Robotics Commons^™

Robotic Turret, Daniel Romero, Matthew (Matt) Martelle, Scott Mullens, Rachel Diamant

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Concept Tests For A New Wire Flying Vehicle Designed To Achieve High Horizontal Resolution Profiling In Deep Water, Chris Roman, Dave Hebert

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Efficiently profiling the water column to achieve both high vertical and horizontal resolution from a moving vessel in deep water is difficult. Current solutions, such as CTD tow-yos, moving vessel profilers, and undulating tow bodies, are limited by ship speed or water depth. As a consequence, it is difficult to obtain oceanographic sections with sufficient resolution to identify many relevant scales over the deeper sections of the water column. This paper presents a new concept for a profiling vehicle that slides up and down a towed wire in a controlled manner using the lift created by wing foils. The wings …

A Study Of A Novel Modular Variable Geometry Frame Arranged As A Robotic Surface, Christopher James Salisbury

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The novel concept of a "variable geometry frame" is introduced and explored through a three-dimensional robotic surface which is devised and implemented using triangular modules. The link design is optimized using surplus motor dimensions as firm constraints, and round numbers for further arbitrary constraints. Each module is connected by a passive six-bar mechanism that mimics the constraints of a spherical joint at each triangle intersection. A three dimensional inkjet printer is used to create a six-module prototype designed around surplus stepper motors powered by an old computer power supply as a proof-of-concept example.

The finite element method is applied to …

A New Approach To Dynamic Modeling Of Continuum Robots, Nivedhitha Giri

All Theses

ABSTRACT
In this thesis, a new approach for developing practically realizable dynamic models for continuum robots is proposed. Based on the new dynamic models developed, a novel technique for analyzing the capabilities of continuum manipulators to be employed in various real world applications has also been proposed and developed.
A section of a continuum arm is modeled using lumped model elements (masses, springs and dampers). It is shown that this model, although an approximation to a continuum structure, can be used to conveniently analyze the dynamics of the arm with suitable tradeoff in accuracy of modeling. This relatively simple model …

The Design Of A Haptic Device For Training And Evaluating Surgeon And Novice Laparoscopic Movement Skills, Ryan Bontreger

All Theses

As proper levels of force application are necessary to ensure patient safety, and training hours with an expert on live subjects are difficult, enhanced computer-based training is needed to teach the next generation of surgeons. Considering the role of touch in surgery, there is a need for a device capable of discerning the haptic ability of surgical trainees. This need is amplified by minimally invasive surgical techniques where a surgeon's sense of tissue properties comes not directly through their own hands but indirectly through the tools. A haptic device capable of producing a realistic range of forces and motions that …

Fitness Biasing For The Box Pushing Task, Gary Parker, Jim O'Connor

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Anytime Learning with Fitness Biasing has been shown in previous works to be an effective tool for evolving hexapod gaits. In this paper, we present the use of Anytime Learning with Fitness Biasing to evolve the controller for a robot learning the box pushing task. The robot that was built for this task, was measured to create an accurate model. The model was used in simulation to test the effectiveness of Anytime Learning with Fitness Biasing for the box pushing task. This work is the first step in new research where an automated system to test the viability of Fitness …

Dynamics And Control Of The Shoot-The-Moon Tabletop Game, Peng Xu

All Theses

The classic table-top game Shoot-the-Moon has interesting dynamics despite its simple structure, consisting of a steel ball rolling on two cylindrical rods. The two sloped rods are hinged at the lower ends and allowed to freely slide in a slot at the higher end. The ball can amazingly roll upward along the rods under carefully manipulation of the rods. There is also an interaction between ball rotation and translation that cause the ball to ``shoot'' (quickly accelerate).
In this thesis, the kinematics are developed for Shoot-the-Moon and then equations of motion are derived using both Lagrangian and Newtonian approaches. The …

Cyberknife Radiation Modeling: Effects Of Relaxed Translational And Rotational Constraints On Healthy Tissue Irradiation, Sudha Bhavaroop Potineni

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The Cyberknife system is a robotic radio surgery instrument that is used to treat cancers in different parts of the human body. Because of its accuracy and precision, it has become one of the best radio surgery systems in the world. However, even with Cyberknife the treatment time for one session takes from 30 minutes up to 120 minutes depending on the size, shape, and position of the tumor in the human body. In this research, a solution is presented to aid in reducing this long treatment time. An algorithm is developed which simulates the amount of the healthy tissue …

Evolving Machine Morality Strategies Through Multiagent Simulations, David Burke

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

There is a general consensus among robotics researchers that the world of the future will be filled with autonomous and semi-autonomous machines. There is less of a consensus, though, on the best approach to instilling a sense of 'machine morality' in these systems so that they will be able to have effective interactions with humans in an increasingly complex world. In my talk, we take a brief look at some existing approaches to computational ethics, and then describe work we've undertaken creating multiagent simulations involving moral decision-making during strategic interactions. In these simulations, agents make choices about whether to cooperate …

Woody: Roborodentia 2011 Robot, Felix Chung, Canh Sy, Hanson Yu

Computer Engineering

Woody is a fully autonomous robot built and designed for the 2011 Cal Poly Roborodentia competition. Woody’s goal is to score the most points in the competition by navigating the competition field, efficiently collecting ping pong balls from the racks, and shooting the balls into the goal accurately. There was no specific budget set for the project, but costs were kept low by using tools from the Computer Engineering Capstone Lab, inexpensive materials such as wood, and reusable parts from robots from previous Roborodentia competitions.

