DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDICATION DEVICE FOR THE ACTION INTENTION OF A TWO-WHEELED DIFFERENTIAL DRIVE ROBOT IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE IT PASSES BY PEDESTRIANS

The two-wheel differential drive type is widely used in mobile robots, which can efficiently perform accurate speed adjustment and quick course changes through the rotational difference between the two wheels on either side. It is difficult to guess how such a mobile robot will move from its appearance. Therefore, they may cause collisions with pedestrians when traveling in urban areas in the future. In this paper, we propose the development of a new device for indication of the mobile robot\u27s intention to action for passing pedestrians. RGB LED strip lights were employed as the action intention indicator. By emitting light from the RGB LED strip lights mounted around the vehicle body, the mobile robot indicates its action to passing pedestrians. In order to determine an effective method of indicating the action to passing pedestrians, we conducted a two-stage evaluation in a scenario in which the vehicle was passing a pedestrian. In the first stage, we evaluated the validity of the system by conducting a reaction time and action comprehension experiment on 12 subjects. In the second stage, we evaluated the power consumption of the action intention indicator device, and finally determined the proposed action intention indicator method for the mobile robot

The Wall: A mobile app to identify and store social events from a digital image using computer vision

Social events, promoted in print media using posters, flyers and banners often fail to attract an audience because we frequently forget the details of the event when we pass-by the promotion on the street. Smaller venues or artists often rely on low-cost, street-level marketing campaigns in areas of high foot traffic areas to develop interest in an event. These venues or artist are often without a budget for online marketing or have a target demographic outside the typical Social Media consumer which makes attracting an audience difficult. This project aimed to solve the problem of storing and reminding the user of upcoming events, advertised in print media, by developing a mobile app to automatically identify and event information from an image taken by the user. The project is an N-tier system comprising: a front-end using AngularJS, Ionic and Cordova; a cloud Firebase database to store the user\u27s registration and logon credentials; Google Vision API to automatically segment and identify event information and the Google Calendar API to store and remind the user of upcoming events. The project was managed using the Agile Development methodology Scrum. The challenge of this project was in developing a solution to automatically and reliably identify event information from print media which often contains a wide variety of layouts, orientations, font types, colours and contrast variations between the information and any graphics present. In addition, the solution needed to understand the semantics of the text relating to the event name and location. The development frameworks and APIs chosen were unfamiliar to the team but were used because of their technical suitability and their ongoing and increasing popularity in the industry. Functional testing was based on a set of over 50 test images. Testing concluded that the solution retrieves date and time information consistently, however, more work is required to successfully segment and recognise event location and title. User Experience (UX) was measured in a cross-sectional survey of 75 participants. The results were positive and are discussed here

The Democratization of Finance through the Banking Revolution and Financial Technologies in Brazil

Every nation requires an adequate financial system to support the flow of funds between savers and borrowers, providing a safe and effective payment system. The Brazilian National Financial System (Sistema Financeiro Nacional - SFN) is recognized as one of the backbones of Brazilian development throughout the years, one of the explicit drivers of the ten largest world economies. Interestingly, institutions that established the country\u27s financial system are vulnerable to structural change driven by continuous development created through new ideas, new challenges, and new opportunities

