45 research outputs found
TecnologÃa para la vigilancia de la biodiversidad
Los sistemas de seguimiento y de comunicación unidos a ciencias como la aeroespacial permiten hoy
dÃa llevar a cabo un estricto control de factores como la evolución de la vegetación, los desiertos o los
glaciares. Infrarrojos, cámaras térmicas o el mismo GPS son sólo una muestra de su potencial
Slide-Down Prevention for Wheeled Mobile Robots on Slopes
Wheeled mobile robots on inclined terrain can slide down due to loss of traction and gravity. This type of instability, which is different from tip-over, can provoke uncontrolled motion or get the vehicle stuck. This paper proposes slide-down prevention by real-time computation of a straightforward stability margin for a given ground-wheel friction coefficient. This margin is applied to the case study of Lazaro, a hybrid skid-steer mobile robot with caster-leg mechanism that allows tests with four or five wheel contact points. Experimental results for both ADAMS simulations and the actual vehicle demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucÃa Tech
Human and Object Recognition with a High-resolution tactile sensor
This paper 1 describes the use of two artificial intelligence methods for object
recognition via pressure images from a high-resolution tactile sensor. Both meth-
ods follow the same procedure of feature extraction and posterior classification
based on a supervised Supported Vector Machine (SVM). The two approaches
differ on how features are extracted: while the first one uses the Speeded-Up
Robust Features (SURF) descriptor, the other one employs a pre-trained Deep
Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN). Besides, this work shows its applica-
tion to object recognition for rescue robotics, by distinguishing between differ-
ent body parts and inert objects. The performance analysis of the proposed
methods is carried out with an experiment with 5-class non-human and 3-class
human classification, providing a comparison in terms of accuracy and compu-tational load. Finally, it is discussed how feature-extraction based on SURF can be obtained up to five times faster compared to DCNN. On the other hand, the
accuracy achieved using DCNN-based feature extraction can be 11.67% superior
to SURF.Proyecto DPI2015-65186-R
European Commission under grant agreement BES-2016-078237.
Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucÃa Tech
3D Segmentation Method for Natural Environments based on a Geometric-Featured Voxel Map
This work proposes a new segmentation algorithm for three-dimensional dense point clouds and has been
specially designed for natural environments where the ground is unstructured and may include big slopes, non-flat areas and
isolated areas. This technique is based on a Geometric-Featured Voxel map (GFV) where the scene is discretized in
constant size cubes or voxels which are classified in flat surface, linear or tubular structures and scattered or undefined
shapes, usually corresponding to vegetation. Since this is not a point-based technique the computational cost is significantly
reduced, hence it may be compatible with Real-Time applications. The ground is extracted in order to obtain more accurate
results in the posterior segmentation process. The scene is split into objects and a second segmentation in regions inside
each object is performed based on the voxel’s geometric class. The work here evaluates the proposed algorithm in various
versions and several voxel sizes and compares the results with other methods from the literature. For the segmentation
evaluation the algorithms are tested on several differently challenging hand-labeled data sets using two metrics, one of which
is novel.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucÃa Tech
Optimizing Scan Homogeneity for Building Full-3D Lidars based on Rotating a Multi-Beam Velodyne Rangefinder
Multi-beam lidar (MBL) scanners are compact, light, and accessible 3D sensors with high data rates, but they offer limited vertical resolution and field of view (FOV).
