Igor E. Paromtchik

Motion generation and control for parking an autonomous vehicle

Practical aspects of motion generation and control for parking a nonholonomic autonomous vehicle are considered. An iterative algorithm for the parallel parking maneuver is proposed. It is based on ultrasonic range data processing. To control the steering angle and longitudinal velocity of the vehicle during the parking maneuver, sinusoidal reference functions are used. To prevent collisions, the maneuver is carried out as a reactive motion. The developed control is experimentally verified for a LIGIER electric autonomous vehicle.

Optical guidance system for multiple mobile robots

This paper describes our research work towards the development of an optical guidance system for multiple mobile robots in an indoor environment. The guidance system operates with an environment model, communicates with mobile robots and indicates their target positions by means of a light projection from a laser pointer onto the ground. Processing the image data from a CCD color camera mounted on the mobile robot allows it to detect the laser light beacon on the ground and estimate its relative coordinates. The robots control system ensures the accurate motion of the robot to the indicated target position. The guidance system subsequently indicates target positions corresponding to a desired route for a specified mobile robot in the fleet. The concept of the optical guidance system, its implementation and experimental results obtained are discussed.

A practical approach to motion generation and control for an omnidirectional mobile robot

Path generation execution and motion control for an omnidirectional mobile robot (vehicle) are considered. Real-time path generation is based on the polynomial spline-interpolation with prediction of velocities of a spline-function. The mobile vehicle control is performed with the use of its kinematic model and digital PID-controllers of the wheels. The theoretical approach is illustrated by the obtained experimental results.<<ETX>>

Adaptive motion control of a nonholonomic vehicle

The stabilization of the motion of a nonholonomic vehicle is considered. The control system developed has a two-level architecture. The lower control level operates within the kinematic model of the vehicle to stabilize its motion to a desired trajectory. The upper control level uses the dynamic model of the vehicle and stabilizes the feedback obtained on the lower control level. The operation of the control system is studied when unknown bounded disturbances affect the motion. The adaptive motion control is proposed to deal with uncertain dynamic parameters of the vehicle.

A control system for an omnidirectional mobile robot

This paper deals with the development of a control system for an omnidirectional mobile robot. Our objective, overall control architecture and approach to motion generation are considered. The control system is implemented and tested on the omnidirectional mobile robot and the experimental results obtained are discussed. The operation of the control system is illustrated by a video on the remote control of the mobile robot and the visually-coupled motion of the two robots.

A motion generation approach for an omnidirectional vehicle

This paper deals with the motion generation approach developed for our omnidirectional mobile robots. Our objective, overall control architecture of the mobile robot, and its motion controller are considered. The key idea and advantages of the proposed motion generation approach are discussed. The approach is implemented and tested on the omnidirectional mobile robot and the experimental results obtained are presented. The operation of the control system is illustrated by a video on the remote control of the robot and the visually-coupled motion of the two robots.

Laser-based guidance of multiple mobile robots

This paper describes our research work towards the development of an optical guidance system for multiple mobile robots in an indoor environment. The guidance system operates with an environmental model, communicates with mobile robots and indicates their target positions by means of a light projection from a laser pointer onto the ground. Processing the image data from a CCD color camera mounted on the mobile robot allows it to detect the laser light beacon on the ground and estimate its relative coordinates. The robots control system ensures the accurate motion of the robot to the indicated target position. The guidance system subsequently indicates target positions corresponding to a desired route for a specified mobile robot in the fleet. The concept of the optical guidance system, its implementation and experimental results are discussed.

Cooperative Indoor Navigation Using Environment-Embedded Assistance Devices

The research in environmental robotics, ubiquitous robotics, and network robots aim to create intelligent environments for providing various services by gathering, managing, and supplying information via distributed communication, sensing, and actuation. Various applications of such robotic systems have been proposed and studied, e.g. life support (Sato et al., 1996), environmental monitoring and information management (Parker et al., 2003; Low, 2004; Tang, 2004), task assignment (Batalin & Sukhtame, 2003), and rescue operation (Kurabayashi et al., 2001; Tadokoro et al., 2003; Miyama et al., 2003). These applications employ various navigation methods addressed in numerous publications (Borenstein et al., 1996; Arai et al., 1996b; Li et al., 2003; Parker et al., 2003; Nakamura et al.; 2003). This chapter introduces a cooperative navigation method for multiple mobile robots operating in indoor environments, as an example of our research work in intelligent environmental robotic systems. The method relies on the information management about the environment, namely, static global information and local information. The former is represented by a topological map (Mataric, 1992) that displays the positional relation from any starting point to any goal point and is relevant for planning a route. The latter contains a map of the local environment and the traffic information for dynamic navigation. The proposed navigation method makes use of an Information Assistant (IA) – a communication device embedded into the environment. The IA updates and manages information about the local environment and communicates with the robots. The navigation also relies on an Optical Pointer (OP) to guide robots at intersections by means of projecting a laser light onto the ground. The OP communicates with the robot via the IA, when indicating target positions to the robot. The mobile robot detects a laser beacon on the ground by means of image processing and moves towards the beacon. When the robot reaches the proximity of the beacon, the next sub-goal is indicated, and the laser beacons lead the robot along the route. The IA and OP devices assist the robot to navigate in the environment, which can be unknown to the robot. In contrast with other navigation methods, where the robot attempts to process all the information available about the environment, e.g. simultaneous localization and mapping (Smith et al., 1990; Choset & Nagatani, 2001) or an improved topological map (Tomono &

GUIDANCE SYSTEM FOR ROBOTS CAPABLE OF VISION AND COMMUNICATION

Abstract A laser system for autonomous guidance of robots is presented. This system operates with an environmental model, communicates with the robots and indicates their routes by means of light projection from a laser pointer onto the ground. Image processing and communication with the guidance system allows the robot to detect the laser light beacon on the ground and estimate its relative coordinates. The guidance system subsequently indicates target positions along a desired route. The concept of the system, its kinematic models and operation are considered. The implementation and experimental results are described.

Approach to Global and Local Guidance of Multiple Mobile Robots

Abstract This paper addresses the development of optical and information assisted guidance for multiple mobile robots. The optical guidance system operates with an environmental model, communicates with mobile robots and indicates their target positions by means of a light projection from a laser pointer onto the ground. The distributed knowledge acquisition and sharing for local guidance in a structured unknown environment is achieved by means of our “information assistants” which provide data storage about the environment and local communication with mobile robots. The implementation and experimental results obtained are described.