Mobile Robots

The objective of this book is to cover advances of mobile robotics and related technologies applied for multi robot systems' design and development. Design of control system is a complex issue, requiring the application of information technologies to link the robots into a single network. Human robot interface becomes a demanding task, especially when we try to use sophisticated methods for brain signal processing. Generated electrophysiological signals can be used to command different devices, such as cars, wheelchair or even video games. A number of developments in navigation and path planning, including parallel programming, can be observed. Cooperative path planning, formation control of multi robotic agents, communication and distance measurement between agents are shown. Training of the mobile robot operators is very difficult task also because of several factors related to different task execution. The presented improvement is related to environment model generation based on autonomous mobile robot observations

Fast, Autonomous Flight in GPS-Denied and Cluttered Environments

One of the most challenging tasks for a flying robot is to autonomously navigate between target locations quickly and reliably while avoiding obstacles in its path, and with little to no a-priori knowledge of the operating environment. This challenge is addressed in the present paper. We describe the system design and software architecture of our proposed solution, and showcase how all the distinct components can be integrated to enable smooth robot operation. We provide critical insight on hardware and software component selection and development, and present results from extensive experimental testing in real-world warehouse environments. Experimental testing reveals that our proposed solution can deliver fast and robust aerial robot autonomous navigation in cluttered, GPS-denied environments.Comment: Pre-peer reviewed version of the article accepted in Journal of Field Robotic

Testing of robotic total stations for dynamic tracking

Robotic Total Stations (RTSs) were first invented by Geodimeter in the year 1990. In the recent years, 3D machine guidance systems have increased the productivity of construction works. Most machine guidance systems use RTSs with automatic targeting and tracking for position determination. The major applications for machine guidance systems can be found in construction industry and mining for the guidance of dozers, motor graders, excavators, scrapers as well as in agricultural applications for the guidance of tractors and harvesters. Motorization and automation of the RTSs began a new, faster and more effective way for surveying measurement. Development of the RTSs with automatic searching and tracking opened new possibilities for their utilization in all areas of surveying, especially in the area of the engineering surveying. RTSs with automatic searching and tracking, offer the possibility to track and order cinematic processes such as movement and deformations of the building structures. Since little information is known about the dynamic accuracy of RTSs in their real-time operation, the aim of this project is to determine the dynamic accuracy and reliability of RTSs. It is vital to test various types of instruments in order to compare the results to the various manufacturers' specification. However, further research and testing will be carried out in the near future in order to obtain the relevant accuracies and reliabilities of the various types of RTSs