Programming Robots by Demonstration using Augmented Reality

O mundo está a viver a quarta revolução industrial, a Indústria 4.0; marcada pela crescente inteligência e automação dos sistemas industriais. No entanto, existem tarefas que são muito complexas ou caras para serem totalmente automatizadas, seria mais eficiente se a máquina pudesse trabalhar com o ser humano, não apenas partilhando o mesmo espaço de trabalho, mas como colaboradores úteis. O foco da investigação para solucionar esse problema está em sistemas de interação homem-robô, percebendo em que aplicações podem ser úteis para implementar e quais são os desafios que enfrentam. Neste contexto, uma melhor interação entre as máquinas e os operadores pode levar a múltiplos benefícios, como menos, melhor e mais fácil treino, um ambiente mais seguro para o operador e a capacidade de resolver problemas mais rapidamente. O tema desta dissertação é relevante na medida em que é necessário aprender e implementar as tecnologias que mais contribuem para encontrar soluções para um trabalho mais simples e eficiente na indústria. Assim, é proposto o desenvolvimento de um protótipo industrial de um sistema de interação homem-máquina através de Realidade Estendida, no qual o objetivo é habilitar um operador industrial sem experiência em programação, a programar um robô colaborativo utilizando o Microsoft HoloLens 2. O sistema desenvolvido é dividido em duas partes distintas: o sistema de tracking, que regista o movimento das mãos do operador, e o sistema de tradução da programação por demonstração, que constrói o programa a ser enviado ao robô para que ele se mova. O sistema de monitorização e supervisão é executado pelo Microsoft HoloLens 2, utilizando a plataforma Unity e Visual Studio para programá-lo. A base do sistema de programação por demonstração foi desenvolvida em Robot Operating System (ROS). Os robôs incluídos nesta interface são Universal Robots UR5 (robô colaborativo) e ABB IRB 2600 (robô industrial). Adicionalmente, a interface foi construída para incorporar facilmente mais robôs.The world is living the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0; marked by the increasing intelligence and automation of manufacturing systems. Nevertheless, there are types of tasks that are too complex or too expensive to be fully automated, it would be more efficient if the machine were able to work with the human, not only by sharing the same workspace but also as useful collaborators. A possible solution to that problem is on human-robot interactions systems, understanding the applications where they can be helpful to implement and what are the challenges they face. In this context a better interaction between the machines and the operators can lead to multiples benefits, like less, better, and easier training, a safer environment for the operator and the capacity to solve problems quicker. The focus of this dissertation is relevant as it is necessary to learn and implement the technologies which most contribute to find solutions for a simpler and more efficient work in industry. This dissertation proposes the development of an industrial prototype of a human machine interaction system through Extended Reality (XR), in which the objective is to enable an industrial operator without any programming experience to program a collaborative robot using the Microsoft HoloLens 2. The system itself is divided into two different parts: the tracking system, which records the operator's hand movement, and the translator of the programming by demonstration system, which builds the program to be sent to the robot to execute the task. The monitoring and supervision system is executed by the Microsoft HoloLens 2, using the Unity platform and Visual Studio to program it. The programming by demonstration system's core was developed in Robot Operating System (ROS). The robots included in this interface are Universal Robots UR5 (collaborative robot) and ABB IRB 2600 (industrial robot). Moreover, the interface was built to easily add other robots

Accessibility requirements for human-robot interaction for socially assistive robots

Mención Internacional en el título de doctorPrograma de Doctorado en Ciencia y Tecnología Informática por la Universidad Carlos III de MadridPresidente: María Ángeles Malfaz Vázquez.- Secretario: Diego Martín de Andrés.- Vocal: Mike Wal

Development of the huggable social robot Probo: on the conceptual design and software architecture

This dissertation presents the development of a huggable social robot named Probo. Probo embodies a stuffed imaginary animal, providing a soft touch and a huggable appearance. Probo's purpose is to serve as a multidisciplinary research platform for human-robot interaction focused on children. In terms of a social robot, Probo is classified as a social interface supporting non-verbal communication. Probo's social skills are thereby limited to a reactive level. To close the gap with higher levels of interaction, an innovative system for shared control with a human operator is introduced. The software architecture de nes a modular structure to incorporate all systems into a single control center. This control center is accompanied with a 3D virtual model of Probo, simulating all motions of the robot and providing a visual feedback to the operator. Additionally, the model allows us to advance on user-testing and evaluation of newly designed systems. The robot reacts on basic input stimuli that it perceives during interaction. The input stimuli, that can be referred to as low-level perceptions, are derived from vision analysis, audio analysis, touch analysis and object identification. The stimuli will influence the attention and homeostatic system, used to de ne the robot's point of attention, current emotional state and corresponding facial expression. The recognition of these facial expressions has been evaluated in various user-studies. To evaluate the collaboration of the software components, a social interactive game for children, Probogotchi, has been developed. To facilitate interaction with children, Probo has an identity and corresponding history. Safety is ensured through Probo's soft embodiment and intrinsic safe actuation systems. To convey the illusion of life in a robotic creature, tools for the creation and management of motion sequences are put into the hands of the operator. All motions generated from operator triggered systems are combined with the motions originating from the autonomous reactive systems. The resulting motion is subsequently smoothened and transmitted to the actuation systems. With future applications to come, Probo is an ideal platform to create a friendly companion for hospitalised children

