A Novel Competition-Based Coordination Model With Dynamic Feedback for Multi-Robot Systems

Dear Editor, Task allocation strategies are important in multi-robot systems and have been intensely investigated by researchers because they are critical in determining the performance of the system. In this letter, a novel competition-based coordination model is proposed to solve the multi-robot task allocation problem and applied to a multi-robot object tracking scenario.

A Survey of Underwater Multi-Robot Systems

As a cross-cutting field between ocean development and multi-robot system(MRS),the underwater multi-robot system(UMRS)has gained increasing attention from researchers and engineers in recent decades.In this paper,we present a comprehensive survey of cooperation issues,one of the key components of UMRS,from the perspective of the emergence of new functions.More specifically,we categorize the cooperation in terms of task-space,motion-space,measurement-space,as well as their combination.Further,we analyze the architecture of UMRS from three aspects,i.e.,the performance of the individual underwater robot,the new functions of underwater robots,and the technical approaches of MRS.To conclude,we have discussed related promising directions for future research.This survey provides valuable insight into the reasonable utilization of UMRS to attain diverse underwater tasks in complex ocean application scenarios.

Gini Coefficient-based Task Allocation for Multi-robot Systems With Limited Energy Resources

Nowadays, robots generally have a variety of capabilities, which often form a coalition replacing human to work in dangerous environment, such as rescue, exploration, etc. In these operating conditions, the energy supply of robots usually cannot be guaranteed. If the energy resources of some robots are consumed too fast, the number of the future tasks of the coalition will be affected. This paper will develop a novel task allocation method based on Gini coefficient to make full use of limited energy resources of multi-robot system to maximize the number of tasks. At the same time, considering resources consumption,we incorporate the market-based allocation mechanism into our Gini coefficient-based method and propose a hybrid method,which can flexibly optimize the task completion number and the resource consumption according to the application contexts.Experiments show that the multi-robot system with limited energy resources can accomplish more tasks by the proposed Gini coefficient-based method, and the hybrid method can be dynamically adaptive to changes of the work environment and realize the dual optimization goals.

Metaheuristics Algorithm for Tuning of PID Controller of Mobile Robot System

Robots in the medical industry are becoming more common in daily life because of various advantages such as quick response,less human interference,high dependability,improved hygiene,and reduced aging effects.That is why,in recent years,robotic aid has emerged as a blossoming solution to many challenges in the medical industry.In this manuscript,meta-heuristics(MH)algorithms,specifically the Firefly Algorithm(FF)and Genetic Algorithm(GA),are applied to tune PID controller constraints such as Proportional gain Kp Integral gain Ki and Derivative gain Kd.The controller is used to control Mobile Robot System(MRS)at the required set point.The FF arrangements are made based on various pre-analysis.A detailed simulation study indicates that the proposed PID controller tuned with Firefly Algorithm(FF-PID)for MRSis beneficial and suitable to achieve desired closed-loop system response.The FF is touted as providing an easy,reliable,and efficient tuning technique for PID controllers.The most suitable ideal performance is accomplished with FF-PID,according to the display in the time response.Further,the observed response is compared to those received by applying GA and conventional off-line tuning techniques.The comparison of all tuning methods exhibits supremacy of FF-PID tuning of the given nonlinear Mobile Robot System than GA-PID tuning and conventional controller.

Robot Position Control Using Force Information for Cooperative Work in Remote Robot Systems with Force Feedback

This paper proposes robot position control using force information for cooperative work between two remote robot systems with force feedback in each of which a user operates a remote robot by using a haptic interface device while observing work of the robot with a video camera. We also investigate the effect of the proposed control by experiment. As cooperative work, we deal with work in which two robots carry an object together. The robot position control using force information finely adjusts the position of the robot arm to reduce the force applied to the object. Thus, the purpose of the control is to avoid large force so that the object is not broken. In our experiment, we make a comparison among the following three cases in order to clarify how to carry out the control effectively. In the first case, the two robots are operated manually by a user with his/her both hands. In the second case, one robot is operated manually by a user, and the other robot is moved automatically under the proposed control. In the last case, the object is carried directly by a human instead of the robot which is operated by the user in the second case. As a result, experimental results demonstrate that the control can help each system operated manually by the user to carry the object smoothly.

New coordination scheme for multi-robot systems based on state space models

A new coordination scheme for multi-robot systems is proposed. A state space model of the multi- robot system is defined and constructed in which the system＇s initial and goal states are included along with the task definition and the system＇s internal and external constraints. Task accomplishment is considered a transition of the system state in its state space （SS） under the system＇s constraints. Therefore, if there exists a connectable path within reachable area of the SS from the initial state to the goal state, the task is realizable. The optimal strategy for the task realization under constraints is investigated and reached by searching for the optimal state transition trajectory of the robot system in the SS. Moreover, if there is no connectable path, which means the task cannot be performed Successfully, the task could be transformed to be realizable by making the initial state and the goal state connectable and finding a path connecting them in the system＇s SS. This might be done via adjusting the system＇s configuration and/or task constraints. Experiments of multi-robot formation control with obstacles in the environment are conducted and simulation results show the validity of the proposed method.

