Enhancing 3D Autonomous Navigation Through Obstacle Fields: Homogeneous Localisation and Mapping, with Obstacle-Aware Trajectory Optimisation

Small flying robots have numerous potential applications, from quadrotors for search and rescue, infrastructure inspection and package delivery to free-flying satellites for assistance activities inside a space station. To enable these applications, a key challenge is autonomous navigation in 3D, near obstacles on a power, mass and computation constrained platform. This challenge requires a robot to perform localisation, mapping, dynamics-aware trajectory planning and control. The current state-of-the-art uses separate algorithms for each component. Here, the aim is for a more homogeneous approach in the search for improved efficiencies and capabilities. First, an algorithm is described to perform Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping (SLAM) with physical, 3D map representation that can also be used to represent obstacles for trajectory planning: Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) surfaces. Termed NURBSLAM, this algorithm is shown to combine the typically separate tasks of localisation and obstacle mapping. Second, a trajectory optimisation algorithm is presented that produces dynamically-optimal trajectories with direct consideration of obstacles, providing a middle ground between path planners and trajectory smoothers. Called the Admissible Subspace TRajectory Optimiser (ASTRO), the algorithm can produce trajectories that are easier to track than the state-of-the-art for flight near obstacles, as shown in flight tests with quadrotors. For quadrotors to track trajectories, a critical component is the differential flatness transformation that links position and attitude controllers. Existing singularities in this transformation are analysed, solutions are proposed and are then demonstrated in flight tests. Finally, a combined system of NURBSLAM and ASTRO are brought together and tested against the state-of-the-art in a novel simulation environment to prove the concept that a single 3D representation can be used for localisation, mapping, and planning

Efficient and High-Quality Rendering of Higher-Order Geometric Data Representations

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) bezeichnet den Entwurf industrieller Produkte mit Hilfe von virtuellen 3D Modellen. Ein CAD-Modell besteht aus parametrischen Kurven und Flächen, in den meisten Fällen non-uniform rational B-Splines (NURBS). Diese mathematische Beschreibung wird ebenfalls zur Analyse, Optimierung und Präsentation des Modells verwendet. In jeder dieser Entwicklungsphasen wird eine unterschiedliche visuelle Darstellung benötigt, um den entsprechenden Nutzern ein geeignetes Feedback zu geben. Designer bevorzugen beispielsweise illustrative oder realistische Darstellungen, Ingenieure benötigen eine verständliche Visualisierung der Simulationsergebnisse, während eine immersive 3D Darstellung bei einer Benutzbarkeitsanalyse oder der Designauswahl hilfreich sein kann. Die interaktive Darstellung von NURBS-Modellen und -Simulationsdaten ist jedoch aufgrund des hohen Rechenaufwandes und der eingeschränkten Hardwareunterstützung eine große Herausforderung. Diese Arbeit stellt vier neuartige Verfahren vor, welche sich mit der interaktiven Darstellung von NURBS-Modellen und Simulationensdaten befassen. Die vorgestellten Algorithmen nutzen neue Fähigkeiten aktueller Grafikkarten aus, um den Stand der Technik bezüglich Qualität, Effizienz und Darstellungsgeschwindigkeit zu verbessern. Zwei dieser Verfahren befassen sich mit der direkten Darstellung der parametrischen Beschreibung ohne Approximationen oder zeitaufwändige Vorberechnungen. Die dabei vorgestellten Datenstrukturen und Algorithmen ermöglichen die effiziente Unterteilung, Klassifizierung, Tessellierung und Darstellung getrimmter NURBS-Flächen und einen interaktiven Ray-Casting-Algorithmus für die Isoflächenvisualisierung von NURBSbasierten isogeometrischen Analysen. Die weiteren zwei Verfahren beschreiben zum einen das vielseitige Konzept der programmierbaren Transparenz für illustrative und verständliche Visualisierungen tiefenkomplexer CAD-Modelle und zum anderen eine neue hybride Methode zur Reprojektion halbtransparenter und undurchsichtiger Bildinformation für die Beschleunigung der Erzeugung von stereoskopischen Bildpaaren. Die beiden letztgenannten Ansätze basieren auf rasterisierter Geometrie und sind somit ebenfalls für normale Dreiecksmodelle anwendbar, wodurch die Arbeiten auch einen wichtigen Beitrag in den Bereichen der Computergrafik und der virtuellen Realität darstellen. Die Auswertung der Arbeit wurde mit großen, realen NURBS-Datensätzen durchgeführt. Die Resultate zeigen, dass die direkte Darstellung auf Grundlage der parametrischen Beschreibung mit interaktiven Bildwiederholraten und in subpixelgenauer Qualität möglich ist. Die Einführung programmierbarer Transparenz ermöglicht zudem die Umsetzung kollaborativer 3D Interaktionstechniken für die Exploration der Modelle in virtuellenUmgebungen sowie illustrative und verständliche Visualisierungen tiefenkomplexer CAD-Modelle. Die Erzeugung stereoskopischer Bildpaare für die interaktive Visualisierung auf 3D Displays konnte beschleunigt werden. Diese messbare Verbesserung wurde zudem im Rahmen einer Nutzerstudie als wahrnehmbar und vorteilhaft befunden.In computer-aided design (CAD), industrial products are designed using a virtual 3D model. A CAD model typically consists of curves and surfaces in a parametric representation, in most cases, non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS). The same representation is also used for the analysis, optimization and presentation of the model. In each phase of this process, different visualizations are required to provide an appropriate user feedback. Designers work with illustrative and realistic renderings, engineers need a comprehensible visualization of the simulation results, and usability studies or product presentations benefit from using a 3D display. However, the interactive visualization of NURBS models and corresponding physical simulations is a challenging task because of the computational complexity and the limited graphics hardware support. This thesis proposes four novel rendering approaches that improve the interactive visualization of CAD models and their analysis. The presented algorithms exploit latest graphics hardware capabilities to advance the state-of-the-art in terms of quality, efficiency and performance. In particular, two approaches describe the direct rendering of the parametric representation without precomputed approximations and timeconsuming pre-processing steps. New data structures and algorithms are presented for the efficient partition, classification, tessellation, and rendering of trimmed NURBS surfaces as well as the first direct isosurface ray-casting approach for NURBS-based isogeometric analysis. The other two approaches introduce the versatile concept of programmable order-independent semi-transparency for the illustrative and comprehensible visualization of depth-complex CAD models, and a novel method for the hybrid reprojection of opaque and semi-transparent image information to accelerate stereoscopic rendering. Both approaches are also applicable to standard polygonal geometry which contributes to the computer graphics and virtual reality research communities. The evaluation is based on real-world NURBS-based models and simulation data. The results show that rendering can be performed directly on the underlying parametric representation with interactive frame rates and subpixel-precise image results. The computational costs of additional visualization effects, such as semi-transparency and stereoscopic rendering, are reduced to maintain interactive frame rates. The benefit of this performance gain was confirmed by quantitative measurements and a pilot user study

