Co-Authors: ILEWG Task Groups on: Science, Technology, Robotic village, Lunar Bases , Commercial and Societal aspects, Roadmap synergies with other programmes, Public en-gagemnet and Outreach, Young Lunar Explorers.

Embedded Augmented Reality Training System for Dynamic Human-Robot Cooperation

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-01

through (OST) head- mounted displays ( HMDs ) still lack in usability and ergonomics because of their size, weight, resolution, and the hard-to-realize...with addressable focal planes [10], for example. Accurate and easy-to-use calibration routines for OST HMDs remains a challenging task; established...methods are based on matching of virtual over real objects [11], newer approaches use cameras looking directly through the HMD optics to exploit both

Intelligent unmanned vehicle systems suitable for individual or cooperative missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Matthew O.; McKay, Mark D.; Wadsworth, Derek C.

2007-04-01

The Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been researching autonomous unmanned vehicle systems for over fifteen years. Areas of research have included unmanned ground and aerial vehicles used for hazardous and remote operations as well as teamed together for advanced payloads and mission execution. Areas of application include aerial particulate sampling, cooperative remote radiological sampling, and persistent surveillance including real-time mosaic and geo-referenced imagery in addition to high-resolution still imagery. Both fixed-wing and rotary airframes are used possessing capabilities spanning remote control to fully autonomous operation. Patented INL-developed auto steering technology is taken advantage of to provide autonomous parallel path swathing with either manned or unmanned ground vehicles. Aerial look-ahead imagery is utilized to provide a common operating picture for the ground and air vehicles during cooperative missions. This paper will discuss the various robotic vehicles, including sensor integration, used to achieve these missions and anticipated cost and labor savings.

Towards Autonomous Inspection of Space Systems Using Mobile Robotic Sensor Platforms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wong, Edmond; Saad, Ashraf; Litt, Jonathan S.

2007-01-01

The space transportation systems required to support NASA's Exploration Initiative will demand a high degree of reliability to ensure mission success. This reliability can be realized through autonomous fault/damage detection and repair capabilities. It is crucial that such capabilities are incorporated into these systems since it will be impractical to rely upon Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA), visual inspection or tele-operation due to the costly, labor-intensive and time-consuming nature of these methods. One approach to achieving this capability is through the use of an autonomous inspection system comprised of miniature mobile sensor platforms that will cooperatively perform high confidence inspection of space vehicles and habitats. This paper will discuss the efforts to develop a small scale demonstration test-bed to investigate the feasibility of using autonomous mobile sensor platforms to perform inspection operations. Progress will be discussed in technology areas including: the hardware implementation and demonstration of robotic sensor platforms, the implementation of a hardware test-bed facility, and the investigation of collaborative control algorithms.

Multimodal US-gamma imaging using collaborative robotics for cancer staging biopsies.

PubMed

Esposito, Marco; Busam, Benjamin; Hennersperger, Christoph; Rackerseder, Julia; Navab, Nassir; Frisch, Benjamin

2016-09-01

The staging of female breast cancer requires detailed information about the level of cancer spread through the lymphatic system. Common practice to obtain this information for patients with early-stage cancer is sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy, where LNs are radioactively identified for surgical removal and subsequent histological analysis. Punch needle biopsy is a less invasive approach but suffers from the lack of combined anatomical and nuclear information. We present and evaluate a system that introduces live collaborative robotic 2D gamma imaging in addition to live 2D ultrasound to identify SLNs in the surrounding anatomy. The system consists of a robotic arm equipped with both a gamma camera and a stereoscopic tracking system that monitors the position of an ultrasound probe operated by the physician. The arm cooperatively places the gamma camera parallel to the ultrasound imaging plane to provide live multimodal visualization and guidance. We validate the system by evaluating the target registration errors between fused nuclear and US image data in a phantom consisting of two spheres, one of which is filled with radioactivity. Medical experts perform punch biopsies on agar-gelatine phantoms with complex configurations of hot and cold lesions to provide a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the system. The average point registration error for the overlay is [Formula: see text] mm. The time of the entire procedure was reduced by 36 %, with 80v of the biopsies being successful. The users' feedback was very positive, and the system was deemed to be very intuitive, with handling similar to classic US-guided needle biopsy. We present and evaluate the first medical collaborative robotic imaging system. Feedback from potential users for SLN punch needle biopsy is encouraging. Ongoing work investigates the clinical feasibility with more complex and realistic phantoms.

Framework and Implications of Virtual Neurorobotics

PubMed Central

Goodman, Philip H.; Zou, Quan; Dascalu, Sergiu-Mihai

2008-01-01

Despite decades of societal investment in artificial learning systems, truly “intelligent” systems have yet to be realized. These traditional models are based on input-output pattern optimization and/or cognitive production rule modeling. One response has been social robotics, using the interaction of human and robot to capture important cognitive dynamics such as cooperation and emotion; to date, these systems still incorporate traditional learning algorithms. More recently, investigators are focusing on the core assumptions of the brain “algorithm” itself—trying to replicate uniquely “neuromorphic” dynamics such as action potential spiking and synaptic learning. Only now are large-scale neuromorphic models becoming feasible, due to the availability of powerful supercomputers and an expanding supply of parameters derived from research into the brain's interdependent electrophysiological, metabolomic and genomic networks. Personal computer technology has also led to the acceptance of computer-generated humanoid images, or “avatars”, to represent intelligent actors in virtual realities. In a recent paper, we proposed a method of virtual neurorobotics (VNR) in which the approaches above (social-emotional robotics, neuromorphic brain architectures, and virtual reality projection) are hybridized to rapidly forward-engineer and develop increasingly complex, intrinsically intelligent systems. In this paper, we synthesize our research and related work in the field and provide a framework for VNR, with wider implications for research and practical applications. PMID:18982115

Decentralized Planning for Autonomous Agents Cooperating in Complex Missions

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

Consensus - based decentralized auctions for robust task allocation ," IEEE Transactions on Robotics...Robotics, vol. 24, pp. 209-222, 2006. [44] H.-L. Choi, L. Brunet, and J. P. How, " Consensus - based decentralized auctions for robust task allocation ...2003. 123 [31] L. Brunet, " Consensus - Based Auctions for Decentralized Task Assignment," Master’s thesis, Dept.

Robotic and artificial intelligence for keyhole neurosurgery: the ROBOCAST project, a multi-modal autonomous path planner.

PubMed

De Momi, E; Ferrigno, G

2010-01-01

The robot and sensors integration for computer-assisted surgery and therapy (ROBOCAST) project (FP7-ICT-2007-215190) is co-funded by the European Union within the Seventh Framework Programme in the field of information and communication technologies. The ROBOCAST project focuses on robot- and artificial-intelligence-assisted keyhole neurosurgery (tumour biopsy and local drug delivery along straight or turning paths). The goal of this project is to assist surgeons with a robotic system controlled by an intelligent high-level controller (HLC) able to gather and integrate information from the surgeon, from diagnostic images, and from an array of on-field sensors. The HLC integrates pre-operative and intra-operative diagnostics data and measurements, intelligence augmentation, multiple-robot dexterity, and multiple sensory inputs in a closed-loop cooperating scheme including a smart interface for improved haptic immersion and integration. This paper, after the overall architecture description, focuses on the intelligent trajectory planner based on risk estimation and human criticism. The current status of development is reported, and first tests on the planner are shown by using a real image stack and risk descriptor phantom. The advantages of using a fuzzy risk description are given by the possibility of upgrading the knowledge on-field without the intervention of a knowledge engineer.

Improving the transparency of a rehabilitation robot by exploiting the cyclic behaviour of walking.

PubMed

van Dijk, W; van der Kooij, H; Koopman, B; van Asseldonk, E H F; van der Kooij, H

2013-06-01

To promote active participation of neurological patients during robotic gait training, controllers, such as "assist as needed" or "cooperative control", are suggested. Apart from providing support, these controllers also require that the robot should be capable of resembling natural, unsupported, walking. This means that they should have a transparent mode, where the interaction forces between the human and the robot are minimal. Traditional feedback-control algorithms do not exploit the cyclic nature of walking to improve the transparency of the robot. The purpose of this study was to improve the transparent mode of robotic devices, by developing two controllers that use the rhythmic behavior of gait. Both controllers use adaptive frequency oscillators and kernel-based non-linear filters. Kernelbased non-linear filters can be used to estimate signals and their time derivatives, as a function of the gait phase. The first controller learns the motor angle, associated with a certain joint angle pattern, and acts as a feed-forward controller to improve the torque tracking (including the zero-torque mode). The second controller learns the state of the mechanical system and compensates for the dynamical effects (e.g. the acceleration of robot masses). Both controllers have been tested separately and in combination on a small subject population. Using the feedforward controller resulted in an improved torque tracking of at least 52 percent at the hip joint, and 61 percent at the knee joint. When both controllers were active simultaneously, the interaction power between the robot and the human leg was reduced by at least 40 percent at the thigh, and 43 percent at the shank. These results indicate that: if a robotic task is cyclic, the torque tracking and transparency can be improved by exploiting the predictions of adaptive frequency oscillator and kernel-based nonlinear filters.

Lunar Exploration and Science in ESA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carpenter, James; Houdou, Bérengère; Fisackerly, Richard; De Rosa, Diego; Patti, Bernardo; Schiemann, Jens; Hufenbach, Bernhard; Foing, Bernard

2015-04-01

ESA seeks to provide Europe with access to the lunar surface, and allow Europeans to benefit from the opening up of this new frontier, as part of a global endeavor. This will be best achieved through an exploration programme which combines the strengths and capabilities of both robotic and human explorers. ESA is preparing for future participation in lunar exploration through a combination of human and robotic activities, in cooperation with international partners. Future planned activities include the contribution of key technological capabilities to the Russian led robotic missions, Luna-Glob, Luna-Resurs orbiter and Luna-Resurs lander. For the Luna-Resurs lander ESA will provide analytical capabilities to compliment the Russian led science payload, focusing on developing an characterising the resource opportunities offered at the lunar surface. This should be followed by the contributions at the level of mission elements to a Lunar Polar Sample Return mission. These robotic activities are being performed with a view to enabling a future more comprehensive programme in which robotic and human activities are integrated to provide the maximum benefits from lunar surface access. Activities on the ISS and ESA participation to the US led Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, which is planned for a first unmanned lunar flight in 2017, are also important steps towards achieving this. In the frame of a broader future international programme under discussion through the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) future missions are under investigation that would provide access to the lunar surface through international cooperation and human-robotic partnerships.

Integration of disabled people in an automated work process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jalba, C. K.; Muminovic, A.; Epple, S.; Barz, C.; Nasui, V.

2017-05-01

Automation processes enter more and more into all areas of life and production. Especially people with disabilities can hardly keep step with this change. In sheltered workshops in Germany people with physical and mental disabilities get help with much dedication, to be integrated into the work processes. This work shows that cooperation between disabled people and industrial robots by means of industrial image processing can successfully result in the production of highly complex products. Here is described how high-pressure hydraulic pumps are assembled by people with disabilities in cooperation with industrial robots in a sheltered workshop. After the assembly process, the pumps are checked for leaks at very high pressures in a completely automated process.

75 FR 57502 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Robotics...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-21

..., in the eighth line from the bottom of the page, ``Amstin, TX'' should read ``Austin, TX''. 4. On the... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Antitrust Division Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and... full paragraph, in the second and third lines, ``activity of this group research additional written...

Human-robot cooperative movement training: learning a novel sensory motor transformation during walking with robotic assistance-as-needed.

PubMed

Emken, Jeremy L; Benitez, Raul; Reinkensmeyer, David J

2007-03-28

A prevailing paradigm of physical rehabilitation following neurologic injury is to "assist-as-needed" in completing desired movements. Several research groups are attempting to automate this principle with robotic movement training devices and patient cooperative algorithms that encourage voluntary participation. These attempts are currently not based on computational models of motor learning. Here we assume that motor recovery from a neurologic injury can be modelled as a process of learning a novel sensory motor transformation, which allows us to study a simplified experimental protocol amenable to mathematical description. Specifically, we use a robotic force field paradigm to impose a virtual impairment on the left leg of unimpaired subjects walking on a treadmill. We then derive an "assist-as-needed" robotic training algorithm to help subjects overcome the virtual impairment and walk normally. The problem is posed as an optimization of performance error and robotic assistance. The optimal robotic movement trainer becomes an error-based controller with a forgetting factor that bounds kinematic errors while systematically reducing its assistance when those errors are small. As humans have a natural range of movement variability, we introduce an error weighting function that causes the robotic trainer to disregard this variability. We experimentally validated the controller with ten unimpaired subjects by demonstrating how it helped the subjects learn the novel sensory motor transformation necessary to counteract the virtual impairment, while also preventing them from experiencing large kinematic errors. The addition of the error weighting function allowed the robot assistance to fade to zero even though the subjects' movements were variable. We also show that in order to assist-as-needed, the robot must relax its assistance at a rate faster than that of the learning human. The assist-as-needed algorithm proposed here can limit error during the learning of a dynamic motor task. The algorithm encourages learning by decreasing its assistance as a function of the ongoing progression of movement error. This type of algorithm is well suited for helping people learn dynamic tasks for which large kinematic errors are dangerous or discouraging, and thus may prove useful for robot-assisted movement training of walking or reaching following neurologic injury.

A six-degree-of-freedom passive arm with dynamic constraints (PADyC) for cardiac surgery application: preliminary experiments.

PubMed

Schneider, O; Troccaz, J

2001-01-01

The purpose of Computer-Assisted Surgery (CAS) is to help physicians and surgeons plan and execute optimal strategies from multimodal image data. The execution of such planned strategies may be assisted by guidance systems. Some of these systems, called synergistic systems, are based on the cooperation of a robotic device with a human operator. We have developed such a synergistic device: PADyC (Passive Arm with Dynamic Constraints). The basic principle of PADyC is to have a manually actuated arm that dynamically constrains the authorized motions of the surgical tool held by the human operator during a planned task. Dynamic constraints are computed from the task definition, and are implemented by a patented mechanical system. In this paper, we first introduce synergistic systems and then focus on modeling and algorithmic issues related to the dynamic constraints. Finally, we describe a 6-degree-of-freedom prototype robot designed for a clinical application (cardiac surgery) and report on preliminary experiments to date. The experimental results are then discussed, and future work is proposed. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Robot friendly probe and socket assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nyberg, Karen L. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A probe and socket assembly for serving as a mechanical interface between structures is presented. The assembly comprises a socket having a housing adapted for connection to a first supporting structure and a probe which is readily connectable to a second structure and is designed to be easily grappled and manipulated by a robotic device for insertion and coupling with the socket. Cooperable automatic locking means are provided on the probe shaft and socket housing for automatically locking the probe in the socket when the probe is inserted a predetermined distance. A second cooperable locking means on the probe shaft and housing are adapted for actuation after the probe has been inserted the predetermined distance. Actuation means mounted on the probe and responsive to the grip of the probe handle by a gripping device, such as a robot for conditioning the probe for insertion and are also responsive to release of the grip of the probe handle to actuate the second locking means to provide a hard lock of the probe in the socket.

Intelligent robot trends and predictions for the .net future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, Ernest L.

2001-10-01

An intelligent robot is a remarkably useful combination of a manipulator, sensors and controls. The use of these machines in factory automation can improve productivity, increase product quality and improve competitiveness. This paper presents a discussion of recent and future technical and economic trends. During the past twenty years the use of industrial robots that are equipped not only with precise motion control systems but also with sensors such as cameras, laser scanners, or tactile sensors that permit adaptation to a changing environment has increased dramatically. Intelligent robot products have been developed in many cases for factory automation and for some hospital and home applications. To reach an even higher degree of applications, the addition of learning may be required. Recently, learning theories such as the adaptive critic have been proposed. In this type of learning, a critic provides a grade to the controller of an action module such as a robot. The adaptive critic is a good model for human learning. In general, the critic may be considered to be the human with the teach pendant, plant manager, line supervisor, quality inspector or the consumer. If the ultimate critic is the consumer, then the quality inspector must model the consumer's decision-making process and use this model in the design and manufacturing operations. Can the adaptive critic be used to advance intelligent robots? Intelligent robots have historically taken decades to be developed and reduced to practice. Methods for speeding this development include technology such as rapid prototyping and product development and government, industry and university cooperation.

Hand synergies: Integration of robotics and neuroscience for understanding the control of biological and artificial hands

PubMed Central

Santello, Marco; Bianchi, Matteo; Gabiccini, Marco; Ricciardi, Emiliano; Salvietti, Gionata; Prattichizzo, Domenico; Ernst, Marc; Moscatelli, Alessandro; Jörntell, Henrik; Kappers, Astrid M.L.; Kyriakopoulos, Kostas; Albu-Schäffer, Alin; Castellini, Claudio; Bicchi, Antonio

2017-01-01

The term ‘synergy’ – from the Greek synergia – means ‘working together’. The concept of multiple elements working together towards a common goal has been extensively used in neuroscience to develop theoretical frameworks, experimental approaches, and analytical techniques to understand neural control of movement, and for applications for neuro-rehabilitation. In the past decade, roboticists have successfully applied the framework of synergies to create novel design and control concepts for artificial hands, i.e., robotic hands and prostheses. At the same time, robotic research on the sensorimotor integration underlying the control and sensing of artificial hands has inspired new research approaches in neuroscience, and has provided useful instruments for novel experiments. The ambitious goal of integrating expertise and research approaches in robotics and neuroscience to study the properties and applications of the concept of synergies is generating a number of multidisciplinary cooperative projects, among which the recently finished 4-year European project “The Hand Embodied” (THE). This paper reviews the main insights provided by this framework. Specifically, we provide an overview of neuroscientific bases of hand synergies and introduce how robotics has leveraged the insights from neuroscience for innovative design in hardware and controllers for biomedical engineering applications, including myoelectric hand prostheses, devices for haptics research, and wearable sensing of human hand kinematics. The review also emphasizes how this multidisciplinary collaboration has generated new ways to conceptualize a synergy-based approach for robotics, and provides guidelines and principles for analyzing human behavior and synthesizing artificial robotic systems based on a theory of synergies. PMID:26923030

Hand synergies: Integration of robotics and neuroscience for understanding the control of biological and artificial hands.

PubMed

Santello, Marco; Bianchi, Matteo; Gabiccini, Marco; Ricciardi, Emiliano; Salvietti, Gionata; Prattichizzo, Domenico; Ernst, Marc; Moscatelli, Alessandro; Jörntell, Henrik; Kappers, Astrid M L; Kyriakopoulos, Kostas; Albu-Schäffer, Alin; Castellini, Claudio; Bicchi, Antonio

2016-07-01

The term 'synergy' - from the Greek synergia - means 'working together'. The concept of multiple elements working together towards a common goal has been extensively used in neuroscience to develop theoretical frameworks, experimental approaches, and analytical techniques to understand neural control of movement, and for applications for neuro-rehabilitation. In the past decade, roboticists have successfully applied the framework of synergies to create novel design and control concepts for artificial hands, i.e., robotic hands and prostheses. At the same time, robotic research on the sensorimotor integration underlying the control and sensing of artificial hands has inspired new research approaches in neuroscience, and has provided useful instruments for novel experiments. The ambitious goal of integrating expertise and research approaches in robotics and neuroscience to study the properties and applications of the concept of synergies is generating a number of multidisciplinary cooperative projects, among which the recently finished 4-year European project "The Hand Embodied" (THE). This paper reviews the main insights provided by this framework. Specifically, we provide an overview of neuroscientific bases of hand synergies and introduce how robotics has leveraged the insights from neuroscience for innovative design in hardware and controllers for biomedical engineering applications, including myoelectric hand prostheses, devices for haptics research, and wearable sensing of human hand kinematics. The review also emphasizes how this multidisciplinary collaboration has generated new ways to conceptualize a synergy-based approach for robotics, and provides guidelines and principles for analyzing human behavior and synthesizing artificial robotic systems based on a theory of synergies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hand synergies: Integration of robotics and neuroscience for understanding the control of biological and artificial hands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santello, Marco; Bianchi, Matteo; Gabiccini, Marco; Ricciardi, Emiliano; Salvietti, Gionata; Prattichizzo, Domenico; Ernst, Marc; Moscatelli, Alessandro; Jörntell, Henrik; Kappers, Astrid M. L.; Kyriakopoulos, Kostas; Albu-Schäffer, Alin; Castellini, Claudio; Bicchi, Antonio

2016-07-01

The term 'synergy' - from the Greek synergia - means 'working together'. The concept of multiple elements working together towards a common goal has been extensively used in neuroscience to develop theoretical frameworks, experimental approaches, and analytical techniques to understand neural control of movement, and for applications for neuro-rehabilitation. In the past decade, roboticists have successfully applied the framework of synergies to create novel design and control concepts for artificial hands, i.e., robotic hands and prostheses. At the same time, robotic research on the sensorimotor integration underlying the control and sensing of artificial hands has inspired new research approaches in neuroscience, and has provided useful instruments for novel experiments. The ambitious goal of integrating expertise and research approaches in robotics and neuroscience to study the properties and applications of the concept of synergies is generating a number of multidisciplinary cooperative projects, among which the recently finished 4-year European project ;The Hand Embodied; (THE). This paper reviews the main insights provided by this framework. Specifically, we provide an overview of neuroscientific bases of hand synergies and introduce how robotics has leveraged the insights from neuroscience for innovative design in hardware and controllers for biomedical engineering applications, including myoelectric hand prostheses, devices for haptics research, and wearable sensing of human hand kinematics. The review also emphasizes how this multidisciplinary collaboration has generated new ways to conceptualize a synergy-based approach for robotics, and provides guidelines and principles for analyzing human behavior and synthesizing artificial robotic systems based on a theory of synergies.

Robotics and artificial intelligence across the Atlantic and Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlussel, K.

1983-08-01

Attention is given to development efforts outside the U.S. in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence, including international cooperative efforts, and Japanese, Western European, and Eastern European programs. It is noted that the Japan Industrial Robot Association, together with Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry, are promoting robotics developments through the exchange of specifications data among researchers and the arrangement of interest-free loans. Private research in Japan has concentrated on problems relating to applications, such as increased speed, miniaturization, digital control, weight reduction, and modularization. Western Europe has been comparatively slow in initiating research, but possesses an industry leader in a Swedish firm. The 25th Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union committed itself to the mass production of industrial robots in 1976.

Asteroids in the service of humanity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crawford, Ian A.

2013-07-01

There are at least three compelling reasons for the human race to initiate a major programme to explore and better understand the 'minor planets' of the Solar System: (1) Enhancing scientific knowledge; (2) Mitigating the impact hazard; and (3) Utilizing extraterrestrial resources. Strong synergies exist between all three. Moreover, all these activities would benefit from greater international cooperation in space exploration by the World's space agencies, and the recognition that asteroids are important targets for human and robotic exploration.

Velocity-curvature patterns limit human-robot physical interaction

PubMed Central

Maurice, Pauline; Huber, Meghan E.; Hogan, Neville; Sternad, Dagmar

2018-01-01

Physical human-robot collaboration is becoming more common, both in industrial and service robotics. Cooperative execution of a task requires intuitive and efficient interaction between both actors. For humans, this means being able to predict and adapt to robot movements. Given that natural human movement exhibits several robust features, we examined whether human-robot physical interaction is facilitated when these features are considered in robot control. The present study investigated how humans adapt to biological and non-biological velocity patterns in robot movements. Participants held the end-effector of a robot that traced an elliptic path with either biological (two-thirds power law) or non-biological velocity profiles. Participants were instructed to minimize the force applied on the robot end-effector. Results showed that the applied force was significantly lower when the robot moved with a biological velocity pattern. With extensive practice and enhanced feedback, participants were able to decrease their force when following a non-biological velocity pattern, but never reached forces below those obtained with the 2/3 power law profile. These results suggest that some robust features observed in natural human movements are also a strong preference in guided movements. Therefore, such features should be considered in human-robot physical collaboration. PMID:29744380

Velocity-curvature patterns limit human-robot physical interaction.

PubMed

Maurice, Pauline; Huber, Meghan E; Hogan, Neville; Sternad, Dagmar

2018-01-01

Physical human-robot collaboration is becoming more common, both in industrial and service robotics. Cooperative execution of a task requires intuitive and efficient interaction between both actors. For humans, this means being able to predict and adapt to robot movements. Given that natural human movement exhibits several robust features, we examined whether human-robot physical interaction is facilitated when these features are considered in robot control. The present study investigated how humans adapt to biological and non-biological velocity patterns in robot movements. Participants held the end-effector of a robot that traced an elliptic path with either biological (two-thirds power law) or non-biological velocity profiles. Participants were instructed to minimize the force applied on the robot end-effector. Results showed that the applied force was significantly lower when the robot moved with a biological velocity pattern. With extensive practice and enhanced feedback, participants were able to decrease their force when following a non-biological velocity pattern, but never reached forces below those obtained with the 2/3 power law profile. These results suggest that some robust features observed in natural human movements are also a strong preference in guided movements. Therefore, such features should be considered in human-robot physical collaboration.

Task partitioning in a robot swarm: object retrieval as a sequence of subtasks with direct object transfer.

PubMed

Pini, Giovanni; Brutschy, Arne; Scheidler, Alexander; Dorigo, Marco; Birattari, Mauro

2014-01-01

We study task partitioning in the context of swarm robotics. Task partitioning is the decomposition of a task into subtasks that can be tackled by different workers. We focus on the case in which a task is partitioned into a sequence of subtasks that must be executed in a certain order. This implies that the subtasks must interface with each other, and that the output of a subtask is used as input for the subtask that follows. A distinction can be made between task partitioning with direct transfer and with indirect transfer. We focus our study on the first case: The output of a subtask is directly transferred from an individual working on that subtask to an individual working on the subtask that follows. As a test bed for our study, we use a swarm of robots performing foraging. The robots have to harvest objects from a source, situated in an unknown location, and transport them to a home location. When a robot finds the source, it memorizes its position and uses dead reckoning to return there. Dead reckoning is appealing in robotics, since it is a cheap localization method and it does not require any additional external infrastructure. However, dead reckoning leads to errors that grow in time if not corrected periodically. We compare a foraging strategy that does not make use of task partitioning with one that does. We show that cooperation through task partitioning can be used to limit the effect of dead reckoning errors. This results in improved capability of locating the object source and in increased performance of the swarm. We use the implemented system as a test bed to study benefits and costs of task partitioning with direct transfer. We implement the system with real robots, demonstrating the feasibility of our approach in a foraging scenario.

Investigating Models of Social Development Using a Humanoid Robot

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-01-01

robot interaction and cooper- and neural models of spinal motor neurons (Williamson ation (Takanishi, Hirano & Sato 1998, Morita, Shibuya 1996...etiology and behavioral manifestations of pervasive de- Individuals with autism tend to have normal sensory velopmental disorders such as autism and...grasp the implications of this information. Wlile interested in joint attention both as an explanation the deficits of autism certainly cover many other

Making Robot Planes Useful for Scientific Investigation of Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennison, Chris

2006-01-01

This viewgraph slides presentation reviews the program to use unmanned aerial vehicles to gather information to study the Earth, the changes to the climate, and to protect the Earth. Several robot planes are shown, and cooperative programs with other agencies of the U.S. Government are highlighted. Including one with the United States Forest Service, that is planned to assist in locating fires

Standardization of Assistive Products with Robotic Technology - From a Perspective of ISO/TC173.

PubMed

Inoue, Takenobu; Yamauchi, Shigeru; Westman, Karl-Erik

2017-01-01

ISO/TC173 is a technical committee, in charge of international standardization of assistive products (APs). Robotic technology (RT) is currently an important topic in this field. APs with RT will be included in future revisions of the scope of TC173. Cooperation between the AP and RT space is essential to reach suitable solutions of future standardization.

Object positioning in storages of robotized workcells using LabVIEW Vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hryniewicz, P.; Banaś, W.; Sękala, A.; Gwiazda, A.; Foit, K.; Kost, G.

2015-11-01

During the manufacturing process, each performed task is previously developed and adapted to the conditions and the possibilities of the manufacturing plant. The production process is supervised by a team of specialists because any downtime causes great loss of time and hence financial loss. Sensors used in industry for tracking and supervision various stages of a production process make it much easier to maintain it continuous. One of groups of sensors used in industrial applications are non-contact sensors. This group includes: light barriers, optical sensors, rangefinders, vision systems, and ultrasonic sensors. Through to the rapid development of electronics the vision systems were widespread as the most flexible type of non-contact sensors. These systems consist of cameras, devices for data acquisition, devices for data analysis and specialized software. Vision systems work well as sensors that control the production process itself as well as the sensors that control the product quality level. The LabVIEW program as well as the LabVIEW Vision and LabVIEW Builder represent the application that enables program the informatics system intended to process and product quality control. The paper presents elaborated application for positioning elements in a robotized workcell. Basing on geometric parameters of manipulated object or on the basis of previously developed graphical pattern it is possible to determine the position of particular manipulated elements. This application could work in an automatic mode and in real time cooperating with the robot control system. It allows making the workcell functioning more autonomous.

