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Objective of this thesis project is to build a prototype using Linear Temporal Logic specifications for generating a 2D motion plan commanding an iRobot to fulfill the specifications. This thesis project was created for Cyber Physical Systems Lab in Arizona State University. The end product of this thesis is creation

Objective of this thesis project is to build a prototype using Linear Temporal Logic specifications for generating a 2D motion plan commanding an iRobot to fulfill the specifications. This thesis project was created for Cyber Physical Systems Lab in Arizona State University. The end product of this thesis is creation of a software solution which can be used in the academia and industry for research in cyber physical systems related applications. The major features of the project are: creating a modular system for motion planning, use of Robot Operating System (ROS), use of triangulation for environment decomposition and using stargazer sensor for localization. The project is built on an open source software called ROS which provides an environment where it is very easy to integrate different modules be it software or hardware on a Linux based platform. Use of ROS implies the project or its modules can be adapted quickly for different applications as the need arises. The final software package created and tested takes a data file as its input which contains the LTL specifications, a symbols list used in the LTL and finally the environment polygon data containing real world coordinates for all polygons and also information on neighbors and parents of each polygon. The software package successfully ran the experiment of coverage, reachability with avoidance and sequencing.
ContributorsPandya, Parth (Author) / Fainekos, Georgios (Thesis advisor) / Dasgupta, Partha (Committee member) / Lee, Yann-Hang (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
Linear Temporal Logic is gaining increasing popularity as a high level specification language for robot motion planning due to its expressive power and scalability of LTL control synthesis algorithms. This formalism, however, requires expert knowledge and makes it inaccessible to non-expert users. This thesis introduces a graphical specification environment to

Linear Temporal Logic is gaining increasing popularity as a high level specification language for robot motion planning due to its expressive power and scalability of LTL control synthesis algorithms. This formalism, however, requires expert knowledge and makes it inaccessible to non-expert users. This thesis introduces a graphical specification environment to create high level motion plans to control robots in the field by converting a visual representation of the motion/task plan into a Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) specification. The visual interface is built on the Android tablet platform and provides functionality to create task plans through a set of well defined gestures and on screen controls. It uses the notion of waypoints to quickly and efficiently describe the motion plan and enables a variety of complex Linear Temporal Logic specifications to be described succinctly and intuitively by the user without the need for the knowledge and understanding of LTL specification. Thus, it opens avenues for its use by personnel in military, warehouse management, and search and rescue missions. This thesis describes the construction of LTL for various scenarios used for robot navigation using the visual interface developed and leverages the use of existing LTL based motion planners to carry out the task plan by a robot.
ContributorsSrinivas, Shashank (Author) / Fainekos, Georgios (Thesis advisor) / Baral, Chitta (Committee member) / Burleson, Winslow (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
Although current urban search and rescue (USAR) robots are little more than remotely controlled cameras, the end goal is for them to work alongside humans as trusted teammates. Natural language communications and performance data are collected as a team of humans works to carry out a simulated search and rescue

Although current urban search and rescue (USAR) robots are little more than remotely controlled cameras, the end goal is for them to work alongside humans as trusted teammates. Natural language communications and performance data are collected as a team of humans works to carry out a simulated search and rescue task in an uncertain virtual environment. Conditions are tested emulating a remotely controlled robot versus an intelligent one. Differences in performance, situation awareness, trust, workload, and communications are measured. The Intelligent robot condition resulted in higher levels of performance and operator situation awareness (SA).
ContributorsBartlett, Cade Earl (Author) / Cooke, Nancy J. (Thesis advisor) / Kambhampati, Subbarao (Committee member) / Wu, Bing (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
This thesis considers two problems in the control of robotic swarms. Firstly, it addresses a trajectory planning and task allocation problem for a swarm of resource-constrained robots that cannot localize or communicate with each other and that exhibit stochasticity in their motion and task switching policies. We model the population

This thesis considers two problems in the control of robotic swarms. Firstly, it addresses a trajectory planning and task allocation problem for a swarm of resource-constrained robots that cannot localize or communicate with each other and that exhibit stochasticity in their motion and task switching policies. We model the population dynamics of the robotic swarm as a set of advection-diffusion- reaction (ADR) partial differential equations (PDEs).

