Approximately one century has passed since a Czech dramatist Capek Karel used a word “robot” for the first time in his satirical work “Rosumovi Univerzální Roboti (Rossum's Universal Robots)” in ...1921. Indeed, the existence of a robot started with a literary imagination, when the word was used for the first time about one century ago, but the rot becomes an entity inseparable from human life, including housework and even nursing, in the contemporary society. Today, we have come to see intelligent robots going so far as not only to think and move of their own accord, but also revealing their feelings on their faces. That kind of robots is represented by ASIMO developed in 1980 by Honda in Japan, KISMET developed in the late 1990s by MIT in America, and HUBO developed in 2004 by KAIST in South Korea. Like this, robot research is currently led by Japan, the United States and the Republic of Korea. This presentation is about the robot education system currently implemented from elementary through high schools, the education results and the future prospects in South Korea. On the whole, robot education begins at college levels in America and Japan, but it is made in a systematic way after regular curricular activities at elementary schools in the Republic of Korea. In addition, more than 1000 private institutes for robot education are driving a booming trade and numerous robot competitions, including the International Robot Olympiad (IRO), are held in South Korea. Therefore, not only is the Republic of Korea expected to take the advantageous position first in the future robot education market, but the current robot education system in South Korea will be able to be a good guide for that which will be carried out throughout the world in a few years in the future.
Robust and accurate force feedback is a clinical need for enhancing the safety of remote robot-assisted interventional procedures. In this study, an impedance-based force feedback approach was ...proposed and validated. Initially a fast impedance identification method for estimating the impedance of catheter-vasculature interaction at the slave module of such systems was obtained. Afterward, a force feedback approach based on matching the mechanical impedance of the master module with the identified impedance was implemented. The proposed force control method was experimentally studied for a robot-assisted remote catheter insertion task. Also, the performance of the proposed method was experimentally compared to the conventional direct force reflection approach. The proposed force feedback method exhibited fair accuracy in force tracking (mean-absolute error of 0.046 ± 0.027 N). The proposed method outperformed the direct force reflection approach in the absence and presence of communication interruptions (0.052N vs. 0.061N) and (0.041N vs. 0.171N), respectively. The proposed force feedback method exhibited favorable robustness and accuracy for remote interventional applications.
Minijaturni roboti jedan su od pravac vrlo intenzivnog razvoja robota. Među njima leteći roboti, poput kukaca ili malih ptica, zauzimaju značajno mjesto. Namijenjeni su prije svega vojsci za ...izviđanje kao i vojno djelovanje, službama za spašavanje unesrećenih kod prirodnih katastrofa ili vojnih razaranja. Razvijaju se i kao mogući oprašivači cvjetova za slučaj da to bude potrebno. Znanstvenici očekuju njihovu upotrebu u procesu nadzora i praćenja promjena u okolišu. Ponašanje tzv. društvenih kukaca u prirodi dati će odgovore o kolektivnoj inteligenciji neophodnoj kod rada s velikim brojem minijaturnih robota pogotovo mikroskopskih i nanoveličina.
Achieving a stable, human-like gait for humanoid robots is a challenging task. While a variety of techniques exist to generate stable walking patterns, only little attention has been paid to the ...resemblance to the human gait. Popular gaits, for example, apply the strategy to bend the knees and to swing the torso in the lateral direction in order to ensure stability by shifting the center of mass. As a result, the walking patterns do not look very humanlike. However, human resemblance is an important aspect whenever robots are designed to coexist and interact with humans. In this article, we present techniques to optimize a given, stable gait of a humanoid robot with respect to human resemblance. To acquire human data, we use a full-body motion capture system. We propose four different optimization algorithms that work at joint angle basis and use the joint angle difference as measure of similarity. The experiments carried out with a HOAP-2 robot in simulation demonstrate that all techniques generate a gait that is significantly more human-like compared to the robot's initial gate. As the results show, the optimization methods based on hill climbing and policy gradient estimation yield the best performance.
