On Aerial Robots with Grasping and Perching Capabilities: A Comprehensive Review

Over the last decade, there has been an increased interest in developing aerial robotic platforms that exhibit grasping and perching capabilities not only within the research community but also in companies across different industry sectors. Aerial robots range from standard multicopter vehicles/drones, to autonomous helicopters, and fixed-wing or hybrid devices. Such devices rely on a range of different solutions for achieving grasping and perching. These solutions can be classified as: 1) simple gripper systems, 2) arm-gripper systems, 3) tethered gripping mechanisms, 4) reconfigurable robot frames, 5) adhesion solutions, and 6) embedment solutions. Grasping and perching are two crucial capabilities that allow aerial robots to interact with the environment and execute a plethora of complex tasks, facilitating new applications that range from autonomous package delivery and search and rescue to autonomous inspection of dangerous or remote environments. In this review paper, we present the state-of-the-art in aerial grasping and perching mechanisms and we provide a comprehensive comparison of their characteristics. Furthermore, we analyze these mechanisms by comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed technologies and we summarize the significant achievements in these two research topics. Finally, we conclude the review by suggesting a series of potential future research directions that we believe that are promising

Transportation of small objects by robotic throwing and catching: applying genetic programming for trajectory estimation

Robotic catching of thrown objects is one of the common robotic tasks, which is explored in several works. This task includes subtask of tracking and forecasting the trajectory of the thrown object. Here we propose an algorithm for estimating future trajectory based on video signal from two cameras. Most of existing implementations use deterministic trajectory prediction and several are based on machine learning. We propose a combined forecasting algorithm where the deterministic motion model for each trajectory is generated via the genetic programming algorithm. Genetic programming is implemented on C++ with use of CUDA library and executed in parallel way on the graphical processing unit. Parallel execution allow genetic programming in real time. Numerical experiments with real trajectories of the thrown tennis ball show that the algorithm can forecast the trajectory accurately. © 2016Research work is supported by Russian Fund for Basic Research, grant #16 -07-00243

A Temporal Densely Connected Recurrent Network for Event-based Human Pose Estimation

Event camera is an emerging bio-inspired vision sensors that report per-pixel brightness changes asynchronously. It holds noticeable advantage of high dynamic range, high speed response, and low power budget that enable it to best capture local motions in uncontrolled environments. This motivates us to unlock the potential of event cameras for human pose estimation, as the human pose estimation with event cameras is rarely explored. Due to the novel paradigm shift from conventional frame-based cameras, however, event signals in a time interval contain very limited information, as event cameras can only capture the moving body parts and ignores those static body parts, resulting in some parts to be incomplete or even disappeared in the time interval. This paper proposes a novel densely connected recurrent architecture to address the problem of incomplete information. By this recurrent architecture, we can explicitly model not only the sequential but also non-sequential geometric consistency across time steps to accumulate information from previous frames to recover the entire human bodies, achieving a stable and accurate human pose estimation from event data. Moreover, to better evaluate our model, we collect a large scale multimodal event-based dataset that comes with human pose annotations, which is by far the most challenging one to the best of our knowledge. The experimental results on two public datasets and our own dataset demonstrate the effectiveness and strength of our approach. Code can be available online for facilitating the future research

A Historic Waterfront Revitalisation Project in Tanjung Emas, Johor

This project addresses the importance of public open spaces in supporting the revitalisation of historic waterfront development along Tanjung Emas, Muar, Johor. At the domestic level, this place is popular as it attracts many visitors, particularly on weekends. Its location in the Royal Town of Bandar Maharani; thus, it plays an essential role in creating a catalyst for a sharp image of urban design elements. The distribution of many historical buildings such as Masjid Sultan Abu Bakar, Muar High School, and Muar District Court, reflecting the influence of colonial architecture adds to its colourful and vibrant image of an old town. Hence, the proposals which mainly cover the public open spaces along Tanjung Emas are expected to revitalise the image of Bandar Maharani. The projects involve mainly the uplifting the facilities of the children playground, provision of the water fountain, open theatre, pavilion, and floating café

Neo traditional boutique hotel

Tourism cities are facing massive emergence of new tourism enterprises that continuously catering the changing needs and lifestyles of tourists and local communities. Hospitality industry plays a major role in ‘branding’ tourism cities However, the current issue on overdevelopment of tourism accommodations with similar branding approach are causing many cities in the world losing their creativeness (Chang and Teo, 2008). The similar issue also occurred in Malaysia especially in Melaka city where thousands of hotels emerged around the cities without having creative branding style (Hall, 2000). Therefore, the need of themed boutique hotels is vital to attract local and international tourists to Melaka city. Consequently, a Neo Traditional Boutique Hotel was proposed which have not more than 10 rooms, maximum of 2-storey height with other supporting facilities. The Boutique hotel was proposed to be located at Jalan Klebang Besar near Bert’s garden restaurant

Ecology + Design?

