Sound and Visual Tracking for Humanoid Robot

Mobile robots capable of auditory perception usually adopt the stop-perceive-act principle to avoid sounds made during moving due to motor noise. Although this principle reduces the complexity of the problems involved in auditory processing for mobile robots, it restricts their capabilities of auditory processing. In this paper, sound and visual tracking are investigated to compensate each other's drawbacks in tracking objects and to attain robust object tracking. Visual tracking may be difficult in case of occlusion, while sound tracking may be ambiguous in localization due to the nature of auditory processing. For this purpose, we present an active audition system for humanoid robot. The audition system of the highly intelligent humanoid requires localization of sound sources and identification of meanings of the sound in the auditory scene. The active audition reported in this paper focuses on improved sound source tracking by integrating audition, vision, and motor control. Given the multiple sound sources in the auditory scene, SIG the humanoid actively moves its head to improve localization by aligning microphones orthogonal to the sound source and by capturing the possible sound sources by vision. The system adaptively cancels motor noises using motor control signals. The experimental result demonstrates the effectiveness of sound and visual tracking.     

Analog-digital circuits for sound localization based on the biological auditory system

In this study, we propose an analog-digital circuit for sound localization based on the biological auditory system. The proposed circuit is constructed with a delay line and a comparator. The delay line was constructed with the simple analog circuits of the current mode. The NOR circuit was used as the comparator. The current mode delay line was evaluated by a simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE). The test circuit was fabricated by discrete metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors on the breadboard. The result with SPICE and the measured results of the test circuit showed that the time for transmitting a signal on the current mode delay line becomes shorter when the sound of the target is greater. When the sound of the target was small, the time taken to transmit the signal became longer. The proposed circuit for sound localization was evaluated by SPICE. The result with SPICE showed that the circuit can generate a signal to detect the position of the sound of the target. We can realize a new target-tracking system by applying this novel circuit based on the biological auditory system to a previously proposed tracking system based on the biological vision system.     

多移动机器人轨迹跟踪控制系统设计与实现

针对轮式移动机器人的轨迹跟踪控制问题,在分析了机器人运动学模型的基础上,构建多机器人的领航-追随模型;采用跟踪微分器在输入输出两端安排过渡过程,设计了一种基于多变量解耦的非线性PID轨迹跟踪控制器;搭建以Arduino Mega 1280控制板为核心的移动机器人实验平台,采用速度PID控制器以满足机器人驱动电机的实时调速要求,基于ROS提出一种结构化和模块化的多机器人控制系统;在此基础上进行实验,并将实验结果与传统PID方法控制的实验结果进行对比;实验结果验证了文章所提算法的有效性,控制器易于实现且具有一定的鲁棒性。     

基于STC单片机的高铁建造机器人设计

针对2011年全国职业院校技能竞赛机器人项目"模拟高铁建造过程"的任务要求,设计了一种基于STC单片机、以一个可升降作业平台和两个单自由度机械臂为主体机构的四轮自动机器人。该机器人通过光电循迹电路获取路径信息,经单片机识别处理、产生两路PWM信号驱动行走电机运转,实现工件的车载运输;产生另外两路PWM信号经脉冲分配器和驱动电路,控制多个机构电机按顺序运转,实现工件的识别、抓取和投放。针对竞赛场地,设计了循迹行走算法,研究了多电机分步工作方式,并进行现场试验。结果表明,该机器人运行稳定可靠、作业效率高,完成了全部任务要求。     

The Tracking of a Moving Object by a Mobile Robot Following the Object’s Sound

The tracking of a moving object with a mobile robot has been implemented based on the detected sound from the moving object using a microphone array. The difference between the travel times of the sound source to each of the three microphones mounted to the robot has been used to calculate the distance and orientation of the sound source. The cross-correlations between the received signals have been used to detect the individual sound signal from the object and to calculate the time difference between two signals. This provides reliable and precise time differences among the sound signals arrived at the microphones compared to the conventional method. In order to determine the tracking direction to the sound source, Fuzzy rules have been applied; the results are used for real-time control of the mobile robot. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm has been demonstrated through real-world experiments and compared to the conventional approach.     