Specifically, we consider a linear parabolic PDE model that is bilinear in the robots' velocity and task-switching rates. These parameters constitute a set of time-dependent control variables that can be optimized and transmitted to the robots prior to their deployment or broadcasted in real time. The planning and allocation problem can then be formulated as a PDE-constrained optimization problem, which we solve using techniques from optimal control. Simulations of a commercial pollination scenario validate the ability of our control approach to drive a robotic swarm to achieve predefined spatial distributions of activity over a closed domain, which may contain obstacles. Secondly, we consider a mapping problem wherein a robotic swarm is deployed over a closed domain and it is necessary to reconstruct the unknown spatial distribution of a feature of interest. The ADR-based primitives result in a coefficient identification problem for the corresponding system of PDEs. To deal with the inherent ill-posedness of the problem, we frame it as an optimization problem. We validate our approach through simulations and show that reconstruction of the spatially-dependent coefficient can be achieved with considerable accuracy using temporal information alone.
ContributorsElamvazhuthi, Karthik (Author) / Berman, Spring Melody (Thesis advisor) / Peet, Matthew Monnig (Committee member) / Mittelmann, Hans (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
Continuous underwater observation is a challenging engineering task that could be accomplished by development and deployment of a sensor array that can survive harsh underwater conditions. One approach to this challenge is a swarm of micro underwater robots, known as Sensorbots, that are equipped with biogeochemical sensors that can relay

Continuous underwater observation is a challenging engineering task that could be accomplished by development and deployment of a sensor array that can survive harsh underwater conditions. One approach to this challenge is a swarm of micro underwater robots, known as Sensorbots, that are equipped with biogeochemical sensors that can relay information among themselves in real-time. This innovative method for underwater exploration can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the ocean by not limiting sampling to a single point and time. In this thesis, Sensorbot Beta, a low-cost fully enclosed Sensorbot prototype for bench-top characterization and short-term field testing, is presented in a modular format that provides flexibility and the potential for rapid design. Sensorbot Beta is designed around a microcontroller driven platform comprised of commercial off-the-shelf components for all hardware to reduce cost and development time. The primary sensor incorporated into Sensorbot Beta is an in situ fluorescent pH sensor. Design considerations have been made for easy adoption of other fluorescent or phosphorescent sensors, such as dissolved oxygen or temperature. Optical components are designed in a format that enables additional sensors. A real-time data acquisition system, utilizing Bluetooth, allows for characterization of the sensor in bench top experiments. The Sensorbot Beta demonstrates rapid calibration and future work will include deployment for large scale experiments in a lake or ocean.
ContributorsJohansen, John (Civil engineer) (Author) / Meldrum, Deirdre R (Thesis advisor) / Chao, Shih-hui (Committee member) / Papandreou-Suppappola, Antonia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
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Description
Pandora is a play exploring our relationship with gendered technology through the lens of artificial intelligence. Can women be subjective under patriarchy? Do robots who look like women have subjectivity? Hoping to create a better version of ourselves, The Engineer must navigate the loss of her creation, and Pandora must

Pandora is a play exploring our relationship with gendered technology through the lens of artificial intelligence. Can women be subjective under patriarchy? Do robots who look like women have subjectivity? Hoping to create a better version of ourselves, The Engineer must navigate the loss of her creation, and Pandora must navigate their new world. The original premiere run was March 27-28, 2018, original cast: Caitlin Andelora, Rikki Tremblay, and Michael Tristano Jr.
ContributorsToye, Abigail Elizabeth (Author) / Linde, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Abele, Kelsey (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Description
In this article we present a low-cost force-sensing quadrupedal laminate robot platform. The robot has two degrees of freedom on each of four independent legs, allowing for a variety of motion trajectories to be created at each leg, thus creating a rich control space to explore on a relatively low-cost

In this article we present a low-cost force-sensing quadrupedal laminate robot platform. The robot has two degrees of freedom on each of four independent legs, allowing for a variety of motion trajectories to be created at each leg, thus creating a rich control space to explore on a relatively low-cost robot. This platform allows a user to research complex motion and gait analysis control questions, and use different concepts in computer science and control theory methods to permit it to walk. The motion trajectory of each leg has been modeled in Python. Critical design considerations are: the complexity of the laminate design, the rigidity of the materials of which the laminate is constructed, the accuracy of the transmission to control each leg, and the design of the force sensing legs.
ContributorsShuch, Benjamin David (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Sodemann, Angela (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Immortal Warrior Sky Falconer is a seventeen-minute "proof of concept" animatic for a theoretical animated series. The thesis project was focused on the process of making such a product come to be. Through the two semesters I took ideas to my professor for approval starting with a basic pitch and

