Mind the gaps!:EU and the makings of robot autonomy (discussion paper)

This paper explores the entanglement of visions, politics and innovation policy development with recent developments in robotics. We explore the orientations to purpose and direction with which innovations in robotics are encouraged. We explore the discrepancies between machines as reality and machines as fiction, in particular the vision of robot autonomy as fundamental to future developments with the particular aim to help solve Europe's societal problems. We argue that these complex entanglements are riddled with contradictions and 'gaps' to be minded, i.e., between industry and academic research, between technologists, ELS scholarship, policy and society at large and, last but not least, between machines of today and tomorrow. We argue that the political and policy landscape that encourages these innovation practices and cultivates imaginaries of robot autonomy is misguided (or mistaken) in its purpose-driven agenda which can only exacerbate existing contradictions. Rather, what is at stake is a level-headed politics of uncertainty to deliver a robotics agenda for a societal good that meets the criteria of responsible innovation

Conversational ecologies

This project takes a transdisciplinary approach to spatial interactivity, incorporating elements of theoretical discourse, speculative design, narrative worldbuilding, making, scientific experimentation and video. To me it is destructive to segregate bodies of knowledge, or any bodies for that matter, and it denies the synergism that is possible with transdisciplinary work. I combine scientific materiality with imagined alechemies and interweave these throughout the text with borrowed and original philosophical contemplations to more fully grapple with the shifting complexities of Conversational Ecologies. I firmly believe that due to the complex, multisensorial nature of interactivity, the discourse must exist outside of just the written. This discourse can exist simultaneously as fantasy and reality–as long as it engages the senses and encourages people to reconsider their ecological positionalities. This theoretical, textual body acts as both a beginning for these experiments, and as a site to re-incorporate what I learn ‘in the field.

Soft-Material Robotics

There has been a boost of research activities in robotics using soft materials in the past ten years. It is expected that the use and control of soft materials can help realize robotic systems that are safer, cheaper, and more adaptable than the level that the conventional rigid-material robots can achieve. Contrary to a number of existing review and position papers on soft-material robotics, which mostly present case studies and/or discuss trends and challenges, the review focuses on the fundamentals of the research field. First, it gives a definition of softmaterial robotics and introduces its history, which dates back to the late 1970s. Second, it provides characterization of soft-materials, actuators and sensing elements. Third, it presents two general approaches to mathematical modelling of kinematics of soft-material robots; that is, piecewise constant curvature approximation and variable curvature approach, as well as their related statics and dynamics. Fourth, it summarizes control methods that have been used for soft-material robots and other continuum robots in both model-based fashion and model-free fashion. Lastly, applications or potential usage of soft-material robots are described related to wearable robots, medical robots, grasping and manipulation

Social Robots to enhance therapy and interaction for children: From the design to the implementation "in the wild"

