Neural Dynamics for Cooperative Motion Control of Omnidirectional Mobile Manipulators in the Presence of Noises: A Distributed Approach

This paper presents a distributed scheme with limited communications, aiming to achieve cooperative motion control for multiple omnidirectional mobile manipulators(MOMMs).The proposed scheme extends the existing single-agent motion control to cater to scenarios involving the cooperative operation of MOMMs. Specifically, squeeze-free cooperative load transportation is achieved for the end-effectors of MOMMs by incorporating cooperative repetitive motion planning(CRMP), while guiding each individual to desired poses. Then, the distributed scheme is formulated as a time-varying quadratic programming(QP) and solved online utilizing a noise-tolerant zeroing neural network(NTZNN). Theoretical analysis shows that the NTZNN model converges globally to the optimal solution of QP in the presence of noise. Finally, the effectiveness of the control design is demonstrated by numerical simulations and physical platform experiments.

High-performance omnidirectional self-powered photodetector constructed by CsSnBr_(3)/ITO heterostructure film

Omnidirectional photodetectors attract enormous attention due to their prominent roles in optical tracking systems and omnidirectional cameras.However,it is still a challenge for the construction of high-performance omnidirectional photodetectors where the incident light can be effectively absorbed in multiple directions and the photo-generated carriers can be effectively collected.Here,a high-performance omnidirectional self-powered photodetector based on the CsSnBr_(3)/indium tin oxide(ITO)heterostructure film was designed and demonstrated.The as-fabricated photodetector exhibited an excellent self-powered photodetection performance,showing responsivity and detectivity up to 35.1 mA/W and 1.82×10^(10) Jones,respectively,along with the smart rise/decay response time of 4 ms/9 ms.Benefitting from the excellent photoelectric properties of the CsSnBr_(3) film as well as the ability of the CsSnBr_(3)/ITO heterostructure to efficiently separate and collect photo-generated carriers,the as-fabricated photodetector also exhibited an excellent omnidirectional self-powered photodetection performance.All the results have certified that this work finds an efficient way to realize high-performance omnidirectional self-powered photodetectors.

Obstacle Avoidance Capability for Multi-Target Path Planning in Different Styles of Search

This study investigates robot path planning for multiple agents,focusing on the critical requirement that agents can pursue concurrent pathways without collisions.Each agent is assigned a task within the environment to reach a designated destination.When the map or goal changes unexpectedly,particularly in dynamic and unknown environments,it can lead to potential failures or performance degradation in various ways.Additionally,priority inheritance plays a significant role in path planning and can impact performance.This study proposes a ConflictBased Search(CBS)approach,introducing a unique hierarchical search mechanism for planning paths for multiple robots.The study aims to enhance flexibility in adapting to different environments.Three scenarios were tested,and the accuracy of the proposed algorithm was validated.In the first scenario,path planning was applied in unknown environments,both stationary and mobile,yielding excellent results in terms of time to arrival and path length,with a time of 2.3 s.In the second scenario,the algorithm was applied to complex environments containing sharp corners and unknown obstacles,resulting in a time of 2.6 s,with the algorithm also performing well in terms of path length.In the final scenario,the multi-objective algorithm was tested in a warehouse environment containing fixed,mobile,and multi-targeted obstacles,achieving a result of up to 100.4 s.Based on the results and comparisons with previous work,the proposed method was found to be highly effective,efficient,and suitable for various environments.

