Development of an Intelligent Wheelchair Using Computer Graphics Animation and Simulation

A new robot simulator JC-1 is used as a control software development tool in a project in progress where an intelligent wheelchair for a blind user is being developed. The intelligent wheelchair is planned to be able to fulfill simple symbolic commands like "follow wall" or "follow object" and using the JC-1 simulator an evaluation team which includes e.g. the user, a rehabilitation engineer and a software engineer, can check control algorithms and user interface routines before constructing a real wheelchair prototype. The JC-1 simulator models the environment using simplified boundary- representation where objects, robot sensors and actuators are presented as symbolic objects in the graphics data-base of the simulator. In the JC-1 simulator a robot controller under development controls the motion of the graphical model of the robot while simulator commands or other robot controllers can be used to control the movement of disturbing obstacles. Computer graphics animation and simulation help to find fundamental design errors at an early design stage and as this paper suggests, enable the user of the final product to take part in to the designing process of the robot controller. Benefits and difficulties of using computer graphics simulation in the wheelchair development process are discussed.     

Reinforcement learning-based shared control for walking-aid robot and its experimental verification

A walking-aid robot is an assistive device for enabling safe, stable and efficient locomotion in elderly or disabled individuals. In this paper, we propose a reinforcement learning-based shared control (RLSC) algorithm for intelligent walking-aid robot to address existing control problems in cooperative walking-aid robot system. Firstly, the intelligent walking-aid robot and the human walking intention estimation algorithm are introduced. Due to the limited physical and cognitive capabilities of elderly and disabled people, robot control input assistance is provided to maintain tactile comfort and a sense of stability. Then, considering the robot’s ability to autonomously adapt to different user operation habits and motor abilities, the RLSC algorithm is proposed. By dynamically adjusting user control weight according to different user control efficiencies and walking environments, the robot can improve the user’s degree of comfort when using the device and automatically adapting to user’s behaviour. Finally, the effectiveness of our algorithm is verified by experiments in a specified environment.     

A system for self-diagnosis of an autonomous mobile robot using an internal state sensory system: fault detection and coping with the internal condition

Considering that intelligent robotic systems work in a real environment, it is important that they themselves have the ability to determine their own internal conditions. Therefore, we consider it necessary to pay some attention to the diagnosis of such intelligent systems and to construct a system for the self-diagnosis of an autonomous mobile robot. Autonomous mobile systems must have a self-contained diagnostic system and therefore there are restrictions to building such a system on a mobile robot. In this paper, we describe an internal state sensory system and a method for diagnosing conditions in an autonomous mobile robot. The prototype of our internal sensory system consists of voltage sensors, current sensors and encoders. We show experimental results of the diagnosis using an omnidirectional mobile robot and the developed system. Also, we propose a method that is able to cope with the internal condition using internal sensory information. We focus on the functional units in a single robot system and also examine a method in which the faulty condition is categorized into three levels. The measures taken to cope with the faulty condition are set for each level to enable the robot to continue to execute the task. We show experimental results using an omnidirectional mobile robot with a self-diagnosis system and our proposed method.     

基于ROS的无人配送车导航系统的设计与实现

针对无人配送车在自主导航过程中存在的寻路效率低、避障能力弱、转折幅度过大等问题,该文采用搭载机器人操作系统(ROS)的Turtlebot3机器人作为无人配送车,设计并实现了高效稳定的无人配送车自主导航系统。ROS是专门用于编写机器人软件的灵活框架,对其集成的SLAM算法进行改进,以完成无人配送车在封闭园区环境中的即时定位与地图构建,同时对ROS导航功能包集成的路径规划算法进行改进,使无人配送车在已知环境地图中规划生成出适合无人配送车工作的路径和有效避开障碍物。最后在Gazebo仿真环境中对无人配送车自主导航系统进行测试与验证。仿真试验结果表明,设计实现的无人配送车导航系统能够很好地满足无人配送车在封闭园区中的自主导航功能。     

