scholarly journals An integrated system for perception-driven autonomy with modular robots

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (23) ◽  
pp. eaat4983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Daudelin ◽  
Gangyuan Jing ◽  
Tarik Tosun ◽  
Mark Yim ◽  
Hadas Kress-Gazit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Modular Robots ◽  
Modular Robot ◽  
Robot System ◽  
Unknown Environment ◽  
Unknown Environments ◽  
Task Specification ◽  
Mechanical Elements ◽  
High Level

The theoretical ability of modular robots to reconfigure in response to complex tasks in a priori unknown environments has frequently been cited as an advantage and remains a major motivator for work in the field. We present a modular robot system capable of autonomously completing high-level tasks by reactively reconfiguring to meet the needs of a perceived, a priori unknown environment. The system integrates perception, high-level planning, and modular hardware and is validated in three hardware demonstrations. Given a high-level task specification, a modular robot autonomously explores an unknown environment, decides when and how to reconfigure, and manipulates objects to complete its task. The system architecture balances distributed mechanical elements with centralized perception, planning, and control. By providing an example of how a modular robot system can be designed to leverage reactive reconfigurability in unknown environments, we have begun to lay the groundwork for modular self-reconfigurable robots to address tasks in the real world.

scholarly journals A Machine Learning Method for Vision-Based Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems to Understand Unknown Environments

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 3245
Author(s):  
Tianyao Zhang ◽  
Xiaoguang Hu ◽  
Jin Xiao ◽  
Guofeng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Visual Servoing ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Detection Accuracy ◽  
Unknown Environment ◽  
Unknown Environments ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Computational Speed ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
High Level

What makes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) intelligent is their capability of sensing and understanding new unknown environments. Some studies utilize computer vision algorithms like Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (VSLAM) and Visual Odometry (VO) to sense the environment for pose estimation, obstacles avoidance and visual servoing. However, understanding the new environment (i.e., make the UAV recognize generic objects) is still an essential scientific problem that lacks a solution. Therefore, this paper takes a step to understand the items in an unknown environment. The aim of this research is to enable the UAV with basic understanding capability for a high-level UAV flock application in the future. Specially, firstly, the proposed understanding method combines machine learning and traditional algorithm to understand the unknown environment through RGB images; secondly, the You Only Look Once (YOLO) object detection system is integrated (based on TensorFlow) in a smartphone to perceive the position and category of 80 classes of objects in the images; thirdly, the method makes the UAV more intelligent and liberates the operator from labor; fourthly, detection accuracy and latency in working condition are quantitatively evaluated, and properties of generality (can be used in various platforms), transportability (easily deployed from one platform to another) and scalability (easily updated and maintained) for UAV flocks are qualitatively discussed. The experiments suggest that the method has enough accuracy to recognize various objects with high computational speed, and excellent properties of generality, transportability and scalability.

scholarly journals An End-to-End System for Accomplishing Tasks with Modular Robots: Perspectives for the AI community

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gangyuan Jing ◽  
Tarik Tosun ◽  
Mark Yim ◽  
Hadas Kress-Gazit
Keyword(s):  
Modular Robots ◽  
Simulation Tool ◽  
Modular Robot ◽  
Broad Audience ◽  
Robot Systems ◽  
End To End ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
High Level

The advantage of modular robot systems lies in their flexibility, but this advantage can only be realized if there exists some reliable, effective way of generating configurations (shapes) and behaviors (controlling programs) appropriate for a given task. In this paper, we present an end-to-end system for addressing tasks with modular robots, and demonstrate that it is capable of accomplishing challenging multi-part tasks in hardware experiments. The system consists of four tightly integrated components: (1) A high-level mission planner, (2) A design library spanning a wide set of functionality, (3) A design and simulation tool for populating the library with new configurations and behaviors, and (4) Modular robot hardware. This paper condenses the material originally presented in Jing et al. 2016 into a shorter format suitable for a broad audience.

Gravity Compensation Modular Robot: Proposal and Prototyping

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 697-706
Author(s):  
Yukio Morooka ◽  
◽  
Ikuo Mizuuchi
Keyword(s):  
Modular Robots ◽  
Gravity Compensation ◽  
Robot Arm ◽  
Modular Robot ◽  
Robot System ◽  
Main Factor ◽  
Compensation Level

If a robot system can take various shapes, then it can play various roles, such as humanoid, dog robot, and robot arm. A modular robot is a robot system in which robots are configured using multiple modules, and it is possible to configure robots of other shapes by varying the combinations of the modules. In conventional modular robots, the shape is restricted by gravity, and configurable shapes are limited. In this study, we propose a gravity compensation modular robot to solve this problem. This paper describes the design and prototyping of the gravity compensation modular robot, and provides examples of robot shapes configured using the gravity compensation modules and motion experiments of the robots. In the experiments, there were motions that the robots could perform and could not perform. We considered the lack in the gravity compensation level and module rigidity as the main factor of the failures. This paper also discusses the solutions to these problems.

