The ability to autonomously adapt to variations in the environmental conditions is a very useful feature for mobile robots. Of particular interest in robotic soccer are self-calibrating vision systems that auto-matically adapt to local... more
The ability to autonomously adapt to variations in the environmental conditions is a very useful feature for mobile robots. Of particular interest in robotic soccer are self-calibrating vision systems that auto-matically adapt to local lighting conditions. The pa-per presents a method for autonomous calibration of a color classificator used for color blob-based im-age segmentation and landmark and object recogni-tion. The experimental results demonstrate signifi-cantly improved robustness of visual processing. 1
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This paper presents the onboard execution software used for operating two rovers in a simulated lunar robotic site survey at Haughton Crater in July-August 2007. The execution software consists of a language called Plan Execution... more
This paper presents the onboard execution software used for operating two rovers in a simulated lunar robotic site survey at Haughton Crater in July-August 2007. The execution software consists of a language called Plan Execution Interchange Language (PLEXIL) that represents the control, monitoring, and fault protection desired, and an engine called Universal Executive that executes plans written in PLEXIL and interfaces to controlled systems. PLEXIL and UE controlled two K10 rovers from NASA Ames in site survey experiments totaling 200 hours of operation, covering 45 km of moon-like terrain.
Software development for autonomous mobile robots is a difficult task. One of the reasons is the very challenging characteristics of this application domain. It features an extremely heterogenous set of hardware devices, the necessity of... more
Software development for autonomous mobile robots is a difficult task. One of the reasons is the very challenging characteristics of this application domain. It features an extremely heterogenous set of hardware devices, the necessity of concurrent and distributed information processing, a tight coupling of algorith-mic solutions to the physical properties of the robot and its environment, the stochastic properties of the physical world, as well as timeliness constraints and resource constraints. And all these features need to be addressed simultaneously when developing solutions in the field of autonomous mobile robots. 2
NASA is planning to send humans and robots back to the Moon before 2020. In order for extended missions to be productive, high quality maps of lunar terrain and resources are required. Although orbital images can provide much information,... more
NASA is planning to send humans and robots back to the Moon before 2020. In order for extended missions to be productive, high quality maps of lunar terrain and resources are required. Although orbital images can provide much information, many features (local topography, resources, etc) will have to be characterized directly on the surface. To address this need, we are developing a system to perform site survey and sampling. The system includes multiple robots and humans operating in a variety of team configurations, coordinated via peer-to-peer human-robot interaction. In this paper, we present our system design and describe planned field tests. I.
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During the last 18 months, the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) of NASA Ames has transitioned its rover software from a classic ad hoc system to a ServiceOriented Robotic Architecture (SORA). Under SORA, rover controller functionalities... more
During the last 18 months, the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) of NASA Ames has transitioned its rover software from a classic ad hoc system to a ServiceOriented Robotic Architecture (SORA). Under SORA, rover controller functionalities are encapsulated as a set of services. The services interact using two distinct modalities depending on the need: remote method invocation or data distribution. The system strongly relies on middleware that offers advanced functionalities while guaranteeing robustness. This architecture allows IRG to meet three critical space robotic systems requirements: flexibility, scalability and reliability. SORA was tested during summer 2007 at an analog lunar site: Haughton Crater (Devon Island, Canada). Two rovers were operated from a simulated habitat and remote ground control centers, allowing a full-scale evaluation of our system.
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This paper presents the lessons learned from six years of experiments with planetary rover prototypes running the Service Oriented Robotic Architecture (SORA) devel-oped by the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) at NASA Ames Research... more
This paper presents the lessons learned from six years of experiments with planetary rover prototypes running the Service Oriented Robotic Architecture (SORA) devel-oped by the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) at NASA Ames Research Center. SORA relies on proven software methods and technologies applied to the robotic world. Based on a Service Oriented Architecture and robust mid-dleware, SORA extends its reach beyond the on-board robot controller and supports the full suite of software tools used during mission scenarios from ground control to remote robotic sites. SORA has been field tested in numerous scenarios of robotic lunar and planetary explo-ration. The results of these high fidelity experiments are illustrated through concrete examples that have shown the benefits of using SORA as well as its limitations.
