Efficient Multi-Robot Coverage of a Known Environment

This paper addresses the complete area coverage problem of a known environment by multiple-robots. Complete area coverage is the problem of moving an end-effector over all available space while avoiding existing obstacles. In such tasks, using multiple robots can increase the efficiency of the area coverage in terms of minimizing the operational time and increase the robustness in the face of robot attrition. Unfortunately, the problem of finding an optimal solution for such an area coverage problem with multiple robots is known to be NP-complete. In this paper we present two approximation heuristics for solving the multi-robot coverage problem. The first solution presented is a direct extension of an efficient single robot area coverage algorithm, based on an exact cellular decomposition. The second algorithm is a greedy approach that divides the area into equal regions and applies an efficient single-robot coverage algorithm to each region. We present experimental results for two algorithms. Results indicate that our approaches provide good coverage distribution between robots and minimize the workload per robot, meanwhile ensuring complete coverage of the area.Comment: In proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 201

Qualitative Topological Coverage of Unknown Environments by Mobile Robots

This thesis considers the problem of complete coverage of unknown environments by a mobile robot. The goal of such navigation is for the robot to visit all reachable surfaces in an environment. The task of achieving complete coverage in unknown environments can be broken down into two smaller sub-tasks. The first is the construction of a spatial representation of the environment with information gathered by the robot's sensors. The second is the use of the constructed model to plan complete coverage paths. A topological map is used for planning coverage paths in this thesis. The landmarks in the map are large scale features that occur naturally in the environment. Due to the qualitative nature of topological maps, it is rather difficult to store information about what area the robot has covered. This difficulty in storing coverage information is overcome by embedding a cell decomposition, called slice decomposition, within the map. This is achieved using landmarks in the topological map as cell boundaries in slice decomposition. Slice decomposition is a new cell decomposition method which uses the landmarks in the topological map as its cell boundaries. It decomposes a given environment into non-overlapping cells, where each cell can be covered by a robot following a zigzag pattern. A new coverage path planning algorithm, called topological coverage algorithm, is developed to generate paths from the incomplete topological map/slice decomposition, thus allowing simultaneous exploration and coverage of the environment. The need for different cell decompositions for coverage navigation was first recognised by Choset. Trapezoidal decomposition, commonly used in point-to-point path planning, creates cells that are unnecessarily small and inefficient for coverage. This is because trapezoidal decomposition aims to create only convex cells. Thus, Choset proposed boustrophedon decomposition. It introduced ideas on how to create larger cells that can be covered by a zigzag, which may not necessarily be convex. However, this work is conceptual and lacking in implementation details, especially for online creation in unknown environments. It was later followed by Morse decomposition, which addressed issues on implementation such as planning with partial representation and cell boundary detection with range sensors. The work in this thesis was developed concurrently with Morse decomposition. Similar to Morse decomposition, slice decomposition also uses the concepts introduced by boustrophedon decomposition. The main difference between Morse decomposition and slice decomposition is in the choice of cell boundaries. Morse decomposition uses surface gradients. As obstacles parallel to the sweep line are non-differentiable, rectilinear environments cannot be handled by Morse decomposition. Also, wall following on all side boundaries of a cell is needed to discover connected adjacent cells. Therefore, a rectangular coverage pattern is used instead of a zigzag. In comparison, slice decomposition uses topology changes and range sensor thresholding as cell boundaries. Due to the use of simpler landmarks, slice decomposition can handle a larger variety of environments, including ones with polygonal, elliptical and rectilinear obstacles. Also, cell boundaries can be detected from all sides of a robot, allowing a zigzag pattern to be used. As a result, the coverage path generated is shorter. This is because a zigzag does not have any retracing, unlike the rectangular pattern. The topological coverage algorithm was implemented and tested in both simulation and with a real robot. Simulation tests proved the correctness of the algorithm; while real robot tests demonstrated its feasibility under inexact conditions with noisy sensors and actuators. To evaluate experimental results quantitatively, two performance metrics were developed. While there are metrics that measure the performance of coverage experiments in simulation, there are no satisfactory ones for real robot tests. This thesis introduced techniques to measure effectiveness and efficiency of real robot coverage experiments using computer vision techniques. The two metrics were then applied to results from both simulated and real robot experiments. In simulation tests, 100% coverage was achieved for all experiments, with an average path length of 1.08. In real robot tests, the average coverage and path length attained were 91.2% and 1.22 respectively

Cellular Decomposition for Non-repetitive Coverage Task with Minimum Discontinuities

A mechanism to derive non-repetitive coverage path solutions with a proven minimal number of discontinuities is proposed in this work, with the aim to avoid unnecessary, costly end effector lift-offs for manipulators. The problem is motivated by the automatic polishing of an object. Due to the non-bijective mapping between the workspace and the joint-space, a continuous coverage path in the workspace may easily be truncated in the joint-space, incuring undesirable end effector lift-offs. Inversely, there may be multiple configuration choices to cover the same point of a coverage path through the solution of the Inverse Kinematics. The solution departs from the conventional local optimisation of the coverage path shape in task space, or choosing appropriate but possibly disconnected configurations, to instead explicitly explore the leaast number of discontinuous motions through the analysis of the structure of valid configurations in joint-space. The two novel contributions of this paper include proof that the least number of path discontinuities is predicated on the surrounding environment, independent from the choice of the actual coverage path; thus has a minimum. And an efficient finite cellular decomposition method to optimally divide the workspace into the minimum number of cells, each traversable without discontinuties by any arbitrary coverage path within. Extensive simulation examples and real-world results on a 5 DoF manipulator are presented to prove the validity of the proposed strategy in realistic settings

