Adoption of vehicular ad hoc networking protocols by networked robots

This paper focuses on the utilization of wireless networking in the robotics domain. Many researchers have already equipped their robots with wireless communication capabilities, stimulated by the observation that multi-robot systems tend to have several advantages over their single-robot counterparts. Typically, this integration of wireless communication is tackled in a quite pragmatic manner, only a few authors presented novel Robotic Ad Hoc Network (RANET) protocols that were designed specifically with robotic use cases in mind. This is in sharp contrast with the domain of vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET). This observation is the starting point of this paper. If the results of previous efforts focusing on VANET protocols could be reused in the RANET domain, this could lead to rapid progress in the field of networked robots. To investigate this possibility, this paper provides a thorough overview of the related work in the domain of robotic and vehicular ad hoc networks. Based on this information, an exhaustive list of requirements is defined for both types. It is concluded that the most significant difference lies in the fact that VANET protocols are oriented towards low throughput messaging, while RANET protocols have to support high throughput media streaming as well. Although not always with equal importance, all other defined requirements are valid for both protocols. This leads to the conclusion that cross-fertilization between them is an appealing approach for future RANET research. To support such developments, this paper concludes with the definition of an appropriate working plan

Communication Technologies Enabling Effective UAV Networks: A Standards Perspective

[EN] Recent developments in the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) field have made evident the need for a standardization process of the communication technologies supporting direct information exchange, thus enabling UAV-to-UAV networking. We consider this is necessary to achieve all sorts of cooperative tasks requiring real-time (or near-real-time) synchronization, including swarm formation and collision avoidance. In this article, we therefore argue in favor of introducing a new standard that would address this specific area, highlighting why current technologies are not adequate, what the different steps toward rapid standardization are, and which lessons have been learned from related fields, namely the vehicular and robotic environments, in the past few years.This work is derived from R&D project RTI2018-096384-B-I00 funded by MCIN/ AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and ERDF A way of making Europe.Vegni, AM.; Loscri, V.; Tavares De Araujo Cesariny Calafate, CM.; Manzoni, P. (2021). Communication Technologies Enabling Effective UAV Networks: A Standards Perspective. IEEE Communications Standards Magazine. 5(4):33-40. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOMSTD.0001.2000074S33405

Communication Technologies Enabling Effective UAV Networks: a Standards Perspective

International audienceRecent developments in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) field have put in evidence the need for a standardization process of the communication technologies supporting direct information exchange, thus enabling UAV-to-UAV networking. We consider this is necessary to achieve all sorts of cooperative tasks requiring real-time (or near-real-time) synchronization, including swarm formation and collision avoidance. In this paper, we therefore argue in favor of introducing a new standard that would address this specific area, highlighting why current technologies are not adequate, what are the different steps towards a rapid standardization, and which lessons have been learned from related fields, namely the vehicular and the robotic environments, in the past few years

Flexible Wi-Fi communication among mobile robots in Indoor industrial environments

In order to speed up industrial processes and to improve logistics, mobile robots are getting important in industry. In this paper, we propose a flexible and configurable architecture for the mobile node that is able to operate in different network topology scenarios. The proposed solution is able to operate in presence of network infrastructure, in ad hoc mode only, or to use both possibilities. In case of mixed architecture, mesh capabilities will enable coverage problem detection and overcoming. The solution is based on real requirements from an automated guided vehicle producer. First, we evaluate the overhead introduced by our solution. Since the mobile robot communication relies in broadcast traffic, the broadcast scalability in mesh network is evaluated too. Finally, through experiments on a wireless testbed for a variety of scenarios, we analyze the impact of roaming, mobility and traffic separation, and demonstrate the advantage of our approach in handling coverage problems

From MANET to people-centric networking: Milestones and open research challenges

In this paper, we discuss the state of the art of (mobile) multi-hop ad hoc networking with the aim to present the current status of the research activities and identify the consolidated research areas, with limited research opportunities, and the hot and emerging research areas for which further research is required. We start by briefly discussing the MANET paradigm, and why the research on MANET protocols is now a cold research topic. Then we analyze the active research areas. Specifically, after discussing the wireless-network technologies, we analyze four successful ad hoc networking paradigms, mesh networks, opportunistic networks, vehicular networks, and sensor networks that emerged from the MANET world. We also present an emerging research direction in the multi-hop ad hoc networking field: people centric networking, triggered by the increasing penetration of the smartphones in everyday life, which is generating a people-centric revolution in computing and communications

Cloud Robotics and Autonomous Vehicles

Recently, a good amount of research has been focused on the development of the autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles possess great potential in numerous challenging applications, for example, autonomous armoured fighting vehicles, automated highway systems, etc. To enable the usage of autonomous vehicles in such challenging applications, it is important to ensure the safety, efficiency, reliability and robustness of the system. Most of the existing implementations of the autonomous vehicles operate as standalone systems limited to onboard capabilities (computations, memory, data, etc.), which limit their potential and performance in real-world applications. The advent of the Internet and emerging advances in the cloud infrastructure suggests new methodologies where vehicles are not limited to onboard capabilities. Processing is also performed remotely on cloud to support different operations and to increase the proficiency of decision-making. This chapter surveys the research to date in the evolution of autonomous vehicles, cloud and cloud-enabled autonomous vehicles, with the limitations of existing systems, research challenges and possible future directions. The chapter can help new researchers in the field to understand and evaluate different approaches for the design of the autonomous vehicular systems

A Methodology for the Design of Safety-Compliant and Secure Communication of Autonomous Vehicles

International audience; The automotive industry is increasing its effort towards scientific and technological innovations regarding autonomous vehicles. The expectation is a reduction of road accidents, which are too often caused by human errors. Moreover, technological solutions, such as connected autonomous vehicle platoons, are expected to help humans in emergency situations. In this context, safety and security issues do not yet have a satisfactory answer. In this paper, we address the domain of secure communication among vehicles - especially the issues related to authentication and authorization of inter-vehicular signals and services carrying safety commands. We propose a novel design methodology, where we take a contract-based approach for specifying safety, and combine it in the design flow with the use of the Arrowhead Framework to support security. Furthermore, we present the results through a demo, which employs model-based design for software implementation and the physical realization on autonomous model cars