Near-future perception system: Previewed Reality

ABSTRACT

The present paper introduces a near-future perception system called Previewed Reality. In a co-existence environment of a human and a robot, unexpected collisions between the human and the robot must be avoided to the extent possible. In many cases, the robot is controlled carefully so as not to collide with a human. However, it is almost impossible to perfectly predict human behavior in advance. On the other hand, if a user can determine the motion of a robot in advance, he/she can avoid a hazardous situation and exist safely with the robot. In order to ensure that a user perceives future events naturally, we developed a near-future perception system named Previewed Reality. Previewed Reality consists of an informationally structured environment, a VR display or an AR display, and a dynamics simulator. A number of sensors are embedded in an informationally structured environment, and information such as the position of furniture, objects, humans, and robots, is sensed and stored structurally in a database. Therefore, we can forecast possible subsequent events using a robot motion planner and a dynamics simulator and can synthesize virtual images from the viewpoint of the user, which will actually occur in the near future. The viewpoint of the user, which is the position and orientation of a VR display or an AR display, is also tracked by an optical tracking system in the informationally structured environment, or the SLAM technique on an AR display. The synthesized images are presented to the user by overlaying these images on a real scene using the VR display or the AR display. This system provides human-friendly communication between a human and a robotic system, and a human and a robot can coexist safely by intuitively showing the human possible hazardous situations in advance.     

The development of an autonomous service robot. Implementation: “Lucas”—The library assistant robot

This paper describes an autonomous mobile device that was designed, developed and implemented as a library assistant robot. A complete autonomous system incorporating human–robot interaction has been developed and implemented within a real world environment. The robotic development is comprehensively described in terms of its localization systems, which incorporates simple image processing techniques fused with odometry and sonar data, which is validated through the use of an extended Kalman filter (EKF). The essential principles required for the development of a successful assistive robot are described and put into demonstration through a human–robot interaction application applied to the library assistant robot.     

Human-assistance robotic system based on distributed computing technology

Population aging is becoming an increasingly pressing problem for society. Thus, the timely development of supporting systems to improve care cost and the quality of life of the elderly is becoming particularly important. Because of the dispersal of the elderly and disabled, a standard software architecture that can implement network-distributed software sharing and improve the cost of writing and maintaining software is in high demand. This paper proposes using distributing computing technology CORBA to integrate network-distributed software and robotic systems for supporting the aged or disabled. Using CORBA as a communication architecture, we implemented a networkdistributed human-assistance robotic system. We developed a hardware base including a robot arm and an omnidirectional mobile robot, developed key technologies such as localization of a mobile robot, real-time recognition, real-time multimedia, and implemented several CORBA servers including a Web user management server, a task-level robot arm control server, a live image and video feedback server, a mobile robot control server, and an indoor Global Positioning System server. With the user controlling a robot arm with 5 d.o.f. to cooperate with an omnidirectional mobile robot, the developed system can provide basic services to support the aged and disabled.     

机器人控制算法的理论与实验研究

本文总结了我们多年来从事机器人控制算法的理论与实验研究成果。这些控制算法主要包括了滑动模控制、速度信号观测、非线性滑动面、鲁捧控制器、工作空间控制等,它们都已在我们研究开发的JJR-1型机器人和DDArm直接驱动机器人上得到验证。我们还分别在JJR-1型机器人和DDArm上开发了可编程数字控制器,为使用者提供了研究控制算法的环境,通过实验也进一步证明我们所研究的控制算法的有效性和可行性。     

Navigation of Mobile Robots Using a Fuzzy Logic Controller

This paper describes a mobile robot navigation control system based on fuzzy logic. Fuzzy rules embedded in the controller of a mobile robot enable it to avoid obstacles in a cluttered environment that includes other mobile robots. So that the robots do not collide against one another, each robot also incorporates a set of collision prevention rules implemented as a Petri Net model within its controller. The navigation control system has been tested in simulation and on actual mobile robots. The paper presents the results of the tests to demonstrate that the system enables multiple robots to roam freely searching for and successfully finding targets in an unknown environment containing obstacles without hitting the obstacles or one another.     

