Towards a Robust Soft Baby Robot With Rich Interaction Ability for Advanced Machine Learning Algorithms

Artificial intelligence has made great strides in many areas lately, yet it has had comparatively little success in general-use robotics. We believe one of the reasons for this is the disconnect between traditional robotic design and the properties needed for open-ended, creativity-based AI systems. To that end, we, taking selective inspiration from nature, build a robust, partially soft robotic limb with a large action space, rich sensory data stream from multiple cameras, and the ability to connect with others to enhance the action space and data stream. As a proof of concept, we train two contemporary machine learning algorithms to perform a simple target-finding task. Altogether, we believe that this design serves as a first step to building a robot tailor-made for achieving artificial general intelligence.

Modeling and Experimental Validation of a Fractal Tetrahedron UAS Assembly

This paper presents the foundation of a modular robotic system comprised of several novel modules in the shape of a tetrahedron. Four single-propeller submodules are assembled to create the Tetracopter, a tetrahedron-shaped quad-rotorcraft used as the elementary module of a modular flying system. This modular flying system is built by assembling the different elementary modules in a fractal shape. The fractal tetrahedron structure of the modular flying assembly grants the vehicle more rigidity than a conventional two-dimensional modular robotic flight system while maintaining the relative efficiency of a two-dimensional modular robotic flight system. A prototype of the Tetracopter has been modeled, fabricated, and successfully flight-tested by the Decision and Control Laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The results of this research set the foundation for the development of Tetrahedron rotorcraft that can maintain controllable flight and assemble in flight to create a Fractal Tetrahedron Assembly.

Modeling and Experimental Validation of the Mechanics of a Wheeled Non-Holonomic Robot Capable of Enabling Homeostasis

The field of bio-inspired robotics seeks to create mechanical systems that mimic the designs and concepts used by biological systems. One of the more challenging biological concepts to imitate in mechanical systems is the ability to create an internal environment that can foster homeostasis through the use of a membrane similar to skin. A robot with this ability would be able to regulate internal parameters, repair itself using the internal sub-environment, and defend its internal parts from the surrounding environment. This paper presents the internal structure of a non-holonomic wheeled system that enables homeostasis via a fully connected interior, protected from the outside environment by a flexible membrane. The three objectives of this paper are to: 1) Explore the idea of nature creating higher-order life forms with wheeled limbs given the correct intermediate steps. 2) Characterize a robot that uses a homeostasis enabling wheel. 3) Determine the feasibility of using a homeostasis enabling wheel as a mode of locomotion.

A full scale atmospheric flight experimental research environment for the Mars helicopter

We propose to develop a full-accuracy flight test environment for the Mars helicopter and related Mars-atmospheric vehicles. The experiment would use reduced-g atmospheric flights with an aircraft that houses a properly sized vacuum chamber.

Towards a New Paradigm of UAV Safety

With the rising popularity of UAVs in the civilian world, we are currently witnessing and paradim shift in terms of operational safety of flying vehicles. Safe and ubiquitous human-system interaction shall remain the core requirement but those prescribed in general aviation are not adapted for UAVs. Yet we believe it is possible to leverage the specific aspects of unmanned aviation to meet acceptable safety requirements. We start this paper with by discussing the new operational context of civilian UAVs and investigate the meaning of safety in light of this new context. Next, we explore the different approaches to ensuring system safety from an avionics point of view. Subsets of operational requirements such as geofencing or mechanical systems for termination or impact limitation can easily be implemented. These are presented with the goal of limiting the collateral damages of a system failure. We then present some experimental results regarding two of the major problems with UAVs. With actual impacts, we demonstrate how dangerous uncontrolled crashes can be. Furthermore, with the large number of runaway drone experiences during civilian operations, the risk is even higher as they can travel a long way before crashing. We provide data on such a case where the software controller is working, keeping the UAV in the air, but the operator is unable to actually control the system. It should be terminated! Finally, after having analyzed the context and some actual solutions, based on a minimal set of requirement and our own experience, we are proposing a simple mechanical based safety system. It unequivocally terminates the flight in the most efficient way by instantly removing parts of the propellers leaving a minimal lifting surface. It takes advantage of what controllability may remain but with a deterministic ending: a definite landing.

