Neuromodulation Based Control of Autonomous Robots on a Cloud Computing Platform

In recent years, the advancement of neurobiologically plausible models and computer networking has resulted in new ways of implementing control systems on robotic platforms. The work presents a control approach based on vertebrate neuromodulation and its implementation on autonomous robots in the open-source, open-access environment of robot operating system (ROS). A spiking neural network (SNN) is used to model the neuromodulatory function for generating context based behavioral responses of the robots to sensory input signals. The neural network incorporates three types of neurons- cholinergic and noradrenergic (ACh/NE) neurons for attention focusing and action selection, dopaminergic (DA) neurons for rewards- and curiosity-seeking, and serotonergic (5-HT) neurons for risk aversion behaviors. This model depicts neuron activity that is biologically realistic but computationally efficient to allow for large-scale simulation of thousands of neurons. The model is implemented using graphics processing units (GPUs) for parallel computing in real-time using the ROS environment. The model is implemented to study the risk-taking, risk-aversive, and distracted behaviors of the neuromodulated robots in single- and multi-robot configurations. The entire process is implemented in a cloud computing environment using ROS where the robots communicate wirelessly with the computing nodes through the on-board laptops. However, unlike the traditional neural networks, the neuromodulatory models do not need any pre-training. Instead, the robots learn from the sensory inputs and follow the behavioral facets of living organisms. The details of algorithm development, the experimental setup and implementation results under different conditions, in both single- and multi-robot configurations, are presented along with a discussion on the scope of further work

A novel distributed architecture for UAV indoor navigation

Abstract In the last decade, different indoor flight navigation systems for small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been investigated, with a special focus on different configurations and on sensor technologies. The main idea of this paper is to propose a distributed Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) system architecture, based on Robotic Operation System (ROS) for light weight UAV autonomous indoor flight. The proposed framework is shown to be more robust and flexible than common configurations. A flight controller and companion computer running ROS for control and navigation are also included in the section. Both hardware and software diagrams are given to show the complete architecture. Further works will be based on the experimental validation of the proposed configuration by indoor flight tests

Diagnosing Robotic Swarms (Dr. Swarm)

Troubleshooting a robotic swarm can be a daunting task due to large quantities of information to sift through and many potential sources of problems. Currently there are no widely adopted swarm diagnostic systems. We developed Dr. Swarm, a mobile application which combines state-of-the-art AR technology and existing visualization techniques to create a new kind of diagnostic tool for swarm robotics. Dr. Swarm enables developers to expose the behavior of swarm systems through intuitive visualizations and assists with troubleshooting swarm applications

Industrial, Collaborative and Mobile Robotics in Latin America: Review of Mechatronic Technologies for Advanced Automation

Mechatronics and Robotics (MaR) have recently gained importance in product development and manufacturing settings and applications. Therefore, the Center for Space Emerging Technologies (C-SET) has managed an international multi-disciplinary study to present, historically, the first Latin American general review of industrial, collaborative, and mobile robotics, with the support of North American and European researchers and institutions. The methodology is developed by considering literature extracted from Scopus, Web of Science, and Aerospace Research Central and adding reports written by companies and government organizations. This describes the state-of-the-art of MaR until the year 2023 in the 3 Sub-Regions: North America, Central America, and South America, having achieved important results related to the academy, industry, government, and entrepreneurship; thus, the statistics shown in this manuscript are unique. Also, this article explores the potential for further work and advantages described by robotic companies such as ABB, KUKA, and Mecademic and the use of the Robot Operating System (ROS) in order to promote research, development, and innovation. In addition, the integration with industry 4.0 and digital manufacturing, architecture and construction, aerospace, smart agriculture, artificial intelligence, and computational social science (human-robot interaction) is analyzed to show the promising features of these growing tech areas, considering the improvements to increase production, manufacturing, and education in the Region. Finally, regarding the information presented, Latin America is considered an important location for investments to increase production and product development, taking into account the further proposal for the creation of the LATAM Consortium for Advanced Robotics and Mechatronics, which could support and work on roboethics and education/R+D+I law and regulations in the Region. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-04-025 Full Text: PD

Expanding the Impact of the EEROS Open Source Robotics Framework

This report, prepared for the developers of the EEROS Real Time Robotics Software Framework, explored options to expand the impact that EEROS would have on the open source robotics community. This open source framework was examined to discover how a healthy development community might grow in a new project. Through increasing EEROS’s presence, analyzing its community, exploring sustainable funding options, organizing and streamlining development and identifying new partners, we gained an understanding of the birth of an open source project

Volume 38 - Issue 14 - Friday, January 24, 2003

The Rose Thorn, Rose-Hulman\u27s independent student newspaper.https://scholar.rose-hulman.edu/rosethorn/1291/thumbnail.jp

Kinisi: A Platform for Autonomizing Off-Road Vehicles

This project proposed a modular system that would autonomize off-road vehicles while retaining full manual operability. This MQP team designed and developed a Level 3 autonomous vehicle prototype using an SAE Baja vehicle outfitted with actuators and exteroceptive sensors. At the end of the project, the vehicle had a drive-by-wire system, could localize itself using sensors, generate a map of its surroundings, and plan a path to follow a desired trajectory. Given a map, the vehicle could traverse a series of obstacles in an enclosed environment. The long- term goal is to alter the software system to make it modular and operate in real-time, so the vehicle can autonomously navigate off-road terrain to rescue and aid a distressed individual

Integración de planificación automática y ROS para el control autónomo de dos robots en el juego del Sokoban

El presente trabajo pretende unir dos áreas de la informática: la Robótica y la Planificación Automática. La Planificación Automática proporciona una secuencia de acciones que, partiendo de un estado inicial, permiten llegar a un estado meta deseado. Aplicado a la robótica, esto permite resolver problemas en un entorno real. El objetivo de este trabajo es desarrollar un sistema que utilice Planificación Automática para el control de robots autónomos en problemas multi-agente. Como prueba de ello, el sistema permitirá a dos robots de tipo P3DX resolver problemas del dominio del juego Sokoban.This project intends to connect two areas of Computer Science: Robotics and Automated Planning. Automated Planning provides a sequence of actions that allows reaching a desired goal state from an initial state. Applied to robotics, this makes possible to solve problems in a real environment. The goal of this project is to develop a system that uses Automated Planning to control independent robots in multi-agent problems. To illustrate this, the system will make able for two P3DX robots to solve problems from the Sokoban domain.Ingeniería Informátic