RoboticsPub Date : 2023-12-07DOI: 10.3390/robotics12060166
Clemente Lauretti, C. Tamantini, Hilario Tomè, L. Zollo
{"title":"Robot Learning by Demonstration with Dynamic Parameterization of the Orientation: An Application to Agricultural Activities","authors":"Clemente Lauretti, C. Tamantini, Hilario Tomè, L. Zollo","doi":"10.3390/robotics12060166","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics12060166","url":null,"abstract":"This work proposes a Learning by Demonstration framework based on Dynamic Movement Primitives (DMPs) that could be effectively adopted to plan complex activities in robotics such as the ones to be performed in agricultural domains and avoid orientation discontinuity during motion learning. The approach resorts to Lie theory and integrates into the DMP equations the exponential and logarithmic map, which converts any element of the Lie group SO(3) into an element of the tangent space so(3) and vice versa. Moreover, it includes a dynamic parameterization for the tangent space elements to manage the discontinuity of the logarithmic map. The proposed approach was tested on the Tiago robot during the fulfillment of four agricultural activities, such as digging, seeding, irrigation and harvesting. The obtained results were compared to the one achieved by using the original formulation of the DMPs and demonstrated the high capability of the proposed method to manage orientation discontinuity (the success rate was 100 % for all the tested poses).","PeriodicalId":37568,"journal":{"name":"Robotics","volume":"53 31","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138593229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RoboticsPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.3390/robotics12060164
Abdullah Al-Azzawi, Peter Stadler, He Kong, Salah Sukkarieh
{"title":"Length Modelling of Spiral Superficial Soft Strain Sensors Using Geodesics and Covering Spaces","authors":"Abdullah Al-Azzawi, Peter Stadler, He Kong, Salah Sukkarieh","doi":"10.3390/robotics12060164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics12060164","url":null,"abstract":"Piecewise constant curvature soft actuators can generate various types of movements. These actuators can undergo extension, bending, rotation, twist, or a combination of these. Proprioceptive sensing provides the ability to track their movement or estimate their state in 3D space. Several proprioceptive sensing solutions were developed using soft strain sensors. However, current mathematical models are only capable of modelling the length of the soft sensors when they are attached to actuators subjected to extension, bending, and rotation movements. Furthermore, these models are limited to modelling straight sensors and incapable of modelling spiral sensors. In this study, for both the spiral and straight sensors, we utilise concepts in geodesics and covering spaces to present a mathematical length model that includes twist. This study is limited to the Piecewise constant curvature actuators and demonstrates, among other things, the advantages of our model and the accuracy when including and excluding twist. We verify the model by comparing the results to a finite element analysis. This analysis involves multiple simulation scenarios designed specifically for the verification process. Finally, we validate the theoretical results with previously published experimental results. Then, we discuss the limitations and possible applications of our model using examples from the literature.","PeriodicalId":37568,"journal":{"name":"Robotics","volume":" 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138617467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RoboticsPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.3390/robotics12060165
Andrés García-Vanegas, María J. García-Bonilla, Manuel G. Forero, F. Castillo-García, Antonio Gonzalez-Rodriguez
{"title":"AgroCableBot: Reconfigurable Cable-Driven Parallel Robot for Greenhouse or Urban Farming Automation","authors":"Andrés García-Vanegas, María J. García-Bonilla, Manuel G. Forero, F. Castillo-García, Antonio Gonzalez-Rodriguez","doi":"10.3390/robotics12060165","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics12060165","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, a Cable-Driven Parallel Robot developed to automate repetitive and essential tasks in crop production in greenhouse and urban garden environments is introduced. The robot has a suspended configuration with five degrees-of-freedom, composed of a fixed platform (frame) and a moving platform known as the end-effector. To generate its movements and operations, eight cables are used, which move through eight pulley systems and are controlled by four winches. In addition, the robot is equipped with a seedbed that houses potted plants. Unlike conventional suspended cable robots, this robot incorporates four moving pulley systems in the frame, which significantly increases its workspace. The development of this type of robot