Dynamic Modeling and Analysis of 9-DOF Omnidirectional Legged Vehicle

The omnidirectional legged vehicle with steering-rails has a specific mechanism feature, and it can be controlled flexibly and accurately in omnidirectional motion. Currently there lacks further research in this area. In this paper, the mechanical characteristics of independent walking control and steering control and its kinematics principle are introduced, and a vehicle has a composite motion mode of parallel link mechanism and steering mechanism is presented. The motion direction control of the proposed vehicle is only dependant on its steering rails, so its motion is simple and effective to control. When the relative motion between the walking and steering is controlled cooperatively, the vehicle can walk perfectly. By controlling the steering rails, the vehicle can walk along arbitrary trajectory on the ground. To achieve a good result of motion control, an equivalent manipulator model needs to be built. In terms of the mechanism feature and the kinematic principle, the simplified manipulator model consists of a rail in stance phase, a rail in swing phase, and an equivalent leg. Considering the ground surface slope during walking, a parameter of inclination angle is added. Based on such a RPP manipulator model, the equations of motion are derived by means of Lagrangian dynamic approach. To verify the dynamic equations, the motion of the manipulator model is simulated based on linear and nonlinear motion planning. With the same model and motion parameters, the dynamic equations can be solved by Matlab and the calculation data can be gained. Compared with the simulation data, the result confirms the manipulator dynamic equations are correct. As a result of such special characteristics of the legged mechanism with steering rails, it has a potential broad application prospects. The derivation of dynamics equation could benefit the motion control of the mechanism.

Detecting and Tracking Moving Targets on Omnidirectional Vision

A method was presented to implement the detecting and tracking of moving targets through omnidirec-tional vision. The method combined optical flow with particle filter arithmetic, in which optical flow field was used to detect and locate moving targets and particle filter was used to track the detected moving objects. According to the circular image character of omnidirectional vision, the calculation equation of optical flow field and the tracking arithmetic of particle filter were improved based on the polar coordinates at the omnidirectional center. The edge of a randomly moving object could be detected by optical flow field and was surrounded by a reference region in the particle filter. A dynamic motion model was established to predict particle state. Histograms were used as the fea-tures in the reference region and candidate regions. The mutual information (MI) and Gaussian function were com-bined to calculate particle weights. Finally, the state of tracked object was computed by the total particle states with weights. Experiment results show that the proposed method could detect and track moving objects with better real-time performance and accuracy.

Motion Control of Omnidirectional Mobile Platform based on Fuzzy PID

The omnidirectional mobile platform has three degrees of freedom that make it widely applicable to all areas of industry, while the Mecanum wheel has the disadvantages wheel omnidirectional mobile platform is always difficult in of large vibration, the trajectory precision of Mecanum the omnidirectional mobile platform. To control the trajectory of the omnidirectional mobile platform better, this paper proposes a fuzzy self-tuning PID control model, through establishing the motion model of omnidirectional mobile platform in Adams software, then combined with Simulink simulation, analysis of fuzzy PID controller to improve the accuracy of the speed control of omnidirectional mobile platform, improve the control method of a precise trajectory of the omnidirectional mobile platform motion.

Omnidirectional Antenna Diversity System for High-Speed Onboard Communication

In this article,an omnidirectional dual-polarized antenna with synergetic electromagnetic and aerodynamic properties is propounded for high-speed diversity systems.The propounded antenna comprises a probe-fed cavity for horizontally polarized radiation and a microstrip-fed slot for vertical polarization.Double-layer metasurfaces are properly designed as artificial magnetic conductor boundaries with direct metal-mountable onboard installation and compact sizes.An attached wedge-shaped block is utilized for windage reduction in hydrodynamics.The propounded antenna is fabricated for design verification,and the experimental results agree well with the simulated ones.For vertical polarization,the operating bandwidth is in the range of 2.37–2.55 GHz,and the realized gain variation in the azimuthal radiation pattern is 3.67 decibels(dB).While an impedance bandwidth in the range of 2.45–2.47 GHz and a gain variation of 3.71 dB are also achieved for horizontal polarization.A port isolation more than 33 dB is obtained in a compact volume of 0.247λ_(0)×0.345λ_(0)×0.074λ_(0),whereλ_(0)represents the wavelength in vacuum at the center frequency,wherein the wedge-shaped block is included.The propounded diversity antenna has electromagnetic and aerodynamic merits,and exhibits an excellent potential for high-speed onboard communication.

