Gil Manuel Gonçalves

Neptus - a framework to support multiple vehicle operation

This paper describes the development of a C3I (communications, command, control and intelligence/information) infrastructure, taking place at the Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory (LSTS) of FEUP. This infrastructure, the Neptus framework, goal is to support the coordinated operation of heterogeneous teams, which include autonomous and remotely operated underwater, surface, land, and air vehicles and people. People perform a fundamental role, not only in the case of remotely operated vehicles, but also with autonomous vehicles where mix-initiative operation is a requirement. The operational scenarios for these teams are mainly environmental monitoring missions but could also include environmental disaster scenarios, rescue missions, etc. The Neptus distributed architecture is service oriented, which enables high degrees of interoperability between applications, of scalability (number of nodes), and of reconfiguration (number and type of nodes).

AUV Control and Communication using Underwater Acoustic Networks

Underwater acoustic networks can be quite effective to establish communication links between autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and other vehicles or control units, enabling complex vehicle applications and control scenarios. A communications and control framework to support the use of underwater acoustic networks and sample application scenarios are described for single and multi-AUV operation.

Sensing the world: Challenges on WSNs

Wireless sensor network (WSNs) is a demanding multidisciplinary field that has been target of research in the last decade. The increasing demand for security and automated monitoring of things and places makes WSNs a promising technology although there are still many open research contributions needed to make this the standard of environmental sensing. The goal of this article is to identify the research challenges on WSNs by dividing them into functional groups, building on previous work. We followed a structured approach based on a simplified yet complete vision of a design space for WSNs. Moreover, this work aims to identify research gaps and investigation fields yet unexplored or hardly explored by researchers in order to plot paths for future research. Several challenges and research areas were identified, like Models for Sensor Networks, Benchmarking Methodologies, Distributed Processing, Interface WSNs and Network Reprogramming. Some of these challenges will become even clearer as increasingly WSNs become Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks (WSANs).

Sensor cloud: SmartComponent framework for reconfigurable diagnostics in intelligent manufacturing environments

Sensor networks that consist of a variety of sensor nodes, with capability for distributed storage and analysis, interoperable and delay-tolerant communication, will pave the way for a truly scalable network of sensors which will support adaptable plug-and-produce assembly stations. The concept of Sensor Cloud has emerged as the cornerstone for enabling the integration of nearly real time data sources into Service Oriented Architectures and as one of the enablers for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems. Hitherto there are still some challenges that need to be tackled, namely the on-the-fly instantiation and update of services at the system level and the dynamic (re)organization of the services created. This paper presents the first steps in the development of a framework (taking advantage of several technologies like UPnP, OSGi and iPOJO) to address these challenges and make Sensor Clouds a reality in the shop floor. The results from the first implementation reveal that the performance of the system is linear in terms of scalability, and from these scalability tests, we proved the frameworks robustness and consistent responsiveness.

Mission Review and Analysis

This paper presents the mission review and analysis module of a C3I (command, control, communication and information) infrastructure-the Neptus framework. This is a mix-initiative environment that its being developed in the Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory (USTL/LSTS) with the goal to support the coordinated operation of heterogeneous teams of vehicles. This includes autonomous and remotely operated underwater, surface, land, and air vehicles and people. People perform a fundamental role, not only in the case of remotely operated vehicles, but also with autonomous vehicles where mix-initiative operation is a requirement. The Neptus is very modular and will be heavily based on services with a distributed architecture. This paper focus mainly on the mission review and analysis where the data collected in a mission is prepared for analysis

The use of real-time publish-subscribe middleware in networked vehicle systems

Abstract Seaware is a publish-subscribe middleware used in multi-vehicle networked systems composed of autonomous and semiautonomous vehicles and systems. Seaware provides a high level interface to network communications and may be deployed with a combination of heterogeneous components within a dynamic network. Seaware supports the RTPS (Real Time Publish Subscribe) protocol, underwater acoustic modems and other forms of network transport. This paper gives an overview of Seawares implementation and its application to multi-vehicle networked systems.

Authority sharing in mixed initiative control of multiple uninhabited aerial vehicles

In this paper we discuss a conceptual framework that supports operational scenarios with multiple UAVs and operators. These UAVs possess different levels of autonomy while the operators have variable skill sets. The scenarios themselves encompass different missions, with different phases (requiring different levels of attention from the operator) and with the occurrence of various exogenous events. This framework was employed in the development of a Command and Control (C2) application which is capable of operator advisement, self adaptation, and automatic task distribution among operators and UAVs, depending on mission objectives, phase and occurrences. This C2 application enables a clear overview of the remote environment by placing the operator closer to the control loop, whether it is at an abstract or low level of control. Consequently there is an improvement of task redistribution and situation awareness, as well as reduction of workload.

Adaptive consoles for supervisory control of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles

With the prevailing increase of complex operational scenarios, involving multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), the concerns with the natural increase of operator workload and reduction of situational awareness have become paramount in order to safeguard operational security and objective completion. These challenges can be tackled through alterations of the autonomy levels of the vehicles, however this paper explores how these issues can also be mitigated by changing the way information is presented to the human operator. Relying upon an established framework, that supports operational scenarios with multiple UAVs, a series of display alterations were performed to existing operation consoles. After test sessions, in a simulated environment, with human participants of different levels of operational certification, feedback and results are distilled and analysed. Operator feedback demonstrated an overwhelming preference for the developed consoles and results showed an improvement of situation awareness, as well as reduction of workload.

Wearable computing for patients with coronary diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are killing more and more people around the world, striking rich and poor alike. The World Health Organization identifies these diseases as challenges to population health and well being and calls it a global epidemic. These diseases can seriously affect the life of both the patient and family. In tandem with a strategy to provide information and education to individuals at risk, Information and Communication Technologies can be a valuable tool to address the challenges posed by this global epidemic. The HEARTRONIC project is developing an innovative system for prevention and early warning by continuous monitoring the heart conditions. This system is wearable by the patient, monitors and analyzes the heart beat, and in the event of results that could predict a heart attack or stroke an alert message is sent to a server and them relayed to the responsible healthcare professional. The system uses EGC processing for automatic detection of abnormal functioning. First response actions are taken but the healthcare professionals are always in the control loop and can cancel or impose actions other than the ones decided by the system. System integration is starting and first trials are planned. Besides validating systems functionalities, these trials will allow to calibrate the sensitivity of the algorithms: high sensitivity may cause numerous false positives, while low sensitivity may result in misdiagnosis of potentially life threatening conditions.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS ON COMMAND AND CONTROL OF UNMANNED AIR VEHICLE SYSTEMS

Abstract Experimental results from operational deployments of Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAVs) systems are presented and discussed. This is done in the context of the Apollo command and control framework developed by the AsasF project from Porto University in cooperation with the Portuguese Air Force Academy. Apollo is targeted at multi-vehicle operations in mixed initiative interactions (allowing intervention of human operators). Field tests have been carried out using a modified radio-controlled plane. Successful Apollo integration in a real UAV operational environment has also been demonstrated. This closes the integration cycle between the software architecture and the hardware platform. Results concerning aircraft performance as well as experimental results of the UAV system are also described.