Matthieu Herrb

Multi-robot cooperation in the MARTHA project

The MARTHA project objectives are the control and the management of a fleet of autonomous mobile robots for transshipment tasks in harbors, airports and marshalling yards. One of the most challenging and key problems of the MARTHA project is multi-robot cooperation. A general concept for the control of a large fleet of autonomous mobile robots has been developed, implemented and validated in the framework of the MARTHA project. This is the first study in the autonomous mobile robot field to add multi-robot cooperation capabilities to such a large fleet of robots.

G/sup en/oM: a tool for the specification and the implementation of operating modules in a distributed robot architecture

This paper presents a general methodology for the specification and the integration of functional modules in a distributed reactive robot architecture. The approach is based on a hybrid architecture basically composed of two levels: a lower distributed functional level controlled by a centralized decisional level. Due to this methodology, synchronous or asynchronous operating capabilities (servo-control, data processing, event monitoring) can be easily added to the functional level. They are encapsulated into modules, built according to a generic model, that are seen by the decisional level as homogeneous, programmable, reactive and robust communicant services. Each module is simply described with a specific language and is automatically produced by a generator of modules (G/sup en/oM) according to the generic model. G/sup en/oM also produces an interactive test program and interface libraries to control the module and to read the resulting data, which allow one to directly integrate the module into the architecture.

Autonomous Rover Navigation on Unknown Terrains

Autonomous long-range navigation in partially known planetary-like terrains is still an open challenge for robotics. Navigating hundreds of meters without any human intervention requires the robot to be able to build various representations of its environment, to plan and execute trajectories according to the kind of terrain traversed, to control its motions and to localize itself as it moves. All these activities have to be scheduled, triggered, controlled and interrupted according to the rover context. In this paper, we briefly review some functionalities that have been developed in our laboratory, and implemented on board the Marsokhod model robot, Lama. We then present how the various concurrent instances of the perception, localization and motion generation functionalities are integrated. Experimental results illustrate the functionalities throughout the paper.

GenoM3: Building middleware-independent robotic components

The topic of reusable software in robotics is now largely addressed. Components based architectures, where components are independent units that can be reused accross applications, have become more popular. As a consequence, a long list of middlewares and integration tools is available in the community, often in the form of open-source projects. However, these projects are generally self contained with little reuse between them. This paper presents a software engineering approach that intends to grant middleware independance to robotic software components so that a clear separation of concerns is achieved between highly reusable algorithmic parts and integration frameworks. Such a decoupling let middle-wares be used interchangeably, while fully benefitting from their specific, individual features. This work has been integrated into a new version of the open-source GenоM component generator tool: GenоM3

Rackham: An Interactive Robot-Guide

Rackham is an interactive robot-guide that has been used in several places and exhibitions. This paper presents its design and reports on results that have been obtained after its deployment in a permanent exhibition. The project is conducted so as to incrementally enhance the robot functional and decisional capabilities based on the observation of the interaction between the public and the robot. Besides robustness and efficiency in the robot navigation abilities in a dynamic environment, our focus was to develop and test a methodology to integrate human-robot interaction abilities in a systematic way. We first present the robot and some of its key design issues. Then, we discuss a number of lessons that we have drawn from its use in interaction with the public and how that will serve to refine our design choices and to enhance robot efficiency and acceptability

Roboscopie: A theatre performance for a human and a robot [video abstract]

Theatre with robotic actors is an emerging field, with a few previous published results [1, 2, 3]. On the 14th of October 2011, we performed for a general public audience (over 300 persons) a 18 min long live theatre play, acted by professional actor Xavier Brossard and the LAAS/CNRS PR2 robot. The play was created and directed by Nicolas Darrot, a mixed-media artist from Paris.

Around the lab in 40 days [indoor robot navigation]

The authors previously (1998) argued that the LAAS architecture is one of the most suitable for mobile robot control. This statement may seem over-optimistic, not to say pretentious and unverifiable. After all, can we compare architectures? can we set up benchmarks? or can we measure how good an architecture is compared to another? An architecture defines organization principles, integration methods and supporting tools. Comparing those tools, methods and principles may sometime end up in sterile controversies. However, we think there are means to measure the overall quality (or interest) of an architecture. Development time is for example one relevant criterion. Basically, using a specific architecture, how long does it take to integrate a complete demonstration, including nontrivial decisional capabilities, from the low level functional modules up to the supervisory level? This may seem a rather weak measure of architecture quality; however, it encompasses properties such as genericity and adaptability, ease of design and programming, extensibility and robustness. In this paper we describe our recent experience in integrating a complete demonstration from scratch in 40 days using the LAAS architecture.