基于双模控制的焊接机器人焊缝自动跟踪系统

该文提出了一种基于双模控制的焊接机器人焊缝自动跟踪系统.系统中应用新一代激光焊缝传感器测量焊缝的位置,并采用Fuzzy-P双模分段控制进行焊缝的纠偏.系统中采用DSP作为核心控制器产生控制信号,驱动焊枪横向步进电机和纵向步进电机动作,实现焊接机器人焊枪对焊缝的实时自动跟踪.实验证明,基于双模控制的焊缝自动跟踪系统可以实现焊接机器人焊枪对焊缝的实时自动跟踪.该系统完全满足实际焊接工程的需要.     

Auditory scene reproduction for tele-operated robot systems

ABSTRACT

In a tele-operated robot environment, reproducing auditory scenes and conveying 3D spatial information of sound sources are inevitable in order to make operators feel more realistic tele-presence. In this paper, we propose a tele-presence robot system that enables reproduction and manipulation of auditory scenes. This tele-presence system is carried out on the basis of 3D information about where targeted humans are speaking, and matching with the operator's head orientation. We employed multiple microphone arrays and human tracking technologies to localize and separate voices around a robot. In the operator site, separated sound sources are rendered using head-related transfer functions (HRTF) according to the sound sources' spatial positions and the operator's head orientation that is being tracked real time. Two-party and three-party interaction experiments indicated that the proposed system has significantly higher accuracy when perceiving direction of sounds and gains higher subjective scores in sense of presence and listenability, compared to a baseline system which uses stereo binaural sounds obtained by two microphones mounted on the humanoid robot's ears.     

Improved binaural sound localization and tracking for unknown time-varying number of speakers

A method based on the generalized cross-correlation (GCC) method weighted by the phase transform (PHAT) has been developed for binaural sound source localization (SSL) and tracking of multiple sound sources. Accurate binaural audition is important for applying inexpensive and widely applicable auditory capabilities to robots and systems. Conventional SSL based on the GCC-PHAT method is degraded by low resolution of the time difference of arrival estimation, by the interference created when the sound waves arrive at a microphone from two directions around the robot head, and by impaired performance when there are multiple speakers. The low-resolution problem is solved by using a maximum-likelihood-based SSL method in the frequency domain. The multipath interference problem is avoided by incorporating a new time delay factor into the GCC-PHAT method with assuming a spherical robot head. The performance when there are multiple speakers was improved by using a multisource speech tracking method consisting of voice activity detection (VAD) and K-means clustering. The standard K-means clustering algorithm was extended to enable tracking of an unknown time-varying number of speakers by adding two additional steps that increase the number of clusters automatically and eliminate clusters containing incorrect direction estimations. Experiments conducted on the SIG-2 humanoid robot show that this method outperforms the conventional SSL method; it reduces localization errors by 18.1° on average and by over 37° in the side directions. It also tracks multiple speakers in real time with tracking errors below 4.35°.     

On the Design and Development of a Quadruped Robot Platform

In this paper, we describe the development of a quadruped robot named HuboDog. The objective of this project is to develop a reliable and robust quadruped robot platform that enables the implementation of stable and fast static/dynamic walking on even or uneven terrain, and walking while carrying a payload. A lightweight but highly rigid platform is achieved via a frame-type structure and double-supported beam-type joint design. A small, light but high output power joint actuator is designed with a harmonic reduction gear and electric motor that has high speed and a high output power. A distributed control system is used since it can reduce the computational burden of the main computer and easily extend the electrical components. Microprocessor-based subcontrollers are developed for motor control and sensor signal feedback. The main computer, which is mounted on the trunk, communicates with the subcontroller via the CAN (Controller Area Network) protocol. We used Windows XP as the operating system and have established a real-time control system in Windows XP by using RTX (Real Time eXtension) software. This paper includes design concepts, mechanical system design, system integration and electrical system design. In order to demonstrate the performance of the robot platform, simple experiments were performed.     

