ICARUS Training and Support System

The ICARUS unmanned tools act as gatherers, which acquire enormous amount of information. The management of all these data requires the careful consideration of an intelligent support system. This chapter discusses the High-Performance Computing (HPC) support tools, which were developed for rapid 3D data extraction, combination, fusion, segmentation, classification and rendering. These support tools were seamlessly connected to a training framework. Indeed, training is a key in the world of search and rescue. Search and rescue workers will never use tools on the field for which they have not been extensively trained beforehand. For this reason, a comprehensive serious gaming training framework was developed, supporting all ICARUS unmanned vehicles in realistic 3D-simulated (based on inputs from the support system) and real environments

User-Centered Design

The successful introduction and acceptance of novel technological tools are only possible if end users are completely integrated in the design process. However, obtaining such integration of end users is not obvious, as end‐user organizations often do not consider research toward new technological aids as their core business and are therefore reluctant to engage in these kinds of activities. This chapter explains how this problem was tackled in the ICARUS project, by carefully identifying and approaching the targeted user communities and by compiling user requirements. Resulting from these user requirements, system requirements and a system architecture for the ICARUS system were deduced. An important aspect of the user‐centered design approach is that it is an iterative methodology, based on multiple intermediate operational validations by end users of the developed tools, leading to a final validation according to user‐scripted validation scenarios

Unmanned Ground Robots for Rescue Tasks

This chapter describes two unmanned ground vehicles that can help search and rescue teams in their difficult, but life-saving tasks. These robotic assets have been developed within the framework of the European project ICARUS. The large unmanned ground vehicle is intended to be a mobile base station. It is equipped with a powerful manipulator arm and can be used for debris removal, shoring operations, and remote structural operations (cutting, welding, hammering, etc.) on very rough terrain. The smaller unmanned ground vehicle is also equipped with an array of sensors, enabling it to search for victims inside semi-destroyed buildings. Working together with each other and the human search and rescue workers, these robotic assets form a powerful team, increasing the effectiveness of search and rescue operations, as proven by operational validation tests in collaboration with end users

Chapter Operational Validation of Search and Rescue Robots

This chapter describes how the different ICARUS unmanned search and rescue tools have been evaluated and validated using operational benchmarking techniques. Two large‐scale simulated disaster scenarios were organized: a simulated shipwreck and an earthquake response scenario. Next to these simulated response scenarios, where ICARUS tools were deployed in tight interaction with real end users, ICARUS tools also participated to a real relief, embedded in a team of end users for a flood response mission. These validation trials allow us to conclude that the ICARUS tools fulfil the user requirements and goals set up at the beginning of the project

Operational Validation of Search and Rescue Robots

This chapter describes how the different ICARUS unmanned search and rescue tools have been evaluated and validated using operational benchmarking techniques. Two large‐scale simulated disaster scenarios were organized: a simulated shipwreck and an earthquake response scenario. Next to these simulated response scenarios, where ICARUS tools were deployed in tight interaction with real end users, ICARUS tools also participated to a real relief, embedded in a team of end users for a flood response mission. These validation trials allow us to conclude that the ICARUS tools fulfil the user requirements and goals set up at the beginning of the project

Command and Control Systems for Search and Rescue Robots

The novel application of unmanned systems in the domain of humanitarian Search and Rescue (SAR) operations has created a need to develop specific multi-Robot Command and Control (RC2) systems. This societal application of robotics requires human-robot interfaces for controlling a large fleet of heterogeneous robots deployed in multiple domains of operation (ground, aerial and marine). This chapter provides an overview of the Command, Control and Intelligence (C2I) system developed within the scope of Integrated Components for Assisted Rescue and Unmanned Search operations (ICARUS). The life cycle of the system begins with a description of use cases and the deployment scenarios in collaboration with SAR teams as end-users. This is followed by an illustration of the system design and architecture, core technologies used in implementing the C2I, iterative integration phases with field deployments for evaluating and improving the system. The main subcomponents consist of a central Mission Planning and Coordination System (MPCS), field Robot Command and Control (RC2) subsystems with a portable force-feedback exoskeleton interface for robot arm tele-manipulation and field mobile devices. The distribution of these C2I subsystems with their communication links for unmanned SAR operations is described in detail. Field demonstrations of the C2I system with SAR personnel assisted by unmanned systems provide an outlook for implementing such systems into mainstream SAR operations in the future

