Category Archives: Robotics

A theoretical framework based on hybrid models and logical verification to prove the guarantees for obstacle avoidance in mobile robot navigation

October 28, 2017 08:40 ,

Stefan Mitsch, Khalil Ghorbal, David Vogelbacher, and André Platzer, Formal verification of obstacle avoidance and navigation of ground robots, The International Journal of Robotics Research Vol 36, Issue 12, pp. 1312 – 1340, DOI: 0.1177/0278364917733549.

This article answers fundamental safety questions for ground robot navigation: under which circumstances does which control decision make a ground robot safely avoid obstacles? Unsurprisingly, the answer depends on the exact formulation of the safety objective, as well as the physical capabilities and limitations of the robot and the obstacles. Because uncertainties about the exact future behavior of a robot’s environment make this a challenging problem, we formally verify corresponding controllers and provide rigorous safety proofs justifying why the robots can never collide with the obstacle in the respective physical model. To account for ground robots in which different physical phenomena are important, we analyze a series of increasingly strong properties of controllers for increasingly rich dynamics and identify the impact that the additional model parameters have on the required safety margins. We analyze and formally verify: (i) static safety, which ensures that no collisions can happen with stationary obstacles; (ii) passive safety, which ensures that no collisions can happen with stationary or moving obstacles while the robot moves; (iii) the stronger passive-friendly safety, in which the robot further maintains sufficient maneuvering distance for obstacles to avoid collision as well; and (iv) passive orientation safety, which allows for imperfect sensor coverage of the robot, i.e., the robot is aware that not everything in its environment will be visible. We formally prove that safety can be guaranteed despite sensor uncertainty and actuator perturbation. We complement these provably correct safety properties with liveness properties: we prove that provably safe motion is flexible enough to let the robot navigate waypoints and pass intersections. To account for the mixed influence of discrete control decisions and the continuous physical motion of the ground robot, we develop corresponding hybrid system models and use differential dynamic logic theorem-proving techniques to formally verify their correctness. Since these models identify a broad range of conditions under which control decisions are provably safe, our results apply to any control algorithm for ground robots with the same dynamics. As a demonstration, we also synthesize provably correct runtime monitor conditions that check the compliance of any control algorithm with the verified control decisions.

Posted in: Robot motion planning , Tagged: , ,

First end-to-end implementation of (monocular) Visual Odometry with deep neural networks, including output with the uncertainty of the result

October 25, 2017 09:05 ,

Sen Wang, Ronald Clark, Hongkai Wen, and Niki Trigoni, End-to-end, sequence-to-sequence probabilistic visual odometry through deep neural networks, The International Journal of Robotics Research Vol 37, Issue 4-5, pp. 513 – 542, DOI: 0.1177/0278364917734298.

This paper studies visual odometry (VO) from the perspective of deep learning. After tremendous efforts in the robotics and computer vision communities over the past few decades, state-of-the-art VO algorithms have demonstrated incredible performance. However, since the VO problem is typically formulated as a pure geometric problem, one of the key features still missing from current VO systems is the capability to automatically gain knowledge and improve performance through learning. In this paper, we investigate whether deep neural networks can be effective and beneficial to the VO problem. An end-to-end, sequence-to-sequence probabilistic visual odometry (ESP-VO) framework is proposed for the monocular VO based on deep recurrent convolutional neural networks. It is trained and deployed in an end-to-end manner, that is, directly inferring poses and uncertainties from a sequence of raw images (video) without adopting any modules from the conventional VO pipeline. It can not only automatically learn effective feature representation encapsulating geometric information through convolutional neural networks, but also implicitly model sequential dynamics and relation for VO using deep recurrent neural networks. Uncertainty is also derived along with the VO estimation without introducing much extra computation. Extensive experiments on several datasets representing driving, flying and walking scenarios show competitive performance of the proposed ESP-VO to the state-of-the-art methods, demonstrating a promising potential of the deep learning technique for VO and verifying that it can be a viable complement to current VO systems.

Posted in: Computer vision, Mobile Robot Localization , Tagged: ,

Automatic hierarchization for the recognition of places in images

October 19, 2017 09:00 ,

Chen Fan, Zetao Chen, Adam Jacobson, Xiaoping Hu, Michael Milford, Biologically-inspired visual place recognition with adaptive multiple scales,Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Volume 96, 2017, Pages 224-237, DOI: 10.1016/j.robot.2017.07.015.

