This paper introduces an innovative edge-cloud-based modular architecture to enhance the capabilities of multi-robot systems operating in resource-constrained environments. This architecture addresses the limitations ...
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ISBN:
(纸本)9798350307627
This paper introduces an innovative edge-cloud-based modular architecture to enhance the capabilities of multi-robot systems operating in resource-constrained environments. This architecture addresses the limitations often encountered in resource-constrained platforms with lightweight microprocessors by enabling efficient offloading of computationally intensive tasks to hybrid edge-cloud clusters, thereby augmenting computational prowess. Through a comprehensive experimental evaluation, we substantiate the effectiveness of our approach by offloading a rover's perception system to a hybrid edge-cloud cluster, enabling efficient object detection. Our findings highlight the architecture's adaptability, showcasing cloud clusters' speed advantages and local edge clusters' robustness in handling higher network throughput. This insight informs the recommendation to deploy high-throughput applications on edge clusters and computationally intensive tasks with storage and reduced network demands on cloud clusters. Furthermore, this work emphasizes the benefits of containerization and load balancing in modular robotics, facilitating platform-independent development, resource optimization, and enhanced software distribution security. Containerization's minimal impact on CPU and RAM usage has gained prominence in mobile robotic applications. However, supporting mixed-criticality software jobs remains a challenge. This paper presents performance results in federated and adaptive edge-fog-cloud networks, providing valuable insights for planning tasks with mixed-criticality criteria.
This paper introduces the design and development of a modular robotic arm with four degrees of freedom (DoF) intended for implementation in educational environments as an interactive robotics tool for teaching the Bra...
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ISBN:
(纸本)9798350316599
This paper introduces the design and development of a modular robotic arm with four degrees of freedom (DoF) intended for implementation in educational environments as an interactive robotics tool for teaching the Braille system. This project arose from the need for inclusive and accessible education, using robotics to bring Braille to a broader audience and encourage collaborative learning. Integrating direct and inverse kinematics, as well as dynamics and a cubic spline interpolator, ensures accurate and efficient movements. Additionally, a neural network model was developed and trained to calculate the kinematic inverse of the robotic arm, demonstrating a high level of accuracy and reliability in solving the kinematic inverse problem. The last link is modular, which allows switching between a writing tool to teach the Braille alphabet to people with normal visual acuity, a gripper, and a holding mechanism that will allow didactically placing different pieces to form any letter of the alphabet in Braille, as well as other classroom uses.
Different unmanned aerial system (UAS) applications, such as military reconnaissance, environmental monitoring, or commercial delivery, require different specifications such as payload weight and travel range, which t...
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ISBN:
(纸本)9798400703195
Different unmanned aerial system (UAS) applications, such as military reconnaissance, environmental monitoring, or commercial delivery, require different specifications such as payload weight and travel range, which typically require completely different designs. This means that it is difficult, if not impossible, to easily reconfigure an existing UAS for a new application without the redesign and reconstruction of the system. To facilitate easy reconfiguration of UAS, we present Voxelcopter, a modular construction kit for the rapid-prototyping and rapid assembly of multicopter UAS. We develop basic viable components for flight, including reconfigurable building blocks, termed functional voxels, that assemble into high-stiffness, lightweight structures with integrated power and data, a custom flight controller software library, propellers, and power storage. In this demo, a quadcopter is assembled, and we flight test the resulting vehicle, then disassemble it into components ready for reuse, demonstrating the easy reconfigurability of the system.
Precision Agriculture (PA) increases farm productivity, reduces pollution, and minimizes input costs. However, the wide adoption of existing PA technologies for complex field operations, such as spraying, is slow due ...
