Asimov's Coming Back

Ever since the word ‘ROBOT’ first appeared in a science\ud fiction in 1921, scientists and engineers have been trying\ud different ways to create it. Present technologies in\ud mechanical and electrical engineering makes it possible\ud to have robots in such places as industrial manufacturing\ud and assembling lines. Although they are\ud essentially robotic arms or similarly driven by electrical\ud power and signal control, they could be treated the\ud primitive pioneers in application. Researches in the\ud laboratories go much further. Interdisciplines are\ud directing the evolution of more advanced robots. Among these are artificial\ud intelligence, computational neuroscience, mathematics and robotics. These disciplines\ud come closer as more complex problems emerge.\ud From a robot’s point of view, three basic abilities are needed. They are thinking\ud and memory, sensory perceptions, control and behaving. These are capabilities we\ud human beings have to adapt ourselves to the environment. Although\ud researches on robots, especially on intelligent thinking, progress slowly, a revolution\ud for biological inspired robotics is spreading out in the laboratories all over the world

Insect inspired visual motion sensing and flying robots

International audienceFlying insects excellently master visual motion sensing techniques. They use dedicated motion processing circuits at a low energy and computational costs. Thanks to observations obtained on insect visual guidance, we developed visual motion sensors and bio-inspired autopilots dedicated to flying robots. Optic flow-based visuomotor control systems have been implemented on an increasingly large number of sighted autonomous robots. In this chapter, we present how we designed and constructed local motion sensors and how we implemented bio-inspired visual guidance scheme on-board several micro-aerial vehicles. An hyperacurate sensor in which retinal micro-scanning movements are performed via a small piezo-bender actuator was mounted onto a miniature aerial robot. The OSCAR II robot is able to track a moving target accurately by exploiting the microscan-ning movement imposed to its eye's retina. We also present two interdependent control schemes driving the eye in robot angular position and the robot's body angular position with respect to a visual target but without any knowledge of the robot's orientation in the global frame. This "steering-by-gazing" control strategy, which is implemented on this lightweight (100 g) miniature sighted aerial robot, demonstrates the effectiveness of this biomimetic visual/inertial heading control strategy

The implications of embodiment for behavior and cognition: animal and robotic case studies

In this paper, we will argue that if we want to understand the function of the brain (or the control in the case of robots), we must understand how the brain is embedded into the physical system, and how the organism interacts with the real world. While embodiment has often been used in its trivial meaning, i.e. 'intelligence requires a body', the concept has deeper and more important implications, concerned with the relation between physical and information (neural, control) processes. A number of case studies are presented to illustrate the concept. These involve animals and robots and are concentrated around locomotion, grasping, and visual perception. A theoretical scheme that can be used to embed the diverse case studies will be presented. Finally, we will establish a link between the low-level sensory-motor processes and cognition. We will present an embodied view on categorization, and propose the concepts of 'body schema' and 'forward models' as a natural extension of the embodied approach toward first representations.Comment: Book chapter in W. Tschacher & C. Bergomi, ed., 'The Implications of Embodiment: Cognition and Communication', Exeter: Imprint Academic, pp. 31-5

DESIGN, FABRICATION AND TESTING OF HIERARCHICAL MICRO-OPTICAL STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS

Micro-optical systems are becoming essential components in imaging, sensing, communications, computing, and other applications. Optically based designs are replacing electronic, chemical and mechanical systems for a variety of reasons, including low power consumption, reduced maintenance, and faster operation. However, as the number and variety of applications increases, micro-optical system designs are becoming smaller, more integrated, and more complicated. Micro and nano-optical systems found in nature, such as the imaging systems found in many insects and crustaceans, can have highly integrated optical structures that vary in size by orders of magnitude. These systems incorporate components such as compound lenses, anti-reflective lens surface structuring, spectral filters, and polarization selective elements. For animals, these hybrid optical systems capable of many optical functions in a compact package have been repeatedly selected during the evolutionary process. Understanding the advantages of these designs gives motivation for synthetic optical systems with comparable functionality. However, alternative fabrication methods that deviate from conventional processes are needed to create such systems. Further complicating the issue, the resulting device geometry may not be readily compatible with existing measurement techniques. This dissertation explores several nontraditional fabrication techniques for optical components with hierarchical geometries and measurement techniques to evaluate performance of such components. A micro-transfer molding process is found to produce high-fidelity micro-optical structures and is used to fabricate a spectral filter on a curved surface. By using a custom measurement setup we demonstrate that the spectral filter retains functionality despite the nontraditional geometry. A compound lens is fabricated using similar fabrication techniques and the imaging performance is analyzed. A spray coating technique for photoresist application to curved surfaces combined with interference lithography is also investigated. Using this technique, we generate polarizers on curved surfaces and measure their performance. This work furthers an understanding of how combining multiple optical components affects the performance of each component, the final integrated devices, and leads towards realization of biomimetically inspired imaging systems

