5,275 research outputs found
Towards adaptive multi-robot systems: self-organization and self-adaptation
Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.The development of complex systems ensembles that operate in uncertain environments is a major challenge. The reason for this is that system designers are not able to fully specify the system during specification and development and before it is being deployed. Natural swarm systems enjoy similar characteristics, yet, being self-adaptive and being able to self-organize, these systems show beneficial emergent behaviour. Similar concepts can be extremely helpful for artificial systems, especially when it comes to multi-robot scenarios, which require such solution in order to be applicable to highly uncertain real world application. In this article, we present a comprehensive overview over state-of-the-art solutions in emergent systems, self-organization, self-adaptation, and robotics. We discuss these approaches in the light of a framework for multi-robot systems and identify similarities, differences missing links and open gaps that have to be addressed in order to make this framework possible
Controlled self-organisation using learning classifier systems
The complexity of technical systems increases, breakdowns occur quite often. The mission of organic computing is to tame these challenges by providing degrees of freedom for self-organised behaviour. To achieve these goals, new methods have to be developed. The proposed observer/controller architecture constitutes one way to achieve controlled self-organisation. To improve its design, multi-agent scenarios are investigated. Especially, learning using learning classifier systems is addressed
Continuous maintenance and the future – Foundations and technological challenges
High value and long life products require continuous maintenance throughout their life cycle to achieve required performance with optimum through-life cost. This paper presents foundations and technologies required to offer the maintenance service. Component and system level degradation science, assessment and modelling along with life cycle ‘big data’ analytics are the two most important knowledge and skill base required for the continuous maintenance. Advanced computing and visualisation technologies will improve efficiency of the maintenance and reduce through-life cost of the product. Future of continuous maintenance within the Industry 4.0 context also identifies the role of IoT, standards and cyber security
Dagstuhl News January - December 2006
"Dagstuhl News" is a publication edited especially for the members of the Foundation "Informatikzentrum Schloss Dagstuhl" to thank them for their support. The News give a summary of the scientific work being done in Dagstuhl. Each Dagstuhl Seminar is presented by a small abstract describing the contents and scientific highlights of the seminar as well as the perspectives or challenges of the research topic
Design, fabrication and control of soft robots
Conventionally, engineers have employed rigid materials to fabricate precise, predictable robotic systems, which are easily modelled as rigid members connected at discrete joints. Natural systems, however, often match or exceed the performance of robotic systems with deformable bodies. Cephalopods, for example, achieve amazing feats of manipulation and locomotion without a skeleton; even vertebrates such as humans achieve dynamic gaits by storing elastic energy in their compliant bones and soft tissues. Inspired by nature, engineers have begun to explore the design and control of soft-bodied robots composed of compliant materials. This Review discusses recent developments in the emerging field of soft robotics.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant IIS-1226883
Biomimetic Engineering
Humankind is a privileged animal species for many reasons. A remarkable one is its
ability to conceive and manufacture objects. Human industry is indeed leading the
various winning strategies (along with language and culture) that has permitted this
primate to extraordinarily increase its life expectancy and proliferation rate. (It is indeed
so successful, that it now threatens the whole planet.) The design of this industry kicks
off in the brain, a computing machine particularly good at storing, recognizing and
associating patterns. Even in a time when human beings tend to populate non-natural,
man-made environments, the many forms, colorings, textures and behaviors of nature
continuously excite our senses and blend in our thoughts, even more deeply during
childhood. Then, it would be exaggerated to say that Biomimetics is a brand new
strategy. As long as human creation is based on previously acquired knowledge and
experiences, it is not surprising that engineering, the arts, and any form of expression, is
influenced by nature’s way to some extent.
The design of human industry has evolved from very simple tools, to complex
engineering devices. Nature has always provided us with a rich catalog of excellent
materials and inspiring designs. Now, equipped with new machinery and techniques, we
look again at Nature. We aim at mimicking not only its best products, but also its design
principles.
Organic life, as we know it, is indeed a vast pool of diversity. Living matter inhabits
almost every corner of the terrestrial ecosphere. From warm open-air ecosystems to the
extreme conditions of hot salt ponds, living cells have found ways to metabolize the
sources of energy, and get organized in complex organisms of specialized tissues and organs that adapt themselves to the environment, and can modify the environment to
their own needs as well. Life on Earth has evolved such a diverse portfolio of species
that the number of designs, mechanisms and strategies that can actually be abstracted is
astonishing. As August Krogh put it: "For a large number of problems there will be
some animal of choice, on which it can be most conveniently studied".
The scientific method starts with a meticulous observation of natural phenomena, and
humans are particularly good at that game. In principle, the aim of science is to
understand the physical world, but an observer’s mind can behave either as an engineer
or as a scientist. The minute examination of the many living forms that surround us has
led to the understanding of new organizational principles, some of which can be
imported in our production processes. In practice, bio-inspiration can arise at very
different levels of observation: be it social organization, the shape of an organism, the
structure and functioning of organs, tissular composition, cellular form and behavior, or
the detailed structure of molecules. Our direct experience of the wide portfolio of
species found in nature, and their particular organs, have clearly favored that the initial
models would come from the organism and organ levels. But the development of new
techniques (on one hand to observe the micro- and nanostructure of living beings, and
on the other to simulate the complex behavior of social communities) have significantly
extended the domain of interest
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