An object tracking and global localization method using the cylindrical projection of omnidirectional image

We present an omnidirectional vision system we have implemented to provide our mobile robot with a fast tracking and robust localization capability. An algorithm is proposed to do reconstruction of the environment from the omnidirectional image and global localization of the robot in the context of the Middle Size League RoboCup field. This is accomplished by learning a set of visual landmarks such as the goals and the corner posts. Due to the dynamic changing environment and the partially observable landmarks, four localization cases are discussed in order to get robust localization performance. Localization is performed using a method that matches the observed landmarks, i.e. color blobs, which are extracted from the environment. The advantages of the cylindrical projection are discussed giving special consideration to the characteristics of the visual landmark and the meaning of the blob extraction. The analysis is established based on real time experiments with our omnidirectional vision system and the actual mobile robot. The comparative studies are presented and the feasibility of the method is shown.

Perceptual Quality Assessment of Omnidirectional Images:Subjective Experiment and Objective Model Evaluation

Virtual reality(VR) environment can provide immersive experience to viewers.Under the VR environment, providing a good quality of experience is extremely important.Therefore, in this paper, we present an image quality assessment(IQA) study on omnidirectional images. We first build an omnidirectional IQA(OIQA) database, including 16 source images with their corresponding 320 distorted images. We add four commonly encountered distortions. These distortions are JPEG compression, JPEG2000 compression, Gaussian blur, and Gaussian noise. Then we conduct a subjective quality evaluation study in the VR environment based on the OIQA database. Considering that visual attention is more important in VR environment, head and eye movement data are also tracked and collected during the quality rating experiments. The 16 raw and their corresponding distorted images,subjective quality assessment scores, and the head-orientation data and eye-gaze data together constitute the OIQA database. Based on the OIQA database, we test some state-of-the-art full-reference IQA(FR-IQA) measures on equirectangular format or cubic formatomnidirectional images. The results show that applying FR-IQA metrics on cubic format omnidirectional images could improve their performance. The performance of some FR-IQA metrics combining the saliency weight of three different types are also tested based on our database. Some new phenomena different from traditional IQA are observed.

Design of deep-water omnidirectional spirit level

Attitude adjustment is a key link in the installation process of underwater facilities in deep water.To solve this problem,an omnidirectional spirit level for deep water was developed.The sealing principle of the spirit level and the principle of deep-water pressure resistance are analyzed,and the threaded connection strength is checked.The mechanical simulation verifies that the spirit level can withstand the pressure of 2000 m water depth,and the water pressure test is carried out for 30 min in a 20 MPa hyperbaric chamber.After the experiment is completed,the appearance of the spirit level is intact and there is no leakage.The experiment results show that the deep-water omnidirectional spirit level can be used in the deep sea within 2000 m.

Studies on omnidirectional enhancement of giga-hertz radiation by sub-wavelength plasma modulation

The technology of radio frequency （RF） radiation intensification for radio compact antennas based on modulation and enhancement effects of sub-wavelength plasma structures represents an innovative developing strategy. It exhibits important scientific significance and promising potential of broad applications in various areas of national strategic demands, such as electrical information network and microwave communication, detection and control technology. In this paper, laboratory experiments and corresponding analyses have been carried out to investigate the modulation and enhancement technology of sub-wavelength plasma structure on the RF electromagnetic radiation. An application focused sub-wavelength plasma-added intensification up to ~7 dB higher than the free-space radiation is observed experimentally in giga-hertz （GHz） RF band. The effective radiation enhancement bandwidth covers from 0.85 to 1.17 GHz, while the enhanced electromagnetic signals transmitted by sub-wavelength plasma structures maintain good communication quality. Particularly, differing from the traditional RF electromagnetic radiation enhancement method characterized by focusing the radiation field of antenna in a specific direction, the sub-wavelength plasma-added intensification of the antenna radiation presents an omnidirectional enhancement, which is reported experimentally for the first time. Corresponding performance characteristics and enhancement mechanism analyses are also conducted in this paper. The results have demonstrated the feasibility and promising potential of sub-wavelength plasma modulation in application focused RF communication, and provided the scientific basis for further research and development of sub-wavelength plasma enhanced compact antennas with wide-range requests and good quality for communication.

