Computer Engineering Commons^™

Dynamic In Vivo Skeletal Feature Tracking Via Fluoroscopy Using A Human Gait Model, William Patrick Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations

The Tracking Fluoroscope System II, a mobile robotic fluoroscopy platform, developed and built at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, presently employs a pattern matching algorithm in order to identify and track a marker placed upon a subject’s knee joint of interest. The purpose of this research is to generate a new tracking algorithm based around the human gait cycle for prediction and improving the overall accuracy of joint tracking.

This research centers around processing the acquired x-ray images of the desired knee joint obtained during standard clinical operation in order to identify and track directly through the acquired image. Due …

Formal Performance Guarantees For An Approach To Human In The Loop Robot Missions, Damian Lyons, Ron Arkin, Shu Jiang, Matt O'Brien, Feng Tang, Peng Tang

Faculty Publications

Abstract— A key challenge in the automatic verification of robot mission software, especially critical mission software, is to be able to effectively model the performance of a human operator and factor that into the formal performance guarantees for the mission. We present a novel approach to modelling the skill level of the operator and integrating it into automatic verification using a linear Gaussians model parameterized by experimental calibration. Our approach allows us to model different skill levels directly in terms of the behavior of the lumped, robot plus operator, system.

Using MissionLab and VIPARS (a behavior-based robot mission verification …

Developing Grounded Goals Through Instant Replay Learning, Lisa Meeden, Douglas S. Blank

Computer Science Faculty Research and Scholarship

This paper describes and tests a developmental architecture that enables a robot to explore its world, to find and remember interesting states, to associate these states with grounded goal representations, and to generate action sequences so that it can re-visit these states of interest. The model is composed of feed-forward neural networks that learn to make predictions at two levels through a dual mechanism of motor babbling for discovering the interesting goal states and instant replay learning for developing the grounded goal representations. We compare the performance of the model with grounded goal representations versus random goal representations, and find …

Belief-Space Planning For Resourceful Manipulation And Mobility, Dirk Ruiken

Doctoral Dissertations

Robots are increasingly expected to work in partially observable and unstructured environments. They need to select actions that exploit perceptual and motor resourcefulness to manage uncertainty based on the demands of the task and environment. The research in this dissertation makes two primary contributions. First, it develops a new concept in resourceful robot platforms called the UMass uBot and introduces the sixth and seventh in the uBot series. uBot-6 introduces multiple postural configurations that enable different modes of mobility and manipulation to meet the needs of a wide variety of tasks and environmental constraints. uBot-7 extends this with the use …

Wheelieking Trainer Project Report, Harold Hall Iii, Nathaniel Fox, Thomas Niemisto

Biomedical Engineering

In this report we will detail the design and implementation process of the WheelieKing Trainer project, a device that helps people learn how to do wheelies on a bicycle by preventing backward falls. Formal project requirements are specified, followed by the ideation and iteration process to meet those requirements. The components and methods used to create the device are described in detail. The results of the development process and usage test results of the device are included. Appendices at the end of this report include references, supporting analyses, and project management and timeline details.

Motherbrain Swarm Robots, Tam Van, Mytch Johnson, Matthew Ng, Darius Holmgren

Computer Engineering

A trial in small-scale, cheap fleet autonomy with computer vision as the feedback controls system.

A Robotics Framework For Simulation And Control Of A Robotic Arm For Use In Higher Education, Craig Christensen

MS in Computer Science Project Reports

Robotic arms have been in common use for a several decades now in many areas from manufacturing and industrial uses to hobby projects and amusement park rides. However, there have been very few attempts to make an inexpensive robot arm with a software stack for use in higher education. This paper will outline a control and interfacing software stack built on the Robot Operating System (ROS) and a simulation of the 5 degree of freedom (DoF) robotic arm.

An Approach To Robust Homing With Stereovision, Fuqiang Fu, Damian Lyons

Faculty Publications

Visual Homing is a bioinspired approach to robot navigation which can be fast and uses few assumptions. However, visual homing in a cluttered and unstructured outdoor environment offers several challenges to homing methods that have been developed for primarily indoor environments. One issue is that any current image during homing may be tilted with respect to the home image. The second is that moving through a cluttered scene during homing may cause obstacles to interfere between the home scene and location and the current scene and location. In this paper, we introduce a robust method to improve a previous developed …

Pythagorean Approximations For Lego: Merging Educational Robot Construction With Programming And Data Analysis, Ronald I. Greenberg

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Abstract. This paper can be used in two ways. It can provide reference information for incorporating diagonal elements (for bracing or gear meshing) in educational robots built from standard LEGO kits. Alternatively, it can be used as the basis for an assignment for high school or college students to recreate this information; in the process, students will exercise skills in both computer programming and data analysis. Using the paper in the second way can be an excellent integrative experience to add to an existing course; for example, the Exploring Computer Science high school curriculum concludes with the units “Introduction to …

Swarm Engineering, S. Kazadi '90

Sanza Kazadi

Swarm engineering is the natural evolution of the use of swarm-based techniques in the accomplishment of high level tasks using a number of simple robots. In this approach, one seeks not to generate a class of behaviors designed to accomplish a given global goal, as is the approach typically found in mainstream robotics. Once the class of behaviors has been understood and decided upon, specific behaviors designed to accomplish this goal may be generated that will complete the desired task without any concern about whether or not the final goal will actually be completed. As long as the generated behaviors …

Performance Verification For Robot Missions In Uncertain Environments, Damian Lyons, Ron Arkin, Shu Jiang, Matt O'Brien, Feng Tang, Peng Tang

Faculty Publications

Abstract—Certain robot missions need to perform predictably in a physical environment that may have significant uncertainty. One approach is to leverage automatic software verification techniques to establish a performance guarantee. The addition of an environment model and uncertainty in both program and environment, however, means the state-space of a model-checking solution to the problem can be prohibitively large. An approach based on behavior-based controllers in a process-algebra framework that avoids state-space combinatorics is presented here. In this approach, verification of the robot program in the uncertain environment is reduced to a filtering problem for a Bayesian Network. Validation results …

Establishing A-Priori Performance Guarantees For Robot Missions That Include Localization Software, Damian Lyons, Ron Arkin, Shu Jiang, Matt O'Brien, Feng Tang, Peng Tang

Faculty Publications

One approach to determining whether an automated system is performing correctly is to monitor its performance, signaling when the performance is not acceptable; another approach is to automatically analyze the possible behaviors of the system a-priori and determine performance guarantees. Thea authors have applied this second approach to automatically derive performance guarantees for behaviorbased, multi-robot critical mission software using an innovative approach to formal verification for robotic software. Localization and mapping algorithms can allow a robot to navigate well in an unknown environment. However, whether such algorithms enhance any specific robot mission is currently a matter for empirical validation. Several …

Hands-On Learning Environment And Educational Curriculum On Collaborative Robotics, Ana Djuric, Jeremy L. Rickli, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Daniel Foster

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The objective of this paper is to describe teaching modules developed at Wayne State University integrate collaborative robots into existing industrial automation curricula. This is in alignment with Oakland Community College and WSU’s desire to create the first industry-relevant learning program for the use of emerging collaborative robotics technology in advanced manufacturing systems. The various learning program components will prepare a career-ready workforce, train industry professionals, and educate academicians on new technologies. Preparing future engineers to work in highly automated production, requires proper education and training in CoBot theory and applications. Engineering and Engineering Technology at Wayne State University offer …