A Human–Robot Interaction Perspective on Assistive and Rehabilitation Robotics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philipp Beckerle

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Assistive and rehabilitation devices are a promising and challenging field of recent robotics research. Motivated by societal needs such as aging populations, such devices can support motor functionality and subject training. The design, control, sensing, and assessment of the devices become more sophisticated due to a human in the loop. This paper gives a human–robot interaction perspective on current issues and opportunities in the field. On the topic of control and machine learning, approaches that support but do not distract subjects are reviewed. Options to provide sensory user feedback that are currently missing from robotic devices are outlined. Parallels between device acceptance and affective computing are made. Furthermore, requirements for functional assessment protocols that relate to real-world tasks are discussed. In all topic areas, the design of human-oriented frameworks and methods is dominated by challenges related to the close interaction between the human and robotic device. This paper discusses the aforementioned aspects in order to open up new perspectives for future robotic solutions.

A Human–Robot Interaction Perspective on Assistive and Rehabilitation Robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Beckerle, Philipp; Salvietti, Gionata; Unal, Ramazan; Prattichizzo, Domenico; Rossi, Simone; Castellini, Claudio; Hirche, Sandra; Endo, Satoshi; Amor, Heni Ben; Ciocarlie, Matei; Mastrogiovanni, Fulvio; Argall, Brenna D.; Bianchi, Matteo

2017-01-01

Assistive and rehabilitation devices are a promising and challenging field of recent robotics research. Motivated by societal needs such as aging populations, such devices can support motor functionality and subject training. The design, control, sensing, and assessment of the devices become more sophisticated due to a human in the loop. This paper gives a human–robot interaction perspective on current issues and opportunities in the field. On the topic of control and machine learning, approaches that support but do not distract subjects are reviewed. Options to provide sensory user feedback that are currently missing from robotic devices are outlined. Parallels between device acceptance and affective computing are made. Furthermore, requirements for functional assessment protocols that relate to real-world tasks are discussed. In all topic areas, the design of human-oriented frameworks and methods is dominated by challenges related to the close interaction between the human and robotic device. This paper discusses the aforementioned aspects in order to open up new perspectives for future robotic solutions. PMID:28588473

Screw Theory Based Singularity Analysis of Lower-Mobility Parallel Robots considering the Motion/Force Transmissibility and Constrainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiang Chen

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Singularity is an inherent characteristic of parallel robots and is also a typical mathematical problem in engineering application. In general, to identify singularity configuration, the singular solution in mathematics should be derived. This work introduces an alternative approach to the singularity identification of lower-mobility parallel robots considering the motion/force transmissibility and constrainability. The theory of screws is used as the mathematic tool to define the transmission and constraint indices of parallel robots. The singularity is hereby classified into four types concerning both input and output members of a parallel robot, that is, input transmission singularity, output transmission singularity, input constraint singularity, and output constraint singularity. Furthermore, we take several typical parallel robots as examples to illustrate the process of singularity analysis. Particularly, the input and output constraint singularities which are firstly proposed in this work are depicted in detail. The results demonstrate that the method can not only identify all possible singular configurations, but also explain their physical meanings. Therefore, the proposed approach is proved to be comprehensible and effective in solving singularity problems in parallel mechanisms.

Robot Actors, Robot Dramaturgies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jochum, Elizabeth

This paper considers the use of tele-operated robots in live performance. Robots and performance have long been linked, from the working androids and automata staged in popular exhibitions during the nineteenth century and the robots featured at Cybernetic Serendipity (1968) and the World Expo...

Snake Robots Modelling, Mechatronics, and Control

CERN Document Server

Liljebäck, Pål; Stavdahl, Øyvind; Gravdahl, Jan Tommy

2013-01-01

Snake Robots is a novel treatment of theoretical and practical topics related to snake robots: robotic mechanisms designed to move like biological snakes and able to operate in challenging environments in which human presence is either undesirable or impossible. Future applications of such robots include search and rescue, inspection and maintenance, and subsea operations. Locomotion in unstructured environments is a focus for this book. The text targets the disparate muddle of approaches to modelling, development and control of snake robots in current literature, giving a unified presentation of recent research results on snake robot locomotion to increase the reader’s basic understanding of these mechanisms and their motion dynamics and clarify the state of the art in the field. The book is a complete treatment of snake robotics, with topics ranging from mathematical modelling techniques, through mechatronic design and implementation, to control design strategies. The development of two snake robots is de...

Robots and plant safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christensen, P.

1996-02-01

The application of robots in the harsh environments in which TELEMAN equipment will have to operate has large benefits, but also some drawbacks. The main benefit is the ability gained to perform tasks where people cannot go, while there is a possibility of inflicting damage to the equipment handled by the robot, and the plant when mobile robots are involved. The paper describes the types of possible damage and the precautions to be taken in order to reduce the frequency of the damaging events. A literature study for the topic only gave some insight into examples, but no means for a systematic treatment of the topic. (au) 16 refs

A descriptive statistical analysis of volume, visibility and attitudes regarding nursing and care robots in social media.

Science.gov (United States)

Salzmann-Erikson, Martin; Eriksson, Henrik

2018-02-01

Technology in the healthcare sector is undergoing rapid development. One of the most prominent areas of healthcare in which robots are implemented is nursing homes. However, nursing and technology are often considered as being contradictory, an attitude originating in the view of "the natural" versus "the artificial". Social media mirror this view, including in attitudes and societal debates regarding nursing and care robots. However, little is known about this topic in previous research. To examine user behaviour in social media platforms on the topic of nursing and care robots. A retrospective and cross-sectional observation study design was applied. Data were collected via the Alchemy streaming application programming interface. Data from social media were collected from 1 January 2014 to 5 January 2016. The data set consisted of 12,311 mentions in total. Nursing and care robots are a small-scale topic of discussion in social media. Twitter was found to be the largest channel in terms of volume, followed by Tumblr. News channels had the highest percentage of visibility, while forums and Tumblr had the least. It was found in the data that 67.9% of the mentions were positive, 24.4% were negative and 7.8% were neutral. The volume and visibility of the data on nursing robots found in social media, as well as the attitudes to nursing robots found there, indicate that nursing care robots, which are seen as representing a next step in technological development in healthcare, are a topic on the rise in social media. These findings are likely to be related to the idea that nursing care robots are on the breakthrough of replacing human labour in healthcare worldwide.

Industrial Robots on the Line.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayres, Robert; Miller, Steve

1982-01-01

Explores the history of robotics and its effects upon the manufacturing industry. Topics include robots' capabilities and limitations, the factory of the future, displacement of the workforce, and implications for management and labor. (SK)

Robotics and remote handling in the nuclear industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1984-01-01

This book presents the papers given at a conference on the use of remote handling equipment in nuclear facilities. Topics considered at the conference included dose reduction, artificial intelligence in nuclear plant maintenance, robotic welding, uncertainty covariances, reactor operation and inspection, reactor maintenance and repair, uranium mining, fuel fabrication, reactor component manufacture, irradiated fuel and radioactive waste management, and radioisotope handling.

Marine Robot Autonomy

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

Autonomy for Marine Robots provides a timely and insightful overview of intelligent autonomy in marine robots. A brief history of this emerging field is provided, along with a discussion of the challenges unique to the underwater environment and their impact on the level of intelligent autonomy required.  Topics covered at length examine advanced frameworks, path-planning, fault tolerance, machine learning, and cooperation as relevant to marine robots that need intelligent autonomy.  This book also: Discusses and offers solutions for the unique challenges presented by more complex missions and the dynamic underwater environment when operating autonomous marine robots Includes case studies that demonstrate intelligent autonomy in marine robots to perform underwater simultaneous localization and mapping  Autonomy for Marine Robots is an ideal book for researchers and engineers interested in the field of marine robots.      

Afterword: Robot Conceptualizations Between Continuity and Innovation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leopoldina Fortunati

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this afterword is to discuss a topic that links all the papers presented in this special issue. This transversal topic is the forms of social robots. Firstly, social robots form is discussed in light of the forms of robotics we have inherited from the past. This includes the models of society that each of them embodied, as well as the social logic of the emotions connected to them. Secondly, social robots form is analyzed in light of the arrival in a new area for robotics, that of robots in the domestic sphere. Here, the system of filters created by the mass appropriation of information and communication technologies in the last two decades, has set the premise for a change of the social contract that has made social robot penetration possible. Whilst exploring the models and the meanings of social robots in the domestic sphere it emerges that robotics is following two different paths: one addressing the material part of housework (more traditional robotics and the other addressing the immaterial part of reproduction work (more innovative robotics. Finally, the paper analyzes the dematerialization process of social robotics that is still taking place, a practice that is defined herein as “ubiquitous social roboting.”

Hybrid robotic systems for upper limb rehabilitation after stroke: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Resquín, Francisco; Cuesta Gómez, Alicia; Gonzalez-Vargas, Jose; Brunetti, Fernando; Torricelli, Diego; Molina Rueda, Francisco; Cano de la Cuerda, Roberto; Miangolarra, Juan Carlos; Pons, José Luis

2016-11-01

In recent years the combined use of functional electrical stimulation (FES) and robotic devices, called hybrid robotic rehabilitation systems, has emerged as a promising approach for rehabilitation of lower and upper limb motor functions. This paper presents a review of the state of the art of current hybrid robotic solutions for upper limb rehabilitation after stroke. For this aim, studies have been selected through a search using web databases: IEEE-Xplore, Scopus and PubMed. A total of 10 different hybrid robotic systems were identified, and they are presented in this paper. Selected systems are critically compared considering their technological components and aspects that form part of the hybrid robotic solution, the proposed control strategies that have been implemented, as well as the current technological challenges in this topic. Additionally, we will present and discuss the corresponding evidences on the effectiveness of these hybrid robotic therapies. The review also discusses the future trends in this field. Copyright © 2016 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Colias: An Autonomous Micro Robot for Swarm Robotic Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farshad Arvin

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Robotic swarms that take inspiration from nature are becoming a fascinating topic for multi-robot researchers. The aim is to control a large number of simple robots in order to solve common complex tasks. Due to the hardware complexities and cost of robot platforms, current research in swarm robotics is mostly performed by simulation software. The simulation of large numbers of these robots in robotic swarm applications is extremely complex and often inaccurate due to the poor modelling of external conditions. In this paper, we present the design of a low-cost, open-platform, autonomous micro-robot (Colias for robotic swarm applications. Colias employs a circular platform with a diameter of 4 cm. It has a maximum speed of 35 cm/s which enables it to be used in swarm scenarios very quickly over large arenas. Long-range infrared modules with an adjustable output power allow the robot to communicate with its direct neighbours at a range of 0.5 cm to 2 m. Colias has been designed as a complete platform with supporting software development tools for robotics education and research. It has been tested in both individual and swarm scenarios, and the observed results demonstrate its feasibility for use as a micro-sized mobile robot and as a low-cost platform for robot swarm applications.

Motion and operation planning of robotic systems background and practical approaches

CERN Document Server

Gomez-Barvo, Fernando

2015-01-01

This book addresses the broad multi-disciplinary topic of robotics, and presents the basic techniques for motion and operation planning in robotics systems. Gathering contributions from experts in diverse and wide ranging fields, it offers an overview of the most recent and cutting-edge practical applications of these methodologies. It covers both theoretical and practical approaches, and elucidates the transition from theory to implementation. An extensive analysis is provided, including humanoids, manipulators, aerial robots and ground mobile robots. ‘Motion and Operation Planning of Robotic Systems’ addresses the following topics: *The theoretical background of robotics. *Application of motion planning techniques to manipulators, such as serial and parallel manipulators. *Mobile robots planning, including robotic applications related to aerial robots, large scale robots and traditional wheeled robots. *Motion planning for humanoid robots. An invaluable reference text for graduate students and researche...

Aperiodic linear networked control considering variable channel delays: application to robots coordination.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Carlos; Espinosa, Felipe; Santiso, Enrique; Mazo, Manuel

2015-05-27

One of the main challenges in wireless cyber-physical systems is to reduce the load of the communication channel while preserving the control performance. In this way, communication resources are liberated for other applications sharing the channel bandwidth. The main contribution of this work is the design of a remote control solution based on an aperiodic and adaptive triggering mechanism considering the current network delay of multiple robotics units. Working with the actual network delay instead of the maximum one leads to abandoning this conservative assumption, since the triggering condition is fixed depending on the current state of the network. This way, the controller manages the usage of the wireless channel in order to reduce the channel delay and to improve the availability of the communication resources. The communication standard under study is the widespread IEEE 802.11g, whose channel delay is clearly uncertain. First, the adaptive self-triggered control is validated through the TrueTime simulation tool configured for the mentioned WiFi standard. Implementation results applying the aperiodic linear control laws on four P3-DX robots are also included. Both of them demonstrate the advantage of this solution in terms of network accessing and control performance with respect to periodic and non-adaptive self-triggered alternatives.

Aperiodic Linear Networked Control Considering Variable Channel Delays: Application to Robots Coordination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Santos

2015-05-01

Full Text Available One of the main challenges in wireless cyber-physical systems is to reduce the load of the communication channel while preserving the control performance. In this way, communication resources are liberated for other applications sharing the channel bandwidth. The main contribution of this work is the design of a remote control solution based on an aperiodic and adaptive triggering mechanism considering the current network delay of multiple robotics units. Working with the actual network delay instead of the maximum one leads to abandoning this conservative assumption, since the triggering condition is fixed depending on the current state of the network. This way, the controller manages the usage of the wireless channel in order to reduce the channel delay and to improve the availability of the communication resources. The communication standard under study is the widespread IEEE 802.11g, whose channel delay is clearly uncertain. First, the adaptive self-triggered control is validated through the TrueTime simulation tool configured for the mentioned WiFi standard. Implementation results applying the aperiodic linear control laws on four P3-DX robots are also included. Both of them demonstrate the advantage of this solution in terms of network accessing and control performance with respect to periodic and non-adaptive self-triggered alternatives.

International Workshop and Summer School on Medical and Service Robotics

CERN Document Server

Bouri, Mohamed; Mondada, Francesco; Pisla, Doina; Rodic, Aleksandar; Helmer, Patrick

2016-01-01

Medical and Service Robotics integrate the most recent achievements in mechanics, mechatronics, computer science, haptic and teleoperation devices together with adaptive control algorithms. The book  includes topics such as surgery robotics, assist devices, rehabilitation technology, surgical instrumentation and Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) as examples for medical robotics. Autonomous cleaning, tending, logistics, surveying and rescue robots, and elderly and healthcare robots are typical examples of topics from service robotics. This is the Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Medical and Service Robots, held in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2014. It presents an overview of current research directions and fields of interest. It is divided into three sections, namely 1) assistive and rehabilitation devices; 2) surgical robotics; and 3) educational and service robotics. Most contributions are strongly anchored on collaborations between technical and medical actors, engineers, surgeons and clinicians....

Dialogues with social robots enablements, analyses, and evaluation

CERN Document Server

Wilcock, Graham

2017-01-01

This book explores novel aspects of social robotics, spoken dialogue systems, human-robot interaction, spoken language understanding, multimodal communication, and system evaluation. It offers a variety of perspectives on and solutions to the most important questions about advanced techniques for social robots and chat systems. Chapters by leading researchers address key research and development topics in the field of spoken dialogue systems, focusing in particular on three special themes: dialogue state tracking, evaluation of human-robot dialogue in social robotics, and socio-cognitive language processing. The book offers a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners in both academia and industry whose work involves advanced interaction technology and who are seeking an up-to-date overview of the key topics. It also provides supplementary educational material for courses on state-of-the-art dialogue system technologies, social robotics, and related research fields.

ROBOT LITERACY AN APPROACH FOR SHARING SOCIETY WITH INTELLIGENT ROBOTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hidetsugu Suto

2013-12-01

Full Text Available A novel concept of media education called “robot literacy” is proposed. Here, robot literacy refers to the means of forming an appropriate relationship with intelligent robots. It can be considered a kind of media literacy. People who were born after the Internet age can be considered “digital natives” who have new morals and values and behave differently than previous generations in Internet societies. This can cause various problems among different generations. Thus, the necessity of media literacy education is increasing. Internet technologies, as well as robotics technologies are growing rapidly, and people who are born after the “home robot age,” whom the author calls “robot natives,” will be expected to have a certain degree of “robot literacy.” In this paper, the concept of robot literacy is defined and an approach to robot literacy education is discussed.

Mobile Robot Navigation and Obstacle Avoidance in Unstructured Outdoor Environments

Science.gov (United States)

2017-12-01

to pull information from the network, it subscribes to a specific topic and is able to receive the messages that are published to that topic. In order...total artificial potential field is characterized “as the sum of an attractive potential pulling the robot toward the goal…and a repulsive potential...of robot laser_max = 20; % robot laser view horizon goaldist = 0.5; % distance metric for reaching goal goali = 1

Multibody system dynamics, robotics and control

CERN Document Server

Gerstmayr, Johannes

2013-01-01

The volume contains 19 contributions by international experts in the field of multibody system dynamics, robotics and control. The book aims to bridge the gap between the modeling of mechanical systems by means of multibody dynamics formulations and robotics. In the classical approach, a multibody dynamics model contains a very high level of detail, however, the application of such models to robotics or control is usually limited. The papers aim to connect the different scientific communities in multibody dynamics, robotics and control. Main topics are flexible multibody systems, humanoid robots, elastic robots, nonlinear control, optimal path planning, and identification.

Experimental Validation of a Dynamic Model for Lightweight Robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandro Gasparetto

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, one of the main topics in robotics research is dynamic performance improvement by means of a lightening of the overall system structure. The effective motion and control of these lightweight robotic systems occurs with the use of suitable motion planning and control process. In order to do so, model-based approaches can be adopted by exploiting accurate dynamic models that take into account the inertial and elastic terms that are usually neglected in a heavy rigid link configuration. In this paper, an effective method for modelling spatial lightweight industrial robots based on an Equivalent Rigid Link System approach is considered from an experimental validation perspective. A dynamic simulator implementing the formulation is used and an experimental test-bench is set-up. Experimental tests are carried out with a benchmark L-shape mechanism.

Social Robots as Persuasive Agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vlachos, Evgenios; Schärfe, Henrik

2014-01-01

Robots are more and more used in a social context, and in this paper we try to formulate a research agenda concerning ethical issues around social HRI in order to be prepared for future scenarios where robots may be a naturally integrated part of human society. We outline different paradigms to d...... to describe the role of social robots in communication processes with humans, and connect HRI with the topic of persuasive technology in health care, to critically reflect the potential benefits of using social robots as persuasive agents....

1st Iberian Robotics Conference

CERN Document Server

Sanfeliu, Alberto; Ferre, Manuel; ROBOT2013; Advances in robotics

2014-01-01

This book contains the proceedings of the ROBOT 2013: FIRST IBERIAN ROBOTICS CONFERENCE and it can be said that included both state of the art and more practical presentations dealing with implementation problems, support technologies and future applications. A growing interest in Assistive Robotics, Agricultural Robotics, Field Robotics, Grasping and Dexterous Manipulation, Humanoid Robots, Intelligent Systems and Robotics, Marine Robotics, has been demonstrated by the very relevant number of contributions. Moreover, ROBOT2013 incorporates a special session on Legal and Ethical Aspects in Robotics that is becoming a topic of key relevance. This Conference was held in Madrid (28-29 November 2013), organised by the Sociedad Española para la Investigación y Desarrollo en Robótica (SEIDROB) and by the Centre for Automation and Robotics - CAR (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)), along with the co-operation of Grupo Temático de Robótica CEA-GT...

Hydraulically actuated hexapod robots design, implementation and control

CERN Document Server

Nonami, Kenzo; Irawan, Addie; Daud, Mohd Razali

2014-01-01

Legged robots are a promising locomotion system, capable of performing tasks that conventional vehicles cannot. Even more exciting is the fact that this is a rapidly developing field of study for researchers from a variety of disciplines. However, only a few books have been published on the subject of multi-legged robots. The main objective of this book is to describe some of the major control issues concerning walking robots that the authors have faced over the past 10 years. A second objective is to focus especially on very large hydraulically driven hexapod robot locomotion weighing more than 2,000 kg, making this the first specialized book on this topic. The 10 chapters of the book touch on diverse relevant topics such as design aspects, implementation issues, modeling for control, navigation and control, force and impedance control-based walking, fully autonomous walking, walking and working tasks of hexapod robots, and the future of walking robots. The construction machines of the future will very likel...

A Behavior-Based Approach for Educational Robotics Activities

Science.gov (United States)

De Cristoforis, P.; Pedre, S.; Nitsche, M.; Fischer, T.; Pessacg, F.; Di Pietro, C.

2013-01-01

Educational robotics proposes the use of robots as a teaching resource that enables inexperienced students to approach topics in fields unrelated to robotics. In recent years, these activities have grown substantially in elementary and secondary school classrooms and also in outreach experiences to interest students in science, technology,…

Modeling humanoid swarm robots with petri nets

OpenAIRE

Maharjan, Bikee

2015-01-01

Master's thesis in Computer science Robots have become a hot topic in today‟s electronic world. There are many definitions for it. One of the definition in Oxford dictionary states “a robot is a machine capable for carrying out a complex series of action automatically especially one programmable by a computer”. This paper deals with a special kind of robot, which is also known as humanoid robot. These robots are replication of human beings with head, torso, arms and legs. A model of hum...

Robot Aesthetics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jochum, Elizabeth Ann; Putnam, Lance Jonathan

This paper considers art-based research practice in robotics through a discussion of our course and relevant research projects in autonomous art. The undergraduate course integrates basic concepts of computer science, robotic art, live performance and aesthetic theory. Through practice...... in robotics research (such as aesthetics, culture and perception), we believe robot aesthetics is an important area for research in contemporary aesthetics....

International Conference Educational Robotics 2016

CERN Document Server

Moro, Michele; Menegatti, Emanuele

2017-01-01

This book includes papers presented at the International Conference “Educational Robotics 2016 (EDUROBOTICS)”, Athens, November 25, 2016. The papers build on constructivist and constructionist pedagogy and cover a variety of topics, including teacher education, design of educational robotics activities, didactical models, assessment methods, theater robotics, programming & making electronics with Snap4Arduino, the Duckietown project, robotics driven by tangible programming, Lego Mindstorms combined with App Inventor, the Orbital Education Platform, Anthropomorphic Robots and Human Meaning Makers in Education, and more. It provides researchers interested in educational robotics with the latest advances in the field with a focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education. At the same time it offers teachers and educators from primary to secondary and tertiary education insights into how educational robotics can trigger the development of technological interest and 21st c...

Using a robotics competition to teach about and stimulate enthusiasm for Earth science and other STEM topics

Science.gov (United States)

Fike, Hildee; Barnhart, Paul; Brevik, Corinne E.; Brevik, Eric C.; Burgess, Cynthia; Chen, Jundong; Egli, Shawna; Harris, Billy; Johanson, Paul J.; Johnson, Naomi; Moe, Marie; Olsen, Reba

2016-04-01

environment is created during the competition, with team members who are not actively competing at any given moment enthusiastically supporting their team members who are competing. However, it also generates a sense of community among the competing teams, and it is common to see members from one team assisting another team that is having problems with their robot, even though the two teams are also in direct competition with one another. The end result is an overall experience that is great fun for the competing students, but one in which they also learn about a wide range of STEM fields. In 2015, that education included an important aspect of the Earth sciences. Using similar techniques for general teaching of some Earth science topics may have promise both in terms of student learning and student enthusiasm for the subject material.

A focused bibliography on robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Mergler, H. W.

1983-08-01

The present bibliography focuses on eight robotics-related topics believed by the author to be of special interest to researchers in the field of industrial electronics: robots, sensors, kinematics, dynamics, control systems, actuators, vision, economics, and robot applications. This literature search was conducted through the 1970-present COMPENDEX data base, which provides world-wide coverage of nearly 3500 journals, conference proceedings and reports, and the 1969-1981 INSPEC data base, which is the largest for the English language in the fields of physics, electrotechnology, computers, and control.

Introduction to humanoid robotics

CERN Document Server

Kajita, Shuuji; Harada, Kensuke; Yokoi, Kazuhito

2014-01-01

This book is for researchers, engineers, and students who are willing to understand how humanoid robots move and be controlled. The book starts with an overview of the humanoid robotics research history and state of the art. Then it explains the required mathematics and physics such as kinematics of multi-body system, Zero-Moment Point (ZMP) and its relationship with body motion. Biped walking control is discussed in depth, since it is one of the main interests of humanoid robotics. Various topics of the whole body motion generation are also discussed. Finally multi-body dynamics is presented to simulate the complete dynamic behavior of a humanoid robot. Throughout the book, Matlab codes are shown to test the algorithms and to help the reader´s understanding.

Robotics research at Electrotechnical Laboratory-R and D program for advanced robot technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wakamatsu, S; Akahori, H; Shirai, Y; Kakikura, M

1983-01-01

The purposes of this paper are both to introduce the outline of robotics researches at Electrotechnical Laboratory and to describe the relation between those researches and the national project so called robotics for critical work. The authors first describe the robotics researches and related topics historically which have been continued from the latter half of 1960s as a part of researches on artificial intelligence at Electrotechnical Laboratory. Secondly, they mention the present aspects of our researches, its relation with past results, and changes of basic concepts on robotics systems. Finally, as an extension of our researches, they propose some approaches to establish the following techniques which make very important roles for the success of the national project; (1) manipulation techniques, (2) sensor techniques, (3) autonomous robot control techniques, (4) advanced tele-operation techniques and, (5) system totalizing techniques. 15 references.

Robotics and Automation Education: Developing the Versatile, Practical Lab.

Science.gov (United States)

Stenerson, Jon

1986-01-01

Elements of the development of a robotics and automation laboratory are discussed. These include the benefits of upgrading current staff, ways to achieve this staff development, formation of a robotics factory automation committee, topics to be taught with a robot, elements of a laboratory, laboratory funding, and design safety. (CT)

Conference on Space and Military Applications of Automation and Robotics

Science.gov (United States)

1988-01-01

Topics addressed include: robotics; deployment strategies; artificial intelligence; expert systems; sensors and image processing; robotic systems; guidance, navigation, and control; aerospace and missile system manufacturing; and telerobotics.

Gearing up and accelerating cross-fertilization between academic and industrial robotics research in Europe technology transfer experiments from the ECHORD project

CERN Document Server

Veiga, Germano; Natale, Ciro

2014-01-01

This monograph by Florian Röhrbein, Germano Veiga and Ciro Natale is an edited collection of 15 authoritative contributions in the area of robot technology transfer between academia and industry. It comprises three parts on Future Industrial Robotics, Robotic Grasping as well as Human-Centered Robots. The book chapters cover almost all the topics nowadays considered ‘hot’ within the robotics community, from reliable object recognition to dexterous grasping, from speech recognition to intuitive robot programming, from mobile robot navigation to aerial robotics, from safe physical human-robot interaction to body extenders. All contributions stem from the results of ECHORD – the European Clearing House for Open Robotics Development, a large-scale integrating project funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme from 2009 to 2013. ECHORD’s two main pillars were the so-called experiments, 51 small-sized industry-driven research projects, and the structured dialog, a powerful interac...

Gearing up and accelerating cross-fertilization between academic and industrial robotics research in Europe technology transfer experiments from the ECHORD project

CERN Document Server

Veiga, Germano; Natale, Ciro

2014-01-01

This monograph by Florian Röhrbein, Germano Veiga and Ciro Natale is an edited collection of 15 authoritative contributions in the area of robot technology transfer between academia and industry. It comprises three parts on Future Industrial Robotics, Robotic Grasping as well as Human-Centered Robots. The book chapters cover almost all the topics nowadays considered ‘hot’ within the robotics community, from reliable object recognition to dexterous grasping, from speech recognition to intuitive robot programming, from mobile robot navigation to aerial robotics, from safe physical human-robot interaction to body extenders. All contributions stem from the results of ECHORD – the European Clearing House for Open Robotics Development, a large-scale integrating project funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme from 2009 to 2013. ECHORD’s two main pillars were the so-called experiments, 52 small-sized industry-driven research projects, and the structured dialog, a powerful interac...

International Conference on Robot Ethics

CERN Document Server

Sequeira, Joao; Tokhi, Mohammad; Kadar, Endre; Virk, Gurvinder

2017-01-01

This book contains the Proceedings of the International Conference on Robot Ethics, held in Lisbon on October 23 and 24, 2015. The conference provided a multidisciplinary forum for discussing central and evolving issues concerning safety and ethics that have arisen in various contexts where robotic technologies are being applied. The papers are intended to promote the formulation of more precise safety standards and ethical frameworks for the rapidly changing field of robotic applications. The conference was held at Pavilhão do Conhecimento/Ciência Viva in Lisbon and brought together leading researchers and industry representatives, promoting a dialogue that combines different perspectives and experiences to arrive at viable solutions for ethical problems in the context of robotics. The conference topics included but were not limited to emerging ethical, safety, legal and societal problems in the following domains: • Service/Social Robots: Robots performing tasks in human environments and involving close ...

Considering a new domain for antimicrobial stewardship: Topical antibiotics in the open surgical wound.

Science.gov (United States)

Edmiston, Charles E; Leaper, David; Spencer, Maureen; Truitt, Karen; Litz Fauerbach, Loretta; Graham, Denise; Johnson, Helen Boehm

2017-11-01

The global push to combat the problem of antimicrobial resistance has led to the development of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs), which were recently mandated by The Joint Commission and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. However, the use of topical antibiotics in the open surgical wound is often not monitored by these programs nor is it subject to any evidence-based standardization of care. Survey results indicate that the practice of using topical antibiotics intraoperatively, in both irrigation fluids and powders, is widespread. Given the risks inherent in their use and the lack of evidence supporting it, the practice should be monitored as a core part of ASPs, and alternative agents, such as antiseptics, should be considered. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Robotics: The next step?

Science.gov (United States)

Broeders, Ivo A M J

2014-02-01

Robotic systems were introduced 15 years ago to support complex endoscopic procedures. The technology is increasingly used in gastro-intestinal surgery. In this article, literature on experimental- and clinical research is reviewed and ergonomic issues are discussed. literature review was based on Medline search using a large variety of search terms, including e.g. robot(ic), randomized, rectal, oesophageal, ergonomics. Review articles on relevant topics are discussed with preference. There is abundant evidence of supremacy in performing complex endoscopic surgery tasks when using the robot in an experimental setting. There is little high-level evidence so far on translation of these merits to clinical practice. Robotic systems may appear helpful in complex gastro-intestinal surgery. Moreover, dedicated computer based technology integrated in telepresence systems opens the way to integration of planning, diagnostics and therapy. The first high tech add-ons such as near infrared technology are under clinical evaluation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robotic fabrication in architecture, art, and design

CERN Document Server

Braumann, Johannes

2013-01-01

Architects, artists, and designers have been fascinated by robots for many decades, from Villemard’s utopian vision of an architect building a house with robotic labor in 1910, to the design of buildings that are robots themselves, such as Archigram’s Walking City. Today, they are again approaching the topic of robotic fabrication but this time employing a different strategy: instead of utopian proposals like Archigram’s or the highly specialized robots that were used by Japan’s construction industry in the 1990s, the current focus of architectural robotics is on industrial robots. These robotic arms have six degrees of freedom and are widely used in industry, especially for automotive production lines. What makes robotic arms so interesting for the creative industry is their multi-functionality: instead of having to develop specialized machines, a multifunctional robot arm can be equipped with a wide range of end-effectors, similar to a human hand using various tools. Therefore, architectural researc...

Implementation and Reconfiguration of Robot Operating System on Human Follower Transporter Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Addythia Saphala

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Robotic Operation System (ROS is an im- portant platform to develop robot applications. One area of applications is for development of a Human Follower Transporter Robot (HFTR, which  can  be  considered  as a custom mobile robot utilizing differential driver steering method and equipped with Kinect sensor. This study discusses the development of the robot navigation system by implementing Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM.

Molecular Robots Obeying Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaminka, Gal A; Spokoini-Stern, Rachel; Amir, Yaniv; Agmon, Noa; Bachelet, Ido

2017-01-01

Asimov's three laws of robotics, which were shaped in the literary work of Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) and others, define a crucial code of behavior that fictional autonomous robots must obey as a condition for their integration into human society. While, general implementation of these laws in robots is widely considered impractical, limited-scope versions have been demonstrated and have proven useful in spurring scientific debate on aspects of safety and autonomy in robots and intelligent systems. In this work, we use Asimov's laws to examine these notions in molecular robots fabricated from DNA origami. We successfully programmed these robots to obey, by means of interactions between individual robots in a large population, an appropriately scoped variant of Asimov's laws, and even emulate the key scenario from Asimov's story "Runaround," in which a fictional robot gets into trouble despite adhering to the laws. Our findings show that abstract, complex notions can be encoded and implemented at the molecular scale, when we understand robots on this scale on the basis of their interactions.

The merits of a robot: a Dutch experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Mobach, Mark P

2006-01-01

To determine the merits of a robot at the community pharmacy in a quasi-experiment. The applied methods for data-collection were barcode-time measurements, direct observations, time-interval studies, and tally at a Dutch community pharmacy. The topics consisted of workload, waiting times, congestion, slack, general work, counter work, and work at the consultation room. The topics were studied in pre-test and post-test stages, each stage during six weeks. By using these topics and some additional data from the pharmacy, the economics of the robot were also assessed. The workload decreased with 15 prescriptions per person per day. The waiting times decreased with one minute and 18 seconds per dispensing process, reducing the wait until counter contact. The day congestion decreased with one hour 27 minutes and 36 seconds, and the day slack increased with 28 minutes. The analysis of the general work showed no appreciable difference in the bulk of the care-related activities and the other activities. However, some work was re-shuffled: 7% increase at counter work and 7% decrease at logistics. Moreover, statistically significant increases were observed at counter work (5%) and robot work (4%), and significant decreases at telephone (3%) and filling work in presence of the patient (4%). The counter tally study showed a rise in care-related activities with 8%. Moreover, it also illuminated a statistically significant decrease at no information (11%) and an increase at only social (2%). The consultation room was never used during the study. The pharmacy economics of the robot showed that the robot had high estimated costs for purchase, depreciation, and maintenance: EUR 187,024 in the first year. Moreover, the robot had positive impact on waiting times, congestion, staffing, logistics, and care-related work, which was estimated on EUR 91,198 in the first year. The estimated payback time of the robot was three years. An introduction of the robot may indeed have the often

Robotics and remote systems for hazardous environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamshidi, M.; Eicker, P.

1993-01-01

This is the first volume in a series of books to be published by Prentice Hall on Environmental and Intelligent Manufacturing Systems. The editors have assembled an interdisciplinary collection of authors from industry, government, and academia, that provide a broad range of expertise on robotics and remote systems. Readily accessible to practicing engineers, the book provides case studies and introduces new technology applicable to remote operations in unstructured and/or hazardous environments. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the US Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to apply robotic technology to assist in the operations at hazardous waste sites. The next chapter focuses on the theory and implementation of robust impedance control for robotic manipulators. Chapter 3 presents a discussion on the integration of failure tolerance into robotic systems. The next two chapters address the issue of sensory feedback and its indispensable role in remote and/or hazardous environments. Chapter 6 presents numerous examples of robots and telemanipulators that have been applied for various tasks at the DOE's Savannah River Site. The following chapter picks up on this theme and discusses the fundamental paradigm shifts that are required in artificial intelligence for robots to deal with hazardous, unstructured, and dynamic environments. Chapter 8 returns to the issue of impedance control first raised in Chapter 2. While the majority of the applications discussed in this book are related to the nuclear industry, chapter 9 considers applying telerobotics for the control of traditional heavy machinery that is widely used in forestry, mining, and construction. The final chapter of the book returns to the topic of artificial intelligence's role in producing increased autonomy for robotic systems and provides an interesting counterpoint to the philosophy of reactive control discussed earlier

Soft Robotics: Academic Insights and Perspectives Through Bibliometric Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Guanjun; Fang, Hui; Chen, Lingfeng; Wan, Yuehua; Xu, Fang; Yang, Qinghua; Zhang, Libin

2018-05-21

Soft robotics is of growing interest in the robot community as well as in public media, and there is an increase in the quality and quantity of publications related to this topic. To formally elaborate this growth, we have used a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the publications in the field from 1990 to 2017 based on the Science Citation Index Expanded database. We present a detailed overview and discussion based on keywords, citation, h-index, year, journal, institution, country, author, and review articles. The results show that the United States takes the leading position in this research field, followed by China and Italy. Harvard University has the most publications, high average number of citations per publication and the highest h-index. IEEE Transactions on Robotics ranks first among the top 20 academic journals publishing articles related to this field, whereas Soft Robotics holds the top position in journals categorized with "ROBOTICS." Actuator, fabrication, control, material, sensing, simulation, bionics, stiffness, modeling, power, motion, and application are the hot topics of soft robotics. Smart materials, bionics, morphological computation, and embodiment control are expected to contribute to this field in the future. Application and commercialization appear to be the initial driving force and final goal for soft robots.

Soft Robotics: Academic Insights and Perspectives Through Bibliometric Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Guanjun; Fang, Hui; Chen, Lingfeng; Xu, Fang; Yang, Qinghua; Zhang, Libin

2018-01-01

Abstract Soft robotics is of growing interest in the robot community as well as in public media, and there is an increase in the quality and quantity of publications related to this topic. To formally elaborate this growth, we have used a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the publications in the field from 1990 to 2017 based on the Science Citation Index Expanded database. We present a detailed overview and discussion based on keywords, citation, h-index, year, journal, institution, country, author, and review articles. The results show that the United States takes the leading position in this research field, followed by China and Italy. Harvard University has the most publications, high average number of citations per publication and the highest h-index. IEEE Transactions on Robotics ranks first among the top 20 academic journals publishing articles related to this field, whereas Soft Robotics holds the top position in journals categorized with “ROBOTICS.” Actuator, fabrication, control, material, sensing, simulation, bionics, stiffness, modeling, power, motion, and application are the hot topics of soft robotics. Smart materials, bionics, morphological computation, and embodiment control are expected to contribute to this field in the future. Application and commercialization appear to be the initial driving force and final goal for soft robots. PMID:29782219

3rd IFToMM Symposium on Mechanism Design for Robotics

CERN Document Server

Ceccarelli, Marco

2015-01-01

This volume contains the Proceedings of the 3rd IFToMM Symposium on Mechanism Design for Robotics, held in Aalborg, Denmark, 2-4 June, 2015. The book contains papers on recent advances in the design of mechanisms and their robotic applications. It treats the following topics: mechanism design, mechanics of robots, parallel manipulators, actuators and their control, linkage and industrial manipulators, innovative mechanisms/robots and their applications, among others. The book can be used by researchers and engineers in the relevant areas of mechanisms, machines and robotics.

Evolutionary Robotics: What, Why, and Where to

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephane eDoncieux

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Evolutionary robotics applies the selection, variation, and heredity principles of natural evolution to the design of robots with embodied intelligence. It can be considered as a subfield of robotics that aims to create more robust and adaptive robots. A pivotal feature of the evolutionary approach is that it considers the whole robot at once, and enables the exploitation of robot features in a holistic manner. Evolutionary robotics can also be seen as an innovative approach to the study of evolution based on a new kind of experimentalism. The use of robots as a substrate can help address questions that are difficult, if not impossible, to investigate through computer simulations or biological studies. In this paper we consider the main achievements of evolutionary robotics, focusing particularly on its contributions to both engineering and biology. We briefly elaborate on methodological issues, review some of the most interesting findings, and discuss important open issues and promising avenues for future work.

Multi-robots to micro-surgery: Selected robotic applications at Sandia National Laboratories

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bennett, P.C. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Intelligent Systems and Robotics Center

1996-11-01

The Intelligent Systems and Robotics Center (ISRC) at Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program organization, pursuing research, development and applications in a wide range of field. Activities range from large-scale applications such as nuclear facility dismantlement for the US Department of Energy (DOE), to aircraft inspection and refurbishment, to automated script and program generation for robotic manufacturing and assembly, to miniature robotic devices and sensors for remote sensing and micro-surgery. This paper describes six activities in the large and small scale that are underway and either nearing technology transfer stage or seeking industrial partners to continue application development. The topics of the applications include multiple arm coordination for intuitively maneuvering large, ungainly work pieces; simulation, analysis and graphical training capability for CP-5 research reactor dismantlement; miniature robots with volumes of 16 cubic centimeters and less developed for inspection and sensor deployment; and biomedical sensors to enhance automated prosthetic device production and fill laparoscopic surgery information gap.

Design and evaluation of an end-user friendly tool for robot programming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buchina, N.; Barakova, E.I.; Kamel, S.M.W.

