Showing papers on "Robot published in 2007"

Springer Handbook of Robotics

Abstract: The second edition of this handbook provides a state-of-the-art cover view on the various aspects in the rapidly developing field of robotics. Reaching for the human frontier, robotics is vigorously engaged in the growing challenges of new emerging domains. Interacting, exploring, and working with humans, the new generation of robots will increasingly touch people and their lives. The credible prospect of practical robots among humans is the result of the scientific endeavour of a half a century of robotic developments that established robotics as a modern scientific discipline. The ongoing vibrant expansion and strong growth of the field during the last decade has fueled this second edition of the Springer Handbook of Robotics. The first edition of the handbook soon became a landmark in robotics publishing and won the American Association of Publishers PROSE Award for Excellence in Physical Sciences & Mathematics as well as the organizations Award for Engineering & Technology. The second edition of the handbook, edited by two internationally renowned scientists with the support of an outstanding team of seven part editors and more than 200 authors, continues to be an authoritative reference for robotics researchers, newcomers to the field, and scholars from related disciplines. The contents have been restructured to achieve four main objectives: the enlargement of foundational topics for robotics, the enlightenment of design of various types of robotic systems, the extension of the treatment on robots moving in the environment, and the enrichment of advanced robotics applications. Further to an extensive update, fifteen new chapters have been introduced on emerging topics, and a new generation of authors have joined the handbooks team. A novel addition to the second edition is a comprehensive collection of multimedia references to more than 700 videos, which bring valuable insight into the contents. The videos can be viewed directly augmented into the text with a smartphone or tablet using a unique and specially designed app.

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.

Visual servo control. II. Advanced approaches [Tutorial]

Abstract: This article is the second of a two-part tutorial on visual servo control. In this tutorial, we have only considered velocity controllers. It is convenient for most of classical robot arms. However, the dynamics of the robot must of course be taken into account for high speed task, or when we deal with mobile nonholonomic or underactuated robots. As for the sensor, geometrical features coming from a classical perspective camera is considered. Features related to the image motion or coming from other vision sensors necessitate to revisit the modeling issues to select adequate visual features. Finally, fusing visual features with data coming from other sensors at the level of the control scheme will allow to address new research topics

Socially intelligent robots: dimensions of human-robot interaction.

Abstract: 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.

Scan registration for autonomous mining vehicles using 3D-NDT

Abstract: Scan registration is an essential sub-task when building maps based on range finder data from mobile robots. The problem is to deduce how the robot has moved between consecutive scans, based on the ...

The DLR lightweight robot : design and control concepts for robots in human environments

Abstract: – The paper seeks to present a new generation of torque‐controlled light‐weight robots (LWR) developed at the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics of the German Aerospace Center., – An integrated mechatronic design approach for LWR is presented. Owing to the partially unknown properties of the environment, robustness of planning and control with respect to environmental variations is crucial. Robustness is achieved in this context through sensor redundancy and passivity‐based control. In the DLR root concept, joint torque sensing plays a central role., – In order to act in unstructured environments and interact with humans, the robots have design features and control/software functionalities which distinguish them from classical robots, such as: load‐to‐weight ratio of 1:1, torque sensing in the joints, active vibration damping, sensitive collision detection, compliant control on joint and Cartesian level., – The DLR robots are excellent research platforms for experimentation of advanced robotics algorithms. Space and medical robotics are further areas for which these robots were designed and hopefully will be applied within the next years. Potential industrial application fields are the fast automatic assembly as well as manufacturing activities done in cooperation with humans (industrial robot assistant). The described functionalities are of course highly relevant also for the potentially huge market of service robotics. The LWR technology was transferred to KUKA Roboter GmbH, which will bring the first arms on the market in the near future., – This paper introduces a new type of LWR with torque sensing in each joint and describes a consistent approach for using these sensors for manipulation in human environments. To the best of one's knowledge, the first systematic experimental evaluation of possible injuries during robot‐human crashes using standardized testing facilities is presented.

Jacobian, manipulability, condition number and accuracy of parallel robots

Abstract: Parallel robots are nowadays leaving academic laboratories and are finding their way in an increasingly larger number of application fields such as telescopes, fine positioning devices, fast packaging, machine-tool, medical application. A key issue for such use is optimal design as performances of parallel robots are very sensitive to their dimensioning. Optimal design methodologies have to rely on kinetostatic performance indices and accuracy is clearly a key-issue for many applications. It has also be a key-issue for serial robots and consequently this problem has been extensively studied and various accuracy indices have been defined. The results have been in general directly transposed to parallel robots. We will now review how well these indices are appropriate for parallel robots.