An EMG Interface for the Control of Motion and Compliance of a Supernumerary Robotic Finger

PubMed Central

Hussain, Irfan; Spagnoletti, Giovanni; Salvietti, Gionata; Prattichizzo, Domenico

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose a novel electromyographic (EMG) control interface to control motion and joints compliance of a supernumerary robotic finger. The supernumerary robotic fingers are a recently introduced class of wearable robotics that provides users additional robotic limbs in order to compensate or augment the existing abilities of natural limbs without substituting them. Since supernumerary robotic fingers are supposed to closely interact and perform actions in synergy with the human limbs, the control principles of extra finger should have similar behavior as human’s ones including the ability of regulating the compliance. So that, it is important to propose a control interface and to consider the actuators and sensing capabilities of the robotic extra finger compatible to implement stiffness regulation control techniques. We propose EMG interface and a control approach to regulate the compliance of the device through servo actuators. In particular, we use a commercial EMG armband for gesture recognition to be associated with the motion control of the robotic device and surface one channel EMG electrodes interface to regulate the compliance of the robotic device. We also present an updated version of a robotic extra finger where the adduction/abduction motion is realized through ball bearing and spur gears mechanism. We have validated the proposed interface with two sets of experiments related to compensation and augmentation. In the first set of experiments, different bimanual tasks have been performed with the help of the robotic device and simulating a paretic hand since this novel wearable system can be used to compensate the missing grasping abilities in chronic stroke patients. In the second set, the robotic extra finger is used to enlarge the workspace and manipulation capability of healthy hands. In both sets, the same EMG control interface has been used. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed control interface is intuitive and can successfully be used, not only to control the motion of a supernumerary robotic finger but also to regulate its compliance. The proposed approach can be exploited also for the control of different wearable devices that has to actively cooperate with the human limbs. PMID:27891088

Design and evaluation of safety operation VR training system for robotic catheter surgery.

PubMed

Wang, Yu; Guo, Shuxiang; Li, Yaxin; Tamiya, Takashi; Song, Yu

2018-01-01

A number of remote robotic catheter systems have been developed to protect physicians from X-ray exposure in endovascular surgery. However, the teleoperation prevents the physicians sensing the force directly which may easily result in healthy vessels injured. To realize the safe operation, a tissue protection-based VR training system has been developed in this paper to prevent collateral damage by collision. The integrated VR simulator cannot only remind the novice possible collisions by visual signs, but also cooperate with the newly designed tissue protection mechanism to remit collision trauma beforehand. Such mechanism exploits the diameter variable pulley in order to implement the safe interaction between catheter and vasculature. To testify the effectiveness of the tissue protection in training system, we invited four non-medical students to participate the successive 5 days training session. The evaluation results show that the average impingement distance (representing tissue damage) to vascular wall has been reduced to 0.6 mm, and the collision frequency is greatly decreased which implies the realization of relative safe catheterization.

Intelligent robot trends for factory automation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, Ernest L.

1997-09-01

An intelligent robot is a remarkably useful combination of a manipulator, sensors and controls. The use of these machines in factory automation can improve productivity, increase product quality and improve competitiveness. This paper presents a discussion of recent economic and technical trends. The robotics industry now has a billion-dollar market in the U.S. and is growing. Feasibility studies are presented which also show unaudited healthy rates of return for a variety of robotic applications. Technically, the machines are faster, cheaper, more repeatable, more reliable and safer. The knowledge base of inverse kinematic and dynamic solutions and intelligent controls is increasing. More attention is being given by industry to robots, vision and motion controls. New areas of usage are emerging for service robots, remote manipulators and automated guided vehicles. However, the road from inspiration to successful application is still long and difficult, often taking decades to achieve a new product. More cooperation between government, industry and universities is needed to speed the development of intelligent robots that will benefit both industry and society.

Underwater Multi-Vehicle Trajectory Alignment and Mapping Using Acoustic and Optical Constraints

PubMed Central

Campos, Ricard; Gracias, Nuno; Ridao, Pere

2016-01-01

Multi-robot formations are an important advance in recent robotic developments, as they allow a group of robots to merge their capacities and perform surveys in a more convenient way. With the aim of keeping the costs and acoustic communications to a minimum, cooperative navigation of multiple underwater vehicles is usually performed at the control level. In order to maintain the desired formation, individual robots just react to simple control directives extracted from range measurements or ultra-short baseline (USBL) systems. Thus, the robots are unaware of their global positioning, which presents a problem for the further processing of the collected data. The aim of this paper is two-fold. First, we present a global alignment method to correct the dead reckoning trajectories of multiple vehicles to resemble the paths followed during the mission using the acoustic messages passed between vehicles. Second, we focus on the optical mapping application of these types of formations and extend the optimization framework to allow for multi-vehicle geo-referenced optical 3D mapping using monocular cameras. The inclusion of optical constraints is not performed using the common bundle adjustment techniques, but in a form improving the computational efficiency of the resulting optimization problem and presenting a generic process to fuse optical reconstructions with navigation data. We show the performance of the proposed method on real datasets collected within the Morph EU-FP7 project. PMID:26999144

Human-tracking strategies for a six-legged rescue robot based on distance and view

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Yang; Gao, Feng; Qi, Chenkun; Chai, Xun

2016-03-01

Human tracking is an important issue for intelligent robotic control and can be used in many scenarios, such as robotic services and human-robot cooperation. Most of current human-tracking methods are targeted for mobile/tracked robots, but few of them can be used for legged robots. Two novel human-tracking strategies, view priority strategy and distance priority strategy, are proposed specially for legged robots, which enable them to track humans in various complex terrains. View priority strategy focuses on keeping humans in its view angle arrange with priority, while its counterpart, distance priority strategy, focuses on keeping human at a reasonable distance with priority. To evaluate these strategies, two indexes(average and minimum tracking capability) are defined. With the help of these indexes, the view priority strategy shows advantages compared with distance priority strategy. The optimization is done in terms of these indexes, which let the robot has maximum tracking capability. The simulation results show that the robot can track humans with different curves like square, circular, sine and screw paths. Two novel control strategies are proposed which specially concerning legged robot characteristics to solve human tracking problems more efficiently in rescue circumstances.

Precision Manipulation with Cooperative Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stroupe, Ashley; Huntsberger, Terry; Okon, Avi; Aghzarian, Hrand

2005-01-01

This work addresses several challenges of cooperative transportThis work addresses several challenges of cooperative transport and precision manipulation. Precision manipulation requires a rigid grasp, which places a hard constraint on the relative rover formation that must be accommodated, even though the rovers cannot directly observe their relative poses. Additionally, rovers must jointly select appropriate actions based on all available sensor information. Lastly, rovers cannot act on independent sensor information, but must fuse information to move jointly; the methods for fusing information must be determined.

A Practice of Rescue Robot Contest in Junior High Schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawada, Kazuo; Nagamatsu, Masayasu; Yamamoto, Toru

The rescue robot contest for junior high school students was created to give students an opportunity to design a robot to rescue the victims under large scale disasters. The activity was not only intended as an humanitarian project but also aiming at students to : (1) take the role of victims and imagining the situation from his or her perspective, (2) enhance thinking skills, creativity through the problem solving processes and, (3) work cooperatively in groups. From results of questionnaire for the participated students, important factors for further implementation as curriculum of technology education are implied.

Searching Dynamic Agents with a Team of Mobile Robots

PubMed Central

Juliá, Miguel; Gil, Arturo; Reinoso, Oscar

2012-01-01

This paper presents a new algorithm that allows a team of robots to cooperatively search for a set of moving targets. An estimation of the areas of the environment that are more likely to hold a target agent is obtained using a grid-based Bayesian filter. The robot sensor readings and the maximum speed of the moving targets are used in order to update the grid. This representation is used in a search algorithm that commands the robots to those areas that are more likely to present target agents. This algorithm splits the environment in a tree of connected regions using dynamic programming. This tree is used in order to decide the destination for each robot in a coordinated manner. The algorithm has been successfully tested in known and unknown environments showing the validity of the approach. PMID:23012519

Searching dynamic agents with a team of mobile robots.

PubMed

Juliá, Miguel; Gil, Arturo; Reinoso, Oscar

2012-01-01

This paper presents a new algorithm that allows a team of robots to cooperatively search for a set of moving targets. An estimation of the areas of the environment that are more likely to hold a target agent is obtained using a grid-based Bayesian filter. The robot sensor readings and the maximum speed of the moving targets are used in order to update the grid. This representation is used in a search algorithm that commands the robots to those areas that are more likely to present target agents. This algorithm splits the environment in a tree of connected regions using dynamic programming. This tree is used in order to decide the destination for each robot in a coordinated manner. The algorithm has been successfully tested in known and unknown environments showing the validity of the approach.

Computational Mobility: An Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suri, Niranjan

2005-01-01

This viewgraph presentation describes a framework for the autonomous control of robot swarms, which negotiate with each other, delegate authority to their peers, and cooperate in teams to accomplish tasks.

To Cooperate or Not to Cooperate: Why Behavioural Mechanisms Matter

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Mutualistic cooperation often requires multiple individuals to behave in a coordinated fashion. Hence, while the evolutionary stability of mutualistic cooperation poses no particular theoretical difficulty, its evolutionary emergence faces a chicken and egg problem: an individual cannot benefit from cooperating unless other individuals already do so. Here, we use evolutionary robotic simulations to study the consequences of this problem for the evolution of cooperation. In contrast with standard game-theoretic results, we find that the transition from solitary to cooperative strategies is very unlikely, whether interacting individuals are genetically related (cooperation evolves in 20% of all simulations) or unrelated (only 3% of all simulations). We also observe that successful cooperation between individuals requires the evolution of a specific and rather complex behaviour. This behavioural complexity creates a large fitness valley between solitary and cooperative strategies, making the evolutionary transition difficult. These results reveal the need for research on biological mechanisms which may facilitate this transition. PMID:27148874

Intelligent robot trends for 1998

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, Ernest L.

1998-10-01

An intelligent robot is a remarkably useful combination of a manipulator, sensors and controls. The use of these machines in factory automation can improve productivity, increase product quality and improve competitiveness. This paper presents a discussion of recent technical and economic trends. Technically, the machines are faster, cheaper, more repeatable, more reliable and safer. The knowledge base of inverse kinematic and dynamic solutions and intelligent controls is increasing. More attention is being given by industry to robots, vision and motion controls. New areas of usage are emerging for service robots, remote manipulators and automated guided vehicles. Economically, the robotics industry now has a 1.1 billion-dollar market in the U.S. and is growing. Feasibility studies results are presented which also show decreasing costs for robots and unaudited healthy rates of return for a variety of robotic applications. However, the road from inspiration to successful application can be long and difficult, often taking decades to achieve a new product. A greater emphasis on mechatronics is needed in our universities. Certainly, more cooperation between government, industry and universities is needed to speed the development of intelligent robots that will benefit industry and society.

Sensor fusion IV: Control paradigms and data structures; Proceedings of the Meeting, Boston, MA, Nov. 12-15, 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schenker, Paul S. (Editor)

1992-01-01

Various papers on control paradigms and data structures in sensor fusion are presented. The general topics addressed include: decision models and computational methods, sensor modeling and data representation, active sensing strategies, geometric planning and visualization, task-driven sensing, motion analysis, models motivated biology and psychology, decentralized detection and distributed decision, data fusion architectures, robust estimation of shapes and features, application and implementation. Some of the individual subjects considered are: the Firefly experiment on neural networks for distributed sensor data fusion, manifold traversing as a model for learning control of autonomous robots, choice of coordinate systems for multiple sensor fusion, continuous motion using task-directed stereo vision, interactive and cooperative sensing and control for advanced teleoperation, knowledge-based imaging for terrain analysis, physical and digital simulations for IVA robotics.

ALHAT COBALT: CoOperative Blending of Autonomous Landing Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carson, John M.

2015-01-01

The COBALT project is a flight demonstration of two NASA ALHAT (Autonomous precision Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology) capabilities that are key for future robotic or human landing GN&C (Guidance, Navigation and Control) systems. The COBALT payload integrates the Navigation Doppler Lidar (NDL) for ultraprecise velocity and range measurements with the Lander Vision System (LVS) for Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) position estimates. Terrestrial flight tests of the COBALT payload in an open-loop and closed-loop GN&C configuration will be conducted onboard a commercial, rocket-propulsive Vertical Test Bed (VTB) at a test range in Mojave, CA.

Using "human state aware" robots to enhance physical human-robot interaction in a cooperative scenario.

PubMed

Guerrero, Carlos Rodriguez; Fraile Marinero, Juan Carlos; Turiel, Javier Perez; Muñoz, Victor

2013-11-01

Human motor performance, speed and variability are highly susceptible to emotional states. This paper reviews the impact of the emotions on the motor control performance, and studies the possibility of improving the perceived skill/challenge relation on a multimodal neural rehabilitation scenario, by means of a biocybernetic controller that modulates the assistance provided by a haptic controlled robot in reaction to undesirable physical and mental states. Results from psychophysiological, performance and self assessment data for closed loop experiments in contrast with their open loop counterparts, suggest that the proposed method had a positive impact on the overall challenge/skill relation leading to an enhanced physical human-robot interaction experience. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adjustably Autonomous Multi-agent Plan Execution with an Internal Spacecraft Free-Flying Robot Prototype

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dorais, Gregory A.; Nicewarner, Keith

2006-01-01

We present an multi-agent model-based autonomy architecture with monitoring, planning, diagnosis, and execution elements. We discuss an internal spacecraft free-flying robot prototype controlled by an implementation of this architecture and a ground test facility used for development. In addition, we discuss a simplified environment control life support system for the spacecraft domain also controlled by an implementation of this architecture. We discuss adjustable autonomy and how it applies to this architecture. We describe an interface that provides the user situation awareness of both autonomous systems and enables the user to dynamically edit the plans prior to and during execution as well as control these agents at various levels of autonomy. This interface also permits the agents to query the user or request the user to perform tasks to help achieve the commanded goals. We conclude by describing a scenario where these two agents and a human interact to cooperatively detect, diagnose and recover from a simulated spacecraft fault.

Human-robot cooperative movement training: Learning a novel sensory motor transformation during walking with robotic assistance-as-needed

PubMed Central

Emken, Jeremy L; Benitez, Raul; Reinkensmeyer, David J

2007-01-01

Background A prevailing paradigm of physical rehabilitation following neurologic injury is to "assist-as-needed" in completing desired movements. Several research groups are attempting to automate this principle with robotic movement training devices and patient cooperative algorithms that encourage voluntary participation. These attempts are currently not based on computational models of motor learning. Methods Here we assume that motor recovery from a neurologic injury can be modelled as a process of learning a novel sensory motor transformation, which allows us to study a simplified experimental protocol amenable to mathematical description. Specifically, we use a robotic force field paradigm to impose a virtual impairment on the left leg of unimpaired subjects walking on a treadmill. We then derive an "assist-as-needed" robotic training algorithm to help subjects overcome the virtual impairment and walk normally. The problem is posed as an optimization of performance error and robotic assistance. The optimal robotic movement trainer becomes an error-based controller with a forgetting factor that bounds kinematic errors while systematically reducing its assistance when those errors are small. As humans have a natural range of movement variability, we introduce an error weighting function that causes the robotic trainer to disregard this variability. Results We experimentally validated the controller with ten unimpaired subjects by demonstrating how it helped the subjects learn the novel sensory motor transformation necessary to counteract the virtual impairment, while also preventing them from experiencing large kinematic errors. The addition of the error weighting function allowed the robot assistance to fade to zero even though the subjects' movements were variable. We also show that in order to assist-as-needed, the robot must relax its assistance at a rate faster than that of the learning human. Conclusion The assist-as-needed algorithm proposed here can limit error during the learning of a dynamic motor task. The algorithm encourages learning by decreasing its assistance as a function of the ongoing progression of movement error. This type of algorithm is well suited for helping people learn dynamic tasks for which large kinematic errors are dangerous or discouraging, and thus may prove useful for robot-assisted movement training of walking or reaching following neurologic injury. PMID:17391527

A virtual reality-based method of decreasing transmission time of visual feedback for a tele-operative robotic catheter operating system.

PubMed

Guo, Jin; Guo, Shuxiang; Tamiya, Takashi; Hirata, Hideyuki; Ishihara, Hidenori

2016-03-01

An Internet-based tele-operative robotic catheter operating system was designed for vascular interventional surgery, to afford unskilled surgeons the opportunity to learn basic catheter/guidewire skills, while allowing experienced physicians to perform surgeries cooperatively. Remote surgical procedures, limited by variable transmission times for visual feedback, have been associated with deterioration in operability and vascular wall damage during surgery. At the patient's location, the catheter shape/position was detected in real time and converted into three-dimensional coordinates in a world coordinate system. At the operation location, the catheter shape was reconstructed in a virtual-reality environment, based on the coordinates received. The data volume reduction significantly reduced visual feedback transmission times. Remote transmission experiments, conducted over inter-country distances, demonstrated the improved performance of the proposed prototype. The maximum error for the catheter shape reconstruction was 0.93 mm and the transmission time was reduced considerably. The results were positive and demonstrate the feasibility of remote surgery using conventional network infrastructures. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

RoBlock: a prototype autonomous manufacturing cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baekdal, Lars K.; Balslev, Ivar; Eriksen, Rene D.; Jensen, Soren P.; Jorgensen, Bo N.; Kirstein, Brian; Kristensen, Bent B.; Olsen, Martin M.; Perram, John W.; Petersen, Henrik G.; Petersen, Morten L.; Ruhoff, Peter T.; Skjolstrup, Carl E.; Sorensen, Anders S.; Wagenaar, Jeroen M.

2000-10-01

RoBlock is the first phase of an internally financed project at the Institute aimed at building a system in which two industrial robots suspended from a gantry, as shown below, cooperate to perform a task specified by an external user, in this case, assembling an unstructured collection of colored wooden blocks into a specified 3D pattern. The blocks are identified and localized using computer vision and grasped with a suction cup mechanism. Future phases of the project will involve other processes such as grasping and lifting, as well as other types of robot such as autonomous vehicles or variable geometry trusses. Innovative features of the control software system include: The use of an advanced trajectory planning system which ensures collision avoidance based on a generalization of the method of artificial potential fields, the use of a generic model-based controller which learns the values of parameters, including static and kinetic friction, of a detailed mechanical model of itself by comparing actual with planned movements, the use of fast, flexible, and robust pattern recognition and 3D-interpretation strategies, integration of trajectory planning and control with the sensor systems in a distributed Java application running on a network of PC's attached to the individual physical components. In designing this first stage, the aim was to build in the minimum complexity necessary to make the system non-trivially autonomous and to minimize the technological risks. The aims of this project, which is planned to be operational during 2000, are as follows: To provide a platform for carrying out experimental research in multi-agent systems and autonomous manufacturing systems, to test the interdisciplinary cooperation architecture of the Maersk Institute, in which researchers in the fields of applied mathematics (modeling the physical world), software engineering (modeling the system) and sensor/actuator technology (relating the virtual and real worlds) could collaborate with systems integrators to construct intelligent, autonomous systems, and to provide a showpiece demonstrator in the entrance hall of the Institute's new building.

A new neural net approach to robot 3D perception and visuo-motor coordination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Sukhan

1992-01-01

A novel neural network approach to robot hand-eye coordination is presented. The approach provides a true sense of visual error servoing, redundant arm configuration control for collision avoidance, and invariant visuo-motor learning under gazing control. A 3-D perception network is introduced to represent the robot internal 3-D metric space in which visual error servoing and arm configuration control are performed. The arm kinematic network performs the bidirectional association between 3-D space arm configurations and joint angles, and enforces the legitimate arm configurations. The arm kinematic net is structured by a radial-based competitive and cooperative network with hierarchical self-organizing learning. The main goal of the present work is to demonstrate that the neural net representation of the robot 3-D perception net serves as an important intermediate functional block connecting robot eyes and arms.

Mars Robotics in the Elementary School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonett, D.

2003-05-01

Kenneth E. Little Elementary is a public school grades Pre-K to 5th in Bacliff, Texas. It has an ethnically diverse population of one-thousand boys and girls. It is a Title 1 school with eighty-six percent of the students receiving free or reduced meals. K.E. Little has a large at-risk population with a thirty-three percent transition rate. The Young Astronauts @ K.E. Little is an on-going afterschool space science program in it's third year of operation. Thirty students,fourth and fifth grade, were involved in our spring robotics program. Each co-operative group was assigned a LEGO robotics kit to inventory,organize, and familiarize themselves with. Each team made decisions, by consensus, concerning the robots design and capabilities. Students used the Dell Computer Lab on campus to program their robots. Although time did not permit the construction of a simulated Martian landscape, future Young Astronauts will continue this project in January 2004.

Robot-based additive manufacturing for flexible die-modelling in incremental sheet forming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rieger, Michael; Störkle, Denis Daniel; Thyssen, Lars; Kuhlenkötter, Bernd

2017-10-01

The paper describes the application concept of additive manufactured dies to support the robot-based incremental sheet metal forming process (`Roboforming') for the production of sheet metal components in small batch sizes. Compared to the dieless kinematic-based generation of a shape by means of two cooperating industrial robots, the supporting robot models a die on the back of the metal sheet by using the robot-based fused layer manufacturing process (FLM). This tool chain is software-defined and preserves the high geometrical form flexibility of Roboforming while flexibly generating support structures adapted to the final part's geometry. Test series serve to confirm the feasibility of the concept by investigating the process challenges of the adhesion to the sheet surface and the general stability as well as the influence on the geometric accuracy compared to the well-known forming strategies.

In vivo demonstration of surgical task assistance using miniature robots.

PubMed

Hawks, Jeff A; Kunowski, Jacob; Platt, Stephen R

2012-10-01

Laparoscopy is beneficial to patients as measured by less painful recovery and an earlier return to functional health compared to conventional open surgery. However, laparoscopy requires the manipulation of long, slender tools from outside the patient's body. As a result, laparoscopy generally benefits only patients undergoing relatively simple procedures. An innovative approach to laparoscopy uses miniature in vivo robots that fit entirely inside the abdominal cavity. Our previous work demonstrated that a mobile, wireless robot platform can be successfully operated inside the abdominal cavity with different payloads (biopsy, camera, and physiological sensors). We hope that these robots are a step toward reducing the invasiveness of laparoscopy. The current study presents design details and results of laboratory and in vivo demonstrations of several new payload designs (clamping, cautery, and liquid delivery). Laboratory and in vivo cooperation demonstrations between multiple robots are also presented.

An Effective Division of Labor Between Human and Robotic Agents Performing a Cooperative Assembly Task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rehnmark, Fredrik; Bluethmann, William; Rochlis, Jennifer; Huber, Eric; Ambrose, Robert

2003-01-01

NASA's Human Space Flight program depends heavily on spacewalks performed by human astronauts. These so-called extra-vehicular activities (EVAs) are risky, expensive and complex. Work is underway to develop a robotic astronaut's assistant that can help reduce human EVA time and workload by delivering human-like dexterous manipulation capabilities to any EVA worksite. An experiment is conducted to evaluate human-robot teaming strategies in the context of a simplified EVA assembly task in which Robonaut, a collaborative effort with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an anthropomorphic robot works side-by-side with a human subject. Team performance is studied in an effort to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each teaming configuration and to recommend an appropriate division of labor. A shared control approach is developed to take advantage of the complementary strengths of the human teleoperator and robot, even in the presence of significant time delay.

Task automation in a successful industrial telerobot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spelt, Philip F.; Jones, Sammy L.

1994-01-01

In this paper, we discuss cooperative work by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Remotec, Inc., to automate components of the operator's workload using Remotec's Andros telerobot, thereby providing an enhanced user interface which can be retrofit to existing fielded units as well as being incorporated into new production units. Remotec's Andros robots are presently used by numerous electric utilities to perform tasks in reactors where substantial exposure to radiation exists, as well as by the armed forces and numerous law enforcement agencies. The automation of task components, as well as the video graphics display of the robot's position in the environment, will enhance all tasks performed by these users, as well as enabling performance in terrain where the robots cannot presently perform due to lack of knowledge about, for instance, the degree of tilt of the robot. Enhanced performance of a successful industrial mobile robot leads to increased safety and efficiency of performance in hazardous environments. The addition of these capabilities will greatly enhance the utility of the robot, as well as its marketability.

NASA Tech Briefs, June 2007

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

Topics covered include: High-Accuracy, High-Dynamic-Range Phase-Measurement System; Simple, Compact, Safe Impact Tester; Multi-Antenna Radar Systems for Doppler Rain Measurements; 600-GHz Electronically Tunable Vector Measurement System; Modular Architecture for the Measurement of Space Radiation; VLSI Design of a Turbo Decoder; Architecture of an Autonomous Radio Receiver; Improved On-Chip Measurement of Delay in an FPGA or ASIC; Resource Selection and Ranking; Accident/Mishap Investigation System; Simplified Identification of mRNA or DNA in Whole Cells; Printed Multi-Turn Loop Antennas for RF Biotelemetry; Making Ternary Quantum Dots From Single-Source Precursors; Improved Single-Source Precursors for Solar-Cell Absorbers; Spray CVD for Making Solar-Cell Absorber Layers; Glass/BNNT Composite for Sealing Solid Oxide Fuel Cells; A Method of Assembling Compact Coherent Fiber-Optic Bundles; Manufacturing Diamond Under Very High Pressure; Ring-Resonator/Sol-Gel Interferometric Immunosensor; Compact Fuel-Cell System Would Consume Neat Methanol; Algorithm Would Enable Robots to Solve Problems Creatively; Hypothetical Scenario Generator for Fault-Tolerant Diagnosis; Smart Data Node in the Sky; Pseudo-Waypoint Guidance for Proximity Spacecraft Maneuvers; Update on Controlling Herds of Cooperative Robots; and Simulation and Testing of Maneuvering of a Planetary Rover.

GNC architecture for autonomous robotic capture of a non-cooperative target: Preliminary concept design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jankovic, Marko; Paul, Jan; Kirchner, Frank

2016-04-01

Recent studies of the space debris population in low Earth orbit (LEO) have concluded that certain regions have already reached a critical density of objects. This will eventually lead to a cascading process called the Kessler syndrome. The time may have come to seriously consider active debris removal (ADR) missions as the only viable way of preserving the space environment for future generations. Among all objects in the current environment, the SL-8 (Kosmos 3M second stages) rocket bodies (R/Bs) are some of the most suitable targets for future robotic ADR missions. However, to date, an autonomous relative navigation to and capture of an non-cooperative target has never been performed. Therefore, there is a need for more advanced, autonomous and modular systems that can cope with uncontrolled, tumbling objects. The guidance, navigation and control (GNC) system is one of the most critical ones. The main objective of this paper is to present a preliminary concept of a modular GNC architecture that should enable a safe and fuel-efficient capture of a known but uncooperative target, such as Kosmos 3M R/B. In particular, the concept was developed having in mind the most critical part of an ADR mission, i.e. close range proximity operations, and state of the art algorithms in the field of autonomous rendezvous and docking. In the end, a brief description of the hardware in the loop (HIL) testing facility is made, foreseen for the practical evaluation of the developed architecture.

A secure and easy-to-implement web-based communication framework for caregiving robot teams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuna, G.; Daş, R.; Tuna, A.; Örenbaş, H.; Baykara, M.; Gülez, K.

2016-03-01

In recent years, robots have started to become more commonplace in our lives, from factory floors to museums, festivals and shows. They have started to change how we work and play. With an increase in the population of the elderly, they have also been started to be used for caregiving services, and hence many countries have been investing in the robot development. The advancements in robotics and wireless communications has led to the emergence of autonomous caregiving robot teams which cooperate to accomplish a set of tasks assigned by human operators. Although wireless communications and devices are flexible and convenient, they are vulnerable to many risks compared to traditional wired networks. Since robots with wireless communication capability transmit all data types, including sensory, coordination, and control, through radio frequencies, they are open to intruders and attackers unless protected and their openness may lead to many security issues such as data theft, passive listening, and service interruption. In this paper, a secure web-based communication framework is proposed to address potential security threats due to wireless communication in robot-robot and human-robot interaction. The proposed framework is simple and practical, and can be used by caregiving robot teams in the exchange of sensory data as well as coordination and control data.