Optic Flow Based Visual Guidance: From Flying Insects to Miniature Aerial Vehicles

International audienc

Research issues in biological inspired sensors for flying robots

Biological inspired robotics is an area experiencing an increasing research and development. In spite of all the recent engineering advances, robots still lack capabilities with respect to agility, adaptability, intelligent sensing, fault-tolerance, stealth, and utilization of in-situ resources for power when compared to biological organisms. The general premise of bio-inspired engineering is to distill the principles incorporated in successful, nature-tested mechanisms of selected features and functional behaviors that can be captured through biomechatronic designs and minimalist operation principles from nature success strategies. Based on these concepts, robotics researchers are interested in gaining an understanding of the sensory aspects that would be required to mimic nature design with engineering solutions. In this paper are analysed developments in this area and the research aspects that have to be further studied are discussed.N/

Towards Computational Models and Applications of Insect Visual Systems for Motion Perception: A Review

Motion perception is a critical capability determining a variety of aspects of insects' life, including avoiding predators, foraging and so forth. A good number of motion detectors have been identified in the insects' visual pathways. Computational modelling of these motion detectors has not only been providing effective solutions to artificial intelligence, but also benefiting the understanding of complicated biological visual systems. These biological mechanisms through millions of years of evolutionary development will have formed solid modules for constructing dynamic vision systems for future intelligent machines. This article reviews the computational motion perception models originating from biological research of insects' visual systems in the literature. These motion perception models or neural networks comprise the looming sensitive neuronal models of lobula giant movement detectors (LGMDs) in locusts, the translation sensitive neural systems of direction selective neurons (DSNs) in fruit flies, bees and locusts, as well as the small target motion detectors (STMDs) in dragonflies and hover flies. We also review the applications of these models to robots and vehicles. Through these modelling studies, we summarise the methodologies that generate different direction and size selectivity in motion perception. At last, we discuss about multiple systems integration and hardware realisation of these bio-inspired motion perception models

Deep Thermal Imaging: Proximate Material Type Recognition in the Wild through Deep Learning of Spatial Surface Temperature Patterns

We introduce Deep Thermal Imaging, a new approach for close-range automatic recognition of materials to enhance the understanding of people and ubiquitous technologies of their proximal environment. Our approach uses a low-cost mobile thermal camera integrated into a smartphone to capture thermal textures. A deep neural network classifies these textures into material types. This approach works effectively without the need for ambient light sources or direct contact with materials. Furthermore, the use of a deep learning network removes the need to handcraft the set of features for different materials. We evaluated the performance of the system by training it to recognise 32 material types in both indoor and outdoor environments. Our approach produced recognition accuracies above 98% in 14,860 images of 15 indoor materials and above 89% in 26,584 images of 17 outdoor materials. We conclude by discussing its potentials for real-time use in HCI applications and future directions.Comment: Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System

