Gisbert Lawitzky

Field test of a navigation system: autonomous cleaning in supermarkets

Siemens has developed a prototype of an autonomous navigation system for mobile service robots. Its suitability for tough everyday operation has been successfully demonstrated since August 1996 with cleaning machines in chain store supermarkets of Albert Heijn BV in the Netherlands. Here, HEFTER CLEANTECH (HCT) cleaning robots are being used in cooperation with the cleaning specialist RTB.

Robust obstacle avoidance in unknown and cramped environments

This paper presents a novel local obstacle avoidance module. The main idea of the steer angle field approach is to discard all steer angles that, given the nonholonomic kinematics of the robot, would lead to collisions within a certain hit distance. The approach has been implemented and tested over a period of one year on our mobile robot. Results have shown that the robot is able to operate robustly in unknown, unprepared and cramped in-door environments for hours.<<ETX>>

Steer angle fields: An approach to robust manoeuvring in cluttered, unknown environments

Abstract In this paper a simple, robust and efficient method for local obstacle avoidance is described. It takes into account both the geometric and the kinematic properties of the robot in order to calculate allowed and forbidden steer angles. The algorithm has been implemented and extensively tested on our mobile robot. Results have shown that the robot is able to operate robustly in unknown and uprepared in-door environments for extended periods.

A Navigation System for Cleaning Robots

Free navigation in indoor environments is one of the main enabling technologies for many service robot applications. The SIEMENS navigation system SINAS which is primarily targeted towards cleaning robot applications, has proved its suitability for tough everyday operation since August 1996 on several occasions, e.g., in several chain store supermarkets. This paper discusses the main requirements of a navigation system for cleaning robots, presents the architecture and main modules of the SINAS system, and reports on real-world experiences.

Sonar sensing for low-cost indoor mobility

Abstract Low-cost autonomous mobility poses an important challenge on the way to new robot applications. Ultrasonic sensor systems are both robust and low-cost. We therefore have investigated the usefulness of several types of ultrasonic sensor principles for obstacle avoidance and localisation. Our experiments show that by tailoring the algorithms to the specific sensing task at hand, autonomous mobility can to a wide extent be achieved with a simple monaural system. However, some drawbacks like limited speed and resolution in map building remain. These drawbacks can be overcome by more advanced ultrasonic sensor systems, where two or three receivers instead of one are used in order to get more data from one single measurement.

A Probabilistic Relational Model for Characterizing Situations in Dynamic Multi-Agent Systems

Artificial systems with a high degree of autonomy require reliable semantic information about the context they operate in. State interpretation, however, is a difficult task. Interpretations may depend on a history of states and there may be more than one valid interpretation. We propose a model for spatio-temporal situations using hidden Markov models based on relational state descriptions, which are extracted from the estimated state of an underlying dynamic system. Our model covers concurrent situations, scenarios with multiple agents, and situations of varying durations. To evaluate the practical usefulness of our model, we apply it to the concrete task of online traffic analysis.

Towards Service Robots for Everyday Environments

People have dreamed of machines, which would free them from unpleasant, dull, dirty and dangerous tasks and work for them as servants, for centuries if not millennia. Service robots seem to finally let these dreams come true. But where are all these robots that eventually serve us all day long, day for day? A few service robots have entered the market: domestic and professional cleaning robots, lawnmowers, milking robots, or entertainment robots. Some of these robots look more like toys or gadgets rather than real robots. But where is the rest? This is a question, which is asked not only by customers, but also by service providers, care organizations, politicians, and funding agencies. The answer is not very satisfying. Todays service robots have their problems operating in everyday environments. This is by far more challenging than operating an industrial robot behind a fence. There is a comprehensive list of technical and scientific problems, which still need to be solved. To advance the state of the art in service robotics towards robots, which are capable of operating in an everyday environment, was the major objective of the DESIRE project (Deutsche Service Robotik Initiative Germany Service Robotics Initiative) funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under grant no. 01IME01A. This book offers a sample of the results achieved in DESIRE.

MobMan - Ein mobiler Manipulator für Alltagsumgebungen

Der Einsatz von mobilen Servicerobotern beschrankt sich bisher auf Transport- und Reinigungsaufgaben, bei welcher Mobilitat und Navigation in einer 2-dimensionalen Welt die zentrale Rolle spielen. Weitere Einsatzgebiete (z.B. im Haushalt) erfordern die Fahigkeit, Gegenstande manipulieren zu konnen. Inhalt dieses Beitrages ist die Beschreibung des bei der Siemens AG hierfur entwickelten Forschungsprototypen fur Mobilitat und Manipulation (MobMan) in Alltagsumgebungen. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf einem Ansatz zur Steuerung von Manipulationsskills in komplexen Alltagsumgebungen.

The robotic bar - an integrated demonstration of man-robot interaction in a service scenario

The first robots are currently appearing on the consumer market. Initially they are targeted at rather simple applications such as entertainment and home convenience. For more complex areas, these robots will need to collaborate and interactively communicate with their human users, which requires appropriate man-machine interaction technologies and considerable cognitive abilities on the robots side. Consumer acceptance will strongly depend on the integrated system. Thus, system integration and evaluation of the integrated system is becoming increasingly important. This paper describes our approach to construct a robotic assistance system. We present experience with an integrated technology demonstration and exposure of the integrated system to the public.

SINAS – a navigation system for service robots

Free navigation in indoor environments is one of the main enabling technologies for many service robot applications. Siemens has developed SINAS, a navigation system which currently is primarily targeted towards cleaning robot applications. Its suitability for tough everyday operation has been successfully demonstrated since August 1996 on several occasions, e.g. in several chain store supermarkets. The paper discusses the main requirements of a navigation system for cleaning robots, presents the structure and main features of the SINAS system, and reports experiences and results from the field tests.