6D SLAM—3D mapping outdoor environments

Abstract: 6D SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) or 6D concurrent localization and mapping of mobile robots considers six dimensions for the robot pose, namely, the x, y, and z coordinates and the roll, yaw, and pitch angles. Robot motion and localization on natural surfaces, e.g., driving outdoor with a mobile robot, must regard these degrees of freedom. This paper presents a robotic mapping method based on locally consistent 3D laser range scans. Iterative Closest Point scan matching, combined with a heuristic for closed loop detection and a global relaxation method, results in a highly precise mapping system. A new strategy for fast data association, cached kd-tree search, leads to feasible computing times. With no ground-truth data available for outdoor environments, point relations in maps are compared to numerical relations in uncalibrated aerial images in order to assess the metric validity of the resulting 3D maps. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Socially assistive robotics [Grand Challenges of Robotics]

Abstract: Socially intelligent robotics is the pursuit of creating robots capable of exhibiting natural-appearing social qualities. Beyond the basic capabilities of moving and acting autonomously, the field has focused on the use of the robot's physical embodiment to communicate and interact with users in a social and engaging manner. One of its components, socially assistive robotics, focuses on helping human users through social rather than physical interaction. Early results already demonstrate the promises of socially assistive robotics, a new interdisciplinary research area with large horizons of fascinating and much needed research. Even as socially assistive robotic technology is still in its early stages of development, the next decade promises systems that will be used in hospitals, schools, and homes in therapeutic programs that monitor, encourage, and assist their users. This is an important time in the development of the field, when the board technical community and the beneficiary populations must work together to shape the field toward its intended impact on improved human quality of life

Symbolic planning and control of robot motion [Grand Challenges of Robotics]

Abstract: In this paper, different research trends that use symbolic techniques for robot motion planning and control are illustrated. As it often happens in new research areas, contributions to this topic started at about the same time by different groups with different emphasis, approaches, and notation. This article tries to describe a framework in which many of the current methods and ideas can be placed and to provide a coherent picture of what the authors want to do, what have they got so far, and what the main missing pieces are. Generally speaking, the aim of symbolic control as is envisioned in this article is to enable the usage of methods of formal logic, languages, and automata theory for solving effectively complex planning problems for robots and teams of robots. The results presented in this article can be divided in two groups: top-down approaches, whereby formal logic tools are employed on rather abstract models of robots; and bottom up approaches, whose aim is to provide means by which such abstractions are possible and effective. The two ends do not quite tie as yet, and much work remains to be done in both directions to obtain generally applicable methods. However, the prospects of symbolic control of robots are definitely promising, and the challenging nature of problems to be solved warrants for the interest of a wide community of researchers

USARSim: a robot simulator for research and education

Abstract: This paper presents USARSim, an open source high fidelity robot simulator that can be used both for research and education. USARSim offers many characteristics that differentiate it from most existing simulators. Most notably, it constitutes the simulation engine used to run the virtual robots competition within the Robocup initiative. We describe its general architecture, describe examples of utilization, and provide a comprehensive overview for those interested in robot simulations for education, research and competitions.

Challenges for robot manipulation in human environments [Grand Challenges of Robotics]

Abstract: The state of the art in and the future of robotics are discussed. The potential paths to the long-term vision of robots that work alongside people in homes and workplaces as useful, capable collaborators are discussed. Robot manipulation in human environments is expected to grow in the coming years as more researchers seek to create robots that actively help in the daily lives of people

Monocular Vision for Mobile Robot Localization and Autonomous Navigation

Abstract: This paper presents a new real-time localization system for a mobile robot. We show that autonomous navigation is possible in outdoor situation with the use of a single camera and natural landmarks. To do that, we use a three step approach. In a learning step, the robot is manually guided on a path and a video sequence is recorded with a front looking camera. Then a structure from motion algorithm is used to build a 3D map from this learning sequence. Finally in the navigation step, the robot uses this map to compute its localization in real-time and it follows the learning path or a slightly different path if desired. The vision algorithms used for map building and localization are first detailed. Then a large part of the paper is dedicated to the experimental evaluation of the accuracy and robustness of our algorithms based on experimental data collected during two years in various environments.

Incremental learning of gestures by imitation in a humanoid robot

Abstract: We present an approach to teach incrementally human gestures to a humanoid robot. By using active teaching methods that puts the human teacher "in the loop" of the robot's learning, we show that the essential characteristics of a gesture can be efficiently transferred by interacting socially with the robot. In a first phase, the robot observes the user demonstrating the skill while wearing motion sensors. The motion of his/her two arms and head are recorded by the robot, projected in a latent space of motion and encoded bprobabilistically in a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM). In a second phase, the user helps the robot refine its gesture by kinesthetic teaching, i.e. by grabbing and moving its arms throughout the movement to provide the appropriate scaffolds. To update the model of the gesture, we compare the performance of two incremental training procedures against a batch training procedure. We present experiments to show that different modalities can be combined efficiently to teach incrementally basketball officials' signals to a HOAP-3 humanoid robot.