The modeling and implementation of tri-rotor flying robot

The objective of this study is to develop a tri-rotor flying robot, which adopts the Y-shaped three-rotor structure. In order to balance the yaw torque produced by the three rotors, the RC servomotor and linkage is installed on the tail axis in order to improve the angle of the rolling axis of the tail motor. Moreover, through the torque generated by the horizontal component of the lift from the inclined motor on the tail axis, it balances the yaw torque of the three rotors. The dynamic equations of the tri-rotor flying robot are determined in this paper. The relationship between motor thrust, angular acceleration, and voltage input was also studied in this research. In order to study the effect of control parameters on the flight stability completely, this study develops a universal stability experimental platform to help tuning the control parameters safely. Based on this, the tri-rotor flying robot can rapidly change flying gesture and avoid oscillation. Finally, we conducted some indoor and outdoor flight tests. From the experimental results, the tri-rotor flying robot can fly and hover stably in the sky.     

Auditory Displays in Human–Machine Interfaces of Mobile Robots for Non-Speech Communication with Humans

Auditory displays are developed and investigated for mobile service robots in a human–machine environment. The service robot domain was chosen as an example for future use of auditory displays within multimedia process supervision and control applications in industrial, transportation, and medical systems. The design of directional sounds and of additional sounds for robot states as well as the design of more complicated robot sound tracks are explained. Basic musical elements and robot-movement sounds are combined. Experimental studies on the auditory perception of directional sounds as well as of sound tracks for the predictive display of intended robot trajectories in a simulated supermarket scenario are described.     

基于窄带物联网的巡检机器人目标跟踪控制系统设计

目前研究的巡检机器人目标跟踪控制系统存在目标位置误差大、目标跟踪控制效果差、采集的图像模糊等问题。为了解决上述问题,基于窄带物联网的巡检机器人目标跟踪控制系统。系统硬件以窄带物联网无线通信模块为基础,优化设计了Zigbee压力采集器、中央控制器和STM32主控电路,实现了巡检机器人目标跟踪控制系统的数据信息集中调度。Zigbee压力采集器主要由XBee控制模块、压力传感器两部分组成,同时设计了供电电路、晶振电路和复位电路,通过系统硬件,实现了对巡检机器人的跟踪、控制和监控,为系统提供了硬件支持。软件方面给出了系统的控制流程,设计了Zigee组网程序、嵌入式视觉处理程序和巡检机器人自主导航程序。实验结果表明,基于窄带物联网的巡检机器人目标跟踪控制系统目标位置误差较小、控制效果较好、图像更加清晰。     

极坐标下基于迭代学习的移动机器人轨迹跟踪控制

为提高自主移动机器人对一类特殊轨迹的重复跟踪能力,在极坐标下建立了3轮全向移动机器人的运动学模型,结合离散时域下对轨迹跟踪问题的描述方法,采用开闭环P型迭代学习控制算法,并在给定条件下证明了其收敛性,随着迭代次数的增加,该算法能够有效改善动态不确定环境中系统的稳定性与收敛的快速性。通过将仿真结果作用于实际动态系统的初始控制输入,从而在实际环境下能以较少的迭代过程来获取控制律。实验结果表明,在仿真环境下机器人可以较好地跟踪玫瑰曲线,在实际机器人测试中,机器人能够较好地跟踪期望轨迹,从而证实了该方法对提高自主移动机器人轨迹跟踪能力的可行性与有效性。     

基于解耦控制的非完整移动机器人实时轨迹跟踪

本文研究了非完整两轮移动机器人的实时轨迹跟踪问题．首先,在介绍了一般的非线 性系统的输入 输出线性化方法的基础上,并研究了在两轮驱动移动机器人轨迹跟踪中的应 用;然后在研制的非完整两轮驱动移动机器人的实验平台上对该算法进行了实时轨迹跟踪实 验,结果表明了该非线性跟踪控制算法的有效性．     

基于声信号反馈的葫芦丝演奏机器人仿真设计

针对管乐器演奏机器人在演奏过程中气息难以精确控制,从而导致演奏稳定性差、演奏效果不佳的问题,设计了一种基于声音信号反馈的葫芦丝演奏机器人。介绍了葫芦丝机器人的整体结构和控制方案;根据机器人演奏的特点,设计了基于标准基音频率的数字低通滤波器对声音信号进行滤波,并在此基础上采用改进的谐波峰值法提取声音的基音频率,实现葫芦丝机器人演奏过程的闭环控制。通过实验仿真验证了设计的可行性。与一般的管乐器机器人演奏系统相比,此设计具有更好的稳定性和抗干扰能力。     