How can design be used to minimize negative environmental impact? I strongly believe that we, human beings, are facing an unavoidable paradigm shift. The world we have created for ourselves is a ticking bomb and we need to rethink the fundamental system in order to have a future at all. In this project the goal was to understand what role design can play in the process of reaching a more sustainable society, and to see how the design of an object affects the global production system and our earth. I decided to focus on the ecological aspect of sustainability and investigate how it can be included in the design process. In nature there is no such thing as waste. The ecosystem is optimized in a closed loop where leftovers from one process are a resource in another. All parts are closely related in a complex symbiotic system. Inspired by natural systems, this project has been an attempt to find a more holistic and sustainable approach to design by applying cyclical thinking to the design process. The first part of the project was very theoretical, including a lot of research and reading to collect all necessary knowledge. The research consisted of learning about Eco design methods, recycling processes and manufacturing techniques, as well as by practicing system thinking. A deeper understanding of consumer behaviours was also an important part in identifying what designers can do to change existing patterns. The theoretical phase was followed by a reflective part where important conclusions, that became cornerstones for the project, where made. These conclusions where then applied and tested during the practical phase. During the whole project the aspect of zooming in and zooming out has been important to understand how the system at macro scale affects the microscopic parts in it, and vice versa. I think designers have a great opportunity to influence the global system and change living patterns into a future balance between ecology, economy and social aspects. With a unique overview and possibility to affect different parts of the system, such as users and producers, we need to act responsibly. To visualise my research and conclusions, I chose to work with the toothbrush. It is an everyday product with a short life cycle, and therefore important to recycle after usage. The necessity of the product it self is justified from a sustainable point of view, as people need to maintain basic mouth hygiene. The biggest problem with the toothbrush today is the complex combinations of different materials, which makes recycling impossible. The final concept, “My precious toothbrush”, is based on European waste regulations and strives to minimize waste by providing a reusable toothbrush handle and a recyclable toothbrush head. Because of the complexity in choosing the right material for the handle, two different concepts were developed. Both handles are designed to achieve a longer life cycle with proper care. One handle is produced from recycled aluminium, and the other from birch branches and other leftover pieces. The toothbrush heads are made from 100 % polyamide and can be recycled up to ten times. After usage, the heads are sent back to the factory for reprocessing. The material is then used in processes where the demand on material quality is lower, such as in the construction sector. In addition to the toothbrushes a distribution system based on the "take back" strategy was designed, to facilitate recycling of the used heads. The cyclic system works with two reusable metal cases; one to store the toothbrush, and one as a refill case for distributing used and unused heads. This project has been a starting point for me and a motivation for my future career as an industrial designer. I consider myself to be in the beginning of a process of practicing a new way of thinking

The Largest Environmental Movement: Recycling and Consumption Work in Sweden

By sorting their waste for recycling, Swedes are told that they are part of 'Sweden's largest environmental movement' (Avfall Sverige, 2008). Recycling in Sweden is understood as an environmental action by all parties within society (including consumers, municipalities, and producers) and the country is proud of its identity as a world-leader on environmental issues. The system for recycling in Sweden asks a lot of the consumer who must not only sort their waste into different fractions but transport it to the appropriate bring station. Yet the country achieves high rates of materials (33 per cent) and biological recycling (15 per cent) and they proudly proclaim to recycle 99 per cent of their waste, with their belief that incineration with energy recovery is a form of recycling (Avfall Sverige, 2012). This paper explores how recycling has developed as an everyday ethical practice, considering the role of different institutions in the promotion of recycling and responsible waste management. This paper has been developed as part of an ERC-funded project, 'Consumption Work and Societal Divisions of Labour', whose key aim is to demonstrate the role that consumers play in the labour process, using comparative methods. In the case of recycling, by sorting their waste, consumers play an integral role in the division of labour within waste management in Sweden and their role differs substantially to the role of consumers in England (the other country in which recycling consumption work has been explored, see Wheeler, 2013). This paper illustrates how the consumer is encouraged to perform this work, drawing attention to what the work actually comprises. It also uncovers the organisations that shape this distinctive system of provision and moral economy of recycling