Virtual Structure Based Formation Tracking of Multiple Wheeled Mobile Robots: An Optimization Perspective

Today, with the increasing development of science and technology, many systems need to be optimized to find the optimal solution of the system. this kind of problem is also called optimization problem. Especially in the formation problem of multi-wheeled mobile robots, the optimization algorithm can help us to find the optimal solution of the formation problem. In this paper, the formation problem of multi-wheeled mobile robots is studied from the point of view of optimization. In order to reduce the complexity of the formation problem, we first put the robots with the same requirements into a group. Then, by using the virtual structure method, the formation problem is reduced to a virtual WMR trajectory tracking problem with placeholders, which describes the expected position of each WMR formation. By using placeholders, you can get the desired track for each WMR. In addition, in order to avoid the collision between multiple WMR in the group, we add an attraction to the trajectory tracking method. Because MWMR in the same team have different attractions, collisions can be easily avoided. Through simulation analysis, it is proved that the optimization model is reasonable and correct. In the last part, the limitations of this model and corresponding suggestions are given

Fuzzy control and its application to a pH process

In the chemical industry, the control of pH is a well-known problem that presents difficulties due to the large variations in its process dynamics and the static nonlinearity between pH and concentration. pH control requires the application of advanced control techniques such as linear or nonlinear adaptive control methods. Unfortunately, adaptive controllers rely on a mathematical model of the process being controlled, the parameters being determined or modified in real time. Because of its characteristics, the pH control process is extremely difficult to model accurately. Fuzzy logic, which is derived from Zadeh's theory of fuzzy sets and algorithms, provides an effective means of capturing the approximate, inexact nature of the physical world. It can be used to convert a linguistic control strategy based on expert knowledge, into an automatic control strategy to control a system in the absence of an exact mathematical model. The work described in this thesis sets out to investigate the suitability of fuzzy techniques for the control of pH within a continuous flow titration process. Initially, a simple fuzzy development system was designed and used to produce an experimental fuzzy control program. A detailed study was then performed on the relationship between fuzzy decision table scaling factors and the control constants of a digital PI controller. Equation derived from this study were then confirmed experimentally using an analogue simulation of a first order plant. As a result of this work a novel method of tuning a fuzzy controller by adjusting its scaling factors, was derived. This technique was then used for the remainder of the work described in this thesis. The findings of the simulation studies were confirmed by an extensive series of experiments using a pH process pilot plant. The performance of the tunable fuzzy controller was compared with that of a conventional PI controller in response to step change in the set-point, at a number of pH levels. The results showed not only that the fuzzy controller could be easily adjusted to provided a wide range of operating characteristics, but also that the fuzzy controller was much better at controlling the highly non-linear pH process, than a conventional digital PI controller. The fuzzy controller achieved a shorter settling time, produced less over-shoot, and was less affected by contamination than the digital PI controller. One of the most important characteristics of the tunable fuzzy controller is its ability to implement a wide variety of control mechanisms simply by modifying one or two control variables. Thus the controller can be made to behave in a manner similar to that of a conventional PI controller, or with different parameter values, can imitate other forms of controller. One such mode of operation uses sliding mode control, with the fuzzy decision table main diagonal being used as the variable structure system (VSS) switching line. A theoretical explanation of this behavior, and its boundary conditions, are given within the text. While the work described within this thesis has concentrated on the use of fuzzy techniques in the control of continuous flow pH plants, the flexibility of the fuzzy control strategy described here, make it of interest in other areas. It is likely to be particularly useful in situations where high degrees of non-linearity make more conventional control methods ineffective

Analysis and Control of Mobile Robots in Various Environmental Conditions

The world sees new inventions each day, made to make the lifestyle of humans more easy and luxurious. In such global scenario, the robots have proved themselves to be an invention of great importance. The robots are being used in almost each and every field of the human world. Continuous studies are being done on them to make them simpler and easier to work with. All fields are being unraveled to make them work better in the human world without human interference. We focus on the navigation field of these mobile robots. The aim of this thesis is to find the controller that produces the most optimal path for the robot to reach its destination without colliding or damaging itself or the environment. The techniques like Fuzzy logic, Type 2 fuzzy logic, Neural networks and Artificial bee colony have been discussed and experimented to find the best controller that could find the most optimal path for the robot to reach its goal position. Simulation and Experiments have been done alike to find out the optimal path for the robot

Milestones in Autonomous Driving and Intelligent Vehicles Part \uppercase\expandafter{\romannumeral1}: Control, Computing System Design, Communication, HD Map, Testing, and Human Behaviors

Interest in autonomous driving (AD) and intelligent vehicles (IVs) is growing at a rapid pace due to the convenience, safety, and economic benefits. Although a number of surveys have reviewed research achievements in this field, they are still limited in specific tasks and lack systematic summaries and research directions in the future. Our work is divided into 3 independent articles and the first part is a Survey of Surveys (SoS) for total technologies of AD and IVs that involves the history, summarizes the milestones, and provides the perspectives, ethics, and future research directions. This is the second part (Part \uppercase\expandafter{\romannumeral1} for this technical survey) to review the development of control, computing system design, communication, High Definition map (HD map), testing, and human behaviors in IVs. In addition, the third part (Part \uppercase\expandafter{\romannumeral2} for this technical survey) is to review the perception and planning sections. The objective of this paper is to involve all the sections of AD, summarize the latest technical milestones, and guide abecedarians to quickly understand the development of AD and IVs. Combining the SoS and Part \uppercase\expandafter{\romannumeral2}, we anticipate that this work will bring novel and diverse insights to researchers and abecedarians, and serve as a bridge between past and future.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, 3 table

