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Rockey, Chad A. "Low-cost Sensor Package for Smart Wheelchair Obstacle Avoidance." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1327595053.
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Kumpf, Adam (Adam A. ). "Explorations in low-cost compliant robotics." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/41659.
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Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-99).
This thesis presents the findings of exploratory research in low-cost compliant robotics. The most heavily leveraged trade-off is that of mechanical precision for computational power, with the hope that the price of future computation will continue to fall exponentially while the expected price of precision mechanical parts will remain relatively constant. The most novel contribution of this research is the Torsionally Compliant Elastomer Joint (TCEJ) which allows for compliance and sensing in a very small package while using extremely inexpensive components. Computational modeling of hysteresis, signal compression, and backlash are also explored to compensate for the non-idealities often found in cheap mechanical parts. Three proof-of-concept systems are described along with a set of experiments used to test their capabilities. Finally, future work is proposed that will likely shape the next generation of low-cost compliant robotics.
by Adam Kumpf.
M.Eng.
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Hayosh, Daniel G. "Development of a Low-Cost Social Robotic Platform." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case156760134522865.
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Pike, Frankie. "Low Cost NueroChairs." DigitalCommons@CalPoly, 2012. https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/887.
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Electroencephalography (EEG) was formerly confined to clinical and research settings with the necessary hardware costing thousands of dollars. In the last five years a number of companies have produced simple electroencephalograms, priced below $300 and available direct to consumers. These have stirred the imaginations of enthusiasts and brought the prospects of "thought-controlled" devices ever closer to reality. While these new devices were largely targeted at video games and toys, active research on enabling people suffering from debilitating diseases to control wheelchairs was being pursued. A number of neurochairs have come to fruition offering a truly hands-free mobility solution, but whether these results could be replicated with emerging low cost products, and thus become a viable option for more people is an open question. This thesis examines existing research in the field of EEG-based assistive technologies, puts current consumer-grade hardware to the test, and explores the possibility of a system designed from the ground up to be only a fraction of the cost of currently completed research prototypes.
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Vazquez, Diosdado Jose Manuel. "Behaviour based simulated low-cost multi-robot exploration." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/1472.
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The use of multiple robots for exploration holds the promise of improved performance over single robot systems. To exploit effectively the advantage of having several robots, the robots must be co-ordinated which requires communication. Previous research relies on a fixed communication network topology, a single lead explorer, and flat communication. This thesis presents a novel architecture to keep a group of robots as a single connected and adaptable communication network to explore and map the environment. This architecture, BERODE (BEhavioural ROle DEcentralized), aims to be robust, efficient and scalable to large numbers of robots. The network is adaptable, the number of explorers variable, and communications hierarchical (local/global). The network is kept connected by an MST (Minimum Spanning Tree) control network, a subnetwork containing only the minimum necessary links to be a fully connected network. As the robots explore, the MST control network is updated either partially (local network) or globally to improve signal quality. The local network for a robot is formed by the robots that are within a certain retransmission distance in the MST control network. BERODE implements a hierarchic approach to distributing information to improve scalability with respect to the number of robots. The robots share information at two levels: frequently within their local network and less frequently to the entire robot network. The robots coordinate by assuming behaviours depending on their connections in the MST control network. The behavioural roles balance between the tasks of exploration and network maintenance where the Explorer role is the most focused on the exploration task. This improves efficiency by allowing varying number of robots to take the Explorer role depending on circumstances. The roles generate reactive plans that ensure the connectivity of the network. These plans are based on the imposition of heterogeneous virtual spring forces. Our simulations show that BERODE is more efficient, scalable and robust with respect to communications than the previous approaches that rely on fixed control networks. BERODE is more efficient because it required less time to build a complete map of the environment than the fixed control networks. BERODE is more scalable because it keeps the robots as a single connected network for more time than the fixed control networks. BERODE is more robust because it has a better success rate at finishing the exploration.
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Olson, Edwin B. (Edwin Brock) 1977. "Otto : a low-cost robotics platform for research and education." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/86691.
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Venator, Edward Stephen. "A Low-cost Mobile Manipulator for Industrial and Research Applications." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1370512665.
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Citron, Connor. "Stereo Vision System Module for Low-Cost FPGAs for Autonomous Mobile Robots." DigitalCommons@CalPoly, 2014. https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1298.
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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 and lend themselves well to this problem.
This thesis presents a stereo vision module which uses the Sum of Absolute Differences (SAD) algorithm. The SAD algorithm uses regions of pixels called windows to compare pixels to find matching pairs for determining depth. Two implementations are presented that utilize the SAD algorithm differently. The first implementation uses a 9x9 window for comparison and is able to process 4 pixels simultaneously. The second implementation uses a 7x7 window and processes 2 pixels simultaneously, but parallelizes each SAD algorithm for faster processing. The 9x9 implementation creates a better depth image with less noise, but the 7x7 implementation processes images at a higher frame rate. It has been shown through simulation that the 9x9 and 7x7 are able to process an image size of 640x480 at a frame rate of 15.73 and 29.32, respectively.
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Valle, Antonio. "Feasibility of developing academic laboratories using a low-cost robot." Thesis, Monterey, California : Naval Postgraduate School, 2009. http://edocs.nps.edu/npspubs/scholarly/theses/2009/Sep/09Sep%5FValle.pdf.
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Thesis (M.S. in Electrical Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2009.Thesis Advisor(s): Yun, Xiaoping. "September 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on November 5, 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Robotics, Infrared, Encoders, Laser, Garcia. Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-106). Also available in print.
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Puehn, Christian G. "Development of a Low-Cost Social Robot for Personalized Human-Robot Interaction." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1427889195.
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Gilbert, Taylor Harrison. "The Creation of a low-cost, reliable platform for mobile robotics research." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69774.
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Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, June 2011."June 2011." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 29).
This work documents the planning process, design, fabrication, and integration of a low-cost robot designed for research on the problem of life-long robot mapping. The robotics platform used is the iRobot Create. This robot also employs the PrimeSensor, a sensor with the ability to provide a pixel-matched, colored depth field in real time. This sensor was later purchased by Microsoft and leveraged in their popular gaming device, the Microsoft Kinect. The robot has a powerful Acer Aspire 1830T-6651 laptop with an Intel Core i5 to perform processor-intensive, real-time image processing. The actual construction of the robot consisted of two phases: the physical integration of the components on a chassis and the software integration through the computer. The physical integration is mainly a central chassis made from laser-cut acrylic. This chassis is capable of securely holding the laptop computer in place and provides an elevated mount for the PrimeSensor. This mount has the ability to change the viewing angle of the sensor and lock that angle at 5' increments using a pin. The software integration was completed using open-source packages for the Robot Operating System (ROS) developed by Brown University and a not-for-profit company called OpenNI. These packages were installed on the onboard laptop and the ROS core functions running on the laptop provide the foundation to run new code on this testing platform. This robot is low in cost and provides a reliable, robust, and versatile platform for visionbased artificial intelligence research. The mapping software and vision algorithms developed on this platform will contribute to the development of more intelligent and meaningful vision capabilities for tomorrow's robots.
by Taylor Harrison Gilbert.
S.B.
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Schofield, Nicholas Roger. "A low cost, real time robot vision system with a cluster-based learning capacity." Thesis, Durham University, 1988. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/947/.
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Grogan, Andrew S. "A Low Cost, Portable Stewart Platform Study for Flight Simulation and Gaming Simulation." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1606121360298874.
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Larsson, Anders Robin. "A Flexible, Low-cost Approach to Slippage Detection using Pyroelectricity." Thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för innovation, design och teknik, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-48855.
