Using the PROMETHEE multi-criteria decision making method to define new exploration strategies for rescue robots

International audienceThe exploration of an unknown environment by a robot system (an individual robot or a team of robots) is a well-studied problem in robotics. This problem has many applications and, among them, the post-disaster search of victims in an urban space. Most of proposed exploration algorithms are based on the use of specific criteria to define the quality of the possible movements. In this paper, we propose an exploration approach based on the combination of several criteria thanks to the PROMETHEE II multi-criteria decision making method. The PROMETHEE II method allows one to establish a complete ranking between possible movements based on outranking relations. Experimental results show that this approach can be used to effectively combine different criteria and outperforms several classic exploration strategies

Using the DiaSpec design language and compiler to develop robotics systems

A Sense/Compute/Control (SCC) application is one that interacts with the physical environment. Such applications are pervasive in domains such as building automation, assisted living, and autonomic computing. Developing an SCC application is complex because: (1) the implementation must address both the interaction with the environment and the application logic; (2) any evolution in the environment must be reflected in the implementation of the application; (3) correctness is essential, as effects on the physical environment can have irreversible consequences. The SCC architectural pattern and the DiaSpec domain-specific design language propose a framework to guide the design of such applications. From a design description in DiaSpec, the DiaSpec compiler is capable of generating a programming framework that guides the developer in implementing the design and that provides runtime support. In this paper, we report on an experiment using DiaSpec (both the design language and compiler) to develop a standard robotics application. We discuss the benefits and problems of using DiaSpec in a robotics setting and present some changes that would make DiaSpec a better framework in this setting.Comment: DSLRob'11: Domain-Specific Languages and models for ROBotic systems (2011

A Top-Down Approach to Managing Variability in Robotics Algorithms

One of the defining features of the field of robotics is its breadth and heterogeneity. Unfortunately, despite the availability of several robotics middleware services, robotics software still fails to smoothly handle at least two kinds of variability: algorithmic variability and lower-level variability. The consequence is that implementations of algorithms are hard to understand and impacted by changes to lower-level details such as the choice or configuration of sensors or actuators. Moreover, when several algorithms or algorithmic variants are available it is difficult to compare and combine them. In order to alleviate these problems we propose a top-down approach to express and implement robotics algorithms and families of algorithms so that they are both less dependent on lower-level details and easier to understand and combine. This approach goes top-down from the algorithms and shields them from lower-level details by introducing very high level abstractions atop the intermediate abstractions of robotics middleware. This approach is illustrated on 7 variants of the Bug family that were implemented using both laser and infra-red sensors.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Presented at DSLRob 2013 (arXiv:cs/1312.5952

Introduction to Collaborative Technology for Coordinating Crisis Management (CT2CM) track

International audienceThis is the foreword introduction to the special Wetice Track about Coordination in Crisis Management and its support technology

The Use of Synthetic Data to Train AI Models: Opportunities and Risks for Sustainable Development

In the current data driven era, synthetic data, artificially generated data that resembles the characteristics of real world data without containing actual personal information, is gaining prominence. This is due to its potential to safeguard privacy, increase the availability of data for research, and reduce bias in machine learning models. This paper investigates the policies governing the creation, utilization, and dissemination of synthetic data. Synthetic data can be a powerful instrument for protecting the privacy of individuals, but it also presents challenges, such as ensuring its quality and authenticity. A well crafted synthetic data policy must strike a balance between privacy concerns and the utility of data, ensuring that it can be utilized effectively without compromising ethical or legal standards. Organizations and institutions must develop standardized guidelines and best practices in order to capitalize on the benefits of synthetic data while addressing its inherent challenges

Control Architecture Concepts and Properties of an Ontology Devoted to Exchanges in Mobile Robotics

National audienceA specific ontology is proposed in the scope of the development of a platform devoted to exchanges between academics and industrials of the robotic domain. This paper presents the tools used for knowledge elicitation, the concepts and properties linked with control architecture, the use of the resulting ontology for description of some scenarios and the tracks for the development of a domain specific language grounded on the ontology. Knowledge elicitation is performed in web ontology language thanks to Protégé ontology editor. The ontology is structured as a set of modules organized around a kernel. Modules addressing systems, information, robot and mission include concepts and properties for control architecture description. The expressivity of the ontology is demonstrated describing architectures for a set of scenarios; urban robotic scenario, air-ground scenario, landmark search scenario and military unmanned aerial vehicles scenario. Finally some tracks for the use of the ontology for developing a domain specific language are given

Kendrick Poster

Kendrick is a platform for epidemiological modeling and analysis. <br

Bridging the gap between morphic visual programming and smalltalk code

Abstract. In this paper, we claim that both prototype-based visual programming and traditional Smalltalk class-based programming are required for developing applications with a GUI. We introduce Easy Morphic GUI (EMG), a framework that connects Morphic and EToys visual manipulation and scripting facilities with the usual Smalltalk development environment tools. The Squeak platform is used here as a playfield for our experiments. A step-by-step tutorial is used to illustrate the main aspects of the EMG framework. We also introduce two reuse operators: embed and clone in order to build new GUIs out of existing ones. embed inserts a GUI into another one, while clone makes the destination look the same as the original. Static and dynamic version of these operators are also investigated