基于STM32的力反馈型康复机器人控制系统设计

研究了一种基于STM32的力反馈型康复机器人控制系统的设计。采用位置传感器和扭矩传感器检测康复机器人机械臂的位置信息以及机械臂与患者的相互作用力信息,将位置信息与作用力信息送入基于ARM-M3内核的STM32微控制器进行处理,从而实现康复机器人中驱动电机的控制。该系统硬件处理电路包括了扭矩信号的信号调理单元、微控制器控制单元、电机驱动单元以及USB接口单元。经实验验证,本系统可以实现康复机器人的平稳安全的控制。     

基于Mindstorms的四轮智能机器人实时控制系统设计

传统机器人控制系统是以辅助控制机器人转向为基准进行设计的,存在转向控制效果差的问题,为实现四轮智能机器人控制系统研发,以Mindstorms平台为基础,搭建由主控模块、传感器模块、无线通信模块、运动模块以及电源模块组成的四轮智能机器人结构。在运动控制模块中选用TMC236芯片作为电机驱动芯片,通过电路为桥臂上开关管提供控制电压;在底层控制模块中,采用PID控制器控制电机期望转角与实际转角之间差值,实现机器人转向角度控制。对软件控制策略研发中,利用嵌入式操作软件系统实现车道保持控制和避障控制功能,实现机器人自主换道功能。保证机器人自主充电情况下,测试转向控制功能,由测试结果可知,基于Mindstorms系统控制效果始终维持在98%以上,实现机器人转向精准控制。     

拾取回波信号时脉冲声控制方案的设计

在空气声中采用脉冲声进行吸声与隔声测量时,由于声源与传声器是分置工作的,脉冲声生成过程中,传声器与声源是同步工作方式.但在水声管中测量时,换能器往往采用“收发合置”的工作方式,脉冲声生成的方式是不同的.因此,提出了在拾取回波信号时脉冲声的时序控制方案.以MSP430F149单片机为硬件核心,设计了满足其时序要求的控制电路,利用MSP430F149单片机串行口通信,开发了基于LabWindows/CVI虚拟仪器技术的上位机测试平台,辅以信号发生器、数字示波器、功率放大器、信号调理器等测试仪器,通过对响应及驱动信号进行截短处理,在消声室中成功产生了可控脉冲声信号,为“收发合置”方式在水下环境中产生可控脉冲声奠定了基础.     

Selection of the Closest Sound Source for Robot Auditory Attention in Multi-source Scenarios

Robotic auditory attention mainly relies on sound source localization using a microphone array. Typically, the robot detects a sound source whenever it emits, estimates its direction, and then turns to that direction to pay attention. However, in scenarios where multiple sound sources emit simultaneously, the robot may have difficulty with selecting a single target source. This paper proposes a novel robot auditory attention system that is based on source distance perception (e.g., selection of the closest among localized sources). Microphone array consists of head- and base-arrays installed in the robot’s head and base, respectively. The difficulty in the attention among multiple sound sources is solved by estimating a binary mask for each source based on the azimuth localization of the head-array. For each individual source represented by a binary mask, elevations of head- and base-array are estimated and triangulated to obtain distance to the robot. Finally, the closest source is determined and its direction is used for controlling the robot. Experiment results clearly show the benefit of the proposed system, on real indoor recordings of two and three simultaneous sound sources, as well as real-time demonstration at a robot exhibition.     

五自由度立体视觉仿真平台设计与建模

从立体视觉与机器人控制集成的角度出发,建立了一个主动立体视觉跟踪和定位系统,用于柔性装配线中装配零件的运动跟踪和装配工位的精确定位。该系统具有五个自由度,其中三个是平移自由度,两个是转动自由度,该文针对平台的结构进行了运动学建模和分析,采用D—H方法建立了五自由度立体视觉平台的运动学模型,得到运动学的正解。在该运动学方程基础上开发了系统仿真平台,介绍了’系统仿真平台的设计原理和操作特点。该仿真平台验证了机构设计的正确性,验证了五自由度平台运动学分析的正确性。该仿真平台采用虚拟现实建模方法,建立了五自由度平台的三维立体模型和立体视觉跟踪运动物体的实验模型,具有良好的交互性和开放性。