UWB Tracking System Design for Free-Flyers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ni, Jianjun; Arndt, Dickey; Phan, Chan; Ngo, Phong; Gross, Julia; Dusl, John

2004-01-01

This paper discusses an ultra-wideband (UWB) tracking system design effort for Mini-AERCam (Autonomous Extra-vehicular Robotic Camera), a free-flying video camera system under development at NASA Johnson Space Center for aid in surveillance around the International Space Station (ISS). UWB technology is exploited to implement the tracking system due to its properties, such as high data rate, fine time resolution, and low power spectral density. A system design using commercially available UWB products is proposed. A tracking algorithm TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival) that operates cooperatively with the UWB system is developed in this research effort. Matlab simulations show that the tracking algorithm can achieve fine tracking resolution with low noise TDOA data. Lab experiments demonstrate the UWB tracking capability with fine resolution.

A learning-based semi-autonomous controller for robotic exploration of unknown disaster scenes while searching for victims.

PubMed

Doroodgar, Barzin; Liu, Yugang; Nejat, Goldie

2014-12-01

Semi-autonomous control schemes can address the limitations of both teleoperation and fully autonomous robotic control of rescue robots in disaster environments by allowing a human operator to cooperate and share such tasks with a rescue robot as navigation, exploration, and victim identification. In this paper, we present a unique hierarchical reinforcement learning-based semi-autonomous control architecture for rescue robots operating in cluttered and unknown urban search and rescue (USAR) environments. The aim of the controller is to enable a rescue robot to continuously learn from its own experiences in an environment in order to improve its overall performance in exploration of unknown disaster scenes. A direction-based exploration technique is integrated in the controller to expand the search area of the robot via the classification of regions and the rubble piles within these regions. Both simulations and physical experiments in USAR-like environments verify the robustness of the proposed HRL-based semi-autonomous controller to unknown cluttered scenes with different sizes and varying types of configurations.

Commitment, Cooperation and CAM Help Novices Score.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baltazar, William; Buncher, David; Millson, David

1999-01-01

Describes high school students' preparations for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition at the Kennedy Space Center. Provides step-by-step guidelines for participation. (JOW)

Verification of NASA Emergent Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rouff, Christopher; Vanderbilt, Amy K. C. S.; Truszkowski, Walt; Rash, James; Hinchey, Mike

2004-01-01

NASA is studying advanced technologies for a future robotic exploration mission to the asteroid belt. This mission, the prospective ANTS (Autonomous Nano Technology Swarm) mission, will comprise of 1,000 autonomous robotic agents designed to cooperate in asteroid exploration. The emergent properties of swarm type missions make them powerful, but at the same time are more difficult to design and assure that the proper behaviors will emerge. We are currently investigating formal methods and techniques for verification and validation of future swarm-based missions. The advantage of using formal methods is their ability to mathematically assure the behavior of a swarm, emergent or otherwise. The ANT mission is being used as an example and case study for swarm-based missions for which to experiment and test current formal methods with intelligent swam. Using the ANTS mission, we have evaluated multiple formal methods to determine their effectiveness in modeling and assuring swarm behavior.

Intelligent robot trends and predictions for the first year of the new millennium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, Ernest L.

2000-10-01

An intelligent robot is a remarkably useful combination of a manipulator, sensors and controls. The current use of these machines in outer space, medicine, hazardous materials, defense applications and industry is being pursued with vigor. In factory automation, industrial robots can improve productivity, increase product quality and improve competitiveness. The computer and the robot have both been developed during recent times. The intelligent robot combines both technologies and requires a thorough understanding and knowledge of mechatronics. Today's robotic machines are faster, cheaper, more repeatable, more reliable and safer than ever. The knowledge base of inverse kinematic and dynamic solutions and intelligent controls is increasing. More attention is being given by industry to robots, vision and motion controls. New areas of usage are emerging for service robots, remote manipulators and automated guided vehicles. Economically, the robotics industry now has more than a billion-dollar market in the U.S. and is growing. Feasibility studies show decreasing costs for robots and unaudited healthy rates of return for a variety of robotic applications. However, the road from inspiration to successful application can be long and difficult, often taking decades to achieve a new product. A greater emphasis on mechatronics is needed in our universities. Certainly, more cooperation between government, industry and universities is needed to speed the development of intelligent robots that will benefit industry and society. The fearful robot stories may help us prevent future disaster. The inspirational robot ideas may inspire the scientists of tomorrow. However, the intelligent robot ideas, which can be reduced to practice, will change the world.

Industrial Robots For Measurement And Inspection Purposes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahlers, R.-J.

1989-02-01

The use of industrial robots for measuring and testing is becoming increasingly significant as a component of flexible production. In the early stages of their development robots were used mainly for monotonous and repetitive tasks such as handling and spot welding. Thanks to improvements in the precision with which they work and also in control and regulation technologies, it is possible today to employ robots as flexible, sensor-assisted and even "intellligent" tools for measuring and testing. As a result, however, much higher accuracy is demanded of the robots used for such purposes. In addition, robot measurement and acceptance test requirements have become more exacting. The present paper is based on recommendations that have been developed by cooperative work of the Association of German-Engineers (VDI/GMA). The appropriate working group is entitled "Industrial Robots -Measurement and Inspection". The author is the chairman of this working group. Apart from the technical equipment involved, the use of industrial robots for measuring purposes also calls for the devi-sing and programming of appropriate measuring strategies. In this context the planning and implementation of measuring projects have to be discussed along with software reliability and on-line/off-line programming strategies. Four different utilizations of robots for measuring and testing are presented and illustrated by examples.

Simulation of cooperating robot manipulators on a mobile platform

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, Steve H.; Wen, John T.; Saridis, George N.

1990-01-01

The dynamic equations of motion for two manipulators holding a common object on a freely moving mobile platform are developed. The full dynamic interactions from arms to platform and arm-tip to arm-tip are included in the formulation. The development of the closed chain dynamics allows for the use of any solution for the open topological tree of base and manipulator links. In particular, because the system has 18 degrees of freedom, recursive solutions for the dynamic simulation become more promising for efficient calculations of the motion. Simulation of the system is accomplished through a MATLAB program, and the response is visualized graphically using the SILMA Cimstation.

Robonaut 2 (R2) Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diftler, Myron

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the development and uses of the second robot designed to work in space. The presentation reviews the motivation for developing Robonaut, the cooperative commercial relationship with General Motors, the evolution design of Robonaut Robonaut 2 improvements over the first robonaut (R1), Robonaut 2's hand dexterity, finger impedance control, tactile system, finger haptics, arm control, strength, neck movement and head sensors, human interaction, and the controller. Also the plans for use on board the International Space Station are reviewed. The patent for the Phalange Tactile Load Cell is included.

A Framework for the Development of Scalable Heterogeneous Robot Teams with Dynamically Distributed Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Adrian

As the applications of mobile robotics evolve it has become increasingly less practical for researchers to design custom hardware and control systems for each problem. This research presents a new approach to control system design that looks beyond end-of-lifecycle performance and considers control system structure, flexibility, and extensibility. Toward these ends the Control ad libitum philosophy is proposed, stating that to make significant progress in the real-world application of mobile robot teams the control system must be structured such that teams can be formed in real-time from diverse components. The Control ad libitum philosophy was applied to the design of the HAA (Host, Avatar, Agent) architecture: a modular hierarchical framework built with provably correct distributed algorithms. A control system for exploration and mapping, search and deploy, and foraging was developed to evaluate the architecture in three sets of hardware-in-the-loop experiments. First, the basic functionality of the HAA architecture was studied, specifically the ability to: a) dynamically form the control system, b) dynamically form the robot team, c) dynamically form the processing network, and d) handle heterogeneous teams. Secondly, the real-time performance of the distributed algorithms was tested, and proved effective for the moderate sized systems tested. Furthermore, the distributed Just-in-time Cooperative Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (JC-SLAM) algorithm demonstrated accuracy equal to or better than traditional approaches in resource starved scenarios, while reducing exploration time significantly. The JC-SLAM strategies are also suitable for integration into many existing particle filter SLAM approaches, complementing their unique optimizations. Thirdly, the control system was subjected to concurrent software and hardware failures in a series of increasingly complex experiments. Even with unrealistically high rates of failure the control system was able to successfully complete its tasks. The HAA implementation designed following the Control ad libitum philosophy proved to be capable of dynamic team formation and extremely robust against both hardware and software failure; and, due to the modularity of the system there is significant potential for reuse of assets and future extensibility. One future goal is to make the source code publically available and establish a forum for the development and exchange of new agents.

Automatic control system generation for robot design validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bacon, James A. (Inventor); English, James D. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

The specification and drawings present a new method, system and software product for and apparatus for generating a robotic validation system for a robot design. The robotic validation system for the robot design of a robotic system is automatically generated by converting a robot design into a generic robotic description using a predetermined format, then generating a control system from the generic robotic description and finally updating robot design parameters of the robotic system with an analysis tool using both the generic robot description and the control system.

Optimization of knowledge-based systems and expert system building tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yasuda, Phyllis; Mckellar, Donald

1993-01-01

The objectives of the NASA-AMES Cooperative Agreement were to investigate, develop, and evaluate, via test cases, the system parameters and processing algorithms that constrain the overall performance of the Information Sciences Division's Artificial Intelligence Research Facility. Written reports covering various aspects of the grant were submitted to the co-investigators for the grant. Research studies concentrated on the field of artificial intelligence knowledge-based systems technology. Activities included the following areas: (1) AI training classes; (2) merging optical and digital processing; (3) science experiment remote coaching; (4) SSF data management system tests; (5) computer integrated documentation project; (6) conservation of design knowledge project; (7) project management calendar and reporting system; (8) automation and robotics technology assessment; (9) advanced computer architectures and operating systems; and (10) honors program.

Dynamical Integration of Language and Behavior in a Recurrent Neural Network for Human-Robot Interaction.

PubMed

Yamada, Tatsuro; Murata, Shingo; Arie, Hiroaki; Ogata, Tetsuya

2016-01-01

To work cooperatively with humans by using language, robots must not only acquire a mapping between language and their behavior but also autonomously utilize the mapping in appropriate contexts of interactive tasks online. To this end, we propose a novel learning method linking language to robot behavior by means of a recurrent neural network. In this method, the network learns from correct examples of the imposed task that are given not as explicitly separated sets of language and behavior but as sequential data constructed from the actual temporal flow of the task. By doing this, the internal dynamics of the network models both language-behavior relationships and the temporal patterns of interaction. Here, "internal dynamics" refers to the time development of the system defined on the fixed-dimensional space of the internal states of the context layer. Thus, in the execution phase, by constantly representing where in the interaction context it is as its current state, the network autonomously switches between recognition and generation phases without any explicit signs and utilizes the acquired mapping in appropriate contexts. To evaluate our method, we conducted an experiment in which a robot generates appropriate behavior responding to a human's linguistic instruction. After learning, the network actually formed the attractor structure representing both language-behavior relationships and the task's temporal pattern in its internal dynamics. In the dynamics, language-behavior mapping was achieved by the branching structure. Repetition of human's instruction and robot's behavioral response was represented as the cyclic structure, and besides, waiting to a subsequent instruction was represented as the fixed-point attractor. Thanks to this structure, the robot was able to interact online with a human concerning the given task by autonomously switching phases.

Integration and testing of a multistack automated cone machine

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-06-01

The Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology (AHMCT) Research Center has been developing robotic equipment and machinery for highway maintenance and construction operations. It is a cooperative venture between the University of Califo...

Evolutionary Initial Poses of Reduced D.O.F’s Quadruped Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iida, Ken-Ichi; Nakata, Yoshitaka; Hira, Toshio; Kamano, Takuya; Suzuki, Takayuki

In this paper, an application of genetic algorithm for generation of evolutionary initial poses of a quadrupedal robot which reduced degrees of freedom is described. To reduce degree of freedom, each leg of the robot has a slider-crank mechanism and is driven by an actuator. Furthermore we introduced the forward movement mode and the rotating mode because the omnidirection movement should be made possible. To generate the suitable initial pose, the initial angle of four legs are coded under gray code and tuned by an estimation function in each mode with the genetic algorithm. As a result of generation, the cooperation of the legs is realized to move toward the omnidirection. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme is effective for generation of the suitable initial poses and the robot can walk smoothly with the generated patterns.

Application of Human-Autonomy Teaming (HAT) Patterns to Reduce Crew Operations (RCO)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shively, R. Jay; Brandt, Summer L.; Lachter, Joel; Matessa, Mike; Sadler, Garrett; Battiste, Henri

2016-01-01

Unmanned aerial systems, robotics, advanced cockpits, and air traffic management are all examples of domains that are seeing dramatic increases in automation. While automation may take on some tasks previously performed by humans, humans will still be required, for the foreseeable future, to remain in the system. The collaboration with humans and these increasingly autonomous systems will begin to resemble cooperation between teammates, rather than simple task allocation. It is critical to understand this human-autonomy teaming (HAT) to optimize these systems in the future. One methodology to understand HAT is by identifying recurring patterns of HAT that have similar characteristics and solutions. This paper applies a methodology for identifying HAT patterns to an advanced cockpit project.

Localization and Tracking of Implantable Biomedical Sensors

PubMed Central

Umay, Ilknur; Fidan, Barış; Barshan, Billur

2017-01-01

Implantable sensor systems are effective tools for biomedical diagnosis, visualization and treatment of various health conditions, attracting the interest of researchers, as well as healthcare practitioners. These systems efficiently and conveniently provide essential data of the body part being diagnosed, such as gastrointestinal (temperature, pH, pressure) parameter values, blood glucose and pressure levels and electrocardiogram data. Such data are first transmitted from the implantable sensor units to an external receiver node or network and then to a central monitoring and control (computer) unit for analysis, diagnosis and/or treatment. Implantable sensor units are typically in the form of mobile microrobotic capsules or implanted stationary (body-fixed) units. In particular, capsule-based systems have attracted significant research interest recently, with a variety of applications, including endoscopy, microsurgery, drug delivery and biopsy. In such implantable sensor systems, one of the most challenging problems is the accurate localization and tracking of the microrobotic sensor unit (e.g., robotic capsule) inside the human body. This article presents a literature review of the existing localization and tracking techniques for robotic implantable sensor systems with their merits and limitations and possible solutions of the proposed localization methods. The article also provides a brief discussion on the connection and cooperation of such techniques with wearable biomedical sensor systems. PMID:28335384

Telerobotics test bed for space structure assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kitami, M.; Ogimoto, K.; Yasumoto, F.; Katsuragawa, T.; Itoko, T.; Kurosaki, Y.; Hirai, S.; Machida, K.

1994-01-01

A cooperative research on super long distance space telerobotics is now in progress both in Japan and USA. In this program. several key features will be tested, which can be applicable to the control of space robots as well as to terrestrial robots. Local (control) and remote (work) sites will be shared between Electrotechnical Lab (ETL) of MITI in Japan and Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in USA. The details of a test bed for this international program are discussed in this report.

Robust Kalman filtering cooperated Elman neural network learning for vision-sensing-based robotic manipulation with global stability.

PubMed

Zhong, Xungao; Zhong, Xunyu; Peng, Xiafu

2013-10-08

In this paper, a global-state-space visual servoing scheme is proposed for uncalibrated model-independent robotic manipulation. The scheme is based on robust Kalman filtering (KF), in conjunction with Elman neural network (ENN) learning techniques. The global map relationship between the vision space and the robotic workspace is learned using an ENN. This learned mapping is shown to be an approximate estimate of the Jacobian in global space. In the testing phase, the desired Jacobian is arrived at using a robust KF to improve the ENN learning result so as to achieve robotic precise convergence of the desired pose. Meanwhile, the ENN weights are updated (re-trained) using a new input-output data pair vector (obtained from the KF cycle) to ensure robot global stability manipulation. Thus, our method, without requiring either camera or model parameters, avoids the corrupted performances caused by camera calibration and modeling errors. To demonstrate the proposed scheme's performance, various simulation and experimental results have been presented using a six-degree-of-freedom robotic manipulator with eye-in-hand configurations.

A novel stiffness control method for series elastic actuator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Guangmo; Zhao, Xingang; Han, Jianda

2017-01-01

Compliance plays an important role in human-robot cooperation. However, fixed compliance, or fixed stiffness, is difficult to meet the growing needs of human machine collaboration. As a result, the robot actuator is demanded to be able to adjust its stiffness. This paper presents a stiffness control scheme for a single DOF series elastic actuator (SEA) with a linear spring mounted in series in the mechanism. In this proposed method, the output angle of the spring is measured and used to calculate the input angle of the spring, thus the equivalent stiffness of the robot actuator revealed to the human operator can be rendered in accordance to the desired stiffness. Since the techniques used in this method only involve the position information of the system, there is no need to install an expensive force/torque sensor on the actuator. Further, the force/torque produced by the actuator can be estimated by simply multiplying the deformation angle of the spring and its constant stiffness coefficient. The analysis of the stiffness controller is provided. Then a simulation that emulates a human operates the SEA while the stiffness controller is running is carried out and the results also validate the proposed method.

Influence of facial feedback during a cooperative human-robot task in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Cohen, Laura; Khoramshahi, Mahdi; Salesse, Robin N; Bortolon, Catherine; Słowiński, Piotr; Zhai, Chao; Tsaneva-Atanasova, Krasimira; Di Bernardo, Mario; Capdevielle, Delphine; Marin, Ludovic; Schmidt, Richard C; Bardy, Benoit G; Billard, Aude; Raffard, Stéphane

2017-11-03

Rapid progress in the area of humanoid robots offers tremendous possibilities for investigating and improving social competences in people with social deficits, but remains yet unexplored in schizophrenia. In this study, we examined the influence of social feedbacks elicited by a humanoid robot on motor coordination during a human-robot interaction. Twenty-two schizophrenia patients and twenty-two matched healthy controls underwent a collaborative motor synchrony task with the iCub humanoid robot. Results revealed that positive social feedback had a facilitatory effect on motor coordination in the control participants compared to non-social positive feedback. This facilitatory effect was not present in schizophrenia patients, whose social-motor coordination was similarly impaired in social and non-social feedback conditions. Furthermore, patients' cognitive flexibility impairment and antipsychotic dosing were negatively correlated with patients' ability to synchronize hand movements with iCub. Overall, our findings reveal that patients have marked difficulties to exploit facial social cues elicited by a humanoid robot to modulate their motor coordination during human-robot interaction, partly accounted for by cognitive deficits and medication. This study opens new perspectives for comprehension of social deficits in this mental disorder.

Development of vegetation cutting tool attachments for the automated roadway debris vacuums.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-12-01

The Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology (AHMCT) Research Center has been : developing robotic equipment and machinery for highway maintenance and construction operations. It is a : cooperative venture between the University of Ca...

NASA Tech Briefs, April 2006

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

The topics covered include: 1) Replaceable Sensor System for Bioreactor Monitoring; 2) Unitary Shaft-Angle and Shaft-Speed Sensor Assemblies; 3) Arrays of Nano Tunnel Junctions as Infrared Image Sensors; 4) Catalytic-Metal/PdO(sub x)/SiC Schottky-Diode Gas Sensors; 5) Compact, Precise Inertial Rotation Sensors for Spacecraft; 6) Universal Controller for Spacecraft Mechanisms; 7) The Flostation - an Immersive Cyberspace System; 8) Algorithm for Aligning an Array of Receiving Radio Antennas; 9) Single-Chip T/R Module for 1.2 GHz; 10) Quantum Entanglement Molecular Absorption Spectrum Simulator; 11) FuzzObserver; 12) Internet Distribution of Spacecraft Telemetry Data; 13) Semi-Automated Identification of Rocks in Images; 14) Pattern-Recognition Algorithm for Locking Laser Frequency; 15) Designing Cure Cycles for Matrix/Fiber Composite Parts; 16) Controlling Herds of Cooperative Robots; 17) Modification of a Limbed Robot to Favor Climbing; 18) Vacuum-Assisted, Constant-Force Exercise Device; 19) Production of Tuber-Inducing Factor; 20) Quantum-Dot Laser for Wavelengths of 1.8 to 2.3 micron; 21) Tunable Filter Made From Three Coupled WGM Resonators; and 22) Dynamic Pupil Masking for Phasing Telescope Mirror Segments.

Develop virtual joint laboratory for education like distance engineering system for robotic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latinovic, T. S.; Deaconu, S. I.; Latinović, M. T.; Malešević, N.; Barz, C.

2015-06-01

This paper work with a new system that provides distance learning and online training engineers. The purpose of this paper is to develop and provide web-based system for the handling and control of remote devices via the Internet. Remote devices are currently the industry or mobile robots [13]. For future product development machine in the factory will be included in the system. This article also discusses the current use of virtual reality tools in the fields of science and engineering education. One programming tool in particular, virtual reality modeling language (VRML) is presented in the light of its applications and capabilities in the development of computer visualization tool for education. One contribution of this paper is to present the software tools and examples that can encourage educators to develop a virtual reality model to improve teaching in their discipline. [12] This paper aims to introduce a software platform, called VALIP where users can build, share, and manipulate 3D content in cooperation with the interaction processes in a 3D context, while participating hardware and software devices can be physical and / or logical distributed and connected together via the Internet. VALIP the integration of virtual laboratories to appropriate partners; therefore, allowing access to all laboratories in any of the partners in the project. VALIP provides advanced laboratory for training and research within robotics and production engineering, and thus, provides a great laboratory facilities with only having to invest a limited amount of resources at the local level to the partner site.

People Detection by a Mobile Robot Using Stereo Vision in Dynamic Indoor Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Méndez-Polanco, José Alberto; Muñoz-Meléndez, Angélica; Morales, Eduardo F.

People detection and tracking is a key issue for social robot design and effective human robot interaction. This paper addresses the problem of detecting people with a mobile robot using a stereo camera. People detection using mobile robots is a difficult task because in real world scenarios it is common to find: unpredictable motion of people, dynamic environments, and different degrees of human body occlusion. Additionally, we cannot expect people to cooperate with the robot to perform its task. In our people detection method, first, an object segmentation method that uses the distance information provided by a stereo camera is used to separate people from the background. The segmentation method proposed in this work takes into account human body proportions to segment people and provides a first estimation of people location. After segmentation, an adaptive contour people model based on people distance to the robot is used to calculate a probability of detecting people. Finally, people are detected merging the probabilities of the contour people model and by evaluating evidence over time by applying a Bayesian scheme. We present experiments on detection of standing and sitting people, as well as people in frontal and side view with a mobile robot in real world scenarios.

Posture Control-Human-Inspired Approaches for Humanoid Robot Benchmarking: Conceptualizing Tests, Protocols and Analyses.

PubMed

Mergner, Thomas; Lippi, Vittorio

2018-01-01

Posture control is indispensable for both humans and humanoid robots, which becomes especially evident when performing sensorimotor tasks such as moving on compliant terrain or interacting with the environment. Posture control is therefore targeted in recent proposals of robot benchmarking in order to advance their development. This Methods article suggests corresponding robot tests of standing balance, drawing inspirations from the human sensorimotor system and presenting examples from robot experiments. To account for a considerable technical and algorithmic diversity among robots, we focus in our tests on basic posture control mechanisms, which provide humans with an impressive postural versatility and robustness. Specifically, we focus on the mechanically challenging balancing of the whole body above the feet in the sagittal plane around the ankle joints in concert with the upper body balancing around the hip joints. The suggested tests target three key issues of human balancing, which appear equally relevant for humanoid bipeds: (1) four basic physical disturbances (support surface (SS) tilt and translation, field and contact forces) may affect the balancing in any given degree of freedom (DoF). Targeting these disturbances allows us to abstract from the manifold of possible behavioral tasks. (2) Posture control interacts in a conflict-free way with the control of voluntary movements for undisturbed movement execution, both with "reactive" balancing of external disturbances and "proactive" balancing of self-produced disturbances from the voluntary movements. Our proposals therefore target both types of disturbances and their superposition. (3) Relevant for both versatility and robustness of the control, linkages between the posture control mechanisms across DoFs provide their functional cooperation and coordination at will and on functional demands. The suggested tests therefore include ankle-hip coordination. Suggested benchmarking criteria build on the evoked sway magnitude, normalized to robot weight and Center of mass (COM) height, in relation to reference ranges that remain to be established. The references may include human likeness features. The proposed benchmarking concept may in principle also be applied to wearable robots, where a human user may command movements, but may not be aware of the additionally required postural control, which then needs to be implemented into the robot.

Posture Control—Human-Inspired Approaches for Humanoid Robot Benchmarking: Conceptualizing Tests, Protocols and Analyses

PubMed Central

Mergner, Thomas; Lippi, Vittorio

2018-01-01

Posture control is indispensable for both humans and humanoid robots, which becomes especially evident when performing sensorimotor tasks such as moving on compliant terrain or interacting with the environment. Posture control is therefore targeted in recent proposals of robot benchmarking in order to advance their development. This Methods article suggests corresponding robot tests of standing balance, drawing inspirations from the human sensorimotor system and presenting examples from robot experiments. To account for a considerable technical and algorithmic diversity among robots, we focus in our tests on basic posture control mechanisms, which provide humans with an impressive postural versatility and robustness. Specifically, we focus on the mechanically challenging balancing of the whole body above the feet in the sagittal plane around the ankle joints in concert with the upper body balancing around the hip joints. The suggested tests target three key issues of human balancing, which appear equally relevant for humanoid bipeds: (1) four basic physical disturbances (support surface (SS) tilt and translation, field and contact forces) may affect the balancing in any given degree of freedom (DoF). Targeting these disturbances allows us to abstract from the manifold of possible behavioral tasks. (2) Posture control interacts in a conflict-free way with the control of voluntary movements for undisturbed movement execution, both with “reactive” balancing of external disturbances and “proactive” balancing of self-produced disturbances from the voluntary movements. Our proposals therefore target both types of disturbances and their superposition. (3) Relevant for both versatility and robustness of the control, linkages between the posture control mechanisms across DoFs provide their functional cooperation and coordination at will and on functional demands. The suggested tests therefore include ankle-hip coordination. Suggested benchmarking criteria build on the evoked sway magnitude, normalized to robot weight and Center of mass (COM) height, in relation to reference ranges that remain to be established. The references may include human likeness features. The proposed benchmarking concept may in principle also be applied to wearable robots, where a human user may command movements, but may not be aware of the additionally required postural control, which then needs to be implemented into the robot. PMID:29867428

Surgical stress after robot-assisted distal gastrectomy and its economic implications.

PubMed

Park, J Y; Jo, M J; Nam, B-H; Kim, Y; Eom, B W; Yoon, H M; Ryu, K W; Kim, Y-W; Lee, J H

2012-11-01

There is a lack of reports evaluating the outcomes of robotic gastrectomy and conventional laparoscopic surgery. The aim of this study was to compare the surgical stress response and costs of robot-assisted distal gastrectomy (RADG) with those of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG). This prospective study compared a cohort of patients who had RADG with a cohort that underwent conventional LADG for early gastric cancer between March 2010 and May 2011. The surgical outcomes including Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status and complications, surgical stress response and overall costs were compared between the two groups. Thirty patients were enrolled in the RADG group and 120 in the LADG group. There were no conversions. Median duration of operation was longer in the RADG group (218 (interquartile range 200-254) versus 140 (118-175) min; P < 0·001). Postoperative abdominal drain production was less (P = 0·001) and postoperative performance status was worse (P < 0·001) in the RADG group. C-reactive protein (CRP) levels on postoperative days 1 and 3, and interleukin (IL) 6 level on the third postoperative day, were lower in the LADG compared with the RADG group (CRP: P = 0·002 and P = 0·014 respectively; IL-6: P < 0·001). Costs for robotic surgery were much higher than for laparoscopic surgery (difference €3189). RADG did not reduce surgical stress compared with LADG. The substantial RADG costs due to robotic system expenses may not be justified. Copyright © 2012 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Solaris-Panoptes Global Network of Robotic Telescopes and the Borowiec Satellite Laser Ranging System for SST: A Progress Report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konacki, M.; Lejba, P.; Sybilski, P.; Pawłaszek, R.; Kozłowski, S.; Suchodolski, T.; Słonina, M.; Litwicki, M.; Sybilska, A.; Rogowska, B.; Kolb, U.; Burwitz, V.; Baader, J.; Groot, P.; Bloemen, S.; Ratajczak, M.; Hełminiak, K.; Borek, R.; Chodosiewicz, P.; Chimicz, A.

