Computer Engineering Commons^™

Probabilistic Verification Of Multi-Robot Missions In Uncertain Environments, Damian M. Lyons, Ronald Arkin, Shu Jiang, Dagan Harrington, Feng Tang, Peng Tang

Faculty Publications

The effective use of autonomous robot teams in highly-critical missions depends on being able to establish performance guarantees. However, establishing a guarantee for the behavior of an autonomous robot operating in an uncertain environment with obstacles is a challenging problem. This paper addresses the challenges involved in building a software tool for verifying the behavior of a multi-robot waypoint mission that includes uncertain environment geometry as well as uncertainty in robot motion. One contribution of this paper is an approach to the problem of a-priori specification of uncertain environments for robot program verification. A second contribution is a novel method …

Visual Slam And Surface Reconstruction For Abdominal Minimally Invasive Surgery, Bingxiong Lin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Depth information of tissue surfaces and laparoscope poses are crucial for accurate surgical guidance and navigation in Computer Assisted Surgeries (CAS). Intra-operative Three Dimensional (3D) reconstruction and laparoscope localization are therefore two fundamental tasks in CAS. This dissertation focuses on the abdominal Minimally Invasive Surgeries (MIS) and presents laparoscopic-video-based methods for these two tasks.

Different kinds of methods have been presented to recover 3D surface structures of surgical scenes in MIS. Those methods are mainly based on laser, structured light, time-of-flight cameras, and video cameras. Among them, laparoscopic-video-based surface reconstruction techniques have many significant advantages. Specifically, they are non-invasive, provide …

Reducing The Control Burden Of Legged Robotic Locomotion Through Biomimetic Consonance In Mechanical Design And Control, Caitrin Elizabeth Eaton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial robots must be capable of negotiating rough terrain if they are to become autonomous outside of the lab. Although the control mechanism offered by wheels is attractive in its simplicity, any wheeled system is confined to relatively flat terrain. Wheels will also only ever be useful for rolling, while limbs observed in nature are highly multimodal. The robust locomotive utility of legs is evidenced by the many animals that walk, run, jump, swim, and climb in a world full of challenging terrain.

On the other hand, legs with multiple degrees of freedom (DoF) require much more complex control and …

Multi-3d System: Advanced Manufacturing Through The Implementation Of Material Handling Robotics, Jose Luis Coronel Jr.

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Since the rise of additive manufacturing (AM), innovation has been at the forefront. Additive Manufacturing systems that incorporate complex processes are steadily being developed. One example is the Multi3D System, which was designed to integrate the ability to print multi-material parts with that of embedding electronics. To achieve this automated process, the Multi3D incorporates a six-axis robotic arm to transfer a build platform containing a printed part, to various manufacturing stations (two fused deposition modeling (Stratasys, FDM400mc) systems and a computer numerical control router (Techno CNC Router). The robot is a Yaskawa Motoman MH50 chosen for its payload capacity of …

E-Quality Design Of Experiments For Structural Electronics, Oscar Murga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a technology utilized for creating complex parts by adding layers of material in order to create a three dimensional functional part. This technology has been pushed to a new level of functionality where mechanical parts are combined with electronic components to create Three-Dimensional Structural Electronics (3DSE) systems. This new technology has been used to replace Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), for 3D SE are light weight and can be created in any desired shape. Computer Aided Design (CAD) software is used to design the part and a Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) machine is used to 3D print …

Preparing Students For The Advanced Manufacturing Environment Through Robotics, Mechatronics, And Automation Training, Ana M. Djuric, Vukica Jovanovic, Tatiana V. Goris

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Automation is one of the key areas for modern manufacturing systems. It requires coordination of different machines to support manufacturing operations in a company. Recent studies show that there is a gap in the STEM workforce preparation in regards to highly automated production environments. Industrial robots have become an essential part of these semi-automated and automated manufacturing systems. Their control and programming requires adequate education and training in robotics theory and applications. Various engineering technology departments offer different courses related to the application of robotics. These courses are a great way to inspire students to learn about science, math, engineering, …

Autonomous Robot Sphere, Robert Haver, Melissa Haver, Daniel Madden, Noah Robertson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Autonomous Robot Sphere is an interactive robot toy meant to entertain kids. The robot will locate its target and execute algorithms to autonomously evade or chase a child. The sphere will contain a platform equipped with four omni-wheels, which will allow the sphere to maneuver and change direction almost instantaneously. The robot will be configured to maintain a fixed distance from the transmitter, allowing it to chase or evade the child in response to their movement. The primary advantage of our design lies in its capability to quickly adapt to changes in direction.

