Collaborative Relaying Strategies in Autonomic Management of Mobile Robotics

Mobile robotics is a field that presents a surprising set of challenges to communications. One concept that can result in radically different solutions in mobile robotics is that of collaborative and cooperative communications. Cooperative techniques in wireless networks can enhance the performance of communication especially in cases where a small number of robots can be used to aid the establishment of reliable and efficient communication links. In this paper, we present a scenario for hybrid mobile robotics, where a small number of carriers are able to reposition nodes according to communication needs. We developed a common information management layer in order to coordinate cooperation (including communication aspects) between all units (information nodes and robots) according to high level self-established policies. We select IEEE 802.11 technology as the technology for the communication infrastructure and explore its potential for cooperative mobile environments in terms of power and spectrum efficiency presenting the rules required to reconfigure such a mobile robotic environment.     

Edge robotics: are we ready? an experimental evaluation of current vision and future directions

Cloud-based robotics systems leverage a wide range of Information Technologies (IT) to offer tangible benefits like cost reduction, powerful computational capabilities, data offloading, etc. However, the centralized nature of cloud computing is not well-suited for a multitude of Operational Technologies (OT) nowadays used in robotics systems that require strict real-time guarantees and security. Edge computing and fog computing are complementary approaches that aim at mitigating some of these challenges by providing computing capabilities closer to the users. The goal of this work is hence threefold: i) to analyze the current edge computing and fog computing landscape in the context of robotics systems, ii) to experimentally evaluate an end-to-end robotics system based on solutions proposed in the literature, and iii) to experimentally identify current benefits and open challenges of edge computing and fog computing. Results show that, in the case of an exemplary delivery application comprising two mobile robots, the robot coordination and range can be improved by consuming real-time radio information available at the edge. However, our evaluation highlights that the existing software, wireless and virtualization technologies still require substantial evolution to fully support edge-based robotics systems.     

基于分布式的移动机器人控制系统设计与实现

移动机器人是近年来研究的热点,针对机器人系统自由度多,可靠性和实时性要求高的特点,提出了一种基于分布式的移动机器人控制系统。利用多借点连接方式的网络拓扑机构,将其他设备和多个机器人连接组成机器人控制系统,以控制芯片ARM Cortex-A9和STM32F407为基础,将开源操作系统植入到开源嵌入式系统中,设计分布式上位机控制软件和下拉机程序,设计了基于分布式的移动机器人控制系统的搭建,实现对分布式移动机器人的控制。该分布式移动机器人软硬件开源、性能高、成本低、具有很好的可扩展性、实时性和稳定性。     

A survey on modularity and distributivity in series-parallel hybrid robots

Parallel mechanisms are used increasingly often as modular subsystem units in various robots and man-machine interfaces for their superior stiffness, payload-to-weight ratio and dynamic properties. This leads to series-parallel hybrid robotic systems which utilize closed loop linkages and parallel kinematic machines as an abstraction of a certain kinematic joint. This paper presents a survey of recently developed series-parallel hybrid robots in various application domains such as legged robotics, humanoids, exoskeletons and industrial automation. In particular, we focus on modular and distributive aspects of such systems with an intention to bring their current design paradigm into focus, which simplifies the robot development process by promoting the effective reuse of hardware and software components and overcomes the shortcomings of traditional serial robots like poor payload capacity and stiffness.     

Hardware design and distributed embedded control architecture of a mobile soccer robot

Designing robust, modular and fast mobile robots, operating in high dynamic environments is a challenging task. This includes design of the mechanics and the control system of the robot. This paper presents the modular hardware design of a mobile soccer robot platform, including the mechanics, electronic system and the low-level distributed control architecture of the robot. The basic idea behind this paper is not to introduce a new distributed control architecture, both at low and high levels of control, but to focus on a novel approach to manage the distributed control system of a single robot, consisting of a number of microcontroller based modules connected together through a data bus.     

A platform for aerial robotics research and demonstration: The Flying Machine Arena

The Flying Machine Arena is a platform for experiments and demonstrations with fleets of small flying vehicles. It utilizes a distributed, modular architecture linked by robust communication layers. An estimation and control framework along with built-in system protection components enable prototyping of new control systems concepts and implementation of novel demonstrations. More recently, a mobile version has been featured at several eminent public events. We describe the architecture of the Arena from the viewpoint of system robustness and its capability as a dual-purpose research and demonstration platform.     