2016-01-01

End-user programming for robots is becoming an increasingly important topic since robots are being introduced into a wide variety of domains. We propose a design of a web based programming interface that makes it possible for end-users with different backgrounds to program robots using natural

Robots: An Impact on Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Blaesi, LaVon; Maness, Marion

1984-01-01

Provides background information on robotics and robots, considering impact of robots on the workplace and concerns of the work force. Discusses incorporating robotics into the educational system at all levels, exploring industry-education partnerships to fund introduction of new technology into the curriculum. New funding sources and funding…

ASBESTOS PIPE-INSULATION REMOVAL ROBOT SYSTEM; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unknown

2000-01-01

This final topical report details the development, experimentation and field-testing activities for a robotic asbestos pipe-insulation removal robot system developed for use within the DOE's weapon complex as part of their ER and WM program, as well as in industrial abatement. The engineering development, regulatory compliance, cost-benefit and field-trial experiences gathered through this program are summarized

RoMPS concept review automatic control of space robot, volume 2

Science.gov (United States)

Dobbs, M. E.

1991-01-01

Topics related to robot operated materials processing in space (RoMPS) are presented in view graph form and include: (1) system concept; (2) Hitchhiker Interface Requirements; (3) robot axis control concepts; (4) Autonomous Experiment Management System; (5) Zymate Robot Controller; (6) Southwest SC-4 Computer; (7) oven control housekeeping data; and (8) power distribution.

Hand Rehabilitation Robotics on Poststroke Motor Recovery

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

The recovery of hand function is one of the most challenging topics in stroke rehabilitation. Although the robot-assisted therapy has got some good results in the latest decades, the development of hand rehabilitation robotics is left behind. Existing reviews of hand rehabilitation robotics focus either on the mechanical design on designers' view or on the training paradigms on the clinicians' view, while these two parts are interconnected and both important for designers and clinicians. In this review, we explore the current literature surrounding hand rehabilitation robots, to help designers make better choices among varied components and thus promoting the application of hand rehabilitation robots. An overview of hand rehabilitation robotics is provided in this paper firstly, to give a general view of the relationship between subjects, rehabilitation theories, hand rehabilitation robots, and its evaluation. Secondly, the state of the art hand rehabilitation robotics is introduced in detail according to the classification of the hardware system and the training paradigm. As a result, the discussion gives available arguments behind the classification and comprehensive overview of hand rehabilitation robotics. PMID:29230081

Tree Climbing Robot Design, Kinematics and Motion Planning

CERN Document Server

Lam, Tin Lun

2012-01-01

Climbing robot is a challenging research topic that has gained much attention from researchers. Most of the robots reported in the literature are designed to climb on manmade structures, but seldom robots are designed for climbing natural environment such as trees. Trees and manmade structures are very different in nature. It brings different aspects of technical challenges to the robot design. In this book, you can find a collection of the cutting edge technologies in the field of tree-climbing robot and the ways that animals climb. It provides a valuable reference for robot designers to select appropriate climbing methods in designing tree-climbing robots for specific purposes. Based on the study, a novel bio-inspired tree-climbing robot with several breakthrough performances has been developed and presents in this book. It is capable of performing various actions that is impossible in the state-of-the-art tree-climbing robots, such as moving between trunk and branches. This book also proposes several appro...

1st Latin American Congress on Automation and Robotics

CERN Document Server

Baca, José; Moreno, Héctor; Carrera, Isela; Cardona, Manuel

2017-01-01

This book contains the proceedings of the 1st Latin American Congress on Automation and Robotics held at Panama City, Panama in February 2017. It gathers research work from researchers, scientists, and engineers from academia and private industry, and presents current and exciting research applications and future challenges in Latin American. The scope of this book covers a wide range of themes associated with advances in automation and robotics research encountered in engineering and scientific research and practice. These topics are related to control algorithms, systems automation, perception, mobile robotics, computer vision, educational robotics, robotics modeling and simulation, and robotics and mechanism design. LACAR 2017 has been sponsored by SENACYT (Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Inovacion of Panama).

2nd International Conference on Cable-Driven Parallel Robots

CERN Document Server

Bruckmann, Tobias

2015-01-01

This volume presents the outcome of the second forum to cable-driven parallel robots, bringing the cable robot community together. It shows the new ideas of the active researchers developing cable-driven robots. The book presents the state of the art, including both summarizing contributions as well as latest research and future options. The book cover all topics which are essential for cable-driven robots: Classification Kinematics, Workspace and Singularity Analysis Statics and Dynamics Cable Modeling Control and Calibration Design Methodology Hardware Development Experimental Evaluation Prototypes, Application Reports and new Application concepts

Research status of multi - robot systems task allocation and uncertainty treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dahui; Fan, Qi; Dai, Xuefeng

2017-08-01

The multi-robot coordination algorithm has become a hot research topic in the field of robotics in recent years. It has a wide range of applications and good application prospects. This paper analyzes and summarizes the current research status of multi-robot coordination algorithms at home and abroad. From task allocation and dealing with uncertainty, this paper discusses the multi-robot coordination algorithm and presents the advantages and disadvantages of each method commonly used.

New trends in medical and service robots human centered analysis, control and design

CERN Document Server

Chevallereau, Christine; Pisla, Doina; Bleuler, Hannes; Rodić, Aleksandar

2016-01-01

Medical and service robotics integrates several disciplines and technologies such as mechanisms, mechatronics, biomechanics, humanoid robotics, exoskeletons, and anthropomorphic hands. This book presents the most recent advances in medical and service robotics, with a stress on human aspects. It collects the selected peer-reviewed papers of the Fourth International Workshop on Medical and Service Robots, held in Nantes, France in 2015, covering topics on: exoskeletons, anthropomorphic hands, therapeutic robots and rehabilitation, cognitive robots, humanoid and service robots, assistive robots and elderly assistance, surgical robots, human-robot interfaces, BMI and BCI, haptic devices and design for medical and assistive robotics. This book offers a valuable addition to existing literature.

Reasoning robots the art and science of programming robotic agents

CERN Document Server

Thielscher, Michael

2005-01-01

The book provides an in-depth and uniform treatment of a mathematical model for reasoning robotic agents. The book also contains an introduction to a programming method and system based on this model. The mathematical model, known as the "Fluent Calculus,'' describes how to use classical first-order logic to set up symbolic models of dynamic worlds and to represent knowledge of actions and their effects. Robotic agents use this knowledge and their reasoning facilities to make decisions when following high-level, long-term strategies. The book covers the issues of reasoning about sensor input, acting under incomplete knowledge and uncertainty, planning, intelligent troubleshooting, and many other topics. The mathematical model is supplemented by a programming method which allows readers to design their own reasoning robotic agents. The usage of this method, called "FLUX,'' is illustrated by many example programs. The book includes the details of an implementation of FLUX using the standard programming language...

A survey of bio-inspired compliant legged robot designs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Xiaodong; Bi Shusheng

2012-01-01

The roles of biological springs in vertebrate animals and their implementations in compliant legged robots offer significant advantages over the rigid legged ones in certain types of scenarios. A large number of robotics institutes have been attempting to work in conjunction with biologists and incorporated these principles into the design of biologically inspired robots. The motivation of this review is to investigate the most published compliant legged robots and categorize them according to the types of compliant elements adopted in their mechanical structures. Based on the typical robots investigated, the trade-off between each category is summarized. In addition, the most significant performances of these robots are compared quantitatively, and multiple available solutions for the future compliant legged robot design are suggested. Finally, the design challenges for compliant legged robots are analysed. This review will provide useful guidance for robotic designers in creating new designs by inheriting the virtues of those successful robots according to the specific tasks. (topical review)

Topics and topic prominence in two sign languages

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kimmelman, V.

2015-01-01

In this paper we describe topic marking in Russian Sign Language (RSL) and Sign Language of the Netherlands (NGT) and discuss whether these languages should be considered topic prominent. The formal markers of topics in RSL are sentence-initial position, a prosodic break following the topic, and

Adaptive Control for Autonomous Navigation of Mobile Robots Considering Time Delay and Uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Armah, Stephen Kofi

Autonomous control of mobile robots has attracted considerable attention of researchers in the areas of robotics and autonomous systems during the past decades. One of the goals in the field of mobile robotics is development of platforms that robustly operate in given, partially unknown, or unpredictable environments and offer desired services to humans. Autonomous mobile robots need to be equipped with effective, robust and/or adaptive, navigation control systems. In spite of enormous reported work on autonomous navigation control systems for mobile robots, achieving the goal above is still an open problem. Robustness and reliability of the controlled system can always be improved. The fundamental issues affecting the stability of the control systems include the undesired nonlinear effects introduced by actuator saturation, time delay in the controlled system, and uncertainty in the model. This research work develops robustly stabilizing control systems by investigating and addressing such nonlinear effects through analytical, simulations, and experiments. The control systems are designed to meet specified transient and steady-state specifications. The systems used for this research are ground (Dr Robot X80SV) and aerial (Parrot AR.Drone 2.0) mobile robots. Firstly, an effective autonomous navigation control system is developed for X80SV using logic control by combining 'go-to-goal', 'avoid-obstacle', and 'follow-wall' controllers. A MATLAB robot simulator is developed to implement this control algorithm and experiments are conducted in a typical office environment. The next stage of the research develops an autonomous position (x, y, and z) and attitude (roll, pitch, and yaw) controllers for a quadrotor, and PD-feedback control is used to achieve stabilization. The quadrotor's nonlinear dynamics and kinematics are implemented using MATLAB S-function to generate the state output. Secondly, the white-box and black-box approaches are used to obtain a linearized

Robots and lattice automata

CERN Document Server

Adamatzky, Andrew

2015-01-01

The book gives a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art research and engineering in theory and application of Lattice Automata in design and control of autonomous Robots. Automata and robots share the same notional meaning. Automata (originated from the latinization of the Greek word “αυτόματον”) as self-operating autonomous machines invented from ancient years can be easily considered the first steps of robotic-like efforts. Automata are mathematical models of Robots and also they are integral parts of robotic control systems. A Lattice Automaton is a regular array or a collective of finite state machines, or automata. The Automata update their states by the same rules depending on states of their immediate neighbours. In the context of this book, Lattice Automata are used in developing modular reconfigurable robotic systems, path planning and map exploration for robots, as robot controllers, synchronisation of robot collectives, robot vision, parallel robotic actuators. All chapters are...

Humanoid Robot Head Design Based on Uncanny Valley and FACS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jizheng Yan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Emotional robots are always the focus of artificial intelligence (AI, and intelligent control of robot facial expression is a hot research topic. This paper focuses on the design of humanoid robot head, which is divided into three steps to achieve. The first step is to solve the uncanny valley about humanoid robot, to find and avoid the relationship between human being and robot; the second step is to solve the association between human face and robot head; compared with human being and robots, we analyze the similarities and differences and explore the same basis and mechanisms between robot and human analyzing the Facial Action Coding System (FACS, which guides us to achieve humanoid expressions. On the basis of the previous two steps, the third step is to construct a robot head; through a series of experiments we test the robot head, which could show some humanoid expressions; through human-robot interaction, we find people are surprised by the robot head expression and feel happy.

The Tactile Ethics of Soft Robotics: Designing Wisely for Human-Robot Interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Thomas; Scheutz, Matthias

2017-06-01

Soft robots promise an exciting design trajectory in the field of robotics and human-robot interaction (HRI), promising more adaptive, resilient movement within environments as well as a safer, more sensitive interface for the objects or agents the robot encounters. In particular, tactile HRI is a critical dimension for designers to consider, especially given the onrush of assistive and companion robots into our society. In this article, we propose to surface an important set of ethical challenges for the field of soft robotics to meet. Tactile HRI strongly suggests that soft-bodied robots balance tactile engagement against emotional manipulation, model intimacy on the bonding with a tool not with a person, and deflect users from personally and socially destructive behavior the soft bodies and surfaces could normally entice.

A survey of snake-inspired robot designs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopkins, James K; Spranklin, Brent W; Gupta, Satyandra K

2009-01-01

Body undulation used by snakes and the physical architecture of a snake body may offer significant benefits over typical legged or wheeled locomotion designs in certain types of scenarios. A large number of research groups have developed snake-inspired robots to exploit these benefits. The purpose of this review is to report different types of snake-inspired robot designs and categorize them based on their main characteristics. For each category, we discuss their relative advantages and disadvantages. This review will assist in familiarizing a newcomer to the field with the existing designs and their distinguishing features. We hope that by studying existing robots, future designers will be able to create new designs by adopting features from successful robots. The review also summarizes the design challenges associated with the further advancement of the field and deploying snake-inspired robots in practice. (topical review)

Coordinating robots in water polo matches using modified snowdrift games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, Chen; Wu, Bin; Cao, Ming; Xie, Guangming

2012-01-01

One key research topic in the study of coordinating multiple robots is to understand under what conditions the synergy effect emerges. While most of the previous work on cooperative robots confirms the existence of synergy effects, less is known about how to quantify them and more importantly, how

9th International Robotic Sailing Conference

CERN Document Server

Cruz, Nuno

2017-01-01

This book contains selected papers that address a variety of topics related to the design, development and operation of unmanned and fully autonomous sailing boats. These papers were presented in the 9th International Robotic Sailing Conference, in association with the 9th World Robotic Sailing Championship that took place in Viana do Castelo, Portugal from the 5th to 10th of September 2016. The book is divided in three parts, each focusing on key aspects of robotic sailing. The first part addresses the design, construction and validation of autonomous sailboat platforms, including their rigs, appendages and control mechanisms. The second part is devoted to the development of sensors and algorithms to enhance the performance of robotic sailing boats, in terms of their speed, course control and manoeuvring ability. Finally, the papers in the last part are dedicated to the improvement of behaviours required for the accomplishment of complex autonomous missions. Robotic sailing is a relatively new multidisciplin...

BOA: Asbestos pipe-insulation removal robot system, Phase 2. Topical report, January--June 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schempf, H.; Bares, J.E.

1995-06-01

This report explored the regulatory impact and cost-benefit of a robotic thermal asbestos pipe-insulation removal system over the current manual abatement work practice. The authors are currently in the second phase of a two-phase program to develop a robotic asbestos abatement system, comprised of a ground-based support system (including vacuum, fluid delivery, computing/electronics/power, and other subsystems) and several on-pipe removal units, each sized to handle pipes within a given diameter range. The intent of this study was to (i) aid in developing design and operational criteria for the overall system to maximize cost-efficiency, and (ii) to determine the commercial potential of a robotic pipe-insulation abatement system.

Robot and Human Surface Operations on Solar System Bodies

Science.gov (United States)

Weisbin, C. R.; Easter, R.; Rodriguez, G.

2001-01-01

This paper presents a comparison of robot and human surface operations on solar system bodies. The topics include: 1) Long Range Vision of Surface Scenarios; 2) Human and Robots Complement Each Other; 3) Respective Human and Robot Strengths; 4) Need More In-Depth Quantitative Analysis; 5) Projected Study Objectives; 6) Analysis Process Summary; 7) Mission Scenarios Decompose into Primitive Tasks; 7) Features of the Projected Analysis Approach; and 8) The "Getting There Effect" is a Major Consideration. This paper is in viewgraph form.

The human hand as an inspiration for robot hand development

CERN Document Server

Santos, Veronica

2014-01-01

“The Human Hand as an Inspiration for Robot Hand Development” presents an edited collection of authoritative contributions in the area of robot hands. The results described in the volume are expected to lead to more robust, dependable, and inexpensive distributed systems such as those endowed with complex and advanced sensing, actuation, computation, and communication capabilities. The twenty-four chapters discuss the field of robotic grasping and manipulation viewed in light of the human hand’s capabilities and push the state-of-the-art in robot hand design and control. Topics discussed include human hand biomechanics, neural control, sensory feedback and perception, and robotic grasp and manipulation. This book will be useful for researchers from diverse areas such as robotics, biomechanics, neuroscience, and anthropologists.

Approaches to probabilistic model learning for mobile manipulation robots

CERN Document Server

Sturm, Jürgen

2013-01-01

Mobile manipulation robots are envisioned to provide many useful services both in domestic environments as well as in the industrial context. Examples include domestic service robots that implement large parts of the housework, and versatile industrial assistants that provide automation, transportation, inspection, and monitoring services. The challenge in these applications is that the robots have to function under changing, real-world conditions, be able to deal with considerable amounts of noise and uncertainty, and operate without the supervision of an expert. This book presents novel learning techniques that enable mobile manipulation robots, i.e., mobile platforms with one or more robotic manipulators, to autonomously adapt to new or changing situations. The approaches presented in this book cover the following topics: (1) learning the robot's kinematic structure and properties using actuation and visual feedback, (2) learning about articulated objects in the environment in which the robot is operating,...

AN IMPLEMENTATION OF PACMAN GAME USING ROBOTS

OpenAIRE

Madhav. Rao

2011-01-01

As the field of robotics are advancing, robotics education needs to consider technological advances and societal level of interest. Realizing computer games in robotic platforms is one such technological advance for educating students in robotics science. Realizing computer games in robotics environment is still a challenge due to high investment factor in developing robot models. However the effort can lead to the enhanced interest in robotics education and further involvement in science and...

Making Humanoid Robots More Acceptable Based on the Study of Robot Characters in Animation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatemeh Maleki

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper we take an approach in Humanoid Robots are not considered as robots who resembles human beings in a realistic way of appearance and act but as robots who act and react like human that make them more believable by people. Regarding this approach we will study robot characters in animation movies and discuss what makes some of them to be accepted just like a moving body and what makes some other robot characters to be believable as a living human. The goal of this paper is to create a rule set that describes friendly, socially acceptable, kind, cute... robots and in this study we will review example robots in popular animated movies. The extracted rules and features can be used for making real robots more acceptable.

The Fourth Law of Robotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Markoff, John

1994-01-01

Discusses intelligent software agents, or knowledge robots (knowbots), and the impact they have on the Internet. Topics addressed include ethical dilemmas; problems created by rapid growth on the Internet; new technologies that are amplifying growth; and a shift to a market economy and resulting costs. (LRW)

Augmented Robotics Dialog System for Enhancing Human–Robot Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso-Martín, Fernando; Castro-González, Aívaro; de Gorostiza Luengo, Francisco Javier Fernandez; Salichs, Miguel Ángel

2015-01-01

Augmented reality, augmented television and second screen are cutting edge technologies that provide end users extra and enhanced information related to certain events in real time. This enriched information helps users better understand such events, at the same time providing a more satisfactory experience. In the present paper, we apply this main idea to human–robot interaction (HRI), to how users and robots interchange information. The ultimate goal of this paper is to improve the quality of HRI, developing a new dialog manager system that incorporates enriched information from the semantic web. This work presents the augmented robotic dialog system (ARDS), which uses natural language understanding mechanisms to provide two features: (i) a non-grammar multimodal input (verbal and/or written) text; and (ii) a contextualization of the information conveyed in the interaction. This contextualization is achieved by information enrichment techniques that link the extracted information from the dialog with extra information about the world available in semantic knowledge bases. This enriched or contextualized information (information enrichment, semantic enhancement or contextualized information are used interchangeably in the rest of this paper) offers many possibilities in terms of HRI. For instance, it can enhance the robot's pro-activeness during a human–robot dialog (the enriched information can be used to propose new topics during the dialog, while ensuring a coherent interaction). Another possibility is to display additional multimedia content related to the enriched information on a visual device. This paper describes the ARDS and shows a proof of concept of its applications. PMID:26151202

Autism and social robotics: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Pennisi, Paola; Tonacci, Alessandro; Tartarisco, Gennaro; Billeci, Lucia; Ruta, Liliana; Gangemi, Sebastiano; Pioggia, Giovanni

2016-02-01

Social robotics could be a promising method for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) treatment. The aim of this article is to carry out a systematic literature review of the studies on this topic that were published in the last 10 years. We tried to address the following questions: can social robots be a useful tool in autism therapy? We followed the PRISMA guidelines, and the protocol was registered within PROSPERO database (CRD42015016158). We found many positive implications in the use of social robots in therapy as for example: ASD subjects often performed better with a robot partner rather than a human partner; sometimes, ASD patients had, toward robots, behaviors that TD patients had toward human agents; ASDs had a lot of social behaviors toward robots; during robotic sessions, ASDs showed reduced repetitive and stereotyped behaviors and, social robots manage to improve spontaneous language during therapy sessions. Therefore, robots provide therapists and researchers a means to connect with autistic subjects in an easier way, but studies in this area are still insufficient. It is necessary to clarify whether sex, intelligence quotient, and age of participants affect the outcome of therapy and whether any beneficial effects only occur during the robotic session or if they are still observable outside the clinical/experimental context. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Situation Assessment for Mobile Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beck, Anders Billesø

Mobile robots have become a mature technology. The first cable guided logistics robots were introduced in the industry almost 60 years ago. In this time the market for mobile robots in industry has only experienced a very modest growth and only 2.100 systems were sold worldwide in 2011. In recent...... years, many other domains have adopted the mobile robots, such as logistics robots at hospitals and the vacuum robots in our homes. However, considering the achievements in research the last 15 years within perception and operation in natural environments together with the reductions of costs in modern...... sensor systems, the growth potential for mobile robot applications are enormous. Many new technological components are available to move the limits of commercial mobile robot applications, but a key hindrance is reliability. Natural environments are complex and dynamic, and thus the risk of robots...

Robotics, vision and control fundamental algorithms in Matlab

CERN Document Server

Corke, Peter

2017-01-01

Robotic vision, the combination of robotics and computer vision, involves the application of computer algorithms to data acquired from sensors. The research community has developed a large body of such algorithms but for a newcomer to the field this can be quite daunting. For over 20 years the author has maintained two open-source MATLAB® Toolboxes, one for robotics and one for vision. They provide implementations of many important algorithms and allow users to work with real problems, not just trivial examples. This book makes the fundamental algorithms of robotics, vision and control accessible to all. It weaves together theory, algorithms and examples in a narrative that covers robotics and computer vision separately and together. Using the latest versions of the Toolboxes the author shows how complex problems can be decomposed and solved using just a few simple lines of code. The topics covered are guided by real problems observed by the author over many years as a practitioner of both robotics and compu...

10th FSR (Field and Service Robotics)

CERN Document Server

Barfoot, Timothy

2016-01-01

This book contains the proceedings of the 10th FSR, (Field and Service Robotics) which is the leading single-track conference on applications of robotics in challenging environments. The 10th FSR was held in Toronto, Canada from 23-26 June 2015. The book contains 42 full-length, peer-reviewed papers organized into a variety of topics: Aquatic, Vision, Planetary, Aerial, Underground, and Systems. The goal of the book and the conference is to report and encourage the development and experimental evaluation of field and service robots, and to generate a vibrant exchange and discussion in the community. Field robots are non-factory robots, typically mobile, that operate in complex and dynamic environments: on the ground (Earth or other planets), under the ground, underwater, in the air or in space. Service robots are those that work closely with humans to help them with their lives. The first FSR was held in Canberra, Australia, in 1997. Since that first meeting, FSR has been held roughly every two years, cycling...

Vision Guided Intelligent Robot Design And Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Slutzky, G. D.; Hall, E. L.

1988-02-01

The concept of an intelligent robot is an important topic combining sensors, manipulators, and artificial intelligence to design a useful machine. Vision systems, tactile sensors, proximity switches and other sensors provide the elements necessary for simple game playing as well as industrial applications. These sensors permit adaption to a changing environment. The AI techniques permit advanced forms of decision making, adaptive responses, and learning while the manipulator provides the ability to perform various tasks. Computer languages such as LISP and OPS5, have been utilized to achieve expert systems approaches in solving real world problems. The purpose of this paper is to describe several examples of visually guided intelligent robots including both stationary and mobile robots. Demonstrations will be presented of a system for constructing and solving a popular peg game, a robot lawn mower, and a box stacking robot. The experience gained from these and other systems provide insight into what may be realistically expected from the next generation of intelligent machines.

4th International Conference on Advanced Robotics

CERN Document Server

1989-01-01

The Fourth International Conference on Advanced Robotics was held in Columbus, Ohio, U. S. A. on June 13th to 15th, 1989. The first two conferences in this series were held in Tokyo. The third was held in Versailles, France in October 1987. The International Conference on Advanced Robotics is affiliated with the International Federation of Robotics. This conference was sponsored by The Ohio State University. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers was a cooperating co-sponsor. The objective of the International Conference on Advanced Robotics is to provide an international exchange of information on the topic of advanced robotics. This was adopted as one of the themes for international research cooperation at a meeting of representatives of seven industrialized countries held in Williamsburg, U. S. A. in May 1983. The present conference is truly international in character with contributions from authors of twelve countries. (Bulgaria, Canada, France, Great Britain, India, Italy, Japan, Peoples Republic o...

Rehabilitation exoskeletal robotics. The promise of an emerging field.

Science.gov (United States)

Pons, José L

2010-01-01

Exoskeletons are wearable robots exhibiting a close cognitive and physical interaction with the human user. These are rigid robotic exoskeletal structures that typically operate alongside human limbs. Scientific and technological work on exoskeletons began in the early 1960s but have only recently been applied to rehabilitation and functional substitution in patients suffering from motor disorders. Key topics for further development of exoskeletons in rehabilitation scenarios include the need for robust human-robot multimodal cognitive interaction, safe and dependable physical interaction, true wearability and portability, and user aspects such as acceptance and usability. This discussion provides an overview of these aspects and draws conclusions regarding potential future research directions in robotic exoskeletons.

First Annual Workshop on Space Operations Automation and Robotics (SOAR 87)

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Sandy (Editor)

1987-01-01

Several topics relative to automation and robotics technology are discussed. Automation of checkout, ground support, and logistics; automated software development; man-machine interfaces; neural networks; systems engineering and distributed/parallel processing architectures; and artificial intelligence/expert systems are among the topics covered.

Tracking Control for Mobile Robots Considering the Dynamics of All Their Subsystems: Experimental Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Rafael García-Sánchez

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The trajectory tracking task in a wheeled mobile robot (WMR is solved by proposing a three-level hierarchical controller that considers the mathematical model of the mechanical structure (differential drive WMR, actuators (DC motors, and power stage (DC/DC Buck power converters. The highest hierarchical level is a kinematic control for the mechanical structure; the medium level includes two controllers based on differential flatness for the actuators; and the lowest hierarchical level consists of two average controllers also based on differential flatness for the power stage. In order to experimentally validate the feasibility of the proposed control scheme, the hierarchical controller is implemented via a Σ–Δ-modulator in a differential drive WMR prototype that we have built. Such an implementation is achieved by using MATLAB-Simulink and the real-time interface ControlDesk together with a DS1104 board. The experimental results show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control scheme.

Whole-body impedance control of wheeled humanoid robots

CERN Document Server

Dietrich, Alexander

2016-01-01

Introducing mobile humanoid robots into human environments requires the systems to physically interact and execute multiple concurrent tasks. The monograph at hand presents a whole-body torque controller for dexterous and safe robotic manipulation. This control approach enables a mobile humanoid robot to simultaneously meet several control objectives with different pre-defined levels of priority, while providing the skills for compliant physical contacts with humans and the environment. After a general introduction into the topic of whole-body control, several essential reactive tasks are developed to extend the repertoire of robotic control objectives. Additionally, the classical Cartesian impedance is extended to the case of mobile robots. All of these tasks are then combined and integrated into an overall, priority-based control law. Besides the experimental validation of the approach, the formal proof of asymptotic stability for this hierarchical controller is presented. By interconnecting the whole-body ...

Application of robotic principles to laboratory automation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pierce, T.B.

1986-01-01

The possibility of applying robotic techniques to some laboratory tasks is considered. A low-cost rig was constructed, at AERE Harwell, to examine the performance of a number of low-cost commercial robots. The importance of justifying the costs of introducing robotic systems and the difficulty of analysing the cost-benefit of robotic over mechanical systems is stressed. (UK)

Hydro-Quebec inspection robot RIT-LRG

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Champagne, D.; Rinfret, F.; Bourgault, Y.G.

2008-01-01

Hydro Quebec's Research Centre (IREQ), has developed a variety of inspection tools over the years. The Metar bracelet for the feeder tubes, the REC robot for the heat exchanger and the RIT robot for the Delayed Neutron system just to name a few. This paper discusses with the successful deployment of the Camera Probe Positioning robot for Visual Inspection of the sample lines of the delayed neutron system of CANDU power plants. This RIT robot has three possible configurations (Face, Cabinet and LRG configurations) and has remained a prototype version although it has been used over the years in many outage inspection campaigns since 1997. The main advantages of using this robot are: the significant reduction in radiation exposure, the high quality of the data collected and the archiving of inspection data for further analysis and reports. In 2007, Gentilly-2 (G-2), decided to industrialize the LRG configuration of the RIT robot and to designate it the standard tool for the inspection of the Delayed Neutron System. An improved RIT-LRG robot, along with its control box and command station was developed. The software had to be rewritten requiring an ergonomics analysis of user tasks, work station and interface display. These issues included both physical and cognitive requirements aspects. The two principal topics of this paper will be on the Inspection Robot Technology developed and highlights of the 2008 outage inspection campaign. (author)

Hydro-Quebec inspection robot RIT-LRG

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Champagne, D., E-mail: champagne.dominique@ireq.ca [Inst. de recherche d' Hydro-Quebec, Quebec (Canada); Rinfret, F.; Bourgault, Y.G., E-mail: rinfret.francois@hydro.qc.ca, E-mail: bourgault.yves.g@hydro.qc.ca [Hydro-Quebec, Becancour, Quebec (Canada)

2008-07-01

Hydro Quebec's Research Centre (IREQ), has developed a variety of inspection tools over the years. The Metar bracelet for the feeder tubes, the REC robot for the heat exchanger and the RIT robot for the Delayed Neutron system just to name a few. This paper discusses with the successful deployment of the Camera Probe Positioning robot for Visual Inspection of the sample lines of the delayed neutron system of CANDU power plants. This RIT robot has three possible configurations (Face, Cabinet and LRG configurations) and has remained a prototype version although it has been used over the years in many outage inspection campaigns since 1997. The main advantages of using this robot are: the significant reduction in radiation exposure, the high quality of the data collected and the archiving of inspection data for further analysis and reports. In 2007, Gentilly-2 (G-2), decided to industrialize the LRG configuration of the RIT robot and to designate it the standard tool for the inspection of the Delayed Neutron System. An improved RIT-LRG robot, along with its control box and command station was developed. The software had to be rewritten requiring an ergonomics analysis of user tasks, work station and interface display. These issues included both physical and cognitive requirements aspects. The two principal topics of this paper will be on the Inspection Robot Technology developed and highlights of the 2008 outage inspection campaign. (author)

Second Annual Workshop on Space Operations Automation and Robotics (SOAR 1988)

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Sandy (Editor)

1988-01-01

Papers presented at the Second Annual Workshop on Space Operation Automation and Robotics (SOAR '88), hosted by Wright State University at Dayton, Ohio, on July 20, 21, 22, and 23, 1988, are documented herein. During the 4 days, approximately 100 technical papers were presented by experts from NASA, the USAF, universities, and technical companies. Panel discussions on Human Factors, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Space Systems were held but are not documented herein. Technical topics addressed included knowledge-based systems, human factors, and robotics.

Toward a framework for levels of robot autonomy in human-robot interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Beer, Jenay M; Fisk, Arthur D; Rogers, Wendy A

2014-07-01

A critical construct related to human-robot interaction (HRI) is autonomy, which varies widely across robot platforms. Levels of robot autonomy (LORA), ranging from teleoperation to fully autonomous systems, influence the way in which humans and robots may interact with one another. Thus, there is a need to understand HRI by identifying variables that influence - and are influenced by - robot autonomy. Our overarching goal is to develop a framework for levels of robot autonomy in HRI. To reach this goal, the framework draws links between HRI and human-automation interaction, a field with a long history of studying and understanding human-related variables. The construct of autonomy is reviewed and redefined within the context of HRI. Additionally, the framework proposes a process for determining a robot's autonomy level, by categorizing autonomy along a 10-point taxonomy. The framework is intended to be treated as guidelines to determine autonomy, categorize the LORA along a qualitative taxonomy, and consider which HRI variables (e.g., acceptance, situation awareness, reliability) may be influenced by the LORA.

Epidemic Synchronization in Robotic Swarms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schiøler, Henrik; Nielsen, Jens Frederik Dalsgaard; Ngo, Trung Dung

2009-01-01

Clock synchronization in swarms of networked mobile robots is studied in a probabilistic, epidemic framework. In this setting communication and synchonization is considered to be a randomized process, taking place at unplanned instants of geographical rendezvous between robots. In combination wit...

The development of robot art

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pagliarini, Luigi; Lund, Henrik Hautop

2009-01-01

Going through a few examples of robot artists who are recognized worldwide, we try to analyze the deepest meaning of what is called “robot art” and the related art field definition. We also try to highlight its well-marked borders, such as kinetic sculptures, kinetic art, cyber art, and cyberpunk...... that might classify robot art as a unique and innovative discipline, and to track down some of the principles by which a robotic artifact can or cannot be considered an art piece in terms of social, cultural, and strictly artistic interest....

An Augmented Discrete-Time Approach for Human-Robot Collaboration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peidong Liang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Human-robot collaboration (HRC is a key feature to distinguish the new generation of robots from conventional robots. Relevant HRC topics have been extensively investigated recently in academic institutes and companies to improve human and robot interactive performance. Generally, human motor control regulates human motion adaptively to the external environment with safety, compliance, stability, and efficiency. Inspired by this, we propose an augmented approach to make a robot understand human motion behaviors based on human kinematics and human postural impedance adaptation. Human kinematics is identified by geometry kinematics approach to map human arm configuration as well as stiffness index controlled by hand gesture to anthropomorphic arm. While human arm postural stiffness is estimated and calibrated within robot empirical stability region, human motion is captured by employing a geometry vector approach based on Kinect. A biomimetic controller in discrete-time is employed to make Baxter robot arm imitate human arm behaviors based on Baxter robot dynamics. An object moving task is implemented to validate the performance of proposed methods based on Baxter robot simulator. Results show that the proposed approach to HRC is intuitive, stable, efficient, and compliant, which may have various applications in human-robot collaboration scenarios.

LEGO mindstorm masterpieces building and programming advanced robots

CERN Document Server

2003-01-01

In LEGO Mindstorm Masterpieces, some of the world's leading LEGO Mindstorms inventors share their knowledge and development secrets. The unique style of this book will allow it to cover an incredibly broad range of topics in unparalleled detail. Chapters within the book will include detailed discussions of the mechanics that drive the robot - and also provide step-by-step construction diagrams for each of the robots. This is perfect book for LEGO hobbyists looking to take their skills to the next level whether they build world-class competitive robots or just like to mess around for the fun of it.For experienced users of LEGO Mindstorms, LEGO Mindstorms Masterpiece is composed of three fundamental sections:·Part One: A review of the advanced robot building concepts and theories.·Part Two: Step-by-step building instructions for a series of complex models. The companion programming code is included, along with in-depth explanations of concepts needed for the specific models. Robots include Line Followers, Bip...

[Robot-assisted pancreatic resection].

Science.gov (United States)

Müssle, B; Distler, M; Weitz, J; Welsch, T

2017-06-01

Although robot-assisted pancreatic surgery has been considered critically in the past, it is nowadays an established standard technique in some centers, for distal pancreatectomy and pancreatic head resection. Compared with the laparoscopic approach, the use of robot-assisted surgery seems to be advantageous for acquiring the skills for pancreatic, bile duct and vascular anastomoses during pancreatic head resection and total pancreatectomy. On the other hand, the use of the robot is associated with increased costs and only highly effective and professional robotic programs in centers for pancreatic surgery will achieve top surgical and oncological quality, acceptable operation times and a reduction in duration of hospital stay. Moreover, new technologies, such as intraoperative fluorescence guidance and augmented reality will define additional indications for robot-assisted pancreatic surgery.

Dynamic Modelling Of A SCARA Robot

Science.gov (United States)

Turiel, J. Perez; Calleja, R. Grossi; Diez, V. Gutierrez

1987-10-01

This paper describes a method for modelling industrial robots that considers dynamic approach to manipulation systems motion generation, obtaining the complete dynamic model for the mechanic part of the robot and taking into account the dynamic effect of actuators acting at the joints. For a four degree of freedom SCARA robot we obtain the dynamic model for the basic (minimal) configuration, that is, the three degrees of freedom that allow us to place the robot end effector in a desired point, using the Lagrange Method to obtain the dynamic equations in matrix form. The manipulator is considered to be a set of rigid bodies inter-connected by joints in the form of simple kinematic pairs. Then, the state space model is obtained for the actuators that move the robot joints, uniting the models of the single actuators, that is, two DC permanent magnet servomotors and an electrohydraulic actuator. Finally, using a computer simulation program written in FORTRAN language, we can compute the matrices of the complete model.

Identifying Factors Reinforcing Robotization: Interactive Forces of Employment, Working Hour and Wage

OpenAIRE

Joonmo Cho; Jinha Kim

2018-01-01

Unlike previous studies on robotization approaching the future based on the cutting-edge technologies and adopting a framework where robotization is considered as an exogenous variable, this study considers that robotization occurs endogenously and uses it as a dependent variable for an objective examination of the effect of robotization on the labor market. To this end, a robotization indicator is created based on the actual number of industrial robots currently deployed in workplaces, and a...

Robotic systems in spine surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Onen, Mehmet Resid; Naderi, Sait

2014-01-01

Surgical robotic systems have been available for almost twenty years. The first surgical robotic systems were designed as supportive systems for laparoscopic approaches in general surgery (the first procedure was a cholecystectomy in 1987). The da Vinci Robotic System is the most common system used for robotic surgery today. This system is widely used in urology, gynecology and other surgical disciplines, and recently there have been initial reports of its use in spine surgery, for transoral access and anterior approaches for lumbar inter-body fusion interventions. SpineAssist, which is widely used in spine surgery, and Renaissance Robotic Systems, which are considered the next generation of robotic systems, are now FDA approved. These robotic systems are designed for use as guidance systems in spine instrumentation, cement augmentations and biopsies. The aim is to increase surgical accuracy while reducing the intra-operative exposure to harmful radiation to the patient and operating team personnel during the intervention. We offer a review of the published literature related to the use of robotic systems in spine surgery and provide information on using robotic systems.

Robot Choreography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jochum, Elizabeth Ann; Heath, Damith

2016-01-01

We propose a robust framework for combining performance paradigms with human robot interaction (HRI) research. Following an analysis of several case studies that combine the performing arts with HRI experiments, we propose a methodology and “best practices” for implementing choreography and other...... performance paradigms in HRI experiments. Case studies include experiments conducted in laboratory settings, “in the wild”, and live performance settings. We consider the technical and artistic challenges of designing and staging robots alongside humans in these various settings, and discuss how to combine...

Three dialogues concerning robots in elder care.

Science.gov (United States)

Metzler, Theodore A; Barnes, Susan J

2014-01-01

The three dialogues in this contribution concern 21st century application of life-like robots in the care of older adults. They depict conversations set in the near future, involving a philosopher (Dr Phonius) and a nurse (Dr Myloss) who manages care at a large facility for assisted living. In their first dialogue, the speakers discover that their quite different attitudes towards human-robot interaction parallel fundamental differences separating their respective concepts of consciousness. The second dialogue similarly uncovers deeply contrasting notions of personhood that appear to be associated with respective communities of nursing and robotics. The additional key awareness that arises in their final dialogue links applications of life-like robots in the care of older adults with potential transformations in our understandings of ourselves - indeed, in our understandings of the nature of our own humanity. This series of dialogues, therefore, appears to address a topic in nursing philosophy that merits our careful attention. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Artificial intelligence and information-control systems of robots - 87

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plander, I.

1987-01-01

Independent research areas of artificial intelligence represent the following problems: automatic problem solving and new knowledge discovering, automatic program synthesis, natural language, picture and scene recognition and understanding, intelligent control systems of robots equipped with sensoric subsystems, dialogue of two knowledge systems, as well as studying and modelling higher artificial intelligence attributes, such as emotionality and personality. The 4th Conference draws on the problems treated at the preceding Conferences, and presents the most recent knowledge on the following topics: theoretical problems of artificial intelligence, knowledge-based systems, expert systems, perception and pattern recognition, robotics, intelligent computer-aided design, special-purpose computer systems for artificial intelligence and robotics

Assessing User Needs and Requirements for Assistive Robots at Home.

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, Katharina; Werner, Franz

2015-01-01

'Robots in healthcare' is a very trending topic. This paper gives an overview of currently and commonly used methods to gather user needs and requirements in research projects in the field of assistive robotics. Common strategies between authors are presented as well as examples of exceptions, which can help future researchers to find methods suitable for their own work. Typical problems of the field are discussed and partial solutions are proposed.

Efficient Control Law Simulation for Multiple Mobile Robots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Driessen, B.J.; Feddema, J.T.; Kotulski, J.D.; Kwok, K.S.