Immortal Warrior Sky Falconer is a seventeen-minute "proof of concept" animatic for a theoretical animated series. The thesis project was focused on the process of making such a product come to be. Through the two semesters I took ideas to my professor for approval starting with a basic pitch and slowly refined them into a singular product combination art, writing and sound effects. From script, to storyboard, to final cut, this project has been one of constant tweaking of the various components into the product you see today that is whole, but still has room to be built upon.
ContributorsSmith, Damon Randall (Author) / Connell, Ellery (Thesis director) / Renzulli, Virgil (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Traditional wheeled robots struggle to traverse granular media such as sand or mud which has inspired the use of continuous tracks, legged, and various bio-inspired designs in recent robotics research. Animals can navigate the natural world with relative ease and one animal, the Basilisk lizard, can perform the amazing feat

Traditional wheeled robots struggle to traverse granular media such as sand or mud which has inspired the use of continuous tracks, legged, and various bio-inspired designs in recent robotics research. Animals can navigate the natural world with relative ease and one animal, the Basilisk lizard, can perform the amazing feat of bipedal water and land running. Through the observation and study of basilisk lizards of the common and plumed variety, inspiration and development of a robotic platform was completed. After fabricating the bio-inspired robot, parameters unchanged by the animals were varied to characterize the combined effects of stride length and frequency on average velocity. It was found that animals increased stride length at higher saturation levels of sand to increase their velocity rather than increase their step frequency. The BasiliskBot version one was unable to change its stride length as the wheel-legs or "whegs" of this version were set at four spokes. Bipedal running of the robot was slower than quadrupedal running due to sand reaction forces and tail drag. BasiliskBot version two was lighter than the first version and had a range of stride lengths tested with increasing spoke numbers from 3-7. At lower step frequencies and lower wheg numbers, higher average velocity could be achieved compared to higher wheg numbers despite the highest maximum velocity being achieved by the highest number of spokes. A comparison of transition strategies for common and plumed basilisks showed both species chose to jump and swim through water more often than jump and run across water which achieved the highest average velocity. Results of transition strategies study pertain to future developments of the robot for amphibious purposes. Weight experiments were performed to assess the ability of the robot to carry sensors and other payloads. Added weight increased the highest frequency allowable before failure, but also caused failure at low step frequencies that had not displayed failure previously.
ContributorsBurch, Hailey (Author) / Marvi, Hamidreza (Thesis director) / Bagheri, Hosain (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Description
Robotic technology is advancing to the point where it will soon be feasible to deploy massive populations, or swarms, of low-cost autonomous robots to collectively perform tasks over large domains and time scales. Many of these tasks will require the robots to allocate themselves around the boundaries of regions

Robotic technology is advancing to the point where it will soon be feasible to deploy massive populations, or swarms, of low-cost autonomous robots to collectively perform tasks over large domains and time scales. Many of these tasks will require the robots to allocate themselves around the boundaries of regions or features of interest and achieve target objectives that derive from their resulting spatial configurations, such as forming a connected communication network or acquiring sensor data around the entire boundary. We refer to this spatial allocation problem as boundary coverage. Possible swarm tasks that will involve boundary coverage include cooperative load manipulation for applications in construction, manufacturing, and disaster response.

In this work, I address the challenges of controlling a swarm of resource-constrained robots to achieve boundary coverage, which I refer to as the problem of stochastic boundary coverage. I first examined an instance of this behavior in the biological phenomenon of group food retrieval by desert ants, and developed a hybrid dynamical system model of this process from experimental data. Subsequently, with the aid of collaborators, I used a continuum abstraction of swarm population dynamics, adapted from a modeling framework used in chemical kinetics, to derive stochastic robot control policies that drive a swarm to target steady-state allocations around multiple boundaries in a way that is robust to environmental variations.

Next, I determined the statistical properties of the random graph that is formed by a group of robots, each with the same capabilities, that have attached to a boundary at random locations. I also computed the probability density functions (pdfs) of the robot positions and inter-robot distances for this case.

I then extended this analysis to cases in which the robots have heterogeneous communication/sensing radii and attach to a boundary according to non-uniform, non-identical pdfs. I proved that these more general coverage strategies generate random graphs whose probability of connectivity is Sharp-P Hard to compute. Finally, I investigated possible approaches to validating our boundary coverage strategies in multi-robot simulations with realistic Wi-fi communication.
ContributorsPeruvemba Kumar, Ganesh (Author) / Berman, Spring M (Thesis advisor) / Fainekos, Georgios (Thesis advisor) / Bazzi, Rida (Committee member) / Syrotiuk, Violet (Committee member) / Taylor, Thomas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016