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Myoelectric prosthesis on the market today are mostly very expensive and rarely allow the amputee any feedback, leaving the users separated from their own robotic arm. Integrating sensory systems into an arm which needs to be replaced several times during a lifetime may also not be cost efficient. With a sensory system tted in a removable and re-sizeable glove, the sensory system will not require a replacement unless broken. Using a exible, durable, low-cost material, sensitive to both change in pressure and temperature, this may be achieved. Using the pyroelectric properties of thin-film Polyvinylidene Fluoride, a sensor able to detect the incipient of slippage and its initial direction is achieved.
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Anderson, Eric William. "Design of a low cost, high speed robot for poultry processing." Thesis, Available online, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004:, 2004. http://etd.gatech.edu/theses/available/etd-06092004-082016/unrestricted/anderson%5eric%5w%5200408%5ms.pdf.
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Thesis (M.S.)--School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005. Directed by Harvey Lipkin.Imme Ebert-Uphoff, Committee Member ; Wayne Book, Committee Member ; Harvey Lipkin, Committee Chair. Includes bibliographical references.
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Batista, Alan VinÃcius de AraÃjo. "Low cost multifunctional irrigator robot (RIRRIG) for family farm." Universidade Federal do CearÃ, 2016. http://www.teses.ufc.br/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=17313.
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CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel SuperiorFamily farming is an important generator of employment, income and food for the country, despite having a smaller area for its development, family farming has an important participation in national agricultural production and, the high cost of the agricultural mechanization, these farmers excluded from the agricultural mechanization process. Faced with such exclusion, use the evolution of technology systems most widely applied, such as Robotics, can meet effectively the needs for labor of farmers, and the trend is that the various sectors of agriculture which today are held by conventional way, be replaced by standalone devices. The objective of this work is to develop a robotic device (RIRRIG), able to interact in a three-dimensional plane, with a system of actuators, sensors and controllers in order to carry out irrigation in greenhouses. Provided with computer intelligence, the robot performs individual irrigation of plants in greenhouses, based on the reference evapotranspiration, leading to the terminal plant tool, which in turn, applies in each pot a given blade. Made the field data collection and analyzing the data, it was found that there was no statistical difference between means for manual irrigation and robotics in the development of agronomic variables of stem height, stem diameter and number of leaves, it being possible It is concluded that the robotic irrigation promoted a lower coefficient of variation and a lower standard deviation in the samples. It is important the fact that robotics when applied to agriculture, it is presented as an option to complement or manpower replacement for agricultural management, as it requires minimum operator intervention for operation, thereby depriving workers of activities stressful, repetitive and risky to health. It is important to highlight its importance in the rationalization of water resources to apply only the amount of water required by the plant and as technological innovation applied to the Brazilian semiarid region.
A agricultura familiar à uma importante geradora de ocupaÃÃo, renda e alimento para o paÃs, mesmo possuindo uma menor Ãrea para o seu desenvolvimento, a agricultura familiar tem papel fundamental na produÃÃo agrÃcola nacional e, pelo alto custo de que a mecanizaÃÃo agrÃcola exige, esses agricultores sÃo excluÃdos do processo de mecanizaÃÃo agrÃcola. Diante de tal exclusÃo, usufruir da evoluÃÃo dos sistemas de tecnologia mais aplicados atualmente, como a robÃtica, podem suprir de maneira eficaz as carÃncias por mÃo de obra dos agricultores familiares, e, a tendÃncia à que os diversos setores da agricultura que hoje sÃo realizados de maneira convencional, sejam substituÃdos por dispositivos autÃnomos. O objetivo deste trabalho à desenvolver um dispositivo robÃtico, (RIRRIG), capaz de interagir em um plano tridimensional, dotado de um sistema de atuadores, sensores e controladores com o intuito de realizar a irrigaÃÃo em estufas agrÃcolas. Provido de inteligÃncia computacional, o robà realiza a irrigaÃÃo individual de plantas em estufas, baseado na evapotranspiraÃÃo de referÃncia, conduzindo atà a planta a ferramenta terminal, que por sua vez, aplica em cada vaso uma determinada lÃmina. Realizadas as coletas de dados em campo e analisando-se os dados, constatou-se que nÃo houve diferenÃa estatÃstica entre mÃdias para a irrigaÃÃo manual e robÃtica no desenvolvimento das variÃveis agronÃmicas de altura de caule, diÃmetro de caule e nÃmero de folhas, podendo-se concluir que a irrigaÃÃo robotizada promoveu um menor coeficiente de variaÃÃo e um menor desvio padrÃo nas amostras coletadas. à relevante o fato que a robÃtica, quando aplicada à agricultura, apresenta-se como uma opÃÃo na complementaÃÃo ou substituiÃÃo da mÃo de obra para o manejo agrÃcola, pois necessita da mÃnima intervenÃÃo do operador para entrar em operaÃÃo, retirando assim os trabalhadores das atividades desgastantes, repetitivas e que oferecem risco à saÃde. à importante destacar sua importÃncia na racionalizaÃÃo do recurso hÃdrico por aplicar somente a quantidade de agua requerida pela planta e como inovaÃÃo tecnolÃgica aplicada ao semiÃrido brasileiro.
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hart, charles. "A Low-cost Omni-directional Visual Bearing Only Localization System." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1386695142.
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Alnestig, Henrik. "On the Feasibility of Low Cost Computer Vision : Building and Testing SimpleEye." Thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för innovation, design och teknik, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-29363.
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This thesis explores a novel approach to the computer vision eld in the form of lowcost computer vision intended for industrial use. The system proposed in this thesis, calledSimpleEye, is implemented and tested against an existing system. Dierent approachesto object detection and data extraction from a scene, as well as common applications ofcomputer vision in the industry, are examined. Three algorithms are implemented, aimedat dierent industrial applications. These are two types of object recognition, using CannyEdge detection and connected-component labeling, as well as barcode scanning. The tests,each targeting one of the implemented approaches, show promising results for low costcomputer vision. While the system is expectedly lacking in speed, it has no diculties inachieving good result in applications which are not highly time critical. SimpleEye yieldedaccuracy and precision comparable to commercial systems, with parts costing approximately100 USD. The tests show that the system is able to function in several computer visionapplications used today, including visual servoing, blob detection, blob tracking, and barcodescanning.
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Gao, Shang. "Compact and Low-Cost Acoustic-Resolution Photoacoustic Microscopy Based on Delta Configuration Actuator." Digital WPI, 2020. https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/etd-theses/1365.
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Photoacoustic (PA) Imaging is an emerging biomedical imaging modality based on the laser-generated ultrasound. The method has unique advantages in providing microvessel structure visualization, neuroimaging, and functional imaging provided by its physical principle. Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) is one of the PA imaging instruments which provides high resolution and contrast imaging of a near-field target. Relying on the acoustic focusing, Acoustic-resolution PAM (AR-PAM) is capable of reaching a sub-centimeter of penetration depth with sub-millimeter resolution and is optimized for tissue samples and small animals. However, the state-of-art AR-PAMs are large in size and expensive in cost, which hinders its democratization. There are previous researches conducted on reducing the cost by introducing a low-cost optical source or ultrasound acquisition device. Few research has investigated the possibility of modification on actuator design. The total system cost should be further reduced by substituting the translation stage while maintaining the imaging quality. In this research, a delta configuration actuation is introduced to the AR-PAM. The delta-configuration actuation adapted from a low-cost off-the-shelf 3D printer has been implemented in the design. An economical PAM system that integrates the combination of hardware and software enhancement is designed and tested in this research. With the software approach, advanced beamforming methods such as Delay-and-Sum with Coherence Factor (DAS+CF) and Delay-Multiply-and-Sum (DMAS) algorithms are applied to obtaining the high-resolution PA image through 3D reconstruction. The preliminary phantom study demonstrated the applicability of low-cost delta configuration actuators for AR-PAM imaging. The simulation study shows the beamforming algorithms has capability to remove the device precision error and increasing the tolerance. The research suggests that the 3D reconstruction algorithms significantly improve the resolution and contrast of the image quality.
