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.     

Human-robot contact in the safeguarding space

In this paper, we discuss a human-robot (H-R) coexistent system which allows H-R contact actions in the safeguarding space mechanically bounded by the human pain tolerance limit. The first half of this paper describes our study on the evaluation of the human pain tolerance limit which determines an individual's safeguarding space. We also show the human-safety-oriented design of a robot. The robot is covered with a viscoelastic material to achieve both impact force attenuation and contact sensitivity, keeping within the human pain tolerance limit. The robot, with simple direct-drive (DD) motor torque detection and emergency stop capabilities, automatically stops whenever any severe H-R contact occurs. In the second half of the paper, we propose a more efficient H-R system, which allows H-R contact for improving work efficiency, as long as the contact does not exceed the human pain tolerance limit. For this purpose, a robot is controlled to reduce its velocity with high reliability at an incipient stage of its contact with a human. Through experiments, we demonstrate the validity and efficient utility of the safeguarding space. The first experiment verifies that the developed robot exerts a contact force less than the human pain tolerance limit establishing the safeguarding space. The second experiment comparatively shows the robot's velocity reduction to accept a safe contact with the human in the space     

Development trends in robotics

Robotics has been a very fast growing field especially in the last years. In the late 1970s the first industrial applications of stationary unintelligent industrial robots were realised. Since the beginning of the 1990s a new generation of mobile, intelligent, cooperative robots has grown up. This new generation opens new applications areas, e.g. in production automation, in agriculture, in the food industry, in household, for medical and rehabilitation applications, in the entertainment industry as well as for leisure and hobby. Current developing trends are humanoid robots and robots supporting people in everyday life. Other intensive research areas are cooperative robots, bio inspired robots, ubiquitous robots and cloud robots. The following paper is divided into three parts: current state, future development trends as well as visions in robotics.     

Laser radar in robotics

In this paper we describe the basic operating principles of laser radar sensors and the typical algorithms used to process laser radar imagery for robotic applications. We review 12 laser radar sensors to illustrate the variety of systems that have been applied to robotic applications wherein information extracted from the laser radar data is used to automatically control a mechanism or process. Next we describe selected robotic applications in seven areas: autonomous vehicle navigation, walking machine foot placement, automated service vehicles, manufacturing and inspection, automotive, military and agriculture. We conclude with a discussion of the status of laser radar technology and suggest trends we see in the application of laser radar sensors to robotics. Many new applications are expected as the maturity level progresses and system costs are reduced     

Human-robot synchrony: flexible assistance using adaptive oscillators

We propose a novel method for movement assistance that is based on adaptive oscillators, i.e., mathematical tools that are capable of extracting the high-level features (amplitude, frequency, and offset) of a periodic signal. Such an oscillator acts like a filter on these features, but keeps its output in phase with respect to the input signal. Using a simple inverse model, we predicted the torque produced by human participants during rhythmic flexion-extension of the elbow. Feeding back a fraction of this estimated torque to the participant through an elbow exoskeleton, we were able to prove the assistance efficiency through a marked decrease of the biceps and triceps electromyography. Importantly, since the oscillator adapted to the movement imposed by the user, the method flexibly allowed us to change the movement pattern and was still efficient during the nonstationary epochs. This method holds promise for the development of new robot-assisted rehabilitation protocols because it does not require prespecifying a reference trajectory and does not require complex signal sensing or single-user calibration: the only signal that is measured is the position of the augmented joint. In this paper, we further demonstrate that this assistance was very intuitive for the participants who adapted almost instantaneously.     

“感知与人机交互”教学实践与PBL模式探索

机器人工程是在国家新工科发展战略背景下为了适应机器人专业人才需求而新近创建的专业。本文依托东南大学机器人工程专业教学体系，介绍了“感知与人机交互”课程的教学实践，探索了PBL教学模式在本门课程中的应用。具体介绍了课程教学内容设置、PBL教学方案例设计及存在问题分析等，可为自动化类机器人工程专业的相关课程教学实践提供参考。     

Interval methods for fault-tree analysis in robotics

This paper describes a novel technique, based on interval methods, for estimating reliability using fault trees. The approach encodes inherent uncertainty in the input data by modeling these data in terms of intervals. Appropriate interval arithmetic is then used to propagate the data through standard fault trees to generate output distributions which reflect the uncertainty in the input data. Through a canonical example of reliability estimation for a robot manipulator system, we show how the use of this novel interval method appreciably improves the accuracy of reliability estimates over existing approaches to the problem of uncertain input data. This method avoids the key problem of loss of uncertainty inherent in some approaches when applied to noncoherent systems. It is further shown that the method has advantages over approaches based on partial simulation of the input-data space because it can provide guaranteed bounds for the estimates in reasonable times     

Manned spacecraft automation and robotics

The Space Station holds promise of being a showcase user and driver of advanced automation and robotics technology. The author addresses the advances in automation and robotics from the Space Shuttle--with its high-reliability redundancy management and fault-tolerance design and its remote manipulator system--to the projected knowledge-based systems for monitoring, control, fault diagnosis, planning, and scheduling, and the telerobotic systems of the future Space Station.     

