A new HLA-based distributed control architecture for agricultural teams of robots in hybrid applications with real and simulated devices or environments

The control architecture is one of the most important part of agricultural robotics and other robotic systems. Furthermore its importance increases when the system involves a group of heterogeneous robots that should cooperate to achieve a global goal. A new control architecture is introduced in this paper for groups of robots in charge of doing maintenance tasks in agricultural environments. Some important features such as scalability, code reuse, hardware abstraction and data distribution have been considered in the design of the new architecture. Furthermore, coordination and cooperation among the different elements in the system is allowed in the proposed control system. By integrating a network oriented device server Player, Java Agent Development Framework (JADE) and High Level Architecture (HLA), the previous concepts have been considered in the new architecture presented in this paper. HLA can be considered the most important part because it not only allows the data distribution and implicit communication among the parts of the system but also allows to simultaneously operate with simulated and real entities, thus allowing the use of hybrid systems in the development of applications

A Model for Virtual Reconfigurable Modular Robots

This paper presents a model for virtual reconfigurable modular robots in order to evolve artificial creatures, able of self-adaptation to the environment as well as good adjustment to various given tasks. For this purpose, a simulator has been entirely developed with the assistance of a physics engine to represent force activities. One of the most crucial points in modular robot construction is the choice of module type, complexity and diversity. We took interest on existing elements to obtain realistic results but assume simplifications to focus on our main goal that is algorithmic

Digitalization of Aeronautic Painting Shop Floors for Improved Commissioning Activities

Industrial commissioning plays a critical role in ensuring the safe and efficient operation of facilities and minimizes downtime and maintenance costs over their lifetime. To extend and adjust commissioning capabilities, Virtual Commissioning uses digital models of devices and processes to verify, validate, and optimize code programming, and component selection. To perform the validation process, a simulation involving control devices and process digital twins is required, leading to inherent computational complexity. Distributed simulation approach allows for simulation of complex systems by breaking down a large simulation into smaller, manageable parts that can be run simultaneously on separate processors, while still preserving the overall behavior and interactions of the system being simulated. This paper presents a distributed Virtual Commissioning solution for a spray paint process presented in UAV painting shop floor. The methodology for developing the implementation is described in detail: greenfield scenario generation, automation process, software toolchain development, selection of communication protocols, re-use of digital twins for extended applications, and complexity analysis. A set of 3d scenarios is used to demonstrate the result’s performance

Self-sufficiency of an autonomous self-reconfigurable modular robotic organism

In recent years, getting inspiration from simple but complex biological organisms, several advances have been seen in autonomous systems to mimic different behaviors that emerge from the interactions of a large group of simple individuals with each other and with the environment. Among several open issues a significantly important issue, not addressed so far, is the self-sufficiency, or in other words, the energetic autonomy of a modular robotic organism. This feature plays a pivotal role in maintaining a robotic organism\u27s autonomy for a longer period of time. To address the challenges of self-sufficiency, a novel dynamic power management system (PMS) with fault tolerant energy sharing is proposed, realized in the form of hardware and software, and tested. The innate fault tolerant feature of the proposed PMS ensures power sharing in an organism despite docked faulty robotic modules. Due to the unavailability of sufficient number of real robotic modules a simulation framework called Replicator Power Flow Simulator is devised for the implementation of application software layer power management components. The simulation framework was especially devised because at the time of writing this work no simulation tool was available that could be used to perform power sharing and fault tolerance experiments at an organism level. The simulation experiments showed that the proposed application software layer dynamic power sharing policies in combination with the distributed fault tolerance feature in addition to self-sufficiency are expected to enhance the robustness and stability of a real modular robotic organism under varying conditions.Inspiriert von einfachen aber komplexen biologischen Organismen wurden in den letzten Jahren verschiedenste autonome Systeme entwickelt, welche die Verhaltensweisen einer großen Gruppe einfacher Individuen nachahmen. Das zentrale und bis heute ungelöste Problem dieser Organismen ist deren autonome Energieversorgung. Zur Sicherstellung der Energieversorgung eines aus mehreren Robotern zusammengesetzten Organismus wurde in dieser Arbeit ein neuartiges Power-Management-System (PMS) konzipiert, aufgebaut und an einzelnen Robotermodulen und einem Roboterorganismus getestet. Die Hardware eines bestehenden Roboters wurde um ein neues Konzept erweitert, das auch bei fehlerhaften Robotermodulen einen Energieaustausch sicherstellt und so zu einer erhöhten Robustheit des PMS führen soll. Das entwickelte PMS wurde in modulare Roboter integriert und beispielhaft anhand eines Roboterorganismus getestet. In Ermangelung einer ausreichenden Anzahl von Robotermodulen wurde eine Simulationsumgebung entwickelt und die Software des PMS im Simulationsprogramm, anstatt im Roboter, implementiert. Dieses Simulationswerkzeug ist momentan das Einzige, das unter Berücksichtigung des Bewegungsmodells des Organismus den Energietransport im Roboterorganismus visuell darstellt und das Verhalten in verschiedenen Fehlerfällen simulieren kann. Die Simulationen und Messungen zeigen, dass das entwickelte PMS geeignet ist, die Energieversorgung von Roboterorganismen auch in Fehlerfällen sicherzustellen und so die Stabilität und Robustheit zu erhöhen

Entwicklungsumgebung für Roboterschwärme

In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden der systematische Entwurf und die Entwicklung einer Entwicklungsumgebung für Roboterschwärme beschrieben, die auf die spezifischen Eigenarten solcher Multi-Roboter-Systeme (MRS) eingeht. Kernstück der Entwicklungsumgebung sind eine interpretierte Steuersprache sowie eine dynamische interaktive Arena für Experimente. Die Entwicklungsumgebung vereinfacht den Entwurf von MRS, was in mehreren Experimenten mit verschiedenen Robotern anschaulich dargelegt wird

Entwicklungsumgebung für Roboterschwärme

In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden der systematische Entwurf und die Entwicklung einer Entwicklungsumgebung für Roboterschwärme beschrieben, die auf die spezifischen Eigenarten solcher Multi-Roboter-Systeme (MRS) eingeht. Kernstück der Entwicklungsumgebung sind eine interpretierte Steuersprache sowie eine dynamische interaktive Arena für Experimente. Die Entwicklungsumgebung vereinfacht den Entwurf von MRS, was in mehreren Experimenten mit verschiedenen Robotern anschaulich dargelegt wird