디스플레이 및 이미징 시스템으로의 응용을 위한 3D 프린팅 기반 맞춤형 광학 요소의 개발

학위논문 (박사) -- 서울대학교 대학원 : 공과대학 전기·정보공학부, 2021. 2. 홍용택.일반적으로 제조 공정은 절삭 방식과 적층 방식으로 구분된다. 이 중에서 적층 방식 공정은 저비용 및 단시간으로 복잡한 형태의 구조를 만들 수 있어서 이에 대한 연구와 개발이 꾸준히 진행되어왔다. 특히 3D 프린팅은 적층 방식 공정 중에서 가장 대표적인 방법으로, 기계 부품 및 생체 기관 제조 등의 분야에서는 이미 상용화가 진행되고 있다. 하지만 전자 소자 및 광학 요소 분야에서의 3D 프린팅의 활용은 여전히 연구 개발 또는 시제품 제작 단계에 머무르고 있다. 특히 마이크로 렌즈, 컬러 필터 등이 3D 프린팅으로 응용할 수 있는 가장 가능성 있는 광학 요소로서 디스플레이 및 이미징 시스템에 널리 사용될 것으로 예상되지만 여전히 상용화를 위한 연구가 진행 중이다. 또한 3D 프린팅을 이용한 광학 요소의 제작은 소재, 길이 스케일, 형상 및 응용 방안 등에서도 제한이 많은 상황이다. 따라서 이러한 문제를 극복하기 위해서는 디스플레이 및 이미징 시스템에서의 3D 프린팅 된 광학 요소의 유용성을 확장해야 하며, 다음과 같이 세 가지 측면에서 향상된 성능을 달성해야 한다. 첫째, 다양한 방식의 3D 프린팅 방법을 통해 마이크로미터에서 센티미터까지 광범위의 길이 스케일을 가지는 구조물의 제작이 가능해야 한다. 둘째, 임의의 곡면, 계층적 구조 등 복잡한 형상의 구조물을 쉽게 제작할 수 있어야 한다. 셋째, 단단한 소재 대신 탄성체와 같은 소프트 소재를 이용하여 광학적인 기능을 용이하게 조절할 수 있어야 한다. 이와 같은 동기를 바탕으로 본 학위 논문에서는 디스플레이 및 이미징 시스템으로의 응용을 위한 3D 프린팅 기반 맞춤형 광학 요소의 개발에 대한 내용을 보고한다. 3D 프린팅 기반 광학 요소를 매크로 스케일, 마이크로 스케일 그리고 매크로 및 마이크로 스케일이 혼합된 계층적 구조 등 세 가지 유형으로 분류하고 각각에 대한 응용 분야를 제시한다. 매크로 스케일의 광학 요소로는 가장 기본적인 요소인 렌즈와 거울을 선택한다. 렌즈는 공압식 디스펜싱 방법을 이용하여 실린드리컬 쌍 형태로 제작되었으며, 심리스 모듈러 평판식 디스플레이의 구현을 위해 적용된다. 또한 용융 적층 방식의 3D 프린팅으로 만들어진 몰드를 이용하여 거울을 제작하고, 이를 이용하여 심리스 모듈러 커브드 엣지 디스플레이를 구현한다. 이와 같이 모듈러 디스플레이의 이음새 부분에 3D 프린팅으로 제작된 렌즈 또는 거울을 부착하는 방식으로 화면을 심리스로 확장하는 기술을 제시하고, 다양한 형태의 디스플레이에 적용할 수 있는 가능성을 보여준다. 마이크로 스케일의 광학 요소로는 발광 다이오드에서 색 변환과 광 추출 기능을 동시에 나타내는 색 변환 마이크로 렌즈를 선택한다. 양자 점/광 경화성 고분자 복합체의 전기수력학적 프린팅을 통해 양자 점이 내장된 다양한 형태의 색 변환 마이크로 렌즈를 제작하며, 이를 청색 마이크로 발광 다이오드 어레이의 발광부 상에 적용하여 풀 컬러 마이크로 발광 다이오드 디스플레이로의 응용 가능성을 제시한다. 마지막으로 매크로 및 마이크로 스케일이 혼합된 계층적 구조의 광학 요소로서 디스펜싱 및 건식 러빙 과정의 조합으로 제작된 겹눈 형태를 모사한 렌즈 구조를 제시한다. 반구 형태의 매크로 렌즈를 디스펜싱으로 형성하고, 매크로 렌즈의 곡면 상에 단층의 마이크로 입자의 배열을 얻기 위해 건식 러빙 공정을 진행한다. 이러한 방식으로 형성된 계층적 구조가 소프트한 소재로 복제되어서 신축성을 가지는 겹눈 형태 모사 구조가 완성된다. 마이크로 렌즈 어레이는 매크로 렌즈의 표면을 따라 형성되고 리지드 아일랜드로 역할을 하여, 전체 계층적 구조에 기계적 변형이 가해져 매크로 렌즈의 모양이 변형되어도 마이크로 렌즈는 형상과 해상도, 초점 거리 등의 광학적 특성을 유지할 수 있다. 본 학위 논문은 3D 프린팅을 이용하여 다양한 형태와 스케일의 광학 요소를 제작하고 디스플레이 및 이미징 시스템으로의 여러 응용을 보여줌으로서 앞으로의 새로운 연구 및 개발 방향성을 제시하는 것을 주요 목적으로 한다. 3D 프린팅 설비의 단가가 낮아지고 정밀도 및 해상도가 높아지는 추세에 따라, 광학 요소를 쉽게 만들고 응용할 수 있는 맞춤형 광학 또는 스스로 구현하는 광학 분야가 변형 가능하고 멀티 스케일의 광학계로 점차 확대될 것으로 예상된다. 궁극적으로는 차세대 디스플레이 및 이미징 시스템에 필요한 광학 요소를 위한 기술의 저변을 넓히고, 이를 산업 전반에 응용할 수 있는 기반을 마련하고자 한다.Generally, the manufacturing process is divided into the subtractive (top-down) type and additive type (bottom-up). Among them, the additive manufacturing process has attracted a lot of attention because it can manufacture products with complex shapes in a low-cost and short-time process. In particular, three-dimensional (3D) printing is a representative method, which has already been commercialized in the field of mechanical components and biomedical organ. However, it remains in the research and development step in the field of electronic devices and optical components. Especially, although 3D printed optical components including microlens and color filter are expected to be widely used in display and imaging systems, it is still under investigation for commercialized products, and there are limitations in terms of materials, length scale, shape, and practical applications of components. Therefore, to overcome these issues, it is required for investigating and expanding the potential usefulness for 3D printed optical components in display and imaging systems to achieve better performance, productivity, and usability in three aspects. First, it should be possible to manufacture structures with a wide range of length scales from micrometer to centimeter through various 3D printing methods. Second, complex shapes such as free-from curved surfaces and hierarchical structures should be easily fabricated. Third, it is necessary to add functionality by manufacturing structures in which tunable functions are introduced using soft materials like an elastomer. Based on the above motivations, 3D printing-based customized optical components for display and imaging system applications are introduced in this dissertation. 