A sensor fusion layer to cope with reduced visibility in SLAM

Mapping and navigating with mobile robots in scenarios with reduced visibility, e.g. due to smoke, dust, or fog, is still a big challenge nowadays. In spite of the tremendous advance on Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) techniques for the past decade, most of current algorithms fail in those environments because they usually rely on optical sensors providing dense range data, e.g. laser range finders, stereo vision, LIDARs, RGB-D, etc., whose measurement process is highly disturbed by particles of smoke, dust, or steam. This article addresses the problem of performing SLAM under reduced visibility conditions by proposing a sensor fusion layer which takes advantage from complementary characteristics between a laser range finder (LRF) and an array of sonars. This sensor fusion layer is ultimately used with a state-of-the-art SLAM technique to be resilient in scenarios where visibility cannot be assumed at all times. Special attention is given to mapping using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) sensors, namely arrays of sonars which, being usually available in robotic platforms, raise technical issues that were investigated in the course of this work. Two sensor fusion methods, a heuristic method and a fuzzy logic-based method, are presented and discussed, corresponding to different stages of the research work conducted. The experimental validation of both methods with two different mobile robot platforms in smoky indoor scenarios showed that they provide a robust solution, using only COTS sensors, for adequately coping with reduced visibility in the SLAM process, thus decreasing significantly its impact in the mapping and localization results obtained

Design of the communication, power management and interchangeable sensor payload system for an inspection-class robotic platform

With the "golden day" being the first 24 hours after an urban disaster, after which the survival rate of victims decreases dramatically, there is a requirement for a low-cost first-response robotic platform. UCT robotics is developing a platform to fulfil this requirement, with the Scarab (Figure 0-1) - a low-cost, man-packable, throwable inspection-class robotic platform with interchangeable payloads. The system was designed to create a 1:1 human-to-robot ratio which improves the efficiency of rescue operations. Once the operator has reached the inspection void, the Scarab is thrown in where the sensor stimulus from the inspection environment is communicated, via wireless communications, from the payload back to the operator station. The interchangeable payload allows the sensor configuration to be tailored to the needs of the disaster, while reducing the cost of the platform. The design of the battery and battery management system, communications and interchangeable sensor payload for this platform are described in this report

NeBula: TEAM CoSTAR’s robotic autonomy solution that won phase II of DARPA subterranean challenge

This paper presents and discusses algorithms, hardware, and software architecture developed by the TEAM CoSTAR (Collaborative SubTerranean Autonomous Robots), competing in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge. Specifically, it presents the techniques utilized within the Tunnel (2019) and Urban (2020) competitions, where CoSTAR achieved second and first place, respectively. We also discuss CoSTAR’s demonstrations in Martian-analog surface and subsurface (lava tubes) exploration. The paper introduces our autonomy solution, referred to as NeBula (Networked Belief-aware Perceptual Autonomy). NeBula is an uncertainty-aware framework that aims at enabling resilient and modular autonomy solutions by performing reasoning and decision making in the belief space (space of probability distributions over the robot and world states). We discuss various components of the NeBula framework, including (i) geometric and semantic environment mapping, (ii) a multi-modal positioning system, (iii) traversability analysis and local planning, (iv) global motion planning and exploration behavior, (v) risk-aware mission planning, (vi) networking and decentralized reasoning, and (vii) learning-enabled adaptation. We discuss the performance of NeBula on several robot types (e.g., wheeled, legged, flying), in various environments. We discuss the specific results and lessons learned from fielding this solution in the challenging courses of the DARPA Subterranean Challenge competition.Peer ReviewedAgha, A., Otsu, K., Morrell, B., Fan, D. D., Thakker, R., Santamaria-Navarro, A., Kim, S.-K., Bouman, A., Lei, X., Edlund, J., Ginting, M. F., Ebadi, K., Anderson, M., Pailevanian, T., Terry, E., Wolf, M., Tagliabue, A., Vaquero, T. S., Palieri, M., Tepsuporn, S., Chang, Y., Kalantari, A., Chavez, F., Lopez, B., Funabiki, N., Miles, G., Touma, T., Buscicchio, A., Tordesillas, J., Alatur, N., Nash, J., Walsh, W., Jung, S., Lee, H., Kanellakis, C., Mayo, J., Harper, S., Kaufmann, M., Dixit, A., Correa, G. J., Lee, C., Gao, J., Merewether, G., Maldonado-Contreras, J., Salhotra, G., Da Silva, M. S., Ramtoula, B., Fakoorian, S., Hatteland, A., Kim, T., Bartlett, T., Stephens, A., Kim, L., Bergh, C., Heiden, E., Lew, T., Cauligi, A., Heywood, T., Kramer, A., Leopold, H. A., Melikyan, H., Choi, H. C., Daftry, S., Toupet, O., Wee, I., Thakur, A., Feras, M., Beltrame, G., Nikolakopoulos, G., Shim, D., Carlone, L., & Burdick, JPostprint (published version

The New Way of War: Is There A Duty to Use Drones?

