4,434 research outputs found
Redundant neural vision systems: competing for collision recognition roles
Ability to detect collisions is vital for future robots that interact with humans in complex visual environments. Lobula giant movement detectors (LGMD) and directional selective neurons (DSNs) are two types of identified neurons found in the visual pathways of insects such as locusts. Recent modelling studies showed that the LGMD or grouped DSNs could each be tuned for collision recognition. In both biological and artificial vision systems, however, which one should play the collision recognition role and the way the two types of specialized visual neurons could be functioning together are not clear. In this modeling study, we compared the competence of the LGMD and the DSNs, and also investigate the cooperation of the two neural vision systems for collision recognition via artificial evolution. We implemented three types of collision recognition neural subsystems – the LGMD, the DSNs and a hybrid system which combines the LGMD and the DSNs subsystems together, in each individual agent. A switch gene determines which of the three redundant neural subsystems plays the collision recognition role. We found that, in both robotics and driving environments, the LGMD was able to build up its ability for collision recognition quickly and robustly therefore reducing the chance of other types of neural networks to play the same role. The results suggest that the LGMD neural network could be the ideal model to be realized in hardware for collision recognition
Reactive direction control for a mobile robot: A locust-like control of escape direction emerges when a bilateral pair of model locust visual neurons are integrated
Locusts possess a bilateral pair of uniquely identifiable visual neurons that respond vigorously to
the image of an approaching object. These neurons are called the lobula giant movement
detectors (LGMDs). The locust LGMDs have been extensively studied and this has lead to the
development of an LGMD model for use as an artificial collision detector in robotic applications.
To date, robots have been equipped with only a single, central artificial LGMD sensor, and this
triggers a non-directional stop or rotation when a potentially colliding object is detected. Clearly,
for a robot to behave autonomously, it must react differently to stimuli approaching from
different directions. In this study, we implement a bilateral pair of LGMD models in Khepera
robots equipped with normal and panoramic cameras. We integrate the responses of these LGMD
models using methodologies inspired by research on escape direction control in cockroaches.
Using ‘randomised winner-take-all’ or ‘steering wheel’ algorithms for LGMD model integration,
the khepera robots could escape an approaching threat in real time and with a similar
distribution of escape directions as real locusts. We also found that by optimising these
algorithms, we could use them to integrate the left and right DCMD responses of real jumping
locusts offline and reproduce the actual escape directions that the locusts took in a particular
trial. Our results significantly advance the development of an artificial collision detection and
evasion system based on the locust LGMD by allowing it reactive control over robot behaviour.
The success of this approach may also indicate some important areas to be pursued in future
biological research
Advances in the Hierarchical Emergent Behaviors (HEB) approach to autonomous vehicles
Widespread deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs) presents formidable challenges in terms on handling scalability and complexity, particularly regarding vehicular reaction in the face of unforeseen corner cases. Hierarchical Emergent Behaviors (HEB) is a scalable architecture based on the concepts of emergent behaviors and hierarchical decomposition. It relies on a few simple but powerful rules to govern local vehicular interactions. Rather than requiring prescriptive programming of every possible scenario, HEB’s approach relies on global behaviors induced by the application of these local, well-understood rules. Our first two papers on HEB focused on a primal set of rules applied at the first hierarchical level. On the path to systematize a solid design methodology, this paper proposes additional rules for the second level, studies through simulations the resultant richer set of emergent behaviors, and discusses the communica-tion mechanisms between the different levels.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Computer Vision for a Camel-Vehicle Collision Mitigation System
As the population grows and more land is being used for urbanization,
ecosystems are disrupted by our roads and cars. This expansion of
infrastructure cuts through wildlife territories, leading to many instances of
Wildlife-Vehicle Collision (WVC). These instances of WVC are a global issue
that is having a global socio-economic impact, resulting in billions of dollars
in property damage and, at times, fatalities for vehicle occupants. In Saudi
Arabia, this issue is similar, with instances of Camel-Vehicle Collision (CVC)
being particularly deadly due to the large size of camels, which results in a
25% fatality rate [4]. The focus of this work is to test different object
detection models on the task of detecting camels on the road. The Deep Learning
(DL) object detection models used in the experiments are: CenterNet,
EfficientDet, Faster R-CNN, and SSD. Results of the experiments show that
CenterNet performed the best in terms of accuracy and was the most efficient in
training. In the future, the plan is to expand on this work by developing a
system to make countryside roads safer
Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 182, July 1978
This bibliography lists 165 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in June 1978
Collision avoidance on unmanned aerial vehicles using neural network pipelines and flow clustering techniques
UIDB/04111/2020
PCIF/SSI/0102/2017