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Bajracharya, Max 1979. "Design and development of a high-performance, low-cost robotics platform for research and education." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/86798.
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Passault, Grégoire. "Optimisation de la locomotion de robots bas coût à pattes." Thesis, Bordeaux, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016BORD0297/document.
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Les robots à pattes promettent de pouvoir marcher sur des terrains irréguliers, voire accidentés. Ils trouvent dès aujourd'hui une application ludo- éducative. Nous présentons la plateforme Metabot, un robot quadrupède open-source, qui a été développée pour l'éducation. Cette dernière s'inscrit dans le contexte technologique actuel, qui permet, grâce à un accès au prototypage rapide et aux composants sur étagère de construire des robots à pattes autrefois présents uniquement dans les laboratoires. Cette plateforme a été utilisée dans l'enseignement secondaire, afin de permettre à des élèves de découvrir la robotique, ainsi que la programmation. Nous décrivons par la suite un environnement mis au point dans le but d'étudier la locomotion des robots à pattes, en étendant le contrôleur expert développé sur Metabot à une plus grande famille de robots. Nous avons réalisé une série d'expériences en simulation sur moteur physique que nous avons analysées dans le but de mieux comprendre les règles qui régissent la locomotion des robots à pattes. Enfin, nous nous intéressons à la locomotion bipède, qui pose le problème de la stabilité. Lors du développement de notre plateforme Sigmaban, un petit robot humanoïde conçu pour participer à la RoboCup, nous avons créé un capteur permettant d'estimer le centre de pression du robot. Nous exploitons ce dernier pour améliorer la stabilité latérale du robot, en créant ainsi une marche en boucle ferméeA promise of legged robots is being able walking on irregular or uneven floor. It is already used nowadays in education and entertainment applications. We introduce the Metabot platform, an open-source quadruped robot developped for education. This takes place in current technological context which allows, thanks to an access to fast prototyping and off-shelf components, building legged robots that were formerly only present in laboratories. This platform was used for teaching in secondary schools, allowing students to discover robotics, and especially programming. We then describe an environment designed to study legged robots locomotion, extending the expert controller designed for Metabot. We realized some physics simulation experiments and analyzed it to get a better understanding of the legged locomotion underlying rules. At last, we get a closer look at biped locomotion, for which stability problems arise. When developping our Sigmaban platform, a small-sized humanoid robot created to participate in RoboCup soccer, we designed foot pressure sensors that allow us to estimate the robot center of pressure. We exploit these sensors to improve the lateral stability on the robot, creating a closed-loop walk
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Albó, Canals Jordi. "Cellular Nonlinear Networks: optimized implementation on FPGA and applications to robotics." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Ramon Llull, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/82066.
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L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi consisteix a estudiar la factibilitat d'implementar un sensor càmera CNN amb plena funcionalitat basat en FPGA de baix cost adequat per a aplicacions en robots mòbils. L'estudi dels fonaments de les xarxes cel•lulars no lineals (CNNs) i la seva aplicació eficaç en matrius de portes programables (FPGAs) s'ha complementat, d'una banda amb el paral•lelisme que s'estableix entre arquitectura multi-nucli de les CNNs i els eixams de robots mòbils, i per l'altre banda amb la correlació dinàmica de CNNs i arquitectures memristive. A més, els memristors es consideren els substituts dels futurs dispositius de memòria flash per la seva capacitat d'integració d'alta densitat i el seu consum d'energia prop de zero.
En el nostre cas, hem estat interessats en el desenvolupament d’FPGAs que han deixat de ser simples dispositius per a la creació ràpida de prototips ASIC per esdevenir complets dispositius reconfigurables amb integració de la memòria i els elements de processament general. En particular, s'han explorat com les arquitectures implementades CNN en FPGAs poden ser optimitzades en termes d’àrea ocupada en el dispositiu i el seu consum de potència. El nostre objectiu final ens ah portat a implementar de manera eficient una CNN-UM amb complet funcionament a un baix cost i baix consum sobre una FPGA amb tecnología flash.
Per tant, futurs estudis sobre l’arquitectura eficient de la CNN sobre la FPGA i la interconnexió amb els robots comercials disponibles és un dels objectius d'aquesta tesi que se seguiran en les línies de futur exposades en aquest treball.El objetivo principal de esta tesis consiste en estudiar la factibilidad de implementar un sensor cámara CNN con plena funcionalidad basado en FPGA de bajo coste adecuado para aplicaciones en robots móviles. El estudio de los fundamentos de las redes celulares no lineales (CNNs) y su aplicación eficaz en matrices de puertas programables (FPGAs) se ha complementado, por un lado con el paralelismo que se establece entre arquitectura multi -núcleo de las CNNs y los enjambres de robots móviles, y por el otro lado con la correlación dinámica de CNNs y arquitecturas memristive. Además, los memristors se consideran los sustitutos de los futuros dispositivos de memoria flash por su capacidad de integración de alta densidad y su consumo de energía cerca de cero. En nuestro caso, hemos estado interesados en el desarrollo de FPGAs que han dejado de ser simples dispositivos para la creación rápida de prototipos ASIC para convertirse en completos dispositivos reconfigurables con integración de la memoria y los elementos de procesamiento general. En particular, se han explorado como las arquitecturas implementadas CNN en FPGAs pueden ser optimizadas en términos de área ocupada en el dispositivo y su consumo de potencia. Nuestro objetivo final nos ah llevado a implementar de manera eficiente una CNN-UM con completo funcionamiento a un bajo coste y bajo consumo sobre una FPGA con tecnología flash. Por lo tanto, futuros estudios sobre la arquitectura eficiente de la CNN sobre la FPGA y la interconexión con los robots comerciales disponibles es uno de los objetivos de esta tesis que se seguirán en las líneas de futuro expuestas en este trabajo.
The main goal of this thesis consists in studying the feasibility to implement a full-functionality CNN camera sensor based on low-cost FPGA device suitable for mobile robotic applications. The study of Cellular Nonlinear Networks (CNNs) fundamentals and its efficient implementation on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) has been complemented, on one side with the parallelism established between multi-core CNN architecture and swarm of mobile robots, and on the other side with the dynamics correlation of CNNs and memristive architectures. Furthermore, memristors are considered the future substitutes of flash memory devices because of its capability of high density integration and its close to zero power consumption. In our case, we have been interested in the development of FPGAs that have ceased to be simple devices for ASIC fast prototyping to become complete reconfigurable devices embedding memory and processing elements. In particular, we have explored how the CNN architectures implemented on FPGAs can be optimized in terms of area occupied on the device or power consumption. Our final accomplishment has been implementing efficiently a fully functional reconfigurable CNN-UM on a low-cost low-power FPGA based on flash technology. Therefore, further studies on an efficient CNN architecture on FPGA and interfacing it with commercially-available robots is one of the objectives of this thesis that will be followed in the future directions exposed in this work.
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Nemitz, Markus P. "HoverBot : a manufacturable swarm robot that has multi-functional sensing capabilities and uses collisions for two-dimensional mapping." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/33160.