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Precision Agriculture (PA) increases farm productivity, reduces pollution, and minimizes input costs. However, the wide adoption of existing PA technologies for complex field operations, such as spraying, is slow due to high acquisition costs, low adaptability, and slow operating speed. In this study, we designed, built, optimized, and tested a modular Agrochemical Precision Sprayer (MAPS), a robotic sprayer with an intelligent machine vision system (MVS). Our work focused on identifying and spraying on the targeted plants with low cost, high speed, and high accuracy in a remote, dynamic, and rugged environment. We first researched and benchmarked combinations of one-stage convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures with embedded or mobile hardware systems. Our analysis revealed that TensorRT-optimized SSD-MobilenetV1 on an Nvidia Jetson Nano provided sufficient plant detection performance with low cost and power consumption. We also developed an algorithm to determine the maximum operating velocity of a chosen CNN and hardware configuration through modeling and simulation. Based on these results, we developed a CNN-based MVS for real-time plant detection and velocity estimation. We implemented Robot Operating System (ROS) to integrate each module for easy expansion. We also developed a robust dynamic targeting algorithm to synchronize the spray operation with the robot motion, which will increase productivity significantly. The research proved to be successful. We built a MAPS with three independent vision and spray modules. In the lab test, the sprayer recognized and hit all targets with only 2% wrong sprays. In the field test with an unstructured crop layout, such as a broadcast-seeded soybean field, the MAPS also successfully sprayed all targets with only a 7% incorrect spray rate.
A modular self-reconfigurable robot (MSRR) is a set of robotic building blocks that can be connected together in different ways. By rearranging these connections, the robot can adapt its shape to address a wider varie...
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A modular self-reconfigurable robot (MSRR) is a set of robotic building blocks that can be connected together in different ways. By rearranging these connections, the robot can adapt its shape to address a wider variety of tasks than a robot with a fixed morphology. However, traditional modular architectures fail to scale up to address large-scale and high-force applications. To meet these challenges, we introduce the first self-reconfigurable modular truss robot system. The Variable Topology Truss (VTT) is a synthesis of two robot paradigms: MSRRs and variable geometry truss robots (VGTs). The structural efficiency of the truss architecture alleviates scaling issues with modular robots, while the task flexibility afforded by reconfiguration expands the possible applications of VGT robots. We first demonstrate hardware prototypes of the components necessary to build a VTT, which include a novel reconfigurable spherical joint and an improved version of a high extension ratio linear actuator. Then, we characterize the reconfiguration capability afforded by the new mechanisms and apply graph-theoretic techniques to enumerate all possible reconfigurable truss topologies up to a certain size. With these techniques, we can identify potential sequences of actions that reconfigure between desired start and goal topologies. However, the entangled nature of the truss architecture presents new challenges for collision-free motion planning. The self-collision constraints divide up the configuration space into many disconnected regions. We develop a mathematical invariant inspired by knot theory---the link-augmented graph---which serves as a test to quickly prove when certain configurations lie in disconnected regions. This invariant can be combined with more traditional planning techniques to boost their performance on truss-like robots, which we demonstrate with a new variant of RRT-Connect. Finally, we combine the topological reconfiguration planning with the link-augmented g
Biological organisms exhibit phenomenal adaptation through morphology-shifting mechanisms including self-amputation, regeneration, and collective behavior. For example, reptiles, crustaceans, and insects amputate thei...
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Biological organisms exhibit phenomenal adaptation through morphology-shifting mechanisms including self-amputation, regeneration, and collective behavior. For example, reptiles, crustaceans, and insects amputate their own appendages in response to threats. Temporary fusion between individuals enables collective behaviors, such as in ants that temporarily fuse to build bridges. The concept of morphological editing often involves the addition and subtraction of mass and can be linked to modular robotics, wherein synthetic body morphology may be revised by rearranging parts. This work describes a reversible cohesive interface made of thermoplastic elastomer that allows for strong attachment and easy detachment of distributed soft robot modules without direct human handling. The reversible joint boasts a modulus similar to materials commonly used in soft robotics, and can thus be distributed throughout soft robot bodies without introducing mechanical incongruities. To demonstrate utility, the reversible joint is implemented in two embodiments: a soft quadruped robot that self-amputates a limb when stuck, and a cluster of three soft-crawling robots that fuse to cross a land gap. This work points toward future robots capable of radical shape-shifting via changes in mass through autotomy and interfusion, as well as highlights the crucial role that interfacial stiffness change plays in autotomizable biological and artificial systems. Yang et al. introduce a reversible cohesive interface made of thermoplastic elastomer that allows for strong attachment and easy detachment of distributed soft robot modules without direct human handling. The reversible joint boasts a modulus similar to materials commonly used in soft robotics and can be distributed throughout soft robot bodies without introducing mechanical incongruities. image
We introduce a modular construction kit for rapidly assembling multi-copter unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The kit consists of voxelized building blocks based on a discrete, face-baced decomposition of a cuboctahedral...
