Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance for Application of Human-Robot Cooperative Dispensing Medicines

For safety reasons,in the automated dispensing medicines process,robots and humans cooperate to accomplish the task of drug sorting and distribution.In this dynamic unstructured environment,such as a humanrobot collaboration scenario,the safety of human,robot,and equipment in the environment is paramount.In this work,a practical and effective robot motion planning method is proposed for dynamic unstructured environments.To figure out the problems of blind zones of single depth sensor and dynamic obstacle avoidance,we first propose a method for establishing offline mapping and online fusion of multi-sensor depth images and 3D grids of the robot workspace,which is used to determine the occupation states of the 3D grids occluded by robots and obstacles and to conduct real-time estimation of the minimum distance between the robot and obstacles.Then,based on the reactive control method,the attractive and repulsive forces are calculated and transformed into robot joint velocities to avoid obstacles in real time.Finally,the robot’s dynamic obstacle avoidance ability is evaluated on an experimental platform with a UR5 robot and two KinectV2 RGB-D sensors,and the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified.

Multi-Robot Collaborative Hunting in Cluttered Environments With Obstacle-Avoiding Voronoi Cells

This work proposes an online collaborative hunting strategy for multi-robot systems based on obstacle-avoiding Voronoi cells in a complex dynamic environment. This involves firstly designing the construction method using a support vector machine(SVM) based on the definition of buffered Voronoi cells(BVCs). Based on the safe collision-free region of the robots, the boundary weights between the robots and the obstacles are dynamically updated such that the robots are tangent to the buffered Voronoi safety areas without intersecting with the obstacles. Then, the robots are controlled to move within their own buffered Voronoi safety area to achieve collision-avoidance with other robots and obstacles. The next step involves proposing a hunting method that optimizes collaboration between the pursuers and evaders. Some hunting points are generated and distributed evenly around a circle. Next, the pursuers are assigned to match the optimal points based on the Hungarian algorithm.Then, a hunting controller is designed to improve the containment capability and minimize containment time based on collision risk. Finally, simulation results have demonstrated that the proposed cooperative hunting method is more competitive in terms of time and travel distance.

Dynamic Frontier-Led Swarming:Multi-Robot Repeated Coverage in Dynamic Environments

A common assumption of coverage path planning research is a static environment.Such environments require only a single visit to each area to achieve coverage.However,some real-world environments are characterised by the presence of unexpected,dynamic obstacles.They require areas to be revisited periodically to maintain an accurate coverage map,as well as reactive obstacle avoidance.This paper proposes a novel swarmbased control algorithm for multi-robot exploration and repeated coverage in environments with unknown,dynamic obstacles.The algorithm combines two elements:frontier-led swarming for driving exploration by a group of robots,and pheromone-based stigmergy for controlling repeated coverage while avoiding obstacles.We tested the performance of our approach on heterogeneous and homogeneous groups of mobile robots in different environments.We measure both repeated coverage performance and obstacle avoidance ability.Through a series of comparison experiments,we demonstrate that our proposed strategy has superior performance to recently presented multi-robot repeated coverage methodologies.

A dynamic fusion path planning algorithm for mobile robots incorporating improved IB-RRT∗and deep reinforcement learning

Dynamic path planning is crucial for mobile robots to navigate successfully in unstructured envi-ronments.To achieve globally optimal path and real-time dynamic obstacle avoidance during the movement,a dynamic path planning algorithm incorporating improved IB-RRT∗and deep reinforce-ment learning(DRL)is proposed.Firstly,an improved IB-RRT∗algorithm is proposed for global path planning by combining double elliptic subset sampling and probabilistic central circle target bi-as.Then,to tackle the slow response to dynamic obstacles and inadequate obstacle avoidance of tra-ditional local path planning algorithms,deep reinforcement learning is utilized to predict the move-ment trend of dynamic obstacles,leading to a dynamic fusion path planning.Finally,the simulation and experiment results demonstrate that the proposed improved IB-RRT∗algorithm has higher con-vergence speed and search efficiency compared with traditional Bi-RRT∗,Informed-RRT∗,and IB-RRT∗algorithms.Furthermore,the proposed fusion algorithm can effectively perform real-time obsta-cle avoidance and navigation tasks for mobile robots in unstructured environments.