Research Interests: Engineering and Robotics
In most behavior-based approaches, implementing a broad set of different behavioral skills and coordinating them to achieve coherent complex behavior is an error-prone and very tedious task. Concepts for organizing reactive behavior in a... more
In most behavior-based approaches, implementing a broad set of different behavioral skills and coordinating them to achieve coherent complex behavior is an error-prone and very tedious task. Concepts for organizing reactive behavior in a hierarchical manner are rarely found in behavior-based approaches, and there is no widely accepted approach for creating such behavior hierarchies. Most applications of behavior-based concepts use
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In most behavior-based approaches, implementing a broad set of different behavioral skills and coordinating them to achieve coherent complex behavior is an error-prone and very tedious task. Concepts for organizing reactive behavior in a... more
In most behavior-based approaches, implementing a broad set of different behavioral skills and coordinating them to achieve coherent complex behavior is an error-prone and very tedious task. Concepts for organizing reactive behavior in a hierarchical manner are rarely found in behavior-based approaches, and there is no widely accepted approach for creating such behavior hierarchies. Most applications of behavior-based concepts use
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Summary. In this paper, we describe NASA Ames Research Center’s K10 rover as
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1 Motivation Software development for autonomous mobile robots is a difficult task. One of the reasons is the very challenging characteristics of this application domain. It features an extremely heterogenous set of hardware devices, the... more
1 Motivation Software development for autonomous mobile robots is a difficult task. One of the reasons is the very challenging characteristics of this application domain. It features an extremely heterogenous set of hardware devices, the necessity of concurrent and distributed information processing, a tight coupling of algorith- mic solutions to the physical properties of the robot and its environment, the stochastic properties of the physical world, as well as timeliness constraints and resource constraints. And all these features need to be addressed simultaneously when developing solutions in the field of autonomous mobile robots. 2P roblem Most of todays software architectures for this domain provide little conceptual support for the application programmer, to structure and encapsulate these do- main characteristics. In consequence many of the robotics applications spend most of their code managing the domains problems, instead of solving the tar- geted one. This hinders the im...
Research Interests: Middleware and Ki
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Increased navigation speed is desirable for lunar rovers, whether autonomous, crewed or remotely operated, but is hampered by the low gravity, high contrast lighting and rough terrain. We describe lidar based navigation system deployed on... more
Increased navigation speed is desirable for lunar rovers, whether autonomous, crewed or remotely operated, but is hampered by the low gravity, high contrast lighting and rough terrain. We describe lidar based navigation system deployed on NASA’s K10 autonomous rover and to increase the terrain hazard situational awareness of the Lunar Electric Rover crew.
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This paper presents the onboard execution software used for operating two rovers in a simulated lunar robotic site survey at Haughton Crater in July-August 2007. The execution software consists of a language called Plan Execution... more
This paper presents the onboard execution software used for operating two rovers in a simulated lunar robotic site survey at Haughton Crater in July-August 2007. The execution software consists of a language called Plan Execution Interchange Language (PLEXIL) that represents the control, monitoring, and fault protection desired, and an engine called Universal Executive that executes plans written in PLEXIL and
We have used the HYDRA miniature neutron spectrometer integrated onto a NASA Ames K10 rover to field test mobile robotic prospecting for hydrogen enhancements, as would be carried out in a future landed lunar polar robotic mission.
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Autonomous mobile robots of today are software- intensive systems. The rapidly growing code base of robotics projects therefore requires advanced software development methods and technologies, to ensure their scalability, reliability and... more
Autonomous mobile robots of today are software- intensive systems. The rapidly growing code base of robotics projects therefore requires advanced software development methods and technologies, to ensure their scalability, reliability and maintainability. In this paper, we analyze modern concepts and technologies that we applied to our software development process and show how they contribute to enhancing these design dimensions. I.
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Application frameworks play a major role in fostering reusability of robotic software solutions. Frameworks foster the reuse of code and design and offer a convenient model of object-oriented extensibility. They provide a powerful concept... more
Application frameworks play a major role in fostering reusability of robotic software solutions. Frameworks foster the reuse of code and design and offer a convenient model of object-oriented extensibility. They provide a powerful concept for providing generic components of well-understood, modular solutions for robotics. Nevertheless, few such frameworks exist in robotics, especially at the application level.