We present an update on the preparation of our assets that consists of a robotic network of eight optical telescopes and a laser ranging station for regular services in the SST domain. We report the development of new optical assets that include a double telescope system, Panoptes-1AB, and a new astrograph on our Solaris-3 telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia. Progress in the software development necessary for smooth SST operation includes a web based portal and an XML Azure Queue scheduling for the network giving easy access to our sensors. Astrometry24.net our new prototype cloud service for fast astrometry, streak detection and measurement with precision and performance results is also described. In the laser domain, for more than a year, Space Research Centre Borowiec laser station has regularly tracked space debris cooperative and uncooperative targets. The efforts of the stations’ staff have been focused on the tracking of typical rocket bodies from the LEO regime. Additionally, a second independent laser system fully dedicated to SST activities is under development. It will allow for an increased pace of operation of our consortium in the global SST laser domain.

Integration of unmanned systems for tactical operations within hostile environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maddux, Gary A.; Bosco, Charles D.; Lawrence, James D.

2006-05-01

The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is currently investigating techniques and technologies for the integration of a small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) with small unmanned ground vehicles (SUGV). Each vehicle has its own set of unique capabilities, but the efficient integration of the two for a specific application requires modifying and integrating both systems. UAH has been flying and testing an autonomously-controlled small helicopter, called the Flying Bassett (Base Airborne Surveillance and Sensing for Emergency Threat Tracking) for over a year. Recently, integrated operations were performed with four SUGVs, the Matilda (Mesa Robotics, Huntsville, AL), the US Navy Vanguard, the UAH Rover, and the Penetrator (Mesa Robotics). The program has progressed from 1) building an air and ground capability for video and infrared surveillance, 2) integration with ground vehicles in realistic scenarios, to 3) deployment and recovery of ground vehicles. The work was done with the cooperation of the US Army at Ft. Benning, GA and Redstone Arsenal, AL, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Huntsville, AL, the US Naval Reserve in Knoxville, TN, and local emergency organizations. The results so far have shown that when the air and ground systems are employed together, their utility is greatly enhanced.

Sandia National Laboratories: Cooperative Monitoring Center

Science.gov Websites

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Cooperative Robotics and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lupisella, M. L.

2000-01-01

If we think tenuous abodes of life may be hiding in remote extraterrestrial environmental niches, and if we want to assess the biological status of a given locale or entire planet before sending humans (perhaps because of contamination concerns or other motivations) then we face the challenge of robotically exploring a large space efficiently and in enough detail to have confidence in our assessment of the biological status of the environment in question. On our present schedule of perhaps two or so missions per opportunity, we will likely need a different exploratory approach than singular stationary landers or singular rover missions or sample return, because there appear to be fundamental limitations in these mission profiles to obtain the many samples we will likely need if we want to have confidence in assessing the biological status of an environment in which life could be hiding in remote environmental niches. Singular rover missions can potentially accommodate sampling over a fairly large area, but are still limited by range and can be a single point of failure. More importantly, such mission profiles have limited payload capabilities which are unlikely to meet the demanding requirements of life-detection. Sample return has the advantage of allowing sophisticated analysis of the sample, but also has the severe limitations associated with only being able to bring back a few samples. This presentation will suggest two cooperative robotic approaches for exploration that have the potential to overcome these difficulties and facilitate efficient and thorough life-detecting exploration of a large space. Given the two premises stated above, it appears at least two fundamental challenges have to be met simultaneously: (1) coverage of a large space and (2) bringing to bear a sophisticated suite of detection and experimental payloads on any specific location in order to address a major challenge in looking for extraterrestrial life: namely, executing a wide variety of detection scenarios and in situ experiments in order to gather the required data for a confident assessment that life has been detected and to, more generally, cover a wide range of extraterrestrial life possibilities. Cooperative robotics lends itself to this kind of problem because cooperation among the combined capabilities of a variety of simple single function agents can give rise to fairly complex task execution such as the search for and detection of extraterrestrial life.

Cooperative Robotics and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lupisella, Mark L.

2000-01-01

If we think tenuous abodes of life may be hiding in remote extraterrestrial environmental niches, and if we want to assess the biological status of a given locale or entire planet before sending humans (perhaps because of contamination concerns or other motivations) then we face the challenge of robotically exploring a large space efficiently and in enough detail to have confidence in our assessment of the biological status of the environment in question. On our present schedule of perhaps two or so missions per opportunity, we will likely need a different exploratory approach than singular stationary landers or singular rover missions or sample return, because there appear to be fundamental limitations in these mission profiles to-obtain the many samples we will likely need if we want to have confidence in assessing the biological status of an environment in which life could be hiding in remote environmental niches. Singular rover missions can potentially accommodate sampling over a fairly large area, but are still limited by range and can be a single point of failure. More importantly, such mission profiles have limited payload capabilities which are unlikely to meet the demanding requirements of life-detection. Sample return has the advantage of allowing sophisticated analysis of the sample, but also has the severe limitations associated with only being able to bring back a few samples. This presentation will suggest two cooperative robotic approaches for exploration that have the potential to overcome these difficulties and facilitate efficient and thorough life-detecting exploration of a large space. Given the two premises state above, it appears at least two fundamental challenges have to be met simultaneously: coverage of a large space and bringing to bear a sophisticated suite of detection and experimental payloads on any specific location in order to address a major challenge in looking for extraterrestrial life: namely, executing a wide variety of detection scenarios and in situ experiments in order to gather the required data for a confident assessment that life has been detected and to, more generally, cover a wide range of extraterrestrial life possibilities. Cooperative robotics ]ends itself to this kind of problem because cooperation among the combined capabilities of a variety of simple single function agents can give rise to fairly complex task execution such as the search for and detection of extraterrestrial life.

A combined impedance-PD approach for controlling a dual-arm space manipulator in the capture of a non-cooperative target

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stolfi, A.; Gasbarri, P.; Sabatini, M.

2017-10-01

In the near future robotic systems will be playing an increasingly important role in space applications such as repairing, refueling, re-orbiting spacecraft and cleaning up the increasing amount of space debris. Space Manipulator Systems (SMSs) are robotic systems made of a platform (which has its own actuators such as thrusters and reaction wheels) equipped with one or more deployable arms. The present paper focuses on the issue of maintaining a stable first contact between the arms terminal parts (i.e. the end-effectors) and a target satellite, before the actual grasp is performed. The selected approach is a modified version of the Impedance Control algorithm, in which the end-effector is controlled in order to make it behave like a mass-spring-damper system regardless of the reaction motion of the base, so to absorb the impact energy. The usual approach consists in considering a point mass target and one-dimensional contact dynamics; however, the contact between the chaser and the target could generate a perturbation on the attitude of the target. On account of this, in the present work a more realistic scenario, consisting in a 2D rigid target and a relevant 2D contact dynamics, is considered. A two-arm configuration of the SMS is modelled and its effectiveness analyzed. The performance of the proposed control architecture is evaluated by means of a co-simulation involving the MSC Adams multibody code (for describing the dynamics of the space robot and target) together with Simulink (for the determination of the control actions). The co-simulation is a particularly useful tool to implement robust control applied to detailed dynamic systems. Several numerical results complete the work.

Automation of Shuttle Tile Inspection - Engineering methodology for Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiskerchen, M. J.; Mollakarimi, C.

1987-01-01

The Space Systems Integration and Operations Research Applications (SIORA) Program was initiated in late 1986 as a cooperative applications research effort between Stanford University, NASA Kennedy Space Center, and Lockheed Space Operations Company. One of the major initial SIORA tasks was the application of automation and robotics technology to all aspects of the Shuttle tile processing and inspection system. This effort has adopted a systems engineering approach consisting of an integrated set of rapid prototyping testbeds in which a government/university/industry team of users, technologists, and engineers test and evaluate new concepts and technologies within the operational world of Shuttle. These integrated testbeds include speech recognition and synthesis, laser imaging inspection systems, distributed Ada programming environments, distributed relational database architectures, distributed computer network architectures, multimedia workbenches, and human factors considerations.

Multi-level manual and autonomous control superposition for intelligent telerobot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hirai, Shigeoki; Sato, T.

1989-01-01

Space telerobots are recognized to require cooperation with human operators in various ways. Multi-level manual and autonomous control superposition in telerobot task execution is described. The object model, the structured master-slave manipulation system, and the motion understanding system are proposed to realize the concept. The object model offers interfaces for task level and object level human intervention. The structured master-slave manipulation system offers interfaces for motion level human intervention. The motion understanding system maintains the consistency of the knowledge through all the levels which supports the robot autonomy while accepting the human intervention. The superposing execution of the teleoperational task at multi-levels realizes intuitive and robust task execution for wide variety of objects and in changeful environment. The performance of several examples of operating chemical apparatuses is shown.

Studies Relating to EVA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

In this session, Session JA1, the discussion focuses on the following topics: The Staged Decompression to the Hypobaric Atmosphere as a Prophylactic Measure Against Decompression Sickness During Repetitive EVA; A New Preoxygenation Procedure for Extravehicular Activity (EVA); Metabolic Assessments During Extra-Vehicular Activity; Evaluation of Safety of Hypobaric Decompressions and EVA From Positions of Probabilistic Theory; Fatty Acid Composition of Plasma Lipids and Erythrocyte Membranes During Simulation of Extravehicular Activity; Biomedical Studies Relating to Decompression Stress with Simulated EVA, Overview; The Joint Angle and Muscle Signature (JAMS) System - Current Uses and Future Applications; and Experimental Investigation of Cooperative Human-Robotic Roles in an EVA Work Site.

Analysis, Evaluation and Improvement of Sequential Single-Item Auctions for the Cooperative Real-Time Allocation of Tasks

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-30

Abstract: We study multi-robot routing problems (MR- LDR ) where a team of robots has to visit a set of given targets with linear decreasing rewards over...time, such as required for the delivery of goods to rescue sites after disasters. The objective of MR- LDR is to find an assignment of targets to...We develop a mixed integer program that solves MR- LDR optimally with a flow-type formulation and can be solved faster than the standard TSP-type

3D Visual Tracking of an Articulated Robot in Precision Automated Tasks

PubMed Central

Alzarok, Hamza; Fletcher, Simon; Longstaff, Andrew P.

2017-01-01

The most compelling requirements for visual tracking systems are a high detection accuracy and an adequate processing speed. However, the combination between the two requirements in real world applications is very challenging due to the fact that more accurate tracking tasks often require longer processing times, while quicker responses for the tracking system are more prone to errors, therefore a trade-off between accuracy and speed, and vice versa is required. This paper aims to achieve the two requirements together by implementing an accurate and time efficient tracking system. In this paper, an eye-to-hand visual system that has the ability to automatically track a moving target is introduced. An enhanced Circular Hough Transform (CHT) is employed for estimating the trajectory of a spherical target in three dimensions, the colour feature of the target was carefully selected by using a new colour selection process, the process relies on the use of a colour segmentation method (Delta E) with the CHT algorithm for finding the proper colour of the tracked target, the target was attached to the six degree of freedom (DOF) robot end-effector that performs a pick-and-place task. A cooperation of two Eye-to Hand cameras with their image Averaging filters are used for obtaining clear and steady images. This paper also examines a new technique for generating and controlling the observation search window in order to increase the computational speed of the tracking system, the techniques is named Controllable Region of interest based on Circular Hough Transform (CRCHT). Moreover, a new mathematical formula is introduced for updating the depth information of the vision system during the object tracking process. For more reliable and accurate tracking, a simplex optimization technique was employed for the calculation of the parameters for camera to robotic transformation matrix. The results obtained show the applicability of the proposed approach to track the moving robot with an overall tracking error of 0.25 mm. Also, the effectiveness of CRCHT technique in saving up to 60% of the overall time required for image processing. PMID:28067860

Cooperative terrain model acquisition by a team of two or three point-robots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rao, N.S.V.; Protopopescu, V.; Manickam, N.

1996-04-01

We address the model acquisition problem for an unknown planar terrain by a team of two or three robots. The terrain is cluttered by a finite number of polygonal obstacles whose shapes and positions are unknown. The robots are point-sized and equipped with visual sensors which acquire all visible parts of the terrain by scan operations executed from their locations. The robots communicate with each other via wireless connection. The performance is measured by the number of the sensor (scan) operations which are assumed to be the most time-consuming of all the robot operations. We employ the restricted visibility graphmore » methods in a hierarchical setup. For terrains with convex obstacles and for teams of n(= 2, 3) robots, we prove that the sensing time is reduced by a factor of 1/n. For terrains with concave corners, the performance of the algorithm depends on the number of concave regions and their depths. A hierarchical decomposition of the restricted visibility graph into n-connected and (n - 1)-or-less connected components is considered. The performance for the n(= 2, 3) robot team is expressed in terms of the sizes of n-connected components, and the sizes and diameters of (n - 1)-or-less connected components.« less

Hierarchical Compliance Control of a Soft Ankle Rehabilitation Robot Actuated by Pneumatic Muscles.

PubMed

Liu, Quan; Liu, Aiming; Meng, Wei; Ai, Qingsong; Xie, Sheng Q

2017-01-01

Traditional compliance control of a rehabilitation robot is implemented in task space by using impedance or admittance control algorithms. The soft robot actuated by pneumatic muscle actuators (PMAs) is becoming prominent for patients as it enables the compliance being adjusted in each active link, which, however, has not been reported in the literature. This paper proposes a new compliance control method of a soft ankle rehabilitation robot that is driven by four PMAs configured in parallel to enable three degrees of freedom movement of the ankle joint. A new hierarchical compliance control structure, including a low-level compliance adjustment controller in joint space and a high-level admittance controller in task space, is designed. An adaptive compliance control paradigm is further developed by taking into account patient's active contribution and movement ability during a previous period of time, in order to provide robot assistance only when it is necessarily required. Experiments on healthy and impaired human subjects were conducted to verify the adaptive hierarchical compliance control scheme. The results show that the robot hierarchical compliance can be online adjusted according to the participant's assessment. The robot reduces its assistance output when participants contribute more and vice versa , thus providing a potentially feasible solution to the patient-in-loop cooperative training strategy.

Hierarchical Compliance Control of a Soft Ankle Rehabilitation Robot Actuated by Pneumatic Muscles

PubMed Central

Liu, Quan; Liu, Aiming; Meng, Wei; Ai, Qingsong; Xie, Sheng Q.

2017-01-01

Traditional compliance control of a rehabilitation robot is implemented in task space by using impedance or admittance control algorithms. The soft robot actuated by pneumatic muscle actuators (PMAs) is becoming prominent for patients as it enables the compliance being adjusted in each active link, which, however, has not been reported in the literature. This paper proposes a new compliance control method of a soft ankle rehabilitation robot that is driven by four PMAs configured in parallel to enable three degrees of freedom movement of the ankle joint. A new hierarchical compliance control structure, including a low-level compliance adjustment controller in joint space and a high-level admittance controller in task space, is designed. An adaptive compliance control paradigm is further developed by taking into account patient’s active contribution and movement ability during a previous period of time, in order to provide robot assistance only when it is necessarily required. Experiments on healthy and impaired human subjects were conducted to verify the adaptive hierarchical compliance control scheme. The results show that the robot hierarchical compliance can be online adjusted according to the participant’s assessment. The robot reduces its assistance output when participants contribute more and vice versa, thus providing a potentially feasible solution to the patient-in-loop cooperative training strategy. PMID:29255412

Actively Perceiving and Responsive Soft Robots Enabled by Self-Powered, Highly Extensible, and Highly Sensitive Triboelectric Proximity- and Pressure-Sensing Skins.

PubMed

Lai, Ying-Chih; Deng, Jianan; Liu, Ruiyuan; Hsiao, Yung-Chi; Zhang, Steven L; Peng, Wenbo; Wu, Hsing-Mei; Wang, Xingfu; Wang, Zhong Lin

2018-06-04

Robots that can move, feel, and respond like organisms will bring revolutionary impact to today's technologies. Soft robots with organism-like adaptive bodies have shown great potential in vast robot-human and robot-environment applications. Developing skin-like sensory devices allows them to naturally sense and interact with environment. Also, it would be better if the capabilities to feel can be active, like real skin. However, challenges in the complicated structures, incompatible moduli, poor stretchability and sensitivity, large driving voltage, and power dissipation hinder applicability of conventional technologies. Here, various actively perceivable and responsive soft robots are enabled by self-powered active triboelectric robotic skins (tribo-skins) that simultaneously possess excellent stretchability and excellent sensitivity in the low-pressure regime. The tribo-skins can actively sense proximity, contact, and pressure to external stimuli via self-generating electricity. The driving energy comes from a natural triboelectrification effect involving the cooperation of contact electrification and electrostatic induction. The perfect integration of the tribo-skins and soft actuators enables soft robots to perform various actively sensing and interactive tasks including actively perceiving their muscle motions, working states, textile's dampness, and even subtle human physiological signals. Moreover, the self-generating signals can drive optoelectronic devices for visual communication and be processed for diverse sophisticated uses. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Task Analysis and Descriptions of Required Job Competencies of Robotics/Automated Systems Technicians. Outlines for New Courses and Modules.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hull, Daniel M.; Lovett, James E.

The six new robotics and automated systems specialty courses developed by the Robotics/Automated Systems Technician (RAST) project are described in this publication. Course titles are Fundamentals of Robotics and Automated Systems, Automated Systems and Support Components, Controllers for Robots and Automated Systems, Robotics and Automated…

Local and Remote Cooperation With Virtual and Robotic Agents: A P300 BCI Study in Healthy and People Living With Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Tidoni, Emmanuele; Abu-Alqumsan, Mohammad; Leonardis, Daniele; Kapeller, Christoph; Fusco, Gabriele; Guger, Cristoph; Hintermuller, Cristoph; Peer, Angelika; Frisoli, Antonio; Tecchia, Franco; Bergamasco, Massimo; Aglioti, Salvatore Maria

2017-09-01

The development of technological applications that allow people to control and embody external devices within social interaction settings represents a major goal for current and future brain-computer interface (BCI) systems. Prior research has suggested that embodied systems may ameliorate BCI end-user's experience and accuracy in controlling external devices. Along these lines, we developed an immersive P300-based BCI application with a head-mounted display for virtual-local and robotic-remote social interactions and explored in a group of healthy participants the role of proprioceptive feedback in the control of a virtual surrogate (Study 1). Moreover, we compared the performance of a small group of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) to a control group of healthy subjects during virtual and robotic social interactions (Study 2), where both groups received a proprioceptive stimulation. Our attempt to combine immersive environments, BCI technologies and neuroscience of body ownership suggests that providing realistic multisensory feedback still represents a challenge. Results have shown that healthy and people living with SCI used the BCI within the immersive scenarios with good levels of performance (as indexed by task accuracy, optimizations calls and Information Transfer Rate) and perceived control of the surrogates. Proprioceptive feedback did not contribute to alter performance measures and body ownership sensations. Further studies are necessary to test whether sensorimotor experience represents an opportunity to improve the use of future embodied BCI applications.

Flexible Virtual Structure Consideration in Dynamic Modeling of Mobile Robots Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Kamel, A. Essghaier; Beji, L.; Lerbet, J.; Abichou, A.

2009-03-01

In cooperative mobile robotics, we look for formation keeping and maintenance of a geometric configuration during movement. As a solution to these problems, the concept of a virtual structure is considered. Based on this idea, we have developed an efficient flexible virtual structure, describing the dynamic model of n vehicles in formation and where the whole formation is kept dependant. Notes that, for 2D and 3D space navigation, only a rigid virtual structure was proposed in the literature. Further, the problem was limited to a kinematic behavior of the structure. Hence, the flexible virtual structure in dynamic modeling of mobile robots formation presented in this paper, gives more capabilities to the formation to avoid obstacles in hostile environment while keeping formation and avoiding inter-agent collision.

Control strategy for cooperating disparate manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lew, Jae Young

1989-01-01

To manipulate large payloads typical of space construction, the concept of a small arm mounted on the end of a large arm is introduced. The main purposes of such a configuration are to increase the structural stiffness of the robot by bracing against or locking to a stationary frame, and to maintain a firm position constraint between the robot's base and workpieces by grasping them. Possible topologies for a combination of disparate large and small arms are discussed, and kinematics, dynamics, controls, and coordination of the two arms, especially when they brace at the tip of the small arm, are developed. The feasibility and improvement in performance are verified, not only with analytical work and simulation results but also with experiments on the existing arrangement Robotic Arm Large and Flexible and Small Articulated Manipulator.

Telerobotic research at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sliwa, Nancy E.

1987-01-01

An overview of Automation Technology Branch facilities and research is presented. Manipulator research includes dual-arm coordination studies, space manipulator dynamics, end-effector controller development, automatic space structure assembly, and the development of a dual-arm master-slave telerobotic manipulator system. Sensor research includes gravity-compensated force control, real-time monovision techniques, and laser ranging. Artificial intelligence techniques are being explored for supervisory task control, collision avoidance, and connectionist system architectures. A high-fidelity dynamic simulation of robotic systems, ROBSIM, is being supported and extended. Cooperative efforts with Oak Ridge National Laboratory have verified the ability of teleoperators to perform complex structural assembly tasks, and have resulted in the definition of a new dual-arm master-slave telerobotic manipulator. A bibliography of research results and a list of technical contacts are included.

Terminal Sliding Mode-Based Consensus Tracking Control for Networked Uncertain Mechanical Systems on Digraphs.

PubMed

Chen, Gang; Song, Yongduan; Guan, Yanfeng

2018-03-01

This brief investigates the finite-time consensus tracking control problem for networked uncertain mechanical systems on digraphs. A new terminal sliding-mode-based cooperative control scheme is developed to guarantee that the tracking errors converge to an arbitrarily small bound around zero in finite time. All the networked systems can have different dynamics and all the dynamics are unknown. A neural network is used at each node to approximate the local unknown dynamics. The control schemes are implemented in a fully distributed manner. The proposed control method eliminates some limitations in the existing terminal sliding-mode-based consensus control methods and extends the existing analysis methods to the case of directed graphs. Simulation results on networked robot manipulators are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithms.

Road-Following Formation Control of Autonomous Ground Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ono, Masahiro; Droge, Greg; Grip, Havard; Toupet, Olivier; Scrapper, Chris; Rahmani, Amir

2015-01-01

This work presents a novel cooperative path planning for formation keeping robots traversing along a road with obstacles and possible narrow passages. A unique challenge in this problem is a requirement for spatial and temporal coordination between vehicles while ensuring collision and obstacle avoidance.

Cooperation between humans and robots in fine assembly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jalba, C. K.; Konold, P.; Rapp, I.; Mann, C.; Muminovic, A.

2017-01-01

The development of ever smaller components in manufacturing processes require handling, assembling and testing of miniature similar components. The human eye meets its optical limits with ongoing miniaturization of parts, due to the fact that it is not able to detect particles with a size smaller than 0.11 mm or register distances below 0.07 mm - like separating gaps. After several hours of labour, workers cannot accurately differentiate colour nuances as well as constant quality of work cannot be guaranteed. Assembly is usually done with tools, such as microscopes, magnifiers or digital measuring devices. Due to the enormous mental concentration, quickly a fatigue process sets in. This requires breaks or change of task and reduces productivity. Dealing with handling devices such as grippers, guide units and actuators for component assembling, requires a time consuming training process. Often productivity increase is first achieved after years of daily training. Miniaturizations are ubiquitously needed, for instance in the surgery. Very small add-on instruments must be provided. In measurement, e.g. it is a technological must and a competitive advantage, to determine required data with a small-as-possible, highest-possible-resolution sensor. Solution: The realization of a flexible universal workstation, using standard robotic systems and image processing devices in cooperation with humans, where workers are largely freed up from highly strenuous physical and fine motoric work, so that they can do productive work monitoring and adjusting the machine assisted production process.

Tasking and control of a squad of robotic vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Christopher L.; Feddema, John T.; Klarer, Paul

2001-09-01

Sandia National Laboratories have developed a squad of robotic vehicles as a test-bed for investigating cooperative control strategies. The squad consists of eight RATLER vehicles and a command station. The RATLERs are medium-sized all-electric vehicles containing a PC104 stack for computation, control, and sensing. Three separate RF channels are used for communications; one for video, one for command and control, and one for differential GPS corrections. Using DGPS and IR proximity sensors, the vehicles are capable of autonomously traversing fairly rough terrain. The control station is a PC running Windows NT. A GUI has been developed that allows a single operator to task and monitor all eight vehicles. To date, the following mission capabilities have been demonstrated: 1. Way-Point Navigation, 2. Formation Following, 3. Perimeter Surveillance, 4. Surround and Diversion, and 5. DGPS Leap Frog. This paper describes the system and briefly outlines each mission capability. The DGPS Leap Frog capability is discussed in more detail. This capability is unique in that it demonstrates how cooperation allows the vehicles to accurately navigate beyond the RF communication range. One vehicle stops and uses its corrected GPS position to re-initialize its receiver to become the DGPS correction station for the other vehicles. Error in position accumulates each time a new vehicle takes over the DGPS duties. The accumulation in error is accurately modeled as a random walk phenomenon. This paper demonstrates how useful accuracy can be maintained beyond the vehicle's range.

Towards Extending Forward Kinematic Models on Hyper-Redundant Manipulator to Cooperative Bionic Arms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Inderjeet; Lakhal, Othman; Merzouki, Rochdi

2017-01-01

Forward Kinematics is a stepping stone towards finding an inverse solution and subsequently a dynamic model of a robot. Hence a study and comparison of various Forward Kinematic Models (FKMs) is necessary for robot design. This paper deals with comparison of three FKMs on the same hyper-redundant Compact Bionic Handling Assistant (CBHA) manipulator under same conditions. The aim of this study is to project on modeling cooperative bionic manipulators. Two of these methods are quantitative methods, Arc Geometry HTM (Homogeneous Transformation Matrix) Method and Dual Quaternion Method, while the other one is Hybrid Method which uses both quantitative as well as qualitative approach. The methods are compared theoretically and experimental results are discussed to add further insight to the comparison. HTM is the widely used and accepted technique, is taken as reference and trajectory deviation in other techniques are compared with respect to HTM. Which method allows obtaining an accurate kinematic behavior of the CBHA, controlled in the real-time.

Commercial involvement in the development of space-based plant growing technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bula, R. J.; Tibbitts, T. W.; Morrow, R. C.; Dinauer, W. R.

1992-07-01

Considerable technological progress has been made in the development of controlled environment facilities for plant growth. Although not all of the technology used for terrestrial facilities is applicable to space-based plant growth facilities, the information resident in the commercial organizations that market these facilities can provide a significant resource for the development of the plant growing component of a CELSS. In 1985, NASA initiated an effort termed the Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS). This program endeavors to develop cooperative research and technology development programs with industrial companies that capitalize on the strengths of industry-university working relationships. One of the these CCDSs, the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR), deals with developing automated plant growth facilities for space, in cooperation with several industrial partners. Concepts have been developed with industrial partners for the irradiation, water and nutrient delivery, nutrient composition control and automation and robotics subsystems of plant growing units. Space flight experiments are planned for validation of the concepts in a space environment.

Commercial involvement in the development of space-based plant growing technology.

PubMed

Bula, R J; Tibbitts, T W; Morrow, R C; Dinauer, W R

1992-01-01

Considerable technological progress has been made in the development of controlled environment facilities for plant growth. Although not all of the technology used for terrestrial facilities is applicable to space-based plant growth facilities, the information resident in the commercial organizations that market these facilities can provide a significant resource for the development of the plant growing component of a CELSS. In 1985, NASA initiated an effort termed the Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS). This program endeavors to develop cooperative research and technology development programs with industrial companies that capitalize on the strengths of industry-university working relationships. One of the these CCDSs, the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR), deals with developing automated plant growth facilities for space, in cooperation with several industrial partners. Concepts have been developed with industrial partners for the irradiation, water and nutrient delivery, nutrient composition control and automation and robotics subsystems of plant growing units. Space flight experiments are planned for validation of the concepts in a space environment.