scholarly journals APPROACH TO RECONFIGURATION OF A MODULAR ROBOT SYSTEM WITH A SUBOPTIMAL SEARCH POLYNOMIAL ALGORITHM

2020 ◽  
pp. 48-51
Author(s):  
A. D. Kovalev
Keyword(s):  
Polynomial Algorithm ◽  
System Size ◽  
Robotic System ◽  
Modular Robots ◽  
Optimal Solutions ◽  
Modular Robot ◽  
Robot System

An approach to connecting modular robots is presented, which includes the algorithm of suboptimal reconfiguration search GreedyCM. This component allows to find nearly optimal solutions in timeframes, polynomially dependent on the robotic system size.

scholarly journals Opportunities and Challenges of Green-Lean: An Integrated System for Sustainable Construction

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammadsoroush Tafazzoli ◽  
Ehsan Mousavi ◽  
Sharareh Kermanshachi
Keyword(s):  
Cost Savings ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Waste Minimization ◽  
Sustainable Construction ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Safety Improvement ◽  
The Individual ◽  
High Level ◽  
Industry Professionals

Although the two concepts of lean and sustainable construction have been developed due to different incentives, and they do not pursue the same exact goals, there exists considerable commonality between them. This paper discusses the potentials for integrating the two approaches and their practices and how the resulting synergy from combining the two methods can potentially lead to higher levels of fulfilling the individual goals of each of them. Some limitations and challenges to implementing the integrated approach are also discussed. Based on a comprehensive review of existing papers related to sustainable and lean construction topics, the commonality between the two approaches is discussed and grouped in five categories of (1) cost savings, (2) waste minimization, (3) Jobsite safety improvement, (4) reduced energy consumption, and (5) customers’ satisfaction improvement. The challenges of this integration are similarly identified and discussed in the four main categories of (1) additional initial costs to the project, (2) difficulty of providing specialized expertise, (3) contractors’ unwillingness to adopt the additional requirements, and (4) challenges to establish a high level of teamwork. Industry professionals were then interviewed to rank the elements in each of the two categories of opportunities and challenges. The results of the study highlight how future research can pursue the development of a new Green-Lean approach by investing in the communalities and meeting the challenges of this integration.

scholarly journals Strategies for a Circular Economy in the Construction and Demolition Sector: Identifying the Factors Affecting the Recommendation of Recycled Concrete

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4113
Author(s):  
Valeria Superti ◽  
Cynthia Houmani ◽  
Ralph Hansmann ◽  
Ivo Baur ◽  
Claudia R. Binder
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Recycled Concrete ◽  
Recycled Aggregates ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Structural Applications ◽  
Adoption Of Innovation ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Behavioural Factors ◽  
High Level

With increasing urbanisation, new approaches such as the Circular Economy (CE) are needed to reduce resource consumption. In Switzerland, Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste accounts for the largest portion of waste (84%). Beyond limiting the depletion of primary resources, implementing recycling strategies for C&D waste (such as using recycled aggregates to produce recycled concrete (RC)), can also decrease the amount of landfilled C&D waste. The use of RC still faces adoption barriers. In this research, we examined the factors driving the adoption of recycled products for a CE in the C&D sector by focusing on RC for structural applications. We developed a behavioural framework to understand the determinants of architects’ decisions to recommend RC. We collected and analysed survey data from 727 respondents. The analyses focused on architects’ a priori beliefs about RC, behavioural factors affecting their recommendations of RC, and project-specific contextual factors that might play a role in the recommendation of RC. Our results show that the factors that mainly facilitate the recommendation of RC by architects are: a senior position, a high level of RC knowledge and of the Minergie label, beliefs about the reduced environmental impact of RC, as well as favourable prescriptive social norms expressed by clients and other architects. We emphasise the importance of a holistic theoretical framework in approaching decision-making processes related to the adoption of innovation, and the importance of the agency of each involved actor for a transition towards a circular construction sector.