Multiple Representation Approach to Geometric Model Construction From Range Data

A method is presented for constructing geometric design data from noisy 3-D sensor measurements of physical parts. In early processing phase, RLTS regression filters stemming from robust estimation theory are used for separating the desired part of the signal in contaminated sensor data from undesired part. Strategies for producing a complete 3-D data set from partial views are studied. Multiple representations are used in model construction because there is no single representation that would be most appropriate in all situations. In particular, surface triangulation, NURBS, and super-ellipsoids are employed in order to represent efficiently polygonal and irregular shapes, free form surfaces and standard primitive solids. The size of the required control point mesh for spline description is estimated using a surface characterization process. Surfaces of arbitrary topology are modeled using triangulation and trimmed NURBS. A user given tolerance value is driving refinement of the obtained surface model. The resulting model description is a procedural CAD model which can convey structural information in addition to low level geometric primitives. The model is translated to IGES standard product data exchange format to enable data sharing with other processes in concurrent engineering environment. Preliminary results on view registration using simulated data are shown. Examples of model construction using both real and simulated data are also given

Neural PDE Solvers for Irregular Domains

Neural network-based approaches for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) have recently received special attention. However, the large majority of neural PDE solvers only apply to rectilinear domains, and do not systematically address the imposition of Dirichlet/Neumann boundary conditions over irregular domain boundaries. In this paper, we present a framework to neurally solve partial differential equations over domains with irregularly shaped (non-rectilinear) geometric boundaries. Our network takes in the shape of the domain as an input (represented using an unstructured point cloud, or any other parametric representation such as Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) and is able to generalize to novel (unseen) irregular domains; the key technical ingredient to realizing this model is a novel approach for identifying the interior and exterior of the computational grid in a differentiable manner. We also perform a careful error analysis which reveals theoretical insights into several sources of error incurred in the model-building process. Finally, we showcase a wide variety of applications, along with favorable comparisons with ground truth solutions