Intelligent systems technology infrastructure for integrated systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lum, Henry

1991-01-01

A system infrastructure must be properly designed and integrated from the conceptual development phase to accommodate evolutionary intelligent technologies. Several technology development activities were identified that may have application to rendezvous and capture systems. Optical correlators in conjunction with fuzzy logic control might be used for the identification, tracking, and capture of either cooperative or non-cooperative targets without the intensive computational requirements associated with vision processing. A hybrid digital/analog system was developed and tested with a robotic arm. An aircraft refueling application demonstration is planned within two years. Initially this demonstration will be ground based with a follow-on air based demonstration. System dependability measurement and modeling techniques are being developed for fault management applications. This involves usage of incremental solution/evaluation techniques and modularized systems to facilitate reuse and to take advantage of natural partitions in system models. Though not yet commercially available and currently subject to accuracy limitations, technology is being developed to perform optical matrix operations to enhance computational speed. Optical terrain recognition using camera image sequencing processed with optical correlators is being developed to determine position and velocity in support of lander guidance. The system is planned for testing in conjunction with Dryden Flight Research Facility. Advanced architecture technology is defining open architecture design constraints, test bed concepts (processors, multiple hardware/software and multi-dimensional user support, knowledge/tool sharing infrastructure), and software engineering interface issues.

Master-slave robotic system for needle indentation and insertion.

PubMed

Shin, Jaehyun; Zhong, Yongmin; Gu, Chengfan

2017-12-01

Bilateral control of a master-slave robotic system is a challenging issue in robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery. It requires the knowledge on contact interaction between a surgical (slave) robot and soft tissues. This paper presents a master-slave robotic system for needle indentation and insertion. This master-slave robotic system is able to characterize the contact interaction between the robotic needle and soft tissues. A bilateral controller is implemented using a linear motor for robotic needle indentation and insertion. A new nonlinear state observer is developed to online monitor the contact interaction with soft tissues. Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed master-slave robotic system for robotic needle indentation and needle insertion.

A software toolbox for robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanwal, J. C.

1985-01-01

A method for programming cooperating manipulators, which is guided by a geometric description of the task to be performed, is given. For this a suitable language must be used and a method for describing the workplace and the objects in it in geometric terms. A task level command language and its implementation for concurrently driven multiple robot arm is described. The language is suitable for driving a cell in which manipulators, end effectors, and sensors are controlled by their own dedicated processors. These processors can communicate with each other through a communication network. A mechanism for keeping track of the history of the commands already executed allows the command language for the manipulators to be event driven. A frame based world modeling system is utilized to describe the objects in the work environment and any relationships that hold between these objects. This system provides a versatile tool for managing information about the world model. Default actions normally needed are invoked when the data base is updated or accessed. Most of the first level error recovery is also invoked by the database by utilizing the concepts of demons. The package can be utilized to generate task level commands in a problem solver or a planner.

COBALT: A GN&C Payload for Testing ALHAT Capabilities in Closed-Loop Terrestrial Rocket Flights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carson, John M., III; Amzajerdian, Farzin; Hines, Glenn D.; O'Neal, Travis V.; Robertson, Edward A.; Seubert, Carl; Trawny, Nikolas

2016-01-01

The COBALT (CoOperative Blending of Autonomous Landing Technology) payload is being developed within NASA as a risk reduction activity to mature, integrate and test ALHAT (Autonomous precision Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology) systems targeted for infusion into near-term robotic and future human space flight missions. The initial COBALT payload instantiation is integrating the third-generation ALHAT Navigation Doppler Lidar (NDL) sensor, for ultra high-precision velocity plus range measurements, with the passive-optical Lander Vision System (LVS) that provides Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) global-position estimates. The COBALT payload will be integrated onboard a rocket-propulsive terrestrial testbed and will provide precise navigation estimates and guidance planning during two flight test campaigns in 2017 (one open-loop and closed- loop). The NDL is targeting performance capabilities desired for future Mars and Moon Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL). The LVS is already baselined for TRN on the Mars 2020 robotic lander mission. The COBALT platform will provide NASA with a new risk-reduction capability to test integrated EDL Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) components in closed-loop flight demonstrations prior to the actual mission EDL.

Computer-controlled wall servicing robot

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lefkowitz, S.

1995-03-01

After four years of cooperative research, Pentek has unveiled a new robot with the capability to automatically deliver a variety of cleaning, painting, inspection, and surveillance devices to large vertical surfaces. The completely computer-controlled robot can position a working tool on a 50-foot tall by 50-foot wide vertical surface with a repeatability of 1/16 inch. The working end can literally {open_quotes}fly{close_quotes} across the face of a wall at speed of 60 per minute, and can handle working loads of 350 pounds. The robot was originally developed to decontaminate the walls of reactor fueling cavities at commercial nuclear power plants duringmore » fuel outages. If these cavities are left to dry after reactor refueling, contamination present in the residue could later become airborne and move throughout the containment building. Decontaminating the cavity during the refueling outage reduces the need for restrictive personal protective equipment during plant operations to limit the dose rates.« less

Application of Human-Autonomy Teaming (HAT) Patterns to Reduced Crew Operations (RCO)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shively, R. Jay; Brandt, Summer L.; Lachter, Joel; Matessa, Mike; Sadler, Garrett; Battiste, Henri

2016-01-01

As part of the Air Force - NASA Bi-Annual Research Council Meeting, slides will be presented on recent Reduced Crew Operations (RCO) work. Unmanned aerial systems, robotics, advanced cockpits, and air traffic management are all examples of domains that are seeing dramatic increases in automation. While automation may take on some tasks previously performed by humans, humans will still be required, for the foreseeable future, to remain in the system. The collaboration with humans and these increasingly autonomous systems will begin to resemble cooperation between teammates, rather than simple task allocation. It is critical to understand this human-autonomy teaming (HAT) to optimize these systems in the future. One methodology to understand HAT is by identifying recurring patterns of HAT that have similar characteristics and solutions. A methodology for identifying HAT patterns to an advanced cockpit project is discussed.

Robotic systems in spine surgery.

PubMed

Onen, Mehmet Resid; Naderi, Sait

2014-01-01

Surgical robotic systems have been available for almost twenty years. The first surgical robotic systems were designed as supportive systems for laparoscopic approaches in general surgery (the first procedure was a cholecystectomy in 1987). The da Vinci Robotic System is the most common system used for robotic surgery today. This system is widely used in urology, gynecology and other surgical disciplines, and recently there have been initial reports of its use in spine surgery, for transoral access and anterior approaches for lumbar inter-body fusion interventions. SpineAssist, which is widely used in spine surgery, and Renaissance Robotic Systems, which are considered the next generation of robotic systems, are now FDA approved. These robotic systems are designed for use as guidance systems in spine instrumentation, cement augmentations and biopsies. The aim is to increase surgical accuracy while reducing the intra-operative exposure to harmful radiation to the patient and operating team personnel during the intervention. We offer a review of the published literature related to the use of robotic systems in spine surgery and provide information on using robotic systems.

Design of an integrated master-slave robotic system for minimally invasive surgery.

PubMed

Li, Jianmin; Zhou, Ningxin; Wang, Shuxin; Gao, Yuanqian; Liu, Dongchun

2012-03-01

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) robots are commonly used in hospitals and medical centres. However, currently available robotic systems are very complicated and huge, greatly raising system costs and the requirements of operating rooms. These disadvantages have become the major impediments to the expansion of MIS robots. An integrated MIS robotic system is proposed based on the analysis of advantages and disadvantages of different MIS robots. In the proposed system, the master manipulators, slave manipulators, image display device and control system have been designed as a whole. Modular design is adopted for the control system for easy maintenance and upgrade. The kinematic relations between the master and the slave are also investigated and embedded in software to realize intuitive movements of hand and instrument. Finally, animal experiments were designed to test the effectiveness of the robot. The robot realizes natural hand-eye movements between the master and the slave to facilitate MIS operations. The experimental results show that the robot can realize similar functions to those of current commercialized robots. The integrated design simplifies the robotic system and facilitates use of the robot. Compared with the commercialized robots, the proposed MIS robot achieves similar functions and features but with a smaller size and less weight. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stanford Aerospace Research Laboratory research overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballhaus, W. L.; Alder, L. J.; Chen, V. W.; Dickson, W. C.; Ullman, M. A.

1993-01-01

Over the last ten years, the Stanford Aerospace Robotics Laboratory (ARL) has developed a hardware facility in which a number of space robotics issues have been, and continue to be, addressed. This paper reviews two of the current ARL research areas: navigation and control of free flying space robots, and modelling and control of extremely flexible space structures. The ARL has designed and built several semi-autonomous free-flying robots that perform numerous tasks in a zero-gravity, drag-free, two-dimensional environment. It is envisioned that future generations of these robots will be part of a human-robot team, in which the robots will operate under the task-level commands of astronauts. To make this possible, the ARL has developed a graphical user interface (GUI) with an intuitive object-level motion-direction capability. Using this interface, the ARL has demonstrated autonomous navigation, intercept and capture of moving and spinning objects, object transport, multiple-robot cooperative manipulation, and simple assemblies from both free-flying and fixed bases. The ARL has also built a number of experimental test beds on which the modelling and control of flexible manipulators has been studied. Early ARL experiments in this arena demonstrated for the first time the capability to control the end-point position of both single-link and multi-link flexible manipulators using end-point sensing. Building on these accomplishments, the ARL has been able to control payloads with unknown dynamics at the end of a flexible manipulator, and to achieve high-performance control of a multi-link flexible manipulator.

SWARMS: Scalable sWarms of Autonomous Robots and Mobile Sensors

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-18

Pasqualetti, Antonio Franchi , Francesco Bullo. On optimal cooperative patrolling, 2010 49th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC). 2010/12/15 00...exhibits “ global stability” Provided a complete convergence proof for the adaptive version of the range only station keeping problem. Graph Theoretic

Method and System for Controlling a Dexterous Robot Execution Sequence Using State Classification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanders, Adam M. (Inventor); Quillin, Nathaniel (Inventor); Platt, Robert J., Jr. (Inventor); Pfeiffer, Joseph (Inventor); Permenter, Frank Noble (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A robotic system includes a dexterous robot and a controller. The robot includes a plurality of robotic joints, actuators for moving the joints, and sensors for measuring a characteristic of the joints, and for transmitting the characteristics as sensor signals. The controller receives the sensor signals, and is configured for executing instructions from memory, classifying the sensor signals into distinct classes via the state classification module, monitoring a system state of the robot using the classes, and controlling the robot in the execution of alternative work tasks based on the system state. A method for controlling the robot in the above system includes receiving the signals via the controller, classifying the signals using the state classification module, monitoring the present system state of the robot using the classes, and controlling the robot in the execution of alternative work tasks based on the present system state.

Piezoresistive pressure sensor array for robotic skin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirza, Fahad; Sahasrabuddhe, Ritvij R.; Baptist, Joshua R.; Wijesundara, Muthu B. J.; Lee, Woo H.; Popa, Dan O.

2016-05-01

Robots are starting to transition from the confines of the manufacturing floor to homes, schools, hospitals, and highly dynamic environments. As, a result, it is impossible to foresee all the probable operational situations of robots, and preprogram the robot behavior in those situations. Among human-robot interaction technologies, haptic communication is an intuitive physical interaction method that can help define operational behaviors for robots cooperating with humans. Multimodal robotic skin with distributed sensors can help robots increase perception capabilities of their surrounding environments. Electro-Hydro-Dynamic (EHD) printing is a flexible multi-modal sensor fabrication method because of its direct printing capability of a wide range of materials onto substrates with non-uniform topographies. In past work we designed interdigitated comb electrodes as a sensing element and printed piezoresistive strain sensors using customized EHD printable PEDOT:PSS based inks. We formulated a PEDOT:PSS derivative ink, by mixing PEDOT:PSS and DMSO. Bending induced characterization tests of prototyped sensors showed high sensitivity and sufficient stability. In this paper, we describe SkinCells, robot skin sensor arrays integrated with electronic modules. 4x4 EHD-printed arrays of strain sensors was packaged onto Kapton sheets and silicone encapsulant and interconnected to a custom electronic module that consists of a microcontroller, Wheatstone bridge with adjustable digital potentiometer, multiplexer, and serial communication unit. Thus, SkinCell's electronics can be used for signal acquisition, conditioning, and networking between sensor modules. Several SkinCells were loaded with controlled pressure, temperature and humidity testing apparatuses, and testing results are reported in this paper.

Autonomous Systems, Robotics, and Computing Systems Capability Roadmap: NRC Dialogue

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zornetzer, Steve; Gage, Douglas

2005-01-01

Contents include the following: Introduction. Process, Mission Drivers, Deliverables, and Interfaces. Autonomy. Crew-Centered and Remote Operations. Integrated Systems Health Management. Autonomous Vehicle Control. Autonomous Process Control. Robotics. Robotics for Solar System Exploration. Robotics for Lunar and Planetary Habitation. Robotics for In-Space Operations. Computing Systems. Conclusion.

Distributed multirobot sensing and tracking: a behavior-based approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, Lynne E.

1995-09-01

An important issue that arises in the automation of many large-scale surveillance and reconnaissance tasks is that of tracking the movements of (or maintaining passive contact with) objects navigating in a bounded area of interest. Oftentimes in these problems, the area to be monitored will move over time or will not permit fixed sensors, thus requiring a team of mobile sensors--or robots--to monitor the area collectively. In these situations, the robots must not only have mechanisms for determining how to track objects and how to fuse information from neighboring robots, but they must also have distributed control strategies for ensuring that the entire area of interest is continually covered to the greatest extent possible. This paper focuses on the distributed control issue by describing a proposed decentralized control mechanism that allows a team of robots to collectively track and monitor objects in an uncluttered area of interest. The approach is based upon an extension to the ALLIANCE behavior-based architecture that generalizes from the domain of loosely-coupled, independent applications to the domain of strongly cooperative applications, in which the action selection of a robot is dependent upon the actions selected by its teammates. We conclude the paper be describing our ongoing implementation of the proposed approach on a team of four mobile robots.

Robotic System For Greenhouse Or Nursery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gill, Paul; Montgomery, Jim; Silver, John; Heffelfinger, Neil; Simonton, Ward; Pease, Jim

1993-01-01

Report presents additional information about robotic system described in "Robotic Gripper With Force Control And Optical Sensors" (MFS-28537). "Flexible Agricultural Robotics Manipulator System" (FARMS) serves as prototype of robotic systems intended to enhance productivities of agricultural assembly-line-type facilities in large commercial greenhouses and nurseries.

Field studies of safety security rescue technologies through training and response activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Robin R.; Stover, Sam

2006-05-01

This paper describes the field-oriented philosophy of the Institute for Safety Security Rescue Technology (iSSRT) and summarizes the activities and lessons learned during calendar year 2005 of its two centers: the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue and the NSF Safety Security Rescue industry/university cooperative research center. In 2005, iSSRT participated in four responses (La Conchita, CA, Mudslides, Hurricane Dennis, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Wilma) and conducted three field experiments (NJTF-1, Camp Hurricane, Richmond, MO). The lessons learned covered mobility, operator control units, wireless communications, and general reliability. The work has collectively identified six emerging issues for future work. Based on these studies, a 10-hour, 1 continuing education unit credit course on rescue robotics has been created and is available. Rescue robots and sensors are available for loan upon request.

Frozen section evaluation via dynamic real-time non-robotic Telepathology system in a university Cancer center by resident / faculty cooperation team.

PubMed

Vosoughi, Aram; Smith, Paul Taylor; Zeitouni, Joseph A; Sodeman, Gregori M; Jorda, Merce; Gomez-Fernandez, Carmen; Garcia-Buitrago, Monica; Petito, Carol K; Chapman, Jennifer R; Campuzano-Zuluaga, German; Rosenberg, Andrew E; Kryvenko, Oleksandr N

2018-04-30

Frozen section telepathology interpretation experience has been largely limited to practices with locations significantly distant from one another with sporadic need for frozen section diagnosis. In 2010 we established a real-time non-robotic telepathology system in a very active cancer center for daily frozen section service. Herein, we evaluate its accuracy compared to direct microscopic interpretation performed in the main hospital by the same faculty and its cost-efficiency over a 1-year period. From 643 (1416 parts) cases requiring intraoperative consultation, 333 cases (690 parts) were examined by telepathology and 310 cases (726 parts) by direct microscopy. Corresponding discrepancy rates were 2.6% (18 cases: 6 (0.9%) sampling and 12 (1.7%) diagnostic errors) and 3.2% (23 cases: 8 (1.1%) sampling and 15 (2.1%) diagnostic errors), P=.63. The sensitivity and specificity of intraoperative frozen diagnosis were 0.92 and 0.99, respectively, in telepathology, and 0.90 and 0.99, respectively, in direct microscopy. There was no correlation of error incidence with post graduate year level of residents involved in the telepathology service. Cost analysis indicated that the time saved by telepathology was $19691 over one year of the study period while the capital cost for establishing the system was $8924. Thus, real-time non-robotic telepathology is a reliable and easy to use tool for frozen section evaluation in busy clinical settings, especially when frozen section service involves more than one hospital, and it is cost efficient when travel is a component of the service. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

NASA Virtual Glovebox (VBX): Emerging Simulation Technology for Space Station Experiment Design, Development, Training and Troubleshooting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Jeffrey D.; Twombly, I. Alexander; Maese, A. Christopher; Cagle, Yvonne; Boyle, Richard

2003-01-01

The International Space Station demonstrates the greatest capabilities of human ingenuity, international cooperation and technology development. The complexity of this space structure is unprecedented; and training astronaut crews to maintain all its systems, as well as perform a multitude of research experiments, requires the most advanced training tools and techniques. Computer simulation and virtual environments are currently used by astronauts to train for robotic arm manipulations and extravehicular activities; but now, with the latest computer technologies and recent successes in areas of medical simulation, the capability exists to train astronauts for more hands-on research tasks using immersive virtual environments. We have developed a new technology, the Virtual Glovebox (VGX), for simulation of experimental tasks that astronauts will perform aboard the Space Station. The VGX may also be used by crew support teams for design of experiments, testing equipment integration capability and optimizing the procedures astronauts will use. This is done through the 3D, desk-top sized, reach-in virtual environment that can simulate the microgravity environment in space. Additional features of the VGX allow for networking multiple users over the internet and operation of tele-robotic devices through an intuitive user interface. Although the system was developed for astronaut training and assisting support crews, Earth-bound applications, many emphasizing homeland security, have also been identified. Examples include training experts to handle hazardous biological and/or chemical agents in a safe simulation, operation of tele-robotic systems for assessing and diffusing threats such as bombs, and providing remote medical assistance to field personnel through a collaborative virtual environment. Thus, the emerging VGX simulation technology, while developed for space- based applications, can serve a dual use facilitating homeland security here on Earth.

Human likeness: cognitive and affective factors affecting adoption of robot-assisted learning systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoo, Hosun; Kwon, Ohbyung; Lee, Namyeon

2016-07-01

With advances in robot technology, interest in robotic e-learning systems has increased. In some laboratories, experiments are being conducted with humanoid robots as artificial tutors because of their likeness to humans, the rich possibilities of using this type of media, and the multimodal interaction capabilities of these robots. The robot-assisted learning system, a special type of e-learning system, aims to increase the learner's concentration, pleasure, and learning performance dramatically. However, very few empirical studies have examined the effect on learning performance of incorporating humanoid robot technology into e-learning systems or people's willingness to accept or adopt robot-assisted learning systems. In particular, human likeness, the essential characteristic of humanoid robots as compared with conventional e-learning systems, has not been discussed in a theoretical context. Hence, the purpose of this study is to propose a theoretical model to explain the process of adoption of robot-assisted learning systems. In the proposed model, human likeness is conceptualized as a combination of media richness, multimodal interaction capabilities, and para-social relationships; these factors are considered as possible determinants of the degree to which human cognition and affection are related to the adoption of robot-assisted learning systems.

Systems and Algorithms for Automated Collaborative Observation Using Networked Robotic Cameras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Yiliang

2011-01-01

The development of telerobotic systems has evolved from Single Operator Single Robot (SOSR) systems to Multiple Operator Multiple Robot (MOMR) systems. The relationship between human operators and robots follows the master-slave control architecture and the requests for controlling robot actuation are completely generated by human operators. …

Human Assisted Robotic Vehicle Studies - A conceptual end-to-end mission architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehner, B. A. E.; Mazzotta, D. G.; Teeney, L.; Spina, F.; Filosa, A.; Pou, A. Canals; Schlechten, J.; Campbell, S.; Soriano, P. López

2017-11-01

With current space exploration roadmaps indicating the Moon as a proving ground on the way to human exploration of Mars, it is clear that human-robotic partnerships will play a key role for successful future human space missions. This paper details a conceptual end-to-end architecture for an exploration mission in cis-lunar space with a focus on human-robot interactions, called Human Assisted Robotic Vehicle Studies (HARVeSt). HARVeSt will build on knowledge of plant growth in space gained from experiments on-board the ISS and test the first growth of plants on the Moon. A planned deep space habitat will be utilised as the base of operations for human-robotic elements of the mission. The mission will serve as a technology demonstrator not only for autonomous tele-operations in cis-lunar space but also for key enabling technologies for future human surface missions. The successful approach of the ISS will be built on in this mission with international cooperation. Mission assets such as a modular rover will allow for an extendable mission and to scout and prepare the area for the start of an international Moon Village.

Basic Operational Robotics Instructional System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Todd, Brian Keith; Fischer, James; Falgout, Jane; Schweers, John

2013-01-01

The Basic Operational Robotics Instructional System (BORIS) is a six-degree-of-freedom rotational robotic manipulator system simulation used for training of fundamental robotics concepts, with in-line shoulder, offset elbow, and offset wrist. BORIS is used to provide generic robotics training to aerospace professionals including flight crews, flight controllers, and robotics instructors. It uses forward kinematic and inverse kinematic algorithms to simulate joint and end-effector motion, combined with a multibody dynamics model, moving-object contact model, and X-Windows based graphical user interfaces, coordinated in the Trick Simulation modeling environment. The motivation for development of BORIS was the need for a generic system for basic robotics training. Before BORIS, introductory robotics training was done with either the SRMS (Shuttle Remote Manipulator System) or SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) simulations. The unique construction of each of these systems required some specialized training that distracted students from the ideas and goals of the basic robotics instruction.

Determinants of system transparency and its influence on trust in and reliance on unmanned robotic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ososky, Scott; Sanders, Tracy; Jentsch, Florian; Hancock, Peter; Chen, Jessie Y. C.

2014-06-01

Increasingly autonomous robotic systems are expected to play a vital role in aiding humans in complex and dangerous environments. It is unlikely, however, that such systems will be able to consistently operate with perfect reliability. Even less than 100% reliable systems can provide a significant benefit to humans, but this benefit will depend on a human operator's ability to understand a robot's behaviors and states. The notion of system transparency is examined as a vital aspect of robotic design, for maintaining humans' trust in and reliance on increasingly automated platforms. System transparency is described as the degree to which a system's action, or the intention of an action, is apparent to human operators and/or observers. While the physical designs of robotic systems have been demonstrated to greatly influence humans' impressions of robots, determinants of transparency between humans and robots are not solely robot-centric. Our approach considers transparency as emergent property of the human-robot system. In this paper, we present insights from our interdisciplinary efforts to improve the transparency of teams made up of humans and unmanned robots. These near-futuristic teams are those in which robot agents will autonomously collaborate with humans to achieve task goals. This paper demonstrates how factors such as human-robot communication and human mental models regarding robots impact a human's ability to recognize the actions or states of an automated system. Furthermore, we will discuss the implications of system transparency on other critical HRI factors such as situation awareness, operator workload, and perceptions of trust.

Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) Phase 2 and Smart Autonomous Sand-Swimming Excavator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandy, Michael

2015-01-01

The Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) Phase 2 is an excavation robot for mining regolith on a planet like Mars. The robot is programmed using the Robotic Operating System (ROS) and it also uses a physical simulation program called Gazebo. This internship focused on various functions of the program in order to make it a more professional and efficient robot. During the internship another project called the Smart Autonomous Sand-Swimming Excavator was worked on. This is a robot that is designed to dig through sand and extract sample material. The intern worked on programming the Sand-Swimming robot, and designing the electrical system to power and control the robot.

Study of robotics systems applications to the space station program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fox, J. C.

1983-01-01

Applications of robotics systems to potential uses of the Space Station as an assembly facility, and secondarily as a servicing facility, are considered. A typical robotics system mission is described along with the pertinent application guidelines and Space Station environmental assumptions utilized in developing the robotic task scenarios. A functional description of a supervised dual-robot space structure construction system is given, and four key areas of robotic technology are defined, described, and assessed. Alternate technologies for implementing the more routine space technology support subsystems that will be required to support the Space Station robotic systems in assembly and servicing tasks are briefly discussed. The environmental conditions impacting on the robotic configuration design and operation are reviewed.

Review of emerging surgical robotic technology.

PubMed

Peters, Brian S; Armijo, Priscila R; Krause, Crystal; Choudhury, Songita A; Oleynikov, Dmitry

2018-04-01

The use of laparoscopic and robotic procedures has increased in general surgery. Minimally invasive robotic surgery has made tremendous progress in a relatively short period of time, realizing improvements for both the patient and surgeon. This has led to an increase in the use and development of robotic devices and platforms for general surgery. The purpose of this review is to explore current and emerging surgical robotic technologies in a growing and dynamic environment of research and development. This review explores medical and surgical robotic endoscopic surgery and peripheral technologies currently available or in development. The devices discussed here are specific to general surgery, including laparoscopy, colonoscopy, esophagogastroduodenoscopy, and thoracoscopy. Benefits and limitations of each technology were identified and applicable future directions were described. A number of FDA-approved devices and platforms for robotic surgery were reviewed, including the da Vinci Surgical System, Sensei X Robotic Catheter System, FreeHand 1.2, invendoscopy E200 system, Flex® Robotic System, Senhance, ARES, the Single-Port Instrument Delivery Extended Research (SPIDER), and the NeoGuide Colonoscope. Additionally, platforms were reviewed which have not yet obtained FDA approval including MiroSurge, ViaCath System, SPORT™ Surgical System, SurgiBot, Versius Robotic System, Master and Slave Transluminal Endoscopic Robot, Verb Surgical, Miniature In Vivo Robot, and the Einstein Surgical Robot. The use and demand for robotic medical and surgical platforms is increasing and new technologies are continually being developed. New technologies are increasingly implemented to improve on the capabilities of previously established systems. Future studies are needed to further evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each robotic surgical device and platform in the operating suite.

Flexible robotic actuators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morin, Stephen A.; Shepherd, Robert F.; Stokes, Adam

Systems and methods for providing flexible robotic actuators are disclosed. Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter include a soft robot capable of providing a radial deflection motions; a soft tentacle actuator capable of providing a variety of motions and providing transportation means for various types of materials; and a hybrid robotic system that retains desirable characteristics of both soft robots and hard robots. Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter also include methods for operating the disclosed robotic systems.

Using insects to drive mobile robots - hybrid robots bridge the gap between biological and artificial systems.

PubMed

Ando, Noriyasu; Kanzaki, Ryohei

2017-09-01

The use of mobile robots is an effective method of validating sensory-motor models of animals in a real environment. The well-identified insect sensory-motor systems have been the major targets for modeling. Furthermore, mobile robots implemented with such insect models attract engineers who aim to avail advantages from organisms. However, directly comparing the robots with real insects is still difficult, even if we successfully model the biological systems, because of the physical differences between them. We developed a hybrid robot to bridge the gap. This hybrid robot is an insect-controlled robot, in which a tethered male silkmoth (Bombyx mori) drives the robot in order to localize an odor source. This robot has the following three advantages: 1) from a biomimetic perspective, the robot enables us to evaluate the potential performance of future insect-mimetic robots; 2) from a biological perspective, the robot enables us to manipulate the closed-loop of an onboard insect for further understanding of its sensory-motor system; and 3) the robot enables comparison with insect models as a reference biological system. In this paper, we review the recent works regarding insect-controlled robots and discuss the significance for both engineering and biology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and validation of a low-cost mobile robotics testbed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Michael; Hayes, Martin J.

2012-03-01

This paper considers the design, construction and validation of a low-cost experimental robotic testbed, which allows for the localisation and tracking of multiple robotic agents in real time. The testbed system is suitable for research and education in a range of different mobile robotic applications, for validating theoretical as well as practical research work in the field of digital control, mobile robotics, graphical programming and video tracking systems. It provides a reconfigurable floor space for mobile robotic agents to operate within, while tracking the position of multiple agents in real-time using the overhead vision system. The overall system provides a highly cost-effective solution to the topical problem of providing students with practical robotics experience within severe budget constraints. Several problems encountered in the design and development of the mobile robotic testbed and associated tracking system, such as radial lens distortion and the selection of robot identifier templates are clearly addressed. The testbed performance is quantified and several experiments involving LEGO Mindstorm NXT and Merlin System MiaBot robots are discussed.

