2,772 research outputs found
Body swarm interface (BOSI) : controlling robotic swarms using human bio-signals
Traditionally robots are controlled using devices like joysticks, keyboards, mice and other
similar human computer interface (HCI) devices. Although this approach is effective and
practical for some cases, it is restrictive only to healthy individuals without disabilities,
and it also requires the user to master the device before its usage. It becomes complicated and non-intuitive when multiple robots need to be controlled simultaneously with these traditional devices, as in the case of Human Swarm Interfaces (HSI).
This work presents a novel concept of using human bio-signals to control swarms of
robots. With this concept there are two major advantages: Firstly, it gives amputees and
people with certain disabilities the ability to control robotic swarms, which has previously
not been possible. Secondly, it also gives the user a more intuitive interface to control
swarms of robots by using gestures, thoughts, and eye movement.
We measure different bio-signals from the human body including Electroencephalography
(EEG), Electromyography (EMG), Electrooculography (EOG), using off the shelf
products. After minimal signal processing, we then decode the intended control action
using machine learning techniques like Hidden Markov Models (HMM) and K-Nearest
Neighbors (K-NN). We employ formation controllers based on distance and displacement
to control the shape and motion of the robotic swarm. Comparison for ground truth for
thoughts and gesture classifications are done, and the resulting pipelines are evaluated with both simulations and hardware experiments with swarms of ground robots and aerial vehicles
Mobile ad hoc networks for intelligent systems
Advances in wireless technology and portable computing along with demands for high user mobility have provided a major promotion toward the development of ad hoc networks. Mobile ad hoc networks feature dynamic topology, self-organization, limited bandwidth and battery power of a node. They do not rely on specialized routers for path discovery and traffic routing. Research on ad hoc networks has been extensively investigated in the past few years and related work has focused on many of the layers of the communications architecture.
This research intends to investigate applications of MANET for intelligent systems, including intelligent transportation system (ITS), sensor network and mobile intelligent robot network, and propose some approaches to topology management, link layer multiple access and routing algorithms. Their performance is evaluated by theoretical analysis and off-the-shelf simulation tools.
Most current research on ad hoc networks assumes the availability of IEEE 802.11. However, the RTS/CTS protocol of 802.11 still leads to packet collision which in turn decreases the network throughput and lifetime. For sensor networks, sensors are mostly battery operated. Hence, resolving packet collision may improve network lifetime by saving valuable power. Using space and network diversity combination, this work proposes a new packet separation approach to packet collision caused by masked nodes.
Inter-vehicle communication is a key component of ITS and it is also called vehicular ad hoc network. VANET has many features different from regular MANETs in terms of mobility, network size and connectivity. Given rapid topology changes and network partitioning, this work studies how to organize the numerous vehicular nodes and establish message paths between any pair of vehicular nodes if they are not apart too far away.
In urban areas, the inter-vehicle communication has different requirements and constraints than highway environments. The proposed position-based routing strategy for VANETs utilizes the traffic pattern in city environments. Packets are forwarded based on traffic lights timing sequence and the moving direction of relaying vehicles. A multicast protocol is also introduced to visualize the real time road traffic with customized scale. Only vehicles related to a source node\u27s planned trajectory will reply the query packet. The visualized real time traffic information therefore helps the driver make better decision in route planning when traffic congestion happens.