Relating Interface Type, Building Type, Street Type and Local Travel Activity in Taipei

As part of the current trend for sustainable transport systems and for lively cities, considerable research has been conducted into the relationship between urban form and travel activity. Related Taiwanese studies are relatively scarce, however, perhaps because there is a lack of research about Taiwanese urban morphology. Therefore, establishing a complete urban form catalogue (including building type, street type, and interface type in particular) is the first step and prime objective for this thesis to contribute to the omission in the current academia, and further identifying the urban form types with their travel activity characteristics (mostly mode choice and walking behaviour) to recognise which form types are more favourable under the contexts of sustainable and lively lifestyle. Throughout the study, interfaces, i.e. the connections between different urban form components, are given particular focus. This is done firstly because interface is almost entirely undocumented in existing Taiwanese urban morphology, and secondly because, although the transition between the private and public domain is seen as playing a vital role in pedestrian or public life studies, but little discussion about it as an integral factor in most transport related research. This thesis is based on the study of both the physical fabric and residents’ travel activity pattern of Da-An District. Therefore, a two-dimensional coordinate system (x-y matrix) and cluster methods (e.g. K-Means) were used to classify the urban form types, whilst a questionnaire was used to gain the travel activity data. As a result, the urban form of the selected study area was found to comprise 10 building types, 12 street types, and 24 interface types. Through Chi-square tests, certain street and interface types were then found to be associated with certain transport mode shares for local trips. A number of specific interface types were further recognised as favourable (e.g. arcades with shop windows, and large landscaped front setbacks) or unfavourable (e.g. overhang without setback) to a sustainable and lively environment

Autonomous control of a mobile robot with incremental deep learning neural networks

Over the last few years autonomous driving had an increasingly strong impact on the automotive industry. This created an increased need for artificial intelligence algo- rithms which allow for computers to make human-like decisions. However, a compro- mise between the computational power drawn by these algorithms and their subsequent performance must be found to fulfil production requirements. In this thesis incremental deep learning strategies are used for the control of a mobile robot such as a four wheel steering vehicle. This strategy is similar to the human approach of learning. In many small steps the vehicle learns to achieve a specific goal. The usage of incremental training leads to growing knowledge-base within the system. It also provides the opportunity to use older training achievements to improve the system, when more training data is available. To demonstrate the capabilities of such an algorithm, two different models have been formulated. First, a more simple model with counter wheel steering, and second, a more complex, nonlinear model with independent steering. These two models are trained incrementally to follow different types of trajectories. Therefore an algorithm was established to generate useful initial points. The incremental steps allow the robot to be positioned further and further away from the desired trajectory in the environ- ment. Afterwards, the effects of different trajectory types on model behaviour are investigated by over one thousand simulation runs. To do this, path planning for straight lines and circles are introduced. This work demonstrates that even simulations with simple network structures can have high performance.Tesi

Industrial Robotics

This book covers a wide range of topics relating to advanced industrial robotics, sensors and automation technologies. Although being highly technical and complex in nature, the papers presented in this book represent some of the latest cutting edge technologies and advancements in industrial robotics technology. This book covers topics such as networking, properties of manipulators, forward and inverse robot arm kinematics, motion path-planning, machine vision and many other practical topics too numerous to list here. The authors and editor of this book wish to inspire people, especially young ones, to get involved with robotic and mechatronic engineering technology and to develop new and exciting practical applications, perhaps using the ideas and concepts presented herein

Special oils for halal and safe cosmetics

Three types of non conventional oils were extracted, analyzed and tested for toxicity. Date palm kernel oil (DPKO), mango kernel oil (MKO) and Ramputan seed oil (RSO). Oil content for tow cultivars of dates Deglect Noor and Moshkan was 9.67% and 7.30%, respectively. The three varieties of mango were found to contain about 10% oil in average. The red yellow types of Ramputan were found to have 11 and 14% oil, respectively. The phenolic compounds in DPKO, MKO and RSO were 0.98, 0.88 and 0.78 mg/ml Gallic acid equivalent, respectively. Oils were analyzed for their fatty acid composition and they are rich in oleic acid C18:1 and showed the presence of (dodecanoic acid) lauric acid C12:0, which reported to appear some antimicrobial activities. All extracted oils, DPKO, MKO and RSO showed no toxic effect using prime shrimp bioassay. Since these oils are stable, melt at skin temperature, have good lubricity and are great source of essential fatty acids; they could be used as highly moisturizing, cleansing and nourishing oils because of high oleic acid content. They are ideal for use in such halal cosmetics such as Science, Engineering and Technology 75 skin care and massage, hair-care, soap and shampoo products

Convergence of Intelligent Data Acquisition and Advanced Computing Systems

This book is a collection of published articles from the Sensors Special Issue on "Convergence of Intelligent Data Acquisition and Advanced Computing Systems". It includes extended versions of the conference contributions from the 10th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Data Acquisition and Advanced Computing Systems: Technology and Applications (IDAACS’2019), Metz, France, as well as external contributions