266 research outputs found
Understanding of Object Manipulation Actions Using Human Multi-Modal Sensory Data
Object manipulation actions represent an important share of the Activities of
Daily Living (ADLs). In this work, we study how to enable service robots to use
human multi-modal data to understand object manipulation actions, and how they
can recognize such actions when humans perform them during human-robot
collaboration tasks. The multi-modal data in this study consists of videos,
hand motion data, applied forces as represented by the pressure patterns on the
hand, and measurements of the bending of the fingers, collected as human
subjects performed manipulation actions. We investigate two different
approaches. In the first one, we show that multi-modal signal (motion, finger
bending and hand pressure) generated by the action can be decomposed into a set
of primitives that can be seen as its building blocks. These primitives are
used to define 24 multi-modal primitive features. The primitive features can in
turn be used as an abstract representation of the multi-modal signal and
employed for action recognition. In the latter approach, the visual features
are extracted from the data using a pre-trained image classification deep
convolutional neural network. The visual features are subsequently used to
train the classifier. We also investigate whether adding data from other
modalities produces a statistically significant improvement in the classifier
performance. We show that both approaches produce a comparable performance.
This implies that image-based methods can successfully recognize human actions
during human-robot collaboration. On the other hand, in order to provide
training data for the robot so it can learn how to perform object manipulation
actions, multi-modal data provides a better alternative
Recognizing Intent in Collaborative Manipulation
Collaborative manipulation is inherently multimodal, with haptic
communication playing a central role. When performed by humans, it involves
back-and-forth force exchanges between the participants through which they
resolve possible conflicts and determine their roles. Much of the existing work
on collaborative human-robot manipulation assumes that the robot follows the
human. But for a robot to match the performance of a human partner it needs to
be able to take initiative and lead when appropriate. To achieve such
human-like performance, the robot needs to have the ability to (1) determine
the intent of the human, (2) clearly express its own intent, and (3) choose its
actions so that the dyad reaches consensus. This work proposes a framework for
recognizing human intent in collaborative manipulation tasks using force
exchanges. Grounded in a dataset collected during a human study, we introduce a
set of features that can be computed from the measured signals and report the
results of a classifier trained on our collected human-human interaction data.
Two metrics are used to evaluate the intent recognizer: overall accuracy and
the ability to correctly identify transitions. The proposed recognizer shows
robustness against the variations in the partner's actions and the confounding
effects due to the variability in grasp forces and dynamic effects of walking.
The results demonstrate that the proposed recognizer is well-suited for
implementation in a physical interaction control scheme
Motion Planning in Humans and Robots
We present a general framework for generating trajectories and actuator forces that will take a robot system from an initial configuration to a goal configuration in the presence of obstacles observed with noisy sensors. The central idea is to find the motion plan that optimizes a performance criterion dictated by specific task requirements. The approach is motivated by studies of human voluntary manipulation tasks that suggest that human motions can be described as solutions of certain optimization problems
A Geometric Approach to the Study of the Cartesian Stiffness Matrix
The stiffness of a rigid body subject to conservative forces and moments is described by a tensor, whose components are best described by a 6×6 Cartesian stiffness matrix. We derive an expression that is independent of the parameterization of the motion of the rigid body using methods of differential geometry. The components of the tensor with respect to a basis of twists are given by evaluating the tensor on a pair of basis twists. We show that this tensor depends on the choice of an affine connection on the Lie group, SE(3). In addition, we show that the definition of the Cartesian stiffness matrix used in the literature [2,6] implicitly assumes an asymmetric connection and this results in an asymmetric stiffness matrix in a general loaded configuration. We prove that by choosing a symmetric connection we always obtain a symmetric Cartesian stiffness matrix. Finally, we derive stiffness matrices for different connections and illustrate the calculations using numerical examples
Robots Taking Initiative in Collaborative Object Manipulation: Lessons from Physical Human-Human Interaction
Physical Human-Human Interaction (pHHI) involves the use of multiple sensory
modalities. Studies of communication through spoken utterances and gestures are
well established. Nevertheless, communication through force signals is not well
understood. In this paper, we focus on investigating the mechanisms employed by
humans during the negotiation through force signals, which is an integral part
of successful collaboration. Our objective is to use the insights to inform the
design of controllers for robot assistants. Specifically, we want to enable
robots to take the lead in collaboration. To achieve this goal, we conducted a
study to observe how humans behave during collaborative manipulation tasks.