Flocking of multi-robot systems with connectivity maintenance on directed graphs

Analysis and design techniques for cooperative flocking of nonholonomic multi-robot systems with connectivity maintenance on directed graphs are presented. First, a set of bounded and smoothly distributed control protocols are devised via carefully designing a class of bounded artificial potential fields （APF） which could guarantee the connectivity maintenance, col ision avoidance and distance stabilization simultaneously during the system evolution. The connectivity of the underlying network can be preserved, and the desired stable flocking behavior can be achieved provided that the initial communication topology is strongly connected rather than undirected or balanced, which relaxes the constraints for group topology and extends the previous work to more generalized directed graphs. Furthermore, the proposed control algorithm is extended to solve the flocking problem with a virtual leader. In this case, it is shown that al robots can asymptotically move with the desired velocity and orientation even if there is only one informed robot in the team. Finally, nontrivial simulations and experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

3D Software Technology, Applicable in Elaboration of the Spatial Face Gear Drives for Incorporation into Robot Systems

The study treats a specific technological approach for the elaboration of small manufacturing series of highly precise hyperboloid gears with small module of the teeth and with not big dimensions of the gear mechanism. It is based on the application of the elaborated by authors mathematical models, algorithms and computer programs for synthesis upon a pitch contact point and upon a mesh region. A special feature of the established approach is the application of 3D software prototyping and 3D printing of the designed transmissions. The presented here models of the transmissions with crossed axes and face mated gears are indented for implementation into the driving of two type robots: bio-robot hand and walking robot with four insect-type legs.

Improved single-neuron PID controller for DC motor applied in robot system

An improved single-neuron proportional integral derivative （ PID ） controller and a new method to build the DC motor system were presented in the article. In the simulation, the robot arm is considered as an external load to DC motor. Both the motor module and the load module are crea- ted in Simulink to achieve simulation results closer to real robot system. In this way, it can well veri- fy the performance of the improved single-neuron PID controller, which is a combined controller of normal PID controller and single-neuron PID controller. Besides, an intelligent switcher can help to realize the function of choosing a better control algorithm according to motor＇ s velocity output. Sim- ulated results confirm the rapid and stable response of the improved PID controller. Moreover, the improved single-neuron PID controller has an excellent ability to overcome the load impact and su- press the jamming signals. At last, a GUI interface platform is built to make the controller easier to be applied in other robot systems.

Adaptive Fuzzy Dynamic Surface Control of Flexible-Joint Robot Systems With Input Saturation

In this paper, we propose an adaptive fuzzy dynamic surface control(DSC) scheme for single-link flexible-joint robotic systems with input saturation. A smooth function is utilized with the mean-value theorem to deal with the difficulties associated with input saturation. An adaptive DSC design with an auxiliary first-order filter is used to solve the "explosion of complexity"problem. It is proved that all the signals in the closed-loop system are semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded, and the tracking error eventually converges to a small neighborhood around zero. The main advantage of the proposed method is that only one adaptation parameter needs to be updated,which reduces the computational burden significantly. Simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed scheme and the comparison results show that the improved DSC method can reduce the computational burden by almost two thirds in comparison with the standard DSC method.

A Real Time Self-Tuning Motion Controller for Mobile Robot Systems

This paper proposes an intelligent controller for motion control of robotic systems to obtain high precision tracking without the need for a real-time trial and error method.In addition, a new self-tuning algorithm has been developed based on both the ant colony algorithm and a fuzzy system for real-time tuning of controller parameters. Simulations and experiments using a real robot have been addressed to demonstrate the success of the proposed controller and validate the theoretical analysis. Obtained results confirm that the proposed controller ensures robust performance in the presence of disturbances and parametric uncertainties without the need for adjustment of control law parameters by a trial and error method.

Design and Experiments of Ultrasound Image-Guided Multi-DOF Robot System for Brachytherapy

To implant radioactive seeds through a needle precisely and safely, a novel multi-DOF surgical robotic system is presented in this paper for percutaneous prostate intervention through the patient's perineum under real-time ultrasound image guidance. The proposed robot, which is designed with 9-DOF, consists of a 3-DOF automatic location platform for position adjustment, 2-DOF for automatic ultrasonic probe adjustment mounted with electromagnetic trackers, and 4-DOF for manually adjusting the guided template. Meanwhile, a new registration method based on the quaternion algorithm and least square method is developed, and the needle insertion is performed under the realtime guidance of a navigation system. Furthermore, the robot system has undergone some preliminary experiments with a laser tracker to evaluate the repeatability and accuracy of the robot system. The location error of the puncture needle tip can be controlled under 0.7 mm in air for the whole robotic system. The acquired results endorse the precision of the robot system for prostate seed implantation brachytherapy.