En les últimes dues dècades els robots socials s'han convertit en un camp emergent en el qual encara hi ha molt per fer. Aquest camp requereix coneixements en mecànica, control, intel·ligència artificial, sistemes, etc., però també en psicologia, disseny, ètica, etc. El nostre grup de recerca de perfil interdisciplinari ha estat treballant en el disseny de robots socials en diferents aplicacions per a nens amb necessitats especials. L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és investigar diferents escenaris en teràpia o educació on els robots socials podrien ser una eina útil per als nens. Es van realitzar 4 estudis amb diferents propòsits: (1) dissenyar activitats amb robòtica de LEGO per avaluar el comportament social dels nens amb trastorn de l'espectre autista (TEA) (entre companys i amb adults) i analitzar la seva efectivitat, (2) dissenyar un robot social per recuperar les funcionalitats més afectades a causa de traumatismes cranioencefàlics (TCE) en nens i veure l'eficàcia del tractament, (3) proporcionar un robot mascota per alleujar els sentiments d'ansietat, solitud i estrès en nens hospitalitzats, i (4) comprovar com un robot amb comportament social i amb una personalització versus robots sense aquestes característiques mostra diferències en termes d'interacció amb nens i, per tant, pot ajudar en l'efectivitat de diferents tractaments com hem esmentat anteriorment. Els resultats van revelar diferents resultats depenent de l'aplicació: (1) efectivitat amb la plataforma robòtica social que vam dissenyar en el tractament neuropsicològic per a aquells nens afectats per TCE, (2) eficàcia amb les activitats de robòtica de LEGO dissenyades per un grup de terapeutes en termes de millora d'habilitats socials (3) un efecte positiu entre els mediadors i facilitadors de la interacció i les relacions entre els diferents agents involucrats en el procés de la cura: pacients hospitalitzats, familiars, voluntaris i personal clínic, i (4) una interacció diferent, en termes de temps, entre els dos grups durant període de dues setmanes.En las últimas dos décadas los robots sociales se han convertido en un campo emergente en el que todavía hay mucho por hacer. Este campo requiere conocimientos en mecánica, control, inteligencia artificial, sistemas, etc., pero también en psicología, diseño, ética, etc. Nuestro grupo de investigación de perfil interdisciplinar ha estado trabajando en el diseño de robots sociales en diferentes aplicaciones para niños con necesidades especiales. El objetivo de esta tesis es investigar diferentes escenarios en terapia o educación donde los robots sociales podrían ser una herramienta útil para los niños. Se realizaron 4 estudios con diferentes propósitos: (1) diseñar actividades con robótica de LEGO para evaluar el comportamiento social de los niños con trastorno del espectro autista (TEA) (entre compañeros y con adultos) y analizar su efectividad, (2) diseñar un robot social para recuperar las funcionalidades más afectadas a causa de traumatismos craneoencefálicos (TCE) en niños y ver la eficacia del tratamiento, (3) proporcionar un robot mascota para aliviar los sentimientos de ansiedad, soledad y estrés en niños hospitalizados, y (4) comprobar como un robot con comportamiento social y con una personalización versus robots sin esas características muestra diferencias en términos de interacción con niños y, por tanto, puede ayudar en la efectividad de diferentes tratamientos como mencionamos anteriormente. Los resultados revelaron diferentes resultados dependiendo de la aplicación: (1) efectividad con la plataforma robótica social que diseñamos en el tratamiento neuropsicológico para aquellos niños afectadas por TCE, (2) eficacia con las actividades de robótica de LEGO diseñadas por un grupo de terapeutas en términos de mejora de habilidades sociales (3) un efecto positivo entre los mediadores y facilitadores de la interacción y las relaciones entre los diferentes agentes involucrados en el proceso del cuidado: pacientes hospitalizados, familiares, voluntarios y personal clínico, y (4) una interacción diferente, en términos de tiempo, entre ambos grupos en el promedio de un período de dos semanas.Over the past two decades social robots have become an emerging field where there are many things still to work on. This field not only requires knowledge in mechanics, control, artificial intelligence, systems, etc., but also in psychology, design, ethics, etc. Our multidisciplinary research group has been working on designing social robotic platforms in different applications for children with special needs. The aim of this thesis is to investigate different scenarios in therapy or education where social robots could be a useful tool for children. We ran 4 studies with different purposes: (1) to design activities with LEGO robotics to assess children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) social behaviour (between peers and with adults) and to analyze the effectiveness, (2) to design a social robotic platform to recover the functionalities most affected by traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in children and see the effectiveness of the treatment, (3) to provide a pet robot to alleviate feelings of anxiety, loneliness and stress of long-term children inpatient and their bystanders, and (4) to verify how a robot with social behaviour and personalization verses those robots without, shows differences in terms of interaction with children and thus, helps the effectiveness of different treatments as we mention above. The results revealed different outcomes depending on the application: (1) effectiveness with the social robotic platform that we designed in neuropsychological treatment in those areas affected by TBI, (2) effectiveness with the LEGO robotics activities designed by a group of therapists in terms of improvement of the social skills and engagement, (3) a positive effect within mediators and facilitators of interaction and relationships between the different agents involved in the caring process: in-patients, relatives, volunteers and clinical staff (4) slight evidence towards a different interaction, in terms of time, between both groups in the average of a two-week period

Proceedings of the Cardiff University Engineering Research Conference 2023

The conference was established for the first time in 2023 as part of a programme to sustain the research culture, environment, and dissemination activities of the School of Engineering at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. The conference served as a platform to celebrate advancements in various engineering domains researched at our School, explore and discuss further advancements in the diverse fields that define contemporary engineering

UNOBTRUSIVE Technique Based On Infrared Thermal Imaging For Emotion Recognition In Children- With-asd- Robot Interaction