Intelligent space and human centered robotics

The robot has emerged as a factor in the daily lives of humans, taking the form of a mechanical pet or similar source of entertainment. A robot system that is designed to coexist with humans, i.e., a coexistence-type robot system, is important. "It exists in various environments together with the humans: the robot system which interacts with a physical, informational emotion with the humans, etc., must be valued." When studying the impact of intimacy on the human/robot relationship, we have to examine the problems that can arise as a result of physical intimacy (coordination of safety on the hardware side and a software side). Furthermore, we should also consider the informational aspects of intimacy (recognition technology and information transport and sharing). This paper reports the interim results of the research of a system configuration that enhances the physical intimacy relationship in the symbiosis of the human and the robot.     

Robosoccer [mobile robotics experiment]

This paper describes robosoccer, the latest experiment in robotics, and one that is growing in popularity on college campuses around the world. In robosoccer, two teams of boxy, wheeled robots face off against each other. A whistle blows and they spring into action, jostling for possession of a brightly colored golfball on a playing field the size ofa Ping-Pong table. Each team struggles to push the ball into the other team's goal located at the opposite end of the table. The author describes how the robots move fluidly and fluidly, constantly adjusting to the run of play in a surprisingly lifelike way     

Japan robotics aim for unmanned space exploration

The findings of a study sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Automation and Robotics Program, prepared for the US government's program evaluating Japanese technology, are summarized. They reveal that the Japanese government, industry, and university leaders have embarked on cooperative projects to develop next-generation robots for space. The goals are to minimize the enormous expense of manned space operations and to spur technology by developing a range of automated machines. Japanese robots are now employed in construction projects on land and underwater, providing experience that may be applicable in space. An overview is given of notable developments to date     

Wireless communications in networked robotics - [guest editorial]

Over the last two decades, the success of wireless communications has exceeded our expectations, from both the marketing and technological aspects. It is evolving toward next-generation systems that will support wireless services in the most spectral and energy- efficient ways. At the same time, we have observed rapid technical advances in radio access. Among other areas, we would like to draw attention to the following aspects.     

Active learning in robotics: A review of control principles

Active learning is a decision-making process. In both abstract and physical settings, active learning demands both analysis and action. This is a review of active learning in robotics, focusing on methods amenable to the demands of embodied learning systems. Robots must be able to learn efficiently and flexibly through continuous online deployment. This poses a distinct set of control-oriented challenges—one must choose suitable measures as objectives, synthesize real-time control, and produce analyses that guarantee performance and safety with limited knowledge of the environment or robot itself. In this work, we survey the fundamental components of robotic active learning systems. We discuss classes of learning tasks that robots typically encounter, measures with which they gauge the information content of observations, and algorithms for generating action plans. Moreover, we provide a variety of examples – from environmental mapping to nonparametric shape estimation – that highlight the qualitative differences between learning tasks, information measures, and control techniques. We conclude with a discussion of control-oriented open challenges, including safety-constrained learning and distributed learning.     

机器人双耳声源定位

机器人拥有听声辩位能力是机器人智能化的重要表现。研究机器人声源定位具有广泛的应用前景。对于基于双耳听觉的声源定位,文中根据听觉系统中的"双耳效应"及"耳廓效应"等线索进行定位,首先建立了拟人机器人头部模型,通过头部转动实现前后方位的判定。其次,运用时间差(ITD)算法模型和声级差(ILD)算法模型分别实现了信号的水平方位的定位。并且应用互相关算法进行信号时延的估算。最后根据耳廓效应,根据频谱的变化实现了垂直方位的定位。本文通过定位算法编写程序,并且通过输入的声源信号实现声源方位的确定及误差分析。     

Resonant sensors for multi-axis force and torque estimation in collaborative robotics

This paper presents a complete design methodology for a multi-axis resonant force sensor. The proposed device has been designed to be useable in a context of physical interaction between robots and humans. The proposed solution allows the three force components and the three torque components to be measured simultaneously and can be inserted into an interface handle or a robot end-effector. The information on wrench can then be used to detect and control interactions for cooperative tasks between humans and robots. In the context of sensors for robotic co-manipulation, it is imperative to guarantee not only a certain level of performance (accuracy, dynamics, size) but also to guarantee certain non-functional specifications associated with safety, measurement redundancy or functional integration of the sensor into its environment. The consideration of all these design specifications, both functional and non-functional, led to the principles and technologies used to develop this sensor. Multi-axis resonant sensors have excellent performance and safety characteristics, two key elements for collaborative robotics, but the literature review did not reveal any significant previous work in this area. Thus, this paper proposes an original sensor based on a breakthrough technology in the crucial field of multi-axis force sensors. The performances obtained on our prototype are already close to the performances of the best existing 6-axis industrial sensors, which suggests very good prospects for this new technology. In addition, and compared to alternative technologies, resonance technology offers new possibilities in terms of sensor fault detection, thus improving the intrinsic safety of these devices.