Ultra-Short Baseline Acoustic Positioning System, Timothy Joel Soppet

Computer Engineering

This paper explains the design, implementation, and testing of an ultra short baseline (USBL) acoustic positioning system for the Amador Valley High School (AVHS) Robotics Club’s Barracuda Mark-X AUV. The system will be used to locate an underwater transducer beacon representing the final waypoint in an obstacle course designed for the AUVSI/ONR RoboSub international collegiate competition.

Characterization Of A Dual Acoustic Receiver System For Measuring Range And Bearing To Acoustic Tags, Victoria Campana, Justin Knight

Computer Engineering

Experiements were performed to determine the effectiveness of the Lotek RT-A Hydrophone system and if it could provide the data necessary for a particle filter to determine the location of a shark. Over the period of a few months, we tested off the Cal Poly Pier at set GPS coordinates to characterize how accurately the Lotek System can determine range and orientation. Ranges from 0-500 meters were tested with the Lotek system being in a stationary position and Lotek receiver tag being put at specified GPS coordinates. The two hydrophone rigging was then rotated a full 360 degrees to gauge …

Mr. Robot: A Roborodentia Contestant, Stephen Berry, Jamie Nease

Computer Engineering

Roborodentia is an annual robotics competition held during Open House at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Each year, students construct autonomous robots which compete head-to-head to score the most points. This report will give an overview of the competition and the details of our robot.

Autonomous Golf Cart Vision Using Hsv Image Processing And Commercial Webcam, John D. Fulton

Electrical Engineering

Using openCV I was able to use a store bought webcam and my laptop to build code that could detect the lane lines and the curb on the road and use them to calculate a trajectory for an autonomous vehicle to follow. The code does have some flaws, as discovered in testing, and definitely room for improvement but it still functions as a useful basis for development. Developed primarily for the Autonomous Golf Car Project at Cal Poly the principles of how it functions could be applied to other projects that want to use computer vision.

Autonomous Crash Avoidance System, Brian Ujiie, Gordon Woods, Joshua Miller

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Streaming Client And Server Model, Austin Alan Diec

Computer Engineering

A few years ago, several Cal Poly undergraduates started the Autonomous Robot Platform (ARP). Interest in a revision of the ARP requires a new layer of communication. This paper describes the design and partial implementation of the communication layer to be used with the revised ARP. The communication layer would allow the autonomous robot platform to connect with a client over the wireless local area network (WLAN) for instructions and commands. It is important to note that currently, the assumed revision of the ARP is nonexistent, so many of the design decisions are based solely on the assumptions of ARP …

Project 308: Augmented Reality Mario Kart, Joseph Abad, David Allender, Joryl Calizo, Ryan Gaspar, Gavin Lee

Computer Engineering

Mario Kart is a popular go-kart racing game developed by Nintendo. The premise of the game is simple: drive a go-kart along a racetrack and reach the finish line before the other players. What makes this game unique, however, is the inclusion of weapons, traps, and other projectiles that a player can use to gain an advantage in the race. We have taken on the challenge of not only recreating this amazing game, but using the art of Augmented Reality to fully immerse the player in the full experience. Rather than play the game on a television screen with a …

Fuzzy Robot Controller Tuning With Biogeography-Based Optimization, George Thomas, Paul Lozovyy, Daniel J. Simon

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Biogeography-based optimization (BBO) is an evolutionary algorithm (EA) based upon the models of biogeography, which describe the relationship between habitat suitability and the migration of species across habitats. In this work, we apply BBO to the problem of tuning the fuzzy tracking controller of mobile robots. This is an extension of previous work, in which we used BBO to tune a proportional-derivative (PD) controller for these robots. We show that BBO can successfully tune the shape of membership functions for a fuzzy controller with both simulation and real world experimental results.

Pose Estimation For Robotic Disassembly Using Ransac With Line Features, Shyam Sundar Aswadha Narayanan

All Theses

In this thesis, a new technique to recognize and estimate the pose of a given 3-D object from a single real image provided known prior knowledge of its approximate structure is proposed. Metrics to evaluate the correctness of a calculated pose are presented and analyzed. The traditional and the more recent approaches used in solving this problem are explored and the various methodologies adopted are discussed.
The first step in disassembling a given assembly from its image is to recognize the attitude and translation of each of its constituent components - a fundamental problem which is being addressed in this …

Development Of High Resolution Sea Floor Mapping Tools And Techniques, Gabrielle Inglis, J. Ian Vaughn, Clara Smart, Christopher N. Roman

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

There is a persistent need for high resolution photographic and bathymetric maps of the sea floor for many research areas in marine geology, biology and archaeology. This poster will present recent work using high frequency multibeam sonars, stereo vision and structured light laser imaging techniques to create maps with centimeter resolution for these applications. This research involves the development of new image and sonar processing techniques that combat the typical difficulties of imperfect navigation information, limited sensor ranges and adverse environmental conditions associated with using marine robotic vehicles in the ocean. Data for this work has been collected with the …