1998-10-06

In this paper we consider the problem of simulating simple control laws involving large numbers of mobile robots. Such simulation can be computationally prohibitive if the number of robots is large enough, say 1 million, due to the 0(N2 ) cost of each time step. This work therefore uses hierarchical tree-based methods for calculating the control law. These tree-based approaches have O(NlogN) cost per time step, thus allowing for efficient simulation involving a large number of robots. For concreteness, a decentralized control law which involves only the distance and bearing to the closest neighbor robot will be considered. The time to calculate the control law for each robot at each time step is demonstrated to be O(logN).

11th International Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics

CERN Document Server

Amato, Nancy; Isler, Volkan; Stappen, A

2015-01-01

This carefully edited volume is the outcome of the eleventh edition of the Workshop on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR), which is the premier venue showcasing cutting edge research in algorithmic robotics. The eleventh WAFR, which was held August 3-5, 2014 at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey continued this tradition. This volume contains extended versions of the 42 papers presented at WAFR. These contributions highlight the cutting edge research in classical robotics problems (e.g.  manipulation, motion, path, multi-robot and kinodynamic planning), geometric and topological computation in robotics as well novel applications such as informative path planning, active sensing and surgical planning.  This book - rich by topics and authoritative contributors - is a unique reference on the current developments and new directions in the field of algorithmic foundations.  

Design and control of five fingered under-actuated robotic hand

Science.gov (United States)

Sahoo, Biswojit; Parida, Pramod Kumar

2018-04-01

Now a day's research regarding humanoid robots and its application in different fields (industry, household, rehabilitation and exploratory) is going on entire the globe. Among which a challenging topic is to design a dexterous robotic hand which not only can perform as a hand of a robot but also can be used in re habilitation. The basic key concern is a dexterous robot hand which can be able to mimic the function of biological hand to perform different operations. This thesis work is regarding design and control of a under-actuated robotic hand consisting of four under actuated fingers (index finger, middle finger, little finger and ring finger ) , a thumb and a dexterous palm which can copy the motions and grasp type of human hand which having 21degrees of freedom instead of 25Degree Of Freedom.

Robots: Fantasy and Reality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calder, Neil

2007-01-01

A irreverent non-technical review of the history of surprisingly animate machines, from ancient Egypt to current times. Areas include teleoperators for hazardous environments, assembly systems, medical applications, entertainment, and science fiction. The talk has over 100 slides, covering such varied topics as Memnon son of Dawn, Droz's automata, Vaucanson's duck, cathedral clocks, Von Kempelen's chess player, household robots, Asimov's laws, Disneyland, dinosaurs, and movie droids and cyborgs.

Velocity-curvature patterns limit human-robot physical interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Maurice, Pauline; Huber, Meghan E; Hogan, Neville; Sternad, Dagmar

2018-01-01

Physical human-robot collaboration is becoming more common, both in industrial and service robotics. Cooperative execution of a task requires intuitive and efficient interaction between both actors. For humans, this means being able to predict and adapt to robot movements. Given that natural human movement exhibits several robust features, we examined whether human-robot physical interaction is facilitated when these features are considered in robot control. The present study investigated how humans adapt to biological and non-biological velocity patterns in robot movements. Participants held the end-effector of a robot that traced an elliptic path with either biological (two-thirds power law) or non-biological velocity profiles. Participants were instructed to minimize the force applied on the robot end-effector. Results showed that the applied force was significantly lower when the robot moved with a biological velocity pattern. With extensive practice and enhanced feedback, participants were able to decrease their force when following a non-biological velocity pattern, but never reached forces below those obtained with the 2/3 power law profile. These results suggest that some robust features observed in natural human movements are also a strong preference in guided movements. Therefore, such features should be considered in human-robot physical collaboration.

Analysis, Control and Design of Walking Robots

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Oort, Gijs

2011-01-01

In this thesis five research questions are discussed that are related to the development of two-legged (bipedal) walking robots. The research questions are categorized in three main topics: analysis, control and actuation and design. The research questions are: - How can we analyze the behavior of a

Uncertainty covariances in robotics applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, D.L.

1984-01-01

The application of uncertainty covariance matrices in the analysis of robot trajectory errors is explored. First, relevant statistical concepts are reviewed briefly. Then, a simple, hypothetical robot model is considered to illustrate methods for error propagation and performance test data evaluation. The importance of including error correlations is emphasized

Prolegomena to Social Robotics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørskov, Marco

2011-01-01

and some incipient philosophical inquiries have been directed to ethical questions pertaining to the particularities of first applications. In these first public and academic explorations of the nature of human-robot interaction in the ‘Western’ discussion context, certain fundamental tenets....... The dissertation consists of four essays, which are written for independent publication but are topically strongly interrelated. Each essay challenges our conceptualizations with respect to robots from a different perspective, bringing into focus four central issues of the current debate. The first essay addresses...... the foundational assumptions of classificatory knowledge, presenting a new angle on the problem of discrimination. The second essay traces public worries about human degradation to the philosophical foundations of public conceptions of freedom and human dignity; it discusses the dialectics of ‘lordship and bondage...

Distributed consensus with visual perception in multi-robot systems

CERN Document Server

Montijano, Eduardo

2015-01-01

This monograph introduces novel responses to the different problems that arise when multiple robots need to execute a task in cooperation, each robot in the team having a monocular camera as its primary input sensor. Its central proposition is that a consistent perception of the world is crucial for the good development of any multi-robot application. The text focuses on the high-level problem of cooperative perception by a multi-robot system: the idea that, depending on what each robot sees and its current situation, it will need to communicate these things to its fellows whenever possible to share what it has found and keep updated by them in its turn. However, in any realistic scenario, distributed solutions to this problem are not trivial and need to be addressed from as many angles as possible. Distributed Consensus with Visual Perception in Multi-Robot Systems covers a variety of related topics such as: ·         distributed consensus algorithms; ·         data association and robustne...

Service Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clemmensen, Torkil; Nielsen, Jeppe Agger; Andersen, Kim Normann

The position presented in this paper is that in order to understand how service robots shape, and are being shaped by, the physical and social contexts in which they are used, we need to consider both work/organizational analysis and interaction design. We illustrate this with qualitative data...... and personal experiences to generate discussion about how to link these two traditions. This paper presents selected results from a case study that investigated the implementation and use of robot vacuum cleaners in Danish eldercare. The study demonstrates interpretive flexibility with variation...

Central Vehicle Dynamics Control of the Robotic Research Platform ROboMObil

OpenAIRE

Bünte, Tilman; Ho, Lok Man; Satzger, Clemens; Brembeck, Jonathan

2014-01-01

The ROboMObil is DLR’s space-robotics driven by-wire electro-mobile research platform for mechatronic actuators, vehicle dynamics control, human machine interfaces, and autonomous driving (DLR = German Aerospace Center). Due to its four highly integrated identical Wheel Robots it exhibits an extraordinary manoeuvrability even allowing for driving sideward or rotating on the spot. Topics related to vehicle dynamics control are addressed in this article.

Robot motion control in mobile environment

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Iliya V Miroshnik; HUANG Xian-lin(黄显林); HE Jie(贺杰)

2003-01-01

With the problem of robot motion control in dynamic environment represented by mobile obstacles,working pieces and external mechanisms considered, a relevant control actions design procedure has been pro-posed to provide coordination of robot motions with respect to the moving external objects so that an extension ofrobot spatial motion techniques and active robotic strategies based on approaches of nonlinear control theory canbe achieved.

Robotics in surgery: is a robot necessary? For what?

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Sharona B; Downs, Darrell; Saeed, Sabrina M; Dolce, John K; Rosemurgy, Alexander S

2017-02-01

Every operation can be categorized along a spectrum from "most invasive" to "least invasive", based on the approach(es) through which it is commonly undertaken. Operations that are considered "most invasive" are characterized by "open" approaches with a relatively high degree of morbidity, while operations that are considered "least invasive" are undertaken with minimally invasive techniques and are associated with relatively improved patient outcomes, including faster recovery times and fewer complications. Because of the potential for reduced morbidity, movement along the spectrum towards minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is associated with a host of salutary benefits and, as well, lower costs of patient care. Accordingly, the goal of all stakeholders in surgery should be to attain universal application of the most minimally invasive approaches. Yet the difficulty of performing minimally invasive operations has largely limited its widespread application in surgery, particularly in the context of complex operations (i.e., those requiring complex extirpation and/or reconstruction). Robotic surgery, however, may facilitate application of minimally invasive techniques requisite for particular operations. Enhancements in visualization and dexterity offered by robotic surgical systems allow busy surgeons to quickly gain proficiency in demanding techniques (e.g., pancreaticojejunostomy), within a short learning curve. That is not to say, however, that all operations undertaken with minimally invasive techniques require robotic technology. Herein, we attempt to define how surgeon skill, operative difficulty, patient outcomes, and cost factors determine when robotic technology should be reasonably applied to patient care in surgery.

8th International Conference on Field and Service Robotics

CERN Document Server

Tadokoro, Satoshi

2014-01-01

FSR, the International Conference on Field and Service Robotics, is the leading single track conference of robotics for field and service applications. This book presents the results of FSR2012, the eighth conference of Field and Service Robotics, which was originally planned for 2011 with the venue of Matsushima in Tohoku region of Japan. However, on March 11, 2011, a magnitude M9.0 earthquake occurred off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, and a large-scale disaster was caused by the Tsunami which resulted, therefore the conference was postponed by one year to July, 2012. In fact, this earthquake raised issues concerning the contribution of field and service robotics technology to emergency scenarios. A number of precious lessons were learned from operation of robots in the resulting, very real and challenging, disaster environments. Up-to-date study on disaster response, relief and recovery was then featured in the conference. This book offers 43 papers on a broad range of topics including: Disaster Response, Se...

Gathering asychronous mobile robots with inaccurate compasses

OpenAIRE

Souissi, Samia; Defago, Xavier; Yamashita, Masafumi

2006-01-01

This paper considers a system of asynchronous autonomous mobile robots that can move freely in a twodimensional plane with no agreement on a common coordinate system. Starting from any initial configuration, the robots are required to eventually gather at a single point, not fixed in advance (gathering problem). Prior work has shown that gathering oblivious (i.e., stateless) robots cannot be achieved deterministically without additional assumptions. In particular, if robots can detect multipl...

Trends in control and decision-making for human-robot collaboration systems

CERN Document Server

Zhang, Fumin

2017-01-01

This book provides an overview of recent research developments in the automation and control of robotic systems that collaborate with humans. A measure of human collaboration being necessary for the optimal operation of any robotic system, the contributors exploit a broad selection of such systems to demonstrate the importance of the subject, particularly where the environment is prone to uncertainty or complexity. They show how such human strengths as high-level decision-making, flexibility, and dexterity can be combined with robotic precision, and ability to perform task repetitively or in a dangerous environment. The book focuses on quantitative methods and control design for guaranteed robot performance and balanced human experience. Its contributions develop and expand upon material presented at various international conferences. They are organized into three parts covering: one-human–one-robot collaboration; one-human–multiple-robot collaboration; and human–swarm collaboration. Individual topic ar...

Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design 2016

CERN Document Server

Saunders, Rob; Burry, Jane

2016-01-01

The book presents the proceedings of Rob/Arch 2016, the third international conference on robotic fabrication in architecture, art, and design. The work contains a wide range of contemporary topics, from methodologies for incorporating dynamic material feedback into existing fabrication processes, to novel interfaces for robotic programming, to new processes for large-scale automated construction. The latent argument behind this research is that the term ‘file-to-factory’ must not be a reductive celebration of expediency but instead a perpetual challenge to increase the quality of feedback between design, matter, and making.

Identifying Factors Reinforcing Robotization: Interactive Forces of Employment, Working Hour and Wage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joonmo Cho

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Unlike previous studies on robotization approaching the future based on the cutting-edge technologies and adopting a framework where robotization is considered as an exogenous variable, this study considers that robotization occurs endogenously and uses it as a dependent variable for an objective examination of the effect of robotization on the labor market. To this end, a robotization indicator is created based on the actual number of industrial robots currently deployed in workplaces, and a multiple regression analysis is performed using the robotization indicator and labor variables such as employment, working hours, and wage. The results using the multiple regression considering the triangular relationship of employment–working-hours–wages show that job destruction due to robotization is not too remarkable yet that use. Our results show the complementary relation between employment and robotization, but the substituting relation between working hour and robotization. The results also demonstrate the effects of union, the size of the company and the proportion of production workers and simple labor workers etc. These findings indicate that the degree of robotization may vary with many factors of the labor market. Limitations of this study and implications for future research are also discussed.

Optimization-Based Controllers for Robotics Applications (OCRA: The Case of iCub’s Whole-Body Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorhabib G. Eljaik

2018-03-01

Full Text Available OCRA stands for Optimization-based Control for Robotics Applications. It consists of a set of platform-independent libraries which facilitates the development of optimization-based controllers for articulated robots. Hierarchical, weighted, and hybrid control strategies can easily be implemented using these tools. The generic interfaces provided by OCRA allow different robots to use the exact same controllers. OCRA also allows users to specify high-level objectives via tasks. These tasks provide an intuitive way of generating complex behaviors and can be specified in XML format. To illustrate the use of OCRA, an implementation of interest to this research topic for the humanoid robot iCub is presented. OCRA stands for Optimization-based Control for Robotics Applications. It consists of a set of platform-independent libraries which facilitates the development of optimization-based controllers for articulated robots. Hierarchical, weighted, and hybrid control strategies can easily be implemented using these tools. The generic interfaces provided by OCRA allow different robots to use the exact same controllers. OCRA also allows users to specify high-level objectives via tasks. These tasks provide an intuitive way of generating complex behaviors and can be specified in XML format. To illustrate the use of OCRA, an implementation of interest to this research topic for the humanoid robot iCub is presented.

Human-robot collaboration for a shared mission

OpenAIRE

Karami , Abir-Beatrice; Jeanpierre , Laurent; Mouaddib , Abdel-Illah

2010-01-01

International audience; We are interested in collaboration domains between a robot and a human partner, the partners share a common mission without an explicit communication about their plans. The decision process of the robot agent should consider the presence of its human partner. Also, the robot planning should be flexible to human comfortability and all possible changes in the shared environment. To solve the problem of human-robot collaborationwith no communication, we present a model th...

Epidemic Synchronization in Robotic Swarms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schiøler, Henrik; Nielsen, Jens Frederik Dalsgaard; Ngo, Trung Dung

2009-01-01

Clock synchronization in swarms of networked mobile robots is studied in a probabilistic, epidemic framework. In this setting communication and synchonization is considered to be a randomized process, taking place at unplanned instants of geographical rendezvous between robots. In combination...... as an infinite-dimensional optimal controlproblem. Illustrative numerical examples are given and commented....

Robotic Milking Implementation in the Sverdlovsk Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Egor Artyomovich Skvortcov

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The research topic is relevant due to a high rate of the implementation of milking robots (automatic milking system, AMS in Western Europe and in the Middle Urals. As of January 1, 2016, 21 milking robot systems of six different brands of foreign production were installed in the region. Milking robotics is used in small, medium and large enterprises (by the number of personnel, in contrast to Western Europe, where it is mainly used on the farms of family type. The article examines the socioeconomic causes of the introduction of robotics, as well as the impact of the use of robots to the economic indicators of milk production. The expert survey has revealed as the main reasons for the introduction of robotics, a desire to reduce the risks of personnel (45.5 % and a shortage of staff (18.2 %. The analysis of the utilization efficiency of fixed assets in all organizations introduced robots has shown both a decrease of capital productivity after the introduction of milking robots for 15–60 % or more, and the reduce of the profit rate in 9 out of 11 of the analysed organizations because of the high capital intensity of robotics projects. The analysis of labour indicators and the net cost of milk is carried out in 45.5 % of organizations, where we have obtained the consistent results of the use of robotics. The authors have analysed the direct costs for the production of 1 quintal of milk. In a group of 5 companies, on a robotic farm, it is 5.1 % lower than in a conventional farm. The complexity of the production of milk on a robotic farm is lower by 48.7 %, and labour productivity per person is higher on 95.3 % than on conventional farms. The results of the study can be used as the recommendations for agricultural organizations to use robotics milking to reduce the deficit of staff and to minimize the impact of personnel risks on production results. The growth of the importance of the reasons for the introduction of milking robots and a high

A Multi-Sensorial Hybrid Control for Robotic Manipulation in Human-Robot Workspaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan A. Corrales

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Autonomous manipulation in semi-structured environments where human operators can interact is an increasingly common task in robotic applications. This paper describes an intelligent multi-sensorial approach that solves this issue by providing a multi-robotic platform with a high degree of autonomy and the capability to perform complex tasks. The proposed sensorial system is composed of a hybrid visual servo control to efficiently guide the robot towards the object to be manipulated, an inertial motion capture system and an indoor localization system to avoid possible collisions between human operators and robots working in the same workspace, and a tactile sensor algorithm to correctly manipulate the object. The proposed controller employs the whole multi-sensorial system and combines the measurements of each one of the used sensors during two different phases considered in the robot task: a first phase where the robot approaches the object to be grasped, and a second phase of manipulation of the object. In both phases, the unexpected presence of humans is taken into account. This paper also presents the successful results obtained in several experimental setups which verify the validity of the proposed approach.

The merits of a robot : A Dutch experience

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mobach, M.P.

2006-01-01

Purpose: To determine the merits of a robot at the community pharmacy in a quasi-experiment. Method: The applied methods for data-collection were barcode-time measurements, direct observations, time-interval studies, and tally at a Dutch community pharmacy. The topics consisted of workload, waiting

Long distance synchronization of mobile robots

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alvarez Aguirre, A.; Nijmeijer, H.; Oguchi, T.

2010-01-01

This paper considers the long distance master-slave and mutual synchronization of unicycle-type mobile robots. The issues that arise when the elements of a robotic network are placed in different locations are addressed, specifically the time-delay induced by the communication channel linking the

Little AI: Playing a constructivist robot

Science.gov (United States)

Georgeon, Olivier L.

Little AI is a pedagogical game aimed at presenting the founding concepts of constructivist learning and developmental Artificial Intelligence. It primarily targets students in computer science and cognitive science but it can also interest the general public curious about these topics. It requires no particular scientific background; even children can find it entertaining. Professors can use it as a pedagogical resource in class or in online courses. The player presses buttons to control a simulated "baby robot". The player cannot see the robot and its environment, and initially ignores the effects of the commands. The only information received by the player is feedback from the player's commands. The player must learn, at the same time, the functioning of the robot's body and the structure of the environment from patterns in the stream of commands and feedback. We argue that this situation is analogous to how infants engage in early-stage developmental learning (e.g., Piaget (1937), [1]).

Movement coordination in applied human-human and human-robot interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schubö, Anna; Vesper, Cordula; Wiesbeck, Mathey

2007-01-01

and describing human-human interaction in terms of goal-oriented movement coordination is considered an important and necessary step for designing and describing human-robot interaction. In the present scenario, trajectories of hand and finger movements were recorded while two human participants performed......The present paper describes a scenario for examining mechanisms of movement coordination in humans and robots. It is assumed that coordination can best be achieved when behavioral rules that shape movement execution in humans are also considered for human-robot interaction. Investigating...... coordination were affected. Implications for human-robot interaction are discussed....

Manifold learning in machine vision and robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Bernstein, Alexander

2017-02-01

Smart algorithms are used in Machine vision and Robotics to organize or extract high-level information from the available data. Nowadays, Machine learning is an essential and ubiquitous tool to automate extraction patterns or regularities from data (images in Machine vision; camera, laser, and sonar sensors data in Robotics) in order to solve various subject-oriented tasks such as understanding and classification of images content, navigation of mobile autonomous robot in uncertain environments, robot manipulation in medical robotics and computer-assisted surgery, and other. Usually such data have high dimensionality, however, due to various dependencies between their components and constraints caused by physical reasons, all "feasible and usable data" occupy only a very small part in high dimensional "observation space" with smaller intrinsic dimensionality. Generally accepted model of such data is manifold model in accordance with which the data lie on or near an unknown manifold (surface) of lower dimensionality embedded in an ambient high dimensional observation space; real-world high-dimensional data obtained from "natural" sources meet, as a rule, this model. The use of Manifold learning technique in Machine vision and Robotics, which discovers a low-dimensional structure of high dimensional data and results in effective algorithms for solving of a large number of various subject-oriented tasks, is the content of the conference plenary speech some topics of which are in the paper.

ANALYSIS of Control Force Grasping for a Multifunctional Five Fingered Robot to Pick-up Various of Components

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Widhiada W.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Multi-fingered robot gripper has become popular in the major research topics as grasping an object in robotic systems. The author considers a matter of style-based control model for a multi-fingered robot hand grasping an object with a known geometric characteristics. This paper introduces design process and analysis of contact force the five fingered gripper suitable to handle several of objects. The author applied Simulink/SimMechanics, Support package Arduino and Inventor software packages to facilatate and integrated the design of contact force gripper systems. The advance of PID control is used to control dynamics motions of the five fingered gripper systems. The multifunction finger’s gripper is developed to handle the various components. Contact force between fingertips and object surface is computed using the Hooke law concept. The analysis of experiment result shows the optimum of contact forces are achieved to hold the object. The spring and damper algorithm is used to compute the interaction of force between fingertips and object surface.

Digital Emotion : How Audiences React to Robots on Screen

OpenAIRE

Damian Schofield,

2018-01-01

The experience of interacting with robots is becoming a more pervasive part of our day-to-day life. When considering the experience of interacting with other technologies and artefacts, interaction with robots presents a distinct and potentially unique component: physical connection. Robots share our physical space; this is a prominent part of the interaction experience. Robots offer a lifelike presence and the Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) issues go beyond the traditional interactions of mor...

Line and Circle Formation of Distributed Physical Mobile Robots

OpenAIRE

Yun, Xiaoping; Alptekin, Gokhan; Albayrak, Okay

1997-01-01

The formation problem of distributed mobile robots was studied in the literature for idealized robots. Idealized robots are able to instantaneously move in any directions, and are equipped with perfect range sensors. In this study, we address the formation problem of distributed mobile robots that are subject to physical constraints. Mobile robots considered in this study have physical dimensions and their motions are governed by physical laws. They are equipped with sonar and ...

Analysis of reaching movements of upper arm in robot assisted exercises. Kinematic assessment of robot assisted upper arm reaching single-joint movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Iuppariello, Luigi; D'Addio, Giovanni; Romano, Maria; Bifulco, Paolo; Lanzillo, Bernardo; Pappone, Nicola; Cesarelli, Mario

2016-01-01

Robot-mediated therapy (RMT) has been a very dynamic area of research in recent years. Robotics devices are in fact capable to quantify the performances of a rehabilitation task in treatments of several disorders of the arm and the shoulder of various central and peripheral etiology. Different systems for robot-aided neuro-rehabilitation are available for upper limb rehabilitation but the biomechanical parameters proposed until today, to evaluate the quality of the movement, are related to the specific robot used and to the type of exercise performed. Besides, none study indicated a standardized quantitative evaluation of robot assisted upper arm reaching movements, so the RMT is still far to be considered a standardised tool. In this paper a quantitative kinematic assessment of robot assisted upper arm reaching movements, considering also the effect of gravity on the quality of the movements, is proposed. We studied a group of 10 healthy subjects and results indicate that our advised protocol can be useful for characterising normal pattern in reaching movements.

Robots: Fantasy and Reality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calder, Neil

2007-04-27

A irreverent non-technical review of the history of surprisingly animate machines, from ancient Egypt to current times. Areas include teleoperators for hazardous environments, assembly systems, medical applications, entertainment, and science fiction. The talk has over 100 slides, covering such varied topics as Memnon son of Dawn, Droz's automata, Vaucanson's duck, cathedral clocks, Von Kempelen's chess player, household robots, Asimov's laws, Disneyland, dinosaurs, and movie droids and cyborgs.

From Virtual Creatures to Feasible Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faina, Andres; Souto, Daniel; Orjales, Félix

with the main objective of obtaining feasible and manufacturable robots. To this end, a modular architecture has been defined and implemented [2], which faces real hardware issues and promotes the evolvability of the robotic structures by considering heterogeneous modules with a large number of connection faces......This paper provides a brief description of the robots obtained using the evolutionary design system called EDHMoR (Evolutionary Designer of Heterogeneous Modular Robots) that are displayed in the corresponding video [1]. This system is based on the coevolution of morphology and control...... per module. These modules constitute the building blocks the EDHMoR system uses to design the robots. Moreover, an evaluation methodology is proposed as a key element of EDMHoR, which is based on modifications in the environment that can produce more useful and realistic robots without limiting...

Laws on Robots, Laws by Robots, Laws in Robots : Regulating Robot Behaviour by Design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leenes, R.E.; Lucivero, F.

2015-01-01

Speculation about robot morality is almost as old as the concept of a robot itself. Asimov’s three laws of robotics provide an early and well-discussed example of moral rules robots should observe. Despite the widespread influence of the three laws of robotics and their role in shaping visions of

Energy efficiency of mobile soft robots.

Science.gov (United States)

Shui, Langquan; Zhu, Liangliang; Yang, Zhe; Liu, Yilun; Chen, Xi

2017-11-15

The performance of mobile soft robots is usually characterized by their locomotion/velocity efficiency, whereas the energy efficiency is a more intrinsic and fundamental criterion for the performance evaluation of independent or integrated soft robots. In this work, a general framework is established to evaluate the energy efficiency of mobile soft robots by considering the efficiency of the energy source, actuator and locomotion, and some insights for improving the efficiency of soft robotic systems are presented. Proposed as the ratio of the desired locomotion kinetic energy to the input mechanical energy, the energy efficiency of locomotion is found to play a critical role in determining the overall energy efficiency of soft robots. Four key factors related to the locomotion energy efficiency are identified, that is, the locomotion modes, material properties, geometric sizes, and actuation states. It is found that the energy efficiency of most mobile soft robots reported in the literature is surprisingly low (mostly below 0.1%), due to the inefficient mechanical energy that essentially does not contribute to the desired locomotion. A comparison of the locomotion energy efficiency for several representative locomotion modes in the literature is presented, showing a descending ranking as: jumping ≫ fish-like swimming > snake-like slithering > rolling > rising/turning over > inchworm-like inching > quadruped gait > earthworm-like squirming. Besides, considering the same locomotion mode, soft robots with lower stiffness, higher density and larger size tend to have higher locomotion energy efficiency. Moreover, a periodic pulse actuation instead of a continuous actuation mode may significantly reduce the input mechanical energy, thus improving the locomotion energy efficiency, especially when the pulse actuation matches the resonant states of the soft robots. The results presented herein indicate a large and necessary space for improving the locomotion energy

To Err Is Robot: How Humans Assess and Act toward an Erroneous Social Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicole Mirnig

2017-05-01

. In contrast to existing research, we assess dimensions of user experience that have not been considered so far and we analyze the reactions users express when a robot makes a mistake. Our results show that decoding a human’s social signals can help the robot understand that there is an error and subsequently react accordingly.

Sensor-guided parking system for a carlike robot

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Kaichum; Seneviratne, L. D.

1998-07-01

This paper presents an automated parking strategy for a car- like mobile robot. The study considers general parking manoeuvre cases for a rectangular robot, including parallel parking. The robot is constructed simulating a conventional car, which is subject to non-holonomic constraints and thus only has two degrees of freedom. The parking space is considered as rectangular, and detected by ultrasonic sensors mounted on the robot. A motion planning algorithm develops a collision-free path for parking, taking into account the non- holonomic constraints acting on the car-like robot. A research into general car maneuvers has been conducted and useful results have been achieved. The motion planning algorithm uses these results, combined with configuration space method, to produce a collision-free path for parallel parking, depending on the parking space detected. A control program in the form of a graphical user interface has been developed for users to operate the system with ease. The strategy is implemented on a modified B12 mobile robot. The strategy presented has the potential for application in automobiles.

30 Years of Robotic Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Leal Ghezzi, Tiago; Campos Corleta, Oly

2016-10-01

The idea of reproducing himself with the use of a mechanical robot structure has been in man's imagination in the last 3000 years. However, the use of robots in medicine has only 30 years of history. The application of robots in surgery originates from the need of modern man to achieve two goals: the telepresence and the performance of repetitive and accurate tasks. The first "robot surgeon" used on a human patient was the PUMA 200 in 1985. In the 1990s, scientists developed the concept of "master-slave" robot, which consisted of a robot with remote manipulators controlled by a surgeon at a surgical workstation. Despite the lack of force and tactile feedback, technical advantages of robotic surgery, such as 3D vision, stable and magnified image, EndoWrist instruments, physiologic tremor filtering, and motion scaling, have been considered fundamental to overcome many of the limitations of the laparoscopic surgery. Since the approval of the da Vinci(®) robot by international agencies, American, European, and Asian surgeons have proved its factibility and safety for the performance of many different robot-assisted surgeries. Comparative studies of robotic and laparoscopic surgical procedures in general surgery have shown similar results with regard to perioperative, oncological, and functional outcomes. However, higher costs and lack of haptic feedback represent the major limitations of current robotic technology to become the standard technique of minimally invasive surgery worldwide. Therefore, the future of robotic surgery involves cost reduction, development of new platforms and technologies, creation and validation of curriculum and virtual simulators, and conduction of randomized clinical trials to determine the best applications of robotics.

The application of manipulator robot for nuclear plant maintenance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohata, Yukifumi; Fujita, Jun; Onishi, Ken; Tsuhari, Hiroyuki; Hosoe, Fumihiro

2010-01-01

In the maintenance works at nuclear power plant, robots are used because of high radiation, narrow space and underwater work. Various robots are needed because there is various maintenance works. This is inefficiency. As the solutions, we developed manipulator robots for the access of specialized tools. This study shows manipulator robots developed by MHI, application example to maintenance works and effectiveness of manipulator robots. When robotization of maintenance works are considered, manipulator technology is very effective solution means. We achieved efficiency improvement and the reliability improvement by developing a high generality manipulator. (author)

Toward understanding social cues and signals in human-robot interaction: effects of robot gaze and proxemic behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiore, Stephen M; Wiltshire, Travis J; Lobato, Emilio J C; Jentsch, Florian G; Huang, Wesley H; Axelrod, Benjamin

2013-01-01

As robots are increasingly deployed in settings requiring social interaction, research is needed to examine the social signals perceived by humans when robots display certain social cues. In this paper, we report a study designed to examine how humans interpret social cues exhibited by robots. We first provide a brief overview of perspectives from social cognition in humans and how these processes are applicable to human-robot interaction (HRI). We then discuss the need to examine the relationship between social cues and signals as a function of the degree to which a robot is perceived as a socially present agent. We describe an experiment in which social cues were manipulated on an iRobot Ava(TM) mobile robotics platform in a hallway navigation scenario. Cues associated with the robot's proxemic behavior were found to significantly affect participant perceptions of the robot's social presence and emotional state while cues associated with the robot's gaze behavior were not found to be significant. Further, regardless of the proxemic behavior, participants attributed more social presence and emotional states to the robot over repeated interactions than when they first interacted with it. Generally, these results indicate the importance for HRI research to consider how social cues expressed by a robot can differentially affect perceptions of the robot's mental states and intentions. The discussion focuses on implications for the design of robotic systems and future directions for research on the relationship between social cues and signals.

Presence of Life-Like Robot Expressions Influences Children’s Enjoyment of Human-Robot Interactions in the Field

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cameron, David; Fernando, Samuel; Collins, Emily; Millings, Abigail; Moore, Roger; Sharkey, Amanda; Evers, Vanessa; Prescott, Tony

Emotions, and emotional expression, have a broad influence on the interactions we have with others and are thus a key factor to consider in developing social robots. As part of a collaborative EU project, this study examined the impact of lifelike affective facial expressions, in the humanoid robot

Simultaneous scheduling of machines and mobile robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dang, Vinh Quang; Nielsen, Izabela Ewa

2013-01-01

This paper deals with the problem of simultaneously scheduling machines and a number of autonomous mobile robots in a flexible manufacturing system (FMS). Besides capability of transporting materials between machines, the considered mobile robots are different from other material handling devices...

Comparing Consider-Covariance Analysis with Sigma-Point Consider Filter and Linear-Theory Consider Filter Formulations

Science.gov (United States)

Lisano, Michael E.

2007-01-01

Recent literature in applied estimation theory reflects growing interest in the sigma-point (also called unscented ) formulation for optimal sequential state estimation, often describing performance comparisons with extended Kalman filters as applied to specific dynamical problems [c.f. 1, 2, 3]. Favorable attributes of sigma-point filters are described as including a lower expected error for nonlinear even non-differentiable dynamical systems, and a straightforward formulation not requiring derivation or implementation of any partial derivative Jacobian matrices. These attributes are particularly attractive, e.g. in terms of enabling simplified code architecture and streamlined testing, in the formulation of estimators for nonlinear spaceflight mechanics systems, such as filter software onboard deep-space robotic spacecraft. As presented in [4], the Sigma-Point Consider Filter (SPCF) algorithm extends the sigma-point filter algorithm to the problem of consider covariance analysis. Considering parameters in a dynamical system, while estimating its state, provides an upper bound on the estimated state covariance, which is viewed as a conservative approach to designing estimators for problems of general guidance, navigation and control. This is because, whether a parameter in the system model is observable or not, error in the knowledge of the value of a non-estimated parameter will increase the actual uncertainty of the estimated state of the system beyond the level formally indicated by the covariance of an estimator that neglects errors or uncertainty in that parameter. The equations for SPCF covariance evolution are obtained in a fashion similar to the derivation approach taken with standard (i.e. linearized or extended) consider parameterized Kalman filters (c.f. [5]). While in [4] the SPCF and linear-theory consider filter (LTCF) were applied to an illustrative linear dynamics/linear measurement problem, in the present work examines the SPCF as applied to

Cultural Robotics: The Culture of Robotics and Robotics in Culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hooman Samani

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we have investigated the concept of “Cultural Robotics” with regard to the evolution of social into cultural robots in the 21st Century. By defining the concept of culture, the potential development of a culture between humans and robots is explored. Based on the cultural values of the robotics developers, and the learning ability of current robots, cultural attributes in this regard are in the process of being formed, which would define the new concept of cultural robotics. According to the importance of the embodiment of robots in the sense of presence, the influence of robots in communication culture is anticipated. The sustainability of robotics culture based on diversity for cultural communities for various acceptance modalities is explored in order to anticipate the creation of different attributes of culture between robots and humans in the future.

Friendly network robotics; Friendly network robotics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

This paper summarizes the research results on the friendly network robotics in fiscal 1996. This research assumes an android robot as an ultimate robot and the future robot system utilizing computer network technology. The robot aiming at human daily work activities in factories or under extreme environments is required to work under usual human work environments. The human robot with similar size, shape and functions to human being is desirable. Such robot having a head with two eyes, two ears and mouth can hold a conversation with human being, can walk with two legs by autonomous adaptive control, and has a behavior intelligence. Remote operation of such robot is also possible through high-speed computer network. As a key technology to use this robot under coexistence with human being, establishment of human coexistent robotics was studied. As network based robotics, use of robots connected with computer networks was also studied. In addition, the R-cube (R{sup 3}) plan (realtime remote control robot technology) was proposed. 82 refs., 86 figs., 12 tabs.

Middleware Interoperability for Robotics: A ROS-YARP Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Plinio Moreno

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Middlewares are fundamental tools for progress in research and applications in robotics. They enable the integration of multiple heterogeneous sensing and actuation devices, as well as providing general purpose modules for key robotics functions (kinematics, navigation, planning. However, no existing middleware yet provides a complete set of functionalities for all robotics applications, and many robots may need to rely on more than one framework. This paper focuses on the interoperability between two of the most prevalent middleware in robotics: YARP and ROS. Interoperability between middlewares should ideally allow users to execute existing software without the necessity of: (i changing the existing code, and (ii writing hand-coded ``bridges'' for each use-case. We propose a framework enabling the communication between existing YARP modules and ROS nodes for robotics applications in an automated way. Our approach generates the ``bridging gap'' code from a configuration file, connecting YARP ports and ROS topics through code-generated YARP Bottles. %%The configuration file must describe: (i the sender entities, (ii the way to group and convert the information read from the sender, (iii the structure of the output message and (iv the receiving entity. Our choice for the many inputs to one output is the most common use-case in robotics applications, where examples include filtering, decision making and visualization. %We support YARP/ROS and ROS/YARP sender/receiver configurations, which are demonstrated in a humanoid on wheels robot that uses YARP for upper body motor control and visual perception, and ROS for mobile base control and navigation algorithms.

Robot vision for nuclear advanced robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakayama, Ryoichi; Okano, Hideharu; Kuno, Yoshinori; Miyazawa, Tatsuo; Shimada, Hideo; Okada, Satoshi; Kawamura, Astuo

1991-01-01

This paper describes Robot Vision and Operation System for Nuclear Advanced Robot. This Robot Vision consists of robot position detection, obstacle detection and object recognition. With these vision techniques, a mobile robot can make a path and move autonomously along the planned path. The authors implemented the above robot vision system on the 'Advanced Robot for Nuclear Power Plant' and tested in an environment mocked up as nuclear power plant facilities. Since the operation system for this robot consists of operator's console and a large stereo monitor, this system can be easily operated by one person. Experimental tests were made using the Advanced Robot (nuclear robot). Results indicate that the proposed operation system is very useful, and can be operate by only person. (author)

Robot bicolor system

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaba, Kazuo

1999-03-01

In case of robot vision, most important problem is the processing speed of acquiring and analyzing images are less than the speed of execution of the robot. In an actual robot color vision system, it is considered that the system should be processed at real time. We guessed this problem might be solved using by the bicolor analysis technique. We have been testing a system which we hope will give us insight to the properties of bicolor vision. The experiment is used the red channel of a color CCD camera and an image from a monochromatic camera to duplicate McCann's theory. To mix the two signals together, the mono image is copied into each of the red, green and blue memory banks of the image processing board and then added the red image to the red bank. On the contrary, pure color images, red, green and blue components are obtained from the original bicolor images in the novel color system after the scaling factor is added to each RGB image. Our search for a bicolor robot vision system was entirely successful.

SPECIAL ROBOTS FOR ENERGETICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sit M.L.

2014-04-01

Full Text Available An overview of robots used in the power industry for diagnostics of power lines, cable lines, for the control, monitoring and maintenance of wind turbines, in nuclear energy, for optimum orientation of solar photovoltaic plants and solar panels for cleaning. Equations of statics and dynamics of robotic car which lifts along the vertical flexible rope are considered. It is presented the design which is made on the basis of "Lego Mindstorms" to solve the problem.

Mapping of unknown industrial plant using ROS-based navigation mobile robot

Science.gov (United States)

Priyandoko, G.; Ming, T. Y.; Achmad, M. S. H.

2017-10-01

This research examines how humans work with teleoperated unmanned mobile robot inspection in industrial plant area resulting 2D/3D map for further critical evaluation. This experiment focuses on two parts, the way human-robot doing remote interactions using robust method and the way robot perceives the environment surround as a 2D/3D perspective map. ROS (robot operating system) as a tool was utilized in the development and implementation during the research which comes up with robust data communication method in the form of messages and topics. RGBD SLAM performs the visual mapping function to construct 2D/3D map using Kinect sensor. The results showed that the mobile robot-based teleoperated system are successful to extend human perspective in term of remote surveillance in large area of industrial plant. It was concluded that the proposed work is robust solution for large mapping within an unknown construction building.

Transformative Multicultural Science curriculum: A case study of middle school robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Grimes, Mary Katheryn

Multicultural Science has been a topic of research and discourse over the past several years. However, most of the literature concerning this topic (or paradigm) has centered on programs in tribal or Indigenous schools. Under the framework of instructional congruence, this case study explored how elementary and middle school students in a culturally diverse charter school responded to a Multicultural Science program. Furthermore, this research sought to better understand the dynamics of teaching and learning strategies used within the paradigm of Multicultural Science. The school's Robotics class, a class typically stereotyped as fitting within the misconceptions associated with the Western Modern Science paradigm, was the center of this case study. A triangulation of data consisted of class observations throughout two semesters; pre and post student science attitude surveys; and interviews with individual students, Robotic student teams, the Robotics class instructor, and school administration. Three themes emerged from the data that conceptualized the influence of a Multicultural Science curriculum with ethnically diverse students in a charter school's Robotics class. Results included the students' perceptions of a connection between science (i.e., Robotics) and their personal lives, a positive growth in the students' attitude toward science (and engineering), and a sense of personal empowerment toward being successful in science. However, also evident in the findings were the students' stereotypical attitudes toward science (and scientists) and their lack of understanding of the Nature of Science. Implications from this study include suggestions toward the development of Multicultural Science curricula in public schools. Modifications in university science methods courses to include the Multicultural Science paradigm are also suggested.