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationWhile boundary representations, such as nonuniform rational B-spline (NURBS) surfaces, have traditionally well served the needs of the modeling community, they have not seen widespread adoption among the wider engineering discipline. There is a common perception that NURBS are slow to evaluate and complex to implement. Whereas computer-aided design commonly deals with surfaces, the engineering community must deal with materials that have thickness. Traditional visualization techniques have avoided NURBS, and there has been little cross-talk between the rich spline approximation community and the larger engineering field. Recently there has been a strong desire to marry the modeling and analysis phases of the iterative design cycle, be it in car design, turbulent flow simulation around an airfoil, or lighting design. Research has demonstrated that employing a single representation throughout the cycle has key advantages. Furthermore, novel manufacturing techniques employing heterogeneous materials require the introduction of volumetric modeling representations. There is little question that fields such as scientific visualization and mechanical engineering could benefit from the powerful approximation properties of splines. In this dissertation, we remove several hurdles to the application of NURBS to problems in engineering and demonstrate how their unique properties can be leveraged to solve problems of interest

오프셋 곡선 및 곡면의 자가 교차 검출 및 제거

학위논문(박사)--서울대학교 대학원 :공과대학 컴퓨터공학부,2020. 2. 김명수.Offset curves and surfaces have many applications in computer-aided design and manufacturing, but the self-intersections and redundancies must be trimmed away for their practical use. We present a new method for offset curve and surface trimming that detects the self-intersections and eliminates the redundant parts of an offset curve and surface that are closer than the offset distance to the original curve and surface. We first propose an offset trimming method based on constructing geometric constraint equations. We formulate the constraint equations of the self-intersections of an offset curve and surface in the parameter domain of the original curve and surface. Numerical computations based on the regularity and intrinsic properties of the given input curve and surface is carried out to compute the solution of the constraint equations. The method deals with numerical instability around near-singular regions of an offset surface by using osculating tori that can be constructed in a highly stable way, i.e., by offsetting the osculating torii of the given input regular surface. We reveal the branching structure and the terminal points from the complete self-intersection curves of the offset surface. From the observation that the trimming method based on the multivariate equation solving is computationally expensive, we also propose an acceleration technique to trim an offset curve and surface. The alternative method constructs a bounding volume hierarchy specially designed to enclose the offset curve and surface and detects the self-collision of the bounding volumes instead. In the case of an offset surface, the thickness of the bounding volumes is indirectly determined based on the maximum deviations of the positions and the normals between the given input surface patches and their osculating tori. For further acceleration, the bounding volumes are pruned as much as possible during self-collision detection using various geometric constraints imposed on the offset surface. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the new trimming method using several non-trivial test examples of offset trimming. Lastly, we investigate the problem of computing the Voronoi diagram of a freeform surface using the offset trimming technique for surfaces. By trimming the offset surface with a gradually changing offset radius, we compute the boundary of the Voronoi cells that appear in the concave side of the given input surface. In particular, we interpret the singular and branching points of the self-intersection curves of the trimmed offset surfaces in terms of the boundary elements of the Voronoi diagram.