requires precise control of the end-effector pose, which includes both the position and orientation of the robot extremity. To achieve this control, analysis is performed in two fundamental aspects: kinematic analysis and dynamic analysis. In addition, an analysis of the effective workspace of the robot is carried out, taking into account the distribution of tensions in the cables. The aim of this analysis is to verify the increase of the working area, which is useful to cover a larger crop area. The robot has been validated through simulations, where possible trajectories that the robot could follow depending on the tasks to be performed in the crop are presented. This work supports the feasibility of using this type of robotic systems to automate specific agricultural processes, such as sowing, irrigation, and crop inspection. This contribution aims to improve crop quality, reduce the consumption of critical resources such as water and fertilizers, and establish them as technological tools in the field of modern agriculture.","PeriodicalId":37568,"journal":{"name":"Robotics","volume":"25 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138623560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RoboticsPub Date : 2023-11-29DOI: 10.3390/robotics12060162
T. Kadylak, M. Bayles, Wendy A. Rogers
{"title":"Are Friendly Robots Trusted More? An Analysis of Robot Sociability and Trust","authors":"T. Kadylak, M. Bayles, Wendy A. Rogers","doi":"10.3390/robotics12060162","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics12060162","url":null,"abstract":"Older individuals prefer to maintain their autonomy while maintaining social connection and engagement with their family, peers, and community. Though individuals can encounter barriers to these goals, socially assistive robots (SARs) hold the potential for promoting aging in place and independence. Such domestic robots must be trusted, easy to use, and capable of behaving within the scope of accepted social norms for successful adoption to scale. We investigated perceived associations between robot sociability and trust in domestic robot support for instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). In our multi-study approach, we collected responses from adults aged 65 years and older using two separate online surveys (Study 1, N = 51; Study 2, N = 43). We assessed the relationship between perceived robot sociability and robot trust. Our results consistently demonstrated a strong positive relationship between perceived robot sociability and robot trust for IADL tasks. These data have design implications for promoting robot trust and acceptance of SARs for use in the home by older adults.","PeriodicalId":37568,"journal":{"name":"Robotics","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139210361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RoboticsPub Date : 2023-11-29DOI: 10.3390/robotics12060163
Bryan R. Galarza, Paulina Ayala, Santiago Manzano, Marcelo V. Garcia
{"title":"Virtual Reality Teleoperation System for Mobile Robot Manipulation","authors":"Bryan R. Galarza, Paulina Ayala, Santiago Manzano, Marcelo V. Garcia","doi":"10.3390/robotics12060163","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics12060163","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past few years, the industry has experienced significant growth, leading to what is now known as Industry 4.0. This advancement has been characterized by the automation of robots. Industries have embraced mobile robots to enhance efficiency in specific manufacturing tasks, aiming for optimal results and reducing human errors. Moreover, robots can perform tasks in areas inaccessible to humans, such as hard-to-reach zones or hazardous environments. However, the challenge lies in the lack of knowledge about the operation and proper use of the robot. This work presents the development of a teleoperation system using HTC Vive Pro 2 virtual reality goggles. This allows individuals to immerse themselves in a fully virtual environment to become familiar with the operation and control of the KUKA youBot robot. The virtual reality experience is created in Unity, and through this, robot movements are executed, followed by a connection to ROS (Robot Operating System). To prevent potential damage to the real robot, a simulation is conducted in Gazebo, facilitating the understanding of the robot’s operation.","PeriodicalId":37568,"journal":{"name":"Robotics","volume":"234 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139212786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RoboticsPub Date : 2023-11-26DOI: 10.3390/robotics12060161
Hamza Khan, Sheraz Ali Khan, Min Cheol Lee, U. Ghafoor, Fouzia Gillani, Umer Hameed Shah