Adaptive Path Planning for Depth Constrained Bathymetric Mapping with an Autonomous Surface Vessel

This paper describes the design, implementation and testing of a suite of algorithms to enable depth constrained autonomous bathymetric (underwater topography) mapping by an Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV). Given a target depth and a bounding polygon, the ASV will find and follow the intersection of the bounding polygon and the depth contour as modeled online with a Gaussian Process (GP). This intersection, once mapped, will then be used as a boundary within which a path will be planned for coverage to build a map of the Bathymetry. Methods for sequential updates to GP's are described allowing online fitting, prediction and hyper-parameter optimisation on a small embedded PC. New algorithms are introduced for the partitioning of convex polygons to allow efficient path planning for coverage. These algorithms are tested both in simulation and in the field with a small twin hull differential thrust vessel built for the task.Comment: 21 pages, 9 Figures, 1 Table. Submitted to The Journal of Field Robotic

Reitinsuunnittelu määrätyssä järjestyksessä tehtäville peltotöille usean työkoneen yhteistyönä

Coverage path planning is the task of finding a collision free path that passes over every point of an area or volume of interest. In agriculture, the coverage task is encountered especially in the process of crop cultivation. Several tasks are performed on the field, one after the other, during the cultivation cycle. Cooperation means that multiple agents, in this case vehicles, are working together towards a common goal. Several studies consider the problem where a single task is divided and assigned among the agents. In this thesis, however, the vehicles have different tasks that are sequentially dependent, that is, the first task must be completed before the other. The tasks are performed simultaneously on the same area. The literature review suggests that there is a lack of previous research on this topic. The objective of this thesis was to develop an algorithm to solve the cooperative coverage path planning problem for sequentially dependent tasks. A tool chain that involves Matlab, Simulink and Visual Studio was adapted for the development and testing of the solution. A development and testing architecture was designed including a compatible interface to a simulation and a real-life test environment. Two different algorithms were implemented based on the idea of computing short simultaneous paths at a time and scheduling them in real-time. The results were successfully demonstrated in a real-life test environment with two tractors equipped with a disc cultivator and a seeder. The objective was to sow the test area. The test drives show that with the algorithms that were developed in this thesis it is possible to perform two sequentially dependent agricultural coverage tasks simultaneously on the same area.Kattavassa reitinsuunnittelussa yritetään löytää polku, jonka aikana määritelty ala tai tilavuus tulee käytyä läpi niin että alueen jokainen piste on käsitelty. Maataloudessa tämä tehtävä on merkityksellinen erityisesti peltoviljelyssä. Useita peltotöitä suoritetaan yksi toisensa jälkeen samalla alueella viljelyvuoden aikana. Useissa tutkimuksissa käsitellään yhteistyönä tehtävää reitinsuunnittelua, jossa yksi tehtävä on jaettu osiin ja osat jaetaan useiden tekijöiden kuten robottien kesken. Tässä diplomityössä peltotyökoneilla on kuitenkin omat erilliset tehtävänsä, joilla on määrätty järjestys, eli niiden suorittaminen riippuu työjärjestyksestä. Työkoneet työskentelevät samanaikaisesti samalla alueella. Diplomityössä tehty kirjallisuuskatsaus viittaa siihen, että vastaavaa aihetta ei ole aiemmin tutkittu. Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena on kehittää algoritmi, jolla voidaan toteuttaa reitinsuunnittelu määrätyssä järjestyksessä tehtäville peltotöille usean peltotyökoneen yhteistyönä. Algoritmikehitystä ja testausta varten suunniteltiin yhtenäinen rajapinta, jolla algoritmia voitaisiin testata sekä simulaatiossa että todellisessa testitilanteessa. Algoritmikehityksessä käytettiin työkaluina Matlab, Simulink ja Visual Studio -ohjelmia. Työssä toteutettiin kaksi algoritmia, jotka perustuvat samaan ideaan: suunnitellaan kerrallaan kaksi lyhyttä samanaikaista polkua, jotka ajoitetaan reaaliajassa. Algoritmeja testattiin todellisessa testiympäristössä kahden työkoneen yhteistyönä, kun tavoitteena on kylvää koko testialue. Ensimmäinen työvaihe suoritettiin lautasmuokkaimella ja toinen kylvökoneella. Testiajot osoittavat, että diplomityössä kehitetyillä algoritmeilla voidaan ohjata kahden toisistaan riippuvaisen peltotyön toteutus samanaikaisesti samalla peltoalueella

Coverage & cooperation: Completing complex tasks as quickly as possible using teams of robots

As the robotics industry grows and robots enter our homes and public spaces, they are increasingly expected to work in cooperation with each other. My thesis focuses on multirobot planning, specifically in the context of coverage robots, such as robotic lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners. Two problems unique to multirobot teams are task allocation and search. I present a task allocation algorithm which balances the workload amongst all robots in the team with the objective of minimizing the overall mission time. I also present a search algorithm which robots can use to find lost teammates. It uses a probabilistic belief of a target robot’s position to create a planning tree and then searches by following the best path in the tree. For robust multirobot coverage, I use both the task allocation and search algorithms. First the coverage region is divided into a set of small coverage tasks which minimize the number of turns the robots will need to take. These tasks are then allocated to individual robots. During the mission, robots replan with nearby robots to rebalance the workload and, once a robot has finished its tasks, it searches for teammates to help them finish their tasks faster