Walking partner robot chatting about scenery

ABSTRACT

We believe that many future scenarios will exist where a partner robot will talk with people on walks. To improve the user experience, we aim to endow robots with the capability to select an appropriate conversation topics by allowing them to start chatting about a topic that matches the current scenery and to extend it based on the user's interest and involvement in it. We implemented a function to compute the similarities between utterances and scenery by comparing their topic vectors. First, we convert the scenery into a list of words by leveraging Google Cloud Vision library [Google Cloud Vision Api [Online]. Available from: https://cloud.google.com/vision/] . We form a topic vector space with the Latent Dirichlet Allocation method and transform a list of words into a topic vector. Our system uses this function to choose (from an utterance database) the utterance that best matches the current scenery. Then it estimates the user's level of involvement in the chat with a simple rule based on the length of their responses. If the user is actively involved in the chat topic, the robot continues the current topic using pre-defined derivative utterances. If the user's involvement sags, the robot selects a new topic based on the current scenery. The topic selection that is based on the current scenery was proposed in our previous work [Totsuka R, Satake S, Kanda T, et al. Is a robot a better walking partner if it associates utterances with visual scenes? ACM/IEEE Int. Conf. on Human–Robot Interaction (HRI2017), Aula der Wissenschaft, Vienna, Austria; 2017. p. 313–322]. Our main contribution is the whole chat system, which includes the user's involvement estimation. We implemented our system with a shoulder-mounted robot and conducted a user study to evaluate its effectiveness. Our experimental results show that users evaluated the robot with the proposed system as a better walking partner than one that randomly chose utterances.     

Internet-Based Robotic System Using CORBA as Communication Architecture

In this paper, we propose the Internet-based robotic system that uses Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) to implement networking connections between a client and a remote robotic system. The client can transparently invoke a method on a server across the network without any need to know where the application servers are located, or what programming language and operating system are used. This lets the system overcome the shortcomings of the other typical Internet robotic system. To cope with time delays on the communication path, we have implemented the robot control server, which allows the user to control the telerobotic system at a task-level. We have also implemented the live image feedback server, which provides live image feedback for a remote user. The proposed system gives the users the ability to operate the remote robotic system to retrieve and manipulate the desired tableware or other things to support the aged and disabled over the Internet by using the intuitive user interface.     

The Design and Control of a Prototype Quadruped Microrover

We describe the design, construction and control of a quadruped robot which walks on uneven terrain. A control system which produces a statically stable gait has been implemented; results showing a straight and turning gait are presented. The control of quadruped robots poses interesting challenges due to a small stability margin (when compared to hexapods for example). For this reason most implemented systems for outdoor walking on uneven terrain have been hexapods. The system described here has the added virtue of using very few inexpensive sensors and actuators. One of the aims of this work is to build a reduced complexity (low power, low mass and direct drive) walking robot for statically stable walking. The other aim is to compare the performance of this robot with a wheeled robot roughly the same size and weight. In this paper we report on progress towards the first of these two goals using a traverse across an obstacle field as an example.     

智能机器人系统中局部环境特征的提取

本文基于栅格地图和滚动视窗的控制方法，提出了一种提取机器人局部障碍物群环境特征的 数据融合新方法．该方法在多个级别对原始数据进行不同程度的抽象和压缩，减少机器人内 部模块之间或机器人之间、机器人与控制中心进行通讯的数据量，提高系统的动态性能．同 时，该方法对复杂环境具有良好的自适应性和实时性．本文分别列举了仿真实验和物理实验 结果，表明了机器人采用障碍物群的环境特征提取方法可以成功地完成躲避障碍物和路径规 划的任务．     

具有多种运动方式的小型模块化双手爪机器人MiniBibot

受尺蠖等动物攀爬动作的启发,开发了一款舵机驱动的具有多种运动方式的小型双手爪机器人MiniBibot.采用模块化方法设计和搭建了机器人系统,以攀爬杆件为控制实例介绍了用户程序开发的步骤和方法.然后根据该机器人的构型,提出了5种可实现的运动方式,并分析了各自的特点和应用.最后通过一系列实验,充分展示和验证了所提出的双手爪机器人系统及其运动方式的有效性和可行性.     