Design and Optimization of Omnidirectional Band Gap for One-Dimensional Periodic and Quasiperiodic Phononic Heterostructures

A new kind of one-dimensional multilayer phononie heterostructure is constructed to obtain a broad acoustic omnidirectional reflection （ODR） band. The heterostructure is formed by combining finite periodic phononic crystals （PnCs） and Fibonacci （or Thue-Morse） quasiperiodic PnCs. From the numerical results performed by the transfer matrix method, it is found that the ODR bands can be enlarged obviously by using the combination of periodic and quasi-periodic PnCs. Moreover, an application of particle swarm optimization in designing and optimizing acoustic ODR bands is reported. With regards to different thickness ratios and periodic numbers in the heterostructure, we give some optimization examples and finally achieve phononic heterostructure with a very broad ODR bandwidth. The result provides a new approach to achieve broad acoustic ODR bandwidth, and will be applied in design of omnidirectional acoustic mirrors.

Study of an Omnidirectional Guide Wave Sensor Using an EMAT

Nondestructive inspection of structures is important for ensuring the safety of the social infrastructure. Among them, the ultrasonic inspection method plays a role as a major technology. However, when examining a huge structure, the inspection time tends to be very long. Therefore, a system for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves in all directions from the ultrasonic sensor has been constructed. Several types of ultrasonic sensors using this concept have already been devised, but since the ultrasonic energy is dispersed in all directions, there is a problem that a sufficient detection performance cannot be ensured, especially when the thickness of the material to be inspected becomes thick. Therefore, we developed a highly sensitive omnidirectional ultrasonic sensor utilizing the resonance phenomenon of the ultrasonic wave propa-gating in the thickness direction. The omnidirectional ultrasonic system also consists of an electromagnetic ultrasonic transducer (EMAT) using a circular magnet. It is possible to inspect the plate thickness from 0.3 mm to 10 mm and the inspection range of the diameter of 300 mm around the sensor by the developed system. It is indicated that the developed system allows the high-speed inspection of huge structures.

Kinematics Modeling of an Omnidirectional Autonomous Mobile Robot with Castor Wheels

The kinematics model of an omnidirectional wheeled mobile robot （WMR） platform with 3 castor wheels was built, which includes the actuated inverse solution and the sensed forward solution. Motion simulations verify the consistency between the actuated inverse solution and the sensed forward solution. Analysis results show that the WMR possesses 3 degrees of freedom, and its motion trajectory is a straight line. The ＂pushing＂ and ＂pulling＂ motion patterns of the WMR can be generated by using different wheel orientations. It can be used in the places where the space is limited.

A Study of Different Unwarping Methods for Omnidirectional Imaging

Omni-directional imaging system is becoming more and more common in reducing the maintenance fees and the number of cameras used as well as increasing the angle of view in a single camera. Due to omni-directional images are not directly understandable, an approach namely the un-warping process, has been implemented in converting the omni-directional image to a panoramic image, making it understandable. There are different kinds of methods used for the implementation of this approach. This paper evaluates the performance of the 3 universal un-warping methods currently applied actively around the world in transforming omni-directional image to panoramic image, namely the pano-mapping table method, discrete geometry method （DGT） and the log-polar mapping method. The algorithm of these methods will first be proposed, and the code will then be generated and be tested on several different omni-directional images. The images converted will then be compared among each other and be evaluated based on their performance on the resolutions, quality, algorithm used, complexity based on Big-O computations, processing time, and finally their data compression rate available for each of the methods. The most preferable un-warping method will then be concluded, taking into considerations all these factors.

Predicting Ground Effects of Omnidirectional Antennas in Wireless Sensor Networks

Omnidirectional antennas are often used for radio frequency (RF) communication in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Outside noise, electromagnetic interference (EMI), overloaded network traffic, large obstacles (vegetation and buildings), terrain and atmospheric composition, along with climate patterns can degrade signal quality in the form of data packet loss or reduced RF communication range. This paper explores the RF range reduction properties of a particular WSN designed to operate in agricultural crop fields to collect aggregate data composed of subsurface soil moisture and soil temperature. Our study, using simulation, anechoic and field measurements shows that the effect of antenna placement close to the ground (within 10 cm) signi?cantly changes the omnidirectional transmission pattern. We then develop and propose a prediction method that is more precise than current practices of using the Friis and Fresnel equations. Our prediction method takes into account environmental properties for RF communication range based on the height of nodes and gateways.