Soft Robotic-Adapted Multimodal Sensors Derived from Entirely Intrinsic Self-Healing and Stretchable Cross-Linked Networks

Flexible sensing technologies that play a pivotal role in endowing robots with detection capabilities and monitoring their motions are impulsively desired for intelligent robotics systems. However, integrating and constructing reliable and sustainable flexible sensors with multifunctionality for robots remains an everlasting challenge. Herein, an entirely intrinsic self-healing, stretchable, and attachable multimodal sensor is developed that can be conformally integrated with soft robots to identify diverse signals. The dynamic bonds cross-linked networks including the insulating polymer and conductive hydrogel with good comprehensive performances are designed to fabricate the sensor with prolonged lifespan and improved reliability. Benefiting from the self-adhesiveness of the hydrogel, strong interfacial bonding can be formed on various surfaces, which promotes the conformable integration of the sensor with robots. Due to the ionic transportation mechanism, the sensor can detect strain and temperature based on piezoresistive and thermoresistive effect, respectively. Moreover, the sensor can work in triboelectric mode to achieve self-powered sensing. Various information can be identified from the electrical signals generated by the sensor, including hand gestures, soft robot crawling motions, a message of code, the temperature of objects, and the type of materials, holding great promise in the fields of environmental detection, wearable devices, human-machine interfacing, and robotics.     

Online Competitions: An Open Space to Improve the Learning Process

Experimentation and practical work, which are usually accomplished in a laboratory, are the basics of technological fields. Laboratory activities enable students to acquire methodologies, work habits, knowledge, and experience of equipment operation, in conditions as near as possible to their future professional activities. The evolution of communication and information technologies opens new possibilities in educational methods. This article describes a project that aims to facilitate the use of real robots in an educational laboratory via Web, allowing users to learn different robotics aspects while performing a competition. Students can remotely program several robots to participate in games to accomplish a set of goals in a remote stadium (the RoboStadium). To facilitate the use of robots, the online robot stadium provides a set of training resources. Having these resources, previous knowledge on robotics is not required to use the system. Since robotics is a multidisciplinary field (mechanics, electronics, control, mathematics, computers, etc.), students of different degrees can take advantage of the presented system. Researchers of two Spanish universities are participating in this project, which provides robotics telelaboratories via Web.     

A networking framework for teleoperation in safety, security, and rescue robotics - [wireless communications in networked robotics]

Safety, security, and rescue robotics is an important application field that can be viewed as a prototypical example of a domain where networked mobile robots are used for the exploration of unstructured environments that are inaccessible to or dangerous for humans. Teleoperation, based on wireless networks, is much more complex than what one might expect at first glance because it goes well beyond mere mappings of low-level user inputs ? like joystick commands ? to motor activations on a robot. Teleoperation for SSRR must move up to the behavior and mission levels where a single operator triggers short-time, autonomous behaviors, respectively, and supervises a whole team of autonomously operating robots. Consequently, a significant amount of heterogeneous data ? video, maps, goal points, victim data, and so on ? must be transmitted between robots and mission control. In this article, a networking framework for teleoperation in SSRR is presented. It was evaluated in a series of field tests and competitions, including the European Land Robot Trials and RoboCup events.     

Design and implementation of the motion control system of the mobile robot based on PID

A kind of motion control system of the autonomous mobile robot was introduced,and a PID closed-loop control method was proposed that controlling the robot moving along the expected direction and speed effectively through establishing the kinematics model of the autonomous mobile robot.In addition,the modular software program and the hardware system were developed whose main components were the STC12C5A60S2 microprocessor,the MC33886 motor driver chip and hall sensors.Finally,experiments proves the control method and the system effective and stable.     

