2,322 research outputs found

    Scaled Autonomy for Networked Humanoids

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    Humanoid robots have been developed with the intention of aiding in environments designed for humans. As such, the control of humanoid morphology and effectiveness of human robot interaction form the two principal research issues for deploying these robots in the real world. In this thesis work, the issue of humanoid control is coupled with human robot interaction under the framework of scaled autonomy, where the human and robot exchange levels of control depending on the environment and task at hand. This scaled autonomy is approached with control algorithms for reactive stabilization of human commands and planned trajectories that encode semantically meaningful motion preferences in a sequential convex optimization framework. The control and planning algorithms have been extensively tested in the field for robustness and system verification. The RoboCup competition provides a benchmark competition for autonomous agents that are trained with a human supervisor. The kid-sized and adult-sized humanoid robots coordinate over a noisy network in a known environment with adversarial opponents, and the software and routines in this work allowed for five consecutive championships. Furthermore, the motion planning and user interfaces developed in the work have been tested in the noisy network of the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Trials and Finals in an unknown environment. Overall, the ability to extend simplified locomotion models to aid in semi-autonomous manipulation allows untrained humans to operate complex, high dimensional robots. This represents another step in the path to deploying humanoids in the real world, based on the low dimensional motion abstractions and proven performance in real world tasks like RoboCup and the DRC

    Automation and robotics for the Space Exploration Initiative: Results from Project Outreach

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    A total of 52 submissions were received in the Automation and Robotics (A&R) area during Project Outreach. About half of the submissions (24) contained concepts that were judged to have high utility for the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) and were analyzed further by the robotics panel. These 24 submissions are analyzed here. Three types of robots were proposed in the high scoring submissions: structured task robots (STRs), teleoperated robots (TORs), and surface exploration robots. Several advanced TOR control interface technologies were proposed in the submissions. Many A&R concepts or potential standards were presented or alluded to by the submitters, but few specific technologies or systems were suggested

    Comparing trotting and turning strategies on the quadrupedal Oncilla Robot

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    In this paper, we compare three different trotting techniques and five different turning strategies on a small, compliant, biologically inspired quadrupedal robot, the Oncilla. The locomotion techniques were optimized on the actual hardware using a treadmill setup, without relying on models. We found that using half ellipses as foot trajectories resulted in the fastest gaits, as well as the highest robustness against parameter changes. Furthermore, we analyzed the importance of using the scapulae for turning, from which we observed that although not necessary, they are needed for turning with a higher speed

    Mathematical Modelling and Control System Development of a Remote Controlled, IMU Stabilised Hexapod Robot

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    Walking robots are useful in search and rescue applications due to their ability to navigate uneven and complex terrain. A hexapod robot has been developed by the Robotics and Agents Research Lab at UCT, however multiple inadequacies have become evident. This work aims to produce a mathematical model of the hexapod and using this model, implement an effective control algorithm to achieve a smooth walking motion and overcome the original flaws. The mathematical model was integrated with the mechanical structure of the hexapod and controlled by a micro-controller. This micro-controller allows for a rapid start-up and low power consumption when compared to previous iterations of the hexapod. Using a path generation algorithm sets of foot positions and velocities are generated. Generating these points in real time allows for walking in any direction without any pre-defined foot positions. To enable attitude control of the hexapod body, an inertial measurement unit was added to the hexapod. By using a PID controller the IMU pitch and roll data was used to control a height offset of each foot of the hexapod, allowing for stabilisation of the hexapod body. An improved wireless remote control was developed to facilitate communication with a host computer. The remote system has a graphical user interface allowing for walking control and status information feedback, such as error information and current battery voltage. Walking tests have shown that the hexapod walks successfully with a smooth tripod gait using the path generation algorithm. Stabilisation tests have shown that the hexapod is capable of stabilising itself after a disturbance to its pitch and/or roll in ±2.5 seconds with a steady state error of ±0.001 radians. This proves that the hexapod robot can be controlled wirelessly while walking in any direction with a stabilised body. This is beneficial in search and rescue as the hexapod has a high degree of manoeuvrability to access areas too dangerous for rescuers to access. With cameras mounted on the stabilised body, it can be used to locate survivors in a disaster area and assist rescuers in recovering them with speed

    Tele-operation and Human Robots Interactions

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    Design and modeling of a stair climber smart mobile robot (MSRox)

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    Advances in Human Robot Interaction for Cloud Robotics applications

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    In this thesis are analyzed different and innovative techniques for Human Robot Interaction. The focus of this thesis is on the interaction with flying robots. The first part is a preliminary description of the state of the art interactions techniques. Then the first project is Fly4SmartCity, where it is analyzed the interaction between humans (the citizen and the operator) and drones mediated by a cloud robotics platform. Then there is an application of the sliding autonomy paradigm and the analysis of different degrees of autonomy supported by a cloud robotics platform. The last part is dedicated to the most innovative technique for human-drone interaction in the User’s Flying Organizer project (UFO project). This project wants to develop a flying robot able to project information into the environment exploiting concepts of Spatial Augmented Realit

    Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 204

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    This bibliography lists 140 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in February 1980
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