This paper addresses the problem of how to coordinate the behavior of very large numbers of microrobots in order to assemble complex, hierarchically structured physical objects. The approach is... Show More

This paper addresses the problem of how to coordinate the behavior of very large numbers of microrobots in order to assemble complex, hierarchically structured physical objects. The approach is patterned after morphogenetic processes during embryological development, in which masses of simple agents (cells) coordinate to produce complex three-dimensional structures. In order to ensure that the coordination mechanisms scale up to hundreds of thousands or millions of microrobots, the swarm is treated as a continuous mass using partial differential equations. The paper presents algorithms and simulations for assembling segmented structures (artificial spines and legs) and for routing artificial neural fiber bundles.

Finding the location of a robot, equipped with an imaging sensor, by taking photos from its surrounding environment is a multifaceted task consisting several obligatory phases. It starts from the... Show More

Finding the location of a robot, equipped with an imaging sensor, by taking photos from its surrounding environment is a multifaceted task consisting several obligatory phases. It starts from the calibration of a sensor, and ends in propagation of errors, to consequently express our uncertainty about the unknowns. This article uses a mathematical language to elaborate a model based on recent trends to show how the structure and motion can be estimated by image-processing methods on digital images taken from a regular non-metric camera. The direct and inverse Brown's model for calibration, as well as the basic definition of an image pyramid is discussed first. The concepts of Epipolar geometry, collinearity and co-planarity, and registrations of models, are described next. Generating a reference map, the bundle-adjustment and localization are presented finally. In the last sections, some recent trends about parallel computing are reviewed, and recommendations for building a real-time system are discussed.

The problem of local positioning of autonomous mobile robot acting on an unknown scene. The measuring instrument is analyzed on-board stereo vision system consisting of two collinear digital... Show More

The problem of local positioning of autonomous mobile robot acting on an unknown scene. The measuring instrument is analyzed on-board stereo vision system consisting of two collinear digital camcorders. The description of the measurement space of digital stereo vision, proposed a stochastic model of the measurement errors of point features scenes. The problem of optimizing the choice of reference for local positioning of autonomous mobile robot. A method for communication dynamics of movement of the mobile robot with the parameters of the digital system stereovision.

Research in humanoid robot design and implementation is quite challenging due to the complexity of the system and multiple objects involved. Stability, gait generation, navigation and object... Show More

Research in humanoid robot design and implementation is quite challenging due to the complexity of the system and multiple objects involved. Stability, gait generation, navigation and object detection and recognition are all key factors in the humanoid robot design. Researchers in humanoid robot design has put dramatic efforts on one aspect and made assumption on many other aspects. Humanoid robot research involves challenge issues of stability of motion, body movement, navigation, in addition to the issues of path generation, object detection, collision avoidance in the wheeled robots. Rooted from the previous experimental study of wheeled robotics systems, the research project of BIOLOID humanoid robot was started on Fall 2013 and supported by Title III Strengthening Grant Program (HBGI) (DAAD17-02-C-0113). In this paper, we give an overview of the project design and implementation of BIOLOID humanoid robot, including hardware architecture, firmware design and device management, in an overall perspective research work of the motion planning of humanoid robots. In addition, a wide discussion of the issues we faced and challenges of research work is presented, with the results of the current on-going progress. This work will cover the overall hardware architecture, model based system design and behavior analysis using a systematic approach. The work is implemented on a soccer game scenario with a goalie and an offender role. This project has demonstrated a successful development process of collaborative humanoid robotics on a complex research and education platform of BIOLOID using a software engineering approach.