Part I of this Article briefly describes the newest battlespace occupants. Robotic systems have been taking active part in combat. They now inhabit the air, the land, and the sea. They carry out missions ranging from surveillance and bomb disposal to “destroy and disable.” Part II examines the relevant principles of LOAC. It argues that drones are not, per se, unlawful under LOAC. Rather, the critical question is the same for drones as for other types of weapons, i.e., whether the specific use of the weapon complies with LOAC. In this context, the weapon must be deployed in accordance with LOAC’s fundamental principles of humanity, proportionality, distinction, taking precautions, and military necessity. Even if a specific type of weapon is not unlawful per se (or has not been specifically prohibited by particular treaties), it may not be used improperly, e.g., in a manner that would run afoul of these principles. Part III applies the principles of LOAC to drones. First, it analyzes the general trajectories of the development of new weapons throughout human history, which has involved trading off between three main considerations, namely distance, accuracy, and lethality. Second, it examines the rise of precision-guided munitions as an attempt to balance these three considerations, increasing military efficiency while minimizing harm to civilians and civilian objects. Part IV discusses the ability of drones to combine both remote exercise of force and high accuracy to reduce lethality. Part IV also closely examines both the promised benefits that the use of drones may bring to battlespace and the challenges to their deployment. Part V returns to the question of whether states and their military commanders have an obligation to use drones in the context of an armed conflict. It argues that although there are no treaties that deal specifically with the use of drones in armed conflict and no customary norms obligating the use of drones, such a duty may be derived from the cardinal principles of the law of armed conflict. It suggests that such an interpretation is merited if we accept that drones offer the possibility of a more humane war by combining remote and accurate use of force to reduce lethality among both friendly forces and innocent civilians. Part V concludes by setting out further challenges that ought to receive careful attention in developing and elaborating on the obligation to use drones in the battlefield

NeBula: Team CoSTAR's robotic autonomy solution that won phase II of DARPA Subterranean Challenge

This paper presents and discusses algorithms, hardware, and software architecture developed by the TEAM CoSTAR (Collaborative SubTerranean Autonomous Robots), competing in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge. Specifically, it presents the techniques utilized within the Tunnel (2019) and Urban (2020) competitions, where CoSTAR achieved second and first place, respectively. We also discuss CoSTAR¿s demonstrations in Martian-analog surface and subsurface (lava tubes) exploration. The paper introduces our autonomy solution, referred to as NeBula (Networked Belief-aware Perceptual Autonomy). NeBula is an uncertainty-aware framework that aims at enabling resilient and modular autonomy solutions by performing reasoning and decision making in the belief space (space of probability distributions over the robot and world states). We discuss various components of the NeBula framework, including (i) geometric and semantic environment mapping, (ii) a multi-modal positioning system, (iii) traversability analysis and local planning, (iv) global motion planning and exploration behavior, (v) risk-aware mission planning, (vi) networking and decentralized reasoning, and (vii) learning-enabled adaptation. We discuss the performance of NeBula on several robot types (e.g., wheeled, legged, flying), in various environments. We discuss the specific results and lessons learned from fielding this solution in the challenging courses of the DARPA Subterranean Challenge competition.The work is partially supported by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004), and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

Autonomous stair climbing

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-73).As the face of warfare changes, the military has started to explore the application of robotics on the battlefield. Robots give soldiers a flexible, technologically advanced, disposable set of eyes and ears to assist them with their goal. This thesis deals with the design and implementation of a system to allow a small highly mobile tactical robot to climb stairs autonomously. A subsumption architecture is used to coordinate and control the maneuver. Various approaches to the problem including evolved architectures and use of contraction analysis are explored. Code was written and tested for functionality with basic test software. The functionality of parts of the system and control architecture was tested on the robot in a simulated operational environment.by Kailas Narendran.M.Eng

Robotics and the Future of International Asymmetric Warfare

In the post-Cold War world, the world's most powerful states have cooperated or avoided conflict with each other, easily defeated smaller state governments, engaged in protracted conflicts against insurgencies and resistance networks, and lost civilians to terrorist attacks. This dissertation explores various explanations for this pattern, proposing that some non-state networks adapt to major international transitions more quickly than bureaucratic states. Networks have taken advantage of the information technology revolution to enhance their capabilities, but states have begun to adjust, producing robotic systems with the potential to grant them an advantage in asymmetric warfare

Wireless sensor systems in indoor situation modeling II (WISM II)

fi=vertaisarvioimaton|en=nonPeerReviewed

Unmanned Systems Sentinel / 3 June 2016

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