Trajectory Planning and Walking Pattern Generation of Humanoid Robot Motion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeed Abdolshah

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Walking trajectory generation for a humanoid robot is a challenging control  issue. In this paper, a walking cycle has been recognized considering human motion, and nine simple steps were distinguished in a full step of walking which form motion trajectory, and generates a simplified ZMP motion formulation. This system was used in humanoid robot simulation motion and is achievable easily in walking steps of robot. A minimum DOFs humanoid robot has been considered and geometrical relationships between the robot links were presented by the Denavit-Hartenberg method. The inverse kinematics equations have been solved regarding to extracted ZMP trajectory formula, and constraints in different steps. As a result; angular velocity, acceleration and power of motors were obtained using the relationships and Jacobin. At each step, extracted data were applied on simulated robot in Matlab, and Visual Nastran software. Zero moment point trajectory was evaluated in simulation environment.

Humanlike Robots - Synthetically Mimicking Humans

Science.gov (United States)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2012-01-01

Nature inspired many inventions and the field of technology that is based on the mimicking or inspiration of nature is widely known as Biomimetics and it is increasingly leading to many new capabilities. There are numerous examples of biomimetic successes including the copying of fins for swimming, and the inspiration of the insects and birds flight. More and more commercial implementations of biomimetics are appearing and behaving lifelike and applications are emerging that are important to our daily life. Making humanlike robots is the ultimate challenge to biomimetics and, for many years, it was considered science fiction, but such robots are becoming an engineering reality. Advances in producing such robot are allowing them to perform impressive functions and tasks. The development of such robots involves addressing many challenges and is raising concerns that are related to fear of their application implications and potential ethical issues. In this paper, the state-of-the-art of humanlike robots, potential applications and challenges will be reviewed.

Solar-based navigation for robotic explorers

Science.gov (United States)

Shillcutt, Kimberly Jo

2000-12-01

This thesis introduces the application of solar position and shadowing information to robotic exploration. Power is a critical resource for robots with remote, long-term missions, so this research focuses on the power generation capabilities of robotic explorers during navigational tasks, in addition to power consumption. Solar power is primarily considered, with the possibility of wind power also contemplated. Information about the environment, including the solar ephemeris, terrain features, time of day, and surface location, is incorporated into a planning structure, allowing robots to accurately predict shadowing and thus potential costs and gains during navigational tasks. By evaluating its potential to generate and expend power, a robot can extend its lifetime and accomplishments. The primary tasks studied are coverage patterns, with a variety of plans developed for this research. The use of sun, terrain and temporal information also enables new capabilities of identifying and following sun-synchronous and sun-seeking paths. Digital elevation maps are combined with an ephemeris algorithm to calculate the altitude and azimuth of the sun from surface locations, and to identify and map shadows. Solar navigation path simulators use this information to perform searches through two-dimensional space, while considering temporal changes. Step by step simulations of coverage patterns also incorporate time in addition to location. Evaluations of solar and wind power generation, power consumption, area coverage, area overlap, and time are generated for sets of coverage patterns, with on-board environmental information linked to the simulations. This research is implemented on the Nomad robot for the Robotic Antarctic Meteorite Search. Simulators have been developed for coverage pattern tests, as well as for sun-synchronous and sun-seeking path searches. Results of field work and simulations are reported and analyzed, with demonstrated improvements in efficiency

DEVELOPMENT OF GENETIC ALGORITHM-BASED METHODOLOGY FOR SCHEDULING OF MOBILE ROBOTS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dang, Vinh Quang

problem is to minimize the total traveling time of the single mobile robot and thereby increase its availability. For the second scheduling problem, a fleet of mobile robots is considered together with a set of machines to carry out different types of tasks, e.g. pre-assembly or quality inspection. Some...... problem and finding optimal solutions for each one. However, the formulated mathematical models could only be applicable to small-scale problems in practice due to the significant increase of computation time as the problem size grows. Note that making schedules of mobile robots is part of real-time....... For the first scheduling problem, a single mobile robot is considered to collect and transport container of parts and empty them into machine feeders where needed. A limit on carrying capacity of the single mobile robot and hard time windows of part-feeding tasks are considered. The objective of the first...

Robot assistant versus human or another robot assistant in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurusamy, Kurinchi Selvan; Samraj, Kumarakrishnan; Fusai, Giuseppe; Davidson, Brian R

2012-09-12

The role of a robotic assistant in laparoscopic cholecystectomy is controversial. While some trials have shown distinct advantages of a robotic assistant over a human assistant others have not, and it is unclear which robotic assistant is best. The aims of this review are to assess the benefits and harms of a robot assistant versus human assistant or versus another robot assistant in laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and to assess whether the robot can substitute the human assistant. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Science Citation Index Expanded (until February 2012) for identifying the randomised clinical trials. Only randomised clinical trials (irrespective of language, blinding, or publication status) comparing robot assistants versus human assistants in laparoscopic cholecystectomy were considered for the review. Randomised clinical trials comparing different types of robot assistants were also considered for the review. Two authors independently identified the trials for inclusion and independently extracted the data. We calculated the risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) using the fixed-effect and the random-effects models based on intention-to-treat analysis, when possible, using Review Manager 5. We included six trials with 560 patients. One trial involving 129 patients did not state the number of patients randomised to the two groups. In the remaining five trials 431 patients were randomised, 212 to the robot assistant group and 219 to the human assistant group. All the trials were at high risk of bias. Mortality and morbidity were reported in only one trial with 40 patients. There was no mortality or morbidity in either group. Mortality and morbidity were not reported in the remaining trials. Quality of life or the proportion of patients who were discharged as day-patient laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients were not reported in any

The Virtual Robotics Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kress, R.L.; Love, L.J.

1999-09-01

The growth of the Internet has provided a unique opportunity to expand research collaborations between industry, universities, and the national laboratories. The Virtual Robotics Laboratory (VRL) is an innovative program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that is focusing on the issues related to collaborative research through controlled access of laboratory equipment using the World Wide Web. The VRL will provide different levels of access to selected ORNL laboratory secondary education programs. In the past, the ORNL Robotics and Process Systems Division has developed state-of-the-art robotic systems for the Army, NASA, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, as well as many other clients. After proof of concept, many of these systems sit dormant in the laboratories. This is not out of completion of all possible research topics. but from completion of contracts and generation of new programs. In the past, a number of visiting professors have used this equipment for their own research. However, this requires that the professor, and possibly his/her students, spend extended periods at the laboratory facility. In addition, only a very exclusive group of faculty can gain access to the laboratory and hardware. The VRL is a tool that enables extended collaborative efforts without regard to geographic limitations.

The Virtual Robotics Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kress, R.L.; Love, L.J.

1997-01-01

The growth of the Internet has provided a unique opportunity to expand research collaborations between industry, universities, and the national laboratories. The Virtual Robotics Laboratory (VRL) is an innovative program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that is focusing on the issues related to collaborative research through controlled access of laboratory equipment using the World Wide Web. The VRL will provide different levels of access to selected ORNL laboratory equipment to outside universities, industrial researchers, and elementary and secondary education programs. In the past, the ORNL Robotics and Process Systems Division (RPSD) has developed state-of-the-art robotic systems for the Army, NASA, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, as well as many other clients. After proof of concept, many of these systems sit dormant in the laboratories. This is not out of completion of all possible research topics, but from completion of contracts and generation of new programs. In the past, a number of visiting professors have used this equipment for their own research. However, this requires that the professor, and possibly his students, spend extended periods at the laboratory facility. In addition, only a very exclusive group of faculty can gain access to the laboratory and hardware. The VRL is a tool that enables extended collaborative efforts without regard to geographic limitations

The application of manipulator robot for nuclear power plant maintenance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujita, Jun; Onishi, Ken

2009-01-01

In the maintenance works at nuclear power plant, robots are used because of high radiation, narrow space and underwater work. In light of manufacture period, cost and reliability, various maintenance works are requested to be done by one robot. As one of the solutions, we developed manipulator robots for the access of specialized tools. This study shows manipulator robots developed by MHI, application example to maintenance works and effectiveness of manipulator robots. When robotization of maintenance works are considered, manipulator technology is very effective solution means. The manipulator technologies in this study are able to apply to robotization needed under radiation environment. (author)

Efficient Modelling Methodology for Reconfigurable Underwater Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Mikkel Cornelius; Blanke, Mogens; Schjølberg, Ingrid

2016-01-01

This paper considers the challenge of applying reconfigurable robots in an underwater environment. The main result presented is the development of a model for a system comprised of N, possibly heterogeneous, robots dynamically connected to each other and moving with 6 Degrees of Freedom (DOF). Th...

LEGO robot vehicle lesson plans for secondary education : a recruitment tool.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-01

Robotics is a great way to get kids excited about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics. It is also highly effective in stimulation development of teamwork and self-confidence. This project provides transportation-related lesson pl...

28th International Conference on CAD/CAM, Robotics and Factories of the Future

CERN Document Server

Syan, Chanan

2016-01-01

This volume is based on the proceedings of the 28th International Conference on CAD/CAM, Robotics and Factories of the Future. This book specially focuses on the positive changes made in the field of robotics, CAD/CAM and future outlook for emerging manufacturing units. Some of the important topics discussed in the conference are product development and sustainability, modeling and simulation, automation, robotics and handling systems, supply chain management and logistics, advanced manufacturing processes, human aspects in engineering activities, emerging scenarios in engineering education and training. The contents of this set of proceedings will prove useful to both researchers and practitioners.

Method for Collision Avoidance Motion Coordination of Multiple Mobile Robots Using Central Observation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ko, N.Y.; Seo, D.J. [Chosun University, Kwangju (Korea)

2003-04-01

This paper presents a new method driving multiple robots to their goal position without collision. Each robot adjusts its motion based on the information on the goal locations, velocity, and position of the robot and the velocity and position of the other robots. To consider the movement of the robots in a work area, we adopt the concept of avoidability measure. The avoidability measure figures the degree of how easily a robot can avoid other robots considering the following factors: the distance from the robot to the other robots, velocity of the robot and the other robots. To implement the concept in moving robot avoidance, relative distance between the robots is derived. Our method combines the relative distance with an artificial potential field method. The proposed method is simulated for several cases. The results show that the proposed method steers robots to open space anticipating the approach of other robots. In contrast, the usual potential field method sometimes fails preventing collision or causes hasty motion, because it initiates avoidance motion later than the proposed method. The proposed method can be used to move robots in a robot soccer team to their appropriate position without collision as fast as possible. (author). 21 refs., 10 figs., 13 tabs.

Nonhuman gamblers: lessons from rodents, primates, and robots

Science.gov (United States)

Paglieri, Fabio; Addessi, Elsa; De Petrillo, Francesca; Laviola, Giovanni; Mirolli, Marco; Parisi, Domenico; Petrosino, Giancarlo; Ventricelli, Marialba; Zoratto, Francesca; Adriani, Walter

2014-01-01

The search for neuronal and psychological underpinnings of pathological gambling in humans would benefit from investigating related phenomena also outside of our species. In this paper, we present a survey of studies in three widely different populations of agents, namely rodents, non-human primates, and robots. Each of these populations offers valuable and complementary insights on the topic, as the literature demonstrates. In addition, we highlight the deep and complex connections between relevant results across these different areas of research (i.e., cognitive and computational neuroscience, neuroethology, cognitive primatology, neuropsychiatry, evolutionary robotics), to make the case for a greater degree of methodological integration in future studies on pathological gambling. PMID:24574984

Nuclear robotics and remote handling at Harwell Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abel, E.; Brown, M.H.; Fischer, P.J.; Garlick, D.R.; Hanna, T.T.; Siva, K.V.

1988-01-01

After reviewing robotics technology and its possible application in nuclear remote handling systems of the future, six main research topics were identified where particular effort should be made. The Harwell Nuclear Robotics Programme is currently establishing sets of demonstration hardware which will allow generic research to be carried out on telerobotics, systems integration, the man machine interface, communications, servo systems and radiation tolerance. The objectives of the demonstrators are to allow validation of the techniques required for successful active facility applications such as decommissioning, decontamination, refurbishment, maintenance and repair, and to act as training aids to encourage plant designers and operators to adopt developments in new technology. (author)

Autonomous tracked robots in planar off-road conditions modelling, localization, and motion control

CERN Document Server

González, Ramón; Guzmán, José Luis

2014-01-01

This monograph is framed within the context of off-road mobile robotics. In particular, it discusses issues related to modelling, localization, and motion control of tracked mobile robots working in planar slippery conditions. Tracked locomotion constitutes a well-known solution for mobile platforms operating over diverse challenging terrains, for that reason, tracked robotics constitutes an important research field with many applications (e.g. agriculture, mining, search and rescue operations, military activities). The specific topics of this monograph are: historical perspective of tracked vehicles and tracked robots; trajectory-tracking model taking into account slip effect; visual-odometry-based localization strategies; and advanced slip-compensation motion controllers ensuring efficient real-time execution. Physical experiments with a real tracked robot are presented showing the better performance of the suggested novel approaches to known techniques.   Keywords: longitudinal slip, visual odometry, slip...

REPORT ON FIRST INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON ROBOTIC SURGERY IN THORACIC ONCOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giulia Veronesi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available A workshop of experts from France, Germany, Italy and the United States took place at Humanitas Research Hospital Milan, Italy, on 10-11 February 2016, to examine techniques for and applications of robotic surgery to thoracic oncology. The main topics of presentation and discussion were: robotic surgery for lung resection; robot-assisted thymectomy; minimally invasive surgery for esophageal cancer; new developments in computer-assisted surgery and medical applications of robots; the challenge of costs; and future clinical research in robotic thoracic surgery. The following article summarizes the main contributions to the workshop. The Workshop consensus was that, since video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS is becoming the mainstream approach to resectable lung cancer in North America and Europe, robotic surgery for thoracic oncology is likely to be embraced by an increasing numbers of thoracic surgeons, since it has technical advantages over VATS, including intuitive movements, tremor filtration, more degrees of manipulative freedom, motion scaling, and high definition stereoscopic vision. These advantages may make robotic surgery more accessible than VATS to trainees and experienced surgeons, and also lead to expanded indications. However the high costs of robotic surgery and absence of tactile feedback remain obstacles to widespread dissemination. A prospective multicentric randomized trial (NCT02804893 to compare robotic and VATS approaches to stage I and II lung cancer will start shortly.

Report on First International Workshop on Robotic Surgery in Thoracic Oncology.

Science.gov (United States)

Veronesi, Giulia; Cerfolio, Robert; Cingolani, Roberto; Rueckert, Jens C; Soler, Luc; Toker, Alper; Cariboni, Umberto; Bottoni, Edoardo; Fumagalli, Uberto; Melfi, Franca; Milli, Carlo; Novellis, Pierluigi; Voulaz, Emanuele; Alloisio, Marco

2016-01-01

A workshop of experts from France, Germany, Italy, and the United States took place at Humanitas Research Hospital Milan, Italy, on February 10 and 11, 2016, to examine techniques for and applications of robotic surgery to thoracic oncology. The main topics of presentation and discussion were robotic surgery for lung resection; robot-assisted thymectomy; minimally invasive surgery for esophageal cancer; new developments in computer-assisted surgery and medical applications of robots; the challenge of costs; and future clinical research in robotic thoracic surgery. The following article summarizes the main contributions to the workshop. The Workshop consensus was that since video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is becoming the mainstream approach to resectable lung cancer in North America and Europe, robotic surgery for thoracic oncology is likely to be embraced by an increasing numbers of thoracic surgeons, since it has technical advantages over VATS, including intuitive movements, tremor filtration, more degrees of manipulative freedom, motion scaling, and high-definition stereoscopic vision. These advantages may make robotic surgery more accessible than VATS to trainees and experienced surgeons and also lead to expanded indications. However, the high costs of robotic surgery and absence of tactile feedback remain obstacles to widespread dissemination. A prospective multicentric randomized trial (NCT02804893) to compare robotic and VATS approaches to stages I and II lung cancer will start shortly.

Practical evaluation of robots for elderly in Denmark — an overview

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Søren Tranberg; Andersen, Hans Jørgen; Bak, Thomas

2010-01-01

Robots for elderly have drawn a great deal of attention as it is a controversial topic being pushed forward by the fact that there will be a dramatic increase of elderly in most western countries. Within the field of HRI, much research has been conducted on robots interacting with elderly and also...... a number of commercial products have been introduced to the market. Since 2006, a number of projects have been launched in Denmark in order to evaluate robot technology in practice in elder care. This paper gives an brief overview of a selected number of projects and outlines the characteristics...... and results. Finally it is discussed how HRI can benefit from these....

Conceptual design for transmission line inspection robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jalal, M F Abdul; Sahari, K S Mohamed; Anuar, A; Arshad, A D Mohd; Idris, M S

2013-01-01

Power transmission line is used for power distribution purposes due to their cost effective measure compared to underlying cable. However, prolonged exposure to natural weather may cause fatigue stress to the lines as well as induce material failure. Therefore, periodical line inspection is considered uttermost important as a preventive measure to avoid power outage. However, transmission line inspection has always been a high risk and expensive work. Hazardous works that may harm operator as well as routine that requires precise handling can be performed by robots. Various types of robots have been designed and developed for line inspection but only perform well on a straight and continuous line. As these robots encounter an obstacle during the inspection, then the real problem in terms of robot stability and smooth operation arises. In this paper, conceptual design and evaluation for transmission line inspection robot is presented. The inspection robot mobile robot must be able to bypass or avoid obstacles as it travels along the power transmission line.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL MANIPULATOR ROBOTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. N. Krakhmalev

2015-12-01

Full Text Available A mathematical model to describe the dynamics of manipulator robots. Mathematical model are the implementation of the method based on the Lagrange equation and using the transformation matrices of elastic coordinates. Mathematical model make it possible to determine the elastic deviations of manipulator robots from programmed motion trajectories caused by elastic deformations in hinges, which are taken into account in directions of change of the corresponding generalized coordinates. Mathematical model is approximated and makes it possible to determine small elastic quasi-static deviations and elastic vibrations. The results of modeling the dynamics by model are compared to the example of a two-link manipulator system. The considered model can be used when performing investigations of the mathematical accuracy of the manipulator robots.

Behavior Selection of Mobile Robot Based on Integration of Multimodal Information

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bin; Kaneko, Masahide

Recently, biologically inspired robots have been developed to acquire the capacity for directing visual attention to salient stimulus generated from the audiovisual environment. On purpose to realize this behavior, a general method is to calculate saliency maps to represent how much the external information attracts the robot's visual attention, where the audiovisual information and robot's motion status should be involved. In this paper, we represent a visual attention model where three modalities, that is, audio information, visual information and robot's motor status are considered, while the previous researches have not considered all of them. Firstly, we introduce a 2-D density map, on which the value denotes how much the robot pays attention to each spatial location. Then we model the attention density using a Bayesian network where the robot's motion statuses are involved. Secondly, the information from both of audio and visual modalities is integrated with the attention density map in integrate-fire neurons. The robot can direct its attention to the locations where the integrate-fire neurons are fired. Finally, the visual attention model is applied to make the robot select the visual information from the environment, and react to the content selected. Experimental results show that it is possible for robots to acquire the visual information related to their behaviors by using the attention model considering motion statuses. The robot can select its behaviors to adapt to the dynamic environment as well as to switch to another task according to the recognition results of visual attention.

Towards soft robotic devices for site-specific drug delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Alici, Gursel

2015-01-01

Considerable research efforts have recently been dedicated to the establishment of various drug delivery systems (DDS) that are mechanical/physical, chemical and biological/molecular DDS. In this paper, we report on the recent advances in site-specific drug delivery (site-specific, controlled, targeted or smart drug delivery are terms used interchangeably in the literature, to mean to transport a drug or a therapeutic agent to a desired location within the body and release it as desired with negligibly small toxicity and side effect compared to classical drug administration means such as peroral, parenteral, transmucosal, topical and inhalation) based on mechanical/physical systems consisting of implantable and robotic drug delivery systems. While we specifically focus on the robotic or autonomous DDS, which can be reprogrammable and provide multiple doses of a drug at a required time and rate, we briefly cover the implanted DDS, which are well-developed relative to the robotic DDS, to highlight the design and performance requirements, and investigate issues associated with the robotic DDS. Critical research issues associated with both DDSs are presented to describe the research challenges ahead of us in order to establish soft robotic devices for clinical and biomedical applications.

Robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Popov, E. P.; Iurevich, E. I.

The history and the current status of robotics are reviewed, as are the design, operation, and principal applications of industrial robots. Attention is given to programmable robots, robots with adaptive control and elements of artificial intelligence, and remotely controlled robots. The applications of robots discussed include mechanical engineering, cargo handling during transportation and storage, mining, and metallurgy. The future prospects of robotics are briefly outlined.

Anthropomorphism in Human-Robot Co-evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Damiano, Luisa; Dumouchel, Paul

2018-01-01

Social robotics entertains a particular relationship with anthropomorphism, which it neither sees as a cognitive error, nor as a sign of immaturity. Rather it considers that this common human tendency, which is hypothesized to have evolved because it favored cooperation among early humans, can be used today to facilitate social interactions between humans and a new type of cooperative and interactive agents - social robots. This approach leads social robotics to focus research on the engineering of robots that activate anthropomorphic projections in users. The objective is to give robots "social presence" and "social behaviors" that are sufficiently credible for human users to engage in comfortable and potentially long-lasting relations with these machines. This choice of 'applied anthropomorphism' as a research methodology exposes the artifacts produced by social robotics to ethical condemnation: social robots are judged to be a "cheating" technology, as they generate in users the illusion of reciprocal social and affective relations. This article takes position in this debate, not only developing a series of arguments relevant to philosophy of mind, cognitive sciences, and robotic AI, but also asking what social robotics can teach us about anthropomorphism. On this basis, we propose a theoretical perspective that characterizes anthropomorphism as a basic mechanism of interaction, and rebuts the ethical reflections that a priori condemns "anthropomorphism-based" social robots. To address the relevant ethical issues, we promote a critical experimentally based ethical approach to social robotics, "synthetic ethics," which aims at allowing humans to use social robots for two main goals: self-knowledge and moral growth.

Evolution of robotic nephrectomy for living donation: from hand-assisted to totally robotic technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Giacomoni, Alessandro; Di Sandro, Stefano; Lauterio, Andrea; Concone, Giacomo; Mangoni, Iacopo; Mihaylov, Plamen; Tripepi, Matteo; De Carlis, Luciano

2014-09-01

The application of robotic-assisted surgery offers EndoWrist instruments and 3-D visualization of the operative field, which are improvements over traditional laparoscopy. The results of the few studies published so far have shown that living donor nephrectomy using the robot-assisted technique is safe, feasible, and offers advantages to patients. Since November 2009, 16 patients have undergone robotic-assisted living donor nephrectomy at our Institute. Patients were divided into two groups according to the surgical technique adopted for the procedure: Group A, hand-assisted robotic nephrectomy (eight patients); Group B, totally robotic nephrectomy (eight patients). Intra-operative bleeding was similar in the two groups (90 vs 100 mL for Group A and B, respectively). Median warm ischemia time was significantly shorter in Group A (2.3 vs 5.1 min for Group A and B, respectively, P-value = 0.05). Switching to the open procedure was never required. Median operative time was not significantly longer in Group A than Group B (275 min vs 250 min, respectively). Robotic assisted living kidney recovery is a safe and effective procedure. Considering the overall technical, clinical, and feasibility aspects of living kidney donation, we believe that the robotic assisted technique is the method of choice for surgeon's comfort and donors' safety. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Robot 2015 : Second Iberian Robotics Conference : Advances in Robotics

CERN Document Server

Moreira, António; Lima, Pedro; Montano, Luis; Muñoz-Martinez, Victor

2016-01-01

This book contains a selection of papers accepted for presentation and discussion at ROBOT 2015: Second Iberian Robotics Conference, held in Lisbon, Portugal, November 19th-21th, 2015. ROBOT 2015 is part of a series of conferences that are a joint organization of SPR – “Sociedade Portuguesa de Robótica/ Portuguese Society for Robotics”, SEIDROB – Sociedad Española para la Investigación y Desarrollo de la Robótica/ Spanish Society for Research and Development in Robotics and CEA-GTRob – Grupo Temático de Robótica/ Robotics Thematic Group. The conference organization had also the collaboration of several universities and research institutes, including: University of Minho, University of Porto, University of Lisbon, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, University of Aveiro, University of Zaragoza, University of Malaga, LIACC, INESC-TEC and LARSyS. Robot 2015 was focussed on the Robotics scientific and technological activities in the Iberian Peninsula, although open to research and delegates from other...

How to prepare the patient for robotic surgery: before and during the operation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Peter C; Kang, Elizabeth

2017-11-01

Robotic surgery in the treatment of gynecologic diseases continues to evolve and has become accepted over the last decade. The advantages of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery over conventional laparoscopy are three-dimensional camera vision, superior precision and dexterity with EndoWristed instruments, elimination of operator tremor, and decreased surgeon fatigue. The drawbacks of the technology are bulkiness and lack of tactile feedback. As with other surgical platforms, the limitations of robotic surgery must be understood. Patient selection and the types of surgical procedures that can be performed through the robotic surgical platform are critical to the success of robotic surgery. First, patient selection and the indication for gynecologic disease should be considered. Discussion with the patient regarding the benefits and potential risks of robotic surgery and of complications and alternative treatments is mandatory, followed by patient's signature indicating informed consent. Appropriate preoperative evaluation-including laboratory and imaging tests-and bowel cleansing should be considered depending upon the type of robotic-assisted procedure. Unlike other surgical procedures, robotic surgery is equipment-intensive and requires an appropriate surgical suite to accommodate the patient side cart, the vision system, and the surgeon's console. Surgical personnel must be properly trained with the robotics technology. Several factors must be considered to perform a successful robotic-assisted surgery: the indication and type of surgical procedure, the surgical platform, patient position and the degree of Trendelenburg, proper port placement configuration, and appropriate instrumentation. These factors that must be considered so that patients can be appropriately prepared before and during the operation are described. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

SIMULATION OF LANDMARK APPROACH FOR WALL FOLLOWING ALGORITHM ON FIRE-FIGHTING ROBOT USING V-REP

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Sumarsih Condroayu Purbarani

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Autonomous mobile robot has been implemented to assist humans in their daily activity. Autonomous robots have also contributed significantly in human safety. Autonomous mobile robot have been implemented to assist humans in their daily activity. Autonomous robots Have also contributed significantly in human safety. An example of the autonomous robot in the human safety sector is the fire fighting robot, which is the main topic of this paper. As an autonomous robot, the fire fighting robot needs a robust navigation ability to execute a given task in the shortest time interval. Wall-following algorithm is one of several navigating algorithm that simplifies this autonomous navigation problem. As a contribution, we propose two methods that could be combined to make the existing wall-following algorithm more robust. The combined wall-flowing algorithm will be compared to the original wall-following algorithm. By doing so, we could determine which method has more impact on the robot’s navigation robustness. Our goal is to see which method is more effective when combined with the wall-following algorithm.

The methods and algorithms for designing complex three-dimensional robots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solovjev, A.E.; Naumov, V.B.

1996-01-01

For automation designing by the Robotics laboratory were executed some fundamental and applied researches. This researching allowed to create rational mathematical model for numeric modeling with real-time simulation. In the mathematical model used set of equations of rigid body's motion in Lagrange's form and set of Appel's equations taking into consideration holonomic and non-holonomic connections. In present article are considered methods and algorithms of dynamic modeling of a system of rigid bodies for robotics task and brief description of the package Computer Aided Engineering for Industrial Robots, based on considered algorithms. So far as, in researching of robots the dynamic tasks (direct and inverse) are more interesting than another tasks, authors pay attention just on these problems

8th International Conference on Robotic, Vision, Signal Processing & Power Applications

CERN Document Server

Mustaffa, Mohd

2014-01-01

The proceeding is a collection of research papers presented, at the 8th International Conference on Robotics, Vision, Signal Processing and Power Applications (ROVISP 2013), by researchers, scientists, engineers, academicians as well as industrial professionals from all around the globe. The topics of interest are as follows but are not limited to: • Robotics, Control, Mechatronics and Automation • Vision, Image, and Signal Processing • Artificial Intelligence and Computer Applications • Electronic Design and Applications • Telecommunication Systems and Applications • Power System and Industrial Applications  

Control algorithms for autonomous robot navigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jorgensen, C.C.

1985-01-01

This paper examines control algorithm requirements for autonomous robot navigation outside laboratory environments. Three aspects of navigation are considered: navigation control in explored terrain, environment interactions with robot sensors, and navigation control in unanticipated situations. Major navigation methods are presented and relevance of traditional human learning theory is discussed. A new navigation technique linking graph theory and incidental learning is introduced

Interactions With Robots: The Truths We Reveal About Ourselves.

Science.gov (United States)

Broadbent, Elizabeth

2017-01-03

In movies, robots are often extremely humanlike. Although these robots are not yet reality, robots are currently being used in healthcare, education, and business. Robots provide benefits such as relieving loneliness and enabling communication. Engineers are trying to build robots that look and behave like humans and thus need comprehensive knowledge not only of technology but also of human cognition, emotion, and behavior. This need is driving engineers to study human behavior toward other humans and toward robots, leading to greater understanding of how humans think, feel, and behave in these contexts, including our tendencies for mindless social behaviors, anthropomorphism, uncanny feelings toward robots, and the formation of emotional attachments. However, in considering the increased use of robots, many people have concerns about deception, privacy, job loss, safety, and the loss of human relationships. Human-robot interaction is a fascinating field and one in which psychologists have much to contribute, both to the development of robots and to the study of human behavior.

Cultural Robotics: The Culture of Robotics and Robotics in Culture

OpenAIRE

Hooman Samani; Elham Saadatian; Natalie Pang; Doros Polydorou; Owen Noel Newton Fernando; Ryohei Nakatsu; Jeffrey Tzu Kwan Valino Koh

2013-01-01

In this paper, we have investigated the concept of “Cultural Robotics” with regard to the evolution of social into cultural robots in the 21st Century. By defining the concept of culture, the potential development of a culture between humans and robots is explored. Based on the cultural values of the robotics developers, and the learning ability of current robots, cultural attributes in this regard are in the process of being formed, which would define the new concept of cultural robotics. Ac...

The DelFly design, aerodynamics, and artificial intelligence of a flapping wing robot

CERN Document Server

de Croon, G C H E; Remes, B D W; Ruijsink, R; De Wagter, C

2016-01-01

This book introduces the topics most relevant to autonomously flying flapping wing robots: flapping-wing design, aerodynamics, and artificial intelligence. Readers can explore these topics in the context of the "Delfly", a flapping wing robot designed at Delft University in The Netherlands. How are tiny fruit flies able to lift their weight, avoid obstacles and predators, and find food or shelter? The first step in emulating this is the creation of a micro flapping wing robot that flies by itself. The challenges are considerable: the design and aerodynamics of flapping wings are still active areas of scientific research, whilst artificial intelligence is subject to extreme limitations deriving from the few sensors and minimal processing onboard. This book conveys the essential insights that lie behind success such as the DelFly Micro and the DelFly Explorer. The DelFly Micro, with its 3.07 grams and 10 cm wing span, is still the smallest flapping wing MAV in the world carrying a camera, whilst the DelFly Expl...

Biological Immune System Applications on Mobile Robot for Disabled People

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Songmin Jia

2014-01-01

Full Text Available To improve the service quality of service robots for the disabled, immune system is applied on robot for its advantages such as diversity, dynamic, parallel management, self-organization, and self-adaptation. According to the immune system theory, local environment condition sensed by robot is considered an antigen while robot is regarded as B-cell and possible node as antibody, respectively. Antibody-antigen affinity is employed to choose the optimal possible node to ensure the service robot can pass through the optimal path. The paper details the immune system applications on service robot and gives experimental results.

Here today, gone tomorrow: biodegradable soft robots

Science.gov (United States)

Rossiter, Jonathan; Winfield, Jonathan; Ieropoulos, Ioannis

2016-04-01

One of the greatest challenges to modern technologies is what to do with them when they go irreparably wrong or come to the end of their productive lives. The convention, since the development of modern civilisation, is to discard a broken item and then procure a new one. In the 20th century enlightened environmentalists campaigned for recycling and reuse (R and R). R and R has continued to be an important part of new technology development, but there is still a huge problem of non-recyclable materials being dumped into landfill and being discarded in the environment. The challenge is even greater for robotics, a field which will impact on all aspects of our lives, where discards include motors, rigid elements and toxic power supplies and batteries. One novel solution is the biodegradable robot, an active physical machine that is composed of biodegradable materials and which degrades to nothing when released into the environment. In this paper we examine the potential and realities of biodegradable robotics, consider novel solutions to core components such as sensors, actuators and energy scavenging, and give examples of biodegradable robotics fabricated from everyday, and not so common, biodegradable electroactive materials. The realisation of truly biodegradable robots also brings entirely new deployment, exploration and bio-remediation capabilities: why track and recover a few large non-biodegradable robots when you could speculatively release millions of biodegradable robots instead? We will consider some of these exciting developments and explore the future of this new field.

See You See Me: the Role of Eye Contact in Multimodal Human-Robot Interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Tian Linger; Zhang, Hui; Yu, Chen

2016-05-01

We focus on a fundamental looking behavior in human-robot interactions - gazing at each other's face. Eye contact and mutual gaze between two social partners are critical in smooth human-human interactions. Therefore, investigating at what moments and in what ways a robot should look at a human user's face as a response to the human's gaze behavior is an important topic. Toward this goal, we developed a gaze-contingent human-robot interaction system, which relied on momentary gaze behaviors from a human user to control an interacting robot in real time. Using this system, we conducted an experiment in which human participants interacted with the robot in a joint attention task. In the experiment, we systematically manipulated the robot's gaze toward the human partner's face in real time and then analyzed the human's gaze behavior as a response to the robot's gaze behavior. We found that more face looks from the robot led to more look-backs (to the robot's face) from human participants and consequently created more mutual gaze and eye contact between the two. Moreover, participants demonstrated more coordinated and synchronized multimodal behaviors between speech and gaze when more eye contact was successfully established and maintained.

Biologically-Inspired Control Architecture for Musical Performance Robots

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Jorge Solis

2014-10-01

Full Text Available At Waseda University, since 1990, the authors have been developing anthropomorphic musical performance robots as a means for understanding human control, introducing novel ways of interaction between musical partners and robots, and proposing applications for humanoid robots. In this paper, the design of a biologically-inspired control architecture for both an anthropomorphic flutist robot and a saxophone playing robot are described. As for the flutist robot, the authors have focused on implementing an auditory feedback system to improve the calibration procedure for the robot in order to play all the notes correctly during a performance. In particular, the proposed auditory feedback system is composed of three main modules: an Expressive Music Generator, a Feed Forward Air Pressure Control System and a Pitch Evaluation System. As for the saxophone-playing robot, a pressure-pitch controller (based on the feedback error learning to improve the sound produced by the robot during a musical performance was proposed and implemented. In both cases studied, a set of experiments are described to verify the improvements achieved while considering biologically-inspired control approaches.

Review of marine animals and bioinspired robotic vehicles: Classifications and characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, S.; Abdelkefi, A.

2017-08-01

Marine robots are a developing topic for military, scientific, and environmental missions. However, most existing marine robots are either limited to flight or limited to swimming. Therefore, the combination of both provides endless possibilities for tasks, such as espionage, pollution and marine wildlife surveillance, and border protection. Applying bioinspiration and biomimetics not only camouflages the robot, but also increases the efficiency of already perfected designs. Because bioinspiration and aerial-aquatic locomotion are the main attraction for this article, this review gathers the characteristics of aerial-aquatic animals useful for such designs. These animals are diving birds and flying fish, specifically plunge-diving birds, surface-diving birds, both plunge- and surface-diving birds, two-winger flying fish, and four-winger flying fish. The overview of the current marine bioinspired and non-bioinspired robots that are both aerial and aquatic are also presented, followed by the limitations and recommendations of the bioinspired robots. It is shown by a comparison between the bioinspired robot and its corresponding animal that the existing robotic systems are not truly bioinspired. The main traits these systems are missing are replicating the exact weight, size, muscle movement, and skin texture of the biological animal. In order to have efficient robots, bioinspiration needs to be perfected. Doing so requires not only the basic design to be replicated, but every detail of the system to be imitated.

Toward understanding social cues and signals in human–robot interaction: effects of robot gaze and proxemic behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Fiore, Stephen M.; Wiltshire, Travis J.; Lobato, Emilio J. C.; Jentsch, Florian G.; Huang, Wesley H.; Axelrod, Benjamin

2013-01-01

As robots are increasingly deployed in settings requiring social interaction, research is needed to examine the social signals perceived by humans when robots display certain social cues. In this paper, we report a study designed to examine how humans interpret social cues exhibited by robots. We first provide a brief overview of perspectives from social cognition in humans and how these processes are applicable to human–robot interaction (HRI). We then discuss the need to examine the relationship between social cues and signals as a function of the degree to which a robot is perceived as a socially present agent. We describe an experiment in which social cues were manipulated on an iRobot AvaTM mobile robotics platform in a hallway navigation scenario. Cues associated with the robot’s proxemic behavior were found to significantly affect participant perceptions of the robot’s social presence and emotional state while cues associated with the robot’s gaze behavior were not found to be significant. Further, regardless of the proxemic behavior, participants attributed more social presence and emotional states to the robot over repeated interactions than when they first interacted with it. Generally, these results indicate the importance for HRI research to consider how social cues expressed by a robot can differentially affect perceptions of the robot’s mental states and intentions. The discussion focuses on implications for the design of robotic systems and future directions for research on the relationship between social cues and signals. PMID:24348434

Towards understanding social cues and signals in human-robot interaction: Effects of robot gaze and proxemic behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen M. Fiore

2013-11-01

Full Text Available As robots are increasingly deployed in settings requiring social interaction, research is needed to examine the social signals perceived by humans when robots display certain social cues. In this paper, we report a study designed to examine how humans interpret social cues exhibited by robots. We first provide a brief overview of perspectives from social cognition in humans and how these processes are applicable to human-robot interaction (HRI. We then discuss the need to examine the relationship between social cues and signals as a function of the degree to which a robot is perceived as a socially present agent. We describe an experiment in which social cues were manipulated on an iRobot Ava™ Mobile Robotics Platform in a hallway navigation scenario. Cues associated with the robot’s proxemic behavior were found to significantly affect participant perceptions of the robot’s social presence and emotional state while cues associated with the robot’s gaze behavior were not found to be significant. Further, regardless of the proxemic behavior, participants attributed more social presence and emotional states to the robot over repeated interactions than when they first interacted with it. Generally, these results indicate the importance for HRI research to consider how social cues expressed by a robot can differentially affect perceptions of the robot’s mental states and intentions. The discussion focuses on implications for the design of robotic systems and future directions for research on the relationship between social cues and signals.

Anthropomorphism in Human–Robot Co-evolution

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Luisa Damiano

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Social robotics entertains a particular relationship with anthropomorphism, which it neither sees as a cognitive error, nor as a sign of immaturity. Rather it considers that this common human tendency, which is hypothesized to have evolved because it favored cooperation among early humans, can be used today to facilitate social interactions between humans and a new type of cooperative and interactive agents – social robots. This approach leads social robotics to focus research on the engineering of robots that activate anthropomorphic projections in users. The objective is to give robots “social presence” and “social behaviors” that are sufficiently credible for human users to engage in comfortable and potentially long-lasting relations with these machines. This choice of ‘applied anthropomorphism’ as a research methodology exposes the artifacts produced by social robotics to ethical condemnation: social robots are judged to be a “cheating” technology, as they generate in users the illusion of reciprocal social and affective relations. This article takes position in this debate, not only developing a series of arguments relevant to philosophy of mind, cognitive sciences, and robotic AI, but also asking what social robotics can teach us about anthropomorphism. On this basis, we propose a theoretical perspective that characterizes anthropomorphism as a basic mechanism of interaction, and rebuts the ethical reflections that a priori condemns “anthropomorphism-based” social robots. To address the relevant ethical issues, we promote a critical experimentally based ethical approach to social robotics, “synthetic ethics,” which aims at allowing humans to use social robots for two main goals: self-knowledge and moral growth.

Anthropomorphism in Human–Robot Co-evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Damiano, Luisa; Dumouchel, Paul

2018-01-01

Social robotics entertains a particular relationship with anthropomorphism, which it neither sees as a cognitive error, nor as a sign of immaturity. Rather it considers that this common human tendency, which is hypothesized to have evolved because it favored cooperation among early humans, can be used today to facilitate social interactions between humans and a new type of cooperative and interactive agents – social robots. This approach leads social robotics to focus research on the engineering of robots that activate anthropomorphic projections in users. The objective is to give robots “social presence” and “social behaviors” that are sufficiently credible for human users to engage in comfortable and potentially long-lasting relations with these machines. This choice of ‘applied anthropomorphism’ as a research methodology exposes the artifacts produced by social robotics to ethical condemnation: social robots are judged to be a “cheating” technology, as they generate in users the illusion of reciprocal social and affective relations. This article takes position in this debate, not only developing a series of arguments relevant to philosophy of mind, cognitive sciences, and robotic AI, but also asking what social robotics can teach us about anthropomorphism. On this basis, we propose a theoretical perspective that characterizes anthropomorphism as a basic mechanism of interaction, and rebuts the ethical reflections that a priori condemns “anthropomorphism-based” social robots. To address the relevant ethical issues, we promote a critical experimentally based ethical approach to social robotics, “synthetic ethics,” which aims at allowing humans to use social robots for two main goals: self-knowledge and moral growth. PMID:29632507

Robotics Competitions: The Choice Is up to You!