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Swarm robotics is the study of developing and controlling large groups of robots. Collectives of robots possess advantages over single robots such as being robust to mission failures due to single-robot errors. Experimental research in swarm robotics is currently limited by swarm robotic technology. Current swarm robotic systems are either small groups of sophisticated robots or large groups of simple robots due to manufacturing overhead, functionality-cost dependencies, and their need to avoid collisions, amongst others. It is therefore useful to develop a swarm robotic system that is easy to manufacture, that utilises its sensors beyond standard usage, and that allows for physical interactions. In this work, I introduce a new type of low-friction locomotion and show its first implementation in the HoverBot system. The HoverBot system consists of an air-levitation and magnet table, and a HoverBot agent. HoverBots are levitating circuit boards which are equipped with an array of planar coils and a Hall-effect sensor. HoverBot uses its coils to pull itself towards magnetic anchors that are embedded into a levitation table. These robots consist of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB), surface mount components, and a battery. HoverBots are easily manufacturable, robots can be ordered populated; the assembly consists of plugging in a battery to a robot. I demonstrate how HoverBot's low-cost hardware can be used beyond its standard functionality. HoverBot's magnetic field readouts from its Hall-effect sensor can be associated with successful movement, robot rotation and collision measurands. I build a time series classifier based on these magnetic field readouts, I modify and apply signal processing techniques to enable the online classification of the time-variant magnetic field measurements on HoverBot's low-cost microcontroller. This method allows HoverBot to detect rotations, successful movements, and collisions by utilising readouts from its single Hall-effect sensor. I discuss how this classification method could be applied to other sensors and demonstrate how HoverBots can utilise their classifier to create an occupancy grid map. HoverBots use their multi-functional sensing capabilities to determine whether they moved successfully or collided with a static object to map their environment. HoverBots execute an "explore-and-return-to-nest" strategy to deal with their sensor and locomotion noise. Each robot is assigned to a nest (landmark); robots leave their nests, move n steps, return and share their observations. Over time, a group of four HoverBots collectively builds a probabilistic belief over its environment. In summary, I build manufacturable swarm robots that detect collisions through a time series classifier and map their environment by colliding with their surroundings. My work on swarm robotic technology pushes swarm robotics research towards studies on collision-dependent behaviours, a research niche that has been barely studied. Collision events occur more often in dense areas and/or large groups, circumstances that swarm robots experience. Large groups of robots with collision-dependent behaviours could become a research tool to help invent and test novel distributed algorithms, to understand the dependencies between local to global (emergent) behaviours and more generally the science of complex systems. Such studies could become tremendously useful for the execution of large-scale swarm applications such as the search and rescue of survivors after a natural disaster.
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Zukas, Paulius. "Raising Awareness of Computer Vision : How can a single purpose focused CV solution be improved?" Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för datavetenskap och medieteknik (DM), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-76625.
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The concept of Computer Vision is not new or fresh. On contrary ideas have been shared and worked on for almost 60 years. Many use cases have been found throughout the years and various systems developed, but there is always a place for improvement. An observation was made, that methods used today are generally focused on a single purpose and implement expensive technology, which could be improved. In this report, we are going to go through an extensive research to find out if a professionally sold, expensive software, can be replaced by an off the shelf, low-cost solution entirely designed and developed in-house. To do that we are going to look at the history of Computer Vision, examples of applications, algorithms, and find general scenarios or computer vision problems which can be solved. We are then going take a step further and define solid use cases for each of the scenarios found. Finally, a prototype solution is going to be designed and presented. After analysing the results gathered we are going to reach out to the reader convincing him/her that such application can be developed and work efficiently in various areas saving investments to businesses.
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Chiang, Shun Fan. "The development of a low-cost robotic visual tracking system : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering, Mechatronics at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/996.
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This thesis describes a system which is able to track and imitate human motion. The system is divided into two major parts: computer vision system and robot arm motion control system. Through the use of two real-time video cameras, computer vision system identifies the moving object depending on the colour features, as the object colour is matched within the colour range in the current image frame, a method that employs two vectors is used to calculate the coordinates of the object. After the object is detected and tracked coordinates are saved to a pre-establish database in the purpose of further data processing, a mathematical algorithm is performed to the data in order to give a better robotic motion control. Robot arm manipulator responds with a move within its workspace which corresponds to a consequential human-type motion. Experimental outcomes have shown that the system is reliable and can successfully imitate a human hand motion in most cases.
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Ferreira, Eliezer Pires. "Sistema robótico do tipo exoesqueleto para reabilitação de membro superior." Universidade Federal de Goiás, 2018. http://repositorio.bc.ufg.br/tede/handle/tede/8357.
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Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás - FAPEG
Factors that cause loss of total or partial movement of upper limbs are common as neuropathies (diseases graves in the nerve), myopathies (diseases affecting the muscle), trauma and stroke. Even so, motor and functional patients return after the stroke, patients still advanced functional mobility difficulties that enable personal care and normal life. In many cases, a loss of movement can be reversed, or at least minimized, through rehabilitation exercises, but very slowly and almost always costly. The high price of assistive technology equipment from inactive communities for people with disabilities, especially in underdeveloped countries. Aiming for a superior limb rehabilitation, this paper presents a model and development of an upper limb exoskeleton prototype with two degrees of freedom, low cost, with a structure made of printer 3D. The study presents several existing models, and exhibits a mathematical model of an exoskeleton for flexion and extension movements, with simulation and subsequent prototyping.
Os fatores que causam a perda da movimentação total ou parcial de membros superiores mais comuns são as neuropatias (doenças graves no nervo), miopatias (doenças que afetam o músculo), traumas e o acidente vascular encefálico (AVE). Mesmo que algumas funções motoras e funcionais retornem após o AVE, os pacientes ainda apresentam dificuldades funcionais de mobilidade que possibilitem cuidado pessoal e vida normal. Em muitos casos, a perda de movimento pode ser revertida, ou pelo menos minimizada, por meio de exercícios de reabilitação, porém, de forma muito lenta e quase sempre, onerosa. O alto preço dos equipamentos de tecnologias assistivas os torna inacessíveis às pessoas com deficiência, principalmente nos países subdesenvolvidos. Visando a reabilitação de membro superior, este trabalho apresenta a modelagem e desenvolvimento de um protótipo de exoesqueleto para membro superior com dois graus de liberdade, de baixo custo, com estrutura fabricada em impressora 3D. O estudo apresenta vários modelos existentes, e exibe um modelo matemático de um exoesqueleto para realização dos movimentos de flexão e extensão, com posterior simulação e prototipagem.
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Hughes, Bradley Evan. "A Navigation Subsystem for an Autonomous Robot Lawn Mower." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1312391797.
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Aroca, Rafael Vidal. "Plataforma Rob?tica de Baix?ssimo Custo para Rob?tica Educacional." Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, 2012. http://repositorio.ufrn.br:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/15206.
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Previous issue date: 2012-12-17Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico
Robots are present each time more on several areas of our society, however they are still considered expensive equipments that are restricted to few people. This work con- sists on the development of control techniques and architectures that make possible the construction and programming of low cost robots with low programming and building complexity. One key aspect of the proposed architecture is the use of audio interfaces to control actuators and read sensors, thus allowing the usage of any device that can produce sounds as a control unit of a robot. The work also includes the development of web ba- sed programming environments that allow the usage of computers or mobile phones as control units of the robot, which can be remotely programmed and controlled. The work also includes possible applications of such low cost robotic platform, including mainly its educational usage, which was experimentally validated by teachers and students of seve- ral graduation courses. We also present an analysis of data obtained from interviews done with the students before and after the use of our platform, which confirms its acceptance as a teaching support tool
Os rob?s est?o cada vez mais presentes nas mais diversas atividades da sociedade, por?m ainda s?o considerados equipamentos caros e restritos para poucas pessoas. Neste trabalho, propomos uma arquitetura de controle e um conjunto de t?cnicas que possibi- litam a constru??o de rob?s de baix?ssimo custo, al?m de diminuir a complexidade na sua montagem e programa??o. Um aspecto chave da arquitetura proposta ? o uso de interfaces de ?udio para controlar atuadores e ler sensores, permitindo assim o uso de qualquer dispositivo que produza sons como unidade de controle de um rob?. Tamb?m desenvolvemos ferramentas de programa??o baseadas em ambientes web que permitem o uso de computadores ou telefones celulares como unidades de controle de um rob?, que pode ser programado e controlado remotamente. O trabalho tamb?m contempla poss?veis aplica??es de tal plataforma rob?tica de baix?ssimo custo, incluindo principalmente o seu uso educacional, que foi validado experimentalmente, por professores e alunos de v?rias disciplinas de gradua??o. Apresentamos uma an?lise de dados de entrevistas realizadas com os alunos, antes e ap?s o uso da plataforma, que confirmam a sua aceita??o como ferramenta de apoio ao ensino
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Kleis, Kevin Michael. "Eccentric Workloads Generated by a Powered Rowing Machine and its Effects on Muscular Contraction and Metabolic Cost." Cleveland State University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1534697072520532.