Emoções são relevantes para as relações sociais, e indivíduos com Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA) possuem compreensão e expressão de emoções prejudicadas. Esta tese consiste em estudos sobre a análise de emoções em crianças com desenvolvimento típico e crianças com TEA (idade entre 7 e 12 anos), por meio do imageamento térmico infravermelho (ITIV), uma técnica segura e não obtrusiva (isenta de contato), usada para registrar variações de temperatura em regiões de interesse (RIs) da face, tais como testa, nariz, bochechas, queixo e regiões periorbital e perinasal. Um robô social chamado N-MARIA (Novo-Robô Autônomo Móvel para Interação com Autistas) foi usado como estímulo emocional e mediador de tarefas sociais e pedagógicas. O primeiro estudo avaliou a variação térmica facial para cinco emoções (alegria, tristeza, medo, nojo e surpresa), desencadeadas por estímulos audiovisuais afetivos, em crianças com desenvolvimento típico. O segundo estudo avaliou a variação térmica facial para três emoções (alegria, surpresa e medo), desencadeadas pelo robô social N-MARIA, em crianças com desenvolvimento típico. No terceiro estudo, duas sessões foram realizadas com crianças com TEA, nas quais tarefas sociais e pedagógicas foram avaliadas tendo o robô N-MARIA como ferramenta e mediador da interação com as crianças. Uma análise emocional por variação térmica da face foi possível na segunda sessão, na qual o robô foi o estímulo para desencadear alegria, surpresa ou medo. Além disso, profissionais (professores, terapeuta ocupacional e psicóloga) avaliaram a usabilidade do robô social. Em geral, os resultados mostraram que o ITIV foi uma técnica eficiente para avaliar as emoções por meio de variações térmicas. No primeiro estudo, predominantes decréscimos térmicos foram observados na maioria das RIs, com as maiores variações de emissividade induzidas pelo nojo, felicidade e surpresa, e uma precisão maior que 85% para a classificação das cinco emoções. No segundo estudo, as maiores probabilidades de emoções detectadas pelo sistema de classificação foram para surpresa e alegria, e um aumento significativo de temperatura foi predominante no queixo e nariz. O terceiro estudo realizado com crianças com TEA encontrou aumentos térmicos significativos em todas as RIs e uma classificação com a maior probabilidade para surpresa. N-MARIA foi um estímulo promissor capaz de desencadear emoções positivas em crianças. A interação criança-com-TEA-e-robô foi positiva, com habilidades sociais e tarefas pedagógicas desempenhadas com sucesso pelas crianças. Além disso, a usabilidade do robô avaliada por profissionais alcançou pontuação satisfatória, indicando a N-MARIA como uma potencial ferramenta para terapias

The research on mechanical properties and compressive behavior of graphene foam with multi-scale model?

Computational simulation is an effective method to study the deformation mechanism and mechanical behaviour of graphene-based porous materials. However, due to limitations in computational methods and costs, existing research model deviate significantly from the real material in terms of the scale of structure. Therefore, building a highly accurate computational model and maintaining an appropriate cost is both necessary and challenging. This paper proposed a multi-scale modelling approach for finite element (FE) analysis based on the concept of structural hierarchy. The stochastic feature of the microstructure of porous materials are also considered. The simulation results of the regular structure model and the Voronoi tessellation model are compared to investigate the effect of regularity on the material properties. Despite some shortcomings, other microstructural features of porous graphene materials can be gradually introduced to improve the material model step by step. Thus the developed multiscale model has great potential to simulate the properties of materials with mesoscopic size structure such as graphene foam (GF)

Autonomous Decision-Making based on Biological Adaptive Processes for Intelligent Social Robots