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Richard T.; Londt, Susan E.

2010-01-01

Competitive robotics as an interactive experience can increase the level of student participation in technology education, inspire students to consider careers in technical fields, and enhance the visibility of technology education programs. Implemented correctly, a competitive robotics program can provide a stimulating learning environment for…

Intelligence for Human-Assistant Planetary Surface Robots

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsh, Robert; Graham, Jeffrey; Tyree, Kimberly; Sierhuis, Maarten; Clancey, William J.

2006-01-01

The central premise in developing effective human-assistant planetary surface robots is that robotic intelligence is needed. The exact type, method, forms and/or quantity of intelligence is an open issue being explored on the ERA project, as well as others. In addition to field testing, theoretical research into this area can help provide answers on how to design future planetary robots. Many fundamental intelligence issues are discussed by Murphy [2], including (a) learning, (b) planning, (c) reasoning, (d) problem solving, (e) knowledge representation, and (f) computer vision (stereo tracking, gestures). The new "social interaction/emotional" form of intelligence that some consider critical to Human Robot Interaction (HRI) can also be addressed by human assistant planetary surface robots, as human operators feel more comfortable working with a robot when the robot is verbally (or even physically) interacting with them. Arkin [3] and Murphy are both proponents of the hybrid deliberative-reasoning/reactive-execution architecture as the best general architecture for fully realizing robot potential, and the robots discussed herein implement a design continuously progressing toward this hybrid philosophy. The remainder of this chapter will describe the challenges associated with robotic assistance to astronauts, our general research approach, the intelligence incorporated into our robots, and the results and lessons learned from over six years of testing human-assistant mobile robots in field settings relevant to planetary exploration. The chapter concludes with some key considerations for future work in this area.

Nonhuman gamblers: lessons from rodents, primates, and robots

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Fabio ePaglieri

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The search for neuronal and psychological underpinnings of pathological gambling in humans would benefit from investigating related phenomena also outside of our species. In this paper, we present a survey of studies in three widely different populations of agents, namely rodents, non-human primates, and robots. Each of these populations offer valuable and complementary insights on the topic, as the literature demonstrates. In addition, we highlight the deep and complex connections between relevant results across these different areas of research (i.e., cognitive and computational neuroscience, neuroethology, cognitive primatology, neuropsychiatry, evolutionary robotics, to make the case for a greater degree of methodological integration in future studies on pathological gambling.

Perception, Imagination and Affect in Human–Robot Relationships

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Erika Kerruish

2016-11-01

Full Text Available As they arrive in our homes, nursing facilities and educational institutions, urgent questions are being asked about the ethics of encouraging people to have feelings towards social robots that have roles as companions, carers and teachers. This article suggests that the quality of these debates is enhanced by examining how people perceive robots and, in particular, how robots’ expressive characteristics stimulate feelings through engaging the embodied imagination. I discuss the perception and expression of the zoomorphic therapeutic robot Paro, before considering the directions an understanding of these processes can take discussions about the aesthetics and ethics of social robots.

Robotic applications at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griebenow, B.E.; Marts, D.J.

1990-01-01

The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) has several programs and projected programs that involve work in hazardous environments. Robotics/remote handling technology is being considered for an active role in these programs. The most appealing aspect of using robotics is in the area of personnel safety. Any task requiring an individual to enter a hazardous or potentially hazardous environment can benefit substantially from robotics by removing the operator from the environment and having him conduct the work remotely. Several INEL programs were evaluated based on their applications for robotics and the results and some conclusions are discussed in this paper. 1 fig

Robotic assisted radical prostatectomy: a different treatment for prostate cancer?

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Alexandre Den Julio

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Considering the Health Care System in Brazil, a developing country,and public healthcare policies, robotic surgery is a reality to veryfew citizens. Therefore, robotic assisted radical prostatectomy isfar removed from the daily practice of the vast majority of Brazilianurologists. Scientific evidence of the superiority of robotic assistedradical prostatectomy does not presently justify public investmentsfor widespread development of robotic centers. Maybe over timeand with reductions in costs, robotic technology will become amore established practice, as observed in other countries, and morefeasible for the Brazilian urological community.

Status and Trends of the Anthropomorphic Robotics

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S. P. Hurs

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers a number of current developments in the field of anthropomorphic robotics, namely robotic exoskeletons, android platform with copying control systems, android platform with autonomous control systems, avatars, and androids. Highlights the key subsystems of the robotic platform such as sensitization tools, tools of self-diagnostics, security and prioritization, a power subsystem, and computer system. Identifies the most important subsystem of a “future soldier” to represent an equipage as a multifunctional active exoskeleton, completed with the necessary equipment.The paper shows the main problems the developers of anthropomorphic robotics face. For example, many degrees of the human body freedom curb a creation of the actuating mechanisms of robots, which fit the human anatomy as much as possible. For the human sizes the specific characteristics of traditional types of actuators, such as electromechanical, electro-hydraulic and electro-pneumatic are worse than those of the human muscles. Clearly, the greatest prospects in this area are associated with artificial muscles. There is also no so far a solution for the problem of creating the feedbacks in all kinds of senses to ensure that an operator has a feeling that he is in the place of the robot. There is much tension around the issue of creating a perfect remote control system that allows the operator to obtain unambiguous signals to control the robot. There is currently no completely autonomous control system with elements of artificial intelligence. Particular attention is paid to the problems of creating power sources that can provide affordable autonomy for mobile robotic systems. The most, presently, promising power sources are mentioned.The paper considers some development aspects of the control system, which is capable to run in a copier, supervisory, combined and offline modes. Presents the most important functions of the robot sensory system. Shows some aspects

Teaching Functional Patterns through Robotic Applications

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J. Boender

2016-11-01

Full Text Available We present our approach to teaching functional programming to First Year Computer Science students at Middlesex University through projects in robotics. A holistic approach is taken to the curriculum, emphasising the connections between different subject areas. A key part of the students' learning is through practical projects that draw upon and integrate the taught material. To support these, we developed the Middlesex Robotic plaTfOrm (MIRTO, an open-source platform built using Raspberry Pi, Arduino, HUB-ee wheels and running Racket (a LISP dialect. In this paper we present the motivations for our choices and explain how a number of concepts of functional programming may be employed when programming robotic applications. We present some students' work with robotics projects: we consider the use of robotics projects to have been a success, both for their value in reinforcing students' understanding of programming concepts and for their value in motivating the students.

Cooperative robots and sensor networks 2014

CERN Document Server

Khelil, Abdelmajid

2014-01-01

This book is the second volume on Cooperative Robots and Sensor Networks. The primary objective of this book is to provide an up-to-date reference for cutting-edge studies and research trends related to mobile robots and wireless sensor networks, and in particular for the coupling between them. Indeed, mobile robots and wireless sensor networks have enabled great potentials and a large space for ubiquitous and pervasive applications. Robotics and wireless sensor networks have mostly been considered as separate research fields and little work has investigated the marriage between these two technologies. However, these two technologies share several features, enable common cyber-physical applications and provide complementary support to each other. The book consists of ten chapters, organized into four parts. The first part of the book presents three chapters related to localization of mobile robots using wireless sensor networks. Two chapters presented new solutions based Extended Kalman Filter and Particle Fi...

Algorithms of walking and stability for an anthropomorphic robot

Science.gov (United States)

Sirazetdinov, R. T.; Devaev, V. M.; Nikitina, D. V.; Fadeev, A. Y.; Kamalov, A. R.

2017-09-01

Autonomous movement of an anthropomorphic robot is considered as a superposition of a set of typical elements of movement - so-called patterns, each of which can be considered as an agent of some multi-agent system [ 1 ]. To control the AP-601 robot, an information and communication infrastructure has been created that represents some multi-agent system that allows the development of algorithms for individual patterns of moving and run them in the system as a set of independently executed and interacting agents. The algorithms of lateral movement of the anthropomorphic robot AP-601 series with active stability due to the stability pattern are presented.

Kinematic-Kinetic-Rigidity Evaluation of a Six Axis Robot Performing a Task

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H. Karagulle

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Six axis serial robots of different sizes are widely used for pick and place, welding and various other operations in industry. Developments in mechatronics, which is the synergistic integration of mechanism, electronics and computer control to achieve a functional system, offer effective solutions for the design of such robots. The integrated analysis of robots is usually used in the design stage. In this study, it is offered that the integrated analysis of robots can also be used at the application stage. SolidWorks, CosmosMotion and ABAQUS programs are used with an integrated approach. Integration software (IS is developed in Visual Basic by using the application programming interface (API capabilities of these programs. An ABB-IRB1400 industrial robot is considered for the study. Different trajectories are considered. Each task is first evaluated by a kinematic analysis. If the task is out of the workspace, then the task is cancelled. This evaluation can also be done by robot programs like Robot Studio. It is proposed that the task must be evaluated by considering the limits for velocities, motor actuation torques, reaction forces, natural frequencies, displacements and stresses due to the flexibility. The evaluation is done using kinematic, kinetic and rigidity evaluation charts. The approach given in this work can be used for the optimal usage of robots.

Optimal Control of Holding Motion by Nonprehensile Two-Cooperative-Arm Robot

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Changan Jiang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, more researchers have focused on nursing-care assistant robot and placed their hope on it to solve the shortage problem of the caregivers in hospital or nursing home. In this paper, a nonprehensile two-cooperative-arm robot is considered to realize holding motion to keep a two-rigid-link object (regarded as a care-receiver stable on the robot arms. By applying Newton-Euler equations of motion, dynamic model of the object is obtained. In this model, for describing interaction behavior between object and robot arms in the normal direction, a viscoelastic model is employed to represent the normal forces. Considering existence of friction between object and robot arms, LuGre dynamic model is applied to describe the friction. Based on the obtained model, an optimal regulator is designed to control the holding motion of two-cooperative-arm robot. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, simulation results are shown.

Is Ethics of Robotics about Robots? Philosophy of Robotics Beyond Realism and Individualilsm.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coeckelbergh, Mark

2011-01-01

If we are doing ethics of robotics, what exactly is the object of our inquiry? This paper challenges 'individualist' robot ontology and 'individualist' social philosophy of robots. It is argued that ethics of robotics should not study and evaluate robotics exclusively in terms of individual

State-of-the-Art Mobile Intelligence: Enabling Robots to Move Like Humans by Estimating Mobility with Artificial Intelligence

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Xue-Bo Jin

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Mobility is a significant robotic task. It is the most important function when robotics is applied to domains such as autonomous cars, home service robots, and autonomous underwater vehicles. Despite extensive research on this topic, robots still suffer from difficulties when moving in complex environments, especially in practical applications. Therefore, the ability to have enough intelligence while moving is a key issue for the success of robots. Researchers have proposed a variety of methods and algorithms, including navigation and tracking. To help readers swiftly understand the recent advances in methodology and algorithms for robot movement, we present this survey, which provides a detailed review of the existing methods of navigation and tracking. In particular, this survey features a relation-based architecture that enables readers to easily grasp the key points of mobile intelligence. We first outline the key problems in robot systems and point out the relationship among robotics, navigation, and tracking. We then illustrate navigation using different sensors and the fusion methods and detail the state estimation and tracking models for target maneuvering. Finally, we address several issues of deep learning as well as the mobile intelligence of robots as suggested future research topics. The contributions of this survey are threefold. First, we review the literature of navigation according to the applied sensors and fusion method. Second, we detail the models for target maneuvering and the existing tracking based on estimation, such as the Kalman filter and its series developed form, according to their model-construction mechanisms: linear, nonlinear, and non-Gaussian white noise. Third, we illustrate the artificial intelligence approach—especially deep learning methods—and discuss its combination with the estimation method.

SDRE control strategy applied to a nonlinear robotic including drive motor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lima, Jeferson J. de, E-mail: jefersonjl82@gmail.com, E-mail: tusset@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: fcjanzen@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: piccirillo@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: claudinor@utfpr.edu.br; Tusset, Angelo M., E-mail: jefersonjl82@gmail.com, E-mail: tusset@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: fcjanzen@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: piccirillo@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: claudinor@utfpr.edu.br; Janzen, Frederic C., E-mail: jefersonjl82@gmail.com, E-mail: tusset@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: fcjanzen@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: piccirillo@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: claudinor@utfpr.edu.br; Piccirillo, Vinicius, E-mail: jefersonjl82@gmail.com, E-mail: tusset@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: fcjanzen@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: piccirillo@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: claudinor@utfpr.edu.br; Nascimento, Claudinor B., E-mail: jefersonjl82@gmail.com, E-mail: tusset@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: fcjanzen@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: piccirillo@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: claudinor@utfpr.edu.br [UTFPR-PONTA GROSSA, PR (Brazil); Balthazar, José M., E-mail: jmbaltha@rc.unesp.br [UNESP-BAURU, SP (Brazil); Brasil, Reyolando M. L. R. da Fonseca, E-mail: reyolando.brasil@ufabc.edu.br [UFABC-SANTO ANDRE, SP (Brazil)

2014-12-10

A robotic control design considering all the inherent nonlinearities of the robot-engine configuration is developed. The interactions between the robot and joint motor drive mechanism are considered. The proposed control combines two strategies, one feedforward control in order to maintain the system in the desired coordinate, and feedback control system to take the system into a desired coordinate. The feedback control is obtained using State-Dependent Riccati Equation (SDRE). For link positioning two cases are considered. Case I: For control positioning, it is only used motor voltage; Case II: For control positioning, it is used both motor voltage and torque between the links. Simulation results, including parametric uncertainties in control shows the feasibility of the proposed control for the considered system.

Energy in Robotics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Folkertsma, Gerrit A.; Stramigioli, Stefano

2017-01-01

Energy and energy exchange govern interactions in the physical world. By explicitly considering the energy and power in a robotic system, many control and design problems become easier or more insightful than in a purely signal-based view. We show the application of these energy considerations to

Navigation strategies for multiple autonomous mobile robots moving in formation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, P. K. C.

1991-01-01

The problem of deriving navigation strategies for a fleet of autonomous mobile robots moving in formation is considered. Here, each robot is represented by a particle with a spherical effective spatial domain and a specified cone of visibility. The global motion of each robot in the world space is described by the equations of motion of the robot's center of mass. First, methods for formation generation are discussed. Then, simple navigation strategies for robots moving in formation are derived. A sufficient condition for the stability of a desired formation pattern for a fleet of robots each equipped with the navigation strategy based on nearest neighbor tracking is developed. The dynamic behavior of robot fleets consisting of three or more robots moving in formation in a plane is studied by means of computer simulation.

Exploration and Navigation for Mobile Robots With Perceptual Limitations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Romero

2006-09-01

Full Text Available To learn a map of an environment a mobile robot has to explore its workspace using its sensors. Sensors are noisy and have perceptual limitations that must be considered while learning a map. This paper considers a mobile robot with sensor perceptual limitations and introduces a new method for exploring and navigating autonomously in indoor environments. To minimize the risk of collisions as well as to not exceed the range of sensors, we introduce the concept of a travel space as a way to associate costs to grid cells of the map, based on distances to obstacles. During exploration the mobile robot minimizes its movements, including rotations, to reach the nearest unexplored region of the environment, using a dynamic programming algorithm. Once the exploration ends, the travel space is used to form a roadmap, a net of safe roads that the mobile robot can use for navigation. These exploration and navigation method are tested using a simulated and a real mobile robot with promising results.

Exploration and Navigation for Mobile Robots With Perceptual Limitations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo F. Morales

2008-11-01

Full Text Available To learn a map of an environment a mobile robot has to explore its workspace using its sensors. Sensors are noisy and have perceptual limitations that must be considered while learning a map. This paper considers a mobile robot with sensor perceptual limitations and introduces a new method for exploring and navigating autonomously in indoor environments. To minimize the risk of collisions as well as to not exceed the range of sensors, we introduce the concept of a travel space as a way to associate costs to grid cells of the map, based on distances to obstacles. During exploration the mobile robot minimizes its movements, including rotations, to reach the nearest unexplored region of the environment, using a dynamic programming algorithm. Once the exploration ends, the travel space is used to form a roadmap, a net of safe roads that the mobile robot can use for navigation. These exploration and navigation method are tested using a simulated and a real mobile robot with promising results.

Virtual reality and telepresence control of robots used in hazardous environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bronisz, L.E.; Pittman, P.C.

1996-01-01

The purpose of this project was to explore the application of teleoperation and telepresence control to robots in hazardous environments at Los Alamos. The primary use of this technology would be in a glove-box type operation potentially allowing operators to work on hazardous materials while being completely removed from the danger of exposure in situations that are difficult to completely automate due to the highly unstructured environments or off-normal conditions. This project focused on determining the most appropriate tools and methods that could be applied in the near future resulting in a reasonably inexpensive working teleoperation or telepresence control system for industrial robots used in the handling of hazardous materials. Several topics had to be addressed to perform this task including input devices, control systems, robot manipulators, and simulation techniques or packages. Much of the work is still in the developmental stage and hardware will follow -- providing a usable tool for glove box robot control

Robot-assisted laparoscopic myomectomy: current status

OpenAIRE

Arian,Sara; Munoz,Jessian; Kim,Suejin; Falcone,Tommaso

2017-01-01

Sara E Arian, Jessian L Munoz, Suejin Kim, Tommaso Falcone Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA Abstract: Robotic-assisted surgery has seen a rapid development and integration in the field of gynecology. Since the approval of the use of robot for gynecological surgery and considering its several advantages over conventional laparoscopy, it has been widely incorporated especially in the field of reproductive surgery....

Advances in Automation and Robotics

CERN Document Server

International conference on Automation and Robotics ICAR2011

2012-01-01

The international conference on Automation and Robotics-ICAR2011 is held during December 12-13, 2011 in Dubai, UAE. The proceedings of ICAR2011 have been published by Springer Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, which include 163 excellent papers selected from more than 400 submitted papers.   The conference is intended to bring together the researchers and engineers/technologists working in different aspects of intelligent control systems and optimization, robotics and automation, signal processing, sensors, systems modeling and control, industrial engineering, production and management.   This part of proceedings includes 81 papers contributed by many researchers in relevant topic areas covered at ICAR2011 from various countries such as France, Japan, USA, Korea and China etc.     Many papers introduced their advanced research work recently; some of them gave a new solution to problems in the field, with powerful evidence and detail demonstration. Others stated the application of their designed and...

Robotics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheide, A.W.

1983-01-01

This article reviews some of the technical areas and history associated with robotics, provides information relative to the formation of a Robotics Industry Committee within the Industry Applications Society (IAS), and describes how all activities relating to robotics will be coordinated within the IEEE. Industrial robots are being used for material handling, processes such as coating and arc welding, and some mechanical and electronics assembly. An industrial robot is defined as a programmable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for a variety of tasks. The initial focus of the Robotics Industry Committee will be on the application of robotics systems to the various industries that are represented within the IAS

Systems integration for the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Robotics Applications Development Laboratory (RADL)

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, V. Leon; Nordeen, Ross

1988-01-01

A laboratory for developing robotics technology for hazardous and repetitive Shuttle and payload processing activities is discussed. An overview of the computer hardware and software responsible for integrating the laboratory systems is given. The center's anthropomorphic robot is placed on a track allowing it to be moved to different stations. Various aspects of the laboratory equipment are described, including industrial robot arm control, smart systems integration, the supervisory computer, programmable process controller, real-time tracking controller, image processing hardware, and control display graphics. Topics of research include: automated loading and unloading of hypergolics for space vehicles and payloads; the use of mobile robotics for security, fire fighting, and hazardous spill operations; nondestructive testing for SRB joint and seal verification; Shuttle Orbiter radiator damage inspection; and Orbiter contour measurements. The possibility of expanding the laboratory in the future is examined.

Robot navigation in unknown terrains: Introductory survey of non-heuristic algorithms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rao, N.S.V. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (US); Kareti, S.; Shi, Weimin [Old Dominion Univ., Norfolk, VA (US). Dept. of Computer Science; Iyengar, S.S. [Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA (US). Dept. of Computer Science

1993-07-01

A formal framework for navigating a robot in a geometric terrain by an unknown set of obstacles is considered. Here the terrain model is not a priori known, but the robot is equipped with a sensor system (vision or touch) employed for the purpose of navigation. The focus is restricted to the non-heuristic algorithms which can be theoretically shown to be correct within a given framework of models for the robot, terrain and sensor system. These formulations, although abstract and simplified compared to real-life scenarios, provide foundations for practical systems by highlighting the underlying critical issues. First, the authors consider the algorithms that are shown to navigate correctly without much consideration given to the performance parameters such as distance traversed, etc. Second, they consider non-heuristic algorithms that guarantee bounds on the distance traversed or the ratio of the distance traversed to the shortest path length (computed if the terrain model is known). Then they consider the navigation of robots with very limited computational capabilities such as finite automata, etc.

21th CISM-IFToMM Symposium on Theory and Practice of Robots and Manipulators

CERN Document Server

Schiehlen, Werner

2016-01-01

This proceedings volume contains papers that have been selected after review for oral presentation at ROMANSY 2016, the 21th CISM-IFToMM Symposium on Theory and Practice of Robots and Manipulators. These papers cover advances on several aspects of the wide field of Robotics as concerning Theory and Practice of Robots and Manipulators. ROMANSY 2016 is the 21st event in a series that started in 1973 as one of the first conference activities in the world on Robotics. The first event was held at CISM (International Centre for Mechanical Science) in Udine, Italy on 5-8 September 1973. It was also the first topic conference of IFToMM (International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science) and it was directed not only to the IFToMM community.

Current status of robotic bariatric surgery: a systematic review

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment to obtain weight loss in severely obese patients. The feasibility and safety of bariatric robotic surgery is the topic of this review. Methods A search was performed on PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, BioMed Central, and Web of Science. Results Twenty-two studies were included. Anastomotic leak rate was 8.51% in biliopancreatic diversion. 30-day reoperation rate was 1.14% in Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and 1.16% in sleeve gastrectomy. Major complication rate in Roux-en-Y gastric bypass resulted higher than in sleeve gastrectomy ( 4,26% vs. 1,2%). The mean hospital stay was longer in Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (range 2.6-7.4 days). Conclusions The major limitation of our analysis is due to the small number and the low quality of the studies, the small sample size, heterogeneity of the enrolled patients and the lack of data from metabolic and bariatric outcomes. Despite the use of the robot, the majority of these cases are completed with stapled anastomosis. The assumption that robotic surgery is superior in complex cases is not supported by the available present evidence. The major strength of the robotic surgery is strongly facilitating some of the surgical steps (gastro-jejunostomy and jejunojejunostomy anastomosis in the robotic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or the vertical gastric resection in the robotic sleeve gastrectomy). PMID:24199869

Correlated Topic Vector for Scene Classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Pengxu; Qin, Fei; Wan, Fang; Zhu, Yi; Jiao, Jianbin; Ye, Qixiang

2017-07-01

Scene images usually involve semantic correlations, particularly when considering large-scale image data sets. This paper proposes a novel generative image representation, correlated topic vector, to model such semantic correlations. Oriented from the correlated topic model, correlated topic vector intends to naturally utilize the correlations among topics, which are seldom considered in the conventional feature encoding, e.g., Fisher vector, but do exist in scene images. It is expected that the involvement of correlations can increase the discriminative capability of the learned generative model and consequently improve the recognition accuracy. Incorporated with the Fisher kernel method, correlated topic vector inherits the advantages of Fisher vector. The contributions to the topics of visual words have been further employed by incorporating the Fisher kernel framework to indicate the differences among scenes. Combined with the deep convolutional neural network (CNN) features and Gibbs sampling solution, correlated topic vector shows great potential when processing large-scale and complex scene image data sets. Experiments on two scene image data sets demonstrate that correlated topic vector improves significantly the deep CNN features, and outperforms existing Fisher kernel-based features.

Sensor Fusion Based Model for Collision Free Mobile Robot Navigation

Science.gov (United States)

Almasri, Marwah; Elleithy, Khaled; Alajlan, Abrar

2015-01-01

Autonomous mobile robots have become a very popular and interesting topic in the last decade. Each of them are equipped with various types of sensors such as GPS, camera, infrared and ultrasonic sensors. These sensors are used to observe the surrounding environment. However, these sensors sometimes fail and have inaccurate readings. Therefore, the integration of sensor fusion will help to solve this dilemma and enhance the overall performance. This paper presents a collision free mobile robot navigation based on the fuzzy logic fusion model. Eight distance sensors and a range finder camera are used for the collision avoidance approach where three ground sensors are used for the line or path following approach. The fuzzy system is composed of nine inputs which are the eight distance sensors and the camera, two outputs which are the left and right velocities of the mobile robot’s wheels, and 24 fuzzy rules for the robot’s movement. Webots Pro simulator is used for modeling the environment and the robot. The proposed methodology, which includes the collision avoidance based on fuzzy logic fusion model and line following robot, has been implemented and tested through simulation and real time experiments. Various scenarios have been presented with static and dynamic obstacles using one robot and two robots while avoiding obstacles in different shapes and sizes. PMID:26712766

Sensor Fusion Based Model for Collision Free Mobile Robot Navigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marwah Almasri

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Autonomous mobile robots have become a very popular and interesting topic in the last decade. Each of them are equipped with various types of sensors such as GPS, camera, infrared and ultrasonic sensors. These sensors are used to observe the surrounding environment. However, these sensors sometimes fail and have inaccurate readings. Therefore, the integration of sensor fusion will help to solve this dilemma and enhance the overall performance. This paper presents a collision free mobile robot navigation based on the fuzzy logic fusion model. Eight distance sensors and a range finder camera are used for the collision avoidance approach where three ground sensors are used for the line or path following approach. The fuzzy system is composed of nine inputs which are the eight distance sensors and the camera, two outputs which are the left and right velocities of the mobile robot’s wheels, and 24 fuzzy rules for the robot’s movement. Webots Pro simulator is used for modeling the environment and the robot. The proposed methodology, which includes the collision avoidance based on fuzzy logic fusion model and line following robot, has been implemented and tested through simulation and real time experiments. Various scenarios have been presented with static and dynamic obstacles using one robot and two robots while avoiding obstacles in different shapes and sizes.

Towards Versatile Robots Through Open Heterogeneous Modular Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lyder, Andreas

arises, a new robot can be assembled rapidly from the existing modules, in contrast to conventional robots, which require a time consuming and expensive development process. In this thesis we define a modular robot to be a robot consisting of dynamically reconfigurable modules. The goal of this thesis......Robots are important tools in our everyday life. Both in industry and at the consumer level they serve the purpose of increasing our scope and extending our capabilities. Modular robots take the next step, allowing us to easily create and build various robots from a set of modules. If a problem...... is to increase the versatility and practical usability of modular robots by introducing new conceptual designs. Until now modular robots have been based on a pre-specified set of modules, and thus, their functionality is limited. We propose an open heterogeneous design concept, which allows a modular robot...

Safety assessment of high consequence robotics system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, D.G.; Atcitty, C.B.

1996-01-01

This paper outlines the use of a failure modes and effects analysis for the safety assessment of a robotic system being developed at Sandia National Laboratories. The robotic system, the weigh and leak check system, is to replace a manual process for weight and leakage of nuclear materials at the DOE Pantex facility. Failure modes and effects analyses were completed for the robotics process to ensure that safety goals for the systems have been met. Due to the flexible nature of the robot configuration, traditional failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) were not applicable. In addition, the primary focus of safety assessments of robotics systems has been the protection of personnel in the immediate area. In this application, the safety analysis must account for the sensitivities of the payload as well as traditional issues. A unique variation on the classical FMEA was developed that permits an organized and quite effective tool to be used to assure that safety was adequately considered during the development of the robotic system. The fundamental aspects of the approach are outlined in the paper

9th International Conference on Robotics, Vision, Signal Processing & Power Applications

CERN Document Server

Iqbal, Shahid; Teoh, Soo; Mustaffa, Mohd

2017-01-01

 The proceeding is a collection of research papers presented, at the 9th International Conference on Robotics, Vision, Signal Processing & Power Applications (ROVISP 2016), by researchers, scientists, engineers, academicians as well as industrial professionals from all around the globe to present their research results and development activities for oral or poster presentations. The topics of interest are as follows but are not limited to:   • Robotics, Control, Mechatronics and Automation • Vision, Image, and Signal Processing • Artificial Intelligence and Computer Applications • Electronic Design and Applications • Telecommunication Systems and Applications • Power System and Industrial Applications • Engineering Education.

Spacio-temporal situation assessment for mobile robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beck, Anders Billesø; Risager, Claus; Andersen, Nils Axel

2011-01-01

chains are used to model the situation states and sequence, where stream clustering is used for state matching and dealing with noise. In experiments using simulated and real data, we show that we are able to learn a situation sequence for a mobile robot passing through a narrow passage. After learning......In this paper, we present a framework for situation modeling and assessment for mobile robot applications. We consider situations as data patterns that characterize unique circumstances for the robot, and represented not only by the data but also its temporal and spacial sequence. Dynamic Markov...

Advances in mechanisms, robotics and design education and research

CERN Document Server

Schmiedeler, James; Sreenivasan, S; Su, Hai-Jun

2013-01-01

This book contains papers on a wide range of topics in the area of kinematics, mechanisms, robotics, and design, addressing new research advances and innovations in design education. The content is divided into  five main categories headed ‘Historical Perspectives’, ‘Kinematics and Mechanisms’, ‘Robotic Systems’, ‘Legged Locomotion’, and ‘Design Engineering Education’. Contributions take the form of survey articles, historical perspectives, commentaries on trends on education or research, original research contributions, and papers on design education.   This volume celebrates the achievements of Professor Kenneth Waldron who has made innumerable and invaluable contributions to these fields in the last fifty years. His leadership and his pioneering work have influenced thousands of people in this discipline.

Low-cost educational robotics applied to physics teaching in Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Souza, Marcos A. M.; Duarte, José R. R.

2015-07-01

In this paper, we propose some of the strategies and methodologies for teaching high-school physics topics through an educational robotics show. This exhibition was part of a set of actions promoted by a Brazilian government program of incentive for teaching activities, whose primary focus is the training of teachers, the improvement of teaching in public schools, the dissemination of science, and the formation of new scientists and researchers. By means of workshops, banners and the prototyping of robotics, we were able to create a connection between the study areas and their surroundings, making learning meaningful and accessible for the students involved and contributing to their cognitive development.

Robotics Technology Development Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-02-01

The Robotics Technology Development Program (RTDP) is a ''needs-driven'' effort. A lengthy series of presentations and discussions at DOE sites considered critical to DOE's Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) Programs resulted in a clear understanding of needed robotics applications toward resolving definitive problems at the sites. A detailed analysis of the Tank Waste Retrieval (TWR), Contaminant Analysis Automation (CAA), Mixed Waste Operations (MWO), and Decontamination ampersand Dismantlement (D ampersand D). The RTDP Group realized that much of the technology development was common (Cross Cutting-CC) to each of these robotics application areas, for example, computer control and sensor interface protocols. Further, the OTD approach to the Research, Development, Demonstration, Testing, and Evaluation (RDDT ampersand E) process urged an additional organizational break-out between short-term (1--3 years) and long-term (3--5 years) efforts (Advanced Technology-AT). The RDTP is thus organized around these application areas -- TWR, CAA, MWO, D ampersand D and CC ampersand AT -- with the first four developing short-term applied robotics. An RTDP Five-Year Plan was developed for organizing the Program to meet the needs in these application areas

Credibility improves topical blog post retrieval

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weerkamp, W.; de Rijke, M.

2008-01-01

Topical blog post retrieval is the task of ranking blog posts with respect to their relevance for a given topic. To improve topical blog post retrieval we incorporate textual credibility indicators in the retrieval process. We consider two groups of indicators: post level (determined using

Some Qualitative Requirements for Testing of Nuclear Emergency Response Robots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, Heungseop; Cho, Jai Wan; Choi, Youngsoo; Jeong, Kyungmin

2014-01-01

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) is carrying out the project 'Development of Core Technology for Remote Response in Nuclear Emergency Situation', and as a part of the project, we are studying the reliability and performance requirements of nuclear emergency response robots. In this paper, we described some qualitative requirements for testing of nuclear emergency response robots which are different to general emergency response robots. We briefly introduced test requirements of general emergency response robots and described some qualitative aspects of test requirements for nuclear emergency response robots. When considering an immature field-robot technology and variety of nuclear emergency situations, it seems hard to establish quantitative test requirements of these robots at this time. However, based on studies of nuclear severe accidents and the experience of Fukushima NPP accident, we can expect some test requirements including quantitative ones for nuclear emergency response robots

Socially intelligent robots: dimensions of human-robot interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Dautenhahn, Kerstin

2007-04-29

Social intelligence in robots has a quite recent history in artificial intelligence and robotics. However, it has become increasingly apparent that social and interactive skills are necessary requirements in many application areas and contexts where robots need to interact and collaborate with other robots or humans. Research on human-robot interaction (HRI) poses many challenges regarding the nature of interactivity and 'social behaviour' in robot and humans. The first part of this paper addresses dimensions of HRI, discussing requirements on social skills for robots and introducing the conceptual space of HRI studies. In order to illustrate these concepts, two examples of HRI research are presented. First, research is surveyed which investigates the development of a cognitive robot companion. The aim of this work is to develop social rules for robot behaviour (a 'robotiquette') that is comfortable and acceptable to humans. Second, robots are discussed as possible educational or therapeutic toys for children with autism. The concept of interactive emergence in human-child interactions is highlighted. Different types of play among children are discussed in the light of their potential investigation in human-robot experiments. The paper concludes by examining different paradigms regarding 'social relationships' of robots and people interacting with them.

Analysis of a closed-kinematic chain robot manipulator

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Charles C.; Pooran, Farhad J.

1988-01-01

Presented are the research results from the research grant entitled: Active Control of Robot Manipulators, sponsored by the Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA) under grant number NAG-780. This report considers a class of robot manipulators based on the closed-kinematic chain mechanism (CKCM). This type of robot manipulators mainly consists of two platforms, one is stationary and the other moving, and they are coupled together through a number of in-parallel actuators. Using spatial geometry and homogeneous transformation, a closed-form solution is derived for the inverse kinematic problem of the six-degree-of-freedom manipulator, built to study robotic assembly in space. Iterative Newton Raphson method is employed to solve the forward kinematic problem. Finally, the equations of motion of the above manipulators are obtained by employing the Lagrangian method. Study of the manipulator dynamics is performed using computer simulation whose results show that the robot actuating forces are strongly dependent on the mass and centroid locations of the robot links.

The meaning of the EPSRC principles of robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Bryson, Joanna J.

2017-04-01

In revisiting the Principles of Robotics (as we do in this special issue), it is important to carefully consider their full meaning - their history, the intentions behind them, and their actual societal impact to date. Here I address first the meaning of the document as a whole, then of its constituent parts. Further, I describe the nature of policy, and use the Principles as a case study to discuss how government and academia can interact in constructing policy. I defend the Principles and their main themes: that commercially manufactured robots should not be responsible parties under the law, and that users should not be deceived about robots' capacities or moral status. This perspective allows for the incorporation of robots immediately into UK society and law - the objective of the Principles. The Principles were not designed for every conceivable robot, but rather serve in part as design specifications for robots to be incorporated as legal products into British society.

[Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy for Patients with Prostatic Cancer and Factors Promoting Installation of the Robotic Surgical Equipment-Questionnaire Survey].

Science.gov (United States)

Tsukamoto, Taiji; Tanaka, Shigeru

2015-08-01

We conducted a questionnaire survey of hospitals with robot-assisted surgical equipment to study changes of the surgical case loads after its installation and the managerial strategies for its purchase. The study included 154 hospitals (as of April 2014) that were queried about their radical prostatectomy case loads from January 2009 to December 2013, strategies for installation of the equipment in their hospitals, and other topics related to the study purpose. The overall response rate of hospitals was 63%, though it marginally varied according to type and area. The annual case load was determined based on the results of the questionnaire and other modalities. It increased from 3,518 in 2009 to 6,425 in 2013. The case load seemed to be concentrated in hospitals with robot equipment since the increase of their number was very minimal over the 5 years. The hospitals with the robot treated a larger number of newly diagnosed patients with the disease than before. Most of the patients were those having localized cancer that was indicated for radical surgery, suggesting again the concentration of the surgical case loads in the hospitals with robots. While most hospitals believed that installation of a robot was necessary as an option for treatment procedures, the future strategy of the hospital, and other reasons, the action of the hospital to gain prestige may be involved in the process of purchasing the equipment. In conclusion, robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy has become popular as a surgical procedure for prostate cancer in our society. This may lead to a concentration of the surgical case load in a limited number of hospitals with robots. We also discuss the typical action of an acute-care hospital when it purchases expensive clinical medical equipment.

PAIR'14 / PAIR'15 STUDENT CONFERENCES ON PLANNING IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ROBOTICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Editorial Foreword

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Dear Readerthe original idea of the student conference on “Planning in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics” (PAIR is to join young researchers from particular laboratories in Czech Republic, where planning problems are investigated from artificial intelligence (AI or robotics points of view. The first year of PAIR has been organized at the Dept. of Computer Science, Faculty Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in 2014.At PAIR 2014, laboratories from Prague and Brno were presented. In particular, students and researchers from Charles University, Czech Technical University in Prague, Brno University of Technology, and Central European Institute of Technology participated at the event. Beside an introduction of the particular research groups and their topics, students presented contributions on their current research results. Ten papers were presented on topics ranging from domain–independent planning, trajectory planning to applications for unmanned aerial and legged robots. This first event provides us an initial experience with the community of young researchers in Czech Republic that are working planning in robotic or AI. Based on the success of PAIR 2014, we decided to continue with our effort to establish a suitable fora for students that are geographically very close, but usually do not meet, because of participation on different Robotics and AI events.The second student conference on Planning in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (PAIR 2015 successfully continues the tradition of the first year of the conference organized in Prague. This year, the conference was collocated with 10th anniversary of RoboTour contest in Písek. This format enable us to extend the impact of the PAIR conference and improve the visibility of the growing student community. The conference reached a good amount of interesting papers focused on image processing for mobile robots, swarm control, driving simulation, robot control, or domain�

Low-Cost Educational Robotics Applied to Physics Teaching in Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Souza, Marcos A. M.; Duarte, José R. R.

2015-01-01

In this paper, we propose some of the strategies and methodologies for teaching high-school physics topics through an educational robotics show. This exhibition was part of a set of actions promoted by a Brazilian government program of incentive for teaching activities, whose primary focus is the training of teachers, the improvement of teaching…

Embodied Evolution in Collective Robotics: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas Bredeche

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This article provides an overview of evolutionary robotics techniques applied to online distributed evolution for robot collectives, namely, embodied evolution. It provides a definition of embodied evolution as well as a thorough description of the underlying concepts and mechanisms. This article also presents a comprehensive summary of research published in the field since its inception around the year 2000, providing various perspectives to identify the major trends. In particular, we identify a shift from considering embodied evolution as a parallel search method within small robot collectives (fewer than 10 robots to embodied evolution as an online distributed learning method for designing collective behaviors in swarm-like collectives. This article concludes with a discussion of applications and open questions, providing a milestone for past and an inspiration for future research.

Robot engineering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Seul

2006-02-15

This book deals with robot engineering, giving descriptions of robot's history, current tendency of robot field, work and characteristic of industrial robot, essential merit and vector, application of matrix, analysis of basic vector, expression of Denavit-Hartenberg, robot kinematics such as forward kinematics, inverse kinematics, cases of MATLAB program, and motion kinematics, robot kinetics like moment of inertia, centrifugal force and coriolis power, and Euler-Lagrangian equation course plan, SIMULINK position control of robots.

Robot engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Seul

2006-02-01

This book deals with robot engineering, giving descriptions of robot's history, current tendency of robot field, work and characteristic of industrial robot, essential merit and vector, application of matrix, analysis of basic vector, expression of Denavit-Hartenberg, robot kinematics such as forward kinematics, inverse kinematics, cases of MATLAB program, and motion kinematics, robot kinetics like moment of inertia, centrifugal force and coriolis power, and Euler-Lagrangian equation course plan, SIMULINK position control of robots.

Biologically Inspired Object Localization for a Modular Mobile Robotic System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zlatogor Minchev

2005-12-01

Full Text Available The paper considers a general model of real biological creatures' antennae, which is practically implemented and tested, over a real element of a mobile modular robotic system - the robot MR1. The last could be utilized in solving of the most classical problem in Robotics - Object Localization. The functionality of the represented sensor system is described in a new and original manner by utilizing the tool of Generalized Nets - a new likelihood for description, modelling and simulation of different objects from the Artificial Intelligence area including Robotics.