Nowadays robots become more and more powerful and intelligent. They can take part in operations in a cooperative manner which makes distributed control necessary. Ad hoc robot communication network is still fresh field for researchers working on networking technology. This work investigates some key issues in robot ad hoc network and evaluate the challenges while establishing robot ad hoc networks
Children’s imaginaries of human-robot interaction in healthcare
This paper analyzes children’s imaginaries of Human-Robots Interaction (HRI) in the context of social robots in healthcare, and it explores ethical and social issues when designing a social robot for a children’s hospital. Based on approaches that emphasize the reciprocal relationship between society and technology, the analytical force of imaginaries lies in their capacity to be embedded in practices and interactions as well as to affect the construction and applications of surrounding technologies. The study is based on a participatory process carried out with six-year-old children for the design of a robot. Imaginaries of HRI are analyzed from a care-centered approach focusing on children’s values and practices as related to their representation of care. The conceptualization of HRI as an assemblage of interactions, the prospective bidirectional care relationships with robots, and the engagement with the robot as an entity of multiple potential robots are the major findings of this study. The study shows the potential of studying imaginaries of HRI, and it concludes that their integration in the final design of robots is a way of including ethical values in itPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Interim research assessment 2003-2005 - Computer Science
This report primarily serves as a source of information for the 2007 Interim Research Assessment Committee for Computer Science at the three technical universities in the Netherlands. The report also provides information for others interested in our research activities
Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Cyber Domain
Unmanned Aircraft Systems are an integral part of the US national critical infrastructure. The authors have endeavored to bring a breadth and quality of information to the reader that is unparalleled in the unclassified sphere. This textbook will fully immerse and engage the reader / student in the cyber-security considerations of this rapidly emerging technology that we know as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The first edition topics covered National Airspace (NAS) policy issues, information security (INFOSEC), UAS vulnerabilities in key systems (Sense and Avoid / SCADA), navigation and collision avoidance systems, stealth design, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms; weapons systems security; electronic warfare considerations; data-links, jamming, operational vulnerabilities and still-emerging political scenarios that affect US military / commercial decisions.
This second edition discusses state-of-the-art technology issues facing US UAS designers. It focuses on counter unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) – especially research designed to mitigate and terminate threats by SWARMS. Topics include high-altitude platforms (HAPS) for wireless communications; C-UAS and large scale threats; acoustic countermeasures against SWARMS and building an Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) acoustic library; updates to the legal / regulatory landscape; UAS proliferation along the Chinese New Silk Road Sea / Land routes; and ethics in this new age of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence (AI).https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1027/thumbnail.jp
Migration from Teleoperation to Autonomy via Modular Sensor and Mobility Bricks
In this thesis, the teleoperated communications of a Remotec ANDROS robot have been reverse engineered. This research has used the information acquired through the reverse engineering process to enhance the teleoperation and add intelligence to the initially automated robot. The main contribution of this thesis is the implementation of the mobility brick paradigm, which enables autonomous operations, using the commercial teleoperated ANDROS platform. The brick paradigm is a generalized architecture for a modular approach to robotics. This architecture and the contribution of this thesis are a paradigm shift from the proprietary commercial models that exist today. The modular system of sensor bricks integrates the transformed mobility platform and defines it as a mobility brick. In the wall following application implemented in this work, the mobile robotic system acquires intelligence using the range sensor brick. This application illustrates a way to alleviate the burden on the human operator and delegate certain tasks to the robot. Wall following is one among several examples of giving a degree of autonomy to an essentially teleoperated robot through the Sensor Brick System. Indeed once the proprietary robot has been altered into a mobility brick; the possibilities for autonomy are numerous and vary with different sensor bricks. The autonomous system implemented is not a fixed-application robot but rather a non-specific autonomy capable platform. Meanwhile the native controller and the computer-interfaced teleoperation are still available when necessary. Rather than trading off by switching from teleoperation to autonomy, this system provides the flexibility to switch between the two at the operator’s command. The contributions of this thesis reside in the reverse engineering of the original robot, its upgrade to a computer-interfaced teleoperated system, the mobility brick paradigm and the addition of autonomy capabilities. The application of a robot autonomously following a wall is subsequently implemented, tested and analyzed in this work. The analysis provides the programmer with information on controlling the robot and launching the autonomous function. The results are conclusive and open up the possibilities for a variety of autonomous applications for mobility platforms using modular sensor bricks
Feedback Linearization Techniques for Collaborative Nonholonomic Robots
Collaborative robots performing tasks together have significant advantages over a single
robot. Applications can be found in the fields of underwater robotics, air traffic control,
intelligent highways, mines and ores detection and tele-surgery. Collaborative wheeled
mobile robots can be modeled by a nonlinear system having nonholonomic constraints.