Neurofuzzy control of modular and reconfigurable robots

In recent years, the concept of modular and reconfigurable robotics emerged as a means for flexible and versatile automation. This concept allows for the execution of many complex tasks that cannot be performed by fixed-configuration manipulators. Nevertheless, reconfigurable robots introduce a challenging level of complexity to the problem of design of controllers that can handle a wide range of robot configurations with reliable performance. This paper addresses the position control of modular and reconfigurable robots. We develop a practical intelligent-control architecture that can be easily used in the presence of dynamic parameter uncertainty and unmodeled disturbances. The architecture requires no a priori knowledge of the system-dynamics parameters. Adaptive control is provided using fuzzy gain tuning of proportional-integral-derivative parameters in the presence of external disturbances. The architecture also provides learning control using feedforward neural networks. Moreover, the architecture has the capability of updating the adaptive control under reconfigurability. Experiments on a modular robot test bed are reported to validate the effectiveness of the control methodology.     

Design and Implementation of Modular FPGA-Based PID Controllers

In this paper, modular design of embedded feedback controllers using field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology is studied. To this end, a novel distributed-arithmetic (DA)-based proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller algorithm is proposed and integrated into a digital feedback control system. The DA-based PID controller demonstrates 80% savings in hardware utilization and 40% savings in power consumption compared to the multiplier-based scheme. It also offers good closed-loop performance while using less resources, resulting in cost reduction, high speed, and low power consumption, which is desirable in embedded control applications. The complete digital control system is built using commercial FPGAs to demonstrate the efficiency. The design uses a modular approach, so that some modules can be reused in other applications. These reusable modules can be ported into Matlab/Simulink as Simulink blocks for hardware/software cosimulation or integrated into a larger design in the Matlab/Simulink environment to allow for rapid prototyping applications.     

Behavior-based artificial intelligence in miniature mobile robot

An intelligent mobile robot that implements concepts of mechatronics, mobile robotics, and behavior-based artificial intelligence has been developed. The design process for such a mobile robot employs a concept of simple trade-off between the mechanical, electrical, and computational systems for the benefit of improving the robots overall system performance. The main features of the robot, named SCAVENGER, are to navigate freely in a controlled environment, search for one or more target objects with known characteristics (colored golf balls), and avoid the other objects as obstacles. A combination of infrared sensors, color detectors, and bumper skirts is used to facilitate navigation and object recognition. The robots brain consists of an on-board MC68HC11 microcontroller, which is programmed in C. The control software implements behavior-based artificial intelligence, where the robots overall intelligence is made up of layers of several simple and primitive behaviors similar to those observed in insects. In this work, the design of the robots subsystems, where the implementation of mechatronics is most in effect, is covered in more detail with a particular interest in object recognition and collection systems.     

基于云网边端协同计算的智能分发网络研究

智能服务机器人将成为社会发展的重要组成部分和人类工作与生活的重要助手。通过简要介绍由人工智能的云端大脑、基于5G构建的安全神经网络和多关节的机器人本体所组成的云端机器人,提出了基于云、网、边、端协同计算的智能分发网络(Intelligence Distribution Network,IDN)的概念,将IDN应用于云端机器人,以提升云端机器人的智能程度。详细阐述了IDN的架构,从算力、算法、通信、数据、安全等角度对IDN进行了研究,对比分析了智能分发网络与内容分发网络(Content Delivery Network,CDN)的异同点;IDN之于人工智能类似于CDN之于互联网内容,对IDN的典型应用场景进行了测试分析。通过使用IDN,提升了云端机器人智能程度和响应速度、降低了上行带宽和服务成本。尽管当前处于云端机器人的发展初期,但IDN将是实现云端智能机器人大规模商用的必经之路和关键技术,IDN将成为继CDN产业之后的又一个新领域。     

A novel airflow sensor for miniature mobile robots

A novel airflow sensor has been developed for applications involving miniature chemical sensing robots. Information about air movement is essential for robots when they are searching for the sources of chemical plumes. The airflow sensor described here measures both wind direction and velocity at airflow rates commonly encountered in an indoor environment. Measurements are made by rotating a small paddle in the airflow. The varying speed of the paddle is analysed to determine both wind speed and direction. Low power consumption and rugged construction make the sensor well suited to robotic applications. The prototype sensor is small enough to fit on a mobile robot measuring only 10 cm in diameter. This paper presents the sensor operating principle, construction and some experimental results.     