AIonAI: a humanitarian law of artificial intelligence and robotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashrafian, Hutan

2015-02-01

The enduring progression of artificial intelligence and cybernetics offers an ever-closer possibility of rational and sentient robots. The ethics and morals deriving from this technological prospect have been considered in the philosophy of artificial intelligence, the design of automatons with roboethics and the contemplation of machine ethics through the concept of artificial moral agents. Across these categories, the robotics laws first proposed by Isaac Asimov in the twentieth century remain well-recognised and esteemed due to their specification of preventing human harm, stipulating obedience to humans and incorporating robotic self-protection. However the overwhelming predominance in the study of this field has focussed on human-robot interactions without fully considering the ethical inevitability of future artificial intelligences communicating together and has not addressed the moral nature of robot-robot interactions. A new robotic law is proposed and termed AIonAI or artificial intelligence-on-artificial intelligence. This law tackles the overlooked area where future artificial intelligences will likely interact amongst themselves, potentially leading to exploitation. As such, they would benefit from adopting a universal law of rights to recognise inherent dignity and the inalienable rights of artificial intelligences. Such a consideration can help prevent exploitation and abuse of rational and sentient beings, but would also importantly reflect on our moral code of ethics and the humanity of our civilisation.

Calibration of Robot Reference Frames for Enhanced Robot Positioning Accuracy

OpenAIRE

Cheng, Frank Shaopeng

2008-01-01

This chapter discussed the importance and methods of conducting robot workcell calibration for enhancing the accuracy of the robot TCP positions in industrial robot applications. It shows that the robot frame transformations define the robot geometric parameters such as joint position variables, link dimensions, and joint offsets in an industrial robot system. The D-H representation allows the robot designer to model the robot motion geometry with the four standard D-H parameters. The robot k...

MOVEMENT SIMULATION OF THREE ARMED ROBOT BY BEING USED AutoLISP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa BOZDEMİR

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Development of a suitable robot for desired aim and duty is very important for design enginers. On the other hand, designed robots may be unsuccesful in functioning inspite of many efforts. For this reason, before the production of considered robot systems, having prepared a simulation program, investigation of work field, getting done path plan and mistakes could be eliminated before robot production. In this study, movement simulation of a three armed robot has been realized by using AutoLIPS programing language which is supplied with AutoCAD. Analytical and matrix solution methods have been used in simulation equations.

Third International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Automation for Space 1994

Science.gov (United States)

1994-01-01

The Third International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Automation for Space (i-SAIRAS 94), held October 18-20, 1994, in Pasadena, California, was jointly sponsored by NASA, ESA, and Japan's National Space Development Agency, and was hosted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology. i-SAIRAS 94 featured presentations covering a variety of technical and programmatic topics, ranging from underlying basic technology to specific applications of artificial intelligence and robotics to space missions. i-SAIRAS 94 featured a special workshop on planning and scheduling and provided scientists, engineers, and managers with the opportunity to exchange theoretical ideas, practical results, and program plans in such areas as space mission control, space vehicle processing, data analysis, autonomous spacecraft, space robots and rovers, satellite servicing, and intelligent instruments.

Towards the Emergence of Procedural Memories from Lifelong Multi-Modal Streaming Memories for Cognitive Robots

OpenAIRE

Petit, M; Fischer, T; Demiris, Y

2016-01-01

Various research topics are emerging as the demand for intelligent lifelong interactions between robot and humans increases. Among them, we can find the examination of persistent storage, the continuous unsupervised annotation of memories and the usage of data at high-frequency over long periods of time. We recently proposed a lifelong autobiographical memory architecture tackling some of these challenges, allowing the iCub humanoid robot to 1) create new memories for both actions that are se...

Mobile robotics application in the nuclear industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, S.L.; White, J.R. [REMOTEC, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

1995-03-01

Mobile robots have been developed to perform hazardous operations in place of human workers. Applications include nuclear plant inspection/maintenance, decontamination and decommissioning police/military explosive ordinance disposal (EOD), hostage/terrorist negotiations and fire fighting. Nuclear facilities have proven that robotic applications can be cost-effective solutions to reducing personnel exposure and plant downtime. The first applications of mobile robots in the nuclear industry began in the early 1980`s, with the first vehicles being one of a kind machines or adaptations of commercial EOD robots. These activities included efforts by numerous commercial companies, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, EPRI, and several national laboratories. Some of these efforts were driven by the recovery and cleanup activities at TMI which demonstrated the potential and need for a remote means of performing surveillance and maintenance tasks in nuclear plants. The use of these machines is now becoming commonplace in nuclear facilities throughout the world. The hardware maturity and the confidence of the users has progressed to the point where the applications of mobile robots is not longer considered a novelty. These machines are being used in applications where the result is to help achieve more aggressive goals for personnel radiation exposure and plant availability, perform tasks more efficiently, and allow plant operators to retrieve information from areas previously considered inaccessible. Typical examples include surveillance in high radiation areas (during operation and outage activities), radiation surveys, waste handling, and decontamination evolutions. This paper will discuss this evolution including specific applications experiences, examples of currently available technology, and the benefits derived from the use of mobile robotic vehicles in commercial nuclear power facilities.

Mobile robotics application in the nuclear industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, S.L.; White, J.R.

1995-01-01

Mobile robots have been developed to perform hazardous operations in place of human workers. Applications include nuclear plant inspection/maintenance, decontamination and decommissioning police/military explosive ordinance disposal (EOD), hostage/terrorist negotiations and fire fighting. Nuclear facilities have proven that robotic applications can be cost-effective solutions to reducing personnel exposure and plant downtime. The first applications of mobile robots in the nuclear industry began in the early 1980's, with the first vehicles being one of a kind machines or adaptations of commercial EOD robots. These activities included efforts by numerous commercial companies, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, EPRI, and several national laboratories. Some of these efforts were driven by the recovery and cleanup activities at TMI which demonstrated the potential and need for a remote means of performing surveillance and maintenance tasks in nuclear plants. The use of these machines is now becoming commonplace in nuclear facilities throughout the world. The hardware maturity and the confidence of the users has progressed to the point where the applications of mobile robots is not longer considered a novelty. These machines are being used in applications where the result is to help achieve more aggressive goals for personnel radiation exposure and plant availability, perform tasks more efficiently, and allow plant operators to retrieve information from areas previously considered inaccessible. Typical examples include surveillance in high radiation areas (during operation and outage activities), radiation surveys, waste handling, and decontamination evolutions. This paper will discuss this evolution including specific applications experiences, examples of currently available technology, and the benefits derived from the use of mobile robotic vehicles in commercial nuclear power facilities

On Throughput Maximization in Constant Travel-Time Robotic Cells

OpenAIRE

Milind Dawande; Chelliah Sriskandarajah; Suresh Sethi

2002-01-01

We consider the problem of scheduling operations in bufferless robotic cells that produce identical parts. The objective is to find a cyclic sequence of robot moves that minimizes the long-run average time to produce a part or, equivalently, maximizes the throughput rate. The robot can be moved in simple cycles that produce one unit or, in more complicated cycles, that produce multiple units. Because one-unit cycles are the easiest to understand, implement, and control, they are widely used i...

Trajectory Planning of Mobile robot in Unstructured Environment for Multiple Objects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Arshad

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we have presented a novel technique for the navigation and path formulation of wheeled mobile robot. In a given environment having obstacles, a path is generated from the given initial and final position of the robot. Based on the global knowledge of the environment a global path is formulated initially. This global path considers all the known obstacles in the environment and must avoid collision with these obstacles, i.e. the formulated path must be safe (collision free. For global path formulation strategic schemes have been employed using the a priori knowledge of the environment. The global path is fed to the robot. When unknown obstacles come in the path of the robot, it must deviate from the given global path and should generate a local path to avoid collision with the new unknown obstacle. By using sensors data the reactive schemes have been implemented for local path formulation. For local path formulation the path has been subdivided into intermediate steps known as sub goals. In the existing approaches known and unknown objects are considered separately. But in some of the practical applications known and unknown objects need to be considered simultaneously. This paper considers the problem of robot motion formulation in an environment having already known obstacles and unknown new moving objects. A Novel algorithm has been developed which incorporates local path planner, optimization and navigation modules. As unknown objects can appear in the environment randomly therefore uncertainty in the environment has been considered.

The Development of a Radiation Hardened Robot for Nuclear Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Seung Ho; Kim, Chang Hoi; Seo, Yong Chil (and others)

2007-04-15

We has been developed two remotely controlled robotic systems. One is a underwater vehicle for inspection of the internal structures of PWRs and retrieving foreign stubs in the reactor pressure vessels and reactor coolant pipes. The other robotic system consists of a articulated-type mobile robot capable of recovering the failure of the fuel exchange machine and a mini modular mobile robot for inspection of feeder pipes with ultrasonic array sensors in PHWRs. The underwater robot has been designed by considering radiation effect, underwater condition, and accessibility to the working area. The size of underwater robot is designed to enter the cold legs. A extendable manipulator is mounted on the mobile robot, which can restore nuclear fuel exchange machine. The mini modular mobile robot is composed of dual inch worm mechanisms, which are constructed by two gripper bodies that can fix the robot body on to the pipe and move along the longitudinal and to rotate in a circumferential direction to access all of the outer surfaces of the pipe.

Robot soccer anywhere: achieving persistent autonomous navigation, mapping, and object vision tracking in dynamic environments

Science.gov (United States)

Dragone, Mauro; O'Donoghue, Ruadhan; Leonard, John J.; O'Hare, Gregory; Duffy, Brian; Patrikalakis, Andrew; Leederkerken, Jacques

2005-06-01

The paper describes an ongoing effort to enable autonomous mobile robots to play soccer in unstructured, everyday environments. Unlike conventional robot soccer competitions that are usually held on purpose-built robot soccer "fields", in our work we seek to develop the capability for robots to demonstrate aspects of soccer-playing in more diverse environments, such as schools, hospitals, or shopping malls, with static obstacles (furniture) and dynamic natural obstacles (people). This problem of "Soccer Anywhere" presents numerous research challenges including: (1) Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) in dynamic, unstructured environments, (2) software control architectures for decentralized, distributed control of mobile agents, (3) integration of vision-based object tracking with dynamic control, and (4) social interaction with human participants. In addition to the intrinsic research merit of these topics, we believe that this capability would prove useful for outreach activities, in demonstrating robotics technology to primary and secondary school students, to motivate them to pursue careers in science and engineering.

Artificial intelligence in robot control systems

Science.gov (United States)

Korikov, A.

2018-05-01

This paper analyzes modern concepts of artificial intelligence and known definitions of the term "level of intelligence". In robotics artificial intelligence system is defined as a system that works intelligently and optimally. The author proposes to use optimization methods for the design of intelligent robot control systems. The article provides the formalization of problems of robotic control system design, as a class of extremum problems with constraints. Solving these problems is rather complicated due to the high dimensionality, polymodality and a priori uncertainty. Decomposition of the extremum problems according to the method, suggested by the author, allows reducing them into a sequence of simpler problems, that can be successfully solved by modern computing technology. Several possible approaches to solving such problems are considered in the article.

A Semi-Open Learning Environment for Mobile Robotics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrique Sucar

2007-05-01

Full Text Available We have developed a semi-open learning environment for mobile robotics, to learn through free exploration, but with specific performance criteria that guides the learning process. The environment includes virtual and remote robotics laboratories, and an intelligent virtual assistant the guides the students using the labs. A series of experiments in the virtual and remote labs are designed to gradually learn the basics of mobile robotics. Each experiment considers exploration and performance aspects, which are evaluated by the virtual assistant, giving feedback to the user. The virtual laboratory has been incorporated to a course in mobile robotics and used by a group of students. A preliminary evaluation shows that the intelligent tutor combined with the virtual laboratory can improve the learning process.

Urologic robotic surgery in Korea: past and present.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Ill Young

2015-08-01

Since 2005 when the da Vinci surgical system was approved as a medical device by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, 51 systems have been installed in 40 institutions as of May 2015. Although robotic surgery is not covered by the national health insurance service in Korea, it has been used in several urologic fields as a less invasive surgery. Since the first robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in 2005, partial nephrectomy, radical cystectomy, pyeloplasty, and other urologic surgeries have been performed. The following should be considered to extend the indications for robotic surgery: training systems including accreditation, operative outcomes from follow-up results, and cost-effectiveness. In this review, the history and current status of robotic surgeries in Korea are presented.

Generic robot architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Bruemmer, David J [Idaho Falls, ID; Few, Douglas A [Idaho Falls, ID

2010-09-21

The present invention provides methods, computer readable media, and apparatuses for a generic robot architecture providing a framework that is easily portable to a variety of robot platforms and is configured to provide hardware abstractions, abstractions for generic robot attributes, environment abstractions, and robot behaviors. The generic robot architecture includes a hardware abstraction level and a robot abstraction level. The hardware abstraction level is configured for developing hardware abstractions that define, monitor, and control hardware modules available on a robot platform. The robot abstraction level is configured for defining robot attributes and provides a software framework for building robot behaviors from the robot attributes. Each of the robot attributes includes hardware information from at least one hardware abstraction. In addition, each robot attribute is configured to substantially isolate the robot behaviors from the at least one hardware abstraction.

Marinization concept for the TRICEPT TR600 robot

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meyer, A.; Aust, E.; Niemann, H.R.; Santos, J.F. dos [GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Materialforschung; Hammerin, R.; Neumann, K.E. [Neos Robotics AB, Taeby (Sweden); Gibson, D. [National Hyperbaric Centre, Aberdeen (United Kingdom)

1998-11-01

The need for automated welding repair systems of marine structures, ship hulls and nuclear installations had lead to an increasing demand for subsea robots. Considering the application of friction welding to perform underwater repairs, a TRICEPT TR600 robot has been identified as the most suitable system to withstand the high reaction forces characteristic of this process. This study reviews initially the research and development work carried out at GKSS to modify and test a Siemens-MANUTEC robot. After a description of the TRICEPT TR600 robot a marinization concept is presented and discussed in detail. Problems of galvanic corrosion in seawater are addressed in a separate chapter. The deflection of the robot in subsea water currents is estimated with a worst-case calculation. (orig.) [Deutsch] Der Wunsch, Roboter auch unter Wasser einsetzen zu koennen, waechst mit steigendem Interesse nach automatisierten Schweissverfahren fuer Reparaturen an marinen Bauwerken, Schiffsruempfen und in Kernenergieanlagen. Fuer den Einsatz von Reibschweissverfahren fuer diese Reparaturen wurde der TRICEPT TR600-Roboter ausgewaehlt, da dieser auch den charakteristisch hohen Prozesskraeften widerstehen kann. Die notwendigen Modifikationen und Pruefungen werden beispielhaft anhand des bei der GKSS modifizierten Siemens-MANUTEC-Roboters vorgestellt. Nach einer Beschreibung des TRICEPT-Roboters werden die notwendigen Umbaumassnahmen detailliert dargestellt und diskutiert. Auf die Problematik der galvanischen Korrosion in Seewasser wird in einem gesonderten Kapitel naeher eingegangen. Zusaetzlich wird eine moegliche Ablenkung des Roboters durch Wasserstroemung ueberschlaegig berechnet. (orig.)

Black boxes on wheels: research challenges and ethical problems in MEA-based robotics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bentzen, Martin Mose

2016-01-01

Robotic systems consisting of a neuron culture grown on a multielectrode array (MEA) which is connected to a virtual or mechanical robot have been studied for approximately 15 years. It is hoped that these MEA-based robots will be able to address the problem that robots based on conventional...... and that they are not likely to be solved within the field. After that, I discuss whether MEA-based robotics should be considered pop science. Finally, I investigate the ethical aspects of this research....

A Spatial Queuing-Based Algorithm for Multi-Robot Task Allocation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William Lenagh

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Multi-robot task allocation (MRTA is an important area of research in autonomous multi-robot systems. The main problem in MRTA is to allocate a set of tasks to a set of robots so that the tasks can be completed by the robots while ensuring that a certain metric, such as the time required to complete all tasks, or the distance traveled, or the energy expended by the robots is reduced. We consider a scenario where tasks can appear dynamically and a task needs to be performed by multiple robots to be completed. We propose a new algorithm called SQ-MRTA (Spatial Queueing-MRTA that uses a spatial queue-based model to allocate tasks between robots in a distributed manner. We have implemented the SQ-MRTA algorithm on accurately simulated models of Corobot robots within the Webots simulator for different numbers of robots and tasks and compared its performance with other state-of-the-art MRTA algorithms. Our results show that the SQ-MRTA algorithm is able to scale up with the number of tasks and robots in the environment, and it either outperforms or performs comparably with respect to other distributed MRTA algorithms.

Shape Modeling of a Concentric-tube Continuum Robot

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bai, Shaoping; Xing, Charles Chuhao

2012-01-01

Concentric-tube continuum robots feature with simple and compact structures and have a great potential in medical applications. The paper is concerned with the shape modeling of a type of concentric-tube continuum robot built with a collection of super-elastic NiTiNol tubes. The mechanics...... is modeled on the basis of energy approach for both the in-plane and out-plane cases. The torsional influences on the shape of the concentric-tube robots are considered. An experimental device was build for the model validation. The results of simulation and experiments are included and analyzed....

Design, implementation and stabilization of a Bipedal robot

Science.gov (United States)

Nath, Alok; Das, Goutam; Mallick, Anik; Chowdhury, Shovan

2017-12-01

In this paper, we have presented the mechanical design and fabrication of a Bipedal walking robot as well as control strategies to be implemented for walking and balance recovery. For this robot, we considered Six Degree of Freedom (D.O.P) in the lower body one at each hip, one at each knee and one at each ankle. Each degree of freedom is powered by a RC servo motor and this robot is controlled by Arduino Mega 2560 micro controller. By balancing center of mass (C.O.M) it walks in rhythmic way as like as human one.

Topics in quantum field theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dams, C.J.F.

2006-01-01

In this PhD-thesis some topics in quantum field theory are considered. The first chapter gives a background to these topics. The second chapter discusses renormalization. In particular it is shown how loop calculations can be performed when using the axial gauge fixing. Fermion creation and

Decentralized coverage control problems for mobile robotic sensor and actuator networks

CERN Document Server

Savkin, A; Xi, Z; Javed, F; Matveev, A; Nguyen, H

2015-01-01

This book introduces various coverage control problems for mobile sensor networks including barrier, sweep and blanket. Unlike many existing algorithms, all of the robotic sensor and actuator motion algorithms developed in the book are fully decentralized or distributed, computationally efficient, easily implementable in engineering practice and based only on information on the closest neighbours of each mobile sensor and actuator and local information about the environment. Moreover, the mobile robotic sensors have no prior information about the environment in which they operation. These various types of coverage problems have never been covered before by a single book in a systematic way. Another topic of this book is the study of mobile robotic sensor and actuator networks. Many modern engineering applications include the use of sensor and actuator networks to provide efficient and effective monitoring and control of industrial and environmental processes. Such mobile sensor and actuator networks are abl...

The Effect of Foot Structure on Locomotion of a Small Biped Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nguyen Tinh

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is a presentation of a work that consists of considering a novel foot structure for biped robot inspired by human foot. The specific objective is to develop a foot mechanism with human-like toes for a small biped robot. The chosen architecture to present the biped includes ten degrees of freedom (DoF on ten articulations between eleven links. Our study considers the effect of varying foot structure on a walking process of the robot in simulation by ADAMS (MSC software, USA through gait generation method. In toe mechanism, aiming to reduce the energy consumption, the passive joint was selected as the toe joint. The center of gravity (CoG point trajectories of the robot with varying toe is compared with each other in normal motion on flat terrain to determine the most consistent toe mechanism. The result shows that the selected foot structure enables the robot to walk stably and naturally.

Micro intelligence robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeon, Yon Ho

1991-07-01

This book gives descriptions of micro robot about conception of robots and micro robot, match rules of conference of micro robots, search methods of mazes, and future and prospect of robots. It also explains making and design of 8 beat robot like making technique, software, sensor board circuit, and stepping motor catalog, speedy 3, Mr. Black and Mr. White, making and design of 16 beat robot, such as micro robot artist, Jerry 2 and magic art of shortening distances algorithm of robot simulation.

Using a cognitive architecture for general purpose service robot control

Science.gov (United States)

Puigbo, Jordi-Ysard; Pumarola, Albert; Angulo, Cecilio; Tellez, Ricardo

2015-04-01

A humanoid service robot equipped with a set of simple action skills including navigating, grasping, recognising objects or people, among others, is considered in this paper. By using those skills the robot should complete a voice command expressed in natural language encoding a complex task (defined as the concatenation of a number of those basic skills). As a main feature, no traditional planner has been used to decide skills to be activated, as well as in which sequence. Instead, the SOAR cognitive architecture acts as the reasoner by selecting which action the robot should complete, addressing it towards the goal. Our proposal allows to include new goals for the robot just by adding new skills (without the need to encode new plans). The proposed architecture has been tested on a human-sized humanoid robot, REEM, acting as a general purpose service robot.

Getting to grips with remote handling and robotics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mosey, D [Ontario Hydro, Toronto (Canada)

1984-12-01

A report on the Canadian Nuclear Society Conference on robotics and remote handling in the nuclear industry, September 1984. Remote handling in reactor operations, particularly in the Candu reactors is discussed, and the costs and benefits of use of remote handling equipment are considered. Steam generator inspection and repair is an area in which practical application of robotic technology has made a major advance.

Wireless Communication Enhancement Methods for Mobile Robots in Radiation Environments

CERN Document Server

Nattanmai Parasuraman, Ramviyas; Ferre, Manuel

In hostile environments such as in scientific facilities where ionising radiation is a dominant hazard, reducing human interventions by increasing robotic operations are desirable. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, has around 50 km of underground scientific facilities, where wireless mobile robots could help in the operation of the accelerator complex, e.g. in conducting remote inspections and radiation surveys in different areas. The main challenges to be considered here are not only that the robots should be able to go over long distances and operate for relatively long periods, but also the underground tunnel environment, the possible presence of electromagnetic fields, radiation effects, and the fact that the robots shall in no way interrupt the operation of the accelerators. Having a reliable and robust wireless communication system is essential for successful execution of such robotic missions and to avoid situations of manual recovery of the robots in the event that the robot runs ...

Improvement of the operation of wheels mobile robot TRASMAR2; Mejora del funcionamiento del robot movil de ruedas TRASMAR2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guerra C, D. A.; Tovar M, R. [Instituto Tecnologico de San Luis Potosi, Av. Tecnologico s/n, Col. UPA Soledad de Graciano Sanchez, 78437 San Luis Potosi (Mexico); Gonzalez M, J. L.; Segovia de los Rios, A., E-mail: deniwar@gmail.com [ININ, Carretera Mexico-Toluca s/n, 52750 Ocoyoacac, Estado de Mexico (Mexico)

2013-10-15

In the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares (ININ), personnel have been working in the development of wheels mobile robots for the surveillance and supervision of contaminated areas, and for the radioactive material transport. One of these achievements is the wheels mobile robot denominated TRASMAR2, which is sought that works in the tele operated form using net technologies, in particular, using a Web page by means of the client-servant technology. For this, diverse circuits and control programs have been development with the purpose that the robot carries out the movements that are required, being considered the use of sensors to avoid collisions. The different programs have been implemented in different micro controllers, and although the robot was working, is necessary to optimize and to concentrate these programs on a single micro controller. In this work are presented the analysis of the previously implemented programs, as the realized changes, including new programs required to improve the robot operation. As complement, was development and implemented an alternative proposal of the robot's tele operation by means of a Web page using Lab view, which is described in the work. With this proposal tele operate the robot was achieved, although its application is evaluating due to the resources that is consumes. (author)

20th CISM-IFToMM Symposium on Theory and Practice of Robots and Manipulators

CERN Document Server

Glazunov, Victor

2014-01-01

This proceedings volume contains papers that have been selected after review for oral presentation at ROMANSY 2014, the 20th CISM-IFToMM Symposium on Theory and Practice of Robots and Manipulators. These papers cover advances on several aspects of the wide field of Robotics as concerning Theory and Practice of Robots and Manipulators. ROMANSY 2014 is the twentieth event in a series that started in 1973 as one of the first conference activities in the world on Robotics. The first event was held at CISM (International Centre for Mechanical Science) in Udine, Italy on 5-8 September 1973. It was also the first topic conference of IFToMM (International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science) and it was directed not only to the IFToMM community. Proceedings volumes of ROMANSY have been always published to be available, also after the symposium, to a large public of scholars and designers with the aim to give an overview of new advances and trends in the theory, design, and practice of robots....

Modelling of industrial robot in LabView Robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Banas, W.; Cwikła, G.; Foit, K.; Gwiazda, A.; Monica, Z.; Sekala, A.

2017-08-01

Currently can find many models of industrial systems including robots. These models differ from each other not only by the accuracy representation parameters, but the representation range. For example, CAD models describe the geometry of the robot and some even designate a mass parameters as mass, center of gravity, moment of inertia, etc. These models are used in the design of robotic lines and sockets. Also systems for off-line programming use these models and many of them can be exported to CAD. It is important to note that models for off-line programming describe not only the geometry but contain the information necessary to create a program for the robot. Exports from CAD to off-line programming system requires additional information. These models are used for static determination of reachability points, and testing collision. It’s enough to generate a program for the robot, and even check the interaction of elements of the production line, or robotic cell. Mathematical models allow robots to study the properties of kinematic and dynamic of robot movement. In these models the geometry is not so important, so are used only selected parameters such as the length of the robot arm, the center of gravity, moment of inertia. These parameters are introduced into the equations of motion of the robot and motion parameters are determined.

Towards Sociable Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ngo, Trung Dung

This thesis studies aspects of self-sufficient energy (energy autonomy) for truly autonomous robots and towards sociable robots. Over sixty years of history of robotics through three developmental ages containing single robot, multi-robot systems, and social (sociable) robots, the main objective...... of roboticists mostly focuses on how to make a robotic system function autonomously and further, socially. However, such approaches mostly emphasize behavioural autonomy, rather than energy autonomy which is the key factor for not only any living machine, but for life on the earth. Consequently, self......-sufficient energy is one of the challenges for not only single robot or multi-robot systems, but also social and sociable robots. This thesis is to deal with energy autonomy for multi-robot systems through energy sharing (trophallaxis) in which each robot is equipped with two capabilities: self-refueling energy...

Biomass feeds vegetarian robot; Biomassa voedt vegetarische robot

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van den Brandt, M. [Office for Science and Technology, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Washington (United States)

2009-09-15

This brief article addresses the EATR robot (Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot) that was developed by Cyclone Power and uses biomass as primary source of energy for propulsion. [Dutch] Een kort artikel over de door Cyclone Power ontwikkelde EATR-robot (Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot) die voor de voortdrijving biomassa gebruikt als primaire energiebron.

Robot Futures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christoffersen, Anja; Grindsted Nielsen, Sally; Jochum, Elizabeth Ann

Robots are increasingly used in health care settings, e.g., as homecare assistants and personal companions. One challenge for personal robots in the home is acceptance. We describe an innovative approach to influencing the acceptance of care robots using theatrical performance. Live performance...... is a useful testbed for developing and evaluating what makes robots expressive; it is also a useful platform for designing robot behaviors and dialogue that result in believable characters. Therefore theatre is a valuable testbed for studying human-robot interaction (HRI). We investigate how audiences...... perceive social robots interacting with humans in a future care scenario through a scripted performance. We discuss our methods and initial findings, and outline future work....

Soft Robotics Week

CERN Document Server

Rossiter, Jonathan; Iida, Fumiya; Cianchetti, Matteo; Margheri, Laura

2017-01-01

This book offers a comprehensive, timely snapshot of current research, technologies and applications of soft robotics. The different chapters, written by international experts across multiple fields of soft robotics, cover innovative systems and technologies for soft robot legged locomotion, soft robot manipulation, underwater soft robotics, biomimetic soft robotic platforms, plant-inspired soft robots, flying soft robots, soft robotics in surgery, as well as methods for their modeling and control. Based on the results of the second edition of the Soft Robotics Week, held on April 25 – 30, 2016, in Livorno, Italy, the book reports on the major research lines and novel technologies presented and discussed during the event.

Towards Versatile Robots Through Open Heterogeneous Modular Robots

OpenAIRE

Lyder, Andreas

2010-01-01

Robots are important tools in our everyday life. Both in industry and at the consumer level they serve the purpose of increasing our scope and extending our capabilities. Modular robots take the next step, allowing us to easily create and build various robots from a set of modules. If a problem arises, a new robot can be assembled rapidly from the existing modules, in contrast to conventional robots, which require a time consuming and expensive development process. In this thesis we define a ...

Framework for robot skill learning using reinforcement learning

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Yingzi; Zhao, Mingyang

2003-09-01

Robot acquiring skill is a process similar to human skill learning. Reinforcement learning (RL) is an on-line actor critic method for a robot to develop its skill. The reinforcement function has become the critical component for its effect of evaluating the action and guiding the learning process. We present an augmented reward function that provides a new way for RL controller to incorporate prior knowledge and experience into the RL controller. Also, the difference form of augmented reward function is considered carefully. The additional reward beyond conventional reward will provide more heuristic information for RL. In this paper, we present a strategy for the task of complex skill learning. Automatic robot shaping policy is to dissolve the complex skill into a hierarchical learning process. The new form of value function is introduced to attain smooth motion switching swiftly. We present a formal, but practical, framework for robot skill learning and also illustrate with an example the utility of method for learning skilled robot control on line.

Empathizing with Emotional Robot Based on Cognition Reappraisal

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Xin Liu; Lun Xie; Zhiliang Wang

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a continuous cognitive emotional regulation model for robot in the case of external emotional stimulus from interactive person's expressions. It integrates a guiding cognitive reappraisal strategy into the HMM (Hidden Markov Model) emotional interactive model for empathizing between ro-bot and person. The emotion is considered as a source in the 3D space (Arousal, Valence, and Stance). State transition and emotion intensity can be quantitatively analyzed in the continu-ous space. This cognition-emotion interactive model have been verified by the expression and behavior robot. Empathizing is the main distinguishing feature of our work, and it is realized by the emotional regulation which operated in a continuous 3D emotional space enabling a wide range of intermediate emo-tions. The experiment results provide evidence with acceptability, accuracy, richness, fluency, interestingness, friendliness and exaggeration that the robot with cognition and emotional control ability could be better accepted in the human-robot interaction (HRI).

Survey of Robot 3D Path Planning Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang Yang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Robot 3D (three-dimension path planning targets for finding an optimal and collision-free path in a 3D workspace while taking into account kinematic constraints (including geometric, physical, and temporal constraints. The purpose of path planning, unlike motion planning which must be taken into consideration of dynamics, is to find a kinematically optimal path with the least time as well as model the environment completely. We discuss the fundamentals of these most successful robot 3D path planning algorithms which have been developed in recent years and concentrate on universally applicable algorithms which can be implemented in aerial robots, ground robots, and underwater robots. This paper classifies all the methods into five categories based on their exploring mechanisms and proposes a category, called multifusion based algorithms. For all these algorithms, they are analyzed from a time efficiency and implementable area perspective. Furthermore a comprehensive applicable analysis for each kind of method is presented after considering their merits and weaknesses.

Robotic architectures

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mtshali, M

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In the development of mobile robotic systems, a robotic architecture plays a crucial role in interconnecting all the sub-systems and controlling the system. The design of robotic architectures for mobile autonomous robots is a challenging...

An Optimization-Based Impedance Approach for Robot Force Regulation with Prescribed Force Limits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. de J. Portillo-Vélez

2015-01-01

Full Text Available An optimization based approach for the regulation of excessive or insufficient forces at the end-effector level is introduced. The objective is to minimize the interaction force error at the robot end effector, while constraining undesired interaction forces. To that end, a dynamic optimization problem (DOP is formulated considering a dynamic robot impedance model. Penalty functions are considered in the DOP to handle the constraints on the interaction force. The optimization problem is online solved through the gradient flow approach. Convergence properties are presented and the stability is drawn when the force limits are considered in the analysis. The effectiveness of our proposal is validated via experimental results for a robotic grasping task.

Action and language integration: from humans to cognitive robots.

Science.gov (United States)

Borghi, Anna M; Cangelosi, Angelo

2014-07-01

The topic is characterized by a highly interdisciplinary approach to the issue of action and language integration. Such an approach, combining computational models and cognitive robotics experiments with neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and linguistic approaches, can be a powerful means that can help researchers disentangle ambiguous issues, provide better and clearer definitions, and formulate clearer predictions on the links between action and language. In the introduction we briefly describe the papers and discuss the challenges they pose to future research. We identify four important phenomena the papers address and discuss in light of empirical and computational evidence: (a) the role played not only by sensorimotor and emotional information but also of natural language in conceptual representation; (b) the contextual dependency and high flexibility of the interaction between action, concepts, and language; (c) the involvement of the mirror neuron system in action and language processing; (d) the way in which the integration between action and language can be addressed by developmental robotics and Human-Robot Interaction. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Cooperative robots and sensor networks

CERN Document Server

Khelil, Abdelmajid

2014-01-01

Mobile robots and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have enabled great potentials and a large space for ubiquitous and pervasive applications. Robotics and WSNs have mostly been considered as separate research fields and little work has investigated the marriage between these two technologies. However, these two technologies share several features, enable common cyber-physical applications and provide complementary support to each other.
 The primary objective of book is to provide a reference for cutting-edge studies and research trends pertaining to robotics and sensor networks, and in particular for the coupling between them. The book consists of five chapters. The first chapter presents a cooperation strategy for teams of multiple autonomous vehicles to solve the rendezvous problem. The second chapter is motivated by the need to improve existing solutions that deal with connectivity prediction, and proposed a genetic machine learning approach for link-quality prediction. The third chapter presents an arch...

Integrating Robot Task Planning into Off-Line Programming Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sun, Hongyan; Kroszynski, Uri

1988-01-01

a system architecture for integrated robot task planning. It identifies and describes the components considered necessary for implementation. The focus is on functionality of these elements as well as on the information flow. A pilot implementation of such an integrated system architecture for a robot......The addition of robot task planning in off-line programming systems aims at improving the capability of current state-of-the-art commercially available off-line programming systems, by integrating modeling, task planning, programming and simulation together under one platform. This article proposes...... assembly task is discussed....

Robots humains, avez-donc une réalité ?

OpenAIRE

Amblard , Maxime; Boumaza , Amine

2015-01-01

International audience; Plusieurs laboratoires dans le monde travaillent à la création de robots humanoïdes . La technologie ayant considérablement évolué, il apparaît réaliste d’imaginer un quotidien accompagné de tels systèmes, à l’image du robot Nao, dont on discute encore comment lui faire partager des émotions pour simuler un comportement humain. Mais finalement, les robots sont déjà partout et depuis longtemps, dans les usines, les jouets électroniques, nos ordinateurs, nos tablettes, l...

Robotics for waste storage inspection: A user's perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hazen, F.B.

1994-01-01

Self-navigating robotic vehicles are now commercially available, and the technology supporting other important system components has also matured. Higher reliability and the obtainability of system support now make it practical to consider robotics as a way of addressing the growing operational requirement for the periodic inspection and maintenance of radioactive, hazardous, and mixed waste inventories. This paper describes preparations for the first field deployment of an autonomous container inspection robot at a Department of Energy (DOE) site. The Stored Waste Autonomous Mobile Inspector (SWAMI) is presently being completed by engineers at the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC). It is a modified version of a commercially available robot. It has been outfitted with sensor suites and cognition that allow it to perform inspections of drum inventories and their storage facilities

Hybrid System Design for the Coordination of Multi-Modal Aerial Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koo, T. John; Quottrup, Michael Melholt; Clifton, C. A.

2006-01-01

In this paper we provide a framework for the coordination of a network of heterogeneous aerial robots by using temporal logic to formulate mission speci¯cations for the network of robots. The full dynamics of the aerial robots are considered, and multiple controllers that can cope with various......¯ed. These robots are coordinated by communicating through a single occupancy table. By using the model checker Uppaal, a discrete plan that satis¯es a given temporal logic formula, speci¯ed in CTL, is generated for the robot to execute. Finally, the discrete plan for each robot is re¯ned into a discrete control...... constraints are designed to ensure that desired reachability properties can be preserved by properly switching among the controllers. A timed automaton is then constructed for preserving the temporal properties of a given robot. For di®erent types of robots, unique temporal properties can be speci...

Robotic automation of medication-use management.

Science.gov (United States)

Enright, S M

1993-11-01

In the October 1993 issue of Physician Assistant, we published "Robots for Health Care," the first of two articles on the medical applications of robotics. That article discussed ways in which robots could help patients with manipulative disabilities to perform activities of daily living and hold paid employment; transfer patients from bed to chair and back again; add precision to the most exacting surgical procedures; and someday carry out diagnostic and therapeutic techniques from within the human body. This month, we are pleased to offer an article by Sharon Enright, an authority on pharmacy operations, who considers how an automated medication-management system that makes use of bar-code technology is capable of streamlining drug dispensing, controlling safety, increasing cost-effectiveness, and ensuring accurate and complete record-keeping.

Soft Robotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitesides, George M

2018-04-09

This description of "soft robotics" is not intended to be a conventional review, in the sense of a comprehensive technical summary of a developing field. Rather, its objective is to describe soft robotics as a new field-one that offers opportunities to chemists and materials scientists who like to make "things" and to work with macroscopic objects that move and exert force. It will give one (personal) view of what soft actuators and robots are, and how this class of soft devices fits into the more highly developed field of conventional "hard" robotics. It will also suggest how and why soft robotics is more than simply a minor technical "tweak" on hard robotics and propose a unique role for chemistry, and materials science, in this field. Soft robotics is, at its core, intellectually and technologically different from hard robotics, both because it has different objectives and uses and because it relies on the properties of materials to assume many of the roles played by sensors, actuators, and controllers in hard robotics. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Designing and implementing transparency for real time inspection of autonomous robots

Science.gov (United States)

Theodorou, Andreas; Wortham, Robert H.; Bryson, Joanna J.

2017-07-01

The EPSRC's Principles of Robotics advises the implementation of transparency in robotic systems, however research related to AI transparency is in its infancy. This paper introduces the reader of the importance of having transparent inspection of intelligent agents and provides guidance for good practice when developing such agents. By considering and expanding upon other prominent definitions found in literature, we provide a robust definition of transparency as a mechanism to expose the decision-making of a robot. The paper continues by addressing potential design decisions developers need to consider when designing and developing transparent systems. Finally, we describe our new interactive intelligence editor, designed to visualise, develop and debug real-time intelligence.

Robotics as an integration subject in the computer science university studies. The experience of the University of Almeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuela Berenguel Soria

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This work presents a global view of the role of robotics in computer science studies, mainly in university degrees. The main motivation of the use of robotics in these studies deals with the following issues: robotics permits to put in practice many computer science fundamental topics, it is a multidisciplinary area which allows to complete the basic knowledge of any computer science student, it facilitates the practice and learning of basic competences of any engineer (for instance, teamwork, and there is a wide market looking for people with robotics knowledge. These ideas are discussed from our own experience in the University of Almeria acquired through the studies of Computer Science Technical Engineering, Computer Science Engineering, Computer Science Degree and Computer Science Postgraduate.

Artificial intelligence and robot responsibilities: innovating beyond rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashrafian, Hutan

2015-04-01

The enduring innovations in artificial intelligence and robotics offer the promised capacity of computer consciousness, sentience and rationality. The development of these advanced technologies have been considered to merit rights, however these can only be ascribed in the context of commensurate responsibilities and duties. This represents the discernable next-step for evolution in this field. Addressing these needs requires attention to the philosophical perspectives of moral responsibility for artificial intelligence and robotics. A contrast to the moral status of animals may be considered. At a practical level, the attainment of responsibilities by artificial intelligence and robots can benefit from the established responsibilities and duties of human society, as their subsistence exists within this domain. These responsibilities can be further interpreted and crystalized through legal principles, many of which have been conserved from ancient Roman law. The ultimate and unified goal of stipulating these responsibilities resides through the advancement of mankind and the enduring preservation of the core tenets of humanity.

Modeling and analysis of a meso-hydraulic climbing robot with artificial muscle actuation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Edward M; Jenkins, Tyler E; Bryant, Matthew

2017-07-10

This paper presents a fully coupled electro-hydraulic model of a bio-inspired climbing robot actuated by fluidic artificial muscles (FAMs). This analysis expands upon previous FAM literature by considering not only the force and contraction characteristics of the actuator, but the complete hydraulic and electromechanical circuits as well as the dynamics of the climbing robot. This analysis allows modeling of the time-varying applied pressure, electrical current, and actuator contraction for accurate prediction of the robot motion, energy consumption, and mechanical work output. The developed model is first validated against mechanical and electrical data collected from a proof-of-concept prototype robot. The model is then employed to study the system-level sensitivities of the robot locomotion efficiency and average climbing speed to several design and operating parameters. The results of this analysis demonstrate that considering only the transduction efficiency of the FAM actuators is insufficient to maximize the efficiency of the complete robot, and that a holistic approach can lead to significant improvements in performance. © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Ethical challenges in the use of social service robots for elderly people.