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Mahboubi, Heydarabad S. "Adaptive robust interaction control for low-cost robotic grasping." Thesis, University of Salford, 2018. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/48346/.
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Robotic grasping is a challenging area in the field of robotics. When a gripper starts interacting with an object to perform a grasp, the mechanical properties of the object (stiffness and damping) will play an important role. A gripper which is stable in isolated conditions, can become unstable when coupled to an object. This can lead to the extreme condition where the gripper becomes unstable and generates excessive or insufficient grip force resulting in the grasped object either being crushed, or falling and breaking. In addition to the stability issue, grasp maintenance is one of the most important requirements of any grasp where it guarantees a secure grasp in the presence of any unknown disturbance. The term grasp maintenance refers to the reaction of the controller in the presence of external disturbances, trying to prevent any undesired slippage. To do so, the controller continuously adjusts the grip force. This is a challenging task as it requires an accurate model of the friction and object’s weight to estimate a sufficient grip force to stop the object from slipping while incurring minimum deformation. Unfortunately, in reality, there is no solution which is able to obtain the mechanical properties, frictional coefficient and weight of an object before establishing a mechanical interaction with it. External disturbance forces are also stochastic meaning they are impossible to predict. This thesis addresses both of the problems mentioned above by: Creating a novel variable stiffness gripper, capable of grasping unknown objects, mainly those found in agricultural or food manufacturing companies. In addition to the stabilisation effect of the introduced variable stiffness mechanism, a novel force control algorithm has been designed that passively controls the grip force in variable stiffness grippers. Due to the passive nature of the suggested controller, it completely eliminates the necessity for any force sensor. The combination of both the proposed variable stiffness gripper and the passivity based control provides a unique solution for the stable grasp and force control problem in tendon driven, angular grippers. Introducing a novel active multi input-multi output slip prevention algorithm. The algorithm developed provides a robust control solution to endow direct drive parallel jaw grippers with the capability to stop held objects from slipping while incurring minimum deformation; this can be done without any prior knowledge of the object’s friction and weight. The large number of experiments provided in this thesis demonstrate the robustness of the proposed controller when controlling parallel jaw grippers in order to quickly grip, lift and place a broad range of objects firmly without dropping or crushing them. This is particularly useful for teleoperation and nuclear decommissioning tasks where there is often no accurate information available about the objects to be handled. This can mean that pre-programming of the gripper is required for each different object and for high numbers of objects this is impractical and overly time-consuming. A robust controller, which is able to compensate for any uncertainties regarding the object model and any unknown external disturbances during grasping, is implemented. This work has advanced the state of the art in the following two main areas: (i) Direct impedance modulation for stable grasping in tendon driven, angular grippers. (ii) Active MIMO slip prevention grasp control for direct drive parallel jaw grippers.
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Katz, Benjamin G. "Low cost, high performance actuators for dynamic robots." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105580.
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Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2016.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (page 47).
The recent growth of the remote control airplane and drone market has created great availability of extremely cheap, yet very power and torque dense electric motors. However, these motors have for the most part been neglected by the robotics community. This thesis documents the development of a hardware, firmware, and controls platform for using these motors in robotics applications - specifically for running robots. A sampling of these motors were characterized, and appropriate position sensing, power electronics and field-oriented motor control systems for torque, position, and impedance control of the motors was developed. Additionally, a module which combines motor, electronics, and single-stage planetary gearset was designed and fabricated. For demonstration, a pair of these motor-controller- gearbox modules were incorporated in a 2-degree- of-freedom leg capable of jumping and controlling its joint impedances.
by Benjamin G. Katz.
S.B.
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Katz, Benjamin G. "A low cost modular actuator for dynamic robots." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118671.
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Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2018.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 89-91).
This thesis details the hardware and control development for a low-cost modular actuator, intended for use in highly dynamic robots. A small 12 degree of freedom quadruped robot has built using these actuators, on which several control experiments have been performed. Despite the relatively low cost of the actuators, the quadruped has demonstrated unprecedented dynamic behaviors for a robot of this scale and number of degrees of freedom, such as a full 360° backflip from standing on flat ground. Several other implementations of these actuators are also discussed, a including bilateral teleoperation and haptic feedback system and a 6 degree of freedom lower-body biped robot.
by Benjamin G. Katz.
S.M.
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Mathew, Thomas J. "SCARAB : development of a rugged, low cost, inspection-class robotic platform." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13757.
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This dissertation details the design and development of a prototype of a new robotic platform designed to carry a variety of sensors into environments that are too dangerous or confined for human workers, and forms part of a series of three concurrent M.Sc(Eng) dissertations which will integrate into a complete system. Ultimately this platform will be controlled and transported by the man-wearable harness and control station developed by W.K. Fong, and will gather data using the sensor payloads designed by G. Knox. Each dissertation, however, has independently quantifiable goals and results. An important application area for such a system is Urban Search and Rescue (USAR): the field of work concerned with the discovery, extrication, and treatment of survivors trapped in collapsed structures. These typically occur as a result of terrorist attacks, natural disasters, or engineering failure. Human workers, often assisted by dogs, are trained in this work but the danger of the working environments make USAR a key area where the use of robotic assistance can make a massive difference in helping to save lives - both those of rescuees and rescuers. A body of existing work, both in the commercial and academic spheres, has been done in this regard, and as a result there is much to be learned from the experiences of others. The history of robot-assisted USAR work, as well as the existing robots available, is surveyed and critically analysed. Significant challenges are noted: existing systems frequently lack sufficient mobility, are too large, difficult to transport and deploy, difficult to use, and very costly. Their cost has affected the prevalence of their use both as a barrier to acquisition but also during their use; robot operators frequently have their decisions constrained by the financial risk of losing or damaging a robot. Accordingly, it is proposed to develop a small, rugged, low-cost inspection-class robot that can be quickly and easily deployed in a variety of scenarios. This development work is covered in three sections; the mechanical and industrial design of the platform, its design, manufacture and assembly are considered first. This is followed by a description of the electrical and electronic systems needed to power and control the robot as it conducts inspections in challenging terrain. To protect the robot from damage in this terrain, impact-absorbing wheels are developed. The test-driven iterative design approach followed, as well as the equipment and methods used therein, constitute a large portion of this dissertation and are detailed in their own chapter which can be read as a sub-project within the main project. The finished prototype is tested against the developed specifications, and from these results conclusions are drawn and recommendations for future work made.
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Qutteineh, Jafar. "Investigation of Cooperative SLAM for Low Cost Indoor Robots." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Halmstad Embedded and Intelligent Systems Research (EIS), 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-31931.