Equipment and technology in surgical robotics.

PubMed

Sim, Hong Gee; Yip, Sidney Kam Hung; Cheng, Christopher Wai Sam

2006-06-01

Contemporary medical robotic systems used in urologic surgery usually consist of a computer and a mechanical device to carry out the designated task with an image acquisition module. These systems are typically from one of the two categories: offline or online robots. Offline robots, also known as fixed path robots, are completely automated with pre-programmed motion planning based on pre-operative imaging studies where precise movements within set confines are carried out. Online robotic systems rely on continuous input from the surgeons and change their movements and actions according to the input in real time. This class of robots is further divided into endoscopic manipulators and master-slave robotic systems. Current robotic surgical systems have resulted in a paradigm shift in the minimally invasive approach to complex laparoscopic urological procedures. Future developments will focus on refining haptic feedback, system miniaturization and improved augmented reality and telesurgical capabilities.

Draper Laboratory small autonomous aerial vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeBitetto, Paul A.; Johnson, Eric N.; Bosse, Michael C.; Trott, Christian A.

1997-06-01

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. and students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston University have cooperated to develop an autonomous aerial vehicle that won the 1996 International Aerial Robotics Competition. This paper describes the approach, system architecture and subsystem designs for the entry. This entry represents a combination of many technology areas: navigation, guidance, control, vision processing, human factors, packaging, power, real-time software, and others. The aerial vehicle, an autonomous helicopter, performs navigation and control functions using multiple sensors: differential GPS, inertial measurement unit, sonar altimeter, and a flux compass. The aerial transmits video imagery to the ground. A ground based vision processor converts the image data into target position and classification estimates. The system was designed, built, and flown in less than one year and has provided many lessons about autonomous vehicle systems, several of which are discussed. In an appendix, our current research in augmenting the navigation system with vision- based estimates is presented.

Performance Evaluation of Intelligent Systems at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

past few years, including performance evaluation of emergency response robots , sensor systems on unmanned ground vehicles, speech-to-speech translation...emergency response robots ; intelligent systems; mixed palletizing, testing, simulation; robotic vehicle perception systems; search and rescue robots ...ranging from autonomous vehicles to urban search and rescue robots to speech translation and manufacturing systems. The evaluations have occurred in

Neuro-cognitive mechanisms of decision making in joint action: a human-robot interaction study.

PubMed

Bicho, Estela; Erlhagen, Wolfram; Louro, Luis; e Silva, Eliana Costa

2011-10-01

In this paper we present a model for action preparation and decision making in cooperative tasks that is inspired by recent experimental findings about the neuro-cognitive mechanisms supporting joint action in humans. It implements the coordination of actions and goals among the partners as a dynamic process that integrates contextual cues, shared task knowledge and predicted outcome of others' motor behavior. The control architecture is formalized by a system of coupled dynamic neural fields representing a distributed network of local but connected neural populations. Different pools of neurons encode task-relevant information about action means, task goals and context in the form of self-sustained activation patterns. These patterns are triggered by input from connected populations and evolve continuously in time under the influence of recurrent interactions. The dynamic model of joint action is evaluated in a task in which a robot and a human jointly construct a toy object. We show that the highly context sensitive mapping from action observation onto appropriate complementary actions allows coping with dynamically changing joint action situations. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Systems and Technologies for Space Exploration: the regional project STEPS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boggiatto, D.; Moncalvo, D.

The Aerospace technology network of Piemonte represents ˜25% of the italian capacity and handles a comprehensive spectrum of products (aircraft, propulsion, satellites, space station modules, avionics. components, services...). The cooperation between the Comitato Distretto Aerospaziale Piemonte and the European Regional Development Fund 2007-2013 has enabled Regione Piemonte to launch three regional Projects capable to enhance the synergy and competitiveness of the network, among which: STEPS - Sistemi e Tecnologie per l'EsPlorazione Spaziale, a joint development of technologies for robotic and human Space Exploration by 3 large Industries, 27 SMEs, 3 Universities and one public Research Centre. STEPS develops virtual and hardware demonstrators for a range of technologies to do with a Lander's descent and soft landing, and a Rover's surface mobility, of both robotic and manned equipment on Moon and Mars. It also foresees the development of Teleoperations labs and Virtual Reality environments and physical simulations of Moon and Mars surface conditions and ground. Mid-way along STEPS planned development, initial results in several technology domains are available and are presented in this paper.

Multiagent robotic systems' ambient light sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iureva, Radda A.; Maslennikov, Oleg S.; Komarov, Igor I.

2017-05-01

Swarm robotics is one of the fastest growing areas of modern technology. Being subclass of multi-agent systems it inherits the main part of scientific-methodological apparatus of construction and functioning of practically useful complexes, which consist of rather autonomous independent agents. Ambient light sensors (ALS) are widely used in robotics. But speaking about swarm robotics, the technology which has great number of specific features and is developing, we can't help mentioning that its important to use sensors on each robot not only in order to help it to get directionally oriented, but also to follow light emitted by robot-chief or to help to find the goal easier. Key words: ambient light sensor, swarm system, multiagent system, robotic system, robotic complexes, simulation modelling

The Space Station Freedom - International cooperation and innovation in space safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodney, George A.

1989-01-01

The Space Station Freedom (SSF) being developed by the United States, European Space Agency (ESA), Japan, and Canada poses novel safety challenges in design, operations, logistics, and program management. A brief overview discloses many features that make SSF a radical departure from earlier low earth orbit (LEO) space stations relative to safety management: size and power levels; multiphase manned assembly; 30-year planned lifetime, with embedded 'hooks and scars' forevolution; crew size and skill-mix variability; sustained logistical dependence; use of man, robotics and telepresence for on-orbit maintenance of station and free-flyer systems; closed-environment recycling; use of automation and expert systems; long-term operation of collocated life-sciences and materials-science experiments, requiring control and segregation of hazardous and chemically incompatible materials; and materials aging in space.

Simulation and animation of sensor-driven robots.

PubMed

Chen, C; Trivedi, M M; Bidlack, C R

1994-10-01

Most simulation and animation systems utilized in robotics are concerned with simulation of the robot and its environment without simulation of sensors. These systems have difficulty in handling robots that utilize sensory feedback in their operation. In this paper, a new design of an environment for simulation, animation, and visualization of sensor-driven robots is presented. As sensor technology advances, increasing numbers of robots are equipped with various types of sophisticated sensors. The main goal of creating the visualization environment is to aid the automatic robot programming and off-line programming capabilities of sensor-driven robots. The software system will help the users visualize the motion and reaction of the sensor-driven robot under their control program. Therefore, the efficiency of the software development is increased, the reliability of the software and the operation safety of the robot are ensured, and the cost of new software development is reduced. Conventional computer-graphics-based robot simulation and animation software packages lack of capabilities for robot sensing simulation. This paper describes a system designed to overcome this deficiency.

NASA Tech Briefs, June 2004

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

Topics covered include: COTS MEMS Flow-Measurement Probes; Measurement of an Evaporating Drop on a Reflective Substrate; Airplane Ice Detector Based on a Microwave Transmission Line; Microwave/Sonic Apparatus Measures Flow and Density in Pipe; Reducing Errors by Use of Redundancy in Gravity Measurements; Membrane-Based Water Evaporator for a Space Suit; Compact Microscope Imaging System with Intelligent Controls; Chirped-Superlattice, Blocked-Intersubband QWIP; Charge-Dissipative Electrical Cables; Deep-Sea Video Cameras Without Pressure Housings; RFID and Memory Devices Fabricated Integrally on Substrates; Analyzing Dynamics of Cooperating Spacecraft; Spacecraft Attitude Maneuver Planning Using Genetic Algorithms; Forensic Analysis of Compromised Computers; Document Concurrence System; Managing an Archive of Images; MPT Prediction of Aircraft-Engine Fan Noise; Improving Control of Two Motor Controllers; Electro-deionization Using Micro-separated Bipolar Membranes; Safer Electrolytes for Lithium-Ion Cells; Rotating Reverse-Osmosis for Water Purification; Making Precise Resonators for Mesoscale Vibratory Gyroscopes; Robotic End Effectors for Hard-Rock Climbing; Improved Nutation Damper for a Spin-Stabilized Spacecraft; Exhaust Nozzle for a Multitube Detonative Combustion Engine; Arc-Second Pointer for Balloon-Borne Astronomical Instrument; Compact, Automated Centrifugal Slide-Staining System; Two-Armed, Mobile, Sensate Research Robot; Compensating for Effects of Humidity on Electronic Noses; Brush/Fin Thermal Interfaces; Multispectral Scanner for Monitoring Plants; Coding for Communication Channels with Dead-Time Constraints; System for Better Spacing of Airplanes En Route; Algorithm for Training a Recurrent Multilayer Perceptron; Orbiter Interface Unit and Early Communication System; White-Light Nulling Interferometers for Detecting Planets; and Development of Methodology for Programming Autonomous Agents.

Micro-Electronics, Robotics and Jobs. Information Computer Communication Policy Series No. 7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France).

This monograph contains selected papers presented at the Second Special Session on Information Technologies, Productivity and Labour Market Implications, which took place at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on October 19-21, 1981. An introductory note summarizes significant points from the meeting. Part 1 contains a report…

76 FR 48884 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-ODVA, Inc.

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-09

... Motion, Inc., Boulder, CO; Hitachi Cable Manchester, Inc., Manchester, NH; and Global Engineering..., Applied Robotics, Inc., Glenville, NY; WIT, St.-Laurent-Du- Var, FRANCE; Caron Engineering, Inc., Wells... Act on May 2, 2011 (76 FR 24523). Patricia A. Brink, Director of Civil Enforcement, Antitrust Division...

Modified Cooper Harper Scales for Assessing Unmanned Vehicle Displays

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

Majesty accident in 1995. After about 35 hours in transit from Bermuda to Boston, the ship grounded on the Nantucket shoals (NTSB, 1995). Shortly after...see another robot – Which one is it? 28 18 Male Student 4 It was pretty simple to use but some symbols like the triangles seem unnecessary. It

Designing Effective Spaces, Tasks and Metrics for Communication in Second Life within the Context of Programming LEGO NXT Mindstorms™ Robots

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vallance, Michael; Martin, Stewart; Wiz, Charles; van Schaik, Paul

2010-01-01

Science education is concerned with the meaningful pursuit of comprehension, knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes. In Vygotskian social constructivist learning, personal interpretation, decision-making and community cooperation fosters long-term understanding and transference of learned concepts. The construction of…

System design of a hand-held mobile robot for craniotomy.

PubMed

Kane, Gavin; Eggers, Georg; Boesecke, Robert; Raczkowsky, Jörg; Wörn, Heinz; Marmulla, Rüdiger; Mühling, Joachim

2009-01-01

This contribution reports the development and initial testing of a Mobile Robot System for Surgical Craniotomy, the Craniostar. A kinematic system based on a unicycle robot is analysed to provide local positioning through two spiked wheels gripping directly onto a patients skull. A control system based on a shared control system between both the Surgeon and Robot is employed in a hand-held design that is tested initially on plastic phantom and swine skulls. Results indicate that the system has substantially lower risk than present robotically assisted craniotomies, and despite being a hand-held mobile robot, the Craniostar is still capable of sub-millimetre accuracy in tracking along a trajectory and thus achieving an accurate transfer of pre-surgical plan to the operating room procedure, without the large impact of current medical robots based on modified industrial robots.

An Adaptive Scheme for Robot Localization and Mapping with Dynamically Configurable Inter-Beacon Range Measurements

PubMed Central

Torres-González, Arturo; Martinez-de Dios, Jose Ramiro; Ollero, Anibal

2014-01-01

This work is motivated by robot-sensor network cooperation techniques where sensor nodes (beacons) are used as landmarks for range-only (RO) simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). This paper presents a RO-SLAM scheme that actuates over the measurement gathering process using mechanisms that dynamically modify the rate and variety of measurements that are integrated in the SLAM filter. It includes a measurement gathering module that can be configured to collect direct robot-beacon and inter-beacon measurements with different inter-beacon depth levels and at different rates. It also includes a supervision module that monitors the SLAM performance and dynamically selects the measurement gathering configuration balancing SLAM accuracy and resource consumption. The proposed scheme has been applied to an extended Kalman filter SLAM with auxiliary particle filters for beacon initialization (PF-EKF SLAM) and validated with experiments performed in the CONET Integrated Testbed. It achieved lower map and robot errors (34% and 14%, respectively) than traditional methods with a lower computational burden (16%) and similar beacon energy consumption. PMID:24776938

An adaptive scheme for robot localization and mapping with dynamically configurable inter-beacon range measurements.

PubMed

Torres-González, Arturo; Martinez-de Dios, Jose Ramiro; Ollero, Anibal

2014-04-25

This work is motivated by robot-sensor network cooperation techniques where sensor nodes (beacons) are used as landmarks for range-only (RO) simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). This paper presents a RO-SLAM scheme that actuates over the measurement gathering process using mechanisms that dynamically modify the rate and variety of measurements that are integrated in the SLAM filter. It includes a measurement gathering module that can be configured to collect direct robot-beacon and inter-beacon measurements with different inter-beacon depth levels and at different rates. It also includes a supervision module that monitors the SLAM performance and dynamically selects the measurement gathering configuration balancing SLAM accuracy and resource consumption. The proposed scheme has been applied to an extended Kalman filter SLAM with auxiliary particle filters for beacon initialization (PF-EKF SLAM) and validated with experiments performed in the CONET Integrated Testbed. It achieved lower map and robot errors (34% and 14%, respectively) than traditional methods with a lower computational burden (16%) and similar beacon energy consumption.

Hierarchical Modelling Of Mobile, Seeing Robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luh, Cheng-Jye; Zeigler, Bernard P.

1990-03-01

This paper describes the implementation of a hierarchical robot simulation which supports the design of robots with vision and mobility. A seeing robot applies a classification expert system for visual identification of laboratory objects. The visual data acquisition algorithm used by the robot vision system has been developed to exploit multiple viewing distances and perspectives. Several different simulations have been run testing the visual logic in a laboratory environment. Much work remains to integrate the vision system with the rest of the robot system.

Hierarchical modelling of mobile, seeing robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luh, Cheng-Jye; Zeigler, Bernard P.

1990-01-01

This paper describes the implementation of a hierarchical robot simulation which supports the design of robots with vision and mobility. A seeing robot applies a classification expert system for visual identification of laboratory objects. The visual data acquisition algorithm used by the robot vision system has been developed to exploit multiple viewing distances and perspectives. Several different simulations have been run testing the visual logic in a laboratory environment. Much work remains to integrate the vision system with the rest of the robot system.

Modular Track System For Positioning Mobile Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Jeff

1995-01-01

Conceptual system for positioning mobile robotic manipulators on large main structure includes modular tracks and ancillary structures assembled easily along with main structure. System, called "tracked robotic location system" (TROLS), originally intended for application to platforms in outer space, but TROLS concept might also prove useful on Earth; for example, to position robots in factories and warehouses. T-cross-section rail keeps mobile robot on track. Bar codes mark locations along track. Each robot equipped with bar-code-recognizing circuitry so it quickly finds way to assigned location.

Human-Automation Allocations for Current Robotic Space Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marquez, Jessica J.; Chang, Mai L.; Beard, Bettina L.; Kim, Yun Kyung; Karasinski, John A.

2018-01-01

Within the Human Research Program, one risk delineates the uncertainty surrounding crew working with automation and robotics in spaceflight. The Risk of Inadequate Design of Human and Automation/Robotic Integration (HARI) is concerned with the detrimental effects on crew performance due to ineffective user interfaces, system designs and/or functional task allocation, potentially compromising mission success and safety. Risk arises because we have limited experience with complex automation and robotics. One key gap within HARI, is the gap related to functional allocation. The gap states: We need to evaluate, develop, and validate methods and guidelines for identifying human-automation/robot task information needs, function allocation, and team composition for future long duration, long distance space missions. Allocations determine the human-system performance as it identifies the functions and performance levels required by the automation/robotic system, and in turn, what work the crew is expected to perform and the necessary human performance requirements. Allocations must take into account each of the human, automation, and robotic systems capabilities and limitations. Some functions may be intuitively assigned to the human versus the robot, but to optimize efficiency and effectiveness, purposeful role assignments will be required. The role of automation and robotics will significantly change in future exploration missions, particularly as crew becomes more autonomous from ground controllers. Thus, we must understand the suitability of existing function allocation methods within NASA as well as the existing allocations established by the few robotic systems that are operational in spaceflight. In order to evaluate future methods of robotic allocations, we must first benchmark the allocations and allocation methods that have been used. We will present 1) documentation of human-automation-robotic allocations in existing, operational spaceflight systems; and 2) To gather existing lessons learned and best practices in these role assignments, from spaceflight operational experience of crew and ground teams that may be used to guide development for future systems. NASA and other space agencies have operational spaceflight experience with two key Human-Automation-Robotic (HAR) systems: heavy lift robotic arms and planetary robotic explorers. Additionally, NASA has invested in high-fidelity rover systems that can carry crew, building beyond Apollo's lunar rover. The heavy lift robotic arms reviewed are: Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), Japanese Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS), and the European Robotic Arm (ERA, designed but not deployed in space). The robotic rover systems reviewed are: Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Science Laboratory rover, and the high-fidelity K10 rovers. Much of the design and operational feedback for these systems have been communicated to flight controllers and robotic design teams. As part of the mitigating the HARI risk for future human spaceflight operations, we must document function allocations between robots and humans that have worked well in practice.

System for exchanging tools and end effectors on a robot

DOEpatents

Burry, David B.; Williams, Paul M.

1991-02-19

A system and method for exchanging tools and end effectors on a robot permits exchange during a programmed task. The exchange mechanism is located off the robot, thus reducing the mass of the robot arm and permitting smaller robots to perform designated tasks. A simple spring/collet mechanism mounted on the robot is used which permits the engagement and disengagement of the tool or end effector without the need for a rotational orientation of the tool to the end effector/collet interface. As the tool changing system is not located on the robot arm no umbilical cords are located on robot.

Self-Reconfigurable Robots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

HENSINGER, DAVID M.; JOHNSTON, GABRIEL A.; HINMAN-SWEENEY, ELAINE M.

2002-10-01

A distributed reconfigurable micro-robotic system is a collection of unlimited numbers of distributed small, homogeneous robots designed to autonomously organize and reorganize in order to achieve mission-specified geometric shapes and functions. This project investigated the design, control, and planning issues for self-configuring and self-organizing robots. In the 2D space a system consisting of two robots was prototyped and successfully displayed automatic docking/undocking to operate dependently or independently. Additional modules were constructed to display the usefulness of a self-configuring system in various situations. In 3D a self-reconfiguring robot system of 4 identical modules was built. Each module connects to its neighborsmore » using rotating actuators. An individual component can move in three dimensions on its neighbors. We have also built a self-reconfiguring robot system consisting of 9-module Crystalline Robot. Each module in this robot is actuated by expansion/contraction. The system is fully distributed, has local communication (to neighbors) capabilities and it has global sensing capabilities.« less

Flex Robotic System in transoral robotic surgery: The first 40 patients.

PubMed

Mattheis, Stefan; Hasskamp, Pia; Holtmann, Laura; Schäfer, Christina; Geisthoff, Urban; Dominas, Nina; Lang, Stephan

2017-03-01

The Flex Robotic System is a new robotic device specifically developed for transoral robotic surgery (TORS). We performed a prospective clinical study, assessing the safety and efficacy of the Medrobotics Flex Robotic System. A total of 40 patients required a surgical procedure for benign lesions (n = 30) or T1 and T2 carcinomas (n = 10). Access and visualization of different anatomic subsites were individually graded by the surgeon. Setup times, access and visualization times, surgical results, as well as adverse events were documented intraoperatively. The lesions could be exposed and visualized properly in 38 patients (95%) who went on to have a surgical procedure performed with the Flex Robotic System, which were intraoperatively evaluated as successful. No serious adverse events occurred. Lesions in the oropharynx, hypopharynx, or supraglottic larynx could be successfully resected using the Flex Robotic System, thus making the system a safe and effective tool in transoral robotic surgery. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 471-475, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Electromagnetic driving units for complex microrobotic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michel, Frank; Ehrfeld, Wolfgang; Berg, Udo; Degen, Reinhard; Schmitz, Felix

1998-10-01

Electromagnetic actuators play an important role in macroscopic robotic systems. In combination with motion transformers, like reducing gear units, angular gears or spindle-screw drives, electromagnetic motors in large product lines ensure the rotational or linear motion of robot driving units and grippers while electromagnets drive valves or part conveyors. In this paper micro actuators and miniaturized motion transformers are introduced which allow a similar development in microrobotics. An electromagnetic motor and a planetary gear box, both with a diameter of 1.9 mm, are already commercially available from the cooperation partner of IMM, the company Dr. Fritz Faulhaber GmbH in Schonaich, Germany. In addition, a motor with a diameter of 2.4 mm is in development. The motors successfully drive an angular gear and a belt drive. A linear stage with a motion range of 7 mm and an overall size as small as 5 X 3.5 X 24 mm3 has been realized involving the motor, a stationary spur gear with zero backlash and a spindle-screw drive. By the use of these commercially available elements complex microrobots can be built up cost-efficiently and rapidly. Furthermore, a batch process has been developed to produce the coils of micro actuator arrays using lithographic techniques with SU-8 resin. In applying these components, the modular construction of complex microrobotic systems becomes feasible.

Neural-adaptive control of single-master-multiple-slaves teleoperation for coordinated multiple mobile manipulators with time-varying communication delays and input uncertainties.

PubMed

Li, Zhijun; Su, Chun-Yi

2013-09-01

In this paper, adaptive neural network control is investigated for single-master-multiple-slaves teleoperation in consideration of time delays and input dead-zone uncertainties for multiple mobile manipulators carrying a common object in a cooperative manner. Firstly, concise dynamics of teleoperation systems consisting of a single master robot, multiple coordinated slave robots, and the object are developed in the task space. To handle asymmetric time-varying delays in communication channels and unknown asymmetric input dead zones, the nonlinear dynamics of the teleoperation system are transformed into two subsystems through feedback linearization: local master or slave dynamics including the unknown input dead zones and delayed dynamics for the purpose of synchronization. Then, a model reference neural network control strategy based on linear matrix inequalities (LMI) and adaptive techniques is proposed. The developed control approach ensures that the defined tracking errors converge to zero whereas the coordination internal force errors remain bounded and can be made arbitrarily small. Throughout this paper, stability analysis is performed via explicit Lyapunov techniques under specific LMI conditions. The proposed adaptive neural network control scheme is robust against motion disturbances, parametric uncertainties, time-varying delays, and input dead zones, which is validated by simulation studies.

Computer hardware and software for robotic control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Virgil Leon

1987-01-01

The KSC has implemented an integrated system that coordinates state-of-the-art robotic subsystems. It is a sensor based real-time robotic control system performing operations beyond the capability of an off-the-shelf robot. The integrated system provides real-time closed loop adaptive path control of position and orientation of all six axes of a large robot; enables the implementation of a highly configurable, expandable testbed for sensor system development; and makes several smart distributed control subsystems (robot arm controller, process controller, graphics display, and vision tracking) appear as intelligent peripherals to a supervisory computer coordinating the overall systems.

Robopedia: Leveraging Sensorpedia for Web-Enabled Robot Control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Resseguie, David R

There is a growing interest in building Internetscale sensor networks that integrate sensors from around the world into a single unified system. In contrast, robotics application development has primarily focused on building specialized systems. These specialized systems take scalability and reliability into consideration, but generally neglect exploring the key components required to build a large scale system. Integrating robotic applications with Internet-scale sensor networks will unify specialized robotics applications and provide answers to large scale implementation concerns. We focus on utilizing Internet-scale sensor network technology to construct a framework for unifying robotic systems. Our framework web-enables a surveillance robot smore » sensor observations and provides a webinterface to the robot s actuators. This lets robots seamlessly integrate into web applications. In addition, the framework eliminates most prerequisite robotics knowledge, allowing for the creation of general web-based robotics applications. The framework also provides mechanisms to create applications that can interface with any robot. Frameworks such as this one are key to solving large scale mobile robotics implementation problems. We provide an overview of previous Internetscale sensor networks, Sensorpedia (an ad-hoc Internet-scale sensor network), our framework for integrating robots with Sensorpedia, two applications which illustrate our frameworks ability to support general web-based robotic control, and offer experimental results that illustrate our framework s scalability, feasibility, and resource requirements.« less

Modeling and Simulation for a Surf Zone Robot

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-14

of-freedom surf zone robot is developed and tested with a physical test platform and with a simulated robot in Robot Operating System . Derived from...terrain. The application of the model to future platforms is analyzed and a broad examination of the current state of surf zone robotic systems is...public release; distribution is unlimited MODELING AND SIMULATION FOR A SURF ZONE ROBOT Eric Shuey Lieutenant, United States Navy B.S., Systems

Development of an in vivo visual robot system with a magnetic anchoring mechanism and a lens cleaning mechanism for laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS).

PubMed

Feng, Haibo; Dong, Dinghui; Ma, Tengfei; Zhuang, Jinlei; Fu, Yili; Lv, Yi; Li, Liyi

2017-12-01

Surgical robot systems which can significantly improve surgical procedures have been widely used in laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS). For a relative complex surgical procedure, the development of an in vivo visual robot system for LESS can effectively improve the visualization for surgical robot systems. In this work, an in vivo visual robot system with a new mechanism for LESS was investigated. A finite element method (FEM) analysis was carried out to ensure the safety of the in vivo visual robot during the movement, which was the most important concern for surgical purposes. A master-slave control strategy was adopted, in which the control model was established by off-line experiments. The in vivo visual robot system was verified by using a phantom box. The experiment results show that the robot system can successfully realize the expected functionalities and meet the demands of LESS. The experiment results indicate that the in vivo visual robot with high manipulability has great potential in clinical application. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Simulation and animation of sensor-driven robots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, C.; Trivedi, M.M.; Bidlack, C.R.

1994-10-01

Most simulation and animation systems utilized in robotics are concerned with simulation of the robot and its environment without simulation of sensors. These systems have difficulty in handling robots that utilize sensory feedback in their operation. In this paper, a new design of an environment for simulation, animation, and visualization of sensor-driven robots is presented. As sensor technology advances, increasing numbers of robots are equipped with various types of sophisticated sensors. The main goal of creating the visualization environment is to aide the automatic robot programming and off-line programming capabilities of sensor-driven robots. The software system will help the usersmore » visualize the motion and reaction of the sensor-driven robot under their control program. Therefore, the efficiency of the software development is increased, the reliability of the software and the operation safety of the robot are ensured, and the cost of new software development is reduced. Conventional computer-graphics-based robot simulation and animation software packages lack of capabilities for robot sensing simulation. This paper describes a system designed to overcome this deficiency.« less

Task path planning, scheduling and learning for free-ranging robot systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wakefield, G. Steve

1987-01-01

The development of robotics applications for space operations is often restricted by the limited movement available to guided robots. Free ranging robots can offer greater flexibility than physically guided robots in these applications. Presented here is an object oriented approach to path planning and task scheduling for free-ranging robots that allows the dynamic determination of paths based on the current environment. The system also provides task learning for repetitive jobs. This approach provides a basis for the design of free-ranging robot systems which are adaptable to various environments and tasks.

Bearing-based localization for leader-follower formation control

PubMed Central

Han, Qing; Ren, Shan; Lang, Hao; Zhang, Changliang

2017-01-01

The observability of the leader robot system and the leader-follower formation control are studied. First, the nonlinear observability is studied for when the leader robot observes landmarks. Second, the system is shown to be completely observable when the leader robot observes two different landmarks. When the leader robot system is observable, multi-robots can rapidly form and maintain a formation based on the bearing-only information that the follower robots observe from the leader robot. Finally, simulations confirm the effectiveness of the proposed formation control. PMID:28426706

Perspectives future space on robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lavery, Dave

1994-01-01

Last year's flight of the German ROTEX robot flight experiment heralded the start of a new era for space robotics. ROTEX is the first of at least 10 new robotic systems and experiments that will fly before 2000. These robots will augment astronaut on-orbit capabilities and extend virtual human presence to lunar and planetary surfaces. The robotic systems to be flown in the next five years fall into three categories: extravehicular robotic (EVR) servicers, science payload servicers, and planetary surface rovers. A description of the work on these systems is presented.

The evolution of robotic urologic surgery.