오프셋 곡선 및 곡면은 computer-aided design (CAD)와 computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)에서 널리 이용되는 연산들 중 하나이다. 하지만 실용적인 활용을 위해서는 오프셋 곡선 및 곡면에서 생기는 자가 교차를 찾고 이를 기준으로 오프셋 곡선 및 곡면에서 원래의 곡선 및 곡면에 가까운 불필요한 영역을 제거하여야한다. 본 논문에서는 오프셋 곡선 및 곡면에서 생기는 자가 교차를 계산하고, 오프셋 곡선 및 곡면에서 생기는 불필요한 영역을 제거하는 알고리즘을 제안한다. 본 논문은 우선 오프셋 곡선 및 곡면의 자가 교차점들과 그 교차점들이 기인한 원래 곡선 및 곡면의 점들이 이루는 평면 이등변 삼각형 관계로부터 오프셋 곡선 및 곡면의 자가 교차점의 제약 조건을 만족시키는 방정식들을 세운다. 이 제약식들은 원래 곡선 및 곡면의 변수 공간에서 표현되며, 이 방정식들의 해는 다변수 방정식의 해를 구하는 solver를 이용하여 구한다. 오프셋 곡면의 경우, 원래 곡면의 주곡률 중 하나가 오프셋 반지름의 역수와 같을 때 오프셋 곡면의 법선이 정의가 되지 않는 특이점이 생기는데, 오프셋 곡면의 자가 교차 곡선이 이 부근을 지날 때는 자가 교차 곡선의 계산이 불안정해진다. 따라서 자가 교차 곡선이 오프셋 곡면의 특이점 부근을 지날 때는 오프셋 곡면을 접촉 토러스로 치환하여 더 안정된 방법으로 자가 교차 곡선을 구한다. 계산된 오프셋 곡면의 자가 교차 곡선으로부터 교차 곡선의 $xyz$-공간에서의 말단 점, 가지 구조 등을 밝힌다. 본 논문은 또한 바운딩 볼륨 기반의 오프셋 곡선 및 곡면의 자가 교차 곡선 검출을 가속화하는 방법을 제시한다. 바운딩 볼륨은 기저 곡선 및 곡면을 단순한 기하로 감싸고 기하 연산을 수행함으로써 가속화에 기여한다. 오프셋 곡면의 자가 교차 곡선을 구하기 위하여, 본 논문은 오프셋 곡면의 바운딩 볼륨 구조를 기저 곡면의 바운딩 볼륨과 기저 곡면의 법선 곡면의 바운딩 볼륨의 구조로부터 계산하며 이때 각 바운딩 볼륨의 두께를 계산한다. 또한, 바운딩 볼륨 중에서 실제 오프셋 곡선 및 곡면의 자가 교차에 기여하지 않는 부분을 깊은 재귀 전에 찾아서 제거하는 여러 조건들을 나열한다. 한편, 자가 교차가 제거된 오프셋 곡선 및 곡면은 기저 곡선 및 곡면의 보로노이 구조와 깊은 관련이 있는 것이 알려져 있다. 본 논문에서는 자유 곡면의 연속된 오프셋 곡면들로부터 자유 곡면의 보로노이 구조를 유추하는 방법을 제시한다. 특히, 오프셋 곡면의 자가 교차 곡선 상에서 나타나는 가지 점이나 말단 점과 같은 특이점들이 자유 곡면의 보로노이 구조에서 어떻게 해석되는지 제시한다.1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background and Motivation 1 1.2 Research Objectives and Approach 7 1.3 Contributions and Thesis Organization 11 2. Preliminaries 14 2.1 Curve and Surface Representation 14 2.1.1 Bezier Representation 14 2.1.2 B-spline Representation 17 2.2 Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces 19 2.2.1 Differential Geometry of Curves 19 2.2.2 Differential Geometry of Surfaces 21 3. Previous Work 23 3.1 Offset Curves 24 3.2 Offset Surfaces 27 3.3 Offset Curves on Surfaces 29 4. Trimming Offset Curve Self-intersections 32 4.1 Experimental Results 35 5. Trimming Offset Surface Self-intersections 38 5.1 Constraint Equations for Offset Self-Intersections 38 5.1.1 Coplanarity Constraint 39 5.1.2 Equi-angle Constraint 40 5.2 Removing Trivial Solutions 40 5.3 Removing Normal Flips 41 5.4 Multivariate Solver for Constraints 43 5.A Derivation of f(u,v) 46 5.B Relationship between f(u,v) and Curvatures 47 5.3 Trimming Offset Surfaces 50 5.4 Experimental Results 53 5.5 Summary 57 6. Acceleration of trimming offset curves and surfaces 62 6.1 Motivation 62 6.2 Basic Approach 67 6.3 Trimming an Offset Curve using the BVH 70 6.4 Trimming an Offset Surface using the BVH 75 6.4.1 Offset Surface BVH 75 6.4.2 Finding Self-intersections in Offset Surface Using BVH 87 6.4.3 Tracing Self-intersection Curves 98 6.5 Experimental Results 100 6.6 Summary 106 7. Application of Trimming Offset Surfaces: 3D Voronoi Diagram 107 7.1 Background 107 7.2 Approach 110 7.3 Experimental Results 112 7.4 Summary 114 8. Conclusion 119 Bibliography iDocto

The generation of triangular meshes for NURBS-enhanced FEM

This paper presents the first method that enables the fully automatic generation of triangular meshes suitable for the so‐called non‐uniform rational B‐spline (NURBS)‐enhanced finite element method (NEFEM). The meshes generated with the proposed approach account for the computer‐aided design boundary representation of the domain given by NURBS curves. The characteristic element size is completely independent of the geometric complexity and of the presence of very small geometric features. The proposed strategy allows to circumvent the time‐consuming process of de‐featuring complex geometric models before a finite element mesh suitable for the analysis can be produced. A generalisation of the original definition of a NEFEM element is also proposed, enabling to treat more complicated elements with an edge defined by several NURBS curves or more than one edge defined by different NURBS. Three examples of increasing difficulty demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach and illustrate the advantages compared with those of traditional finite element mesh generators. Finally, a simulation of an electromagnetic scattering problem is considered to show the applicability of the generated meshes for finite element analysis