Generalized Mapping And Object Removal, Duncan Campbell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is a problem that has been explored for the past few decades. SLAM deals with the concept of a robot being introduced into an environment in which it has no prior knowledge. Then, through the use of sensors, the robot is able to map its environment while simultaneously determining its position within the given area. While there has been extensive research into the development of methods by which this problem can be solved, not much has been done on what to do with the resulting maps once they are produced. The research conducted deals with …

Using Robots As Therapeutic Agents To Teach Children With Autism Recognize Facial Expression, Seyedmohammad Mavadati, Huanghao Feng, Peyten B. Sanger, S. Silver, Anibal Gutierrez, Mohammad H. Mahoor

Electrical and Computer Engineering: Graduate Student Scholarship

Background: Recognizing and mimicking facial expressions are important cues for building great rapport and relationship in human-human communication. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have often deficits in recognizing and mimicking social cues, such as facial expressions. In the last decade several studies have shown that individuals with ASD have superior engagement toward objects and particularly robots (i.e. humanoid and non-humanoid). However, majority of the studies have focused on investigating robot’s appearances and the engineering design concepts and very few research have been done on the effectiveness of robots in therapeutic and treatment applications. In fact, the critical question that …

A Kinect-Based System For Automatic Recording Of Some Pigeon Behaviors, Damian Lyons, James Macdonall, Kelly Cunningham

Faculty Publications

Contact switches and touch screens are the state of the art for recording pigeons’ pecking behavior. Recording other behavior, however, requires a different sensor for each behavior, and some behaviors cannot easily be recorded. We present a flexible and inexpensive image-based approach to detecting and counting pigeon behaviors that is based on the Kinect sensor from Microsoft. Although the system is as easy to set up and use as the standard approaches, it is more flexible because it can record behaviors in addition to key pecking. In this article, we show how both the fast, fine motion of key pecking …

Development Of Workforce Skills: Student Perceptions Of Mentoring In First Robotics, Katie Joan Veal Wallace

Dissertations

In today’s global economy, new workforce competencies are needed for success at both individual and societal levels. The new workforce skills extend beyond basic reading, writing, and arithmetic to include higher order processes such as critical thinking and problem solving. Technical job opportunities have grown by approximately 17%, yet the United States continues to decline in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Further, U.S. students earn average or below average test scores when compared to other developed countries. Researchers cite the need to incorporate the learning of workplace skills into secondary education curriculum, and advocates call for new teaching …

On Designing Collaborative Robotic Systems With Real-Time Operating Systems And Wireless Networks, Andrew Jacob Wolin

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Robotic devices currently solve many real-world problems but do so primarily on an individual basis. The ability to deploy large quantities of robots to solve problems has not yet been widely embraced partially due to the complex nature of robotics and levels of research investment.

Existing research in robot collaboration largely exists in the forms of models and simulations. This work seeks to accelerate the next level of research in this area by providing a low cost, collaborative capable robotic system. This platform can be used as a gateway to transport simulations into physical representations. This research not only presents …

Designing A Biomimetic Testing Platform For Actuators In A Series-Elastic Co-Contraction System, Ryan Tyler Schroeder

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Actuators determine the performance of robotic systems at the most intimate of levels. As a result, much work has been done to assess the performance of different actuator systems. However, biomimetics has not previously been utilized as a pretext for tuning a series elastic actuator system with the purpose of designing an empirical testing platform. Thus, an artificial muscle tendon system has been developed in order to assess the performance of two distinct actuator types: (1) direct current electromagnetic motors and (2) ultrasonic rotary piezoelectric motors. Because the design of the system takes advantage of biomimetic operating principles such as …

Bio-Inspired Robotic Fish With Vision Based Target Tracking, Eric Anderson

Open Access Theses

The lionfish is an invasive species that out-competes and overcrowds native sh species along the eastern seaboard of the United States and down into the Caribbean. Lionfish populations are growing rapidly. Current methods of monitoring lionfish populations are costly and time intensive. A bio-inspired robotic fish was built to use as an autonomous lionfish tracking platform. Lionfish are tracked visually using an onboard processor. Five different computer vision methods for identification and tracking are proposed and discussed. These include: background subtraction, color tracking, mixture of Gaussian background subtraction, speeded up robust feature (SURF), and CamShift based tracking. Each of these …