PubMed

Nguyen, Mike Minh; Das, Sakti

2004-11-01

The incorporation of robotics into surgical technology is a relatively recent development. Robotic surgical systems can be classified as master-slave systems, precise-path systems, or intern-replacement systems. Master-slave systems, the most familiar type, were developed from initial experiments in "telepresence" surgery funded by the US Department of Defense. Urology has embraced the use of commercial robotic surgical systems in a growing number of clinical applications. Although drawbacks and limitations exist for the use of surgical robotics, the systems are developing rapidly and an expanded role for this technology in the future of urology is inevitable. This article reviews the history of the use of robotics in surgery, focusing on its specific application to urology.

Robust Software Architecture for Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aghazanian, Hrand; Baumgartner, Eric; Garrett, Michael

2009-01-01

Robust Real-Time Reconfigurable Robotics Software Architecture (R4SA) is the name of both a software architecture and software that embodies the architecture. The architecture was conceived in the spirit of current practice in designing modular, hard, realtime aerospace systems. The architecture facilitates the integration of new sensory, motor, and control software modules into the software of a given robotic system. R4SA was developed for initial application aboard exploratory mobile robots on Mars, but is adaptable to terrestrial robotic systems, real-time embedded computing systems in general, and robotic toys.

High precision detector robot arm system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shu, Deming; Chu, Yong

A method and high precision robot arm system are provided, for example, for X-ray nanodiffraction with an X-ray nanoprobe. The robot arm system includes duo-vertical-stages and a kinematic linkage system. A two-dimensional (2D) vertical plane ultra-precision robot arm supporting an X-ray detector provides positioning and manipulating of the X-ray detector. A vertical support for the 2D vertical plane robot arm includes spaced apart rails respectively engaging a first bearing structure and a second bearing structure carried by the 2D vertical plane robot arm.

System for exchanging tools and end effectors on a robot

DOEpatents

Burry, D.B.; Williams, P.M.

1991-02-19

A system and method for exchanging tools and end effectors on a robot permits exchange during a programmed task. The exchange mechanism is located off the robot, thus reducing the mass of the robot arm and permitting smaller robots to perform designated tasks. A simple spring/collet mechanism mounted on the robot is used which permits the engagement and disengagement of the tool or end effector without the need for a rotational orientation of the tool to the end effector/collet interface. As the tool changing system is not located on the robot arm no umbilical cords are located on robot. 12 figures.

Energy-Saving Control of a Novel Hydraulic Drive System for Field Walking Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Delei; Shang, Jianzhong; Xue, Yong; Yang, Junhong; Wang, Zhuo

2018-01-01

To improve the efficiency of the hydraulic drive system in field walking robot, this paper proposed a novel hydraulic system based on two-stage pressure source. Based on the analysis of low efficiency of robot single-stage hydraulic system, the paper firstly introduces the concept and design of two-stage pressure source drive system. Then, the new hydraulic system energy-saving control is planned according to the characteristics of walking robot. The feasibility of the new hydraulic system is proved by the simulation of the walking robot squatting. Finally, the efficiencies of two types hydraulic system are calculated, indicating that the novel hydraulic system can increase the efficiency by 41.5%, which can contribute to enhance knowledge about hydraulic drive system for field walking robot.

A novel method of robot location using RFID and stereo vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Diansheng; Zhang, Guanxin; Li, Zhen

2012-04-01

This paper proposed a new global localization method for mobile robot based on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Devices) and stereo vision, which makes the robot obtain global coordinates with good accuracy when quickly adapting to unfamiliar and new environment. This method uses RFID tags as artificial landmarks, the 3D coordinate of the tags under the global coordinate system is written in the IC memory. The robot can read it through RFID reader; meanwhile, using stereo vision, the 3D coordinate of the tags under the robot coordinate system is measured. Combined with the robot's attitude coordinate system transformation matrix from the pose measuring system, the translation of the robot coordinate system to the global coordinate system is obtained, which is also the coordinate of the robot's current location under the global coordinate system. The average error of our method is 0.11m in experience conducted in a 7m×7m lobby, the result is much more accurate than other location method.

Generic, scalable and decentralized fault detection for robot swarms.

PubMed

Tarapore, Danesh; Christensen, Anders Lyhne; Timmis, Jon

2017-01-01

Robot swarms are large-scale multirobot systems with decentralized control which means that each robot acts based only on local perception and on local coordination with neighboring robots. The decentralized approach to control confers number of potential benefits. In particular, inherent scalability and robustness are often highlighted as key distinguishing features of robot swarms compared with systems that rely on traditional approaches to multirobot coordination. It has, however, been shown that swarm robotics systems are not always fault tolerant. To realize the robustness potential of robot swarms, it is thus essential to give systems the capacity to actively detect and accommodate faults. In this paper, we present a generic fault-detection system for robot swarms. We show how robots with limited and imperfect sensing capabilities are able to observe and classify the behavior of one another. In order to achieve this, the underlying classifier is an immune system-inspired algorithm that learns to distinguish between normal behavior and abnormal behavior online. Through a series of experiments, we systematically assess the performance of our approach in a detailed simulation environment. In particular, we analyze our system's capacity to correctly detect robots with faults, false positive rates, performance in a foraging task in which each robot exhibits a composite behavior, and performance under perturbations of the task environment. Results show that our generic fault-detection system is robust, that it is able to detect faults in a timely manner, and that it achieves a low false positive rate. The developed fault-detection system has the potential to enable long-term autonomy for robust multirobot systems, thus increasing the usefulness of robots for a diverse repertoire of upcoming applications in the area of distributed intelligent automation.

A cable-driven soft robot surgical system for cardiothoracic endoscopic surgery: preclinical tests in animals.

PubMed

Wang, Hesheng; Zhang, Runxi; Chen, Weidong; Wang, Xiaozhou; Pfeifer, Rolf

2017-08-01

Minimally invasive surgery attracts more and more attention because of the advantages of minimal trauma, less bleeding and pain and low complication rate. However, minimally invasive surgery for beating hearts is still a challenge. Our goal is to develop a soft robot surgical system for single-port minimally invasive surgery on a beating heart. The soft robot described in this paper is inspired by the octopus arm. Although the octopus arm is soft and has more degrees of freedom (DOFs), it can be controlled flexibly. The soft robot is driven by cables that are embedded into the soft robot manipulator and can control the direction of the end and middle of the soft robot manipulator. The forward, backward and rotation movement of the soft robot is driven by a propulsion plant. The soft robot can move freely by properly controlling the cables and the propulsion plant. The soft surgical robot system can perform different thoracic operations by changing surgical instruments. To evaluate the flexibility, controllability and reachability of the designed soft robot surgical system, some testing experiments have been conducted in vivo on a swine. Through the subxiphoid, the soft robot manipulator could enter into the thoracic cavity and pericardial cavity smoothly and perform some operations such as biopsy, ligation and ablation. The operations were performed successfully and did not cause any damage to the surrounding soft tissues. From the experiments, the flexibility, controllability and reachability of the soft robot surgical system have been verified. Also, it has been shown that this system can be used in the thoracic and pericardial cavity for different operations. Compared with other endoscopy robots, the soft robot surgical system is safer, has more DOFs and is more flexible for control. When performing operations in a beating heart, this system maybe more suitable than traditional endoscopy robots.

Calibration of the motor-assisted robotic stereotaxy system: MARS.

PubMed

Heinig, Maximilian; Hofmann, Ulrich G; Schlaefer, Alexander

2012-11-01

The motor-assisted robotic stereotaxy system presents a compact and light-weight robotic system for stereotactic neurosurgery. Our system is designed to position probes in the human brain for various applications, for example, deep brain stimulation. It features five fully automated axes. High positioning accuracy is of utmost importance in robotic neurosurgery. First, the key parameters of the robot's kinematics are determined using an optical tracking system. Next, the positioning errors at the center of the arc--which is equivalent to the target position in stereotactic interventions--are investigated using a set of perpendicular cameras. A modeless robot calibration method is introduced and evaluated. To conclude, the application accuracy of the robot is studied in a phantom trial. We identified the bending of the arc under load as the robot's main error source. A calibration algorithm was implemented to compensate for the deflection of the robot's arc. The mean error after the calibration was 0.26 mm, the 68.27th percentile was 0.32 mm, and the 95.45th was 0.50 mm. The kinematic properties of the robot were measured, and based on the results an appropriate calibration method was derived. With mean errors smaller than currently used mechanical systems, our results show that the robot's accuracy is appropriate for stereotactic interventions.

A graphical, rule based robotic interface system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckee, James W.; Wolfsberger, John

1988-01-01

The ability of a human to take control of a robotic system is essential in any use of robots in space in order to handle unforeseen changes in the robot's work environment or scheduled tasks. But in cases in which the work environment is known, a human controlling a robot's every move by remote control is both time consuming and frustrating. A system is needed in which the user can give the robotic system commands to perform tasks but need not tell the system how. To be useful, this system should be able to plan and perform the tasks faster than a telerobotic system. The interface between the user and the robot system must be natural and meaningful to the user. A high level user interface program under development at the University of Alabama, Huntsville, is described. A graphical interface is proposed in which the user selects objects to be manipulated by selecting representations of the object on projections of a 3-D model of the work environment. The user may move in the work environment by changing the viewpoint of the projections. The interface uses a rule based program to transform user selection of items on a graphics display of the robot's work environment into commands for the robot. The program first determines if the desired task is possible given the abilities of the robot and any constraints on the object. If the task is possible, the program determines what movements the robot needs to make to perform the task. The movements are transformed into commands for the robot. The information defining the robot, the work environment, and how objects may be moved is stored in a set of data bases accessible to the program and displayable to the user.

Integration of Haptics in Agricultural Robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kannan Megalingam, Rajesh; Sreekanth, M. M.; Sivanantham, Vinu; Sai Kumar, K.; Ghanta, Sriharsha; Surya Teja, P.; Reddy, Rajesh G.

2017-08-01

Robots can differentiate with open loop system and closed loop system robots. We face many problems when we do not have a feedback from robots. In this research paper, we are discussing all possibilities to achieve complete closed loop system for Multiple-DOF Robotic Arm, which is used in a coconut tree climbing and cutting robot by introducing a Haptic device. We are working on various sensors like tactile, vibration, force and proximity sensors for getting feedback. For monitoring the robotic arm achieved by graphical user interference software which simulates the working of the robotic arm, send the feedback of all the real time analog values which are produced by various sensors and provide real-time graphs for estimate the efficiency of the Robot.

Lunar Exploration and Science in ESA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carpenter, J.; Houdou, B.; Fisackerly, R.; De Rosa, D.; Patti, B.; Schiemann, J.; Hufenbach, B.; Foing, B.

2014-04-01

ESA seeks to provide Europe with access to the lunar surface, and allow Europeans to benefit from the opening up of this new frontier, as part of a global endeavor. This will be best achieved through an exploration programme which combines the strengths and capabilities of both robotic and human explorers. ESA is preparing for future participation in lunar exploration through a combination of human and robotic activities, in cooperation with international partners. Future planned activities include the contribution of key technological capabilities to the Russian led robotic missions, Luna-Glob, Luna-Resurs orbiter and Luna-Resurs lander. For the Luna-Resurs lander ESA will provide analytical capabilities to compliment the already selected Russian led payload, focusing on the composition and isotopic abundances of lunar volatiles in polar regions. This should be followed by the contributions at the level of mission elements to a Lunar Polar Sample Return mission. This partnership will provide access for European investigators to the opportunities offered by the Russian led instruments on the missions, as well as providing Europe with a unique opportunity to characterize and utilize polar volatile populations. Ultimately samples of high scientific value, from as of yet unexplored and unsampled locations shall be made available to the scientific community. These robotic activities are being performed with a view to enabling a future more comprehensive programme in which robotic and human activities are integrated to provide the maximum benefits from lunar surface access. Activities on the ISS and ESA participation to the US led Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, which is planned for a first unmanned lunar flight in 2017, are also important steps towards achieving this. All of these activities are performed with a view to generating the technologies, capabilities, knowledge and heritage that will make Europe an indispensible partner in the exploration missions of the future. We report on the current status of the European elements in this cooperative scenario, with an emphasis on the investigations to be performed at the lunar surface. These investigations should generate knowledge that can be enabling for exploration in the future, and should also have a significant fundamental scientific return.

Lunar Exploration and Science Opportunities in ESA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carpenter, J.; Houdou, B.; Fisackerly, R.; De Rosa, D.; Schiemann, J.; Patti, B.; Foing, B.

2014-04-01

ESA seeks to provide Europe with access to the lunar surface, and allow Europeans to benefit from the opening up of this new frontier, as part of a global endeavour. This will be best achieved through an exploration programme which combines the strengths and capabilities of both robotic and human explorers. ESA is preparing for future participation in lunar exploration through a combination of human and robotic activities, in cooperation with international partners. Future planned activities include the contribution of key technological capabilities to the Russian led robotic missions, Luna-Glob, Luna-Resurs orbiter and Luna-Resurs lander. For the Luna-Resurs lander ESA will provide analytical capabilities to compliment the already selected Russian led payload, focusing on the composition and isotopic abundances of lunar volatiles in polar regions. This should be followed by the contributions at the level of mission elements to a Lunar Polar Sample Return mission. This partnership will provide access for European investigators to the opportunities offered by the Russian led instruments on the missions, as well as providing Europe with a unique opportunity to characterize and utilize polar volatile populations. Ultimately samples of high scientific value, from as of yet unexplored and unsampled locations shall be made available to the scientific community. These robotic activities are being performed with a view to enabling a future more comprehensive programme in which robotic and human activities are integrated to provide the maximum benefits from lunar surface access. Activities on the ISS and ESA participation to the US led Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, which is planned for a first unmanned lunar flight in 2017, are also important steps towards achieving this. All of these activities are performed with a view to generating the technologies, capabilities, knowledge and heritage that will make Europe an indispensible partner in the exploration missions of the future. We report on the current status of the European elements in this cooperative scenario, with an emphasis on the investigations to be performed at the lunar surface. These investigations should generate knowledge that can be enabling for exploration in the future, and should also have a significant fundamental scientific return.

Design, implementation and evaluation of an independent real-time safety layer for medical robotic systems using a force-torque-acceleration (FTA) sensor.

PubMed

Richter, Lars; Bruder, Ralf

2013-05-01

Most medical robotic systems require direct interaction or contact with the robot. Force-Torque (FT) sensors can easily be mounted to the robot to control the contact pressure. However, evaluation is often done in software, which leads to latencies. To overcome that, we developed an independent safety system, named FTA sensor, which is based on an FT sensor and an accelerometer. An embedded system (ES) runs a real-time monitoring system for continuously checking of the readings. In case of a collision or error, it instantaneously stops the robot via the robot's external emergency stop. We found that the ES implementing the FTA sensor has a maximum latency of [Formula: see text] ms to trigger the robot's emergency stop. For the standard settings in the application of robotized transcranial magnetic stimulation, the robot will stop after at most 4 mm. Therefore, it works as an independent safety layer preventing patient and/or operator from serious harm.

An immune-inspired swarm aggregation algorithm for self-healing swarm robotic systems.

PubMed

Timmis, J; Ismail, A R; Bjerknes, J D; Winfield, A F T

2016-08-01

Swarm robotics is concerned with the decentralised coordination of multiple robots having only limited communication and interaction abilities. Although fault tolerance and robustness to individual robot failures have often been used to justify the use of swarm robotic systems, recent studies have shown that swarm robotic systems are susceptible to certain types of failure. In this paper we propose an approach to self-healing swarm robotic systems and take inspiration from the process of granuloma formation, a process of containment and repair found in the immune system. We use a case study of a swarm performing team work where previous works have demonstrated that partially failed robots have the most detrimental effect on overall swarm behaviour. We have developed an immune inspired approach that permits the recovery from certain failure modes during operation of the swarm, overcoming issues that effect swarm behaviour associated with partially failed robots. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Execution monitoring for a mobile robot system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, David P.

1990-01-01

Due to sensor errors, uncertainty, incomplete knowledge, and a dynamic world, robot plans will not always be executed exactly as planned. This paper describes an implemented robot planning system that enhances the traditional sense-think-act cycle in ways that allow the robot system monitor its behavior and react in emergencies in real-time. A proposal on how robot systems can completely break away from the traditional three-step cycle is also made.

An Internal Data Non-hiding Type Real-time Kernel and its Application to the Mechatronics Controller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Toshio

For the mechatronics equipment controller that controls robots and machine tools, high-speed motion control processing is essential. The software system of the controller like other embedded systems is composed of three layers software such as real-time kernel layer, middleware layer, and application software layer on the dedicated hardware. The application layer in the top layer is composed of many numbers of tasks, and application function of the system is realized by the cooperation between these tasks. In this paper we propose an internal data non-hiding type real-time kernel in which customizing the task control is possible only by change in the program code of the task side without any changes in the program code of real-time kernel. It is necessary to reduce the overhead caused by the real-time kernel task control for the speed-up of the motion control of the mechatronics equipment. For this, customizing the task control function is needed. We developed internal data non-cryptic type real-time kernel ZRK to evaluate this method, and applied to the control of the multi system automatic lathe. The effect of the speed-up of the task cooperation processing was able to be confirmed by combined task control processing on the task side program code using an internal data non-hiding type real-time kernel ZRK.

The role of assistive robotics in the lives of persons with disability.

PubMed

Brose, Steven W; Weber, Douglas J; Salatin, Ben A; Grindle, Garret G; Wang, Hongwu; Vazquez, Juan J; Cooper, Rory A

2010-06-01

Robotic assistive devices are used increasingly to improve the independence and quality of life of persons with disabilities. Devices as varied as robotic feeders, smart-powered wheelchairs, independent mobile robots, and socially assistive robots are becoming more clinically relevant. There is a growing importance for the rehabilitation professional to be aware of available systems and ongoing research efforts. The aim of this article is to describe the advances in assistive robotics that are relevant to professionals serving persons with disabilities. This review breaks down relevant advances into categories of Assistive Robotic Systems, User Interfaces and Control Systems, Sensory and Feedback Systems, and User Perspectives. An understanding of the direction that assistive robotics is taking is important for the clinician and researcher alike; this review is intended to address this need.

Asteroid Exploration with Autonomic Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Truszkowski, Walt; Rash, James; Rouff, Christopher; Hinchey, Mike

2004-01-01

NASA is studying advanced technologies for a future robotic exploration mission to the asteroid belt. The prospective ANTS (Autonomous Nano Technology Swarm) mission comprises autonomous agents including worker agents (small spacecra3) designed to cooperate in asteroid exploration under the overall authoriq of at least one ruler agent (a larger spacecraft) whose goal is to cause science data to be returned to Earth. The ANTS team (ruler plus workers and messenger agents), but not necessarily any individual on the team, will exhibit behaviors that qualify it as an autonomic system, where an autonomic system is defined as a system that self-reconfigures, self-optimizes, self-heals, and self-protects. Autonomic system concepts lead naturally to realistic, scalable architectures rich in capabilities and behaviors. In-depth consideration of a major mission like ANTS in terms of autonomic systems brings new insights into alternative definitions of autonomic behavior. This paper gives an overview of the ANTS mission and discusses the autonomic properties of the mission.

Analysis of Unmanned Systems in Military Logistics

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

opportunities to employ unmanned systems to support logistic operations. 14. SUBJECT TERMS unmanned systems, robotics , UAVs, UGVs, USVs, UUVs, military...Industrial Robots at Warehouses / Distribution Centers .............................................................................. 17 2. Unmanned...Autonomous Robot Gun Turret. Source: Blain (2010)................................................... 33 Figure 4. Robot Sentries for Base Patrol

Robot calibration with a photogrammetric on-line system using reseau scanning cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diewald, Bernd; Godding, Robert; Henrich, Andreas

1994-03-01

The possibility for testing and calibration of industrial robots becomes more and more important for manufacturers and users of such systems. Exacting applications in connection with the off-line programming techniques or the use of robots as measuring machines are impossible without a preceding robot calibration. At the LPA an efficient calibration technique has been developed. Instead of modeling the kinematic behavior of a robot, the new method describes the pose deviations within a user-defined section of the robot's working space. High- precision determination of 3D coordinates of defined path positions is necessary for calibration and can be done by digital photogrammetric systems. For the calibration of a robot at the LPA a digital photogrammetric system with three Rollei Reseau Scanning Cameras was used. This system allows an automatic measurement of a large number of robot poses with high accuracy.

Meeting the challenges of installing a mobile robotic system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decorte, Celeste

1994-01-01

The challenges of integrating a mobile robotic system into an application environment are many. Most problems inherent to installing the mobile robotic system fall into one of three categories: (1) the physical environment - location(s) where, and conditions under which, the mobile robotic system will work; (2) the technological environment - external equipment with which the mobile robotic system will interact; and (3) the human environment - personnel who will operate and interact with the mobile robotic system. The successful integration of a mobile robotic system into these three types of application environment requires more than a good pair of pliers. The tools for this job include: careful planning, accurate measurement data (as-built drawings), complete technical data of systems to be interfaced, sufficient time and attention of key personnel for training on how to operate and program the robot, on-site access during installation, and a thorough understanding and appreciation - by all concerned - of the mobile robotic system's role in the security mission at the site, as well as the machine's capabilities and limitations. Patience, luck, and a sense of humor are also useful tools to keep handy during a mobile robotic system installation. This paper will discuss some specific examples of problems in each of three categories, and explore approaches to solving these problems. The discussion will draw from the author's experience with on-site installations of mobile robotic systems in various applications. Most of the information discussed in this paper has come directly from knowledge learned during installations of Cybermotion's SR2 security robots. A large part of the discussion will apply to any vehicle with a drive system, collision avoidance, and navigation sensors, which is, of course, what makes a vehicle autonomous. And it is with these sensors and a drive system that the installer must become familiar in order to foresee potential trouble areas in the physical, technical, and human environment.

Compliance control based on PSO algorithm to improve the feeling during physical human-robot interaction.

PubMed

Jiang, Zhongliang; Sun, Yu; Gao, Peng; Hu, Ying; Zhang, Jianwei

2016-01-01

Robots play more important roles in daily life and bring us a lot of convenience. But when people work with robots, there remain some significant differences in human-human interactions and human-robot interaction. It is our goal to make robots look even more human-like. We design a controller which can sense the force acting on any point of a robot and ensure the robot can move according to the force. First, a spring-mass-dashpot system was used to describe the physical model, and the second-order system is the kernel of the controller. Then, we can establish the state space equations of the system. In addition, the particle swarm optimization algorithm had been used to obtain the system parameters. In order to test the stability of system, the root-locus diagram had been shown in the paper. Ultimately, some experiments had been carried out on the robotic spinal surgery system, which is developed by our team, and the result shows that the new controller performs better during human-robot interaction.

Technological advances in robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery.

PubMed

Tan, Gerald Y; Goel, Raj K; Kaouk, Jihad H; Tewari, Ashutosh K

2009-05-01

In this article, the authors describe the evolution of urologic robotic systems and the current state-of-the-art features and existing limitations of the da Vinci S HD System (Intuitive Surgical, Inc.). They then review promising innovations in scaling down the footprint of robotic platforms, the early experience with mobile miniaturized in vivo robots, advances in endoscopic navigation systems using augmented reality technologies and tracking devices, the emergence of technologies for robotic natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery and single-port surgery, advances in flexible robotics and haptics, the development of new virtual reality simulator training platforms compatible with the existing da Vinci system, and recent experiences with remote robotic surgery and telestration.

School-based use of a robotic arm system by children with disabilities.

PubMed

Cook, Albert M; Bentz, Brenda; Harbottle, Norma; Lynch, Cheryl; Miller, Brad

2005-12-01

A robotic arm system was developed for use by children who had very severe motor disabilities and varying levels of cognitive and language skills. The children used the robot in a three-task sequence routine to dig objects from a tub of dry macaroni. The robotic system was used in the child's school for 12-15 sessions over a period of four weeks. Goal attainment scaling indicated improvement in all children in operational competence of the robot, and varying levels of gain in functional skill development with the robot and in carryover to the classroom from the robot experiments. Teacher interviews revealed gains in classroom participation, expressive language (vocalizations, symbolic communication), and a high degree of interest by the children in the robot tasks. The teachers also recommended that the robot should have more color, contrast and character, as well as generating sounds and/or music for student cues. They also felt that the robotic system accuracy should be increased so that teacher assistance is not necessary to complete the task.

micROS: a morphable, intelligent and collective robot operating system.

PubMed

Yang, Xuejun; Dai, Huadong; Yi, Xiaodong; Wang, Yanzhen; Yang, Shaowu; Zhang, Bo; Wang, Zhiyuan; Zhou, Yun; Peng, Xuefeng

2016-01-01

Robots are developing in much the same way that personal computers did 40 years ago, and robot operating system is the critical basis. Current robot software is mainly designed for individual robots. We present in this paper the design of micROS, a morphable, intelligent and collective robot operating system for future collective and collaborative robots. We first present the architecture of micROS, including the distributed architecture for collective robot system as a whole and the layered architecture for every single node. We then present the design of autonomous behavior management based on the observe-orient-decide-act cognitive behavior model and the design of collective intelligence including collective perception, collective cognition, collective game and collective dynamics. We also give the design of morphable resource management, which first categorizes robot resources into physical, information, cognitive and social domains, and then achieve morphability based on self-adaptive software technology. We finally deploy micROS on NuBot football robots and achieve significant improvement in real-time performance.

Imagine...Opportunities and Resources for Academically Talented Youth, 2001-2002.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartman, Melissa, Ed.

2002-01-01

This collection of 5 issues of Imagine cover the time period from November/December 2001 through May/June 2002. Designed for gifted youth, the issues focus on dramatic arts, physics and astronomy, communications, law and politics, and robotics, and contain the following featured articles: (1) The Story of a Play (Gemma Cooper-Novack); (2)…

Robotics in invasive cardiac electrophysiology.

PubMed

Shurrab, Mohammed; Schilling, Richard; Gang, Eli; Khan, Ejaz M; Crystal, Eugene

2014-07-01

Robotic systems allow for mapping and ablation of different arrhythmia substrates replacing hand maneuvering of intracardiac catheters with machine steering. Currently there are four commercially available robotic systems. Niobe magnetic navigation system (Stereotaxis Inc., St Louis, MO) and Sensei robotic navigation system (Hansen Medical Inc., Mountain View, CA) have an established platform with at least 10 years of clinical studies looking at their efficacy and safety. AMIGO Remote Catheter System (Catheter Robotics, Inc., Mount Olive, NJ) and Catheter Guidance Control and Imaging (Magnetecs, Inglewood, CA) are in the earlier phases of implementations with ongoing feasibility and some limited clinical studies. This review discusses the advantages and limitations related to each existing system and highlights the ideal futuristic robotic system that may include the most promising features of the current ones.

Generic, scalable and decentralized fault detection for robot swarms

PubMed Central

Christensen, Anders Lyhne; Timmis, Jon

2017-01-01

Robot swarms are large-scale multirobot systems with decentralized control which means that each robot acts based only on local perception and on local coordination with neighboring robots. The decentralized approach to control confers number of potential benefits. In particular, inherent scalability and robustness are often highlighted as key distinguishing features of robot swarms compared with systems that rely on traditional approaches to multirobot coordination. It has, however, been shown that swarm robotics systems are not always fault tolerant. To realize the robustness potential of robot swarms, it is thus essential to give systems the capacity to actively detect and accommodate faults. In this paper, we present a generic fault-detection system for robot swarms. We show how robots with limited and imperfect sensing capabilities are able to observe and classify the behavior of one another. In order to achieve this, the underlying classifier is an immune system-inspired algorithm that learns to distinguish between normal behavior and abnormal behavior online. Through a series of experiments, we systematically assess the performance of our approach in a detailed simulation environment. In particular, we analyze our system’s capacity to correctly detect robots with faults, false positive rates, performance in a foraging task in which each robot exhibits a composite behavior, and performance under perturbations of the task environment. Results show that our generic fault-detection system is robust, that it is able to detect faults in a timely manner, and that it achieves a low false positive rate. The developed fault-detection system has the potential to enable long-term autonomy for robust multirobot systems, thus increasing the usefulness of robots for a diverse repertoire of upcoming applications in the area of distributed intelligent automation. PMID:28806756

Bilateral Impedance Control For Telemanipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Christopher L.

1993-01-01

Telemanipulator system includes master robot manipulated by human operator, and slave robot performing tasks at remote location. Two robots electronically coupled so slave robot moves in response to commands from master robot. Teleoperation greatly enhanced if forces acting on slave robot fed back to operator, giving operator feeling he or she manipulates remote environment directly. Main advantage of bilateral impedance control: enables arbitrary specification of desired performance characteristics for telemanipulator system. Relationship between force and position modulated at both ends of system to suit requirements of task.