Obrađen je pregled razvoja robota i njihov utjecaj na društvo i čovjeka. Opisano je sve veće usmjerenje njihovog razvoja prema tzv. servisnim robotima, odnosno društvenim robotima koji će biti ...sastavni dio našeg svakodnevnog života, prisutni u skoro svim djelatnostima čovjeka. Prikazana su rješenja antropomorfnih robota kao krajnje moguće oblikovanje robota i prilagođavanje suživotu s čovjekom. Posebno je ukazano na utjecaj digitalne tehnologije kao i robota na proces razmišljanja novih generacija rođenih u vremenu njihovog postojanja. Kako će 21. stoljeće biti obilježeno robotima i novim tehnologijama nužno je mlade generacije pripremiti za to novo doba. Isto tako veliki interes djece za robote i njihov rad kao oblik fizičke realizacije i interpretacije informatičkih rješenja, valja iskoristiti za neposredno učenje. U tom smislu prikazana su različita rješenja kompleta dijelova za slaganje robota od najjednostavnijih do složenih pomoću kojih se mogu učiti razni nastavni predmeti. Kroz aktivni rad sastavljanja stječu se i tehnička znanja o mehanici, elektronici i programiranju. Razvija se mašta i inovativnost. Prikazan je i način učenja s robotima kada se oni pojavljuju kao pomoćnici nastavniku što je već realizirano za učenje stranih jezika na različite načine. Nastavne programe u kojima se uči o i s robotima već su uvele neke zemlje poput Australije, Amerike, Finske. Sadržaj članka ima cilj upoznati čitatelja s tom problematikom.
Domestic tasks require three main skills from autonomous robots: robust navigation, object manipulation, and intuitive communication with the users. Most robot platforms, however, support only one or ...two of the above skills.
In this paper we present Dynamaid, a robot platform for research on domestic service applications. For robust navigation, Dynamaid has a base with four individually steerable differential wheel pairs, which allow omnidirectional motion. For mobile manipulation, Dynamaid is additionally equipped with two anthropomorphic arms that include a gripper, and with a trunk that can be lifted as well as twisted. For intuitive multimodal communication, the robot has a microphone, stereo cameras, and a movable head. Its humanoid upper body supports natural interaction. It can perceive persons in its environment, recognize and synthesize speech.
We developed software for the tests of the RoboCup@Home competitions, which serve as benchmarks for domestic service robots. With Dynamaid and our communication robot Robotinho, our team Nimbro@Home took part in the RoboCup German Open 2009 and RoboCup 2009 competitions in which we came in second and third, respectively. We also won the innovation award for innovative robot design, empathic behaviors, and robot-robot cooperation.
Primjena profesionalnih servisnih robota u vatrogastvu je iz godine u godinu sve veća, kako za neposredno gašenje, tako i za bolji nadzor i upravljanje požarima. Djelovanje robota odvija se u ...otvorenim i zatvorenim prostorima, uključujući i zračni prostor. Pojedina rješenja prilagođena su urbanim uvjetima, dok su druga predviđena za gašenje na neravnim i teško prohodnim terenima. Posebne su izvedbe robota za istraživanje, inspekciju i gašenje požara u stambenim i industrijskim objektima. Nadzor požara na otvorenim prostorima obavlja se pomoću specijaliziranih bespilotnih letjelica. Uporaba robota u vatrogastvu značajno smanjuje rizike intervencija, omogućava bolju koordinaciju i učinkovitiju borbu s vatrenom stihijom. Hrvatska ima razvijene vlastite vatrogasne robote i u tom pogledu zauzima ravnopravno mjesto s vodećim zemljama svijeta. U ovom radu se predlaže koncept naprednog nadzora i upravljanja požara temeljen na stručnim znanjima hrvatskih tvrtki i sveučilišta.
U radu su prikazani pravci razvoja robota, te neki značajniji reprezentanti pojedinih razvojnih pravaca. Istaknut je utjecaj primjene robota na konkurentnost gospodarstava. Prikazana su istraživanja ...utjecaja na zaposlenost i vrstu zanimanja koja će biti nepotrebna, kao i na zanimanja koja će biti tražena. Navedena su neka moguća zanimanja koja će biti interesantna u budućnosti. Analizirana je inicijativa Europe u periodu do 2020. godine pokretanjem SPARC projekta, te tržni efekti kao i dodatna zapošljavanja koja se očekuju. Prikazana je situacija u Hrvatskoj s aspekta primjene robota ali i proizvodnih i razvojnih potencijala našeg gospodarstva. Istaknuti su primjeri uspješnih tvrtki koji se bave razvojem i primjenom robota. Opisana je problematika sustava obrazovanja i obrazovnih institucija iz područja robotike.