Science.gov (United States)

Körtner, T

2016-06-01

Socially assistive robots are increasingly discussed as solutions in care and domestic use for the support of senior adults; however, this raises ethical questions which hitherto have not been considered or were not predictable. The most important questions are those of privacy and data protection, safety and responsibility as well as involvement of vulnerable persons and deception. Consequently, the ethical principles of nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy and fairness should be transposed to robotics. Clear answers and solutions are not yet available for every ethical challenge in robotics; however, the development of ethical guidelines for deployment of robots and research in the field of social service robots (SSR) are essential steps in order to embed ethics into dealing with socially assistive robots. This article provides some practical suggestions on this issue from a robotics project.

Multi-Robot, Multi-Target Particle Swarm Optimization Search in Noisy Wireless Environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurt Derr; Milos Manic

2009-05-01

Multiple small robots (swarms) can work together using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to perform tasks that are difficult or impossible for a single robot to accomplish. The problem considered in this paper is exploration of an unknown environment with the goal of finding a target(s) at an unknown location(s) using multiple small mobile robots. This work demonstrates the use of a distributed PSO algorithm with a novel adaptive RSS weighting factor to guide robots for locating target(s) in high risk environments. The approach was developed and analyzed on multiple robot single and multiple target search. The approach was further enhanced by the multi-robot-multi-target search in noisy environments. The experimental results demonstrated how the availability of radio frequency signal can significantly affect robot search time to reach a target.

ROSAPL: towards a heterogeneous multi‐robot system and Human interaction framework

OpenAIRE

Boronat Roselló, Emili

2014-01-01

The appearance of numerous robotic frameworks and middleware has provided researchers with reliable hardware and software units avoiding the need of developing ad-hoc platforms and focus their work on how improve the robots' high-level capabilities and behaviours. Despite this none of these are facilitating frameworks considering social capabilities as a factor in robots design. In a world that everyday seems more and more connected, with the slow but steady advance of th...

Exploiting Child-Robot Aesthetic Interaction for a Social Robot

OpenAIRE

Lee, Jae-Joon; Kim, Dae-Won; Kang, Bo-Yeong

2012-01-01

A social robot interacts and communicates with humans by using the embodied knowledge gained from interactions with its social environment. In recent years, emotion has emerged as a popular concept for designing social robots. Several studies on social robots reported an increase in robot sociability through emotional imitative interactions between the robot and humans. In this paper conventional emotional interactions are extended by exploiting the aesthetic theories that the sociability of ...

Using robots to understand animal cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Frohnwieser, Anna; Murray, John C; Pike, Thomas W; Wilkinson, Anna

2016-01-01

In recent years, robotic animals and humans have been used to answer a variety of questions related to behavior. In the case of animal behavior, these efforts have largely been in the field of behavioral ecology. They have proved to be a useful tool for this enterprise as they allow the presentation of naturalistic social stimuli whilst providing the experimenter with full control of the stimulus. In interactive experiments, the behavior of robots can be controlled in a manner that is impossible with real animals, making them ideal instruments for the study of social stimuli in animals. This paper provides an overview of the current state of the field and considers the impact that the use of robots could have on fundamental questions related to comparative psychology: namely, perception, spatial cognition, social cognition, and early cognitive development. We make the case that the use of robots to investigate these key areas could have an important impact on the field of animal cognition. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Evolutionary robotics

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In evolutionary robotics, a suitable robot control system is developed automatically through evolution due to the interactions between the robot and its environment. It is a complicated task, as the robot and the environment constitute a highly dynamical system. Several methods have been tried by various investigators to ...

Control of Wall Mounting Robot

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sloth, Christoffer; Pedersen, Rasmus

2017-01-01

This paper presents a method for designing controllers for trajectory tracking with actuator constraints. In particular, we consider a joystick-controlled wall mounting robot called WallMo. In contrast to previous works, a model-free approach is taken to the control problem, where the path...

Interactive Exploration Robots: Human-Robotic Collaboration and Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Fong, Terry

2017-01-01

For decades, NASA has employed different operational approaches for human and robotic missions. Human spaceflight missions to the Moon and in low Earth orbit have relied upon near-continuous communication with minimal time delays. During these missions, astronauts and mission control communicate interactively to perform tasks and resolve problems in real-time. In contrast, deep-space robotic missions are designed for operations in the presence of significant communication delay - from tens of minutes to hours. Consequently, robotic missions typically employ meticulously scripted and validated command sequences that are intermittently uplinked to the robot for independent execution over long periods. Over the next few years, however, we will see increasing use of robots that blend these two operational approaches. These interactive exploration robots will be remotely operated by humans on Earth or from a spacecraft. These robots will be used to support astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), to conduct new missions to the Moon, and potentially to enable remote exploration of planetary surfaces in real-time. In this talk, I will discuss the technical challenges associated with building and operating robots in this manner, along with lessons learned from research conducted with the ISS and in the field.

Autonomous construction using scarce resources in unknown environments - Ingredients for an intelligent robotic interaction with the physical world

OpenAIRE

Magnenat, Stéphane; Philippsen, Roland; Mondada, Francesco

2012-01-01

The goal of creating machines that autonomously perform useful work in a safe, robust and intelligent manner continues to motivate robotics research. Achieving this autonomy requires capabilities for understanding the environment, physically interacting with it, predicting the outcomes of actions and reasoning with this knowledge. Such intelligent physical interaction was at the centre of early robotic investigations and remains an open topic. In this paper, we build on the fruit of decades ...

Robust Feedback Linearization-based Control Design for a Wheeled Mobile Robot

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bendtsen, Jan Dimon; Andersen, Palle; Pedersen, Tom Søndergaard

This paper considers the trajectory tracking problem for a four-wheel driven, four-wheel steered mobile robot moving in outdoor terrain. The robot is modeled as a non-holonomic dynamic system subject to pure rolling, no-slip constraints. A nonlinear trajectory tracking feedback control law based...

Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy for Patients with Prostatic Cancer and Factors Promoting Installation of the Robotic Surgical Equipment-Questionnaire Survey

OpenAIRE

塚本, 泰司; 田中, 滋

2015-01-01

We conducted a questionnaire survey of hospitals with robot-assisted surgical equipment to study changes of the surgical case loads after its installation and the managerial strategies for its purchase. The study included 154 hospitals (as of April 2014) that were queried about their radical prostatectomy case loads from January 2009 to December 2013, strategies for installation of the equipment in their hospitals, and other topics related to the study purpose. The overall response rate of ho...

Robotic-assisted versus laparoscopic colectomy: cost and clinical outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Bradley R; Yoo, Andrew C; Moore, Matt; Gunnarsson, Candace

2014-01-01

Laparoscopic colectomies, with and without robotic assistance, are performed to treat both benign and malignant colonic disease. This study compared clinical and economic outcomes for laparoscopic colectomy procedures with and without robotic assistance. Patients aged ≥18 years having primary inpatient laparoscopic colectomy procedures (cecectomy, right hemicolectomy, left hemicolectomy, and sigmoidectomy) identified by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition procedure codes performed between 2009 and the second quarter of 2011 from the Premier Hospital Database were studied. Patients were matched to a control cohort using propensity scores for disease, comorbidities, and hospital characteristics and were matched 1:1 for specific colectomy procedure. The outcomes of interest were hospital cost of laparoscopic robotic-assisted colectomy compared with traditional laparoscopic colectomy, surgery time, adverse events, and length of stay. Of 25,758 laparoscopic colectomies identified, 98% were performed without robotic assistance and 2% were performed with robotic assistance. After matching, 1066 patients remained, 533 in each group. Lengths of stay were not significantly different between the matched cohorts, nor were rates of major, minor, and/or surgical complications. Inpatient procedures with robotic assistance were significantly more costly than those without robotic assistance ($17,445 vs $15,448, P = .001). Operative times were significantly longer for robotic-assisted procedures (4.37 hours vs 3.34 hours, P < .001). Segmental colectomies can be performed safely by either laparoscopic or robotic-assisted methods. Increased per-case hospital costs for robotic-assisted procedures and prolonged operative times suggest that further investigation is warranted when considering robotic technology for routine laparoscopic colectomies.

Kinematics and trajectory synthesis of manipulation robots

CERN Document Server

Vukobratović, Miomir

1986-01-01

A few words about the series "Scientific Fundamentals of Robotics" should be said on the occasion of publication of the present monograph. This six-volume series has been conceived so as to allow the readers to master a contemporary approach to the construction and synthesis of con­ trol for manipulation ~obots. The authors' idea was to show how to use correct mathematical models of the dynamics of active spatial mecha­ nisms for dynamic analysis of robotic systems, optimal design of their mechanical parts based on the accepted criteria and imposed constraints, optimal choice of actuators, synthesis of dynamic control algorithms and their microcomputer implementation. In authors' oppinion this idea has been relatively successfully realized within the six-volume mono­ graphic series. Let us remind the readers of the books of this series. Volumes 1 and 2 are devoted to the dynamics and control algorithms of manipulation ro­ bots, respectively. They form the first part of the series which has a certain topic...

Robotic buildings(s)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bier, H.H.

2014-01-01

Technological and conceptual advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and material science have enabled robotic building to be in the last decade prototypically implemented. In this context, robotic building implies both physically built robotic environments and robotically

Evaluation of robotic inspection systems at nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, J.R.; Eversole, R.E.; Farnstrom, K.A.; Harvey, H.W.; Martin, H.L.

1984-03-01

This report presents and demonstrates a cost-effective approach for robotics application (CARA) to surveillance and inspection work in existing nuclear power plants. The CARA was developed by the Remote Technology Corporation to systematically determine the specific surveillance/inspection tasks, worker hazards, and access or equipment placement restraints in each of the many individual rooms or areas at a power plant. Guidelines for designing inspection robotics are included and are based upon the modular arrangement of commercially-available sensors and other components. Techniques for maximizing the cost effectiveness of robotics are emphasized in the report including: selection of low-cost robotic components, minimal installation work in plant areas, portable systems for common use in different areas, and standardized robotic modules. Factors considered as benefits are reduced radiation exposure, lower man-hours, shorter power outage, less waste material, and improved worker safety concerns. A partial demonstration of the CARA methodology to the Sequoyah (PWR) and Browns Ferry (BWR) Plants is provided in the report along with specific examples of robotic installations in high potential areas

Virtual modeling of robot-assisted manipulations in abdominal surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Berelavichus, Stanislav V; Karmazanovsky, Grigory G; Shirokov, Vadim S; Kubyshkin, Valeriy A; Kriger, Andrey G; Kondratyev, Evgeny V; Zakharova, Olga P

2012-06-27

To determine the effectiveness of using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) data in preoperative planning of robot-assisted surgery. Fourteen patients indicated for surgery underwent MDCT using 64 and 256-slice MDCT. Before the examination, a specially constructed navigation net was placed on the patient's anterior abdominal wall. Processing of MDCT data was performed on a Brilliance Workspace 4 (Philips). Virtual vectors that imitate robotic and assistant ports were placed on the anterior abdominal wall of the 3D model of the patient, considering the individual anatomy of the patient and the technical capabilities of robotic arms. Sites for location of the ports were directed by projection on the roentgen-positive tags of the navigation net. There were no complications observed during surgery or in the post-operative period. We were able to reduce robotic arm interference during surgery. The surgical area was optimal for robotic and assistant manipulators without any need for reinstallation of the trocars. This method allows modeling of the main steps in robot-assisted intervention, optimizing operation of the manipulator and lowering the risk of injuries to internal organs.

Cloud Robotics Platforms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Busra Koken

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Cloud robotics is a rapidly evolving field that allows robots to offload computation-intensive and storage-intensive jobs into the cloud. Robots are limited in terms of computational capacity, memory and storage. Cloud provides unlimited computation power, memory, storage and especially collaboration opportunity. Cloud-enabled robots are divided into two categories as standalone and networked robots. This article surveys cloud robotic platforms, standalone and networked robotic works such as grasping, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM and monitoring.

Distributed Robotics Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Henrik Hautop; Pagliarini, Luigi

2011-01-01

Distributed robotics takes many forms, for instance, multirobots, modular robots, and self-reconfigurable robots. The understanding and development of such advanced robotic systems demand extensive knowledge in engineering and computer science. In this paper, we describe the concept of a distribu......Distributed robotics takes many forms, for instance, multirobots, modular robots, and self-reconfigurable robots. The understanding and development of such advanced robotic systems demand extensive knowledge in engineering and computer science. In this paper, we describe the concept...... to be changed, related to multirobot control and human-robot interaction control from virtual to physical representation. The proposed system is valuable for bringing a vast number of issues into education – such as parallel programming, distribution, communication protocols, master dependency, connectivity...

Design, implementation and testing of master slave robotic surgical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, S.A.

2015-01-01

The autonomous manipulation of the medical robotics is needed to draw up a complete surgical plan in development. The autonomy of the robot comes from the fact that once the plan is drawn up off-line, it is the servo loops, and only these, that control the actions of the robot online, based on instantaneous control signals and measurements provided by the vision or force sensors. Using only these autonomous techniques in medical and surgical robotics remain relatively limited for two main reasons: Predicting complexity of the gestures, and human Safety. Therefore, Modern research in haptic force feedback in medical robotics is aimed to develop medical robots capable of performing remotely, what a surgeon does by himself. These medical robots are supposed to work exactly in the manner that a surgeon does in daily routine. In this paper the master slave tele-robotic system is designed and implemented with accuracy and stability by using 6DOF (Six Degree of Freedom) haptic force feedback devices. The master slave control strategy, haptic devices integration, application software designing using Visual C++ and experimental setup are considered. Finally, results are presented the stability, accuracy and repeatability of the system. (author)

Design, Implementation and Testing of Master Slave Robotic Surgical System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syed Amjad Ali

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The autonomous manipulation of the medical robotics is needed to draw up a complete surgical plan in development. The autonomy of the robot comes from the fact that once the plan is drawn up off-line, it is the servo loops, and only these, that control the actions of the robot online, based on instantaneous control signals and measurements provided by the vision or force sensors. Using only these autonomous techniques in medical and surgical robotics remain relatively limited for two main reasons: Predicting complexity of the gestures, and human Safety. Therefore, Modern research in haptic force feedback in medical robotics is aimed to develop medical robots capable of performing remotely, what a surgeon does by himself. These medical robots are supposed to work exactly in the manner that a surgeon does in daily routine. In this paper the master slave tele-robotic system is designed and implemented with accuracy and stability by using 6DOF (Six Degree of Freedom haptic force feedback devices. The master slave control strategy, haptic devices integration, application software designing using Visual C++ and experimental setup are considered. Finally, results are presented the stability, accuracy and repeatability of the system

Forming Human-Robot Teams Across Time and Space

Science.gov (United States)

Hambuchen, Kimberly; Burridge, Robert R.; Ambrose, Robert O.; Bluethmann, William J.; Diftler, Myron A.; Radford, Nicolaus A.

2012-01-01

NASA pushes telerobotics to distances that span the Solar System. At this scale, time of flight for communication is limited by the speed of light, inducing long time delays, narrow bandwidth and the real risk of data disruption. NASA also supports missions where humans are in direct contact with robots during extravehicular activity (EVA), giving a range of zero to hundreds of millions of miles for NASA s definition of "tele". . Another temporal variable is mission phasing. NASA missions are now being considered that combine early robotic phases with later human arrival, then transition back to robot only operations. Robots can preposition, scout, sample or construct in advance of human teammates, transition to assistant roles when the crew are present, and then become care-takers when the crew returns to Earth. This paper will describe advances in robot safety and command interaction approaches developed to form effective human-robot teams, overcoming challenges of time delay and adapting as the team transitions from robot only to robots and crew. The work is predicated on the idea that when robots are alone in space, they are still part of a human-robot team acting as surrogates for people back on Earth or in other distant locations. Software, interaction modes and control methods will be described that can operate robots in all these conditions. A novel control mode for operating robots across time delay was developed using a graphical simulation on the human side of the communication, allowing a remote supervisor to drive and command a robot in simulation with no time delay, then monitor progress of the actual robot as data returns from the round trip to and from the robot. Since the robot must be responsible for safety out to at least the round trip time period, the authors developed a multi layer safety system able to detect and protect the robot and people in its workspace. This safety system is also running when humans are in direct contact with the robot

A proposal toward a possibilistic multi-robot task allocation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guerrero, J.

2017-07-01

One of the main problems to solve in multi-agent (or multi-robot) systems is to select the best robot or group of robots to carry out a specific task. This problem, referenced as Multi-Agent (robot) task allocation (MRTA), is still an open issue in real environments. Swarm intelligence methods provide very simple solutions for the MRTA problem. One of the most widely used swarm methods are the so-called Response Threshold algorithms, where the behavior of the systems is modeled as a Markov chain and the robots in each time step select the next task to execute according to a transition probability function. Among other factors, this probability depends on a stimulus (for example the distance between the robot and the task). This classical probabilistic approach presents a lot of disadvantages:the transition function must meet constraints of a probabilistic distribution, the system only convergences to a stationary asymptotically, and so on. In order to overcome these problems, a new theoretical framework based on fuzzy (possibilistic) Markov chains was proposed [2]. As was proved, the possibilistic Markov chains outperform the classical probabilistic when a Max-Min algebra is considered for matrix composition. For example, fuzzy Markov chains convergence to a stable state in a finite number of steps 10 times faster than its probability counter part. Moreover, they improve the predictions of the system under imprecise information. Firstly, this paper will review relevant work in MRTA, from theoretical and experimental point of view. Then it will be summarized the aforementioned recent advances given toward a new possibilistic swarm multi-robot task allocation framework. It will be seen how the possibilistic Markov chains behave when other algebras are considered for matrix composition [1] and how the possibility transition function impacts on the system's performance [3]. Finally, it will be proposed new future works in this field. (Author)

A proposal toward a possibilistic multi-robot task allocation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerrero, J.

2017-01-01

One of the main problems to solve in multi-agent (or multi-robot) systems is to select the best robot or group of robots to carry out a specific task. This problem, referenced as Multi-Agent (robot) task allocation (MRTA), is still an open issue in real environments. Swarm intelligence methods provide very simple solutions for the MRTA problem. One of the most widely used swarm methods are the so-called Response Threshold algorithms, where the behavior of the systems is modeled as a Markov chain and the robots in each time step select the next task to execute according to a transition probability function. Among other factors, this probability depends on a stimulus (for example the distance between the robot and the task). This classical probabilistic approach presents a lot of disadvantages:the transition function must meet constraints of a probabilistic distribution, the system only convergences to a stationary asymptotically, and so on. In order to overcome these problems, a new theoretical framework based on fuzzy (possibilistic) Markov chains was proposed [2]. As was proved, the possibilistic Markov chains outperform the classical probabilistic when a Max-Min algebra is considered for matrix composition. For example, fuzzy Markov chains convergence to a stable state in a finite number of steps 10 times faster than its probability counter part. Moreover, they improve the predictions of the system under imprecise information. Firstly, this paper will review relevant work in MRTA, from theoretical and experimental point of view. Then it will be summarized the aforementioned recent advances given toward a new possibilistic swarm multi-robot task allocation framework. It will be seen how the possibilistic Markov chains behave when other algebras are considered for matrix composition [1] and how the possibility transition function impacts on the system's performance [3]. Finally, it will be proposed new future works in this field. (Author)

See You See Me: the Role of Eye Contact in Multimodal Human-Robot Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

XU, TIAN (LINGER); ZHANG, HUI; YU, CHEN

2016-01-01

We focus on a fundamental looking behavior in human-robot interactions – gazing at each other’s face. Eye contact and mutual gaze between two social partners are critical in smooth human-human interactions. Therefore, investigating at what moments and in what ways a robot should look at a human user’s face as a response to the human’s gaze behavior is an important topic. Toward this goal, we developed a gaze-contingent human-robot interaction system, which relied on momentary gaze behaviors from a human user to control an interacting robot in real time. Using this system, we conducted an experiment in which human participants interacted with the robot in a joint attention task. In the experiment, we systematically manipulated the robot’s gaze toward the human partner’s face in real time and then analyzed the human’s gaze behavior as a response to the robot’s gaze behavior. We found that more face looks from the robot led to more look-backs (to the robot’s face) from human participants and consequently created more mutual gaze and eye contact between the two. Moreover, participants demonstrated more coordinated and synchronized multimodal behaviors between speech and gaze when more eye contact was successfully established and maintained. PMID:28966875

Estimation of visual maps with a robot network equipped with vision sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Gil, Arturo; Reinoso, Óscar; Ballesta, Mónica; Juliá, Miguel; Payá, Luis

2010-01-01

In this paper we present an approach to the Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) problem using a team of autonomous vehicles equipped with vision sensors. The SLAM problem considers the case in which a mobile robot is equipped with a particular sensor, moves along the environment, obtains measurements with its sensors and uses them to construct a model of the space where it evolves. In this paper we focus on the case where several robots, each equipped with its own sensor, are distributed in a network and view the space from different vantage points. In particular, each robot is equipped with a stereo camera that allow the robots to extract visual landmarks and obtain relative measurements to them. We propose an algorithm that uses the measurements obtained by the robots to build a single accurate map of the environment. The map is represented by the three-dimensional position of the visual landmarks. In addition, we consider that each landmark is accompanied by a visual descriptor that encodes its visual appearance. The solution is based on a Rao-Blackwellized particle filter that estimates the paths of the robots and the position of the visual landmarks. The validity of our proposal is demonstrated by means of experiments with a team of real robots in a office-like indoor environment.

A Smooth Tour Construction Approach for a Mobile Robot with Kinematic Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmet Yazici

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Mobile robots are increasingly used for service-like applications in which the service points are known and the mobile robot starts from a starting location, visits all the service points requested and returns to the starting location. The tour construction problem in these applications can be treated as a Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP. Classical tour construction algorithms that are proposed for the TSP find tours do not consider robot kinematic constraints. These tours may have sharp turns at some service points. When a mobile robot follows such a tour, it stops, turns and speeds up again. Therefore, the robots waste a considerable amount of power and time. In these cases, tour smoothing can be used to overcome this problem. However, smoothing an existing tour may result in unnecessarily long tours. In this study, a Smooth Tour Construction (STC approach is proposed for mobile robots with kinematic constraints. The STC approach considers tour construction and tour smoothing concurrently. The logic behind the tour construction part of the approach is based on the Savings Algorithm (SA. The tour smoothing is based on Dubins' arc-line approach. Experiments are conducted for P3-DX robots in a laboratory environment. Comparisons are also drawn with various tour smoothing algorithms in simulation environments to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed STC approach.

Estimation of Visual Maps with a Robot Network Equipped with Vision Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arturo Gil

2010-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper we present an approach to the Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM problem using a team of autonomous vehicles equipped with vision sensors. The SLAM problem considers the case in which a mobile robot is equipped with a particular sensor, moves along the environment, obtains measurements with its sensors and uses them to construct a model of the space where it evolves. In this paper we focus on the case where several robots, each equipped with its own sensor, are distributed in a network and view the space from different vantage points. In particular, each robot is equipped with a stereo camera that allow the robots to extract visual landmarks and obtain relative measurements to them. We propose an algorithm that uses the measurements obtained by the robots to build a single accurate map of the environment. The map is represented by the three-dimensional position of the visual landmarks. In addition, we consider that each landmark is accompanied by a visual descriptor that encodes its visual appearance. The solution is based on a Rao-Blackwellized particle filter that estimates the paths of the robots and the position of the visual landmarks. The validity of our proposal is demonstrated by means of experiments with a team of real robots in a office-like indoor environment.

Control Algorithms for a Shape-shifting Tracked Robotic Vehicle Climbing Obstacles

Science.gov (United States)

2008-12-01

robot be- havioural skills. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology is developing the shape-shifting robotic platform Octopus [6] (Figure l(b...and traverse steep (a) Lurker (b) Octopus (c) NUGV (d) Chaos (e) STRV Figure 1: Shape-shifting robotic vehicles in different research labs. DRDC...situations. The system is assumed stuck when vv?; + v~ + v’i) < 0.01 mls or Vx < O. Only forward movements are considered in this work, for this reason

Analyses of robot systems using fault and event trees: case studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khodabandehloo, Koorosh

1996-01-01

Safety in the use of robotics outside factories or processing plants has become a matter of great international concern. Domestic robots and those intended to assist nurses and surgeons in hospitals are examples of cases where safety and reliability are considered critical. The safe performance of robot systems depends on many factors, including the integrity of the robot's hardware and software, the way it communicates with sensory and other production equipment, the reliable function of the safety features present and the way the robot interacts with its environment. The use of systematic techniques such as Fault and Event Tree analysis to examine the safety and reliability of a given robotic system is presented. Considerable knowledge is needed before the application of such analysis techniques can be translated into safety specifications or indeed 'fail-safe' design features of robotic systems. The skill and understanding required for the formulation of such specifications is demonstrated here based on a number of case studies

Development of constrained motion control for robot handling of hazardous waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Starr, G.P.

1993-01-01

Handling and archiving of hazardous waste is an area where automation and robotics can be of significant benefit, by removing the human operator from the workplace and its associated hazards. For reasons of safety, throughput, and reduced setup time, force-controlled robots are well-suited for hazardous materials handling. The focus of this investigation is the development of advanced force control techniques for commercial industrial robots in the surface sampling of hazardous waste containers. Two particular control strategies are considered, (1) preview control, and (2) adaptive control. Preview control uses a sensor which can ''look ahead'' and thereby reduce the effect of surface irregularity on contact force control. Adaptive control allows the robot controller to compensate for changes in the robot characteristics as it changes position, and likewise improves performance. The resulting control algorithms will be applied to a two-dimensional contour-following task using a PUMA robot at the Robotics Research Laboratory at The University of New Mexico. (author) 9 figs., 13 refs

Robots de servicio

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Aracil

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Resumen: El término Robots de Servicio apareció a finales de los años 80 como una necesidad de desarrollar máquinas y sistemas capaces de trabajar en entornos diferentes a los fabriles. Los Robots de Servicio tenían que poder trabajar en entornos noestructurados, en condiciones ambientales cambiantes y con una estrecha interacción con los humanos. En 1995 fue creado por la IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, el Technical Committee on Service Robots, y este comité definió en el año 2000 las áreas de aplicación de los Robots de Servicios, que se pueden dividir en dos grandes grupos: 1 sectores productivos no manufactureros tales como edificación, agricultura, naval, minería, medicina, etc. y 2 sectores de servicios propiamente dichos: asistencia personal, limpieza, vigilancia, educación, entretenimiento, etc. En este trabajo se hace una breve revisión de los principales conceptos y aplicaciones de los robots de servicio. Palabras clave: Robots de servicio, robots autónomos, robots de exteriores, robots de educación y entretenimiento, robots caminantes y escaladores, robots humanoides

Understanding and Resolving Failures in Human-Robot Interaction: Literature Review and Model Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanee Honig

2018-06-01

Full Text Available While substantial effort has been invested in making robots more reliable, experience demonstrates that robots operating in unstructured environments are often challenged by frequent failures. Despite this, robots have not yet reached a level of design that allows effective management of faulty or unexpected behavior by untrained users. To understand why this may be the case, an in-depth literature review was done to explore when people perceive and resolve robot failures, how robots communicate failure, how failures influence people's perceptions and feelings toward robots, and how these effects can be mitigated. Fifty-two studies were identified relating to communicating failures and their causes, the influence of failures on human-robot interaction (HRI, and mitigating failures. Since little research has been done on these topics within the HRI community, insights from the fields of human computer interaction (HCI, human factors engineering, cognitive engineering and experimental psychology are presented and discussed. Based on the literature, we developed a model of information processing for robotic failures (Robot Failure Human Information Processing, RF-HIP, that guides the discussion of our findings. The model describes the way people perceive, process, and act on failures in human robot interaction. The model includes three main parts: (1 communicating failures, (2 perception and comprehension of failures, and (3 solving failures. Each part contains several stages, all influenced by contextual considerations and mitigation strategies. Several gaps in the literature have become evident as a result of this evaluation. More focus has been given to technical failures than interaction failures. Few studies focused on human errors, on communicating failures, or the cognitive, psychological, and social determinants that impact the design of mitigation strategies. By providing the stages of human information processing, RF-HIP can be used as a

Filigree Robotics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tamke, Martin; Evers, Henrik Leander; Clausen Nørgaard, Esben

2016-01-01

Filigree Robotics experiments with the combination of traditional ceramic craft with robotic fabrication in order to generate a new narrative of fine three-dimensional ceramic ornament for architecture.......Filigree Robotics experiments with the combination of traditional ceramic craft with robotic fabrication in order to generate a new narrative of fine three-dimensional ceramic ornament for architecture....

Hydraulic bilateral construction robot; Yuatsushiki bilateral kensetsu robot

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maehata, K.; Mori, N. [Kayaba Industry Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1999-05-15

Concerning a hydraulic bilateral construction robot, its system constitution, structures and functions of important components, and the results of some tests are explained, and the researches conducted at Gifu University are described. The construction robot in this report is a servo controlled system of a version developed from the mini-shovel now available in the market. It is equipped, in addition to an electrohydraulic servo control system, with various sensors for detecting the robot attitude, vibration, and load state, and with a camera for visualizing the surrounding landscape. It is also provided with a bilateral joy stick which is a remote control actuator capable of working sensation feedback and with a rocking unit that creates robot movements of rolling, pitching, and heaving. The construction robot discussed here, with output increased and response faster thanks to the employment of a hydraulic driving system for the aim of building a robot system superior in performance to the conventional model designed primarily for heavy duty, proves after tests to be a highly sophisticated remotely controlled robot control system. (NEDO)

Drive Control System for Pipeline Crawl Robot Based on CAN Bus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, H J; Gao, B T; Zhang, X H; Deng, Z Q

2006-01-01

Drive control system plays important roles in pipeline robot. In order to inspect the flaw and corrosion of seabed crude oil pipeline, an original mobile pipeline robot with crawler drive unit, power and monitor unit, central control unit, and ultrasonic wave inspection device is developed. The CAN bus connects these different function units and presents a reliable information channel. Considering the limited space, a compact hardware system is designed based on an ARM processor with two CAN controllers. With made-to-order CAN protocol for the crawl robot, an intelligent drive control system is developed. The implementation of the crawl robot demonstrates that the presented drive control scheme can meet the motion control requirements of the underwater pipeline crawl robot

Drive Control System for Pipeline Crawl Robot Based on CAN Bus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, H J [Department of Electrical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001 (China); Gao, B T [Department of Electrical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001 (China); Zhang, X H [Department of Electrical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001 (China); Deng, Z Q [School of Mechanical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001 (China)

2006-10-15

Drive control system plays important roles in pipeline robot. In order to inspect the flaw and corrosion of seabed crude oil pipeline, an original mobile pipeline robot with crawler drive unit, power and monitor unit, central control unit, and ultrasonic wave inspection device is developed. The CAN bus connects these different function units and presents a reliable information channel. Considering the limited space, a compact hardware system is designed based on an ARM processor with two CAN controllers. With made-to-order CAN protocol for the crawl robot, an intelligent drive control system is developed. The implementation of the crawl robot demonstrates that the presented drive control scheme can meet the motion control requirements of the underwater pipeline crawl robot.

Robotics education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benton, O.

1984-01-01

Robotics education courses are rapidly spreading throughout the nation's colleges and universities. Engineering schools are offering robotics courses as part of their mechanical or manufacturing engineering degree program. Two year colleges are developing an Associate Degree in robotics. In addition to regular courses, colleges are offering seminars in robotics and related fields. These seminars draw excellent participation at costs running up to $200 per day for each participant. The last one drew 275 people from Texas to Virginia. Seminars are also offered by trade associations, private consulting firms, and robot vendors. IBM, for example, has the Robotic Assembly Institute in Boca Raton and charges about $1,000 per week for course. This is basically for owners of IBM robots. Education (and training) can be as short as one day or as long as two years. Here is the educational pattern that is developing now

The cortical activation pattern by a rehabilitation robotic hand : A functional NIRS study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pyung Hun eChang

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Clarification of the relationship between external stimuli and brain response has been an important topic in neuroscience and brain rehabilitation. In the current study, using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS, we attempted to investigate cortical activation patterns generated during execution of a rehabilitation robotic hand. Methods: Ten normal subjects were recruited for this study. Passive movements of the right fingers were performed using a rehabilitation robotic hand at a frequency of 0.5 Hz. We measured values of oxy-hemoglobin(HbO, deoxy-hemoglobin(HbR and total-hemoglobin(HbT in five regions of interest: the primary sensory-motor cortex (SM1, hand somatotopy of the contralateral SM1, supplementary motor area (SMA, premotor cortex (PMC, and prefrontal cortex (PFC. Results: HbO and HbT values indicated significant activation in the left SM1, left SMA, left PMC, and left PFC during execution of the rehabilitation robotic hand(uncorrected, pConclusions: Our results appear to indicate that execution of the rehabilitation robotic hand could induce cortical activation.

Measuring worst-case errors in a robot workcell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simon, R.W.; Brost, R.C.; Kholwadwala, D.K.

1997-10-01

Errors in model parameters, sensing, and control are inevitably present in real robot systems. These errors must be considered in order to automatically plan robust solutions to many manipulation tasks. Lozano-Perez, Mason, and Taylor proposed a formal method for synthesizing robust actions in the presence of uncertainty; this method has been extended by several subsequent researchers. All of these results presume the existence of worst-case error bounds that describe the maximum possible deviation between the robot's model of the world and reality. This paper examines the problem of measuring these error bounds for a real robot workcell. These measurements are difficult, because of the desire to completely contain all possible deviations while avoiding bounds that are overly conservative. The authors present a detailed description of a series of experiments that characterize and quantify the possible errors in visual sensing and motion control for a robot workcell equipped with standard industrial robot hardware. In addition to providing a means for measuring these specific errors, these experiments shed light on the general problem of measuring worst-case errors

A new method for face detection in colour images for emotional bio-robots

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

HAPESHI; Kevin

2010-01-01

Emotional bio-robots have become a hot research topic in last two decades. Though there have been some progress in research, design and development of various emotional bio-robots, few of them can be used in practical applications. The study of emotional bio-robots demands multi-disciplinary co-operation. It involves computer science, artificial intelligence, 3D computation, engineering system modelling, analysis and simulation, bionics engineering, automatic control, image processing and pattern recognition etc. Among them, face detection belongs to image processing and pattern recognition. An emotional robot must have the ability to recognize various objects, particularly, it is very important for a bio-robot to be able to recognize human faces from an image. In this paper, a face detection method is proposed for identifying any human faces in colour images using human skin model and eye detection method. Firstly, this method can be used to detect skin regions from the input colour image after normalizing its luminance. Then, all face candidates are identified using an eye detection method. Comparing with existing algorithms, this method only relies on the colour and geometrical data of human face rather than using training datasets. From experimental results, it is shown that this method is effective and fast and it can be applied to the development of an emotional bio-robot with further improvements of its speed and accuracy.

Multiple-Robot Systems for USAR: Key Design Attributes and Deployment Issues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Choon Yue Wong

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The interaction between humans and robots is undergoing an evolution. Progress in this evolution means that humans are close to robustly deploying multiple robots. Urban search and rescue (USAR can benefit greatly from such capability. The review shows that with state of the art artificial intelligence, robots can work autonomously but still require human supervision. It also shows that multiple robot deployment (MRD is more economical, shortens mission durations, adds reliability as well as addresses missions impossible with one robot and payload constraints. By combining robot autonomy and human supervision, the benefits of MRD can be applied to USAR while at the same time minimizing human exposure to danger. This is achieved with a single-human multiple-robot system (SHMRS. However, designers of the SHMRS must consider key attributes such as the size, composition and organizational structure of the robot collective. Variations in these attributes also induce fluctuations in issues within SHMRS deployment such as robot communication and computational load as well as human cognitive workload and situation awareness (SA. Research is essential to determine how the attributes can be manipulated to mitigate these issues while meeting the requirements of the USAR mission.

Multiple-Robot Systems for USAR: Key Design Attributes and Deployment Issues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Choon Yue Wong

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The interaction between humans and robots is undergoing an evolution. Progress in this evolution means that humans are close to robustly deploying multiple robots. Urban search and rescue (USAR can benefit greatly from such capability. The review shows that with state of the art artificial intelligence, robots can work autonomously but still require human supervision. It also shows that multiple robot deployment (MRD is more economical, shortens mission durations, adds reliability as well as addresses missions impossible with one robot and payload constraints. By combining robot autonomy and human supervision, the benefits of MRD can be applied to USAR while at the same time minimizing human exposure to danger. This is achieved with a single-human multiple-robot system (SHMRS. However, designers of the SHMRS must consider key attributes such as the size, composition and organizational structure of the robot collective. Variations in these attributes also induce fluctuations in issues within SHMRS deployment such as robot communication and computational load as well as human cognitive workload and situation awareness (SA.Research is essential to determine how the attributes can be manipulated to mitigate these issues while meeting the requirements of the USAR mission.

Robots: l'embarras de richesses [:survey of robots available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meieran, H.; Brittain, K.; Sturkey, R.

1989-01-01

A survey of robots available for use in the nuclear industry is presented. Two new categories of mobile robots have been introduced since the last survey (April 1987): pipe crawlers and underwater robots. The number of robots available has risen to double what it was two years ago and four times what it was in 1986. (U.K.)

Progress in EEG-Based Brain Robot Interaction Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoqian Mao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The most popular noninvasive Brain Robot Interaction (BRI technology uses the electroencephalogram- (EEG- based Brain Computer Interface (BCI, to serve as an additional communication channel, for robot control via brainwaves. This technology is promising for elderly or disabled patient assistance with daily life. The key issue of a BRI system is to identify human mental activities, by decoding brainwaves, acquired with an EEG device. Compared with other BCI applications, such as word speller, the development of these applications may be more challenging since control of robot systems via brainwaves must consider surrounding environment feedback in real-time, robot mechanical kinematics, and dynamics, as well as robot control architecture and behavior. This article reviews the major techniques needed for developing BRI systems. In this review article, we first briefly introduce the background and development of mind-controlled robot technologies. Second, we discuss the EEG-based brain signal models with respect to generating principles, evoking mechanisms, and experimental paradigms. Subsequently, we review in detail commonly used methods for decoding brain signals, namely, preprocessing, feature extraction, and feature classification, and summarize several typical application examples. Next, we describe a few BRI applications, including wheelchairs, manipulators, drones, and humanoid robots with respect to synchronous and asynchronous BCI-based techniques. Finally, we address some existing problems and challenges with future BRI techniques.

Robots Social Embodiment in Autonomous Mobile Robotics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Duffy

2008-11-01

Full Text Available This work aims at demonstrating the inherent advantages of embracing a strong notion of social embodiment in designing a real-world robot control architecture with explicit ?intelligent? social behaviour between a collective of robots. It develops the current thinking on embodiment beyond the physical by demonstrating the importance of social embodiment. A social framework develops the fundamental social attributes found when more than one robot co-inhabit a physical space. The social metaphors of identity, character, stereotypes and roles are presented and implemented within a real-world social robot paradigm in order to facilitate the realisation of explicit social goals.

Robotic intelligence kernel

Science.gov (United States)

Bruemmer, David J [Idaho Falls, ID

2009-11-17

A robot platform includes perceptors, locomotors, and a system controller. The system controller executes a robot intelligence kernel (RIK) that includes a multi-level architecture and a dynamic autonomy structure. The multi-level architecture includes a robot behavior level for defining robot behaviors, that incorporate robot attributes and a cognitive level for defining conduct modules that blend an adaptive interaction between predefined decision functions and the robot behaviors. The dynamic autonomy structure is configured for modifying a transaction capacity between an operator intervention and a robot initiative and may include multiple levels with at least a teleoperation mode configured to maximize the operator intervention and minimize the robot initiative and an autonomous mode configured to minimize the operator intervention and maximize the robot initiative. Within the RIK at least the cognitive level includes the dynamic autonomy structure.

Localization of Mobile Robots Using an Extended Kalman Filter in a LEGO NXT

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto, M.; Moreira, A. P.; Matos, A.

2012-01-01

The inspiration for this paper comes from a successful experiment conducted with students in the "Mobile Robots" course in the fifth year of the integrated Master's program in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto (FEUP), Porto, Portugal. One of the topics in this Mobile Robots…

Flocking of multiple mobile robots based on backstepping.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Wenjie

2011-04-01

This paper considers the flocking of multiple nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots. Distributed controllers are proposed with the aid of backstepping techniques, results from graph theory, and singular perturbation theory. The proposed controllers can make the states of a group of robots converge to a desired geometric pattern whose centroid moves along a desired trajectory under the condition that the desired trajectory is available to a portion of the group of robots. Since communication delay is inevitable in distributed control, its effect on the performance of the closed-loop systems is analyzed. It is shown that the proposed controllers work well if communication delays are constant. To show effectiveness of the proposed controllers, simulation results are included.