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ISBN:
(数字)9781665405935
ISBN:
(纸本)9781665405935
We introduce a modular construction kit for rapidly assembling multi-copter unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The kit consists of voxelized building blocks based on a discrete, face-baced decomposition of a cuboctahedral lattice using a circuit board substrate. These voxel building blocks provide the structure of the vehicle, but also create electrical connections for routing power as well as command and control signals. Functional modules including propulsors, power storage, and command and control are designed to interface with the cuboctahedral lattice to create a complete vehicle. We use the system to assemble a 2.6 kg quadcopter UAS in 22 minutes, flight test the resulting vehicle, then disassemble it into components ready for reuse. We examine how the system scales to larger designs, and compare build times and performance with a comparable commerical UAS and equivalent designs built using additive manufacturing.
Civil Aircraft development and production are facing significant challenges in future. On the one hand, the flight-path to carbon neutral aviation, like using liquid hydrogen, will require game changing technologies. ...
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Civil Aircraft development and production are facing significant challenges in future. On the one hand, the flight-path to carbon neutral aviation, like using liquid hydrogen, will require game changing technologies. Simultaneously, competition, especially on the single aisle market, is evolving fast and puts pressure on market shares and margins. The necessity of an adaptable and highly efficient production becomes more evident than ever. One contribution to achieve this goal is the research project "Intelligent modular robotics and Integrated Production System Design for Aircraft Manufacturing" (iMOD). Namely, it will analyze challenges regarding (1) an integrated and Digital Twin-based system design approach, (2) flexible and modular robotics to support workers with unergonomic tasks and (3) a flexible intralogistics based on Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). Those three aspects will be integrated into an approach that uses semantic technologies to connect the different components across different levels of functionality and different life cycle phases. Copyright (c) 2022 The *** is an access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license(http://***/license/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
The self-reconfigurable modular robotic system is a class of robots that can alter its configuration by rearranging the connectivity of their component modular units. The reconfiguration deformation planning problem i...
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The self-reconfigurable modular robotic system is a class of robots that can alter its configuration by rearranging the connectivity of their component modular units. The reconfiguration deformation planning problem is to find a sequence of reconfiguration actions to transform one reconfiguration into another. In this paper, a hybrid reconfiguration deformation planning algorithm for modular robots is presented to enable reconfiguration between initial and goal configurations. A hybrid algorithm is developed to decompose the configuration into subconfigurations with maximum commonality and implement distributed dynamic mapping of free vertices. The module mapping relationship between the initial and target configurations is then utilized to generate reconfiguration actions. Simulation and experiment results verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
The world is becoming more digitised with the rise of modular robotic systems. Therefore, with the increasing demands and needs for robotics, the modular robotic domain was introduced as an essential key part of Inter...
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The world is becoming more digitised with the rise of modular robotic systems. Therefore, with the increasing demands and needs for robotics, the modular robotic domain was introduced as an essential key part of Internet-of-Things (IoT). modular self-configurable robotic systems (E.g. swarms) are classed as "smart"autonomous machines with kinematic properties, defined by a set of interconnected links, modules and algorithms to achieve the required three-dimensional (3D) or two-dimensional (2D) complex shape or hierarchical structure. Due to its "intelligent'' concept, it beame suitable for its deployment in the Internet of Robotic Things (IoRT) domain. Thus, becoming a key part of it and establishing itself as the newly revolutionised Internet of modular Robotic Things (IoMRT). This paper presents a survey that highlights and discusses this novel IoMRT concept that focuses on self-reconfigurable modular robots and robotic systems by discussing their criteria, characteristics, architecture, and design. The security, safety, and privacy aspects are also presented and discussed, making it among the first papers to focus on this topic and its future. Moreover, the main drawbacks and challenges are also highlighted, while the already available solutions are also presented and analysed. A brief analysis regarding each solution is also presented with an insight into their future work. Additionally, more work was presented regarding the security aspect(s) of modular robotic systems to protect them from possible cyber or/and physical attacks. Thus, covering all possible aspects of the IoMRT.
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