IF/00325/2015Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (UAV), while not a recent invention, have recently acquired a prominent position in many industries, and they are increasingly used not only by avid customers, but also in high-demand technical use-cases, and will have a significant societal effect in the coming years. However, the use of UAVs is fraught with significant safety threats, such as collisions with dynamic obstacles (other UAVs, birds, or randomly thrown objects). This research focuses on a safety problem that is often overlooked due to a lack of technology and solutions to address it: collisions with non-stationary objects. A novel approach is described that employs deep learning techniques to solve the computationally intensive problem of real-time collision avoidance with dynamic objects using off-the-shelf commercial vision sensors. The suggested approach’s viability was corroborated by multiple experiments, firstly in simulation, and afterward in a concrete real-world case, that consists of dodging a thrown ball. A novel video dataset was created and made available for this purpose, and transfer learning was also tested, with positive results.publishersversionpublishe
Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography, supplement 191
A bibliographical list of 182 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in February 1979 is presented
Computational classification of animals for a highway detection system
As colisões entre veículos e animais representam um sério problema na infraestrutura rodoviária. Para evitar tais acidentes, medidas mitigatórias têm sido aplicadas em diferentes regiões do mundo. Neste projeto é apresentado um sistema de detecção de animais em rodovias utilizando visão computacional e algoritmo de aprendizado de máquina. Os modelos foram treinados para classificar dois grupos de animais: capivaras e equídeos. Foram utilizadas duas variantes da rede neural convolucional chamada Yolo (você só vê uma vez) — Yolov4 e Yolov4-tiny (versão mais leve da rede) — e o treinamento foi realizado a partir de modelos pré-treinados. Testes de detecção foram realizados em 147 imagens e os resultados de precisão obtidos foram de 84,87% e 79,87% para Yolov4 e Yolov4-tiny, respectivamente. O sistema proposto tem o potencial de melhorar a segurança rodoviária reduzindo ou prevenindo acidentes com animais.Vehicle-animal collisions represent a serious problem in roadway infrastructure. To avoid these roadway collisions, different mitigation systems have been applied in various regions of the world. In this article, a system for detecting animals on highways is presented using computer vision and machine learning algorithms. The models were trained to classify two groups of animals: capybaras and donkeys. Two variants of the convolutional neural network called Yolo (You only look once) were used, Yolov4 and Yolov4-tiny (a lighter version of the network). The training was carried out using pre-trained models. Detection tests were performed on 147 images. The accuracy results obtained were 84.87% and 79.87% for Yolov4 and Yolov4-tiny, respectively. The proposed system has the potential to improve road safety by reducing or preventing accidents with animals
Collision Avoidance on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles using Deep Neural Networks
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), although hardly a new technology, have recently
gained a prominent role in many industries, being widely used not only among enthusiastic
consumers but also in high demanding professional situations, and will have a
massive societal impact over the coming years. However, the operation of UAVs is full
of serious safety risks, such as collisions with dynamic obstacles (birds, other UAVs, or
randomly thrown objects). These collision scenarios are complex to analyze in real-time,
sometimes being computationally impossible to solve with existing State of the Art (SoA)
algorithms, making the use of UAVs an operational hazard and therefore significantly reducing
their commercial applicability in urban environments. In this work, a conceptual
framework for both stand-alone and swarm (networked) UAVs is introduced, focusing on
the architectural requirements of the collision avoidance subsystem to achieve acceptable
levels of safety and reliability. First, the SoA principles for collision avoidance against
stationary objects are reviewed. Afterward, a novel image processing approach that uses
deep learning and optical flow is presented. This approach is capable of detecting and
generating escape trajectories against potential collisions with dynamic objects. Finally,
novel models and algorithms combinations were tested, providing a new approach for
the collision avoidance of UAVs using Deep Neural Networks. The feasibility of the proposed
approach was demonstrated through experimental tests using a UAV, created from
scratch using the framework developed.Os veículos aéreos não tripulados (VANTs), embora dificilmente considerados uma
nova tecnologia, ganharam recentemente um papel de destaque em muitas indústrias,
sendo amplamente utilizados não apenas por amadores, mas também em situações profissionais
de alta exigência, sendo expectável um impacto social massivo nos próximos
anos. No entanto, a operação de VANTs está repleta de sérios riscos de segurança, como
colisões com obstáculos dinâmicos (pássaros, outros VANTs ou objetos arremessados).
Estes cenários de colisão são complexos para analisar em tempo real, às vezes sendo computacionalmente
impossível de resolver com os algoritmos existentes, tornando o uso de
VANTs um risco operacional e, portanto, reduzindo significativamente a sua aplicabilidade
comercial em ambientes citadinos. Neste trabalho, uma arquitectura conceptual
para VANTs autônomos e em rede é apresentada, com foco nos requisitos arquitetônicos
do subsistema de prevenção de colisão para atingir níveis aceitáveis de segurança e confiabilidade.
Os estudos presentes na literatura para prevenção de colisão contra objectos
estacionários são revistos e uma nova abordagem é descrita. Esta tecnica usa técnicas
de aprendizagem profunda e processamento de imagem, para realizar a prevenção de
colisões em tempo real com objetos móveis. Por fim, novos modelos e combinações de algoritmos
são propostos, fornecendo uma nova abordagem para evitar colisões de VANTs
usando Redes Neurais Profundas. A viabilidade da abordagem foi demonstrada através
de testes experimentais utilizando um VANT, desenvolvido a partir da arquitectura
apresentada
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