Behnam Salemi

Bio: Behnam Salemi is an academic researcher from University of Southern California. The author has contributed to research in topics: Robot & Mobile robot. The author has an hindex of 16, co-authored 35 publications receiving 2575 citations. Previous affiliations of Behnam Salemi include HRL Laboratories & Information Sciences Institute.

Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robot Systems [Grand Challenges of Robotics]

Abstract: The field of modular self-reconfigurable robotic systems addresses the design, fabrication, motion planning, and control of autonomous kinematic machines with variable morphology. Modular self-reconfigurable systems have the promise of making significant technological advances to the field of robotics in general. Their promise of high versatility, high value, and high robustness may lead to a radical change in automation. Currently, a number of researchers have been addressing many of the challenges. While some progress has been made, it is clear that many challenges still exist. By illustrating several of the outstanding issues as grand challenges that have been collaboratively written by a large number of researchers in this field, this article has shown several of the key directions for the future of this growing field

Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robot Systems

Abstract: The field of modular self-reconfigurable robotic systems addresses the design, fabrication, motion planning, and control of autonomous kinematic machines with variable morphology. Modular self-reconfigurable systems have the promise of making significant technological advances to the field of robotics in general. Their promise of high versatility, high value, and high robustness may lead to a radical change in automation. Currently, a number of researchers have been addressing many of the challenges. While some progress has been made, it is clear that many challenges still exist. By illustrating several of the outstanding issues as grand challenges that have been collaboratively written by a large number of researchers in this field, this article has shown several of the key directions for the future of this growing field

SUPERBOT: A Deployable, Multi-Functional, and Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robotic System

Abstract: Self-reconfigurable robots are modular robots that can autonomously change their shape and size to meet specific operational demands. Recently, there has been a great interest in using self-reconfigurable robots in applications such as reconnaissance, rescue missions, and space applications. Designing and controlling self-reconfigurable robots is a difficult task. Hence, the research has primarily been focused on developing systems that can function in a controlled environment. This paper presents a novel self-reconfigurable robotic system called SuperBot, which addresses the challenges of building and controlling deployable self-reconfigurable robots. Six prototype modules have been built and preliminary experimental results demonstrate that SuperBot is a flexible and powerful system that can be used in challenging real-world applications.

Hormone-inspired adaptive communication and distributed control for CONRO self-reconfigurable robots

Abstract: Presents a biologically inspired approach to two basic problems in modular self-reconfigurable robots: adaptive communication in self-reconfigurable and dynamic networks, and distributed collaboration between the physically coupled modules to accomplish global effects such as locomotion and reconfiguration. Inspired by the biological concept of hormone, the paper develops the adaptive communication (AC) protocol that enables modules continuously to discover changes in their local topology, and the adaptive distributed control (ADC) protocol that allows modules to use hormone-like messages in collaborating their actions to accomplish locomotion and self-reconfiguration. These protocols are implemented and evaluated, and experiments in the CONRO self-reconfigurable robot and in a Newtonian simulation environment have shown that the protocols are robust and scaleable when configurations change dynamically and unexpectedly, and they can support online reconfiguration, module-level behavior shifting, and locomotion. The paper also discusses the implication of the hormone-inspired approach for distributed multiple robots and self-reconfigurable systems in general.

Modular Self-reconfigurable Robot Systems: Challenges and Opportunities for the Future

Abstract: T he field of modular self-reconfigurable robotic systems addresses the design, fabrication , motion planning, and control of autonomous kinematic machines with variable morphology. Beyond conventional actuation, sensing, and control typically found in fixed-morphology robots, self-reconfigurable robots are also able to deliberately change their own shape by rearranging the connectivity of their parts in order to adapt to new circumstances, perform new tasks, or recover from damage. Over the last two decades, the field of modular robotics has advanced from proof-of-concept systems to elaborate physical implementations and simulations. The goal of this article is to outline some of this progress and identify key challenges and opportunities that lay ahead. Modular robots are usually composed of multiple building blocks of a relatively small repertoire, with uniform docking interfaces that allow transfer of mechanical forces and moments, electrical power, and communication throughout the robot. The modular building blocks often consist of some primary structural actuated unit and potentially some additional specialized units such as grippers, feet, wheels, cameras, payload, and energy storage and generation units. Figure 1 illustrates such a system in the context of a potential application. Modular self-reconfigurable robotic systems can be generally classified into several architectural groups by the geometric arrangement of their units. Several systems exhibit hybrid properties. ◆ Lattice Architectures: Lattice architectures have units that are arranged and connected in some regular, three-dimensional pattern, such as a simple cubic or hexagonal grid. Control and motion can be executed in parallel. Lattice architectures usually offer simpler reconfiguration, as modules move to a discrete set of neighboring locations in which motions can be made open-loop. The computational representation can also be more easily scaled to more complex systems. ◆ Chain/Tree Architectures: Chain/tree architectures have units that are connected together in a string or tree topology. This chain or tree can fold up to become space filling, but the underlying architecture is serial. Through articulation, chain architectures can potentially reach any point or orientation in space, and are therefore more versatile but computationally more difficult to represent and analyze and more difficult to control. ◆ Mobile Architectures: Mobile architectures have units that use the environment to maneuver around and can either hook up to form complex chains or lattices or form a number of smaller robots that execute coordinated movements and together form a larger " virtual " network. Control of all three types of modular systems can be centralized …