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In robotics, SLAM is the problem of dynamically building a map while simultaneously using it to localize the robot. Most SLAM solutions rely on laser ranger devices or vision sensors (cameras). This work studies the possibility of extending current established SLAM solutions to low cost robotic platforms with few low quality short range distance sensors (Infrared and Sonar) and weak odometery information. This work starts by studying the performance of a low cost robotic platform `DiddyBorg' and build models for sensors and odometry to be used in SLAM implementation. Next, three SLAM solutions are implemented, tested and compared both in real environment and under simulation. The first two solutions are based on the well-established EKF-SLAM and RBPF-SLAM while the third is a custom simplified solution that is proposed in this work. The results show that RBPF-SLAM performed poorly compared to EKF-SLAM due to the limited sensory input affecting the quality of particles weighing scheme. The results also shows that while the sparsity of the sensors is a limiting factor on SLAM quality in general, the limited range of the sensors is a determinant factor on the overall convergence of SLAM. Finally, a simple map coding and merging algorithm is presented for evaluation of multi-robot collaborative SLAM, the solution enables a group of robots to collaborate on the SLAM tasks without any priori knowledge of the relative locations of robots.
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Sharif, Tahir. "Robotic approach to low-cost manufacturing of 3D preforms with dry fibres." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2012. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/robotic-approach-to-lowcost-manufacturing-of-3d-preforms-with-dry-fibres(d25f48b9-0d9e-4d78-a2dd-e00da1d127c7).html.
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High-performance fibres such as carbon, glass and kevlar are very promising for aerospace applications because of their high strength, stiffness, impact damage and excellent fatigue life. The high cost of the prepreg materials such as pre-impregnated fibre tape/tow and fabrics, and limitations of existing manufacturing processes are a big challenge for the aerospace industry to meet increasing performance demands. Their benefits can only be achieved by using low cost materials and manufacturing methods. In the past three or four decades, there have been substantial technological developments, which are governed by the new materials and their associated manufacturing techniques. The production of carbon fibre is slow and capital intensive, therefore, carbon manufactures produce higher tow counts (number of filaments) to increase production through-put in order to reduce its cost. In other words, 12k carbon tow is much cheaper than 6k or 3k carbon tow. In many applications finer tows are desirable. In this thesis, a fully automated laser feedback tow splitting line has been developed to split higher tow counts (12k spool) into smaller tow counts (split into 6k spools) in order to produce low cost material. The quality of the split tows has been evaluated by recording the data online during the splitting process. The recorded data was later analysed by statistical tools. A four axis modular gantry robotic system has been developed at the University of Manchester in order to deposit dry fibres in a completely flexible manner. To facilitate robotic preforming, an end-effector and mould have been designed and developed in this research. The tow placement program was written in the CoDeSys software which is then uploaded into the motion controller to perform specific motions. The cross-ply laminates have been manufactured by the proposed robotic system using split 6k (produced by the tow splitting process) and original 12k carbon tows. Mechanical test of both composites (12k and split 6k) are presented. A tufting process has been developed and conducted by the robotic system in order to manufacture 3D preforms. The tufted composite was compared with 3D woven and stitched 2D broadcloth in terms of the tensile and interlaminar shear strength properties. X-ray tomography has been conducted to investigate preform geometrical variations of manufactured composites. In addition, preforming cost models have been developed for robotic fibre placement and 3D weaving.
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Singh, Rajendra. "Design, experimentation and fabrication of a low cost controller board for robotic applications." Queensland University of Technology, 2006. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16241/.
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This thesis presents the design, construction and experiments done on a microcontroller board called 'SMARTY BOARD' targeted at small mobile robot applications. The primary motivation for this work was the lack of commercially available and cheap controller boards that would have all their components including interfaces on a single board. Having a single board simplifies the construction of programmable robots that can be used as platforms for teaching and learning robotics. Reducing the cost of the board as much as possible was one of the main design objectives. The target user groups for this device are the secondary and tertiary students, and hobbyists. Previous studies have shown that equipment cost is one of the major obstacles for teaching robotics in Australia. The other design objectives were robustness, reliability and functionality of the board. Most of the early technological learners such as high school students lack experience and expert knowledge for interfacing a controller board with other components. To prevent the learners from making errors, connectors on our board have been made foolproof (the user cannot damage the components of the board by plugging cables in the wrong sockets). Commercially available designs lack these essential features. After reviewing the commercially available micro-controller boards with respect to their suitability as teaching tools, we concluded that none of the existing microcontroller boards met our requirements. We then designed a new controller board based on previous boards. The main advantage of this new controller board is that it is a single board whereas the other controller boards are multi-board. Moreover, it is more foolproof. The new controller board was demonstrated at high-school seminars. In these demonstrations the new controller board was used for controlling two robots that we built. These robots are available as kits. The response from the high school teachers was very positive. The board has been selected as the platform for a robotic competition.
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Worst, Siebert Christo. "Development of a low cost secondary slave manipulator for a minimally invasive robotic surgical system." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/71618.
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Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) in human beings is performed by making small incisions in the abdominal region of the patient and inflating the abdominal cavity with CO2. This procedure enables the surgeon to manipulate long rigid surgical instruments inside the patient in order to perform the surgery. Unfortunately the current methods of insertion and assembly of MIS instruments limit the surgeon to only five (of a possible seven) Degrees of Freedom (DOF). Along with this, the surgeon’s movements are mirrored (called the Fulcrum effect) and scaled around the point of incision. Minimally invasive surgical robots attempt to alleviate these drawbacks by eliminating the Fulcrum effect, as well as improving dexterity and accuracy. These robots’ abilities to improve the surgeon’s hand-eye coordination, enables the surgeon to perform surgeries using their natural movements with reduced fatigue. As a result of this, the risk to both patient and surgeon is reduced. Existing MIS robotic systems are extremely expensive and large, and as a result they are not widely used. In this thesis a new, lower cost, seven DOF robotic manipulator is further developed. The thesis focuses on the external three DOF Secondary Slave Manipulator (SSM) and combines it with the Primary Slave Manipulator (PSM) that was developed by a previous Masters student. Tests done on the SSM showed that the manipulator has a minimum resolution of 0.7 ± 0.2 mm (mean ± standard deviation) on the shoulder joint’s yaw rotation and 0.5 ± 0.2 mm in pitch rotation. The linear actuator used for insertion has a minimum resolution of 0.2 ± 0.2 mm. A strength test was also conducted and showed that the manipulator is easily capable of producing a 10 N actuation force as required during Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery (MIRS) procedures. In conclusion the complete system has potential as a viable alternative to the existing systems due to its accuracy and lower cost. Future work will include the development of a user interface and control system for the complete robot.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Minimaal Indringende Chirurgie (MIC) op mense word uitgevoer deur klein insnydings in die pasiënt se buik te maak en dan die abdominale holte met CO2 te vul. Dit stel die chirurg in staat om lang, onbuigbare instrumente binne die pasiënt te manipuleer om sodoende die operasie uit te voer. Die manier waarop die MIC instrument ontwerp is en die pasiënt binnegaan, laat egter slegs vyf vryheidsgrade toe, terwyl die chirurg self sewe vryheidsgrade in sy handbewegings het. Verder veroorsaak hierdie instrumente ook dat die chirurg se aksies in spieëlbeeld vertolk word (Fulcrum effek) en geskaleer is. Chirurgiese robotika poog om hierdie nadele teen te werk deur die Fulcrum effek te verwyder, en ook om handvaardigheid en akkuraatheid te bevorder. Die robot se potensiaal om die chirurg se hand-oog koӧrdinasie te verbeter, maak dit moontlik vir die chirurg om op ’n meer natuurlike en gemaklike manier te werk te gaan en bring minder vermoeienis mee. Dit verminder die risiko’s vir beide die pasiënt en die chirurg. Bestaande robotiese stelsels is egter baie duur en groot, en word dus nie meer algemeen gebruik nie. In hierdie tesis word ‘n nuwe sewe-vryheidsgraad robotiese manipuleerder ontwikkel. Die tesis fokus op die eksterne drie-vryheidsgraad Sekondêre Slaaf Manipuleerder (SSM) en kombineer dit met die Primêre Slaaf Manipuleerder (PSM) wat deur ʼn vorige Meestersstudent ontwikkel is. Toetse wat uitgevoer is op die SSM het getoon dat dit ’n minimum resolusie van 0.7 ± 0.2 mm (gemiddeld ± standaard afwyking) op die skouer se afwyking en 0.5 ± 0.2 mm om die onderskeie skouer aslyne toon. Die linieêre aktueerder wat vir inlassing gebruik word het ’n minimum resolusie van 0.2 ± 0.2 mm. ’n Sterktetoets is uitgevoer en het getoon dat die manipuleerder maklik die nodige 10 N krag soos benodig in Minimaal Indringende Robotiese Chirurgie (MIRC) prosedures kan lewer. Ter afsluiting, die volledige stelsel het die potensiaal as lewensvatbare alternatief tot die bestaande stelsels vanweë die akkuraatheid en laer koste verbonde. Toekomstige navorsing kan moontlik die ontwikkeling van ʼn gebruikerkoppelvlak en beheerstelsel vir die volledige robot insluit.