{"title":"DDPG-Based Adaptive Sliding Mode Control with Extended State Observer for Multibody Robot Systems","authors":"Hamza Khan, Sheraz Ali Khan, Min Cheol Lee, U. Ghafoor, Fouzia Gillani, Umer Hameed Shah","doi":"10.3390/robotics12060161","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics12060161","url":null,"abstract":"This research introduces a robust control design for multibody robot systems, incorporating sliding mode control (SMC) for robustness against uncertainties and disturbances. SMC achieves this through directing system states toward a predefined sliding surface for finite-time stability. However, the challenge arises in selecting controller parameters, specifically the switching gain, as it depends on the upper bounds of perturbations, including nonlinearities, uncertainties, and disturbances, impacting the system. Consequently, gain selection becomes challenging when system dynamics are unknown. To address this issue, an extended state observer (ESO) is integrated with SMC, resulting in SMCESO, which treats system dynamics and disturbances as perturbations and estimates them to compensate for their effects on the system response, ensuring robust performance. To further enhance system performance, deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) is employed to fine-tune SMCESO, utilizing both actual and estimated states as input states for the DDPG agent and reward selection. This training process enhances both tracking and estimation performance. Furthermore, the proposed method is compared with the optimal-PID, SMC, and H∞ in the presence of external disturbances and parameter variation. MATLAB/Simulink simulations confirm that overall, the SMCESO provides robust performance, especially with parameter variations, where other controllers struggle to converge the tracking error to zero.","PeriodicalId":37568,"journal":{"name":"Robotics","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139235090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RoboticsPub Date : 2023-11-24DOI: 10.3390/robotics12060160
Mantas Makulavičius, S. Petkevičius, J. Rožėnė, Andrius Dzedzickis, V. Bučinskas
{"title":"Industrial Robots in Mechanical Machining: Perspectives and Limitations","authors":"Mantas Makulavičius, S. Petkevičius, J. Rožėnė, Andrius Dzedzickis, V. Bučinskas","doi":"10.3390/robotics12060160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics12060160","url":null,"abstract":"Recently, the need to produce from soft materials or components in extra-large sizes has appeared, requiring special solutions that are affordable using industrial robots. Industrial robots are suitable for such tasks due to their flexibility, accuracy, and consistency in machining operations. However, robot implementation faces some limitations, such as a huge variety of materials and tools, low adaptability to environmental changes, flexibility issues, a complicated tool path preparation process, and challenges in quality control. Industrial robotics applications include cutting, milling, drilling, and grinding procedures on various materials, including metal, plastics, and wood. Advanced robotics technologies involve the latest advances in robotics, including integrating sophisticated control systems, sensors, data fusion techniques, and machine learning algorithms. These innovations enable robots to adapt better and interact with their environment, ultimately increasing their accuracy. The main focus of this study is to cover the most common industrial robotic machining processes and to identify how specific advanced technologies can improve their performance. In most of the studied literature, the primary research objective across all operations is to enhance the stiffness of the robotic arm’s structure. Some publications propose approaches for planning the robot’s posture or tool orientation. In contrast, others focus on optimizing machining parameters through the utilization of advanced control and computation, including machine learning methods with the integration of collected sensor data.","PeriodicalId":37568,"journal":{"name":"Robotics","volume":"295 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139242059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RoboticsPub Date : 2023-11-23DOI: 10.3390/robotics12060159
Valeria Bladinieres Justo, Abhishek Gupta, T. Umland, D. Göhlich
{"title":"Minimum Energy Utilization Strategy for Fleet of Autonomous Robots in Urban Waste Management","authors":"Valeria Bladinieres Justo, Abhishek Gupta, T. Umland, D. Göhlich","doi":"10.3390/robotics12060159","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics12060159","url":null,"abstract":"Many service robots have to operate in a variety of different Service Event Areas (SEAs). In the case of the waste collection robot MARBLE (Mobile Autonomous Robot for Litter Emptying) every SEA has characteristics like varying area and number of litter bins, with different distances between litter bins and uncertain filling levels of litter bins. Global positions of litter bins and garbage drop-off positions from MARBLEs after reaching their maximum capacity are defined as task-performing waypoints. We provide boundary delimitation for characteristics that describe the SEA. The boundaries interpolate