MIMO SAR : a technique for achieving full polarimetric, high resolution wide swath SAR

Trabalho de conclusão de curso (graduação)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Elétrica, 2019.SAR (radar de abertura sintética, do inglês synthetic aperture radar ) tem se tornado uma das técnicas de sensoriamento remoto mais importantes nas últimas décadas. A técnica SAR permite operação tanto no dia quanto à noite, além de ser resiliente a condições climáticas adversas. No entanto, técnicas clássicas de SAR apresentam limitações consideráveis. A primeira é que existe uma relação de compromisso entre tamanho da área imageada e resolução, de forma que não conseguimos uma grande área com um alto nível de detalhe, o que é um grande problema para várias aplicações. A segunda limitação é que, para obter informação polarimétrica completa, ou a área imageada diminui ou a resolução piora. Em certas aplicações em que se necessita de informação polarimétrica, isso se torna um problema. Para lidar com essas limitações de SAR clássico, MIMO (múltiplas entradas múltiplas saídas, do inglês multiple input multiple output) SAR é uma nova técnica que utiliza processamento de arranjo para extrair informação angular da onda recebida e consequentemente obter tanto uma resolução fina quanto uma grande área imageada, junto de informação polarimétrica. Nesse trabalho, a teoria atrás de MIMO SAR é apresentada, junto de simulações que demonstram as vantagens de se usar esse sistema sobre as técnicas clássicas.Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) has become one of the most important remote sensing techniques in the last few decades. It allows for day-night operation and is resilient to difficult weather conditions. However, classic SAR has considerable limitations. The first one is that it has a trade off between size of imaged area and resolution, meaning we can’t have a wide area with a high level of detail, which is a big problem for many applications. The second limitation is that, to obtain full polarimetric information, either the imaged area must decrease in size or there must be a deterioration in resolution. In some applications that necessitate polarimetric information, this is likewise quite an issue. To deal with these limitations of classic SAR, MIMO (multiple input multiple output) SAR is a new technique that utilizes array processing to extract angular information from the received echo and thus obtain both a high resolution and a wide imaged area, along with polarimetric information. In this work, the theory behind MIMO SAR is presented, along with simulations that demonstrate the advantages of using this system over the traditional techniques

Control de un brazo robótico virtual usando un exoesqueleto robot de miembro superior

Se realizó el diseño de un exoesqueleto de miembro superior dentro del software CAD, SOLIDWORKS, identificando los parámetros físicos y cargas mecánicas mediante simulación numérica para posteriormente ser impreso en tres dimensiones (3D), se identificó los tipos de sensores a utilizar en cada articulación del exoesqueleto, para construir el sistema de adquisición y acondicionamiento de señales mediante el microcontrolador Arduino Mega 2560. Se desarrolló la programación del microcontrolador Arduino para enviar las señales de los sensores al Software V-REP (Versión EDUCACIONAL sin límites. Software Libre). Se exporto el exoesqueleto digitalizado a este software de realidad virtual, se programó para recibir las señales provenientes del Arduino. Se realizó programación de una interfaz de usuario para observar los parámetros de la cinemática directa e inversa de cada mecanismo los cuales fueron el robot serial y el exoesqueleto virtual, Se realizó la simulación de la trayectoria dentro del software de realidad virtual comunicando el exoesqueleto real, con el exoesqueleto virtual y este último con el robot serial. Se trazó con el exoesqueleto real la trayectoria sobre un eje cartesiano en X, Y, y Z y simultáneamente se registró los puntos coordenados del efector final del exoesqueleto virtual que simuló el mismo trayecto dentro del software V-REP. Las diferencias entre estas dos trayectorias fueron utilizadas para medir el error absoluto, el error porcentual y analizar el surgimiento del error entre la realidad contra la realidad virtual