Material Handling Systems in manufacturing environment imply efficient and economical transport solutions. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are a common choice made by many companies for Material ...Handling in manufacturing systems. Nowadays, AGV based internal transport of raw materials, goods and parts is becoming improved with advances in technology. Demands for fast, efficient and reliable transport imply the usage of the flexible AGVs with onboard sensing and special kinds of algorithms needed for daily operation. These transport solutions can be modified and enhanced by applying advanced methods and technologies. New generation of internal transport systems should operate autonomously, without direct human control. Level of development of mobile robots insures reliability and efficiency needed for daily operations within manufacturing environment. In this thesis, the implementation of mobile robots for internal transport within Material Handling System is analyzed and new solutions are proposed. Focus of research efforts is devoted to the ability to estimate position and orientation of mobile robot within manufacturing environment using newly developed algorithms and sensory information. Simultaneous localization (of the mobile robot) and mapping (of the working environment) is one of the most important problems in mobile robotics community. The solution to this problem insures autonomous navigation and henceforth autonomous operation for transport purposes within manufacturing/industrial facility without direct human control. In this thesis, new algorithm for state estimation is proposed and analyzed; the algorithm is based on integration of Extended Kalman Filter and feedforward neural networks (Neural Extended Kalman Filter) and camera is used as exteroceptive sensor. Furhermore, to achieve intelligent behavior, the X new robotic hybrid control architecture is developed and analyzed. Finally, the new hybrid control algorithm for guidance of mobile robot is proposed. Two building blocks form the hybrid algorithm: visual servoing and position based control. Neural Extended Kalman Filter is used for state estimation of the mobile robots, and at each time instant the robot knows its position and orientation. The proposed solutions are developed in MATLAB® environment by developing a specific software code and tested using Khepera II mobile robot, WEB camera and LEGO Mindstorms NXT mobile robot. Simulation and experimental results show usability of the proposed solutions for material handling within an Intelligent Manufacturing System.
Unutrašnji transport sirovina, materijala i gotovih delova podrazumeva brzo, efikasno i ekonomično obavljanje postavljenog transportnog zadatka. Unutrašnji transport u okviru tehnološkog okruženja moguće je unaprediti uvođenjem naprednih metoda i tehnologija. Razvoj ovih sistema unutrašnjeg transporta treba da rezultira inteligentnim sistemima unutrašnjeg transporta koji su u stanju da sprovedu transportni zadatak bez direktnog nadzora od strane operatera. Primena mobilnih robota u okviru inteligentnog tehnološkog sistema za potrebe unutrašnjeg transporta omogućila bi efikasnije i ekonomičnije obavljanje postavljenog transportnog zadatka. Stepen razvoja i primene mobilnih robota dostigao je nivo neophodan za ispunjavanje zahteva koji su određeni tehnološkim i proizvodnim procesima. U istraživanjima sprovedenim u okviru ove doktorske disertacije razvijene su nove metode neophodne za primenu mobilnih robota u inteligentnom tehnološkom sistemu. Fokus istraživačkih napora predstavlja sposobnost mobilnog robota da uz primenu odgovarajuće matematičkosoftverske podrške i akvizicijom informacije od kamere, samostalno odredi svoj položaj i položaj karakterističnih objekata u okruženju. Problem simultanog ocenjivanja položaja mobilnog robota i karakterističnih objekata u okruženju rešen je primenom linearizovanog Kalmanovog filtra i veštačkih neuronskih mreža. Analizirana je i mogućnost ostvarivanja inteligentnog ponašanja mobilnog robota u formi razvoja hibridne upravljačke arhitekture, koja obezbeđuje robustnost zahvaljujući primeni koncepta mašinskog učenja na bazi veštačkih neuronskih mreža. Poseban segment itraživanja posvećen je razvoju hibridnog upravljačkog algoritma namenjenog za eksploataciju mobilnog robota u okviru inteligentnog tehnološkog sistema bez dodatne transportne infrastrukture. Predložene metode su verifikovane kroz razvoj simulacije u MATLAB® programskom okruženju i putem eksperimentalnog metoda. Eksperimentalni postupak je sproveden u laboratorijskom modelu tehnološkog okruženja korišćenjem LEGO Mindstorms NXT mobilnog robota i Khepera II bilnog robota uz primenu sistema prepoznavanja na bazi kamere. Simulacioni i eksperimentalni rezultati ukazuju da razvijene metode podržavaju predloženi koncept primene mobilnih robota za potrebe unutrašnjeg transporta u okviru iteligentnog tehnološkog sistema.
Minijaturizacija elemenata elektronike, optike, kao i mikromehanička izrada dijelova omogućili su primjenu minijaturnih robotiziranih uređaja u različitim područjima ljudskih djelatnosti. Možda ...najinteresantnije i najkorisnije je područje primjene u medicini. Početkom stoljeća sve više se primjenjuju bežične endoskopske kapsule za dijagnozu i ograničene intervencije u probavnom traktu. Dijagnoza cjelokupnog probavnog trakta s tim minijaturnim robotiziranim kapsulama je bezbolna i sigurna, a mogu obuhvatiti i područja koja se do sada nisu mogla endoskopski pregledavati. Sve se više usavršavaju ne samo u pogledu većeg broja, kvalitete i prijenosa snimljenih slika tokom svog kretanja, već im se dodaju i druge mogućnosti poput usmjeravanja kretanja, zaustavljanje te obavljanje raznih medicinskih intervencija.