Grasping determination experiments within the UJI robotics telelab

As a result of new technology becoming available it is increasingly possible to develop more natural human‐robot interfaces. In particular, interaction channels based on both voice and synthesis recognition, and combined with other sensors, mainly computer vision, are now implemented in current robots. These capabilities enable a more natural face‐to‐face dialogue in the human‐robot interaction. Currently, they are demonstrating their potential in many service robot applications, such as museums, hospitals, and so on. One area where these new forms of interaction have been extensively tested recently is within the educational robotics context. This article addresses a novel user‐interface implemented in such a system developed in our lab, namely “The UJI Robotics Telelab”, where the word UJI is the acronym for the name of our University. In order to develop this kind of complex system, several years of intensive research have been necessary in both multimedia tutoring systems and robotics. The principal motive for the project was the experimentation and validation of a complete telelaboratory, including an Internet‐based robot system, with off‐line and on‐line control possibilities, and other different facilities (e.g., multimedia tutorial, chat channel, etc.) aimed at teaching undergraduate students in the robotics subject in our university campus. Finally, taking into account experience gained from using this system for regular undergraduate courses in robotics, new facilities have been implemented, and results showing the user performance, usability, and reliability of this novel contribution are discussed, including its advantages and limitations. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Navigation system for an autonomous robot using an ocellus camera in an indoor environment

Autonomous and mobile robots are being expected to provide various services in human living environments. However, many problems remain to be solved in the development of autonomous robots that can work like humans. When a robot moves, it is important that it be able to have self-localization abilities and recognize obstacles. For a human, the present location can be correctly checked through a comparison between memorized information assuming, it is correct, and the present situation. In addition, the distance to an object and the perception of its size can be estimated by a sense of distance based on memory or experience. Therefore, the environment for robotic activity assumed in this study was a finite-space such as a family room, an office, or a hospital room. Because an accurate estimation of position is important to the success of a robot, we have developed a navigation system with self-localization ability which uses only a CCD camera that can detect whether the robot is moving accurately in a room or corridor. This article describes how this system has been implemented and tested with our developed robot.     

Remote human–robot collaboration: A cyber–physical system application for hazard manufacturing environment

Collaborative robot's lead-through is a key feature towards human–robot collaborative manufacturing. The lead-through feature can release human operators from debugging complex robot control codes. In a hazard manufacturing environment, human operators are not allowed to enter, but the lead-through feature is still desired in many circumstances. To target the problem, the authors introduce a remote human–robot collaboration system that follows the concept of cyber–physical systems. The introduced system can flexibly work in four different modes according to different scenarios. With the utilisation of a collaborative robot and an industrial robot, a remote robot control system and a model-driven display system is designed. The designed system is also implemented and tested in different scenarios. The final analysis indicates a great potential to adopt the developed system in hazard manufacturing environment.     

基于模糊避障算法的履带式搬运机器人的设计

以HC-SR04超声波传感器模块获取机器人周围环境信息,以链式叉车作为搬运货物的执行机构,以STM32F103单片机作为机器人控制器,设计了一种自动搬运并且避障的小型履带式搬运机器人。针对局部静态环境下多障碍物对系统避障的复杂性,引入了模糊控制算法,通过对机器人与障碍物之间的距离进行模糊化,建立模糊规则,实现搬运机器人的避障控制。为了提高机器人的稳定性及避障的可靠性,对直流电机建立了数学模型,并利用积分分离PID算法进行仿真,最后实验结果表明该算法提高了直流电机的控制性能。     

Design,development, and control of a tough electrohydraulic hexapod robot for subsea operations

Abstract

In this paper, the design, the development, and the control for an 18 degree-of-freedom electrohydraulic hexapod robot for subsea operations are presented. The hexapod, called HexaTerra, can be equipped with a trenching machine, and move over obstacles and on sloped terrain. Optimization techniques are employed to size the robot legs. Rigid body equations of motion and hydraulic dynamics are developed. Compact electrohydraulic components are sized and selected taking into account the leg kinematics and system dynamic analysis. A model-based control system design is implemented in a real-time environment, able to produce the overall functionality and performance. Experimental results obtained from preliminary tests with the developed electrohydraulic hexapod show good controlled performance and demonstrate excellent system stability over obstacles.