A Study on Development of a Hybrid Aerial/Terrestrial Robot System for Avoiding Ground Obstacles by Flight

To date, many studies related to robots have been performed around the world. Many of these studies have assumed operation at locations where entry is difficult, such as disaster sites, and have focused on various terrestrial robots, such as snake-like, humanoid, spider-type, and wheeled units. Another area of active research in recent years has been aerial robots with small helicopters for operation indoors and outdoors. However,less research has been performed on robots that operate both on the ground and in the air. Accordingly, in this paper, we propose a hybrid aerial/terrestrial robot system. The proposed robot system was developed by equipping a quadcopter with a mechanism for ground movement. It does not use power dedicated to ground movement, and instead uses the flight mechanism of the quadcopter to achieve ground movement as well. Furthermore, we addressed the issue of obstacle avoidance as part of studies on autonomous control. Thus, we found that autonomous control of ground movement and flight was possible for the hybrid aerial/terrestrial robot system, as was autonomous obstacle avoidance by flight when an obstacle appeared during ground movement.

Modeling of a welding robot system with time delay

A new real time control model based on the fundamental Petri net theory is built for a complete close loop welding robot system with time delay. The new Petri net model synchronizes with devices at the primary level by introducing into the basic Petri net expression new parameters which contain the responding real time information. In addition, time delay is taken into account by adding some necessary time related parameters. Usually, in a system without time delay, if the condition is enabled, the transition must be fired, but in a system with time delay, this property is only a necessary but not a sufficient condition.

The investigation of an autonomous intelligent mobile robot system for indoor environment navigation

The autonomous mobile robotics system designed and implemented for indoor environment navigation is a nonholonomic differential drive system with two driving wheels mounted on the same axis driven by two PID controlled motors and two caster wheels mounted in the front and back respectively. It is furnished with multiple kinds of sensors such as IR detectors, ultrasonic sensors, laser line generators and cameras, constituting a perceiving system for exploring its surroundings. Its computation source is a simultaneously running system composed of multiprocessor with multitask and multiprocessing programming. Hybrid control architecture is employed on the mobile robot to perform complex tasks. The mobile robot system is implemented at the Center for Intelligent Design, Automation and Manufacturing of City University of Hong Kong.

Acceleration Workspace of Cooperating Multi-Finger Robot Systems

We present a mathematical method for acceleration workspace analysis of cooperating multi-finger robot systems using a model of point-contact with friction. A new unified formulation from dynamic equations of cooperating multi-finger robots is derived considering the force and acceleration relationships between the fingers and the object to be handled. From the dynamic equation, maximum translational and rotational acceleration bounds of an object are calculated under given constraints of contact conditions, configurations of fingers, and bounds on the torques of joint actuators for each finger. Here, the rotational acceleration bounds can be applied as an important manipulability index when the multi-finger robot grasps an object. To verify the proposed method, we used a set of case studies with a simple multi-finger mechanism system. The achievable acceleration boundary in task space can be obtained successfully with the proposed method and the acceleration boundary depends on the configurations of fingers.

Enhancement of Stabilization Control in Remote Robot System with Force Feedback

In this paper, we deal with a remote robot system in which a user can operate an industrial robot with a force sensor at a remote location by using a haptic interface device. We apply a method using the wave filter together with the phase control filter which was previously proposed by the authors to the remote robot system for stabilization control. We also propose a method to enhance the haptic quality. By experiment, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. We compare the proposed method with the conventional method quantitatively and clarify which domains the proposed method is applied to more effectively.

Research on a New-style Pipeline Inspection Robot System

The pipe inspection robot system is developed for automatic inspection of gas pipeline with pipe diameter between 400 mm and 650 mm. It is composed of a pipe robot crawling mechanism controlled by remote network system, nondestructive examination sensor system, ground working station and so on. This paper presents the pipe inspection robot system design, the Key technique and the performance experiment of the robot. The main performance index of the pipe robot system prototype has reached domestic advanced level. The prototype has also the technical potential to be developed as a product used in industry for periodic check of main gas/oil pipe.

Coordinated motion planning algorithm for multi-arm free flying space robot system

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Fuzzy Timed Agent Based Petri Nets for Modeling Cooperative Multi-Robot Systems

A cooperative multi-robot system (CMRS) modeling method called fuzzy timed agent based Petri nets (FTAPN) is proposed in this paper, which has been extended from fuzzy timed object-oriented Petri net (FTOPN). The proposed FTAPN can be used to model and illustrate both the structural and dynamic aspects of CMRS, which is a typical multi-agent system (MAS). At the same time, supervised learning is supported in FTAPN. As a special type of high-level object, agent is introduced into FTAPN, which is used as a common modeling object in its model. The proposed FTAPN can not only be used to model CMRS and represent system aging effect, but also be refined into the object-oriented implementation easily. At the same time, it can also be regarded as a conceptual and practical artificial intelligence (AI) tool for multi-agent systems (MAS) into the mainstream practice of the software development.