Motion Rectification for an Homeostasis-Enabling Wheel

A wheel that is capable of producing thrust and maintaining vehicle internal integrity is presented. The wheel can be seen as an organic extension to the central unit (eg the vehicle) it is attached to, that is, the system and the wheel can be completely surrounded by the same tegument while enabling continuous wheel rotation without tearing the tegument. Furthermore, a skeleton linking the central unit of the system to the wheel's center can be made through the use of joints and linear links, while allowing the apparatus to rotate continuously in the same direction with bounded twisting and no tegument tear. For that reason, artificial muscles can also be used to actuate the entire system. The underlying enabling mechanism is the rectification of a small number of oscillatory inputs. Another contribution of the proposed setup is to offer a plausible, yet untested, evolutionary path from today's living animals towards animals capable of wheeled locomotion.

Discrete and Continuous ambush games: optimal policies and approximate solutions

We consider an autonomous navigation problem, whereby a traveler aims at traversing an environment in which an adversary tries to set an ambush. A two players zero sum game is introduced. Players' strategies are computed as random path distributions, a realization of which is the path chosen by the traveler. A parallel is drawn between the discrete problem, where the traveler moves on a network, and the continuous problem, where the traveler moves in the plane. Analytical optimal policies are derived. Using assumptions from the Minimal Cut - Maximal Flow literature, the optimal value of the game is shown to be related to the maximum flow on the environment in both the discrete and the continuous cases, when the reward function for the ambusher is uniform. A linear program is introduced that allows for the computation of optimal policies, compatible with non-uniform reward functions. In order to relax the assumptions for the computation of the players' optimal strategies of the continuous game, a network is created, inspired by recently introduced sampling based motion planning techniques, and the linear program is adapted for continuous constraints.

On the Design and Optimization of an Autonomous Microgravity Enabling Aerial Robot

This paper describes the process and challenges behind the design and development of a micro-gravity enabling aerial robot. The vehicle, designed to provide at minimum 4 seconds of micro-gravity at an accuracy of .001 g's, is designed with suggestions and constraints from both academia and industry as well a regulatory agency. The feasibility of the flight mission is validated using a simulation environment, where models obtained from system identification of existing hardware are implemented to increase the fidelity of the simulation. The current development of a physical test bed is described. The vehicle employs both control and autonomy logic, which is developed in the Simulink environment and executed in a Pixhawk flight control board.

A Framework for Collision-Tolerant Optimal Trajectory Planning of Autonomous Vehicles

Collision-tolerant trajectory planning is the consideration that collisions, if they are planned appropriately, enable more effective path planning for robots capable of handling them. A mixed integer programming (MIP) optimization formulation demonstrates the computational practicality of optimizing trajectories that comprise planned collisions. A damage quantification function is proposed, and the influence of damage functions constraints on the trajectory are studied in simulation. Using a simple example, an increase in performance is achieved under this schema as compared to collision-free optimal trajectories.

The Robotarium: A remotely accessible swarm robotics research testbed

This paper describes the Robotarium -- a remotely accessible, multi-robot research facility. The impetus behind the Robotarium is that multi-robot testbeds constitute an integral and essential part of the multi-robot research cycle, yet they are expensive, complex, and time-consuming to develop, operate, and maintain. These resource constraints, in turn, limit access for large groups of researchers and students, which is what the Robotarium is remedying by providing users with remote access to a state-of-the-art multi-robot test facility. This paper details the design and operation of the Robotarium and discusses the considerations one must take when making complex hardware remotely accessible. In particular, safety must be built into the system already at the design phase without overly constraining what coordinated control programs users can upload and execute, which calls for minimally invasive safety routines with provable performance guarantees.