A Two Phases Self-healing Framework for Service-oriented Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Amal Alhosban ◽  
Zaki Malik ◽  
Khayyam Hashmi ◽  
Brahim Medjahed ◽  
Hassan Al-Ababneh
Keyword(s):  
Web Services ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Fault Management ◽  
Service Selection ◽  
Exception Handling ◽  
Self Healing ◽  
Service Oriented Architectures ◽  
Service Oriented ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
High Level

Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) enable the automatic creation of business applications from independently developed and deployed Web services. As Web services are inherently a priori unknown, how to deliver reliable Web services compositions is a significant and challenging problem. Services involved in an SOA often do not operate under a single processing environment and need to communicate using different protocols over a network. Under such conditions, designing a fault management system that is both efficient and extensible is a challenging task. In this article, we propose SFSS, a self-healing framework for SOA fault management. SFSS is predicting, identifying, and solving faults in SOAs. In SFSS, we identified a set of high-level exception handling strategies based on the QoS performances of different component services and the preferences articled by the service consumers. Multiple recovery plans are generated and evaluated according to the performance of the selected component services, and then we execute the best recovery plan. We assess the overall user dependence (i.e., the service is independent of other services) using the generated plan and the available invocation information of the component services. Due to the experiment results, the given technique enhances the service selection quality by choosing the services that have the highest score and betters the overall system performance. The experiment results indicate the applicability of SFSS and show improved performance in comparison to similar approaches.

scholarly journals Carebots

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (09) ◽  
pp. S8-S13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago Marinho ◽  
Christopher Widdowson ◽  
Amy Oetting ◽  
Arun Lakshmanan ◽  
Hang Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Robot System ◽  
Perceived Safety ◽  
High Level ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Flying Robots

This article demonstrates a multidisciplinary approach that proposes to augment future caregiving by prolonged independence of older adults. The human–robot system allows the elderly to cooperate with small flying robots through an appropriate interface. ASPIRE provides a platform where high-level controllers can be designed to provide a layer of abstraction between the high-level task requests, the perceptual needs of the users, and the physical demands of the robotic platforms. With a robust framework that has the capability to account for human perception and comfort level, one can provide perceived safety for older adults, and further, add expressively that facilitates communication and interaction continuously throughout the stimulation. The proposed framework relies on an iterative process of low-level controllers design through experimental data collected from psychological trials. Future work includes the exploration of multiple carebots to cooperatively assist in caregiving tasks based on human-centered design approach.

scholarly journals A Systematic Framework for Drug Repositioning from Integrated Omics and Drug Phenotype Profiles Using Pathway-Drug Network

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erkhembayar Jadamba ◽  
Miyoung Shin
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Drug Repositioning ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Gene Expression Profiles ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
Genomic Knowledge ◽  
High Level ◽  
Systematic Framework ◽  
Phenotype Expression

Drug repositioning offers new clinical indications for old drugs. Recently, many computational approaches have been developed to repurpose marketed drugs in human diseases by mining various of biological data including disease expression profiles, pathways, drug phenotype expression profiles, and chemical structure data. However, despite encouraging results, a comprehensive and efficient computational drug repositioning approach is needed that includes the high-level integration of available resources. In this study, we propose a systematic framework employing experimental genomic knowledge and pharmaceutical knowledge to reposition drugs for a specific disease. Specifically, we first obtain experimental genomic knowledge from disease gene expression profiles and pharmaceutical knowledge from drug phenotype expression profiles and construct a pathway-drug network representing a priori known associations between drugs and pathways. To discover promising candidates for drug repositioning, we initialize node labels for the pathway-drug network using identified disease pathways and known drugs associated with the phenotype of interest and perform network propagation in a semisupervised manner. To evaluate our method, we conducted some experiments to reposition 1309 drugs based on four different breast cancer datasets and verified the results of promising candidate drugs for breast cancer by a two-step validation procedure. Consequently, our experimental results showed that the proposed framework is quite useful approach to discover promising candidates for breast cancer treatment.

Modular Robot Connection Design

1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert O. Ambrose ◽  
Delbert Tesar
Keyword(s):  
Product Line ◽  
Modular Robots ◽  
Modular Robotics ◽  
Modular Robot ◽  
Manufacturing Costs ◽  
Mechanical Connection ◽  
Automation Equipment ◽  
Connection Design

Abstract The ability to reconfigure automation equipment will reduce the manufacturing costs of obsolesence, training and maintenance while allowing for a faster response to changes in the product line. A modular philosophy will give the user these advantages, but only if based on a common connection standard. A mechanical connection was selected for the UT Modular Robotics Testbed and used in the designs of four robot joint modules and nine robot link modules. The standard was also used for assecories, such as the testand, loading fixtures and endeffectors. Three years of experiments with this connection standard are reviewed, and used as the basis for new connection designs. Experiments using multiple modules assembled as dextrous robots, as well as experiments focusing on the connection itself, will be described. Goals for future connection standards include designs with upward compatibility, combinations of both mechanical and electrical fittings, and robot triendly constraints that allow for automated or remote assembly of modular robots.

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