Reference Model for Interoperability of Autonomous Systems

This thesis proposes a reference model to describe the components of an Un-manned Air, Ground, Surface, or Underwater System (UxS), and the use of a single Interoperability Building Block to command, control, and get feedback from such vehicles. The importance and advantages of such a reference model, with a standard nomenclature and taxonomy, is shown. We overview the concepts of interoperability and some efforts to achieve common refer-ence models in other areas. We then present an overview of existing un-manned systems, their history, characteristics, classification, and missions. The concept of Interoperability Building Blocks (IBB) is introduced to describe standards, protocols, data models, and frameworks, and a large set of these are analyzed. A new and powerful reference model for UxS, named RAMP, is proposed, that describes the various components that a UxS may have. It is a hierarchical model with four levels, that describes the vehicle components, the datalink, and the ground segment. The reference model is validated by showing how it can be applied in various projects the author worked on. An example is given on how a single standard was capable of controlling a set of heterogeneous UAVs, USVs, and UGVs

Políticas de Copyright de Publicações Científicas em Repositórios Institucionais: O Caso do INESC TEC

A progressiva transformação das práticas científicas, impulsionada pelo desenvolvimento das novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), têm possibilitado aumentar o acesso à informação, caminhando gradualmente para uma abertura do ciclo de pesquisa. Isto permitirá resolver a longo prazo uma adversidade que se tem colocado aos investigadores, que passa pela existência de barreiras que limitam as condições de acesso, sejam estas geográficas ou financeiras. Apesar da produção científica ser dominada, maioritariamente, por grandes editoras comerciais, estando sujeita às regras por estas impostas, o Movimento do Acesso Aberto cuja primeira declaração pública, a Declaração de Budapeste (BOAI), é de 2002, vem propor alterações significativas que beneficiam os autores e os leitores. Este Movimento vem a ganhar importância em Portugal desde 2003, com a constituição do primeiro repositório institucional a nível nacional. Os repositórios institucionais surgiram como uma ferramenta de divulgação da produção científica de uma instituição, com o intuito de permitir abrir aos resultados da investigação, quer antes da publicação e do próprio processo de arbitragem (preprint), quer depois (postprint), e, consequentemente, aumentar a visibilidade do trabalho desenvolvido por um investigador e a respetiva instituição. O estudo apresentado, que passou por uma análise das políticas de copyright das publicações científicas mais relevantes do INESC TEC, permitiu não só perceber que as editoras adotam cada vez mais políticas que possibilitam o auto-arquivo das publicações em repositórios institucionais, como também que existe todo um trabalho de sensibilização a percorrer, não só para os investigadores, como para a instituição e toda a sociedade. A produção de um conjunto de recomendações, que passam pela implementação de uma política institucional que incentive o auto-arquivo das publicações desenvolvidas no âmbito institucional no repositório, serve como mote para uma maior valorização da produção científica do INESC TEC.The progressive transformation of scientific practices, driven by the development of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which made it possible to increase access to information, gradually moving towards an opening of the research cycle. This opening makes it possible to resolve, in the long term, the adversity that has been placed on researchers, which involves the existence of barriers that limit access conditions, whether geographical or financial. Although large commercial publishers predominantly dominate scientific production and subject it to the rules imposed by them, the Open Access movement whose first public declaration, the Budapest Declaration (BOAI), was in 2002, proposes significant changes that benefit the authors and the readers. This Movement has gained importance in Portugal since 2003, with the constitution of the first institutional repository at the national level. Institutional repositories have emerged as a tool for disseminating the scientific production of an institution to open the results of the research, both before publication and the preprint process and postprint, increase the visibility of work done by an investigator and his or her institution. The present study, which underwent an analysis of the copyright policies of INESC TEC most relevant scientific publications, allowed not only to realize that publishers are increasingly adopting policies that make it possible to self-archive publications in institutional repositories, all the work of raising awareness, not only for researchers but also for the institution and the whole society. The production of a set of recommendations, which go through the implementation of an institutional policy that encourages the self-archiving of the publications developed in the institutional scope in the repository, serves as a motto for a greater appreciation of the scientific production of INESC TEC