During our preliminary data analysis, we discovered several new features that
help us better understand how the interaction progresses. From these features,
we identified distinct patterns in the data that indicate when a participant is
expressing their intent. Our study provides valuable insight into how humans
collaborate physically, which can help us design robots that behave more like
humans in such scenarios
Equivalence of switching linear systems by bisimulation
A general notion of hybrid bisimulation is proposed for the class of switching linear systems. Connections between the notions of bisimulation-based equivalence, state-space equivalence, algebraic and input–output equivalence are investigated. An algebraic characterization of hybrid bisimulation and an algorithmic procedure converging in a finite number of steps to the maximal hybrid bisimulation are derived. Hybrid state space reduction is performed by hybrid bisimulation between the hybrid system and itself. By specializing the results obtained on bisimulation, also characterizations of simulation and abstraction are derived. Connections between observability, bisimulation-based reduction and simulation-based abstraction are studied.\ud
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Invariant higher-order variational problems II
Motivated by applications in computational anatomy, we consider a
second-order problem in the calculus of variations on object manifolds that are
acted upon by Lie groups of smooth invertible transformations. This problem
leads to solution curves known as Riemannian cubics on object manifolds that
are endowed with normal metrics. The prime examples of such object manifolds
are the symmetric spaces. We characterize the class of cubics on object
manifolds that can be lifted horizontally to cubics on the group of
transformations. Conversely, we show that certain types of non-horizontal
geodesics on the group of transformations project to cubics. Finally, we apply
second-order Lagrange--Poincar\'e reduction to the problem of Riemannian cubics
on the group of transformations. This leads to a reduced form of the equations
that reveals the obstruction for the projection of a cubic on a transformation
group to again be a cubic on its object manifold.Comment: 40 pages, 1 figure. First version -- comments welcome
Feedback stability for dissipative switched systems
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier in co-operation with IFAC. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence.
The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2017.08.843A method is proposed to infer Lyapunov and asymptotic stability properties for switching systems, under arbitrary continuous-state feedback. Continuous-time systems which are dissipative in the multiple-storage function sense are considered. A partition of the state space, induced by the cross-supply rates and the feedback function, is used to derive conditions for stability. It is argued that the conditions proposed here are more straightforward to check, when compared to those proposed by other approaches in the literature. Some numerical examples are offered to illustrate this point.Published versio
Inclusive and differential cross-section measurements of t\bartZ production in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector, including EFT and spin-correlation interpretations
Measurements of both the inclusive and differential production cross sections of a top-quark-top-antiquark pair in association with a Z boson (tt¯Z) are presented. Final states with two, three or four isolated leptons (electrons or muons) are targeted. The measurements use the data recorded by the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at s√=13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider during the years 2015-2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1. The inclusive cross section is measured to be σtt¯Z=0.86±0.04 (stat.)±0.04 (syst.) pb and found to be in agreement with the most advanced Standard Model predictions. The differential measurements are presented as a function of a number of observables that probe the kinematics of the tt¯Z system. Both the absolute and normalised differential cross-section measurements are performed at particle level and parton level for specific fiducial volumes, and are compared with NLO+NNLL theoretical predictions. The results are interpreted in the framework of Standard Model effective field theory and used to set limits on a large number of dimension-6 operators involving the top quark. The first measurement of spin correlations in tt¯Z events is presented: the results are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations, and the null hypothesis of no spin correlations is disfavoured with a significance of 1.8 standard deviations
Observation of quantum entanglement in top-quark pairs using the ATLAS detector
We report the highest-energy observation of entanglement, in top−antitop quark events produced at the Large Hadron Collider, using a proton−proton collision data set with a center-of-mass energy of s√=13 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1 recorded with the ATLAS experiment. Spin entanglement is detected from the measurement of a single observable D, inferred from the angle between the charged leptons in their parent top- and antitop-quark rest frames. The observable is measured in a narrow interval around the top−antitop quark production threshold, where the entanglement detection is expected to be significant. It is reported in a fiducial phase space defined with stable particles to minimize the uncertainties that stem from limitations of the Monte Carlo event generators and the parton shower model in modelling top-quark pair production. The entanglement marker is measured to be D=−0.547±0.002 (stat.)±0.021 (syst.) for 340<mtt¯<380 GeV. The observed result is more than five standard deviations from a scenario without entanglement and hence constitutes both the first observation of entanglement in a pair of quarks and the highest-energy observation of entanglement to date
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