Some recent robotics research has profited from the addition of a degree-of-freedom (DOF) to an MBL to build rotating multi-beam lidars (RMBL) that can achieve high-resolution scans with full spherical FOV. In a previous work, we offered a methodology to analyze the complex 3D scan measurement distributions produced by RMBLs with a rolling DOF and no pitching. In this paper, we investigate the effect of introducing constant pitch angles in the construction of the RMBLs with the purpose of finding a kinematic configuration that optimizes scan homogeneity with a spherical FOV. To this end, we propose a scalar index of 3D sensor homogeneity that is based on the spherical formulation of Ripley's K function. The optimization is performed for the widely used Puck (VLP-16) and HDL-32 sensors by Velodyne.This work was partially funded by the Spanish project {DPI2015-65186-R}. The publication has received support from Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Excelencia AndalucÃa Tech
Sistemas de documentación y elaboración de textos cientÃficos: Una asignatura para aprender a publicar en ingenierÃa
Hoy en dÃa, la elaboración y presentación de informes de investigación resulta indispensable para muchos profesionales de la ingenierÃa. En este artÃculo se describe una asignatura de máster universitario cuyo principal objetivo es proporcionar los conocimientos necesarios para poder escribir y exponer resultados de investigación en ingenierÃa mecatrónica. De esta manera, se complementa la formación de los ingenieros para que puedan desenvolverse con éxito en el complejo mundo de la investigación.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucÃa Tech
Project-Based Learning of Scientific Writing and Communication Skills for Postgraduate Students
Mandow, A; MartÃnez, J. L.; GarcÃa-Cerezo, A.; , "Project-Based Learning of Scientific Writing and Communication Skills for Postgraduate Students," IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), pp.210-213, Oct. 2014
doi: 10.1109/FIE.2014.7044022This paper addresses education on scientific publication skills for post-graduate engineering students. In particular, a project-based learning strategy is proposed to lead students through the preparation a research paper. Expected learning outcomes are related to finding and evaluating the quality of references, editing and formatting text in \LaTeX, writing scientific papers with appropriate style and structure, peer reviewing, and making technical presentations. This approach has been developed to increase the internationalization and visibility of young researchers by improving the quality standards of their published works. The purpose of this innovative practice is that students confront the major challenges of the publication process in the classroom, which is in contrast with the traditional self-taught approach experienced by the authors and many senior researchers. The proposed strategy is being applied as a required course in the Master in Mechatronics Engineering of the University of Malaga. This paper offers preliminary results from this experience.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucÃa Tech. This work has been partially supported by projects DPI 2011-22443 (Spanish CICYT) and PIE 13-155 (Universidad de Málaga, proyecto de innovación educativa `Aprendizaje basado en proyectos para mejorar la excelencia de publicaciones cientÃficas y transferencia del conocimiento en ingenierÃa")
Mobile Robot Lab Project to Introduce Engineering Students to Fault Diagnosis in Mechatronic Systems
This document is a self-archiving copy of the accepted version of the paper.
Please find the final published version in IEEEXplore: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TE.2014.2358551This paper proposes lab work for learning fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) in mechatronic systems. These skills are important for engineering education because FDD is a key capability of competitive processes and products. The intended outcome of the lab work is that students become aware of the importance of faulty conditions and learn to design FDD strategies for a real system. To this end, the paper proposes a lab project where students are requested to develop a discrete event dynamic system (DEDS) diagnosis to cope with two faulty conditions in an autonomous mobile robot task. A sample solution is discussed for LEGO Mindstorms NXT robots with LabVIEW. This innovative practice is relevant to higher education engineering courses related to mechatronics, robotics, or DEDS. Results are also given of the application of this strategy as part of a postgraduate course on fault-tolerant mechatronic systems.This work was supported in part by the Spanish CICYT under Project DPI2011-22443
Construction and Calibration of a Low-Cost 3D Laser Scanner with 360â—¦ Field of View for Mobile Robots
Navigation of many mobile robots relies on environmental information obtained from three-dimensional (3D) laser scanners. This paper presents a new 360â—¦ field-of-view 3D laser scanner for mobile robots that avoids the high cost of commercial devices. The 3D scanner is based on spinning a Hokuyo UTM- 30LX-EX two-dimensional (2D) rangefinder around its optical center. The proposed design profits from lessons learned with the development of a previous 3D scanner with pitching motion. Intrinsic calibration of the new device has been performed to obtain both temporal and geometric parameters. The paper also shows the integration of the 3D device in the outdoor mobile robot Andabata.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucÃa Tec
Clasificación de información táctil para la detección de personas
Este artÃculo presenta el diseño de un efector final táctil y la aplicación de técnicas de inteligencia artificial para la detección de personas mediante un brazo manipulador ligero de 6 grados de libertad. Este efector está compuesto por un sensor táctil de alta resolución que permite obtener imágenes de presión. El sistema extrae información háptica en situaciones de catástrofe en las que, generalmente, existe baja visibilidad, con el propósito de evaluar el estado de las vÃctimas en función de la urgencia de atención (triaje). Se han implementado dos métodos de inteligencia artificial para clasificar imágenes obtenidas por el sensor táctil, distinguiendo los contactos con personas de objetos inertes en escenarios de desastre. Cada método dispone de un extractor de caracterÃsticas de imágenes de presión y un clasificador, obtenido por aprendizaje supervisado. Para validar los métodos se han realizado experimentos de clasificación en clases Humano y No humano. Finalmente, se ha realizado una comparación de ambos métodos en términos de porcentaje de acierto y tiempo empleado para la clasificación, en base a los resultados de los experimentos.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucÃa Tech