Ian T. Burt

Mobility enhancements to the Scout robot platform

When a distributed robotic system is assigned to perform reconnaissance or surveillance, restrictions inherent to the design of an individual robot limit the systems performance in certain environments. Finding an ideal portable robotic platform capable of deploying and returning information in spatially restrictive areas is not a simple task. The Scout robot, developed at the University of Minnesota, is a viable robotic platform for these types of missions. The small form factor of the Scout allows for deployment, placement, and concealment of a team of robots equipped with a variety of sensory packages. However, the design of the Scout requires a compromise in power, sensor types, locomotion, and size; together these factors prevent an individual Scout from operating ideally in some environments. Several attempts to address these deficiencies have been implemented and are discussed. Among the prototype solutions are actuating wheels, allowing the Scout to increase ground clearance in varying terrains, a grappling hook enabling the Scout to obtain a position of elevated observation, and infrared emitters to facilitate low light operation.

Communication and mobility enhancements to the Scout robot

Small scale distributed robotic systems are ideal for tasks that larger, more expensive robots may not be able to undertake such as surveillance or inspection in enclosed areas. Small scale robots also have the advantage of being easily portable to an area of interest. However, the advantages related to the small size and portability cause an increase in the complexity of development. In addition, the more pronounced effects of interacting with the environment in terms of mobility and communications lead to robotic systems of limited functionality. In order to address such deficiencies, several novel developments and improvements have been made to the Scout robot, which will be discussed. These improvements include the development of a communication relay system facilitating longer distance operation, an improved actuating wheel system increasing the Scouts mobility and a grappling hook system to elevate the Scout. By enhancing the Scout robotic team in this way, the functional use of the team is expanded, allowing more practical use.

System architecture for versatile autonomous and teleoperated control of multiple miniature robots

Using robots for surveillance and reconnaissance applications requires a versatile connection between the human operator and robotic hardware. Some application domains require a fully teleoperated system while others may benefit by giving robots more autonomy. This paper describes a robotic control architecture which merges both paradigms. The whole scheme is implemented using the miniature Scout robot and involves a suite of user interfaces that can be tailored to specific surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Hardware capabilities are presented and a visual servoing strategy, important for semi-autonomous Scout operation, is discussed.

Heterogeneous implementation of an adaptive robotic sensing team

When designing a mobile robotic team, an engineer is faced with many design choices. This paper discusses the design of a team consisting of two different models of robots with significantly different sensing and control capabilities intended to accomplish a similar task. Two new robotic platforms, the COTS Scout and the MegaScout are described along with their respective design considerations.

Scout robot motion model

The University of Minnesotas Scout robot is a small cylindrical robot capable of rolling and jumping. In this paper, models describing the robots motion under its mode of actuation are developed. These models can be employed for Scout motion prediction and simulation. The models suggest that the determining factor of the Scouts behavior is the length of the winch cable. The validity of the models is verified with empirical data.

Increasing the Scout's effectiveness through local sensing and ruggedization

The Scout is a miniature robot capable of performing surveillance and reconnaissance applications. However, the small size of the Scout limits the on-board processing capability and thus requires that the primary sensing modality (vision) be processed remotely. This creates a dependence upon a video channel which can become a severe bottleneck when attempting to use large numbers of robots. This paper discusses the newest generation of the Scout, the COTS 3.0, which attempts to reduce the effect of the communication bottleneck by using more local sensing capabilities to achieve a degree of autonomous functionality. Several experiments showing the durability of the new COTS Scout and the autonomous capability are presented.

Impact orientation invariant robot design: an approach to projectile deployed robotic platforms

Within the fields of law enforcement and urban search and rescue, there is always a need to obtain information from areas that may be hard to reach or unsafe to enter. One method of obtaining this reconnaissance information is to deploy a robot as a projectile. This may be accomplished with mechanical aids or simply by throwing the robot manually. This rapid deployment method has the ability to attain locations inaccessible to other technologies. The miniature nature of the presented design has the ability to operate discretely and avoid detection, making it desirable for law enforcement. In the case of urban search and rescue, the diminutive form minimizes the impact on potentially unsound structures. During the course of deployment, unexpected impacts and drops are inevitable, generating a need for an impact invariant design. Design decisions to create this system are presented, and experimental validation of design aspects is discussed

Modular Mobile Docking Station Design

Large scale robotic teams are capable of working independently or cooperatively to carry out a variety of missions. However, for large teams of robots to function for extended periods of time, the individual members of a team must be able to generate or find energy to re-supply themselves. One approach to providing power for a robotic team is to couple larger systems with significant energy reserves so that the smaller systems can be recharged directly from the larger. This paper presents an implementation of such an approach. Here, a modular docking station is given locomotion through the cooperation of two larger robots. The docking station is capable of transporting, deploying, retrieving, and recharging many smaller robots. The kinematic model which will govern the cooperation of the maneuvering robots and will be used to develop control is presented and discussed. The design of the individual bays of the docking station and how they facilitate the deployment, recovery, and recharge of the smaller robots is also presented. The development of this system makes possible a number of applications, including autonomous long-term environmental monitoring and reconnaissance in various locations

The Design and Evolution of the eROSI Robot

The eROSI (educational, research-oriented, sensing, inexpensive) robot is a robotic platform designed by the Center for Distributed Robotics at the University of Minnesota. It was designed for two purposes; an educational platform and a distributed robotics platform. These two purposes require very different and oftentimes contradictory abilities. As an educational platform, it must be easy to use and program for. It must also be non-intimidating to students who may not have much experience with robotics. As a research platform, it must be powerful enough to run useful behaviors, and expandable with new sensors. These two different purposes have driven the design of the eROSI robot through three generations of development. The first two generations have been tested and evaluated in terms of its two intended purposes. The feedback generated was then used to modify the design of the robot to better accommodate its intended purposes. The eROSI robot is still an ongoing project and aims to create a better platform for both research and education.

Sharing control [multiple miniature robots]

Presents a framework for the operation and coordination of multiple miniature robots. Simple teleoperation can be useful in many situations, but the operators attention must be completely dedicated to controlling the robot. This may be difficult when the task requires the use of multiple robots. This article introduces a layered system that has been developed to facilitate multimodal control. This system includes user interfaces (UI) for teleoperation clients and robust sensor interpretation algorithms for autonomous control clients. A distributed software control architecture dynamically coordinates hardware resources and shares them between the various clients, allowing for simultaneous control of multiple robots.