3D printed optical components are classified into three types and their applications are showed to verify the scalability of 3D printing: macro-scale, microscale, and hierarchical macro/micro-scale. As macro-scale printed optical components, lens and mirror which are the most basic optical components are selected. The lens is fabricated by a pneumatic-type dispensing method with the form of a cylindrical pair and adopted for demonstration of seamless modular flat panel display. Besides, a seamless modular curved-edge display is also demonstrated with a mirror, which is fabricated from fused deposition modeling (FDM)-type 3D printed mold. By simply attaching a printed lens or mirror onto the seam of the modular display, it is possible to secure seamless screen expansion technology with the various form factor of the display panel. In the case of micro-scale printed optical components, the color-convertible microlens is chosen, which act as a color converter and light extractor simultaneously in a light-emitting diode (LED). By electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing of quantum dot (QD)/photocurable polymer composite, QD-embedded hemispherical lens shape structures with various sizes are fabricated by adjusting printing conditions. Furthermore, it is applied to a blue micro-LED array for full-color micro-LED display applications. Finally, a tunable bio-inspired compound (BIC) eyes structure with a combination of dispensing and a dry-phase rubbing process is suggested as a hierarchical macro/micro-scale printed optical components. A hemispherical macrolens is formed by the dispensing method, followed by a dry-phase rubbing process for arranging micro particles in monolayer onto the curved surface of the macrolens. This hierarchical structure is replicated in soft materials, which have intrinsic stretchability. Microlens array is formed on the surface of the macrolens and acts as a rigid island, thereby maintaining lens shape, resolution, and focal length even though the mechanical strain is applied to overall hierarchical structures and the shape of the macrolens is changed. The primary purposes of this dissertation are to introduce new concepts of the enabling technologies for 3D printed optical components and to shed new light on them. Optical components can be easily made as 3D printing equipment becomes cheaper and more precise, so the field of Consumer optics or Do it yourself (DIY) optics will be gradually expanded on deformable and multi-scale optics. It is expected that this dissertation can contribute to providing a guideline for utilizing and customizing 3D printed optical components in next-generation display and imaging system applications.Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Manufacturing Process 1 1.2. Additive Manufacturing 4 1.3. Printed Optical Components 8 1.4. Motivation and Organization of Dissertation 11 Chapter 2. Macro-scale Printed Optical Components 15 2.1. Introduction 15 2.2. Seamless Modular Flat Display with Printed Lens 20 2.2.1. Main Concept 20 2.2.2. Experimental Section 23 2.2.3. Results and Discussion 26 2.3. Seamless Modular Curved-edge Display with Printed Mirror 32 2.3.1. Main Concept 32 2.3.2. Experimental Section 33 2.3.3. Results and Discussion 36 2.4. Conclusion 46 Chapter 3. Micro-scale Printed Optical Components 47 3.1. Introduction 47 3.2. Full-color Micro-LED Array with Printed Color-convertible Microlens 52 3.2.1. Main Concept 52 3.2.2. Experimental Section 54 3.2.3. Results and Discussion 57 3.3. Conclusion 65 Chapter 4. Hierarchical Macro/Micro-scale Printed Optical Components 66 4.1. Introduction 66 4.2. Tunable Bio-inspired Compound Eye with Printing and Dry-phase Rubbing Process 69 4.2.1. Main Concept 69 4.2.2. Experimental Section 71 4.2.3. Results and Discussion 73 4.3. Conclusion 79 Chapter 5. Conclusion 80 5.1. Summary 80 5.2. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Researches 83 References 88 Abstract in Korean (국문 초록) 107Docto