Non-Markov Policies to Reduce Sequential Failures in Robot Bin Picking

A new generation of automated bin picking systems using deep learning is evolving to support increasing demand for e-commerce. To accommodate a wide variety of products, many automated systems include multiple gripper types and/or tool changers. However, for some objects, sequential grasp failures are common: when a computed grasp fails to lift and remove the object, the bin is often left unchanged; as the sensor input is consistent, the system retries the same grasp over and over, resulting in a significant reduction in mean successful picks per hour (MPPH). Based on an empirical study of sequential failures, we characterize a class of "sequential failure objects" (SFOs) -- objects prone to sequential failures based on a novel taxonomy. We then propose three non-Markov picking policies that incorporate memory of past failures to modify subsequent actions. Simulation experiments on SFO models and the EGAD dataset suggest that the non-Markov policies significantly outperform the Markov policy in terms of the sequential failure rate and MPPH. In physical experiments on 50 heaps of 12 SFOs the most effective Non-Markov policy increased MPPH over the Dex-Net Markov policy by 107%.Comment: 2020 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE

Factories of the Future

Engineering; Industrial engineering; Production engineerin

Recent Advances in Multi Robot Systems

To design a team of robots which is able to perform given tasks is a great concern of many members of robotics community. There are many problems left to be solved in order to have the fully functional robot team. Robotics community is trying hard to solve such problems (navigation, task allocation, communication, adaptation, control, ...). This book represents the contributions of the top researchers in this field and will serve as a valuable tool for professionals in this interdisciplinary field. It is focused on the challenging issues of team architectures, vehicle learning and adaptation, heterogeneous group control and cooperation, task selection, dynamic autonomy, mixed initiative, and human and robot team interaction. The book consists of 16 chapters introducing both basic research and advanced developments. Topics covered include kinematics, dynamic analysis, accuracy, optimization design, modelling, simulation and control of multi robot systems

Factories of the Future

Engineering; Industrial engineering; Production engineerin

First Annual Workshop on Space Operations Automation and Robotics (SOAR 87)

Several topics relative to automation and robotics technology are discussed. Automation of checkout, ground support, and logistics; automated software development; man-machine interfaces; neural networks; systems engineering and distributed/parallel processing architectures; and artificial intelligence/expert systems are among the topics covered

The contentious performances of culture jamming : art, repertoires of contention, and social movement theory

Culture jamming is a form of contentious politics in which activists utilize ironic frames to challenge a dominant set of social relationships and institutions. Despite its contestational nature, scholars rarely apply the insights of social movement theory to explain this curious phenomenon. The main concerns of this project are to provide an empirical analysis of culture jamming organizations and to develop a theoretical approach to explaining repertoire change and tactical choice. The primary thesis mediating these empirical and theoretical concerns is that a close relation exists between the development of twentieth century art in advanced Western democracies and culture jamming. Developing this argument and addressing these concerns entails three basic tasks. First, in view of the failure of the literature to provide a robust concept, I develop a rigorous conceptualization of culture jamming as an oppositional tactic. Second, I present an approach to theory that begins to integrate the macro- and micro-levels of analysis. This task involves both a dialogue between sociologists Charles Tilly and Pierre Bourdieu and their reconciliation with collective action theory, the application of rational choice theory to social movements and protest. Although multi-faceted, this synthesis focuses on collective identities and resources as explanations of the evaluations of tactical alternatives. Third, I improve on previous efforts to study culture jamming empirically by applying the most rigorous methodological techniques available under significant data and sampling constraints. I compare and contrast the data from a sample of twelve culture jamming organizations to generate the most comprehensive empirical portrait of such groups in the literature

Using MapReduce Streaming for Distributed Life Simulation on the Cloud

Distributed software simulations are indispensable in the study of large-scale life models but often require the use of technically complex lower-level distributed computing frameworks, such as MPI. We propose to overcome the complexity challenge by applying the emerging MapReduce (MR) model to distributed life simulations and by running such simulations on the cloud. Technically, we design optimized MR streaming algorithms for discrete and continuous versions of Conway’s life according to a general MR streaming pattern. We chose life because it is simple enough as a testbed for MR’s applicability to a-life simulations and general enough to make our results applicable to various lattice-based a-life models. We implement and empirically evaluate our algorithms’ performance on Amazon’s Elastic MR cloud. Our experiments demonstrate that a single MR optimization technique called strip partitioning can reduce the execution time of continuous life simulations by 64%. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to propose and evaluate MR streaming algorithms for lattice-based simulations. Our algorithms can serve as prototypes in the development of novel MR simulation algorithms for large-scale lattice-based a-life models.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/scs_books/1014/thumbnail.jp