Effects Of Hip And Ankle Moments On Running Stability: Simulation Of A Simplified Model, Rubin C. Cholera

Open Access Theses

In human running, the ankle, knee, and hip moments are known to play different roles to influence the dynamics of locomotion. A recent study of hip moments and several hip-based legged robots have revealed that hip actuation can significantly improve the stability of locomotion, whether controlled or uncontrolled. Ankle moments are expected to also significantly affect running stability, but in a different way than hip moments. Here we seek to advance the current theory of dynamic running and associated legged robots by determining how simple open-loop ankle moments could affect running stability. We simulate a dynamical model, and compare it …

Principle Of Bio-Inspired Insect Wing Rotational Hinge Design, Fan Fei

Open Access Theses

A principle for designing and fabricating bio-inspired miniature artificial insect flapping wing using flexure rotational hinge design is presented. A systematic approach of selecting rotational hinge stiffness value is proposed. Based on the understanding of flapping wing aerodynamics, a dynamic simulation is constructed using the established quasi-steady model and the wing design. Simulations were performed to gain insight on how different parameters affect the wing rotational response. Based on system resonance a model to predict the optimal rotational hinge stiffness based on given wing parameter and flapping wing kinematic is proposed. By varying different wing parameters, the proposed method is …

Design And Analysis Of A Cable-Driven Test Apparatus For Flapping-Flight Research, Stephen J. Musick

Open Access Theses

The biology, physiology, kinematics, and aerodynamics of insect flight have been a longstanding fascination for biologists and engineers. The former three are easily obtained through the observation of the organic species. The latter though, is very difficult to study in this fashion. In many cases, aerodynamic forces and fluid-body interactions can be simulated with computational fluid dynamics; another option is to use dynamically-scaled, experimental set-ups to measure physically these values.

An archetypal, experimental set-up may include one or two scaled wings, where each wing is actuated to achieve upwards of three degrees of freedom. The three degrees of freedom correspond …

An Autonomous Robotic Indoor Environment Surveillance System, Andrew Gunnerson, Bogdan Olar, Haodong Wang

Undergraduate Research Posters 2014

We developed an autonomous mobile robot platform capable of following a path and gather environmental data, including temperature, humidity, light intensity, etc. The robot is capable of detecting the path using its camera and correct most navigational errors, while the sensors support a limited set of instructions regarding which sensor data to collect and how often. Our experiment consisted of having the robot follow a looped path we set up in BU004 Lab. The robot was able to complete the loop and gather sensor data for light intensity, humidity and temperature at a frequency of once per second, and also …

Verifying And Validating Multirobot Missions, Damian M. Lyons, Ronald C. Arkin, Shu Jiang, Dagon Harrington, Tsung-Ming Liu

Faculty Publications

We have developed an approach that can be used by mission designers to determine whether or not a performance guarantee for their mission software, when carried out under the uncertain conditions of a real-world environment, will hold within a threshold probability. In this paper we demonstrate its utility for verifying multirobot missions, in particular a bounding overwatch mission.

Dynamic Surgical Tool Tracking And Delivery System Using Baxter Robot, Sthitapragyan Parida, Juan Pablo Wachs, Maria Eugenia Cabrera

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Several hospitals face nurse staffing shortages for surgeries. This research focuses on building a system with Baxter robot capable of identifying surgical tools using computer vision and delivering them to the surgeon on demand. This would deal with the issue of nurse unavailability during simple surgical procedures. The key aspects of the project were: testing the accuracies of various Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) in classifying surgical instruments, and programming Baxter to implement a surgical tool delivery system using magnets at the tip of its 7-DOF robotic arms. The methodology consisted of, first, implementing algorithms to enable Baxter to do pick …

Improved Microrobotic Control Through Image Processing And Automated Hardware Interfacing, Archit R. Aggarwal, Wuming Jing, David J. Cappelleri

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Untethered submilliliter-sized robots (microrobots) are showing potential use in different industrial, manufacturing and medical applications. A particular type of these microrobots, magnetic robots, have shown improved performance in power and control capabilities compared to the other thermal and electrostatic based robots. However, the magnetic robot designs have not been assessed in a robust manner to understand the degree of control in different environments and their application feasibility. This research project seeks to develop a custom control software interface to provide a holistic tool for researchers to evaluate the microrobotic performance through advance control features. The software deliverable involved two main …