Google, Inc. (search). ...
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In this paper, we describe NASA Ames Research Center's K10 rover as used in the 2006 Coordinated Field Demonstration at Meteor Crater, Arizona. We briefly discuss the control software architecture and describe a... more
In this paper, we describe NASA Ames Research Center's K10 rover as used in the 2006 Coordinated Field Demonstration at Meteor Crater, Arizona. We briefly discuss the control software architecture and describe a high dynamic range imaging system and panoramic ...
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Research Interests: Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Programming Languages, Object Oriented Programming, Software Maintenance, and 20 moreDistributed System, Middleware, Information Processing, OPERATING SYSTEM, Software Design, Mobile Robots, Protocols, Hardware, Manufacturing Engineering, Computer Languages, Mobile Robot, Software maintainability, Corba, Communication Protocol, Communications Protocols, Object Oriented, Electrical And Electronic Engineering, Programming language, Application Software, and software portability
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During the last 18 months, the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) of NASA Ames has transitioned its rover software from a classic ad hoc system to a Service- Oriented Robotic Architecture (SORA). Under SORA, rover controller functionalities... more
During the last 18 months, the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) of NASA Ames has transitioned its rover software from a classic ad hoc system to a Service- Oriented Robotic Architecture (SORA). Under SORA, rover controller functionalities are encapsulated as a set of services. The services interact using two distinct modalities depending on the need: remote method in- vocation or data distribution. The system strongly re- lies on middleware that offers advanced functionalities while guaranteeing robustness. This architecture allows IRG to meet three critical space robotic systems requirements: flexibility, scala- bility and reliability. SORA was tested during summer 2007 at an analog lunar site: Haughton Crater (De- von Island, Canada). Two rovers were operated from a simulated habitat and remote ground control centers, allowing a full-scale evaluation of our system.
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ABSTRACT Fast autonomous mobility, autonomous target sampling, and terrain relative navigation promise to have a significant impact on the utility, efficiency, cost, and reliability of future robotic Mars surface missions.
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ABSTRACT A striking aspect of human coordination is that we achieve it with little or no communication. We achieve this implicit coordination by taking the perspective of others and inferring their intentions. In contrast, robots usually... more
ABSTRACT A striking aspect of human coordination is that we achieve it with little or no communication. We achieve this implicit coordination by taking the perspective of others and inferring their intentions. In contrast, robots usually coordinate explicitly through the extensive communication of utilities or intentions. In this paper we present a method that combines both approaches: implicit coordination with shared belief. In this approach, robots first communicate their beliefs about the world state to each other, using a CORBA-based communication module. They then use learned utility prediction models to predict the utility of each robot locally. Based on these utilities, an action is chosen. Within a heterogeneous soccer team, with robots from both the Munich and Ulm research groups, we apply implicit coordination with shared belief to a typical task from robotic soccer: regaining ball possession. An empirical evaluation demonstrates that the redundancy of implicit coordination with shared belief leads to robustness against communication failure and state estimation inaccuracy.
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ABSTRACT This paper presents the lessons learned from six years of experiments with planetary rover prototypes running the Service Oriented Robotic Architecture (SORA) developed by the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) at the NASA Ames... more
ABSTRACT This paper presents the lessons learned from six years of experiments with planetary rover prototypes running the Service Oriented Robotic Architecture (SORA) developed by the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) at the NASA Ames Research Center. SORA relies on proven software engineering methods and technologies applied to space robotics. Based on a service oriented architecture and robust middleware, SORA encompasses onboard robot control and a full suite of software tools necessary for remotely operated exploration missions. SORA has been field-tested in numerous scenarios of robotic lunar and planetary exploration. The experiments conducted by IRG with SORA exercise a large set of the constraints encountered in space applications: remote robotic assets, flight-relevant science instruments, distributed operations, high network latencies, and unreliable or intermittent communication links. In this paper, we present the results of these field tests in regard to the developed architecture, and we discuss its benefits and limitations.