Navigation for automatic guided vehicles using omnidirectional optical sensing

Thesis (M. Tech. (Engineering: Electrical)) -- Central University of technology, Free State, 2013Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are being used more frequently in a manufacturing environment. These AGVs are navigated in many different ways, utilising multiple types of sensors for detecting the environment like distance, obstacles, and a set route. Different algorithms or methods are then used to utilise this environmental information for navigation purposes applied onto the AGV for control purposes. Developing a platform that could be easily reconfigured in alternative route applications utilising vision was one of the aims of the research. In this research such sensors detecting the environment was replaced and/or minimised by the use of a single, omnidirectional Webcam picture stream utilising an own developed mirror and Perspex tube setup. The area of interest in each frame was extracted saving on computational recourses and time. By utilising image processing, the vehicle was navigated on a predetermined route. Different edge detection methods and segmentation methods were investigated on this vision signal for route and sign navigation. Prewitt edge detection was eventually implemented, Hough transfers used for border detection and Kalman filtering for minimising border detected noise for staying on the navigated route. Reconfigurability was added to the route layout by coloured signs incorporated in the navigation process. The result was the manipulation of a number of AGV’s, each on its own designated coloured signed route. This route could be reconfigured by the operator with no programming alteration or intervention. The YCbCr colour space signal was implemented in detecting specific control signs for alternative colour route navigation. The result was used generating commands to control the AGV through serial commands sent on a laptop’s Universal Serial Bus (USB) port with a PIC microcontroller interface board controlling the motors by means of pulse width modulation (PWM). A total MATLAB® software development platform was utilised by implementing written M-files, Simulink® models, masked function blocks and .mat files for sourcing the workspace variables and generating executable files. This continuous development system lends itself to speedy evaluation and implementation of image processing options on the AGV. All the work done in the thesis was validated by simulations using actual data and by physical experimentation

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion

Resilient design for London's elevated social spaces: exploring challenges, opportunities, and harnessing interactive virtual reality co-design approaches for community engagement

In the face of escalating urban density, the emerging concept of elevated urban spaces such as sky gardens and roof gardens is becoming a compelling requirement for human well-being in the process of densification. These spaces have gained additional significance in light of the adaptability and resilience required during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research explores the challenges and opportunities related to the design and management of such spaces, with a specific focus on London. A novel facet of this investigation is the application of Virtual Reality (VR) technology as a co-design tool, aimed at enhancing public engagement and the overall design experience of these spaces. The study emphasizes two particular urban locales in London: the Sky Garden and Crossrail Place, chosen for their unique design characteristics, public accessibility, and popularity. These case studies allow for an in-depth examination of critical design aspects such as accessibility, people flow control, pinch points, user experience, and the spectrum of activities that these spaces can accommodate. To create more sustainable and inclusive environments, the study leverages VR technology to bridge the gap between the physical and virtual worlds. This approach is aimed at understanding the impact of this integration on architectural and urban design processes, specifically in terms of design decision-making and its implications for the sustainability and longevity of public places. The adopted methodology is a phenomenological qualitative approach employing the Participatory Action Research (PAR) method. This involved direct observational studies, walk-along interviews with 33 visitors at each site, VR exploratory experiments with the same number of participants, and follow-up semi-structured interviews. Observations were conducted before, during, and after the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a comprehensive perspective on the unique challenges influencing the design and management of elevated urban spaces. The results indicate that VR, as a co-design tool, effectively promotes interactive public participation in the design process. The VR experiments facilitated users to identify design limitations and suggest improvements, even among participants who had not physically visited the sites. The concerns and needs identified through VR closely mirrored those expressed by actual users of the spaces. The findings also offer a comparative analysis of human activities, circulation patterns, and design considerations in both physical and virtual environments, highlighting the potential of VR technology for designing sustainable public spaces in a post-pandemic world. This research contributes threefold: (a) it furnishes theoretical input by establishing guidelines for the design of elevated social spaces, and provides empirical input by suggesting a range of design and planning considerations for developing active, pleasant, and resilient elevated social spaces; (b) it offers methodological input through the development of a multidisciplinary pragmatic framework for assessing the use of VR as an interactive co-design tool; and (c) it presents a comparative analysis of two advanced interactive VR approaches – Building Information Modeling (BIM) and gamification techniques – to enhance public engagement in public and social space design

