121 research outputs found
Model-free vision-based shaping of deformable plastic materials
We address the problem of shaping deformable plastic materials using
non-prehensile actions. Shaping plastic objects is challenging, since they are
difficult to model and to track visually. We study this problem, by using
kinetic sand, a plastic toy material which mimics the physical properties of
wet sand. Inspired by a pilot study where humans shape kinetic sand, we define
two types of actions: \textit{pushing} the material from the sides and
\textit{tapping} from above. The chosen actions are executed with a robotic arm
using image-based visual servoing. From the current and desired view of the
material, we define states based on visual features such as the outer contour
shape and the pixel luminosity values. These are mapped to actions, which are
repeated iteratively to reduce the image error until convergence is reached.
For pushing, we propose three methods for mapping the visual state to an
action. These include heuristic methods and a neural network, trained from
human actions. We show that it is possible to obtain simple shapes with the
kinetic sand, without explicitly modeling the material. Our approach is limited
in the types of shapes it can achieve. A richer set of action types and
multi-step reasoning is needed to achieve more sophisticated shapes.Comment: Accepted to The International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR
Case Studies of Automation in Services. A workplace analysis of logistics, cleaning and health sectors in Italy
A full understanding of the technological complexity underlying robotics and automation is still lacking, most of all when focusing on the impacts on work in services. By means of a qualitative analysis relying on the administration of more than 50 interviews to HR managers, IT technicians, workers and trade union delegates, this work provides evidence on the main changes occurring at shopfloor level in selected Italian companies having adopted technological artefacts potentially affecting labour tasks by automating processes. The analysis of interviews complemented with visits to the companies and desk research on business documents highlights that so far labour displacement due to the adoption of automation technologies is not yet in place, while tasks and organizational reconfiguration appear more widespread. Major heterogeneity applies across plants due to the final product/service produced, the techno-organizational capabilities of the firm and the type of strategic orientation versus technological adoption. These elements also affect drivers and barriers to technological adoption. Overall, the analysis confirms the complexity in automating presumably low-valueadded phases: human labour remains crucial in conducting activities that require flexibility, adaptability and reconfiguration of physical tasks. Further, human agency and worker representation, in particular the role of trade unions, are almost disregarded and not considered by the firms when deciding to introduce a new technology
Case studies of automation in services
A full understanding of the technological complexity underlying robotics and automation is still lacking, most of all when focusing on the impacts on work in services. By means of a qualitative analysis based on over 50 interviews to HR managers, IT technicians, workers and trade union delegates, this work provides evidence on the main changes occurring at shopfloor level in selected Italian companies having adopted technological artefacts potentially affecting labour tasks by automating processes. The analysis of interviews complemented with visits to the companies and desk research on business documents highlights that so far labour displacement due to the adoption of automation technologies is not yet in place, while tasks and organizational reconfiguration appear more widespread. Major heterogeneity applies across plants due to the final product/service produced, the techno-organizational capabilities of the firm and the type of strategic orientation versus technological adoption. These elements also affect drivers and barriers to technological adoption. Overall, the analysis confirms the complexity in automating presumably low-value-added phases: human labour remains crucial in conducting activities that require flexibility, adaptability and reconfiguration of physical tasks. Further, human agency and worker representation, in particular the role of trade unions, are almost disregarded and not considered by the firms when deciding to introduce a new technology
Wings in Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle, 1971-2010
The Space Shuttle is an engineering marvel perhaps only exceeded by the station itself. The shuttle was based on the technology of the 1960s and early 1970s. It had to overcome significant challenges to make it reusable. Perhaps the greatest challenges were the main engines and the Thermal Protection System. The program has seen terrible tragedy in its 3 decades of operation, yet it has also seen marvelous success. One of the most notable successes is the Hubble Space Telescope, a program that would have been a failure without the shuttle's capability to rendezvous, capture, repair, as well as upgrade. Now Hubble is a shining example of success admired by people around the world. As the program comes to a close, it is important to capture the legacy of the shuttle for future generations. That is what "Wings In Orbit" does for space fans, students, engineers, and scientists. This book, written by the men and women who made the program possible, will serve as an excellent reference for building future space vehicles. We are proud to have played a small part in making it happen. Our journey to document the scientific and engineering accomplishments of this magnificent winged vehicle began with an audacious proposal: to capture the passion of those who devoted their energies to its success while answering the question "What are the most significant accomplishments?" of the longestoperating human spaceflight program in our nation s history. This is intended to be an honest, accurate, and easily understandable account of the research and innovation accomplished during the era
Program and Proceedings: The Nebraska Academy of Sciences 1880-2023. 142th Anniversary Year. One Hundred-Thirty-Third Annual Meeting April 21, 2023. Hybrid Meeting: Nebraska Wesleyan University & Online, Lincoln, Nebraska
AERONAUTICS & SPACE SCIENCE Chairperson(s): Dr. Scott Tarry & Michaela Lucas
HUMANS PAST AND PRESENT Chairperson(s): Phil R. Geib & Allegra Ward
APPLIED SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY SECTION Chairperson(s): Mary Ettel
BIOLOGY Chairpersons: Lauren Gillespie, Steve Heinisch, and Paul Davis
BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES Chairperson(s): Annemarie Shibata, Kimberly Carlson, Joseph Dolence, Alexis Hobbs, James Fletcher, Paul Denton
CHEM Section Chairperson(s): Nathanael Fackler
EARTH SCIENCES Chairpersons: Irina Filina, Jon Schueth, Ross Dixon, Michael Leite
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Chairperson: Mark Hammer
PHYSICS Chairperson(s): Dr. Adam Davis
SCIENCE EDUCATION Chairperson: Christine Gustafson
2023 Maiben Lecturer: Jason Bartz
2023 FRIEND OF SCIENCE AWARD TO: Ray Ward and Jim Lewi
An optimization-based formalism for shared autonomy in dynamic environments
Teleoperation is an integral component of various industrial processes. For
example, concrete spraying, assisted welding, plastering, inspection, and
maintenance. Often these systems implement direct control that maps interface
signals onto robot motions. Successful completion of tasks typically requires
high levels of manual dexterity and cognitive load. In addition, the operator is
often present nearby dangerous machinery. Consequently, safety is of critical
importance and training is expensive and prolonged -- in some cases taking
several months or even years.