Two modular neuro-fuzzy system for mobile robot navigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bobyr, M. V.; Titov, V. S.; Kulabukhov, S. A.; Syryamkin, V. I.

2018-05-01

The article considers the fuzzy model for navigation of a mobile robot operating in two modes. In the first mode the mobile robot moves along a line. In the second mode, the mobile robot looks for an target in unknown space. Structural and schematic circuit of four-wheels mobile robot are presented in the article. The article describes the movement of a mobile robot based on two modular neuro-fuzzy system. The algorithm of neuro-fuzzy inference used in two modular control system for movement of a mobile robot is given in the article. The experimental model of the mobile robot and the simulation of the neuro-fuzzy algorithm used for its control are presented in the article.

Robot environment expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potter, J. L.

1985-01-01

The Robot Environment Expert System uses a hexidecimal tree data structure to model a complex robot environment where not only the robot arm moves, but also the robot itself and other objects may move. The hextree model allows dynamic updating, collision avoidance and path planning over time, to avoid moving objects.

A Haptic Guided Robotic System for Endoscope Positioning and Holding.

PubMed

Cabuk, Burak; Ceylan, Savas; Anik, Ihsan; Tugasaygi, Mehtap; Kizir, Selcuk

2015-01-01

To determine the feasibility, advantages, and disadvantages of using a robot for holding and maneuvering the endoscope in transnasal transsphenoidal surgery. The system used in this study was a Stewart Platform based robotic system that was developed by Kocaeli University Department of Mechatronics Engineering for positioning and holding of endoscope. After the first use on an artificial head model, the system was used on six fresh postmortem bodies that were provided by the Morgue Specialization Department of the Forensic Medicine Institute (Istanbul, Turkey). The setup required for robotic system was easy, the time for registration procedure and setup of the robot takes 15 minutes. The resistance was felt on haptic arm in case of contact or friction with adjacent tissues. The adaptation process was shorter with the mouse to manipulate the endoscope. The endoscopic transsphenoidal approach was achieved with the robotic system. The endoscope was guided to the sphenoid ostium with the help of the robotic arm. This robotic system can be used in endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery as an endoscope positioner and holder. The robot is able to change the position easily with the help of an assistant and prevents tremor, and provides a better field of vision for work.

UROLOGIC ROBOTS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

PubMed Central

Mozer, Pierre; Troccaz, Jocelyne; Stoianovici, Dan

2009-01-01

Purpose of review Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery in urology has gained immense popularity with the Da Vinci system but a lot of research teams are working on new robots. The purpose of this paper is to review current urologic robots and present future developments directions. Recent findings Future systems are expected to advance in two directions: improvements of remote manipulation robots and developments of image-guided robots. Summary The final goal of robots is to allow safer and more homogeneous outcomes with less variability of surgeon performance, as well as new tools to perform tasks based on medical transcutaneous imaging, in a less invasive way, at lower costs. It is expected that improvements for remote system could be augmented reality, haptic feed back, size reduction and development of new tools for NOTES surgery. The paradigm of image-guided robots is close to a clinical availability and the most advanced robots are presented with end-user technical assessments. It is also notable that the potential of robots lies much further ahead than the accomplishments of the daVinci system. The integration of imaging with robotics holds a substantial promise, because this can accomplish tasks otherwise impossible. Image guided robots have the potential to offer a paradigm shift. PMID:19057227

Urologic robots and future directions.

PubMed

Mozer, Pierre; Troccaz, Jocelyne; Stoianovici, Dan

2009-01-01

Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery in urology has gained immense popularity with the daVinci system, but a lot of research teams are working on new robots. The purpose of this study is to review current urologic robots and present future development directions. Future systems are expected to advance in two directions: improvements of remote manipulation robots and developments of image-guided robots. The final goal of robots is to allow safer and more homogeneous outcomes with less variability of surgeon performance, as well as new tools to perform tasks on the basis of medical transcutaneous imaging, in a less invasive way, at lower costs. It is expected that improvements for a remote system could be augmented in reality, with haptic feedback, size reduction, and development of new tools for natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery. The paradigm of image-guided robots is close to clinical availability and the most advanced robots are presented with end-user technical assessments. It is also notable that the potential of robots lies much further ahead than the accomplishments of the daVinci system. The integration of imaging with robotics holds a substantial promise, because this can accomplish tasks otherwise impossible. Image-guided robots have the potential to offer a paradigm shift.

Robotic platform for traveling on vertical piping network

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nance, Thomas A; Vrettos, Nick J; Krementz, Daniel

This invention relates generally to robotic systems and is specifically designed for a robotic system that can navigate vertical pipes within a waste tank or similar environment. The robotic system allows a process for sampling, cleaning, inspecting and removing waste around vertical pipes by supplying a robotic platform that uses the vertical pipes to support and navigate the platform above waste material contained in the tank.

The Generation of Situational Awareness within Autonomous Systems - A Near to Mid term Study - Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-07-01

mobility in complex terrain, robot system designers are still seeking workable processes for mapbuilding, with enduring problems that either require...human) robot system designers /users can seek to control the consequences of robot actions, deliberate or otherwise. A notable particular application...operators a sufficient feeling of presence; if not, robot system designers will have to provide autonomy to the robot to make up for the gaps in human input

Multi-Robot Assembly Strategies and Metrics.

PubMed

Marvel, Jeremy A; Bostelman, Roger; Falco, Joe

2018-02-01

We present a survey of multi-robot assembly applications and methods and describe trends and general insights into the multi-robot assembly problem for industrial applications. We focus on fixtureless assembly strategies featuring two or more robotic systems. Such robotic systems include industrial robot arms, dexterous robotic hands, and autonomous mobile platforms, such as automated guided vehicles. In this survey, we identify the types of assemblies that are enabled by utilizing multiple robots, the algorithms that synchronize the motions of the robots to complete the assembly operations, and the metrics used to assess the quality and performance of the assemblies.

Multi-Robot Assembly Strategies and Metrics

PubMed Central

MARVEL, JEREMY A.; BOSTELMAN, ROGER; FALCO, JOE

2018-01-01

We present a survey of multi-robot assembly applications and methods and describe trends and general insights into the multi-robot assembly problem for industrial applications. We focus on fixtureless assembly strategies featuring two or more robotic systems. Such robotic systems include industrial robot arms, dexterous robotic hands, and autonomous mobile platforms, such as automated guided vehicles. In this survey, we identify the types of assemblies that are enabled by utilizing multiple robots, the algorithms that synchronize the motions of the robots to complete the assembly operations, and the metrics used to assess the quality and performance of the assemblies. PMID:29497234

A robotic vision system to measure tree traits

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The autonomous measurement of tree traits, such as branching structure, branch diameters, branch lengths, and branch angles, is required for tasks such as robotic pruning of trees as well as structural phenotyping. We propose a robotic vision system called the Robotic System for Tree Shape Estimati...

Experiences in Developing an Experimental Robotics Course Program for Undergraduate Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jung, Seul

2013-01-01

An interdisciplinary undergraduate-level robotics course offers students the chance to integrate their engineering knowledge learned throughout their college years by building a robotic system. Robotics is thus a core course in system and control-related engineering education. This paper summarizes the experience of developing robotics courses…

Mobile robot knowledge base

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heath Pastore, Tracy; Barnes, Mitchell; Hallman, Rory

2005-05-01

Robot technology is developing at a rapid rate for both commercial and Department of Defense (DOD) applications. As a result, the task of managing both technology and experience information is growing. In the not-to-distant past, tracking development efforts of robot platforms, subsystems and components was not too difficult, expensive, or time consuming. To do the same today is a significant undertaking. The Mobile Robot Knowledge Base (MRKB) provides the robotics community with a web-accessible, centralized resource for sharing information, experience, and technology to more efficiently and effectively meet the needs of the robot system user. The resource includes searchable information on robot components, subsystems, mission payloads, platforms, and DOD robotics programs. In addition, the MRKB website provides a forum for technology and information transfer within the DOD robotics community and an interface for the Robotic Systems Pool (RSP). The RSP manages a collection of small teleoperated and semi-autonomous robotic platforms, available for loan to DOD and other qualified entities. The objective is to put robots in the hands of users and use the test data and fielding experience to improve robot systems.

Autonomous intelligent military robots: Army ants, killer bees, and cybernetic soldiers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finkelstein, Robert

The rationale for developing autonomous intelligent robots in the military is to render conventional warfare systems ineffective and indefensible. The Desert Storm operation demonstrated the effectiveness of such systems as unmanned air and ground vehicles and indicated the future possibilities of robotic technology. Robotic military vehicles would have the advantages of expendability, low cost, lower complexity compared to manned systems, survivability, maneuverability, and a capability to share in instantaneous communication and distributed processing of combat information. Basic characteristics of intelligent systems and hierarchical control systems with sensor inputs are described. Genetic algorithms are seen as a means of achieving appropriate levels of intelligence in a robotic system. Potential impacts of robotic technology in the military are outlined.

Wave-variable framework for networked robotic systems with time delays and packet losses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puah, Seng-Ming; Liu, Yen-Chen

2017-05-01

This paper investigates the problem of networked control system for nonlinear robotic manipulators under time delays and packet loss by using passivity technique. With the utilisation of wave variables and a passive remote controller, the networked robotic system is demonstrated to be stable with guaranteed position regulation. For the input/output signals of robotic systems, a discretisation block is exploited to convert continuous-time signals to discrete-time signals, and vice versa. Subsequently, we propose a packet management, called wave-variable modulation, to cope with the proposed networked robotic system under time delays and packet losses. Numerical examples and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed wave-variable-based networked robotic systems.

Robotic-assisted real-time MRI-guided TAVR: from system deployment to in vivo experiment in swine model.

PubMed

Chan, Joshua L; Mazilu, Dumitru; Miller, Justin G; Hunt, Timothy; Horvath, Keith A; Li, Ming

2016-10-01

Real-time magnetic resonance imaging (rtMRI) guidance provides significant advantages during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) as it provides superior real-time visualization and accurate device delivery tracking. However, performing a TAVR within an MRI scanner remains difficult due to a constrained procedural environment. To address these concerns, a magnetic resonance (MR)-compatible robotic system to assist in TAVR deployments was developed. This study evaluates the technical design and interface considerations of an MR-compatible robotic-assisted TAVR system with the purpose of demonstrating that such a system can be developed and executed safely and precisely in a preclinical model. An MR-compatible robotic surgical assistant system was built for TAVR deployment. This system integrates a 5-degrees of freedom (DoF) robotic arm with a 3-DoF robotic valve delivery module. A user interface system was designed for procedural planning and real-time intraoperative manipulation of the robot. The robotic device was constructed of plastic materials, pneumatic actuators, and fiber-optical encoders. The mechanical profile and MR compatibility of the robotic system were evaluated. The system-level error based on a phantom model was 1.14 ± 0.33 mm. A self-expanding prosthesis was successfully deployed in eight Yorkshire swine under rtMRI guidance. Post-deployment imaging and necropsy confirmed placement of the stent within 3 mm of the aortic valve annulus. These phantom and in vivo studies demonstrate the feasibility and advantages of robotic-assisted TAVR under rtMRI guidance. This robotic system increases the precision of valve deployments, diminishes environmental constraints, and improves the overall success of TAVR.

From embodied mind to embodied robotics: humanities and system theoretical aspects.

PubMed

Mainzer, Klaus

2009-01-01

After an introduction (1) the article analyzes the evolution of the embodied mind (2), the innovation of embodied robotics (3), and finally discusses conclusions of embodied robotics for human responsibility (4). Considering the evolution of the embodied mind (2), we start with an introduction of complex systems and nonlinear dynamics (2.1), apply this approach to neural self-organization (2.2), distinguish degrees of complexity of the brain (2.3), explain the emergence of cognitive states by complex systems dynamics (2.4), and discuss criteria for modeling the brain as complex nonlinear system (2.5). The innovation of embodied robotics (3) is a challenge of future technology. We start with the distinction of symbolic and embodied AI (3.1) and explain embodied robots as dynamical systems (3.2). Self-organization needs self-control of technical systems (3.3). Cellular neural networks (CNN) are an example of self-organizing technical systems offering new avenues for neurobionics (3.4). In general, technical neural networks support different kinds of learning robots (3.5). Finally, embodied robotics aim at the development of cognitive and conscious robots (3.6).

A Search-and-Rescue Robot System for Remotely Sensing the Underground Coal Mine Environment

PubMed Central

Gao, Junyao; Zhao, Fangzhou; Liu, Yi

2017-01-01

This paper introduces a search-and-rescue robot system used for remote sensing of the underground coal mine environment, which is composed of an operating control unit and two mobile robots with explosion-proof and waterproof function. This robot system is designed to observe and collect information of the coal mine environment through remote control. Thus, this system can be regarded as a multifunction sensor, which realizes remote sensing. When the robot system detects danger, it will send out signals to warn rescuers to keep away. The robot consists of two gas sensors, two cameras, a two-way audio, a 1 km-long fiber-optic cable for communication and a mechanical explosion-proof manipulator. Especially, the manipulator is a novel explosion-proof manipulator for cleaning obstacles, which has 3-degree-of-freedom, but is driven by two motors. Furthermore, the two robots can communicate in series for 2 km with the operating control unit. The development of the robot system may provide a reference for developing future search-and-rescue systems. PMID:29065560

Research on Self-Reconfigurable Modular Robot System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamimura, Akiya; Murata, Satoshi; Yoshida, Eiichi; Kurokawa, Haruhisa; Tomita, Kohji; Kokaji, Shigeru

Growing complexity of artificial systems arises reliability and flexibility issues of large system design. Robots are not exception of this, and many attempts have been made to realize reliable and flexible robot systems. Distributed modular composition of robot is one of the most effective approaches to attain such abilities and has a potential to adapt to its surroundings by changing its configuration autonomously according to information of surroundings. In this paper, we propose a novel three-dimensional self-reconfigurable robotic module. Each module has a very simple structure that consists of two semi-cylindrical parts connected by a link. The modular system is capable of not only building static structure but also generating dynamic robotic motion. We present details of the mechanical/electrical design of the developed module and its control system architecture. Experiments using ten modules with centralized control demonstrate robotic configuration change, crawling locomotion and three types of quadruped locomotion.

Digital redesign of the control system for the Robotics Research Corporation model K-1607 robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carroll, Robert L.

1989-01-01

The analog control system for positioning each link of the Robotics Research Corporation Model K-1607 robot manipulator was redesigned for computer control. In order to accomplish the redesign, a linearized model of the dynamic behavior of the robot was developed. The parameters of the model were determined by examination of the input-output data collected in closed-loop operation of the analog control system. The robot manipulator possesses seven degrees of freedom in its motion. The analog control system installed by the manufacturer of the robot attempts to control the positioning of each link without feedback from other links. Constraints on the design of a digital control system include: the robot cannot be disassembled for measurement of parameters; the digital control system must not include filtering operations if possible, because of lack of computer capability; and criteria of goodness of control system performing is lacking. The resulting design employs sampled-data position and velocity feedback. The criteria of the design permits the control system gain margin and phase margin, measured at the same frequencies, to be the same as that provided by the analog control system.

A Dynamic Non Energy Storing Guidance Constraint with Motion Redirection for Robot Assisted Surgery

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

Abstract— Haptically enabled hands-on or tele-operated surgical robotic systems provide a unique opportunity to integrate pre- and intra... robot -assisted surgical systems aim at improving and extending human capabilities, by exploiting the advantages of robotic systems while keeping the...move during the operation. Robot -assisted beating heart surgery is an example of procedures that can benefit from dynamic constraints. Their

I-PFO: the new technology for simple and flexible implementation of high productive on-the-fly remote processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müllegger, Andreas; Ryba, Tracey

2017-02-01

Standardized production systems which can be implemented, programmed, maintained and sourced in a simple and efficient way are key for a successful global production of automobiles or related parts at component suppliers. This is also valid for systems, which are built by laser based processes. One of the key applications is remote laser welding (RLW) of "Body in White" (BIW) parts (such as hang-on parts, B-Pillars, side frames, etc.), but also builtin components (such as car seats, batteries, etc.). The majority of RLW applications are based on the implementation of a 3-D scanner optic (e.g. the PFO 3D from TRUMPF) which positions the laser beam on the various component surfaces to be welded. Over the past 10 years it has been proven that the most efficient way to build up the RLW process is to have a system where an industrial robot and a scanner optic are combined in one production cell. They usually cooperate within an "On-The-Fly" (OTF) process as this ensures minimum cycle times. Until now there are several technologies on the market which can coordinate both the robot and scanner in the OTF mode. But none of them meet all requirements of global standardized production solutions. With the introduction of the I-PFO (Intelligent Programmable Focusing Optics) technology the situation has changed. It is now possible to program or adopt complex remote processes in a fast and easy way by the "Teach-in" function via the robot teach pendant. Additionally a 3D offline designer software is an option for this system. It automatically creates the ideal remote process based on the part, fixture, production cell and required process parameters. The I-PFO technology doesn't need additional hardware due to the fact that it runs on the controller within the PFO 3D. Furthermore it works together with different types of industrial robots (e.g. ABB, Fanuc and KUKA) which allow highest flexibility for the production planning phase. Finally a single TRUMPF laser source can supply up to six I-PFOs. This guarantees maximum beam-on time at the production line. Within this report the concept of the I-PFO technology (with mentioned functions) is described and is compared to the other existing ways for Remote Laser processing.

Preliminary design of a satellite observation system for Space Station Freedom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cabe, Greg (Editor); Gallagher, Chris; Wilson, Brian; Rehfeld, James; Maurer, Alexa; Stern, Dan; Nualart, Jaime; Le, Xuan-Trang

1992-01-01

Degobah Satellite Systems (DSS), in cooperation with the University Space Research Association (USRA), NASA - Johnson Space Center (JSC), and the University of Texas, has completed the preliminary design of a satellite system to provide inexpensive on-demand video images of all or any portion of Space Station Freedom (SSF). DSS has narrowed the scope of the project to complement the work done by Mr. Dennis Wells at Johnson Space Center. This three month project has resulted in completion of the preliminary design of AERCAM, the Autonomous Extravehicular Robotic Camera, detailed in this design report. This report begins by providing information on the project background, describing the mission objectives, constraints, and assumptions. Preliminary designs for the primary concept and satellite subsystems are then discussed in detail. Included in the technical portion of the report are detailed descriptions of an advanced imaging system and docking and safing systems that ensure compatibility with the SSF. The report concludes by describing management procedures and project costs.

Robotic Technology Efforts at the NASA/Johnson Space Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diftler, Ron

2017-01-01

The NASA/Johnson Space Center has been developing robotic systems in support of space exploration for more than two decades. The goal of the Center’s Robotic Systems Technology Branch is to design and build hardware and software to assist astronauts in performing their mission. These systems include: rovers, humanoid robots, inspection devices and wearable robotics. Inspection systems provide external views of space vehicles to search for surface damage and also maneuver inside restricted areas to verify proper connections. New concepts in human and robotic rovers offer solutions for navigating difficult terrain expected in future planetary missions. An important objective for humanoid robots is to relieve the crew of “dull, dirty or dangerous” tasks allowing them more time to perform their important science and exploration missions. Wearable robotics one of the Center’s newest development areas can provide crew with low mass exercise capability and also augment an astronaut’s strength while wearing a space suit.This presentation will describe the robotic technology and prototypes developed at the Johnson Space Center that are the basis for future flight systems. An overview of inspection robots will show their operation on the ground and in-orbit. Rovers with independent wheel modules, crab steering, and active suspension are able to climb over large obstacles, and nimbly maneuver around others. Humanoid robots, including the First Humanoid Robot in Space: Robonaut 2, demonstrate capabilities that will lead to robotic caretakers for human habitats in space, and on Mars. The Center’s Wearable Robotics Lab supports work in assistive and sensing devices, including exoskeletons, force measuring shoes, and grasp assist gloves.

Robotic Technology Efforts at the NASA/Johnson Space Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diftler, Ron

2017-01-01

The NASA/Johnson Space Center has been developing robotic systems in support of space exploration for more than two decades. The goal of the Center's Robotic Systems Technology Branch is to design and build hardware and software to assist astronauts in performing their mission. These systems include: rovers, humanoid robots, inspection devices and wearable robotics. Inspection systems provide external views of space vehicles to search for surface damage and also maneuver inside restricted areas to verify proper connections. New concepts in human and robotic rovers offer solutions for navigating difficult terrain expected in future planetary missions. An important objective for humanoid robots is to relieve the crew of "dull, dirty or dangerous" tasks allowing them more time to perform their important science and exploration missions. Wearable robotics one of the Center's newest development areas can provide crew with low mass exercise capability and also augment an astronaut's strength while wearing a space suit. This presentation will describe the robotic technology and prototypes developed at the Johnson Space Center that are the basis for future flight systems. An overview of inspection robots will show their operation on the ground and in-orbit. Rovers with independent wheel modules, crab steering, and active suspension are able to climb over large obstacles, and nimbly maneuver around others. Humanoid robots, including the First Humanoid Robot in Space: Robonaut 2, demonstrate capabilities that will lead to robotic caretakers for human habitats in space, and on Mars. The Center's Wearable Robotics Lab supports work in assistive and sensing devices, including exoskeletons, force measuring shoes, and grasp assist gloves.

Surgical robot setup simulation with consistent kinematics and haptics for abdominal surgery.

PubMed

Hayashibe, Mitsuhiro; Suzuki, Naoki; Hattori, Asaki; Suzuki, Shigeyuki; Konishi, Kozo; Kakeji, Yoshihiro; Hashizume, Makoto

2005-01-01

Preoperative simulation and planning of surgical robot setup should accompany advanced robotic surgery if their advantages are to be further pursued. Feedback from the planning system will plays an essential role in computer-aided robotic surgery in addition to preoperative detailed geometric information from patient CT/MRI images. Surgical robot setup simulation systems for appropriate trocar site placement have been developed especially for abdominal surgery. The motion of the surgical robot can be simulated and rehearsed with kinematic constraints at the trocar site, and the inverse-kinematics of the robot. Results from simulation using clinical patient data verify the effectiveness of the proposed system.

Transformers: Shape-Changing Space Systems Built with Robotic Textiles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoica, Adrian

2013-01-01

Prior approaches to transformer-like robots had only very limited success. They suffer from lack of reliability, ability to integrate large surfaces, and very modest change in overall shape. Robots can now be built from two-dimensional (2D) layers of robotic fabric. These transformers, a new kind of robotic space system, are dramatically different from current systems in at least two ways. First, the entire transformer is built from a single, thin sheet; a flexible layer of a robotic fabric (ro-fabric); or robotic textile (ro-textile). Second, the ro-textile layer is foldable to small volume and self-unfolding to adapt shape and function to mission phases.

Robotic surgery: new robots and finally some real competition!

PubMed

Rao, Pradeep P

2018-04-01

For the last 20 years, the predominant robot used in laparoscopic surgery has been Da Vinci by Intuitive Surgical. This monopoly situation has led to rising costs and relatively slow innovation. This article aims to discuss the two new robotic devices for laparoscopic surgery which have received regulatory approval for human use in different parts of the world. A short description of the Senhance Surgical Robotic System and the REVO-I Robot Platform and their pros and cons compared to the Da Vinci system is presented. A discussion about the differences between the three robotic systems now in the market is presented, as well as a short review of the present state of robotic assistance in surgery and where we are headed.

Lunar Exploration and Science in ESA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carpenter, J.; Houdou, B.; Fisackerly, R.; De Rosa, D.; Espinasse, S.; Hufenbach, B.

2013-09-01

Lunar exploration continues to be a priority for the European Space Agency (ESA) and is recognized as the next step for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. The Moon is also recognized as an important scientific target providing vital information on the history of the inner solar system; Earth and the emergence of life, and fundamental information on the formation and evolution of terrestrial planets. The Moon also provides a platform that can be utilized for fundamental science and to prepare the way for exploration deeper into space and towards a human Mars mission, the ultimate exploration goal. Lunar missions can also provide a means of preparing for a Mars sample return mission, which is an important long term robotic milestone. ESA is preparing for future participation in lunar exploration through a combination of human and robotic activities, in cooperation with international partners. These include activities on the ISS and participation with US led Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, which is planned for a first unmanned lunar flight in 2017. Future activities planned activities also include participation in international robotic missions. These activities are performed with a view to generating the technologies, capabilities, knowledge and heritage that will make Europe an indispensible partner in the exploration missions of the future. We present ESA's plans for Lunar exploration and the current status of activities. In particular we will show that this programme gives rise to unique scientific opportunities and prepares scientifically and technologically for future exploratory steps.

Design of the arm-wrestling robot's force acquisition system based on Qt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huo, Zhixiang; Chen, Feng; Wang, Yongtao

2017-03-01

As a collection of entertainment and medical rehabilitation in a robot, the research on the arm-wrestling robot is of great significance. In order to achieve the collection of the arm-wrestling robot's force signals, the design and implementation of arm-wrestling robot's force acquisition system is introduced in this paper. The system is based on MP4221 data acquisition card and is programmed by Qt. It runs successfully in collecting the analog signals on PC. The interface of the system is simple and the real-time performance is good. The result of the test shows the feasibility in arm-wrestling robot.

Development of RT-components for the M-3 Strawberry Harvesting Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamashita, Tomoki; Tanaka, Motomasa; Yamamoto, Satoshi; Hayashi, Shigehiko; Saito, Sadafumi; Sugano, Shigeki

We are now developing the strawberry harvest robot called “M-3” prototype robot system under the 4th urgent project of MAFF. In order to develop the control software of the M-3 robot more efficiently, we innovated the RT-middleware “OpenRTM-aist” software platform. In this system, we developed 9 kind of RT-Components (RTC): Robot task sequence player RTC, Proxy RTC for image processing software, DC motor controller RTC, Arm kinematics RTC, and so on. In this paper, we discuss advantages of RT-middleware developing system and problems about operating the RTC-configured robotic system by end-users.

Full autonomous microline trace robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Deer; Lu, Si; Yan, Yingbai; Jin, Guofan

2000-10-01

Optoelectric inspection may find applications in robotic system. In micro robotic system, smaller optoelectric inspection system is preferred. However, as miniaturizing the size of the robot, the number of the optoelectric detector becomes lack. And lack of the information makes the micro robot difficult to acquire its status. In our lab, a micro line trace robot has been designed, which autonomous acts based on its optoelectric detection. It has been programmed to follow a black line printed on the white colored ground. Besides the optoelectric inspection, logical algorithm in the microprocessor is also important. In this paper, we propose a simply logical algorithm to realize robot's intelligence. The robot's intelligence is based on a AT89C2051 microcontroller which controls its movement. The technical details of the micro robot are as follow: dimension: 30mm*25mm*35*mm; velocity: 60mm/s.

3D printing of soft robotic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallin, T. J.; Pikul, J.; Shepherd, R. F.

2018-06-01

Soft robots are capable of mimicking the complex motion of animals. Soft robotic systems are defined by their compliance, which allows for continuous and often responsive localized deformation. These features make soft robots especially interesting for integration with human tissues, for example, the implementation of biomedical devices, and for robotic performance in harsh or uncertain environments, for example, exploration in confined spaces or locomotion on uneven terrain. Advances in soft materials and additive manufacturing technologies have enabled the design of soft robots with sophisticated capabilities, such as jumping, complex 3D movements, gripping and releasing. In this Review, we examine the essential soft material properties for different elements of soft robots, highlighting the most relevant polymer systems. Advantages and limitations of different additive manufacturing processes, including 3D printing, fused deposition modelling, direct ink writing, selective laser sintering, inkjet printing and stereolithography, are discussed, and the different techniques are investigated for their application in soft robotic fabrication. Finally, we explore integrated robotic systems and give an outlook for the future of the field and remaining challenges.

Swarming Robot Design, Construction and Software Implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stolleis, Karl A.

2014-01-01

In this paper is presented an overview of the hardware design, construction overview, software design and software implementation for a small, low-cost robot to be used for swarming robot development. In addition to the work done on the robot, a full simulation of the robotic system was developed using Robot Operating System (ROS) and its associated simulation. The eventual use of the robots will be exploration of evolving behaviors via genetic algorithms and builds on the work done at the University of New Mexico Biological Computation Lab.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

Intrepid Systems robot "MXR - Mark's Exploration Robot" takes to the practice field and tries to capture the white object in the foreground on Friday, June 15, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Intrepid Systems' robot team will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams have been challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)