Fuzzy-DL perception for multi-robot systems

For future planetary robot missions, multi-robot-systems can be considered as a suitable platform to perform space mission faster and more reliable. In heterogeneous robot teams, each robot can have different abilities and sensor equipment. In this paper we describe a lunar demonstration scenario where a team of mobile robots explores an unknown area and identifies a set of objects belonging to a lunar infrastructure. Our robot team consists of two exploring scout robots and a mobile manipulator. The mission goal is to locate the objects within a certain area, to identify the objects, and to transport the objects to a base station. The robots have a different sensor setup and different capabilities. In order to classify parts of the lunar infrastructure, the robots have to share the knowledge about the objects. Based on the different sensing capabilities, several information modalities have to be shared and combined by the robots. In this work we propose an approach using spatial features and a fuzzy logic based reasoning for distributed object classification

Fusing DL Reasoning with HTN Planning as a Deliberative Layer in Mobile Robotics

Action planning has been used in the field of robotics for solving long-running tasks. In the robot architectures field, it is also known as the deliberative layer. However, there is still a gap between the symbolic representation on the one hand and the low-level control and sensor representation on the other. In addition, the definition of a planning problem for a complex, real-world robot is not trivial. The planning process could become intractable as its search spaces become large

Feature Extraction from MEMS Accelerometer and Motion Tracking Measurements in Comparison with Smart Bands during Running

Athlete monitoring is a major field of interest for professional and recreational runners as well as for coaches to improve performance and reduce injury risk. The development of inertial sensors in recent years offers the opportunity to improve the number of monitored training sessions significantly. This research used a self-developed inertial sensor in conjunction with a motion tracking system and four smart bands to record the runner’s movement and extract parameters such as step numbers and frequencies. The data recorded were calibrated before it was high-pass filtered to remove gravity components from the signal. A peak detection algorithm was developed to find the number of steps, which have been further used to compare the different systems (IMU, motion capture, smart bands) and find their agreement. The results showed a very strong correlation between the IMU and the motion tracking system of r2 = 0.998, and an r2 = 0.996 between the IMU and one smart band

Reliable, cloud-based communication for multi-robot systems

In contrast to single robotic agent, multi-robot systems are highly dependent on reliable communication. Robots have to synchronize tasks or to share poses and sensor readings with other agents, especially for co-operative mapping task where local sensor readings are incorporated into a global map. The drawback of existing communication frameworks is that most are based on a central component which has to be constantly within reach. Additionally, they do not prevent data loss between robots if a failure occurs in the communication link. During a distributed mapping task, loss of data is critical because it will corrupt the global map. In this work, we propose a cloud-based publish/subscribe mechanism which enables reliable communication between agents during a cooperative mission using the Data Distribution Service (DDS) as a transport layer. The usability of our approach is verified by several experiments taking into account complete temporary communication loss

Offering Existing AI Planners as Web Services

Abstract. Robots or other agents with some need for action planning functionality may not insist on running their planners on-board. Web services technology offers a very flexible way of connecting planning clients to planning servers, disregarding the language in which the concrete planning system is implemented and its operating system requirements. A planning web service can then be used locally within an intranet or globally over the Internet. The paper describes our implementation.

Design and Implementation of a Bluetooth Low Energy-Based Local Area Network for Fall Detection

Falls are harmful to the elderly; therefore, fall detection technologies have been developed by many researchers to help detecting these incidents. The research presented here investigates a Bluetooth Low Energy-based local area network for fall detection. One of the major concerns is not only the detection of a fall incident but also the location where this incident occurred. This research utilizes a fall detection network with three different types of network nodes: alarm node, relay node, and center node. Alarm nodes are worn by the elderly for fall detection; relay nodes are fixed in the target area for receiving the signal from alarm nodes; and the center node is the hub of the detection network. When a fall incident occurs, the alarm node will send out alarm signals which will be passed towards the center node by the relay nodes. The center node forwards the alarm to any iMessage capable device

Target-Oriented Mobile Robot Behaviors for Office Navigation Tasks

In the future, autonomous mobile robots will provide services in human's daily life. In the long run, these robots should be acting in the normal private or working environments of humans. Autonomy is one important aspect in the design of such robots because the robots should be able to act reasonably in changing environments. Robot control architectures based on local reactive behaviors have been established for supporting autonomy of mobile robots and have been successfully applied in laboratory and edutainment environments. When being used in human's private or working environments, safety (e.g. strict collision avoidance) and target-orientation are further major requirements on a mobile robot. Target-orientation means that the robot should, besides reacting on its immediate local environment, also be able to pursue long term targets such as reaching a certain destination. The work reported in this paper investigates the use of a behavior-based architecture on a mobile robot for making the robot applicable in a normal office environment. Complex behaviors for acting in this environment are being developed and are combined in a target-oriented way, thus overcoming the limitations of pure local reactivity. Experiments show the feasibility of the approach. 1