An autonomous robot replacement would be an ideal solution since the human could
be removed from danger and training costs significantly reduced. However, this
is currently not possible due to the complexity and unpredictability of the
environments, and the levels of situational and contextual awareness required to
successfully complete these tasks.
In this thesis, the limitations of direct control are addressed by developing
methods for shared autonomy. A shared autonomous approach combines
human input with autonomy to generate optimal robot motions. The approach taken
in this thesis is to formulate shared autonomy within an optimization framework
that finds optimized states and controls by minimizing a cost function, modeling
task objectives, given a set of (changing) physical and operational constraints.
Online shared autonomy requires the human to be continuously interacting with
the system via an interface (akin to direct control). The key challenges
addressed in this thesis are: 1) ensuring computational feasibility (such a
method should be able to find solutions fast enough to achieve a sampling
frequency bound below by 40Hz), 2) being reactive to changes in the
environment and operator intention, 3) knowing how to appropriately blend
operator input and autonomy, and 4) allowing the operator to supply input in an
intuitive manner that is conducive to high task performance.
Various operator interfaces are investigated with regards to the control space,
called a mode of teleoperation. Extensive evaluations were carried out
to determine for which modes are most intuitive and lead to highest performance
in target acquisition tasks (e.g. spraying/welding/etc). Our performance metrics
quantified task difficulty based on Fitts' law, as well as a measure of how well
constraints affecting the task performance were met. The experimental
evaluations indicate that higher performance is achieved when humans submit
commands in low-dimensional task spaces as opposed to joint space manipulations.
In addition, our multivariate analysis indicated that those with regular
exposure to computer games achieved higher performance.
Shared autonomy aims to relieve human operators of the burden of precise motor
control, tracking, and localization. An optimization-based representation for
shared autonomy in dynamic environments was developed. Real-time tractability is
ensured by modulating the human input with information of the changing
environment within the same task space, instead of adding it to the optimization
cost or constraints. The method was illustrated with two real world
applications: grasping objects in cluttered environments and spraying tasks
requiring sprayed linings with greater homogeneity.
Maintaining motion patterns -- referred to as skills -- is often an
integral part of teleoperation for various industrial processes (e.g. spraying,
welding, plastering). We develop a novel model-based shared autonomous framework
for incorporating the notion of skill assistance to aid operators to sustain
these motion patterns whilst adhering to environment constraints. In order to
achieve computational feasibility, we introduce a novel parameterization for
state and control that combines skill and underlying trajectory models,
leveraging a special type of curve known as Clothoids. This new parameterization
allows for efficient computation of skill-based short term horizon plans,
enabling the use of a model predictive control loop. Our hardware realization
validates the effectiveness of our method to recognize a change of intended
skill, and showing an improved quality of output motion, even under dynamically
changing obstacles.
In addition, extensions of the work to supervisory control are described. An
exploratory study presents an approach that improves computational feasibility
for complex tasks with minimal interactive effort on the part of the human.
Adaptations are theorized which might allow such a method to be applicable and
beneficial to high degree of freedom systems. Finally, a system developed in our
lab is described that implements sliding autonomy and shown to complete
multi-objective tasks in complex environments with minimal interaction from the
human
Minimally Invasive Expeditionary Surgical Care Using Human-Inspired Robots
This technical report serves as an updated collection of subject matter experts on surgical care using human-inspired robotics for human exploration. It is a summary of the Blue Sky Meeting, organized by the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), Pensacola, Florida, and held on October 2-3, 2018. It contains an executive summary, the final report, all of the presentation materials, and an updated reference list
Technology 2003: Conference Proceedings from the Fourth National Technology Transfer Conference and Exposition, Volume 1
Proceedings from symposia of the Technology 2003 Conference and Exposition, December 7-9, I993, Anaheim, CA. Volume 1 features the Plenary Session and the Plenary Workshop, plus papers presented in Advanced Manufacturing, Biotechnology/Medical Technology, Environmental Technology, Materials Science, and Power and Energy
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