Honda humanoid robots development

Abstract: Honda has been doing research on robotics since 1986 with a focus upon bipedal walking technology. The research started with straight and static walking of the first prototype two-legged robot. Now, the continuous transition from walking in a straight line to making a turn has been achieved with the latest humanoid robot ASIMO. ASIMO is the most advanced robot of Honda so far in the mechanism and the control system. ASIMO9s configuration allows it to operate freely in the human living space. It could be of practical help to humans with its ability of five-finger arms as well as its walking function. The target of further development of ASIMO is to develop a robot to improve life in human society. Much development work will be continued both mechanically and electronically, staying true to Honda9s ‘challenging spirit’.

Planning Paths of Complete Coverage of an Unstructured Environment by a Mobile Robot

Abstract: Abs t rac t Much of the focus of the research effort in path planning for mobile robots has centred on the problem of finding a path from a start location to a goal location, while minimising one or more parameters such as length of path, energy consumption or journey time. A path of complete coverage is a planned path in which a robot sweeps all areas of free space in an environment in a systematic and efficient manner. Possible applications for paths of complete coverage include autonomous vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, security robots, land mine detectors etc. This paper will present a solution to this problem based upon an extension to the distance transform path planning methodology. The solution has been implemented on the self-contained autonomous mobile robot called the Yamabico.

Natural person-following behavior for social robots

Abstract: We are developing robots with socially appropriate spatial skills not only to travel around or near people, but also to accompany people side-by-side. As a step toward this goal, we are investigating the social perceptions of a robot's movement as it follows behind a person. This paper discusses our laser-based person-tracking method and two different approaches to person-following: direction-following and path-following. While both algorithms have similar characteristics in terms of tracking performance and following distances, participants in a pilot study rated the direction-following behavior as significantly more human-like and natural than the path-following behavior. We argue that the path-following method may still be more appropriate in some situations, and we propose that the ideal person-following behavior may be a hybrid approach, with the robot automatically selecting which method to use.

Energy-efficient Autonomous Four-rotor Flying Robot Controlled at 1 kHz

Abstract: We describe an efficient, reliable, and robust four-rotor flying platform for indoor and outdoor navigation. Currently, similar platforms are controlled at low frequencies due to hardware and software limitations. This causes uncertainty in position control and unstable behavior during fast maneuvers. Our flying platform offers a 1 kHz control frequency and motor update rate, in combination with powerful brushless DC motors in a light-weight package. Following a minimalistic design approach this system is based on a small number of low-cost components. Its robust performance is achieved by using simple but reliable highly optimized algorithms. The robot is small, light, and can carry payloads of up to 350g

The evolution of robotics research

Abstract: This article surveys traditional research topics in industrial robotics and mobile robotics and then expands on new trends in robotics research that focus more on the interaction between human and robot. The new trends in robotics research have been denominated service robotics because of their general goal of getting robots closer to human social needs, and this article surveys research on service robotics such as medical robotics, rehabilitation robotics, underwater robotics, field robotics, construction robotics and humanoid robotics. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the evolution of research topics in robotics from classical motion control for industrial robots to modern intelligent control techniques and social learning paradigms, among other aspects.

Comparing a computer agent with a humanoid robot

Abstract: HRI researchers interested in social robots have made large investments in humanoid robots. There is still sparse evidence that peoples' responses to robots differ from their responses to computer agents, suggesting that agent studies might serve to test HRI hypotheses. To help us understand the difference between people's social interactions with an agent and a robot, we experimentally compared people's responses in a health interview with (a) a computer agent projected either on a computer monitor or life-size on a screen, (b) a remote robot projected life-size on a screen, or (c) a collocated robot in the same room. We found a few behavioral and large attitude differences across these conditions. Participants forgot more and disclosed least with the collocated robot, next with the projected remote robot, and then with the agent. They spent more time with the collocated robot and their attitudes were most positive toward that robot. We discuss tradeoffs for HRI research of using collocated robots, remote robots, and computer agents as proxies of robots.

Dynamic Model Identification for Industrial Robots

Abstract: The use of periodic excitation is the key feature of the presented robot identification method. Periodic excitation allows us to integrate the experiment design, signal processing, and parameter estimation. This integration simplifies the identification procedure and yields accurate models. Experimental results on an industrial robot manipulator show that the estimated dynamic robot model can accurately predict the actuator torques for a given robot motion. Accurate actuator torque prediction is a fundamental requirement for robot models that are used for offline programming, task optimization, and advanced model-based control. A payload identification approach is derived from the integrated robot identification method, and possesses the same favorable properties.