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Lino, Rúben José Simões. "Low cost inertial-based localization system for a service robot." Master's thesis, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/5680.
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Dissertation presented at Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon
to attain the Master degree in Electrical and Computer Science EngineeringThe knowledge of a robot’s location it’s fundamental for most part of service robots. The success of tasks such as mapping and planning depend on a good robot’s position knowledge. The main goal of this dissertation is to present a solution that provides a estimation of the robot’s location. This is, a tracking system that can run either inside buildings or outside them, not taking into account just structured environments. Therefore, the localization system takes into account only measurements relative. In the presented solution is used an AHRS device and digital encoders placed on wheels to make a estimation of robot’s position. It also relies on the use of Kalman Filter to integrate sensorial information and deal with estimate errors. The developed system was testes in real environments through its integration on real robot. The results revealed that is not possible to attain a good position estimation using only low-cost inertial sensors. Thus, is required the integration of more sensorial information, through absolute or relative measurements technologies, to provide a more accurate position estimation.
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Du, Minzhen. "Assessment of a Low Cost IR Laser Local Tracking Solution for Robotic Operations." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/103320.
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This thesis aimed to assess the feasibility of using an off-the-shelf virtual reality tracking system as a low cost precision pose estimation solution for robotic operations in both indoor and outdoor environments. Such a tracking solution has the potential of assisting critical operations related to planetary exploration missions, parcel handling/delivery, and wildfire detection/early warning systems. The boom of virtual reality experiences has accelerated the development of various low-cost, precision indoor tracking technologies. For the purpose of this thesis we choose to adapt the SteamVR Lighthouse system developed by Valve, which uses photo-diodes on the trackers to detect the rotating IR laser sheets emitted from the anchored base stations, also known as lighthouses. Some previous researches had been completed using the first generation of lighthouses, which has a few limitations on communication from lighthouses to the tracker. A NASA research has cited poor tracking performance under sunlight. We choose to use the second generation lighthouses which has improved the method of communication from lighthouses to the tracker, and we performed various experiments to assess their performance outdoors, including under sunlight. The studies of this thesis have two stages, the first stage focused on a controlled, indoor environment, having an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAS) perform repeatable flight patterns and simultaneously tracked by the Lighthouse and a reference indoor tracking system, which showed that the tracking precision of the lighthouse is comparable to the industrial standard indoor tracking solution. The second stage of the study focused on outdoor experiments with the tracking system, comparing UAS flights between day and night conditions as well as positioning accuracy assessments with a CNC machine under indoor and outdoor conditions. The results showed matching performance between day and night while still comparable to industrial standard indoor tracking solution down to centimeter precision, and matching simulated CNC trajectory down to millimeter precision. There is also some room for improvement in regards to the experimental method and equipment used, as well as improvements on the tracking system itself needed prior to adaptation in real-world applications.Master of Science
This thesis aimed to assess the feasibility of using an off-the-shelf virtual reality tracking system as a low cost precision pose estimation solution for robotic operations in both indoor and outdoor environments. Such a tracking solution has the potential of assisting critical operations related to planetary exploration missions, parcel handling/delivery, and wildfire detection/early warning systems. The boom of virtual reality experiences has accelerated the development of various low-cost, precision indoor tracking technologies. For the purpose of this thesis we choose to adapt the SteamVR Lighthouse system developed by Valve, which uses photo-diodes on the trackers to detect the rotating IR laser sheets emitted from the anchored base stations, also known as lighthouses. Some previous researches had been completed using the first generation of lighthouses, which has a few limitations on communication from lighthouses to the tracker. A NASA research has cited poor tracking performance under sunlight. We choose to use the second generation lighthouses which has improved the method of communication from lighthouses to the tracker, and we performed various experiments to assess their performance outdoors, including under sunlight. The studies of this thesis have two stages, the first stage focused on a controlled, indoor environment, having an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAS) perform repeatable flight patterns and simultaneously tracked by the Lighthouse and a reference indoor tracking system, which showed that the tracking precision of the lighthouse is comparable to the industrial standard indoor tracking solution. The second stage of the study focused on outdoor experiments with the tracking system, comparing UAS flights between day and night conditions as well as positioning accuracy assessments with a CNC machine under indoor and outdoor conditions. The results showed matching performance between day and night while still comparable to industrial standard indoor tracking solution down to centimeter precision, and matching simulated CNC trajectory down to millimeter precision. There is also some room for improvement in regards to the experimental method and equipment used, as well as improvements on the tracking system itself needed prior to adaptation in real-world applications.
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Yap, Teddy. "Mobile robot navigation with low-cost sensors." Diss., [Riverside, Calif.] : University of California, Riverside, 2009. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1957353711&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1268419222&clientId=48051.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009.Includes abstract. Title from first page of PDF file (viewed March 12, 2010). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-144). Also issued in print.
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Taylor, Trevor. "Mapping of indoor environments by robots using low-cost vision sensors." Queensland University of Technology, 2009. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/26282/.
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For robots to operate in human environments they must be able to make their own maps because it is unrealistic to expect a user to enter a map into the robot’s memory; existing floorplans are often incorrect; and human environments tend to change. Traditionally robots have used sonar, infra-red or laser range finders to perform the mapping task. Digital cameras have become very cheap in recent years and they have opened up new possibilities as a sensor for robot perception. Any robot that must interact with humans can reasonably be expected to have a camera for tasks such as face recognition, so it makes sense to also use the camera for navigation. Cameras have advantages over other sensors such as colour information (not available with any other sensor), better immunity to noise (compared to sonar), and not being restricted to operating in a plane (like laser range finders). However, there are disadvantages too, with the principal one being the effect of perspective. This research investigated ways to use a single colour camera as a range sensor to guide an autonomous robot and allow it to build a map of its environment, a process referred to as Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). An experimental system was built using a robot controlled via a wireless network connection. Using the on-board camera as the only sensor, the robot successfully explored and mapped indoor office environments. The quality of the resulting maps is comparable to those that have been reported in the literature for sonar or infra-red sensors. Although the maps are not as accurate as ones created with a laser range finder, the solution using a camera is significantly cheaper and is more appropriate for toys and early domestic robots.
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BELO, FELIPE AUGUSTO WEILEMANN. "EXPLORATION AND VISUAL MAPPING ALGORITHMS DEVELOPMENT FOR LOW COST MOBILE ROBOTS." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2006. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=9142@1.