Real-time dynamic system to path tracking and collision avoidance for redundant robotic arms

An dynamic system for real-time obstacle avoidance path planning of redundant robots is constructed in this paper. Firstly, the inter-frame difference method is used to identify the moving target and to calculate the target area, then on the basis of color features and gradient features extracted from the target area, the feature fusion Cam-Shift mean shift algorithm is used to track target, improving the robustness of the tracking algorithm. Secondly, a parallel two-channel target identification and location method based on binocular vision is proposed, updating the target＇s three-dimensional information in real time. Then, a dynamic collision-free path planning method is implemented： the safety rods are removed through the intersection test, and the minimum distance is derived directly by using the coordinate values of the target in the local coordinate system of the rod. On this basis, the obstacle avoidance gain and escape velocity related to the minimum distance is established, and obstacle avoidance path planning is implemented by using the zero space mapping matrix of redundant robot. Experiments are performed to Study the efficiency of the proposed system.

Neuro-fuzzy and model-based motion control for mobile manipulator among dynamic obstacles

This paper focuses on autonomous motion control of a nonholonomic platform with a robotic arm, which is called mobile manipulator. It serves in transportation of loads in imperfectly known industrial environments with unknown dynamic obstacles. A union of both procedures is used to solve the general problems of collision-free motion. The problem of collision-free motion for mobile manipulators has been approached from two directions, Planning and Reactive Control. The dynamic path planning can be used to solve the problem of locomotion of mobile platform, and reactive approaches can be employed to solve the motion planning of the arm. The execution can generate the commands for the servo-systems of the robot so as to follow a given nominal trajectory while reacting in real-time to unexpected events. The execution can be designed as an Adaptive Fuzzy Neural Controller. In real world systems, sensor-based motion control becomes essential to deal with model uncertainties and unexpected obstacles.

Mobile Robot Combination Autonomous Behavior Strategy to Inspect Hazardous Gases in Relatively Narrow Man–Machine Environment

Selecting the optimal speed for dynamic obstacle avoidance in complex man–machine environments is a challenging problem for mobile robots inspecting hazardous gases.Consideration of personal space is important,especially in a relatively narrow man–machine dynamic environments such as warehouses and laboratories.In this study,human and robot behaviors in man–machine environments are analyzed,and a man–machine social force model is established to study the robot obstacle avoidance speed.Four typical man–machine behavior patterns are investigated to design the robot behavior strategy.Based on the social force model and man–machine behavior patterns,the fuzzy-PID trajectory tracking control method and the autonomous obstacle avoidance behavior strategy of the mobile robot in inspecting hazardous gases in a relatively narrow man–machine dynamic environment are proposed to determine the optimal robot speed for obstacle avoidance.The simulation analysis results show that compared with the traditional PID control method,the proposed controller has a position error of less than 0.098 m,an angle error of less than 0.088 rad,a smaller steady-state error,and a shorter convergence time.The crossing and encountering pattern experiment results show that the proposed behavior strategy ensures that the robot maintains a safe distance from humans while performing trajectory tracking.This research proposes a combination autonomous behavior strategy for mobile robots inspecting hazardous gases,ensuring that the robot maintains the optimal speed to achieve dynamic obstacle avoidance,reducing human anxiety and increasing comfort in a relatively narrow man–machine environment.