Self-Organization, Embodiment, and Biologically Inspired Robotics

Abstract: Robotics researchers increasingly agree that ideas from biology and self-organization can strongly benefit the design of autonomous robots. Biological organisms have evolved to perform and survive in a world characterized by rapid changes, high uncertainty, indefinite richness, and limited availability of information. Industrial robots, in contrast, operate in highly controlled environments with no or very little uncertainty. Although many challenges remain, concepts from biologically inspired (bio-inspired) robotics will eventually enable researchers to engineer machines for the real world that possess at least some of the desirable properties of biological organisms, such as adaptivity, robustness, versatility, and agility.

Multiagent Systems: A Survey from a Machine Learning Perspective

Abstract: Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI) has existed as a subfield of AI for less than two decades. DAI is concerned with systems that consist of multiple independent entities that interact in a domain. Traditionally, DAI has been divided into two sub-disciplines: Distributed Problem Solving (DPS) focuses on the information management aspects of systems with several components working together towards a common goals Multiagent Systems (MAS) deals with behavior management in collections of several independent entities, or agents. This survey of MAS is intended to serve as an introduction to the field and as an organizational framework. A series of general multiagent scenarios are presented. For each scenario, the issues that arise are described along with a sampling of the techniques that exist to deal with them. The presented techniques are not exhaustive, but they highlight how multiagent systems can be and have been used to build complex systems. When options exist, the techniques presented are biased towards machine learning approaches. Additional opportunities for applying machine learning to MAS are highlighted and robotic soccer is presented as an appropriate test bed for MAS. This survey does not focus exclusively on robotic systems. However, we believe that much of the prior research in non-robotic MAS is relevant to robotic MAS, and we explicitly discuss several robotic MAS, including all of those presented in this issue.

Programmable self-assembly in a thousand-robot swarm

Abstract: Self-assembly enables nature to build complex forms, from multicellular organisms to complex animal structures such as flocks of birds, through the interaction of vast numbers of limited and unreliable individuals. Creating this ability in engineered systems poses challenges in the design of both algorithms and physical systems that can operate at such scales. We report a system that demonstrates programmable self-assembly of complex two-dimensional shapes with a thousand-robot swarm. This was enabled by creating autonomous robots designed to operate in large groups and to cooperate through local interactions and by developing a collective algorithm for shape formation that is highly robust to the variability and error characteristic of large-scale decentralized systems. This work advances the aim of creating artificial swarms with the capabilities of natural ones.

Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robot Systems [Grand Challenges of Robotics]

Abstract: The field of modular self-reconfigurable robotic systems addresses the design, fabrication, motion planning, and control of autonomous kinematic machines with variable morphology. Modular self-reconfigurable systems have the promise of making significant technological advances to the field of robotics in general. Their promise of high versatility, high value, and high robustness may lead to a radical change in automation. Currently, a number of researchers have been addressing many of the challenges. While some progress has been made, it is clear that many challenges still exist. By illustrating several of the outstanding issues as grand challenges that have been collaboratively written by a large number of researchers in this field, this article has shown several of the key directions for the future of this growing field

Mobile tele-presence system with a microphone system

Abstract: A remote controlled robot system that includes a robot and a remote control station. The robot includes a binaural microphone system that is coupled to a speaker system of the remote control station. The binaural microphone system may include a pair of microphones located at opposite sides of a robot head. the location of the microphones roughly coincides with the location of ears on a human body. Such microphone location creates a mobile robot that more effectively simulates the tele-presence of an operator of the system. The robot may include two different microphone systems and the ability to switch between systems. For example, the robot may also include a zoom camera system and a directional microphone. The directional microphone may be utilized to capture sound from a direction that corresponds to an object zoomed upon by the camera system.