In this paper we present a novel adaptive multi-scale system for performing visual place recognition. Unlike recent previous multi-scale place recognition systems that use manually pre-fixed scales, we present a system that adaptively selects the spatial scales. This approach differs from previous multi-scale methods, where place recognition is performed through a non-optimized distance metric in a fixed and pre-determined scale space. Instead, we learn an optimized distance metric which creates a new recognition space for clustering images with similar features while separating those with different features. Consequently, the method exploits the natural spatial scales present in the operating environment. With these adaptive scales, a hierarchical recognition mechanism with multiple parallel channels is then proposed. Each channel performs place recognition from a coarse match to a fine match. We present specific techniques for training each channel to recognize places at varying spatial scales and for combining the place recognition hypotheses from these parallel channels. We also conduct a systematic series of experiments and parameter studies that determine the effect on performance of using different numbers of combined recognition channels. The results demonstrate that the adaptive multi-scale approach outperforms the previous fixed multi-scale approach and is capable of producing better than state of the art performance compared to existing robotic navigation algorithms. The system complexity is linear in the number of places in the reference static map and can realize the online place recognition in mobile robotics on typical dataset sizes We analyze the results and provide theoretical analysis of the performance improvements. Finally, we discuss interesting insights gained with respect to future work in robotics and neuroscience in this area.

Posted in: Computer vision, Mobile Robot Localization , Tagged: ,

On the need of integrating emotions in robotic architectures

October 18, 2017 08:49 ,

Luiz Pessoa, Do Intelligent Robots Need Emotion?,Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Volume 21, Issue 11, 2017, Pages 817-819, DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2017.06.010.

What is the place of emotion in intelligent robots? Researchers have advocated the inclusion of some emotion-related components in the information-processing architecture of autonomous agents. It is argued here that emotion needs to be merged with all aspects of the architecture: cognitive–emotional integration should be a key design principle.

Posted in: Psycho-physiological bases of engineering, Robotic architectures , Tagged: ,

Using EKF to estimate the state of a quadcopter in SE(3)

October 16, 2017 08:36 ,

Goodarzi, F.A. & Lee, Global Formulation of an Extended Kalman Filter on SE(3) for Geometric Control of a Quadrotor UAV, J Intell Robot Syst (2017) 88: 395, DOI: 10.1007/s10846-017-0525-6.

An extended Kalman filter (EKF) is developed on the special Euclidean group, S E(3) for geometric control of a quadrotor UAV. It is obtained by performing an intrinsic form of linearization on S E(3) to estimate the state of the quadrotor from noisy measurements. The proposed estimator considers all of the coupling effects between rotational and translational dynamics, and it is developed in a coordinate-free fashion. The desirable features of the proposed EKF are illustrated by numerical examples and experimental results for several scenarios. The proposed estimation scheme on S E(3) has been unprecedented and these results can be particularly useful for aggressive maneuvers in GPS denied environments or in situations where parts of onboard sensors fail.

Posted in: Mobile Robot Localization , Tagged: ,

Survey on visual attention in 3D for robotics

September 23, 2017 08:42 ,

Ekaterina Potapova, Michael Zillich, and Markus Vincze, Survey of recent advances in 3D visual attention for robotics, The International Journal of Robotics Research, Vol 36, Issue 11, pp. 1159 – 1176, DOI: 10.1177/0278364917726587.

3D visual attention plays an important role in both human and robotics perception that yet has to be explored in full detail. However, the majority of computer vision and robotics methods are concerned only with 2D visual attention. This survey presents findings and approaches that cover 3D visual attention in both human and robot vision, summarizing the last 30 years of research and also looking beyond computational methods. First, we present work in such fields as biological vision and neurophysiology, studying 3D attention in human observers. This provides a view of the role attention plays at the system level for biological vision. Then, we cover computer and robot vision approaches that take 3D visual attention into account. We compare approaches with respect to different categories, such as feature-based, data-based, or depth-based visual attention, and draw conclusions on what advances will help robotics to cope better with complex real-world settings and tasks.

Posted in: Computer vision, Robot sensors , Tagged:

Calibrating a robotic manipulator through photogrammetry, and a nice state-of-the-art in the issue of robot calibration

September 20, 2017 08:03 ,

Alexandre Filion, Ahmed Joubair, Antoine S. Tahan, Ilian A. Bonev, Robot calibration using a portable photogrammetry system, Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Volume 49, 2018, Pages 77-87, DOI: 10.1016/j.rcim.2017.05.004.