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CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOAo mesmo tempo em que a autonomia de robôs pessoais e domésticos aumenta, cresce a necessidade de interação dos mesmos com o ambiente. A interação mais básica de um robô com o ambiente é feita pela percepção deste e sua navegação. Para uma série de aplicações não é prático prover modelos geométricos válidos do ambiente a um robô antes de seu uso. O robô necessita, então, criar estes modelos enquanto se movimenta e percebe o meio em que está inserido através de sensores. Ao mesmo tempo é necessário minimizar a complexidade requerida quanto a hardware e sensores utilizados. No presente trabalho, um algoritmo iterativo baseado em entropia é proposto para planejar uma estratégia de exploração visual, permitindo a construção eficaz de um modelo em grafo do ambiente. O algoritmo se baseia na determinação da informação presente em sub-regiões de uma imagem panorâmica 2-D da localização atual do robô obtida com uma câmera fixa sobre o mesmo. Utilizando a métrica de entropia baseada na Teoria da Informação de Shannon, o algoritmo determina nós potenciais para os quais deve se prosseguir a exploração. Através de procedimento de Visual Tracking, em conjunto com a técnica SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform), o algoritmo auxilia a navegação do robô para cada nó novo, onde o processo é repetido. Um procedimento baseado em transformações invariáveis a determinadas variações espaciais (desenvolvidas a partir de Fourier e Mellin) é utilizado para auxiliar o processo de guiar o robô para nós já conhecidos. Também é proposto um método baseado na técnica SIFT. Os processos relativos à obtenção de imagens, avaliação, criação do grafo, e prosseguimento dos passos citados continua até que o robô tenha mapeado o ambiente com nível pré-especificado de detalhes. O conjunto de nós e imagens obtidos são combinados de modo a se criar um modelo em grafo do ambiente. Seguindo os caminhos, nó a nó, um robô pode navegar pelo ambiente já explorado. O método é particularmente adequado para ambientes planos. As componentes do algoritmo proposto foram desenvolvidas e testadas no presente trabalho. Resultados experimentais mostrando a eficácia dos métodos propostos são apresentados.
As the autonomy of personal service robotic systems increases so has their need to interact with their environment. The most basic interaction a robotic agent may have with its environment is to sense and navigate through it. For many applications it is not usually practical to provide robots in advance with valid geometric models of their environment. The robot will need to create these models by moving around and sensing the environment, while minimizing the complexity of the required sensing hardware. This work proposes an entropy-based iterative algorithm to plan the robot´s visual exploration strategy, enabling it to most efficiently build a graph model of its environment. The algorithm is based on determining the information present in sub-regions of a 2- D panoramic image of the environment from the robot´s current location using a single camera fixed on the mobile robot. Using a metric based on Shannon s information theory, the algorithm determines potential locations of nodes from which to further image the environment. Using a Visual Tracking process based on SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform), the algorithm helps navigate the robot to each new node, where the imaging process is repeated. An invariant transform (based on Fourier and Mellin) and tracking process is used to guide the robot back to a previous node. Also, an SIFT based method is proposed to accomplish such task. This imaging, evaluation, branching and retracing its steps continues until the robot has mapped the environment to a pre-specified level of detail. The set of nodes and the images taken at each node are combined into a graph to model the environment. By tracing its path from node to node, a service robot can navigate around its environment. This method is particularly well suited for flat-floored environments. The components of the proposed algorithm were developed and tested. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
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Jeunehomme, Eric J. S. "Design of low cost biomimetic flexible robots using additive manufacturing techniques." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122313.
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Thesis: S.M. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2019Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2019
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 109-112).
In this thesis, I designed and fabricated robots leveraging additive manufacturing. This had two overarching purpose. One to make a testing apparatus that would allow the measurements of the influence of a flexible flapping foil onto a subsequent, in-line, foil with the optic of researching optimized propulsion solutions for under water vehicles. The second was to show that filament deposition modeling has advanced enough to produce bio-mimetic flexible robots of academic relevance that would allow, for a low price, the making of a number of experimental setup with specific measurements in mind. In order to reach those goals, two versions of a bio-mimetic archer fish of the genus Toxotes were modeled using various software. The models were modified to accept actuator assemblies and interface to the electronics and built using a modified hobby grade 3D printer.
by Eric J.S. Jeunehomme.
S.M. in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
S.M.
S.M.inNavalArchitectureandMarineEngineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering
S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering
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Wu, You Ph D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Low-cost soft sensors and robots for leak detection in operating water pipes." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118022.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2018.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-247).
Every day, about 20% of the clean water produced in the world is lost due to pipe leaks. Due to limitations in available technologies, most of the leaks are either not found, or found too late. Every year, there are 240,000 water pipe breaks in the US, and many of them cause sinkholes and other severe damage to the infrastructure. Water utilities need methods for detecting and locating such leaks before they become big breaks, so that they can perform preventative maintenance. This is to save water and protect infrastructure. This thesis presents the design, analysis, fabrication and field test validations of such a solution. I developed soft robots for early detection of leaks in water pipes when the water service is on. This work introduces four key contributions: (1) Design, fabrication and field validations of soft robots for operating water pipes (2) Design, fabrication and field validations of a tactile sensor for detecting leaks in operating water pipes (3) Differentiate leaks from false positives with a low-cost soft bending angle sensor (4) A practical, minimalism approach to the in-pipe localization, specifically for soft robots. The results are validated in simulations, lab, and field experiments. Those sensors and robots are designed to be low-cost and scalable. They are fabricated with ordinary material with ordinary tools. It is a sub-500-dollar solution to a multi-billion-dollar water and infrastructure problem.
by You Wu.
Ph. D.
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Velor, Tosan. "A Low-Cost Social Companion Robot for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/41428.
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Robot assisted therapy is becoming increasingly popular. Research has proven it can be of benefit to persons dealing with a variety of disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and it can also provide a source of emotional support e.g. to persons living in seniors’ residences. The advancement in technology and a decrease in cost of products related to consumer electronics, computing and communication has enabled the development of more advanced social robots at a lower cost. This brings us closer to developing such tools at a price that makes them affordable to lower income individuals and families. Currently, in several cases, intensive treatment for patients with certain disorders (to the level of becoming effective) is practically not possible through the public health system due to resource limitations and a large existing backlog. Pursuing treatment through the private sector is expensive and unattainable for those with a lower income, placing them at a disadvantage. Design and effective integration of technology, such as using social robots in treatment, reduces the cost considerably, potentially making it financially accessible to lower income individuals and families in need. The Objective of the research reported in this manuscript is to design and implement a social robot that meets the low-cost criteria, while also containing the required functions to support children with ASD. The design considered contains knowledge acquired in the past through research involving the use of various types of technology for the treatment of mental and/or emotional disabilities.
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Geu, Matthew J. "Development of a persistent search algorithm using low cost microprocessor based robots as a test bench." Laramie, Wyo. : University of Wyoming, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1313919901&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=18949&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Nellis, Michael David. "Integrating a Low-Cost Stereoscopic Vision System Into a Six Degree of Freedom Robotic Arm for Engineering Education." University of Dayton / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1589283741252993.
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Miller, Michael E. "The development of an improved low cost machine vision system for robotic guidance and manipulation of randomly oriented, straight edged objects." Ohio : Ohio University, 1989. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?ohiou1182445639.
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Hennig, Matthias, Henri Kirmse, and Klaus Janschek. "Global Localization of an Indoor Mobile Robot with a single Base Station." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2012. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-83687.
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The navigation tasks in advanced home robotic applications incorporating reliable revisiting strategies are dependent on very low cost but nevertheless rather accurate localization systems. In this paper a localization system based on the principle of trilateration is described. The proposed system uses only a single small base station, but achieves accuracies comparable to systems using spread beacons and it performs sufficiently for map building. Thus it is a standalone system and needs no odometry or other auxiliary sensors. Furthermore a new approach for the problem of the reliably detection of areas without direct line of sight is presented. The described system is very low cost and it is designed for use in indoor service robotics. The paper gives an overview on the system concept and special design solutions and proves the possible performances with experimental results.
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Karr, Roger W. "The assembly of a microcomputer controlled low cost vision-robot system and the design of software." Ohio : Ohio University, 1985. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?ohiou1184010908.
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