Grounded Symbolic Communication between Heterogeneous Cooperating Robots

In this paper, we describe the implementation of a heterogeneous cooperative multi-robot system that was designed with a goal of engineering a grounded symbolic representation in a bottom-up fashion. The system comprises two autonomous mobile robots that perform cooperative cleaning. Experiments demonstrate successful purposive navigation, map building and the symbolic communication of locations in a behavior-based system. We also examine the perceived shortcomings of the system in detail and attempt to understand them in terms of contemporary knowledge of human representation and symbolic communication. From this understanding, we propose the Adaptive Symbol Grounding Hypothesis as a conception for how symbolic systems can be envisioned.     

Outdoor Visual Position Estimation for Planetary Rovers

This paper describes (1) a novel, effective algorithm for outdoor visual position estimation; (2) the implementation of this algorithm in the Viper system; and (3) the extensive tests that have demonstrated the superior accuracy and speed of the algorithm. The Viper system (Visual Position Estimator for Rovers) is geared towards robotic space missions, and the central purpose of the system is to increase the situational awareness of a rover operator by presenting accurate position estimates. The system has been extensively tested with terrestrial and lunar imagery, in terrains ranging from moderate—the rounded hills of Pittsburgh and the high deserts of Chile—to rugged—the dramatic relief of the Apollo 17 landing site—to extreme—the jagged peaks of the Rockies. Results have consistently demonstrated that the visual estimation algorithm estimates position with an accuracy and reliability that greatly surpass previous work.     

基于增扩虚拟现实的空间机器人遥控系统及其仿真􀀁

虚拟现实技术作为一种全新的人机接口技术,它在空间机器人中的应用日益受到人们的普遍关注．本文研究了一种基于增扩虚拟现实的空间机器人遥控及其仿真,首先讨论了该系统的构成,其次重点介绍了它所涉及的关键技术及其主要研究内容,最后进行了仿真研究．     

Surgical Robotics: An Introduction

Surgical robots assisting surgeons during operations are being used in selected medical fields like neurosurgery, orthopaedics and endoscopy. In an introductory part, the authors present a workflow for robot assisted surgery, which includes the steps: image data acquisition, image processing, surgical planning and the actual robot assisted intraoperative transposition. Each step of the workflow comprises different computer aided methods and apparatuses, which are presented in this paper. The following part focuses on different mechanical set-ups and various application fields for surgical robots. They include neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, radiosurgery and radiotherapy, prostatectomy, endoscopy, laparoscopy, cardiac surgery and craniofacial surgery.     

Localization of an Autonomous Mobile Robot Based on Ultrasonic Sensory Information

Based on ultrasonic sensory information, an approach is proposed for localization of autonomous mobile robot (AMRs). In the proposed method, it will be proven that the combination of three ultrasonic transmitters and two receivers can determine both the position and the orientation of an AMR with respect to a reference frame uniquely. In this manner, since only ultrasonic sensors are used, the proposed method will be highly cost-effective and easy to implement. To show the validity and feasibility of the proposed method, the hardware configuration and a series of experiments will be given for illustration.     

Vehicle Teleoperation Interfaces

Despite advances in autonomy, there will always be a need for human involvement in vehicle teleoperation. In particular, tasks such as exploration, reconnaissance and surveillance will continue to require human supervision, if not guidance and direct control. Thus, it is critical that the operator interface be as efficient and as capable as possible. In this paper, we provide an overview of vehicle teleoperation and present a summary of interfaces currently in use.     

动态滑模控制及其在移动机器人输出跟踪中的应用

针对轮式移动机器人的输出跟踪问题,提出一种动态滑模控制方法,首先给出机器人的动力学简化模型,然后将其分解成两个低阶子系统,并给出其输出跟踪的动态滑模控制器设计方法,仿真试验表明该方法能明显地削弱滑模控制系统的抖振。     

基于软传感器的信息融合

为了利用”凝视视觉几何约束”的信息来确定移动机器人的位置和方位角,就需要解决数据融合的问题。”几何约束”不是来自真实传感器的直接可测量的数据,这种特殊形式的信息不能被直接融合。为此目的,该文提出了一种融合特殊形式信息的新途径,也即利用”软传感器”的方法来融合来自”几何约束”的信息。软传感器的输出与其它真实传感器的输出一起经过扩展信息滤波器最终实现融合。文中最后提供了利用该方法进行移动机器人定位的计算机仿真例子。仿真结果表明了软传感器信息融合方法的可行性和有效性。软传感器可以广泛应用在很多类似的信息融合问题中。     

基于群智能的多智能体系统体系结构设计与应用

为了提高多智能体系统在动态不确定性环境中的灵活性、鲁棒性和自适应性,文中提出了一种基于群智能的多智能体系统SIMAS,其主要思想是把群智能思想应用到非群体的多智能体系统中。整个SIMAS系统采用自顶向下和自底向上设计相结合的方法建立系统体系结构,应用群智能的阈值模型进行多智能体的自组织任务分配。最后通过机器人围捕仿真实验,验证了该项工作的有效性和可行性。     

Iterative learning of grasp adaptation through human corrections

In the context of object interaction and manipulation, one characteristic of a robust grasp is its ability to comply with external perturbations applied to the grasped object while still maintaining the grasp. In this work, we introduce an approach for grasp adaptation which learns a statistical model to adapt hand posture solely based on the perceived contact between the object and fingers. Using a multi-step learning procedure, the model dataset is built by first demonstrating an initial hand posture, which is then physically corrected by a human teacher pressing on the fingertips, exploiting compliance in the robot hand. The learner then replays the resulting sequence of hand postures, to generate a dataset of posture-contact pairs that are not influenced by the touch of the teacher. A key feature of this work is that the learned model may be further refined by repeating the correction-replay steps. Alternatively, the model may be reused in the development of new models, characterized by the contact signatures of a different object. Our approach is empirically validated on the iCub robot. We demonstrate grasp adaptation in response to changes in contact, and show successful model reuse and improved adaptation with additional rounds of model refinement.