This work investigates the potential use of a commercially-available portablephotogrammetry system (the MaxSHOT 3D) in industrial robot calibration. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this system, we take the approach of comparing the device with a laser tracker (the FARO laser tracker) by calibrating an industrial robot, with each device in turn, then comparing the obtained robot position accuracy after calibration. As the use of a portablephotogrammetry system in robot calibration is uncommon, this paper presents how to proceed. It will cover the theory of robot calibration: the robot’s forward and inverse kinematics, the elasto-geometrical model of the robot, the generation and ultimate selection of robot configurations to be measured, and the parameter identification. Furthermore, an experimental comparison of the laser tracker and the MaxSHOT3D is described. The obtained results show that the FARO laser trackerION performs slightly better: The absolute positional accuracy obtained with the laser tracker is 0.365mm and 0.147mm for the maximum and the mean position errors, respectively. Nevertheless, the results obtained by using the MaxSHOT3D are almost as good as those obtained by using the laser tracker: 0.469mm and 0.197mm for the maximum and the mean position errors, respectively. Performances in distance accuracy, after calibration (i.e. maximum errors), are respectively 0.329mm and 0.352mm, for the laser tracker and the MaxSHOT 3D. However, as the validation measurements were acquired with the laser tracker, bias favors this device. Thus, we may conclude that the calibration performances of the two measurement devices are very similar.

Posted in: Industrial robots, Robot models , Tagged: ,

Interesting implementation of visual graph SLAM in C++ for educational purposes

September 19, 2017 07:59 ,

Dominik Schlegel, Mirco Colosi, Giorgio Grisetti, ProSLAM: Graph SLAM from a Programmer’s Perspective/strong>, arXiv:1709.04377.

In this paper we present ProSLAM, a lightweight stereo visual SLAM system designed with simplicity in mind. Our work stems from the experience gathered by the authors while teaching SLAM to students and aims at providing a highly modular system that can be easily implemented and understood. Rather than focusing on the well known mathematical aspects of Stereo Visual SLAM, in this work we highlight the data structures and the algorithmic aspects that one needs to tackle during the design of such a system. We implemented ProSLAM using the C++ programming language in combination with a minimal set of well known used external libraries. In addition to an open source implementation, we provide several code snippets that address the core aspects of our approach directly in this paper. The results of a thorough validation performed on standard benchmark datasets show that our approach achieves accuracy comparable to state of the art methods, while requiring substantially less computational resources.

Posted in: Computer vision, Mobile robot SLAM , Tagged: , , ,

Improving efficiency of decision with POMDPs in high-dimension state spaces

September 19, 2017 07:45 ,

Dmitry Kopitkov and Vadim Indelman, No belief propagation required: Belief space planning in high-dimensional state spaces via factor graphs, the matrix determinant lemma, and re-use of calculation, The International Journal of Robotics Research, Vol 36, Issue 10, pp. 1088 – 1130, DOI: 10.1177/0278364917721629.

We develop a computationally efficient approach for evaluating the information-theoretic term within belief space planning (BSP), where during belief propagation the state vector can be constant or augmented. We consider both unfocused and focused problem settings, whereas uncertainty reduction of the entire system or only of chosen variables is of interest, respectively. State-of-the-art approaches typically propagate the belief state, for each candidate action, through calculation of the posterior information (or covariance) matrix and subsequently compute its determinant (required for entropy). In contrast, our approach reduces runtime complexity by avoiding these calculations. We formulate the problem in terms of factor graphs and show that belief propagation is not needed, requiring instead a one-time calculation that depends on (the increasing with time) state dimensionality, and per-candidate calculations that are independent of the latter. To that end, we develop an augmented version of the matrix determinant lemma, and show that computations can be re-used when evaluating impact of different candidate actions. These two key ingredients and the factor graph representation of the problem result in a computationally efficient (augmented) BSP approach that accounts for different sources of uncertainty and can be used with various sensing modalities. We examine the unfocused and focused instances of our approach, and compare it with the state of the art, in simulation and using real-world data, considering problems such as autonomous navigation in unknown environments, measurement selection and sensor deployment. We show that our approach significantly reduces running time without any compromise in performance.

Posted in: Robot task planning , Tagged:

A practical example of mobile robot long term operation

September 14, 2017 08:53 ,

N. Hawes et al., The STRANDS Project: Long-Term Autonomy in Everyday Environments, IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 146-156, DOI: 10.1109/MRA.2016.2636359.

Thanks to the efforts of the robotics and autonomous systems community, the myriad applications and capacities of robots are ever increasing. There is increasing demand from end users for autonomous service robots that can operate in real environments for extended periods. In the Spatiotemporal Representations and Activities for Cognitive Control in Long-Term Scenarios (STRANDS) project (http://strandsproject.eu), we are tackling this demand head-on by integrating state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and robotics research into mobile service robots and deploying these systems for long-term installations in security and care environments. Our robots have been operational for a combined duration of 104 days over four deployments, autonomously performing end-user-defined tasks and traversing 116 km in the process. In this article, we describe the approach we used to enable long-term autonomous operation in everyday environments and how our robots are able to use their long run times to improve their own performance.

Posted in: Robot applications , Tagged: