Mobile Robotics LabRob A short introduction

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Mobile Robotics _at_ LabRobA short introduction

• Basilio Bona
• Michele Bongiovanni
• Laboratorio di Robotica
• Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica
• Politecnico di Torino

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Overview

• Why mobility?
• Applications
• Approaches
• Solutions
• LabRob activity

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Why mobility?

• Increased number of degrees of freedom
• challenging tasks that require displacement
  abilities.
• Autonomy
• Human- (animal-) like behaviors
• Helpers or substitutes for stressing/dangerous
  tasks

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Applications fields - 1

• Hospitals/Airports/Home
• (Semi)Autonomous wheel-chairs
• Assistants
• Vacuum cleaners
• Toys
• Requirements
• Robustness
• User friendly human-machine interface
• Environment sensing

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Applications fields - 2

• Military
• Mine finder
• Flying sentinels
• Soldiers (????)
• Requirements
• SLAM
• Team paradigm
• Communication
• Reliable sensory systems and fusion
• Reliable hardware
• Real-time software

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Applications fields - 3

• Scientific/industrial explorations
• Pyramid project
• Pipelines
• Underwater
• Space
• Requirements
• Scalability
• Adaptativity
• Reliable sensing
• SLAM
• Remote controller systems

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Application fields - 4

• Bio-inspired
• Insects (the great part)
• Flies
• Ants
• Spiders
• Bugs
• Fish
• Requirements
• Microtechnologies
• Low-level coding
• Swarm paradigm
• Redundancy strategies
• Cooperation/communication
• Natural behaviors
• NN controllers
• Artificial intelligence
• Coherence with reality

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Application fields - 5 -

• ROBOT SOCCER
• World wide robotic research promotion
• Requirements
• Synchrony
• Communication
• High sensing skills

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Approach
Real world
Modelling
Behaviors
Interactions
Environment
Robot structure
Simulations
Real robot programming
Result validation
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Model based VS behavioral basedcontroller design

• Model based
• Dynamic continuous/discreet equations
• Accurate mathematical model
• Predictions and equilibria
• Behavior based
• Events and interaction rules
• High dimension and noisy system
• Blocks description
• Mathematics hidden in high-level structures

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Approach
Real world
Modelling
Behaviors
Interactions
Environment
Robot structure
Simulations
Real robot programming
Result validation
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Solutions from simulated to real world

• by hand coding
• No share of resources between simulation software
  and hardware
• Automatic coding
• Fast prototyping techniques
• Hardware in the loop
• Hybrid
• Custom code embedding

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LabRob activity -1- RESEARCH

• Fast prototyping using Simulink and the Real Time
  Workshop
• Design of real-time embedded controllers
• Code porting on unsupported/custom architectures
• Model based VS behavioral based controllers
  analysis and comparison (e.g. Simulink VS
  Stateflow)
• Sensor fusion ? env. Mapping (SLAM)
• InfraRed sensors (short distances lt 4 m )
• Sonar sensors (long distances lt 3 m)
• Video cameras

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LabRob activity -2- RESEARCH

• Algorithms of features extraction from acquired
  images (colors, shapes, distances)
• Evolution/dynamics of communication emergence
  among simulated agents
• Signal grounding
• Communication means
• Audio waves
• Radio waves (which one?)
• Light
• Web learning and remote robot controller
• Java (or equivalent) web interface
• Radio communication host-robot link
• Drive-by-cameras

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LabRob Activity -3-AVAILABLE HARDWARE

• 2 x Khepera robot base (MC68331) with sonars and
  radio turrets
• 1 x PAL Color camera
• 1 x SoccerBot (MC68331) with sonars, color
  camera, radio system, kicker and LCD display.
• 4 x Devantech sonars

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LabRob Activity -3- AVAILABLE SOFTWARE

• MATLAB
• Simulink
• Stateflow
• Real Time WorkShop
• RTOS
• VxWorks
• Qnx
• RTAI
• Robots embedded operating systems.
• Webots (Khepera and family robot simulator)

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Useful links
http//www.cyberbotics.com/products/webots/
http//www.joker-robotics.com/eyebot/
http//www.mathworks.com/products/rtw/
http//www.robot-electronics.co.uk/ shop/Ultrasoni
c_Rangers1999.htm
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?? QUESTIONS ??
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Coming next