A Self-Position Estimation Algorithm for Multiple Mobile Robots Using Two Omnidirectional Cameras and an Accelerometer

This paper proposes a self-position estimate algorithm for the multiple mobile robots; each robot uses two omnidirectional cameras and an accelerometer. In recent years, the Great East Japan Earthquake and large-scale disasters have occurred frequently in Japan. From this, development of the searching robot which supports the rescue team to perform a relief activity at a large-scale disaster is indispensable. Then, this research has developed the searching robot group system with two or more mobile robots. In this research, the searching robot equips with two omnidirectional cameras and an accelerometer. In order to perform distance measurement using two omnidirectional cameras, each parameter of an omnidirectional camera and the position and posture between two omnidirectional cameras have to be calibrated in advance. If there are few mobile robots, the calibration time of each omnidirectional camera does not pose a problem. However, if the calibration is separately performed when using two or more robots in a disaster site, etc., it will take huge calibration time. Then, this paper proposed the algorithm which estimates a mobile robot＇s position and the parameter of the position and posture between two omnidirectional cameras simultaneously. The algorithm proposed in this paper extended Nonlinear Transformation （NLT） Method. This paper conducted the simulation experiment to check the validity of the proposed algorithm. In some simulation experiments, one mobile robot moves and observes the circumference of another mobile robot which has stopped at a certain place. This paper verified whether the mobile robot can estimate position using the measurement value when the number of observation times becomes 10 times in n/18 of observation intervals. The result of the simulation shows the effectiveness of the algorithm.

Simultaneous Position Estimation and Omnidirectional Camera Parameter Calibration for Multiple Mobile Robots

This paper proposed an algorithm on simultaneous position estimation and calibration of omnidirectional camera parameters for a group of multiple mobile robots. It is aimed at developing of exploration and information gathering robotic system in unknown environment. Here, each mobile robot is not possible to know its own position. It can only estimate its own position by using the measurement value including white noise acquired by two omnidirectional cameras mounted on it. Each mobile robot is able to obtain the distance to those robots observed from the images of two omnidirectional cameras while making calibration during moving but not in advance. Simulation of three robots moving straightly shows the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Beyond Video Quality:Evaluation of Spatial Presence in 360-Degree Videos

With the rapid development of immersive multimedia technologies,360-degree video services have quickly gained popularity and how to ensure sufficient spatial presence of end users when viewing 360-degree videos becomes a new challenge.In this regard,accurately acquiring users’sense of spatial presence is of fundamental importance for video service providers to improve their service quality.Unfortunately,there is no efficient evaluation model so far for measuring the sense of spatial presence for 360-degree videos.In this paper,we first design an assessment framework to clarify the influencing factors of spatial presence.Related parameters of 360-degree videos and headmounted display devices are both considered in this framework.Well-designed subjective experiments are then conducted to investigate the impact of various influencing factors on the sense of presence.Based on the subjective ratings,we propose a spatial presence assessment model that can be easily deployed in 360-degree video applications.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first attempt in literature to establish a quantitative spatial presence assessment model by using technical parameters that are easily extracted.Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model can reliably predict the sense of spatial presence.

Kinematic Control of Free Rigid Bodies Using Dual Quaternions

This paper proposes a new type of control laws for free rigid bodies. The start point is the dual quaternion and its characteristics. The logarithm of a dual quaternion is defined, based on which kinematic control laws can be developed. Global exponential convergence is achieved using logarithmic feedback via a generalized proportional control law, and an appropriate Lyapunov function is constructed to prove the stability. Both the regulation and tracking problems are tackled. Omnidirectional control is discussed as a case study. As the control laws can handle the interconnection between the rotation and translation of a rigid body, they are shown to be more applicable than the conventional method.