Teleoperation of a service robot using a mobile device

Teleoperation is a concept born with the rapid evolution of technology, with an intuitive meaning "operate at a distance." The first teleoperation system was created in the mid 1950s, which were handled chemicals. Remote controlled systems are present nowadays in various types of applications. This dissertation presents the development of a mobile application to perform the teleoperation of a mobile service robot. The application integrates a distributed surveillance (the result of a research project QREN) and led to the development of a communication interface between the robot (the result of another QREN project) and the vigilance system. It was necessary to specify a communication protocol between the two systems, which was implemented over a communication framework 0MQ (Zero Message Queue). For the testing, three prototype applications were developed before to perform the test on the robot

Robotite halduri alamsüsteemi väljatöötamine tarkvararaamistikule TEMOTO

Robots provide an opportunity to spare humans from tasks that are repetitive, require high precision or involve hazardous environments. Robots are often composed of multiple robotic units, such as mobile manipulators that integrate object manipulation and traversal capabilities. Additionally, a group of robots, i.e., multi robot systems, can be utilized for solving a common goal. However, the more elements are added to the system, the more complicated it is to control it. TeMoto is a ROS package intended for developing human-robot collaboration and multi-robot applications where TeMoto Robot Manager (TRM), a subsystem of TeMoto, is designed to unify the control of main robotic components: manipulators, mobile bases and grippers. However the implementation of TRM was incomplete prior to this work, having no functionality for controlling mobile bases and grippers. This thesis extends the functionality of TeMoto Robot Manager by implementing the aforementioned missing features, thus facilitating the integration of compound robots and multi-robot systems. The outcome of this work is demonstrated in an object transportation scenario incorporating a heterogeneous multi-robot system that consists of two manipulators, two grippers, and a mobile base. In estonian: Robotid võimaldavad aidata inimesi ülesannetes mis on eluohtlikud, nõuavad suurt täpsust või on üksluised. Üks terviklik robot koosneb tihtipeale mitme eri funktsionaalsusega alamrobotist, millest näiteks mobiilne manipulaator on kombinatsioon mobiilsest platvormist ja objektide manipuleerimise võimekusega robotist. Roboteid saab rakendada ülesannete lahendamisel ka mitme roboti süsteemina, kuid robotite hulga suurenemisel suureneb ka nende haldamise keerukus. TeMoto on ROSi kimp, mis hõlbustab inimene-robot koostöö ja mitme roboti süsteemide arendamist. Robotite haldur on TeMoto alamsüsteem, mis aitab käsitleda mobiilseid platvorme, manipulaatoreid ja haaratseid ühtse tervikliku robotina. Käesolevale tööle eelnevalt puudus Robotite halduril mobiilsete platvormide ja haaratsite haldamise võimekused, mille väljatöötamine oli antud töö peamiseks eesmärgiks. Töö tulemusena valmis TeMoto Robotite halduri terviklik lahendus, mille funktsionaalsust demonstreeriti objekti transportimise ülesande lahendamisel, kaasates kahest manipulaatorist, kahest haaratsist ja mobiilsest platvormist koosnevat heterogeenset mitme roboti süsteemi

Common Educational Teleoperation Platform for Robotics Utilizing Digital Twins

The erratic modern world introduces challenges to all sectors of societies and potentially introduces additional inequality. One possibility to decrease the educational inequality is to provide remote access to facilities that enable learning and training. A similar approach of remote resource usage can be utilized in resource-poor situations where the required equipment is available at other premises. The concept of Industry 5.0 (i5.0) focuses on a human-centric approach, enabling technologies to concentrate on human–machine interaction and emphasizing the importance of societal values. This paper introduces a novel robotics teleoperation platform supported by the i5.0. The platform reduces inequality and allows usage and learning of robotics remotely independently of time and location. The platform is based on digital twins with bi-directional data transmission between the physical and digital counterparts. The proposed system allows teleoperation, remote programming, and near real-time monitoring of controlled robots, robot time scheduling, and social interaction between users. The system design and implementation are described in detail, followed by experimental results

Dynamic virtual reality user interface for teleoperation of heterogeneous robot teams

This research investigates the possibility to improve current teleoperation control for heterogeneous robot teams using modern Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) techniques such as Virtual Reality. It proposes a dynamic teleoperation Virtual Reality User Interface (VRUI) framework to improve the current approach to teleoperating heterogeneous robot teams

Conversational affective social robots for ageing and dementia support

Socially assistive robots (SAR) hold significant potential to assist older adults and people with dementia in human engagement and clinical contexts by supporting mental health and independence at home. While SAR research has recently experienced prolific growth, long-term trust, clinical translation and patient benefit remain immature. Affective human-robot interactions are unresolved and the deployment of robots with conversational abilities is fundamental for robustness and humanrobot engagement. In this paper, we review the state of the art within the past two decades, design trends, and current applications of conversational affective SAR for ageing and dementia support. A horizon scanning of AI voice technology for healthcare, including ubiquitous smart speakers, is further introduced to address current gaps inhibiting home use. We discuss the role of user-centred approaches in the design of voice systems, including the capacity to handle communication breakdowns for effective use by target populations. We summarise the state of development in interactions using speech and natural language processing, which forms a baseline for longitudinal health monitoring and cognitive assessment. Drawing from this foundation, we identify open challenges and propose future directions to advance conversational affective social robots for: 1) user engagement, 2) deployment in real-world settings, and 3) clinical translation

NASA space station automation: AI-based technology review

Research and Development projects in automation for the Space Station are discussed. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based automation technologies are planned to enhance crew safety through reduced need for EVA, increase crew productivity through the reduction of routine operations, increase space station autonomy, and augment space station capability through the use of teleoperation and robotics. AI technology will also be developed for the servicing of satellites at the Space Station, system monitoring and diagnosis, space manufacturing, and the assembly of large space structures

Distributing intelligence in the wireless control of a mobile robot using a personal digital assistant

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) have recently become a popular component in mobile robots. This compact processing device with its touch screen, variety of built-in features, wireless technologies and affordability can perform various roles within a robotic system. Applications include low-cost prototype development, rapid prototyping, low-cost humanoid robots, robot control, robot vision systems, algorithm development, human-robot interaction, mobile user interfaces as well as wireless robot communication schemes. Limits on processing power, memory, battery life and screen size impact the usefulness of a PDA in some applications. In addition various implementation strategies exist, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. No comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the different strategies and resulting architectures exist. This makes it difficult for designers to decide on the best use of a PDA within their mobile robot system. This dissertation examines and compares the available mobile robot architectures. A thorough literature study identifies robot projects using a PDA and examines how the designs incorporate a PDA and what purpose it fulfils within the system it forms part of. The dissertation categorises the architectures according to the role of the PDA within the robot system. The hypothesis is made that using a distributed control system architecture makes optimal use of the rich feature set gained from including a PDA in a robot system’s design and simultaneously overcomes the device’s inherent shortcomings. This architecture is developed into a novel distributed intelligence framework that is supported by a hybrid communications architecture, using two wireless connection schemes. A prototype implementation illustrates the framework and communications architecture in action. Various performance measurements are taken in a test scenario for an office robot. The results indicate that the proposed framework does deliver performance gains and is a viable alternative for future projects in this area