Obstacle-circumventing adaptive control of a four-wheeled mobile robot subjected to motion uncertainties

To achieve the collision-free trajectory tracking of the four-wheeled mobile robot(FMR),existing methods resolve the tracking control and obstacle avoidance separately.Guaranteeing the synergistic robustness and smooth navigation of mobile robots subjected to motion uncertainties in a dynamic environment using this non-cooperative processing method is difficult.To address this challenge,this paper proposes an obstacle-circumventing adaptive control(OCAC)framework.Specifically,a novel anti-disturbance terminal slide mode control with adaptive gains is formulated,incorporating specified control laws for different stages.This formulation guarantees rapid convergence and simultaneous chattering elimination.By introducing sub-target points,a new sub-target dynamic tracking regression obstacle avoidance strategy is presented to transfer the obstacle avoidance problem into a dynamic tracking one,thereby reducing the burden of local path searching while ensuring system stability during obstacle circumvention.Comparative experiments demonstrate that the proposed OCAC method can strengthen the convergence and obstacle avoidance efficiency of the concerned FMR system.

Three-dimensional path planning for unmanned aerial vehicle based on interfered fluid dynamical system

This paper proposes a method for planning the three-dimensional path for low-flying unmanned aerial vehicle（UAV） in complex terrain based on interfered fluid dynamical system（IFDS） and the theory of obstacle avoidance by the flowing stream. With no requirement of solutions to fluid equations under complex boundary conditions, the proposed method is suitable for situations with complex terrain and different shapes of obstacles. Firstly, by transforming the mountains, radar and anti-aircraft fire in complex terrain into cylindrical, conical, spherical, parallelepiped obstacles and their combinations, the 3D low-flying path planning problem is turned into solving streamlines for obstacle avoidance by fluid flow. Secondly, on the basis of a unified mathematical expression of typical obstacle shapes including sphere, cylinder, cone and parallelepiped, the modulation matrix for interfered fluid dynamical system is constructed and 3D streamlines around a single obstacle are obtained. Solutions to streamlines with multiple obstacles are then derived using weighted average of the velocity field. Thirdly, extra control force method and virtual obstacle method are proposed to deal with the stagnation point and the case of obstacles＇ overlapping respectively. Finally, taking path length and flight height as sub-goals, genetic algorithm（GA） is used to obtain optimal 3D path under the maneuverability constraints of the UAV. Simulation results show that the environmental modeling is simple and the path is smooth and suitable for UAV. Theoretical proof is also presented to show that the proposed method has no effect on the characteristics of fluid avoiding obstacles.

Motion control design for unmanned ground vehicle in dynamic environment using intelligent controller

Purpose–The motion control of unmanned ground vehicles(UGV)is a challenge in the industry of automation.The purpose of this paper is to propose a fuzzy inference system(FIS)based on sensory information for solving the navigation challenge of UGV in cluttered and dynamic environments.Design/methodology/approach–The representation of the dynamic environment is a key element for the operational field and for the testing of the robotic navigation system.If dynamic obstacles move randomly in the operation field,the navigation problem becomes more complicated due to the coordination of the elements for accurate navigation and collision-free path within the environmental representations.This paper considers the construction of the FIS,which consists of two controllers.The first controller uses three sensors based on the obstacles distances from the front,right and left.The second controller employs the angle difference between the heading of the vehicle and the targeted angle to obtain the optimal route based on the environment and reach the desired destination with minimal running power and delay.The proposed design shows an efficient navigation strategy that overcomes the current navigation challenges in dynamic environments.Findings–Experimental analyses are conducted for three different scenarios to investigate the validation and effectiveness of the introduced controllers based on the FIS.The reported simulation results are obtained using MATLAB software package.The results show that the controllers of the FIS consistently perform the manoeuvring task and manage the route plan efficiently,even in a complex environment that is populated with dynamic obstacles.The paper demonstrates that the destination was reached optimally using the shortest free route.Research limitations/implications–The paper represents efforts toward building a dynamic environment filled with dynamic obstacles that move at various speeds and directions.The methodology of designing the FIS is accomplished to guide the UGV to the desired destination while avoiding collisions with obstacles.However,the methodology is approached using two-dimensional analyses.Hence,the paper suggests several extensions and variations to develop a three-dimensional strategy for further improvement.Originality/value–This paper presents the design of a FIS and its characterizations in dynamic environments,specifically for obstacles that move at different velocities.This facilitates an improved functionality of the operation of UGV.