Segregation in swarms of mobile robots based on the Brazil nut effect

We study a simple algorithm inspired by the Brazil nut effect for achieving segregation in a swarm of mobile robots. The algorithm lets each robot mimic a particle of a certain size and broadcast this information locally. The motion of each particle is controlled by three reactive behaviors: random walk, taxis, and repulsion by other particles. The segregation task requires the swarm to self- ranked by particle size (e.g., annular structures or stripes). Using a physics-based computer simulation, we study the segregation performance of swarms of 50 mobile robots. The robots represent particles of three different sizes. We first analyze the problem of how to combine the basic behaviors so as to minimize the percentage of errors in rank. We then show that the system is very robust with respect to noise on inter-robot perception and communication. For a noise-level of 50%, the mean percentage of errors in rank is 1%. Moreover, we investigate a simplified version of the control algorithm, which does not rely on communication. Finally, we show that the mean percentage of errors in rank decreases exponentially as the particles’ size ratio increases. As the error is bounded, one can achieve 100% error-free segregation. The reduction in error, however, comes at the expense of an increase in the required sensing/communication range

Device-based decision-making for adaptation of three-dimensional content

The goal of this research was the creation of an adaptation mechanism for the delivery of three-dimensional content. The adaptation of content, for various network and terminal capabilities - as well as for different user preferences, is a key feature that needs to be investigated. Current state-of-the art research of the adaptation shows promising results for specific tasks and limited types of content, but is still not well-suited for massive heterogeneous environments. In this research, we present a method for transmitting adapted three-dimensional content to multiple target devices. This paper presents some theoretical and practical methods for adapting three-dimensional content, which includes shapes and animation. We also discuss practical details of the integration of our methods into MPEG-21 and MPEG-4 architecture

Adaptive Tutoring on a Virtual Reality Driving Simulator

We propose a system for a VR driving simulator including an \ac{its} to train the user's driving skills. TheVR driving simulator comprises a detailed model of a city, VR traffic, and a physical driving engine, interacting with the driver. In a physical mockup of a car cockpit, the driver operates the vehicle through the virtual environment by controlling a steering wheel, pedals, and a gear lever. Using a HMD, the driver observes the scene from within the car. The realism of the simulation is enhanced by a 6 DOF motion platform, capable of simulating forces experienced when accelerating, braking, or turning the car. Based on a pre-defined list of driving-related activities, the ITS permanently assesses the quality of driving during the simulation and suggests an optimal path through the city to the driver in order to improve the driving skills. A user study revealed that most drivers experience presence in the virtual world and are proficient in operating the car

Towards an Autonomous Evolution of Non-Biological Physical Organisms

We propose an experimental study where simplistic organ- isms rise from inanimate matter and evolve solely through physical interactions. These organisms are composed of three types of macroscopic building blocks floating in an agitated medium. The dynamism of the medium allows the blocks to physically bind with and disband from each other. This results in the emergence of organisms and their reproduction. The process is governed solely by the building blocks' local interactions in the absence of any blueprint or central command. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach by realistic computer simulations and a hardware prototype. Our results suggest that an autonomous evolution of non-biological organisms can be realized in human-designed environments and, potentially, in natural environments

The e-puck, a Robot Designed for Education in Engineering

Mobile robots have the potential to become the ideal tool to teach a broad range of engineering disciplines. Indeed, mobile robots are getting increasingly complex and accessible. They embed elements from diverse fields such as mechanics, digital electronics, automatic control, signal processing, embedded programming, and energy management. Moreover, they are attractive for students which increases their motivation to learn. However, the requirements of an effective education tool bring new constraints to robotics. This article presents the e-puck robot design, which specifically targets engineering education at university level. Thanks to its particular design, the e-puck can be used in a large spectrum of teaching activities, not strictly related to robotics. Through a systematic evaluation by the students, we show that the e-puck fits this purpose and is appreciated by 90 percent of a large sample of students

Live Texturing of Augmented Reality Characters from Colored Drawings

Coloring books capture the imagination of children and provide them with one of their earliest opportunities for creative expression. However, given the proliferation and popularity of digital devices, real-world activities like coloring can seem unexciting, and children become less engaged in them. Augmented reality holds unique potential to impact this situation by providing a bridge between real-world activities and digital enhancements. In this paper, we present an augmented reality coloring book App in which children color characters in a printed coloring book and inspect their work using a mobile device. The drawing is detected and tracked, and the video stream is augmented with an animated 3-D version of the character that is textured according to the child's coloring. This is possible thanks to several novel technical contributions. We present a texturing process that applies the captured texture from a 2-D colored drawing to both the visible and occluded regions of a 3-D character in real time. We develop a deformable surface tracking method designed for colored drawings that uses a new outlier rejection algorithm for real-time tracking and surface deformation recovery. We present a content creation pipeline to efficiently create the 2-D and 3-D content. And, finally, we validate our work with two user studies that examine the quality of our texturing algorithm and the overall App experience

Division of labour and colony efficiency in social insects: effects of interactions between genetic architecture, colony kin structure and rate of perturbations

bations in task allocation. The probabilistic mapping system performed well for colonies of related and unrelated individuals when there were no perturbations. Finally, the dynamic mapping system performed well under all conditions and was much more efficient than the two other mapping systems when there were perturbations. Overall, our simulations reveal that the type of mapping between genotype and individual behaviour greatly influences the dynamics of task specialization and colony productivity. Our simulations also reveal complex interactions between the mode of mapping, level of within-colony relatedness and risk of colony perturbations. Keywords: division of labour; polyethism; task allocation; response thresholds 1. INTRODUCTION The success and increased complexity of organisms in the course of evolution is thought to have depended on a small number of major transitions, one of which was the shift from solitary organisms to societies with division of labour (Maynard S

Synthetic faces: Analysis and applications

ABSTRACT: Facial animation has been a topic of intensive research for more than three decades. Still, designing realistic facial animations remains to be a challenging task. Several models and tools have been developed so far to automate the design of faces and facial anima-tions synchronized with speech, emotions, and gestures. In this arti-cle, we take a brief overview of the existing parameterized facial animation systems. We then turn our attention to facial expression analysis, which we believe is the key to improving realism in animated faces. We report the results of our research regarding the analysis of the facial motion capture data. We use an optical tracking system that extracts the 3D positions of markers attached at specific feature point locations. We capture the movements of these face markers for a talking person. We then form a vector space representation by using the principal component analysis of this data. We call this space “expression and viseme space. ” As a result, we propose a new parameter space for sculpting facial expressions for synthetic faces. Such a representation not only offers insight into improving realism of animated faces, but also gives a new way of generating convincing speech animation and blending between several expressions. Ex-pressive facial animation finds a variety of applications ranging from virtual environments to entertainment and games. With the advances in Internet technology, the development of online sales assistants, Web navigation aides and Web-based interactive tutors is promising than ever before. We overview the recent advances in the field of facial animation on the Web, with a detailed look at the requirements for Web-based facial animation systems and various applications

Physical Connections and Cooperation in Swarm Robotics

We describe a new multi-robot system, named SWARM-BOTS, that exploits physical inter-connections to solve tasks that are impossible for a single robot