Deployment of Heterogeneous Swarm Robotic Agents Using a Task-Oriented Utility-Based Algorithm

In a swarm robotic system, the desired collective behavior emerges from local decisions made by robots, themselves, according to their environment. Swarm robotics is an emerging area that has attracted many researchers over the last few years. It has been proven that a single robot with multiple capabilities cannot complete an intended job within the same time frame as that of multiple robotic agents. A swarm of robots, each one with its own capabilities, are more flexible, robust, and cost-effective than an individual robot. As a result of a comprehensive investigation of the current state of swarm robotic research, this dissertation demonstrates how current swarm deployment systems lack the ability to coordinate heterogeneous robotic agents. Moreover, this dissertation's objective shall define the starting point of potential algorithms that lead to the development of a new software environment interface. This interface will assign a set of collaborative tasks to the swarm system without being concerned about the underlying hardware of the heterogeneous robotic agents. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a task-oriented software application that facilitates the rapid deployment of multiple robotic agents. The task solutions are created at run-time, and executed by the agents in a centralized or decentralized fashion. Tasks are fractioned into smaller sub-tasks which are, then, assigned to the optimal number of robots using a novel Robot Utility Based Task Assignment (RUTA) algorithm. The system deploys these robots using it's application program interfaces (API's) and uploads programs that are integrated with a small routine code. The embedded routine allows robots to configure solutions when the decentralized approach is adopted. In addition, the proposed application also offers customization of robotic platforms by simply defining the available sensing and actuation devices. Another objective of the system is to improve code and component reusability to reduce efforts in deploying tasks to swarm robotic agents. Usage of the proposed framework prevents the need to redesign or rewrite programs should any changes take place in the robot's platform

NASA Technology Applications Team: Commercial applications of aerospace technology

The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) is pleased to report the results of NASA contract NASW-4367, 'Operation of a Technology Applications Team'. Through a period of significant change within NASA, the RTI Team has maintained its focus on helping NASA establish partnerships with U.S. industry for dual use development and technology commercialization. Our emphasis has been on outcomes, such as licenses, industry partnerships and commercialization of technologies that are important to NASA in its mission of contributing to the improved competitive position of U.S. industry. RTI's ongoing commitment to quality and customer responsiveness has driven our staff to continuously improve our technology transfer methodologies to meet NASA's requirements. For example, RTI has emphasized the following areas: (1) Methodology For Technology Assessment and Marketing: RTI has developed an implemented effective processes for assessing the commercial potential of NASA technologies. These processes resulted from an RTI study of best practices, hands-on experience, and extensive interaction with the NASA Field Centers to adapt to their specific needs; (2) Effective Marketing Strategies: RTI surveyed industry technology managers to determine effective marketing tools and strategies. The Technology Opportunity Announcement format and content were developed as a result of this industry input. For technologies with a dynamic visual impact, RTI has developed a stand-alone demonstration diskette that was successful in developing industry interest in licensing the technology; and (3) Responsiveness to NASA Requirements: RTI listened to our customer (NASA) and designed our processes to conform with the internal procedures and resources at each NASA Field Center and the direction provided by NASA's Agenda for Change. This report covers the activities of the Research Triangle Institute Technology Applications Team for the period 1 October 1993 through 31 December 1994

