Realization of reactive control for multi purpose mobile agents

Mobile robots are built for different purposes, have different physical size, shape, mechanics and electronics. They are required to work in real-time, realize more than one goal simultaneously, hence to communicate and cooperate with other agents. The approach proposed in this paper for mobile robot control is reactive and has layered structure that supports multi sensor perception. Potential field method is implemented for both obstacle avoidance and goal tracking. However imaginary forces of the obstacles and of the goal point are separately treated, and then resulting behaviors are fused with the help of the geometry. Proposed control is tested on simulations where different scenarios are studied. Results have confirmed the high performance of the method

A Lens-Calibrated Active Marker Metrology System

This paper presents a prototypical marker tracking system, MT, which is capable of recording multiple mobile robot trajectories in parallel for offline analysis. The system is also capable of providing trajectory data in realtime to agents (such as robots in an arena) and implements several multi-agent operators to simplify agent-based perception. The latter characteristic provides an ability to minimise the normally expensive process of implementing agent-centric perceptual mechanisms and provides a means for multiagent "global knowledge" (Parker 1993)

Sen3Bot Net: a meta-sensors network to enable smart factories implementation

In the near future, an increasing number of mobile agents working closely with human operators is envisaged in smart factories. In industrial human-shared environments that employ traditional Automated Guided Vehicles, safety can be ensured thanks to the support provided by Autonomous Mobile Robots, acting as a net of meta-sensors. The localization and perception information of each meta-sensor is shared among all mobile platforms. In particular, the information about the dynamic detection of human presence is combined and uploaded in a shared map, increasing the awareness of the mobile robots about their surroundings in a specific working area. This paper proposes an architecture that integrates the meta-sensors with an existing net of Automated Guided Vehicles, with the aim of enhancing systems based on outdated mobile agents that seek for Industry 4.0 solutions without the necessity of a complete renewal. Simulations of test scenarios are provided in order to confirm the validity of the proposed architecture model

Collaborative perception architecture in smart cities

Autonomous Driving Systems have become a reality in our society. Everyday, progress is made to increase vehicles' autonomy to drive without restrictions in roads and cities. To achieve that, researchers are always seeking for new methods to ensure the safety of the vehicles. A promising strategy is to improve the quality of the collected perception data as it directly influences the overall performance of the autonomous system. However, despite the advances achieved in detection methods and algorithms, perception is currently physically restricted by the available on-board sensors and their line-of-sight. To overcome this limitation, the autonomous system should not only capture on-board perception data, but also enhance it with data exchanged with other agents in the environment. This is known in research as Collaborative Perception, where mobile and stationary agents share object detection and sensor data inside an Intelligent Transport Systems network. This master's thesis brings together a collection of ETSI standards with the goal of developing a well-defined architecture for future implementation of a Secure Collaborative Perception Network in the context of Smart Cities. The architecture has been designed using the open-source software Capella Arcadia following a Model Based Software Engineering methodology

Manufactured Housing: A Misunderstood Real Estate Market

Manufactured Housing started as mobile homes for traveling workers and their families.  The mobile homes provided the ability for work crews and their families to easily move from one job site to the next.  Today many of the manufactured homes are luxurious homes on permanent foundations that can withstand nature’s elements equally or better than stick built homes.  The market for manufactured homes will continue to grow as the need for affordable housing continues to grow and the perception continues to improve.   Manufactured homes were previously sold by manufactured home dealers. Today real estate agents and investors are moving into the manufactured housing market. Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Investment Company has recently invested billions in the manufactured housing market.  Buffet’s presence in the manufactured housing industry changes the perception.  This paper looks at some of the benefits and misunderstandings of utilizing manufactured homes in real estate investments.&nbsp