Constraint-based Task Specification and Estimation for Sensor-Based Robot Systems in the Presence of Geometric Uncertainty

Abstract: This paper introduces a systematic constraint-based approach to specify complex tasks of general sensor-based robot systems consisting of rigid links and joints. The approach integrates both instantaneous task specification and estimation of geometric uncertainty in a unified framework. Major components are the use of feature coordinates, defined with respect to object and feature frames, which facilitate the task specification, and the introduction of uncertainty coordinates to model geometric uncertainty. While the focus of the paper is on task specification, an existing velocity- based control scheme is reformulated in terms of these feature and uncertainty coordinates. This control scheme compensates for the effect of time varying uncertainty coordinates. Constraint weighting results in an invariant robot behavior in case of conflicting constraints with heterogeneous units. The approach applies to a large variety of robot systems (mobile robots, multiple robot systems, dynamic human-robot interaction, etc.), various sensor systems, and different robot tasks. Ample simulation and experimental results are presented.

Design of a modular snake robot

Abstract: Many factors such as size, power, and weight constrain the design of modular snake robots. Meeting these constraints requires implementing a complex mechanical and electrical architecture. Here we present our solution, which involves the construction of sixteen aluminum modules and creation of the Super Servo, a modified hobby servo. To create the Super Servo, we have replaced the electronics in a hobby servo, adding such components as sensors to monitor current and temperature, a communications bus, and a programmable microcontroller. Any robust solution must also protect components from hazardous environments such as sand and brush. To resolve this problem we insert the robots into skins that cover their surface. Functions such as climbing the inside and outside of a pipe add a new dimension of interaction. Thus we attach a compliant, high-friction material to every module, which assists in tasks that require gripping. This combination of the mechanical and electrical architectures results in a robust and versatile robot.

A visual bag of words method for interactive qualitative localization and mapping

Abstract: Localization for low cost humanoid or animal-like personal robots has to rely on cheap sensors and has to be robust to user manipulations of the robot. We present a visual localization and map-learning system that relies on vision only and that is able to incrementally learn to recognize the different rooms of an apartment from any robot position. This system is inspired by visual categorization algorithms called bag of words methods that we modified to make fully incremental and to allow a user-interactive training. Our system is able to reliably recognize the room in which the robot is after a short training time and is stable for long term use. Empirical validation on a real robot and on an image database acquired in real environments are presented.

Where's Waldo? Sensor-Based Temporal Logic Motion Planning

Abstract: Given a robot model and a class of admissible environments, this paper provides a framework for automatically and verifiably composing controllers that satisfy high level task specifications expressed in suitable temporal logics. The desired task specifications can express complex robot behaviors such as search and rescue, coverage, and collision avoidance. In addition, our framework explicitly captures sensor specifications that depend on the environment with which the robot is interacting, resulting in a novel paradigm for sensor-based temporal logic motion planning. As one robot is part of the environment of another robot, our sensor-based framework very naturally captures multi-robot specifications. Our computational approach is based on first creating discrete controllers satisfying so-called general reactivity formulas. If feasible, the discrete controller is then used in order to guide the sensor-based composition of continuous controllers resulting in a hybrid controller satisfying the high level specification, but only if the environment is admissible.

Capturing robot workspace structure: representing robot capabilities

Abstract: Humans have at some point learned an abstraction of the capabilities of their arms. By just looking at the scene they can decide which places or objects they can easily reach and which are difficult to approach. Possessing a similar abstraction of a robot arm's capabilities in its workspace is important for grasp planners, path planners and task planners. In this paper, we show that robot arm capabilities manifest themselves as directional structures specific to workspace regions. We introduce a representation scheme that enables to visualize and inspect the directional structures. The directional structures are then captured in the form of a map, which we name the capability map. Using this capability map, a manipulator is able to deduce places that are easy to reach. Furthermore, a manipulator can either transport an object to a place where versatile manipulation is possible or a mobile manipulator or humanoid torso can position itself to enable optimal manipulation of an object.

Ecological Interfaces for Improving Mobile Robot Teleoperation

Abstract: Navigation is an essential element of many remote robot operations including search and rescue, reconnaissance, and space exploration. Previous reports on using remote mobile robots suggest that navigation is difficult due to poor situation awareness. It has been recommended by experts in human-robot interaction that interfaces between humans and robots provide more spatial information and better situational context in order to improve an operator's situation awareness. This paper presents an ecological interface paradigm that combines video, map, and robot-pose information into a 3-D mixed-reality display. The ecological paradigm is validated in planar worlds by comparing it against the standard interface paradigm in a series of simulated and real-world user studies. Based on the experiment results, observations in the literature, and working hypotheses, we present a series of principles for presenting information to an operator of a remote robot.