A Comparative Study Of Underwater Robot Path Planning Algorithms For Adaptive Sampling In A Network Of Sensors, Sreeja Banerjee

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Monitoring lakes, rivers, and oceans is critical to improving our understanding of complex large-scale ecosystems. We introduce a method of underwater monitoring using semi-mobile underwater sensor networks and mobile underwater robots in this thesis. The underwater robots can move freely in all dimension while the sensor nodes are anchored to the bottom of the water column and can move only up and down along the depth of the water column. We develop three different algorithms to optimize the path of the underwater robot and the positions of the sensors to improve the overall quality of sensing of an area of …

Stereo Vision System Module For Low-Cost Fpgas For Autonomous Mobile Robots, Connor Citron

Master's Theses

Stereo vision uses two adjacent cameras to create a 3D image of the world. A depth map can be created by comparing the offset of the corresponding pixels from the two cameras. However, for real-time stereo vision, the image data needs to be processed at a reasonable frame rate. Real-time stereo vision allows for mobile robots to more easily navigate terrain and interact with objects by providing both the images from the cameras and the depth of the objects. Fortunately, the image processing can be parallelized in order to increase the processing speed. Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are highly parallelizable …

A Brain Robot Interface For Autonomous Activities Of Daily Living Tasks, Don Indika Upashantha Pathirage

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There have been substantial improvements in the area of rehabilitation robotics in the recent past. However, these advances are inaccessible to a large number of people with disabilities who are in most need of such assistance. This group includes people who are in a severely paralyzed state, that they are completely "locked-in" in their own bodies. Such persons usually retain full cognitive abilities, but have no voluntary muscle control.

For these persons, a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) is often the only way to communicate with the outside world and/or control an assistive device. One major drawback to BCI devices is …

Getting It Right The First Time: Verification Of Behavior-Based Multirobot Missions, Damian M. Lyons, Ronald C. Arkin, Shu Jiang, Dagon Harrington, Matthew O'Brien

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Leveraging Area Bounds Information For Autonomous Multi-Robot Exploration, Tsung-Ming Liu, Damian M. Lyons

Faculty Publications

In this paper we propose an approach, the Space-Based Potential Field (SBPF) approach, to controlling multiple robots for area exploration missions that focus on robot dispersion. The SBPF method is based on a potential field approach that leverages knowledge of the overall bounds of the area to be explored. This additional information allows a simpler potential field control strategy for all robots but which nonetheless has good dispersion and overlap performance in all the multi-robot scenarios while avoiding potential minima. Both simulation and robot experimental results are presented as evidence.

Getting It Right The First Time: Verification Of Autonomous Behavior-Based Multirobot Missions, Ronald C. Arkin, Damian M. Lyons

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Invariant Inferring And Monitoring In Robotic Systems, Hengle Jiang

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

System monitoring can help to detect abnormalities and avoid failures. Crafting monitors for today’s robotic systems, however, can be very difficult due to the systems’ inherent complexity and its rich operating environment.

In this work we address this challenge through an approach that automatically infers system invariants and synthesizes those invariants into monitors. This approach is inspired by existing software engineering approaches for automated invariant inference, and it is novel in that it derives invariants by observing the messages passed between system nodes and the invariants types are tailored to match the spatial, time, temporal, and architectural attributes of robotic …

Robotic Book Scanner, Tobias Samuel Elder, Cynthia Marie Wong

Computer Engineering

Digitizing books has been an issue tackled by companies to allow people to read off Kindles and iPads rather than the traditional paperback. Companies like Google have spent more than $1000 on machines to convert books into electronic copies readable on devices. Yet, not much effort has been made into the invention of an automatic book scanner for consumers. This project seeks to determine a cost-effective approach to robotic book scanning to create PDFs from physical books. This project serves as a proof of concept for a reasonably priced automatic book scanner accessible to consumers. Potentially, the device may be …

Automated Foosball Table, Jim R. Stefani, Alex J. Herpy, Brett Gordon Jaeger, Kevin S. Haydon, Derek Alan Hamel

Mechanical Engineering

This project is the second iteration of an automated foosball table for Yaskawa America as a trade show display. The table is meant to provide an interactive experience which highlights the speed and precision of the Yaskawa hardware. The first iteration of the project was mainly focused on creating the physical hardware for the system and to begin the basic programming for the system. This phase of the project was focused on finalizing the physical hardware of the system, implementing the vision system and to continue the basic programing of the system AI. A third team will be assigned to …