synergy between individual SEAs and the developed algorithms. This helps in determining which algorithm best suits an SEA, dependent on the characteristics. The developed route-planning methodologies are based on vehicle routing with simulated annealing (VRPSA) and knapsack problems (KSPs). VRPSA uses specific weighting based on route permutation operators, initial temperature, and the nearest neighbor approach. The KSP optimizes a route’s given capacity, in this case using smart litter bins (SLBs) information. The game-theory KSP algorithm with SLBs information and the KSP algorithm without SLBs information performs better on SEAs lower than 0.5 km2, and with fewer than 50 litter bins. When the standard deviation of the fill rate of litter bins is ≈10%, the KSP without SLB is preferred, and if the standard deviation is between 25 and 40%, then the game-theory KSP is selected. Finally, the vehicle routing problem outperforms in SEAs with an area of 0.5≤5 km2, 50–450 litter bins, and a fill rate of 10–40%.","PeriodicalId":37568,"journal":{"name":"Robotics","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139243211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RoboticsPub Date : 2023-11-22DOI: 10.3390/robotics12060157
Alfin Junaedy, H. Masuta, K. Sawai, T. Motoyoshi, Noboru Takagi
{"title":"Real-Time 3D Map Building in a Mobile Robot System with Low-Bandwidth Communication","authors":"Alfin Junaedy, H. Masuta, K. Sawai, T. Motoyoshi, Noboru Takagi","doi":"10.3390/robotics12060157","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics12060157","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a new 3D map building technique using a combination of 2D SLAM and 3D objects that can be implemented on relatively low-cost hardware in real-time. Recently, 3D visualization of the real world became increasingly important. In robotics, it is not only required for intelligent control, but also necessary for operators to provide intuitive visualization. SLAM is generally applied for this purpose, as it is considered a basic ability for truly autonomous robots. However, due to the increase in the amount of data, real-time processing is becoming a challenge. Therefore, in order to address this problem, we combine 2D data and 3D objects to create a new 3D map. The combination is simple yet robust based on rotation, translation, and clustering techniques. The proposed method was applied to a mobile robot system for indoor observation. The results show that real-time performance can be achieved by the system. Furthermore, we also combine high and low-bandwidth networks to deal with network problems that usually occur in wireless communication. Thus, robust wireless communication can be established, as it ensures that the missions can be continued even if the system loses the main network.","PeriodicalId":37568,"journal":{"name":"Robotics","volume":"36 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139248820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RoboticsPub Date : 2023-11-21DOI: 10.3390/robotics12060156
Dhruva Khanzode, R. Jha, Alexandra Thomieres, Emilie Duchalais, Damien Chablat
{"title":"Surgical Staplers in Laparoscopic Colectomy: A New Innovative Flexible Design Perspective","authors":"Dhruva Khanzode, R. Jha, Alexandra Thomieres, Emilie Duchalais, Damien Chablat","doi":"10.3390/robotics12060156","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics12060156","url":null,"abstract":"This article describes the development of a flexible surgical stapler mechanism, which serves as a fundamental tool for laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery, addressing the challenges posed by difficult types of accessibility using conventional instruments. The design of this mechanism involves the incorporation of a stacked tensegrity structure, in which a flexible beam serves as the central spine. To assess the stapler’s range of operation, an analysis of the workspace was conducted by examining collaborative Computed Tomography (CT) scan data obtained from different perspectives (Axial, Coronal, and Sagittal planes) at various intervals. By synthesizing kinematic equations, Hooke’s law was employed, taking into account rotational springs and bending moments. This allowed for precise control of the mechanism’s movements during surgical procedures in the rectal region. Additionally, the study examined the singularities and simulations of the tensegrity mechanism, considering the influential eyelet friction parameter. Notably, the research revealed that this friction parameter can alter the mechanism’s curvature, underscoring the importance of accurate analysis. To establish a correlation between the virtual and physical models, a preliminary design was presented, facilitating the identification of the friction parameter.","PeriodicalId":37568,"journal":{"name":"Robotics","volume":"35 S1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139251174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}