NASA Technology Applications Team: Commercial applications of aerospace technology

The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) Team has maintained its focus on helping NASA establish partnerships with U.S. industry for dual use development and technology commercialization. Our emphasis has been on outcomes, such as licenses, industry partnerships and commercialization of technologies, that are important to NASA in its mission of contributing to the improved competitive position of U.S. industry. The RTI Team has been successful in the development of NASA/industry partnerships and commercialization of NASA technologies. RTI ongoing commitment to quality and customer responsiveness has driven our staff to continuously improve our technology transfer methodologies to meet NASA's requirements. For example, RTI has emphasized the following areas: (1) Methodology For Technology Assessment and Marketing: RTI has developed and implemented effective processes for assessing the commercial potential of NASA technologies. These processes resulted from an RTI study of best practices, hands-on experience, and extensive interaction with the NASA Field Centers to adapt to their specific needs. (2) Effective Marketing Strategies: RTI surveyed industry technology managers to determine effective marketing tools and strategies. The Technology Opportunity Announcement format and content were developed as a result of this industry input. For technologies with a dynamic visual impact, RTI has developed a stand-alone demonstration diskette that was successful in developing industry interest in licensing the technology. And (3) Responsiveness to NASA Requirements: RTI listened to our customer (NASA) and designed our processes to conform with the internal procedures and resources at each NASA Field Center and the direction provided by NASA's Agenda for Change. This report covers the activities of the Research Triangle Institute Technology Applications Team for the period 1 October 1993 through 31 December 1994

Reusable generic software robot

Abstract. The main purpose of this thesis was to create a generic reusable software robot which can be deployed into any IaaS type of a cloud service. In this thesis the first thing to be researched was how to implement a virtualised environment into a cloud service. The possibilities for virtualising the environment were a container and a virtual machine. The two possible implementations were researched since the resulting implementation must be compatible with a cloud service. Firstly, it was found that a container-based implementation would be the best option because it is lightweight to move around and secondly, a start-up time of a new instance in a cloud service is fast. Possible cloud providers were scanned after researching possible implementation methods. Two possible cloud providers, AWS and Azure, were studied more closely since they offer an infrastructure as a service and once they are commonly used. AWS was chosen to be the platform to be used because of a higher maturity level and also because of the possibility to add or remove container capabilities. Finally, it was discussed how a generic reusable software robot was implemented. Notable circumstances of suitable tasks for a software robot were considered.Kertakäyttöinen geneerinen ohjelmistorobotti. Tiivistelmä. Tässä työssä tutkittiin, kuinka geneerinen kertakäyttöinen ohjelmistorobotti voidaan toteuttaa pilvipalvelussa. Ensin tarkasteltiin erilaisia virtualisointimenetelmiä, joilla ohjelmistorobotti voitaisiin toteuttaa. Tutkitut menetelmät olivat virtuaalikone ja kontti. Näitä kahta toteutustapaa vertailtiin huomioiden valmiin toteutuksen sopivuus pilvipalveluun. Kontti todettiin sopivimmaksi toteutustavaksi, koska se vie vähän tilaa ja uuden instanssin käynnistäminen on nopeaa. Pilvipalvelutarjoajia tutkittiin, kun sopiva toteutusmenetelmä ohjelmistorobotille oli löydetty. Tutkimuksessa keskityttiin AWS:ään ja Azureen, jotka ovat tällä hetkellä suurimpia markkinoilla toimivia infrastructure as a service -tyyppisten pilvipalveuiden tarjoajia. AWS valittiin toteutusalustaksi, koska se on teknisesti edistyneempi kuin Azure ja AWS:ssä on mahdollista lisätä ja poistaa kontin oikeuksia. Lopuksi esiteltiin, kuinka geneerinen kertakäyttöinen ohjelmistorobotti toteutettiin ja mitä täytyy ottaa huomioon, kun päätetään sopivasta käyttökohteesta ohjelmistorobotille