Due to these constraints, the collaborative robots arc not stabilizable at a point by
continuous time-invariant feedback control laws. Therefore, linear control is ineffective,
even locally, and innovative design techniques are needed. One possible design technique
is feedback control and the principal interest of this thesis is to evaluate the best feedback
control technique.
Feedback linearization is one of the possible feedback control techniques. Feedback
linearization is a method of transforming a nonlinear system into a linear system using
feedback transformation. It differs from conventional Taylor series linearization since it
is achieved using exact coordinates transformation rather than by linear approximations
of the system. Linearization of the collaborative robots system using Taylor series results
in a linear system which is uncontrollable and is thus unsuitable. On the other hand, the
feedback linearized control strategies result in a stable system. Feedback linearized
control strategies can he designed based on state or input, while both state and input
linearization can be achieved using static or dynamic feedback.
In this thesis, a kinematic model of the collaborative nonholonomic robots is derived,
based on the leader-follower formation. The objective of the kinematic model is to
facilitate the design of feedback control strategies that can stabilize the system and
Minimize the error between the desired and actual trajectory. The leader-follower
formation is used in this research since the collaborative robots are assumed to have
communication capabilities only.
The kinematic model for the leader-follower formation is simulated using
MATLAB/Simulink. A comparative assessment of various feedback control strategies is
evaluated. The leader robot model is tested using five feedback control strategies for
different trajectories. These feedback control strategies are derived using cascaded
system theory, stable tracking method based on linearization of corresponding error
model, approximation linearization, nonlinear control design and full state linearization
via dynamic feedback. For posture stabilization of the leader robot, time-varying and full
state dynamic feedback linearized control strategies are used. For the follower robots
using separation bearing and separation-separation formation, the feedback linearized
control strategies are derived using input-output via static feedback.
Based on the simulation results for the leader robot, it is found that the full state dynamic
feedback linearized control strategy improves system performance and minimizes the
mean of error more rapidly than the other four feedback control strategies. In addition to
stabilizing the system, the full state dynamic feedback linearized control strategy
achieves posture stabilization. For the follower robots, the input-output via static
feedback linearization control strategies minimize the error between the desired and
actual formation. Furthermore, the input-output linearized control strategies allow
dynamical change of the formation at run-time and minimize the disturbance of formation
change. Thus, for a given feasible trajectory, the full state feedback linearized strategy for
the leader robot and input-output feedback linearized strategies for the follower robots are
found to be more efficient in stabilizing the system
How to keep drivers engaged while supervising driving automation? A literature survey and categorization of six solution areas
This work aimed to organise recommendations for keeping people engaged during human supervision of driving automation, encouraging a safe and acceptable introduction of automated driving systems. First, heuristic knowledge of human factors, ergonomics, and psychological theory was used to propose solution areas to human supervisory control problems of sustained attention. Driving and non-driving research examples were drawn to substantiate the solution areas. Automotive manufacturers might (1) avoid this supervisory role altogether, (2) reduce it in objective ways or (3) alter its subjective experiences, (4) utilize conditioning learning principles such as with gamification and/or selection/training techniques, (5) support internal driver cognitive processes and mental models and/or (6) leverage externally situated information regarding relations between the driver, the driving task, and the driving environment. Second, a cross-domain literature survey of influential human-automation interaction research was conducted for how to keep engagement/attention in supervisory control. The solution areas (via numeric theme codes) were found to be reliably applied from independent rater categorisations of research recommendations. Areas (5) and (6) were addressed by around 70% or more of the studies, areas (2) and (4) in around 50% of the studies, and areas (3) and (1) in less than around 20% and 5%, respectively. The present contribution offers a guiding organisational framework towards improving human attention while supervising driving automation.submittedVersio
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