Resilient design for London's elevated social spaces: exploring challenges, opportunities, and harnessing interactive virtual reality co-design approaches for community engagement

In the face of escalating urban density, the emerging concept of elevated urban spaces such as sky gardens and roof gardens is becoming a compelling requirement for human well-being in the process of densification. These spaces have gained additional significance in light of the adaptability and resilience required during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research explores the challenges and opportunities related to the design and management of such spaces, with a specific focus on London. A novel facet of this investigation is the application of Virtual Reality (VR) technology as a co-design tool, aimed at enhancing public engagement and the overall design experience of these spaces. The study emphasizes two particular urban locales in London: the Sky Garden and Crossrail Place, chosen for their unique design characteristics, public accessibility, and popularity. These case studies allow for an in-depth examination of critical design aspects such as accessibility, people flow control, pinch points, user experience, and the spectrum of activities that these spaces can accommodate. To create more sustainable and inclusive environments, the study leverages VR technology to bridge the gap between the physical and virtual worlds. This approach is aimed at understanding the impact of this integration on architectural and urban design processes, specifically in terms of design decision-making and its implications for the sustainability and longevity of public places. The adopted methodology is a phenomenological qualitative approach employing the Participatory Action Research (PAR) method. This involved direct observational studies, walk-along interviews with 33 visitors at each site, VR exploratory experiments with the same number of participants, and follow-up semi-structured interviews. Observations were conducted before, during, and after the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a comprehensive perspective on the unique challenges influencing the design and management of elevated urban spaces. The results indicate that VR, as a co-design tool, effectively promotes interactive public participation in the design process. The VR experiments facilitated users to identify design limitations and suggest improvements, even among participants who had not physically visited the sites. The concerns and needs identified through VR closely mirrored those expressed by actual users of the spaces. The findings also offer a comparative analysis of human activities, circulation patterns, and design considerations in both physical and virtual environments, highlighting the potential of VR technology for designing sustainable public spaces in a post-pandemic world. This research contributes threefold: (a) it furnishes theoretical input by establishing guidelines for the design of elevated social spaces, and provides empirical input by suggesting a range of design and planning considerations for developing active, pleasant, and resilient elevated social spaces; (b) it offers methodological input through the development of a multidisciplinary pragmatic framework for assessing the use of VR as an interactive co-design tool; and (c) it presents a comparative analysis of two advanced interactive VR approaches – Building Information Modeling (BIM) and gamification techniques – to enhance public engagement in public and social space design

VR Storytelling

The question of cinematic VR production has been on the table for several years. This is due to the peculiarity of VR language which, even if it is de ned by an image that surrounds and immerses the viewer rather than placing them, as in the classic cinematic situation, in front of a screen, relies decisively on an audiovisual basis that cannot help but refer to cinematic practices of constructing visual and auditory experience. Despite this, it would be extremely reductive to consider VR as the mere transposition of elements of cinematic language. The VR medium is endowed with its own speci city, which inevitably impacts its forms of narration. We thus need to investigate the narrative forms it uses that are probably related to cinematic language, and draw their strength from the same basis, drink from the same well, but develop according to di erent trajectories, thus displaying di erent links and a nities

Autocalibrating vision guided navigation of unmanned air vehicles via tactical monocular cameras in GPS denied environments

This thesis presents a novel robotic navigation strategy by using a conventional tactical monocular camera, proving the feasibility of using a monocular camera as the sole proximity sensing, object avoidance, mapping, and path-planning mechanism to fly and navigate small to medium scale unmanned rotary-wing aircraft in an autonomous manner. The range measurement strategy is scalable, self-calibrating, indoor-outdoor capable, and has been biologically inspired by the key adaptive mechanisms for depth perception and pattern recognition found in humans and intelligent animals (particularly bats), designed to assume operations in previously unknown, GPS-denied environments. It proposes novel electronics, aircraft, aircraft systems, systems, and procedures and algorithms that come together to form airborne systems which measure absolute ranges from a monocular camera via passive photometry, mimicking that of a human-pilot like judgement. The research is intended to bridge the gap between practical GPS coverage and precision localization and mapping problem in a small aircraft. In the context of this study, several robotic platforms, airborne and ground alike, have been developed, some of which have been integrated in real-life field trials, for experimental validation. Albeit the emphasis on miniature robotic aircraft this research has been tested and found compatible with tactical vests and helmets, and it can be used to augment the reliability of many other types of proximity sensors