Sina Sharif Mansouri

Distributed model predictive control for unmanned aerial vehicles

In this article a distributed model predictive control scheme, for the cooperative motion control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is being presented. The UAVs are modeled by a 6-DOF nonlinear kinematic model. Two different control architectures: a centralized and a distributed MPC, are studied and evaluated in simulation experiments. In the centralized approach, one central MPC controller is responsible for the movement coordination of all the UAVs, while in the distributed approach each aerial vehicle plans only for its own actions, while the objective function is coupled with the behavior of the rest of the team members and the constraints are decoupled. In this approach, each agent only shares the future position of itself with the other agents to avoid collisions. For reducing the computation time and complexity, only one step ahead prediction in the corresponding MPC schemes have been considered without a loss of generality. Finally, the efficiency of the overall suggested decentralized MPC scheme, as well as it comparison with the centralized approach, is being evaluated through the utilization of multiple simulation scenarios.

Cooperative UAVs as a Tool for Aerial Inspection of the Aging Infrastructure.

This article presents an aerial tool towards the autonomous cooperative coverage and inspection of a 3D infrastructure using multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). In the presented approach the UAVs are relying only on their onboard computer and sensory system, deployed for inspection of the 3D structure. In this application each agent covers a different part of the scene autonomously, while avoiding collisions. The visual information collected from the aerial team is collaboratively processed to create the 3D model. The performance of the overall setup has been experimentally evaluated in a realistic outdoor infrastructure inspection experiments, providing sparse and dense 3D reconstruction of the inspected structures.

On the covering of a polygonal region with fixed size rectangles with an application towards aerial inspection

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with remote visual sensing can be used in wide range of applications. However, guaranteeing the full coverage of the area and translating this coverage in a path planning problem, it is a quite challenging task. Thus, in this article a well-known and well-investigated family of hard optimization problems, covering a polygonal region (target area) with fixed size rectangles (camera frustrum), is studied. The problem is formulated mathematically and solved using metaheuristic optimization algorithms. The proposed novel algorithmic scheme requires an a priori 2D model of the target area, while it tries to maximize the coverage with a minimum number of fixed size rectangles. Finally, multiple simulation results are presented that prove the efficacy of the proposed scheme.

Dynamic visual sensing based on MPC controlled UAVs

This article considers the establishment of a dynamic visual sensor from monocular cameras to enable a reconfigurable environmental perception. The cameras are mounted on Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAV) which are coordinated by a Model Predictive Control (MPC) scheme to retain overlapping field of views and form a global sensor with varying baseline. The specific merits of the proposed scheme are: a) the ability to form a configurable stereo rig, according to the application needs, and b) the simple design, the reduction of the payload and the corresponding cost. Moreover, the proposed configurable sensor provides a glpobal 3D reconstruction of the surrounding area, based on a modified Structure from Motion approach. The efficiency of the suggested flexible visual sensor is demonstrated in simulation results that highlight the novel concept of cooperative flying cameras and their 3D reconstruction capabilities.

Reduced complexity calibration of MEMS IMUs

In this article a reduced complexity calibration method for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) will be presented, which does not need the rotating reference tables, commonly used in the gyroscope calibration. As it will be presented, in the proposed novel scheme fixed angle rotations have been utilized to observe the integral of the gyroscope signals to find the corresponding sensitivity, axis misalignment and acceleration sensitivity matrices. This appraoch has the significant merit of high norm accuracy, easiness of use, low cost and simplicity in construction, thus allowing anyone with a basic electronics knowledge to calibrate an IMU.

Cooperative coverage for surveillance of 3D structures

In this article, we propose a planning algorithm for coverage of complex structures with a network of robotic sensing agents, with multi-robot surveillance missions as our main motivating application. The sensors are deployed to monitor the external surface of a 3D structure. The algorithm controls the motion of each sensor so that a measure of the collective coverage attained by the network is nondecreasing, while the sensors converge to an equilibrium configuration. A modified version of the algorithm is also provided to introduce collision avoidance properties. The effectiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated in a simulation and validated experimentally by executing the planned paths on an aerial robot.

Towards Autonomous Surveying of Underground Mine Using MAVs

Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) are platforms that received great attention during the last decade. Recently, the mining industry has been considering the usage of aerial autonomous platforms in their processes. This article initially investigates potential application scenarios for this technology in mining. Moreover, one of the main tasks refer to surveillance and maintenance of infrastructure assets. Employing these robots for underground surveillance processes of areas like shafts, tunnels or large voids after blasting, requires among others the development of elaborate navigation modules. This paper proposes a method to assist the navigation capabilities of MAVs in challenging mine environments, like tunnels and vertical shafts. The proposed method considers the use of Potential Fields method, tailored to implement a sense-and-avoid system using a minimal ultrasound-based sensory system. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

A laser dot tracking method for the assessment of sensorimotor function of the hand

Assessment of sensorimotor function is crucial during the rehabilitation process of various physical disorders, including impairments of the hand. While moment performance can be accurately assessed in movement science laboratories involving highly specialized personnel and facilities there is a lack of feasible objective methods for the general clinic. This paper describes a novel approach to sensorimotor assessment using an intuitive test and a specifically tailored image processing pipeline for the quantification of the test. More specifically the test relies on the patient being instructed on following a zig-zag pattern using a handled laser pointer. The movement of the pointer is tracked using image processing algorithm capable of automating the whole procedure. The method has potential for feasible objective clinical assessment of the hand and other body parts.