Design and analysis of pneumatic force generators for mobile robotic systems

Pneumatic components are rather rugged and suitable for harsh environments and therefore are an attractive alternative for mobile robots. Many robotics control algorithms require that the robot actuators be force or torque generators, so the robot controller can impose proper torque levels onto the robot joints as required by the control algorithm. While creating a torque generator using electric actuators is relatively straightforward using current feedback, there are challenges in transforming pneumatic actuators into pure force generators. This paper develops a control algorithm to convert pneumatic actuators into force generators. Because delivered work from a pneumatic actuator is product of the actuator force and the piston's displacement, the actuator force can be effectively controlled through precise measurement of the piston's displacement and robust control of the actuator's work. This paper first develops an exact model of a pneumatic system consisting of a double-acting cylinder and a servo-valve, with the goal of providing an insight into the design and control requirements for pneumatically actuated systems. Using the model, two subjects are presented in detail: 1) derivation of a control algorithm that converts a pneumatic actuator into a force generator for robotics control applications and 2) derivation of equations that can be used to design or size the power source for mobile robotic systems, where continuous source of power is unavailable.     

Controlling a robotic fish with a smart phone

Recently, mobile devices such as Apple’s iDevices have acquired the ability to host a variety of functions beyond merely initiating and receiving telephone calls. These devices have great potential for educational applications, especially when integrated with disparate technologies, such as environmental sensors, microscopes, and robotics. In this work, we present the development of an iDevice application and communication hardware for interacting with a miniature robotic fish. The application includes a user interface for controlling the robot’s motion, a detailed tutorial featuring an animated fish, and a link to information about scientific research using the robot. This platform has been field-tested with children in a broad age range and refined based on their feedback. The application has been found to be significantly easier to use than a traditional joystick controller by a survey of middle school children.     

REAL-a virtual laboratory built from software components

This paper presents the Remotely Accessible Laboratory (REAL), a virtual laboratory accessible through the Internet. REAL allows a remote user to manipulate a mobile robot in a mode of interaction suitable to his or her level of expertise. A basic mode of interaction, dedicated to users with limited knowledge of robotics, supports interaction via teleoperation. In a more advanced level of interaction, expert users can plan and execute complex robotics experiments that exploit the full capabilities of the robot. In this mode of interaction, experiments in the field of autonomous navigation, environmental mapping, sensor fusion, mission planning, and robot control can be performed. Finally, a third mode of interaction allows a set of trainees to follow the interactions conducted by an instructor. The architecture of REAL departs from the commonplace World Wide Web applications, since it employs a sophisticated software architecture based on software components. This architecture presents a high degree of reusability that future developments in the field of Internet robots and virtual laboratories can take advantage of.     

The Conro modules for reconfigurable robots

The goal of the Conro Project is to build deployable modular robots that can reconfigure into different shapes such as snakes or hexapods. Each Conro module is, itself, a robot and hence a Conro robot is actually a multirobot system. In this paper we present an overview of the Conro modules, the design approach, an overview of the mechanical and electrical systems and a discussion on size versus power requirement of the module. Each module is self-contained; it has its own processor, power supply, communication system, sensors and actuators. The modules, although self-contained, were designed to work in groups, as part of a large modular robot. We conclude the paper by describing some of the robots that we have built using the Conro modules and describing the miniature custom-made Conro camera as an example of the type of sensors that can be carried as payload by these robots.     

A Faddeev Systolic Array for EKF-SLAM and its Arithmetic Data Representation Impact on FPGA

The Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) computation is a core task for the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem in autonomous mobile robots. The SLAM problem involves operations over high dimension data sets, requiring high throughput and performance, given the real-time nature of the robotics, control-decision algorithm this task is a part of. The lightweight and power restricted computing environments in mobile robotics requires customized processing systems such as Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). This work presents an arithmetic precision analysis and a Faddeev algorithm to calculate the Schur’s Complement hardware architecture implementation for the EKF-SLAM using a Systolic Array (SA). While it is widely believed that fixed-point implementations of arithmetic operations lead to area and performance benefits on FPGAs, the results in this article reveal that each Processing Element (PE) in the SA consumes 25% more logic and about 30% more register resources for the fixed-point 13.23 representation than if using the IEEE-754 single precision floating-point format. In addition, for FPGA devices with hardware support for key components of floating-point computations, a single PE floating-point implementation can achieve a maximum frequency up to 50% higher than a corresponding fixed-point implementation for the same relative numeric errors.