Mención Internacional en el título de doctorThe unceasing development of autonomous robots in many different scenarios drives a new revolution to improve our quality of life. Recent advances in human-robot interaction and machine learning extend robots to social scenarios, where these systems pretend to assist humans in diverse tasks. Thus, social robots are nowadays becoming real in many applications like education, healthcare, entertainment, or assistance. Complex environments demand that social robots present adaptive mechanisms to overcome different situations and successfully execute their tasks. Thus, considering the previous ideas, making autonomous and appropriate decisions is essential to exhibit reasonable behaviour and operate well in dynamic scenarios. Decision-making systems provide artificial agents with the capacity of making decisions about how to behave depending on input information from the environment. In the last decades, human decision-making has served researchers as an inspiration to endow robots with similar deliberation. Especially in social robotics, where people expect to interact with machines with human-like capabilities, biologically inspired decisionmaking systems have demonstrated great potential and interest. Thereby, it is expected that these systems will continue providing a solid biological background and improve the naturalness of the human-robot interaction, usability, and the acceptance of social robots in the following years. This thesis presents a decision-making system for social robots acting in healthcare, entertainment, and assistance with autonomous behaviour. The system’s goal is to provide robots with natural and fluid human-robot interaction during the realisation of their tasks. The decision-making system integrates into an already existing software architecture with different modules that manage human-robot interaction, perception, or expressiveness. Inside this architecture, the decision-making system decides which behaviour the robot has to execute after evaluating information received from different modules in the architecture. These modules provide structured data about planned activities, perceptions, and artificial biological processes that evolve with time that are the basis for natural behaviour. The natural behaviour of the robot comes from the evolution of biological variables that emulate biological processes occurring in humans. We also propose a Motivational model, a module that emulates biological processes in humans for generating an artificial physiological and psychological state that influences the robot’s decision-making. These processes emulate the natural biological rhythms of the human organism to produce biologically inspired decisions that improve the naturalness exhibited by the robot during human-robot interactions. The robot’s decisions also depend on what the robot perceives from the environment, planned events listed in the robot’s agenda, and the unique features of the user interacting with the robot. The robot’s decisions depend on many internal and external factors that influence how the robot behaves. Users are the most critical stimuli the robot perceives since they are the cornerstone of interaction. Social robots have to focus on assisting people in their daily tasks, considering that each person has different features and preferences. Thus, a robot devised for social interaction has to adapt its decisions to people that aim at interacting with it. The first step towards adapting to different users is identifying the user it interacts with. Then, it has to gather as much information as possible and personalise the interaction. The information about each user has to be actively updated if necessary since outdated information may lead the user to refuse the robot. Considering these facts, this work tackles the user adaptation in three different ways. • The robot incorporates user profiling methods to continuously gather information from the user using direct and indirect feedback methods. • The robot has a Preference Learning System that predicts and adjusts the user’s preferences to the robot’s activities during the interaction. • An Action-based Learning System grounded on Reinforcement Learning is introduced as the origin of motivated behaviour. The functionalities mentioned above define the inputs received by the decisionmaking system for adapting its behaviour. Our decision-making system has been designed for being integrated into different robotic platforms due to its flexibility and modularity. Finally, we carried out several experiments to evaluate the architecture’s functionalities during real human-robot interaction scenarios. In these experiments, we assessed: • How to endow social robots with adaptive affective mechanisms to overcome interaction limitations. • Active user profiling using face recognition and human-robot interaction. • A Preference Learning System we designed to predict and adapt the user preferences towards the robot’s entertainment activities for adapting the interaction. • A Behaviour-based Reinforcement Learning System that allows the robot to learn the effects of its actions to behave appropriately in each situation. • The biologically inspired robot behaviour using emulated biological processes and how the robot creates social bonds with each user. • The robot’s expressiveness in affect (emotion and mood) and autonomic functions such as heart rate or blinking frequency.Programa de Doctorado en Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y Automática por la Universidad Carlos III de MadridPresidente: Richard J. Duro Fernández.- Secretaria: Concepción Alicia Monje Micharet.- Vocal: Silvia Ross

Contemporary Robotics

This book book is a collection of 18 chapters written by internationally recognized experts and well-known professionals of the field. Chapters contribute to diverse facets of contemporary robotics and autonomous systems. The volume is organized in four thematic parts according to the main subjects, regarding the recent advances in the contemporary robotics. The first thematic topics of the book are devoted to the theoretical issues. This includes development of algorithms for automatic trajectory generation using redudancy resolution scheme, intelligent algorithms for robotic grasping, modelling approach for reactive mode handling of flexible manufacturing and design of an advanced controller for robot manipulators. The second part of the book deals with different aspects of robot calibration and sensing. This includes a geometric and treshold calibration of a multiple robotic line-vision system, robot-based inline 2D/3D quality monitoring using picture-giving and laser triangulation, and a study on prospective polymer composite materials for flexible tactile sensors. The third part addresses issues of mobile robots and multi-agent systems, including SLAM of mobile robots based on fusion of odometry and visual data, configuration of a localization system by a team of mobile robots, development of generic real-time motion controller for differential mobile robots, control of fuel cells of mobile robots, modelling of omni-directional wheeled-based robots, building of hunter- hybrid tracking environment, as well as design of a cooperative control in distributed population-based multi-agent approach. The fourth part presents recent approaches and results in humanoid and bioinspirative robotics. It deals with design of adaptive control of anthropomorphic biped gait, building of dynamic-based simulation for humanoid robot walking, building controller for perceptual motor control dynamics of humans and biomimetic approach to control mechatronic structure using smart materials