CRV 2008: Fifth Canadian Conference on Computerand Robot Vision, Windsor, ON, Canada, May 2008

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fihl, Preben

This technical report will cover the participation in the fifth Canadian Conference on Computer and Robot Vision in May 2008. The report will give a concise description of the topics presented at the conference, focusing on the work related to the HERMES project and human motion and action...

An Intelligent Robot Programing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Seong Yong

2012-01-15

This book introduces an intelligent robot programing with background of the begging, introduction of VPL, and SPL, building of environment for robot platform, starting of robot programing, design of simulation environment, robot autonomy drive control programing, simulation graphic. Such as SPL graphic programing graphical image and graphical shapes, and graphical method application, application of procedure for robot control, robot multiprogramming, robot bumper sensor programing, robot LRF sencor programing and robot color sensor programing.

An Intelligent Robot Programing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Seong Yong

2012-01-01

This book introduces an intelligent robot programing with background of the begging, introduction of VPL, and SPL, building of environment for robot platform, starting of robot programing, design of simulation environment, robot autonomy drive control programing, simulation graphic. Such as SPL graphic programing graphical image and graphical shapes, and graphical method application, application of procedure for robot control, robot multiprogramming, robot bumper sensor programing, robot LRF sencor programing and robot color sensor programing.

Applications of AI, machine vision and robotics

CERN Document Server

Boyer, Kim; Bunke, H

1995-01-01

This text features a broad array of research efforts in computer vision including low level processing, perceptual organization, object recognition and active vision. The volume's nine papers specifically report on topics such as sensor confidence, low level feature extraction schemes, non-parametric multi-scale curve smoothing, integration of geometric and non-geometric attributes for object recognition, design criteria for a four degree-of-freedom robot head, a real-time vision system based on control of visual attention and a behavior-based active eye vision system. The scope of the book pr

Neuro-robotics from brain machine interfaces to rehabilitation robotics

CERN Document Server

Artemiadis

2014-01-01

Neuro-robotics is one of the most multidisciplinary fields of the last decades, fusing information and knowledge from neuroscience, engineering and computer science. This book focuses on the results from the strategic alliance between Neuroscience and Robotics that help the scientific community to better understand the brain as well as design robotic devices and algorithms for interfacing humans and robots. The first part of the book introduces the idea of neuro-robotics, by presenting state-of-the-art bio-inspired devices. The second part of the book focuses on human-machine interfaces for pe

A Review of Future and Ethical Perspectives of Robotics and AI

OpenAIRE

Jim Torresen

2018-01-01

In recent years, there has been increased attention on the possible impact of future robotics and AI systems. Prominent thinkers have publicly warned about the risk of a dystopian future when the complexity of these systems progresses further. These warnings stand in contrast to the current state-of-the-art of the robotics and AI technology. This article reviews work considering both the future potential of robotics and AI systems, and ethical considerations that need to be taken in order to ...

Distributed Circumnavigation Control with Dynamic Spacings for a Heterogeneous Multi-robot System

OpenAIRE

Yao, Weijia; Luo, Sha; Lu, Huimin; Xiao, Junhao

2018-01-01

Circumnavigation control is useful in real-world applications such as entrapping a hostile target. In this paper, we consider a heterogeneous multi-robot system where robots have different physical properties, such as maximum movement speeds. Instead of equal-spacings, dynamic spacings according to robots' properties, which are termed utilities in this paper, will be more desirable in a scenario such as target entrapment. A distributed circumnavigation control algorithm based on utilities is ...

Cloud Robotics Model

OpenAIRE

Mester, Gyula

2015-01-01

Cloud Robotics was born from the merger of service robotics and cloud technologies. It allows robots to benefit from the powerful computational, storage, and communications resources of modern data centres. Cloud robotics allows robots to take advantage of the rapid increase in data transfer rates to offload tasks without hard real time requirements. Cloud Robotics has rapidly gained momentum with initiatives by companies such as Google, Willow Garage and Gostai as well as more than a dozen a...

Space Robotics Challenge

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Space Robotics Challenge seeks to infuse robot autonomy from the best and brightest research groups in the robotics community into NASA robots for future...

Are Sex Robots as Bad as Killing Robots

OpenAIRE

Richardson, Kathleen

2016-01-01

In 2015 the Campaign Against Sex Robots was launched to draw attention to the technological production of new kinds of objects: sex robots of women and children. The campaign was launched shortly after the Future of Life Institute published an online petition: “Autonomous Weapons: An Open Letter From AI and Robotics Researchers” which was signed by leading luminaries in the field of AI and Robotics. In response to the Campaign, an academic at Oxford University opened an ethics thread “Are sex...

Robotic hip arthroscopy in human anatomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kather, Jens; Hagen, Monika E; Morel, Philippe; Fasel, Jean; Markar, Sheraz; Schueler, Michael

2010-09-01

Robotic technology offers technical advantages that might offer new solutions for hip arthroscopy. Two hip arthroscopies were performed in human cadavers using the da Vinci surgical system. During both surgeries, a robotic camera and 5 or 8 mm da Vinci trocars with instruments were inserted into the hip joint for manipulation. Introduction of cameras and working instruments, docking of the robotic system and instrument manipulation was successful in both cases. The long articulating area of 5 mm instruments limited movements inside the joint; an 8 mm instrument with a shorter area of articulation offered an improved range of motion. Hip arthroscopy using the da Vinci standard system appears a feasible alternative to standard arthroscopy. Instruments and method of application must be modified and improved before routine clinical application but further research in this area seems justified, considering the clinical value of such an approach. Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Multi-robot control interface

Science.gov (United States)

Bruemmer, David J [Idaho Falls, ID; Walton, Miles C [Idaho Falls, ID

2011-12-06

Methods and systems for controlling a plurality of robots through a single user interface include at least one robot display window for each of the plurality of robots with the at least one robot display window illustrating one or more conditions of a respective one of the plurality of robots. The user interface further includes at least one robot control window for each of the plurality of robots with the at least one robot control window configured to receive one or more commands for sending to the respective one of the plurality of robots. The user interface further includes a multi-robot common window comprised of information received from each of the plurality of robots.

Continuous path control of a 5-DOF parallel-serial hybrid robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchiyama, Takuma; Terada, Hidetsugu; Mitsuya, Hironori

2010-01-01

Using the 5-degree of freedom parallel-serial hybrid robot, to realize the de-burring, new forward and inverse kinematic calculation methods based on the 'off-line teaching' method are proposed. This hybrid robot consists of a parallel stage section and a serial stage section. Considering this point, each section is calculated individually. And the continuous path control algorithm of this hybrid robot is proposed. To verify the usefulness, a prototype robot is tested which is controlled based on the proposed methods. This verification includes a positioning test and a pose test. The positioning test evaluates the continuous path of the tool center point. The pose test evaluates the pose on the tool center point. As the result, it is confirmed that this hybrid robot moves correctly using the proposed methods

Evolutionary programming-based univector field navigation method for past mobile robots.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Y J; Kim, J H; Kwon, D S

2001-01-01

Most of navigation techniques with obstacle avoidance do not consider the robot orientation at the target position. These techniques deal with the robot position only and are independent of its orientation and velocity. To solve these problems this paper proposes a novel univector field method for fast mobile robot navigation which introduces a normalized two dimensional vector field. The method provides fast moving robots with the desired posture at the target position and obstacle avoidance. To obtain the sub-optimal vector field, a function approximator is used and trained by evolutionary programming. Two kinds of vector fields are trained, one for the final posture acquisition and the other for obstacle avoidance. Computer simulations and real experiments are carried out for a fast moving mobile robot to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Robotics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lorino, P; Altwegg, J M

1985-05-01

This article, which is aimed at the general reader, examines latest developments in, and the role of, modern robotics. The 7 main sections are sub-divided into 27 papers presented by 30 authors. The sections are as follows: 1) The role of robotics, 2) Robotics in the business world and what it can offer, 3) Study and development, 4) Utilisation, 5) Wages, 6) Conditions for success, and 7) Technological dynamics.

Adoption of robotics in a general surgery residency program: at what cost?

Science.gov (United States)

Mehaffey, J Hunter; Michaels, Alex D; Mullen, Matthew G; Yount, Kenan W; Meneveau, Max O; Smith, Philip W; Friel, Charles M; Schirmer, Bruce D

2017-06-01

Robotic technology is increasingly being utilized by general surgeons. However, the impact of introducing robotics to surgical residency has not been examined. This study aims to assess the financial costs and training impact of introducing robotics at an academic general surgery residency program. All patients who underwent laparoscopic or robotic cholecystectomy, ventral hernia repair (VHR), and inguinal hernia repair (IHR) at our institution from 2011-2015 were identified. The effect of robotic surgery on laparoscopic case volume was assessed with linear regression analysis. Resident participation, operative time, hospital costs, and patient charges were also evaluated. We identified 2260 laparoscopic and 139 robotic operations. As the volume of robotic cases increased, the number of laparoscopic cases steadily decreased. Residents participated in all laparoscopic cases and 70% of robotic cases but operated from the robot console in only 21% of cases. Mean operative time was increased for robotic cholecystectomy (+22%), IHR (+55%), and VHR (+61%). Financial analysis revealed higher median hospital costs per case for robotic cholecystectomy (+$411), IHR (+$887), and VHR (+$1124) as well as substantial associated fixed costs. Introduction of robotic surgery had considerable negative impact on laparoscopic case volume and significantly decreased resident participation. Increased operative time and hospital costs are substantial. An institution must be cognizant of these effects when considering implementing robotics in departments with a general surgery residency program. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

FPGA for Robotic Applications: from Android/Humanoid Robots to Artificial Men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tole Sutikno

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Researches on home robots have been increasing enormously. There has always existed a continuous research effort on problems of anthropomorphic robots which is now called humanoid robots. Currently, robotics has evolved to the point that different branches have reached a remarkable level of maturity, that neural network and fuzzy logic are the main artificial intelligence as intelligent control on the robotics. Despite all this progress, while aiming at accomplishing work-tasks originally charged only to humans, robotic science has perhaps quite naturally turned into the attempt to create artificial men. It is true that artificial men or android humanoid robots open certainly very broad prospects. This “robot” may be viewed as a personal helper, and it will be called a home-robot, or personal robot. This is main reason why the two special sections are issued in the TELKOMNIKA sequentially.

A Low-Cost Immersive Virtual Reality System for Teaching Robotic Manipulators Programming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vicente Román-Ibáñez

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Laboratory tasks are a powerful pedagogical strategy for developing competences in science and engineering degrees, making students understand in a practical way the theoretical topics explained in the classroom. However, performing experiments in real conditions is usually expensive in terms of time, money and energy, as it requires expensive infrastructures that are generally difficult to maintain in good conditions. To overcome this problem, virtual reality has proven to be a powerful tool to achieve sustainability, making it easy to update laboratories without the need to acquire new equipment. Moreover, the ability to introduce practical knowledge into classrooms without leaving them, makes virtual laboratories capable of simulating typical operating environments as well as extreme situations in the operation of different devices. A typical subject in which students can benefit from the use of virtual laboratories is robotics. In this work we will develop an immersive virtual reality (VR pedagogical simulator of industrial robotic arms for engineering students. With the proposed system, students will know the effects of their own designed trajectories on several different robotic arms and cell environments without having to buy all of them and being safe of damaging the cell components. The simulation will be checking for collisions of the elements in the scene and alert the student when they happen. This can be achieved with a robotic simulator, but the integration with immersive VR is intended to help students better understand robotics. Moreover, even having a real robotic arm available for students, with this proposed VR method, all the students have the opportunity to manage and learn his own version of the robotic cell, without waiting times generated by having less robotic arms than students in classroom.

Teaching Joint-Level Robot Programming with a New Robotics Software Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Gonzalez

2017-12-01

Full Text Available With the rising popularity of robotics in our modern world there is an increase in the number of engineering programs that offer the basic Introduction to Robotics course. This common introductory robotics course generally covers the fundamental theory of robotics including robot kinematics, dynamics, differential movements, trajectory planning and basic computer vision algorithms commonly used in the field of robotics. Joint programming, the task of writing a program that directly controls the robot’s joint motors, is an activity that involves robot kinematics, dynamics, and trajectory planning. In this paper, we introduce a new educational robotics tool developed for teaching joint programming. The tool allows the student to write a program in a modified C language that controls the movement of the arm by controlling the velocity of each joint motor. This is a very important activity in the robotics course and leads the student to gain knowledge of how to build a robotic arm controller. Sample assignments are presented for different levels of difficulty.

Design and control of a pneumatic musculoskeletal biped robot.

Science.gov (United States)

Zang, Xizhe; Liu, Yixiang; Liu, Xinyu; Zhao, Jie

2016-04-29

Pneumatic artificial muscles are quite promising actuators for humanoid robots owing to their similar characteristics with human muscles. Moreover, biologically inspired musculoskeletal systems are particularly important for humanoid robots to perform versatile dynamic tasks. This study aims to develop a pneumatic musculoskeletal biped robot, and its controller, to realize human-like walking. According to the simplified musculoskeletal structure of human lower limbs, each leg of the biped robot is driven by nine muscles, including three pairs of monoarticular muscles which are arranged in the flexor-extensor form, as well as three biarticular muscles which span two joints. To lower cost, high-speed on/off solenoid valves rather than proportional valves are used to control the muscles. The joint trajectory tracking controller based on PID control method is designed to achieve the desired motion. Considering the complex characteristics of pneumatic artificial muscles, the control model is obtained through parameter identification experiments. Preliminary experimental results demonstrate that the biped robot is able to walk with this control strategy. The proposed musculoskeletal structure and control strategy are effective for the biped robot to achieve human-like walking.

Timing of Multimodal Robot Behaviors during Human-Robot Collaboration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Lars Christian; Fischer, Kerstin; Suvei, Stefan-Daniel

2017-01-01

In this paper, we address issues of timing between robot behaviors in multimodal human-robot interaction. In particular, we study what effects sequential order and simultaneity of robot arm and body movement and verbal behavior have on the fluency of interactions. In a study with the Care-O-bot, ...... output plays a special role because participants carry their expectations from human verbal interaction into the interactions with robots....

Six-legged walking robot for service operations

OpenAIRE

Ihme, T.; Schneider, A.; Schmucker, U.

1998-01-01

This paper presents the control system of a six-legged vehicle including force control. Considered control schemes are control of forces and control of body motion. The experimental result with a six-legged robot is presented.

Analysis of balance control methods based on inverted pendulum for legged robots

OpenAIRE

Denisov, A.; Iakovlev, R.; Mamaev, I.; Pavliuk, N.

2017-01-01

Methods of balance control for a legged robot, the model of which is presented as a two-section inverted pendulum, are considered. The following balance methods for humanoid robots are analysed: the parallel algorithm of the network operator method; the method of natural synergies; the method of fuzzy control, the spherical inverted pendulum mode, a dual length linear inverted pendulum method. The best of these methods will be used in the development of the Russian anthropomorphic robot Antares.

Service design in social robotics: Involving elderly care professionals into co-creation

OpenAIRE

Tarasova, Kseniya

2015-01-01

The global trend of the population ageing triggers the development of social robotics for the needs of elderly people in most European countries. After decades of being a subject of scientific research and a prototype in the lab, social robotics is finally becoming a consumer product. At the moment the logic of the consumer market points towards customer experience. Therefore, social robotics companies should follow this trend. This study considers service design as one of the best approache...

Robotics Potential Fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jordi Lucero

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This problem was to calculate the path a robot would take to navigate an obstacle field and get to its goal. Three obstacles were given as negative potential fields which the robot avoided, and a goal was given a positive potential field that attracted the robot. The robot decided each step based on its distance, angle, and influence from every object. After each step, the robot recalculated and determined its next step until it reached its goal. The robot's calculations and steps were simulated with Microsoft Excel.

Robosapien Robot used to Model Humanoid Interaction to Perform tasks in Dangerous Manufacturing Environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stopforth, R; Bright, G

2014-01-01

Humans are involved with accidents in manufacturing environments. A possibility to prevent humans from these scenarios is, to introduce humanoid robots within these industrial areas. This paper investigates the control scenario and environments required at a small scale level, with the use of the Robosapien robot. The Robosapien robot is modified to control it with a task of removing a cylinder and inserting it into a hole. Analysis is performed on the performance of the Robosapien robot and relating it with that of a humanoid robot. A discussion with suggestions is concluded with the efficiency and profitability that would need to be considered, for having a humanoid robot within the manufacturing environment

Towards efficient deployment in Internet of Robotic Things

OpenAIRE

Razafimandimby , Cristanel; Loscri , Valeria; Vegni , Anna Maria

2017-01-01

International audience; Internet of Robotic Things (IoRT) is a new concept introduced for the first time by ABI Research. Unlike the Internet of Things (IoT), IoRT provides adynamic actuation and is considered as the new evolution of IoT. This new concept will bring new opportunities and challenges, while providing newbusiness ideas for IoT and robotics’ entrepreneurs. In this work, we will focus particularly on two issues: (i) connectivity maintenance among multiple IoRT robots, and (ii) the...

MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES IN EDUCATION OF ROBOTICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gyula Mester

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Recently, the requirement for learning is constantly increasing. MOOC – massive open online courses represent educational revolution of the century. A MOOC is an online course accessible to unlimited number of participation and is an open access via the web. Mayor participants in the MOOCS are: Coursera, Udacity (Stanford, since 2012 and edX (Harvard, MIT, since 2012. In this paper two MOOCs are considered: Introduction for Robotics and Robotics Vision, both from the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

Master's in Autonomous Systems: An Overview of the Robotics Curriculum and Outcomes at ISEP, Portugal

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, E.; Almeida, J.; Martins, A.; Baptista, J. P.; Campos Neves, B.

2013-01-01

Robotics research in Portugal is increasing every year, but few students embrace it as one of their first choices for study. Until recently, job offers for engineers were plentiful, and those looking for a degree in science and technology would avoid areas considered to be demanding, like robotics. At the undergraduate level, robotics programs are…

Healthcare Robotics

OpenAIRE

Riek, Laurel D.

2017-01-01

Robots have the potential to be a game changer in healthcare: improving health and well-being, filling care gaps, supporting care givers, and aiding health care workers. However, before robots are able to be widely deployed, it is crucial that both the research and industrial communities work together to establish a strong evidence-base for healthcare robotics, and surmount likely adoption barriers. This article presents a broad contextualization of robots in healthcare by identifying key sta...

Contact Estimation in Robot Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filippo D'Ippolito

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In the paper, safety issues are examined in a scenario in which a robot manipulator and a human perform the same task in the same workspace. During the task execution, the human should be able to physically interact with the robot, and in this case an estimation algorithm for both interaction forces and a contact point is proposed in order to guarantee safety conditions. The method, starting from residual joint torque estimation, allows both direct and adaptive computation of the contact point and force, based on a principle of equivalence of the contact forces. At the same time, all the unintended contacts must be avoided, and a suitable post-collision strategy is considered to move the robot away from the collision area or else to reduce impact effects. Proper experimental tests have demonstrated the applicability in practice of both the post-impact strategy and the estimation algorithms; furthermore, experiments demonstrate the different behaviour resulting from the adaptation of the contact point as opposed to direct calculation.

RIPE [robot independent programming environment]: A robot independent programming environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, D.J.; Lennox, R.C.

1990-01-01

Remote manual operations in radiation environments are typically performed very slowly. Sensor-based computer-controlled robots hold great promise for increasing the speed and safety of remote operations; however, the programming of robotic systems has proven to be expensive and difficult. Generalized approaches to robot programming that reuse available software modules and employ programming languages which are independent of the specific robotic and sensory devices being used are needed to speed software development and increase overall system reliability. This paper discusses the robot independent programming environment (RIPE) developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The RIPE is an object-oriented approach to robot system architectures; it is a software environment that facilitates rapid design and implementation of complex robot systems for diverse applications. An architecture based on hierarchies of distributed multiprocessors provides the computing platform for a layered programming structure that models applications using software objects. These objects are designed to support model-based automated programming of robotic and machining devices, real-time sensor-based control, error handling, and robust communication

Evolutionary Developmental Robotics: Improving Morphology and Control of Physical Robots.

Science.gov (United States)

Vujovic, Vuk; Rosendo, Andre; Brodbeck, Luzius; Iida, Fumiya

2017-01-01

Evolutionary algorithms have previously been applied to the design of morphology and control of robots. The design space for such tasks can be very complex, which can prevent evolution from efficiently discovering fit solutions. In this article we introduce an evolutionary-developmental (evo-devo) experiment with real-world robots. It allows robots to grow their leg size to simulate ontogenetic morphological changes, and this is the first time that such an experiment has been performed in the physical world. To test diverse robot morphologies, robot legs of variable shapes were generated during the evolutionary process and autonomously built using additive fabrication. We present two cases with evo-devo experiments and one with evolution, and we hypothesize that the addition of a developmental stage can be used within robotics to improve performance. Moreover, our results show that a nonlinear system-environment interaction exists, which explains the nontrivial locomotion patterns observed. In the future, robots will be present in our daily lives, and this work introduces for the first time physical robots that evolve and grow while interacting with the environment.

Recent advances in robotics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beni, G.; Hackwood, S.

1984-01-01

Featuring 10 contributions, this volume offers a state-of-the-art report on robotic science and technology. It covers robots in modern industry, robotic control to help the disabled, kinematics and dynamics, six-legged walking robots, a vector analysis of robot manipulators, tactile sensing in robots, and more

Nonlinear control methods for planar carangiform robot fish locomotion

OpenAIRE

Morgansen, Kristi A.; Duindam, Vincent; Mason, Richard J.; Burdick, Joel W.; Murray, Richard M.

2001-01-01

Considers the design of motion control algorithms for robot fish. We present modeling, control design, and experimental trajectory tracking results for an experimental planar robotic fish system that is propelled using carangiform-like locomotion. Our model for the fish's propulsion is based on quasi-steady fluid flow. Using this model, we propose gaits for forward and turning trajectories and analyze system response under such control strategies. Our models and predictions are verified by ex...

Manipulator motion planning for high-speed robotic laser cutting

OpenAIRE

Dolgui , Alexandre; Pashkevich , Anatol

2009-01-01

Abstract Recent advances in laser technology, and especially the essential increase of the cutting speed, motivate amending the existing robot path methods, which do not allow the complete utilisation of the actuator capabilities as well as neglect some particularities in the mechanical design of the wrist of the manipulator arm. This research addresses the optimisation of the 6-axes robot motions for continuous contour tracking while considering the redundancy caused by the tool a...

State Estimation for Robots with Complementary Redundant Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Carnevale

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper, robots equipped with two complementary typologies of redundant sensors are considered: one typology provides sharp measures of some geometrical entity related to the robot pose (e.g., distance or angle but is not univocally associated with this quantity; the other typology is univocal but is characterized by a low level of precision. A technique is proposed to properly combine these two kinds of measurement both in a stochastic and in a deterministic context. This framework may occur in robotics, for example, when the distance from a known landmark is detected by two different sensors, one based on the signal strength or time of flight of the signal, while the other one measures the phase-shift of the signal, which has a sharp but periodical dependence on the robot-landmark distance. In the stochastic case, an effective solution is a two-stage extended Kalman filter (EKF which exploits the precise periodic signal only when the estimate of the robot position is sufficiently precise. In the deterministic setting, an approach based on a switching hybrid observer is proposed, and results are analyzed via simulation examples.

Robotic Tactile Sensing Technologies and System

CERN Document Server

Dahiya, Ravinder S

2013-01-01

Future robots are expected to work closely and interact safely with real-world objects and humans alike. Sense of touch is important in this context, as it helps estimate properties such as shape, texture, hardness, material type and many more; provides action related information, such as slip detection; and helps carrying out actions such as rolling an object between fingers without dropping it. This book presents an in-depth description of the solutions available for gathering tactile data, obtaining aforementioned tactile information from the data and effectively using the same in various robotic tasks. Better integration of tactile sensors on a robot’s body is prerequisite for the effective utilization of tactile data. For this reason, the hardware, software and application related issues (and resulting trade-offs) that must be considered to make tactile sensing an effective component of robotic platforms are discussed in-depth.To this end, human touch sensing has also been explored. The design hints co...

AEKF-SLAM: A New Algorithm for Robotic Underwater Navigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Yuan

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In this work, we focus on key topics related to underwater Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM applications. Moreover, a detailed review of major studies in the literature and our proposed solutions for addressing the problem are presented. The main goal of this paper is the enhancement of the accuracy and robustness of the SLAM-based navigation problem for underwater robotics with low computational costs. Therefore, we present a new method called AEKF-SLAM that employs an Augmented Extended Kalman Filter (AEKF-based SLAM algorithm. The AEKF-based SLAM approach stores the robot poses and map landmarks in a single state vector, while estimating the state parameters via a recursive and iterative estimation-update process. Hereby, the prediction and update state (which exist as well in the conventional EKF are complemented by a newly proposed augmentation stage. Applied to underwater robot navigation, the AEKF-SLAM has been compared with the classic and popular FastSLAM 2.0 algorithm. Concerning the dense loop mapping and line mapping experiments, it shows much better performances in map management with respect to landmark addition and removal, which avoid the long-term accumulation of errors and clutters in the created map. Additionally, the underwater robot achieves more precise and efficient self-localization and a mapping of the surrounding landmarks with much lower processing times. Altogether, the presented AEKF-SLAM method achieves reliably map revisiting, and consistent map upgrading on loop closure.

Put Your Robot In, Put Your Robot Out: Sequencing through Programming Robots in Early Childhood

Science.gov (United States)

Kazakoff, Elizabeth R.; Bers, Marina Umaschi

2014-01-01

This article examines the impact of programming robots on sequencing ability in early childhood. Thirty-four children (ages 4.5-6.5 years) participated in computer programming activities with a developmentally appropriate tool, CHERP, specifically designed to program a robot's behaviors. The children learned to build and program robots over three…

Performance of high-level and low-level control for coordination of mobile robots

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adinandra, S.; Caarls, J.; Kostic, D.; Nijmeijer, H.

2010-01-01

We analyze performance of different strategies for coordinated control of mobile robots. By considering an environment of a distribution center, the robots should transport goods from place A to place B while maintaining the desired formation and avoiding collisions. We evaluate performance of two

Consideration of Task Performance for Robots Engaged in Extremely Dangerous Environment in Nuclear Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Seung Mo; Han, Kee Soo; Yi, Sung Deok; Kim, Seoung Rae [Nuclear Engineering Service and Solution Co. Ltd., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Young [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

After Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident, it is started to pay more attention to operation and accident of nuclear power plants (NPPs). For domestic nuclear industry, it was recommended to establish corresponding strategies against accidents due to extremely dangerous natural disasters. Each nuclear power plant is also preparing to establish strategies to secure nuclear safety functions by estimating the counterplans for extreme accidents. Robots are particularly being used to access the areas where those are dangerous for human beings to access or to restore the accident. Robot technologies in NPPs are emerging cutting-edge technologies that are just a start except the developed countries like USA, Japan, etc. But they are carefully considered because they have the advantages of performing tasks in extremely dangerous environment in NPPs instead of human beings. In this study, the applicability of robots will be considered in extremely dangerous environment in NPPs. Accurate judgment of the inside situation of the plant and quick actions in the extreme condition like earthquake accompanied by loss of all AC powers should be considered as major function in terms of prevention of accident spread. According to the reported stress test results of domestic NPPs, the difficult things for operators to carry out in extreme conditions can be predictable, therefore the active use of robots as accident mitigation strategies will be helpful to reduce the unnecessary spending for facility improvement. Current trend of domestic and foreign robot technology development focuses on the information search of the inside of the plant and development of preventive maintenance of NPPs. As seen actually in Fukushima Daiichi, main roles of robots place emphasis on measuring the inside radiation level accessing to the area where operator cannot access and delivering information which can support operator's decision-making and actions. Therefore, it is considered that development of

Analysis of balance control methods based on inverted pendulum for legged robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denisov Alexander

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Methods of balance control for a legged robot, the model of which is presented as a two-section inverted pendulum, are considered. The following balance methods for humanoid robots are analysed: the parallel algorithm of the network operator method; the method of natural synergies; the method of fuzzy control, the spherical inverted pendulum mode, a dual length linear inverted pendulum method. The best of these methods will be used in the development of the Russian anthropomorphic robot Antares.

Proceedings of the Goddard Space Flight Center Workshop on Robotics for Commercial Microelectronic Processes in Space

Science.gov (United States)

1987-01-01

Potential applications of robots for cost effective commercial microelectronic processes in space were studied and the associated robotic requirements were defined. Potential space application areas include advanced materials processing, bulk crystal growth, and epitaxial thin film growth and related processes. All possible automation of these processes was considered, along with energy and environmental requirements. Aspects of robot capabilities considered include system intelligence, ROM requirements, kinematic and dynamic specifications, sensor design and configuration, flexibility and maintainability. Support elements discussed included facilities, logistics, ground support, launch and recovery, and management systems.

Emotion Attribution to a Non-Humanoid Robot in Different Social Situations

Science.gov (United States)

Lakatos, Gabriella; Gácsi, Márta; Konok, Veronika; Brúder, Ildikó; Bereczky, Boróka; Korondi, Péter; Miklósi, Ádám

2014-01-01

In the last few years there was an increasing interest in building companion robots that interact in a socially acceptable way with humans. In order to interact in a meaningful way a robot has to convey intentionality and emotions of some sort in order to increase believability. We suggest that human-robot interaction should be considered as a specific form of inter-specific interaction and that human–animal interaction can provide a useful biological model for designing social robots. Dogs can provide a promising biological model since during the domestication process dogs were able to adapt to the human environment and to participate in complex social interactions. In this observational study we propose to design emotionally expressive behaviour of robots using the behaviour of dogs as inspiration and to test these dog-inspired robots with humans in inter-specific context. In two experiments (wizard-of-oz scenarios) we examined humans' ability to recognize two basic and a secondary emotion expressed by a robot. In Experiment 1 we provided our companion robot with two kinds of emotional behaviour (“happiness” and “fear”), and studied whether people attribute the appropriate emotion to the robot, and interact with it accordingly. In Experiment 2 we investigated whether participants tend to attribute guilty behaviour to a robot in a relevant context by examining whether relying on the robot's greeting behaviour human participants can detect if the robot transgressed a predetermined rule. Results of Experiment 1 showed that people readily attribute emotions to a social robot and interact with it in accordance with the expressed emotional behaviour. Results of Experiment 2 showed that people are able to recognize if the robot transgressed on the basis of its greeting behaviour. In summary, our findings showed that dog-inspired behaviour is a suitable medium for making people attribute emotional states to a non-humanoid robot. PMID:25551218

Emotion attribution to a non-humanoid robot in different social situations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriella Lakatos

Full Text Available In the last few years there was an increasing interest in building companion robots that interact in a socially acceptable way with humans. In order to interact in a meaningful way a robot has to convey intentionality and emotions of some sort in order to increase believability. We suggest that human-robot interaction should be considered as a specific form of inter-specific interaction and that human-animal interaction can provide a useful biological model for designing social robots. Dogs can provide a promising biological model since during the domestication process dogs were able to adapt to the human environment and to participate in complex social interactions. In this observational study we propose to design emotionally expressive behaviour of robots using the behaviour of dogs as inspiration and to test these dog-inspired robots with humans in inter-specific context. In two experiments (wizard-of-oz scenarios we examined humans' ability to recognize two basic and a secondary emotion expressed by a robot. In Experiment 1 we provided our companion robot with two kinds of emotional behaviour ("happiness" and "fear", and studied whether people attribute the appropriate emotion to the robot, and interact with it accordingly. In Experiment 2 we investigated whether participants tend to attribute guilty behaviour to a robot in a relevant context by examining whether relying on the robot's greeting behaviour human participants can detect if the robot transgressed a predetermined rule. Results of Experiment 1 showed that people readily attribute emotions to a social robot and interact with it in accordance with the expressed emotional behaviour. Results of Experiment 2 showed that people are able to recognize if the robot transgressed on the basis of its greeting behaviour. In summary, our findings showed that dog-inspired behaviour is a suitable medium for making people attribute emotional states to a non-humanoid robot.

Human Robot Interaction for Hybrid Collision Avoidance System for Indoor Mobile Robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mazen Ghandour

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a novel approach for collision avoidance for indoor mobile robots based on human-robot interaction is realized. The main contribution of this work is a new technique for collision avoidance by engaging the human and the robot in generating new collision-free paths. In mobile robotics, collision avoidance is critical for the success of the robots in implementing their tasks, especially when the robots navigate in crowded and dynamic environments, which include humans. Traditional collision avoidance methods deal with the human as a dynamic obstacle, without taking into consideration that the human will also try to avoid the robot, and this causes the people and the robot to get confused, especially in crowded social places such as restaurants, hospitals, and laboratories. To avoid such scenarios, a reactive-supervised collision avoidance system for mobile robots based on human-robot interaction is implemented. In this method, both the robot and the human will collaborate in generating the collision avoidance via interaction. The person will notify the robot about the avoidance direction via interaction, and the robot will search for the optimal collision-free path on the selected direction. In case that no people interacted with the robot, it will select the navigation path autonomously and select the path that is closest to the goal location. The humans will interact with the robot using gesture recognition and Kinect sensor. To build the gesture recognition system, two models were used to classify these gestures, the first model is Back-Propagation Neural Network (BPNN, and the second model is Support Vector Machine (SVM. Furthermore, a novel collision avoidance system for avoiding the obstacles is implemented and integrated with the HRI system. The system is tested on H20 robot from DrRobot Company (Canada and a set of experiments were implemented to report the performance of the system in interacting with the human and avoiding

Robot vision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, E.L.

1984-01-01

Almost all industrial robots use internal sensors such as shaft encoders which measure rotary position, or tachometers which measure velocity, to control their motions. Most controllers also provide interface capabilities so that signals from conveyors, machine tools, and the robot itself may be used to accomplish a task. However, advanced external sensors, such as visual sensors, can provide a much greater degree of adaptability for robot control as well as add automatic inspection capabilities to the industrial robot. Visual and other sensors are now being used in fundamental operations such as material processing with immediate inspection, material handling with adaption, arc welding, and complex assembly tasks. A new industry of robot vision has emerged. The application of these systems is an area of great potential

Multi-Locomotion Robotic Systems New Concepts of Bio-inspired Robotics

CERN Document Server

Fukuda, Toshio; Sekiyama, Kosuke; Aoyama, Tadayoshi

2012-01-01

Nowadays, multiple attention have been paid on a robot working in the human living environment, such as in the field of medical, welfare, entertainment and so on. Various types of researches are being conducted actively in a variety of fields such as artificial intelligence, cognitive engineering, sensor- technology, interfaces and motion control. In the future, it is expected to realize super high functional human-like robot by integrating technologies in various fields including these types of researches. The book represents new developments and advances in the field of bio-inspired robotics research introducing the state of the art, the idea of multi-locomotion robotic system to implement the diversity of animal motion. It covers theoretical and computational aspects of Passive Dynamic Autonomous Control (PDAC), robot motion control, multi legged walking and climbing as well as brachiation focusing concrete robot systems, components and applications. In addition, gorilla type robot systems are described as...

The cortical activation pattern by a rehabilitation robotic hand: a functional NIRS study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Pyung-Hun; Lee, Seung-Hee; Gu, Gwang Min; Lee, Seung-Hyun; Jin, Sang-Hyun; Yeo, Sang Seok; Seo, Jeong Pyo; Jang, Sung Ho

2014-01-01

Clarification of the relationship between external stimuli and brain response has been an important topic in neuroscience and brain rehabilitation. In the current study, using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we attempted to investigate cortical activation patterns generated during execution of a rehabilitation robotic hand. Ten normal subjects were recruited for this study. Passive movements of the right fingers were performed using a rehabilitation robotic hand at a frequency of 0.5 Hz. We measured values of oxy-hemoglobin (HbO), deoxy-hemoglobin (HbR) and total-hemoglobin (HbT) in five regions of interest: the primary sensory-motor cortex (SM1), hand somatotopy of the contralateral SM1, supplementary motor area (SMA), premotor cortex (PMC), and prefrontal cortex (PFC). HbO and HbT values indicated significant activation in the left SM1, left SMA, left PMC, and left PFC during execution of the rehabilitation robotic hand (uncorrected, p < 0.01). By contrast, HbR value indicated significant activation only in the hand somatotopic area of the left SM1 (uncorrected, p < 0.01). Our results appear to indicate that execution of the rehabilitation robotic hand could induce cortical activation.

Human likeness: cognitive and affective factors affecting adoption of robot-assisted learning systems

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Hosun; Kwon, Ohbyung; Lee, Namyeon

2016-07-01

With advances in robot technology, interest in robotic e-learning systems has increased. In some laboratories, experiments are being conducted with humanoid robots as artificial tutors because of their likeness to humans, the rich possibilities of using this type of media, and the multimodal interaction capabilities of these robots. The robot-assisted learning system, a special type of e-learning system, aims to increase the learner's concentration, pleasure, and learning performance dramatically. However, very few empirical studies have examined the effect on learning performance of incorporating humanoid robot technology into e-learning systems or people's willingness to accept or adopt robot-assisted learning systems. In particular, human likeness, the essential characteristic of humanoid robots as compared with conventional e-learning systems, has not been discussed in a theoretical context. Hence, the purpose of this study is to propose a theoretical model to explain the process of adoption of robot-assisted learning systems. In the proposed model, human likeness is conceptualized as a combination of media richness, multimodal interaction capabilities, and para-social relationships; these factors are considered as possible determinants of the degree to which human cognition and affection are related to the adoption of robot-assisted learning systems.

Robot Wars: US Empire and geopolitics in the robotic age

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Ian GR

2017-01-01

How will the robot age transform warfare? What geopolitical futures are being imagined by the US military? This article constructs a robotic futurology to examine these crucial questions. Its central concern is how robots – driven by leaps in artificial intelligence and swarming – are rewiring the spaces and logics of US empire, warfare, and geopolitics. The article begins by building a more-than-human geopolitics to de-center the role of humans in conflict and foreground a worldly understanding of robots. The article then analyzes the idea of US empire, before speculating upon how and why robots are materializing new forms of proxy war. A three-part examination of the shifting spaces of US empire then follows: (1) Swarm Wars explores the implications of miniaturized drone swarming; (2) Roboworld investigates how robots are changing US military basing strategy and producing new topological spaces of violence; and (3) The Autogenic Battle-Site reveals how autonomous robots will produce emergent, technologically event-ful sites of security and violence – revolutionizing the battlespace. The conclusion reflects on the rise of a robotic US empire and its consequences for democracy. PMID:29081605

Direct target NOTES: prospective applications for next generation robotic platforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Atallah, S; Hodges, A; Larach, S W

2018-05-01

A new era in surgical robotics has centered on alternative access to anatomic targets and next generation designs include flexible, single-port systems which follow circuitous rather than straight pathways. Such systems maintain a small footprint and could be utilized for specialized operations based on direct organ target natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES), of which transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME) is an important derivative. During two sessions, four direct target NOTES operations were conducted on a cadaveric model using a flexible robotic system to demonstrate proof-of-concept of the application of a next generation robotic system to specific types of NOTES operations, all of which required removal of a direct target organ through natural orifice access. These four operations were (a) robotic taTME, (b) robotic transvaginal hysterectomy in conjunction with (c) robotic transvaginal salpingo-oophorectomy, and in an ex vivo model, (d) trans-cecal appendectomy. Feasibility was demonstrated in all cases using the Flex ® Robotic System with Colorectal Drive. During taTME, the platform excursion was 17 cm along a non-linear path; operative time was 57 min for the transanal portion of the dissection. Robotic transvaginal hysterectomy was successfully completed in 78 min with transvaginal extraction of the uterus, although laparoscopic assistance was required. Robotic transvaginal unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with transvaginal extraction of the ovary and fallopian tube was performed without laparoscopic assistance in 13.5 min. In an ex vivo model, a robotic trans-cecal appendectomy was also successfully performed for the purpose of demonstrating proof-of-concept only; this was completed in 24 min. A flexible robotic system has the potential to access anatomy along circuitous paths, making it a suitable platform for direct target NOTES. The conceptual operations posed could be considered suitable for next generation robotics once

Robust Control Design of Wheeled Inverted Pendulum Assistant Robot

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Magdi S.Mahmoud; Mohammad T.Nasir

2017-01-01

This paper examines the design concept and mobile control strategy of the human assistant robot I-PENTAR（inverted pendulum type assistant robot）. The motion equation is derived considering the non-holonomic constraint of the twowheeled mobile robot. Different optimal control approaches are applied to a linearized model of I-PENTAR. These include linear quadratic regulator（LQR）, linear quadratic Gaussian control（LQG）, H2 control and H∞ control. Simulation is performed for all the approaches yielding good performance results.

Robotic vision system for random bin picking with dual-arm robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kang Sangseung

2016-01-01