This article presents a summary of applications of chaos and fractals in robotics. Firstly, basic concepts of determin‐ istic chaos and fractals are discussed. Then, fundamental tools of chaos theory used for identifying and quantifying... more
This article presents a summary of applications of chaos and fractals in robotics. Firstly, basic concepts of determin‐ istic chaos and fractals are discussed. Then, fundamental tools of chaos theory used for identifying and quantifying chaotic dynamics will be shared. Principal applications of chaos and fractal structures in robotics research, such as chaotic mobile robots, chaotic behaviour exhibited by mobile robots interacting with the environment, chaotic optimization algorithms, chaotic dynamics in bipedal locomotion and fractal mechanisms in modular robots will be presented. A brief survey is reported and an analysis of the reviewed publications is also presented.
High Speed, Modular and Reconfigurable Object Tracking Module: Cuboid Object Tracking Module COTM is an object tracking module that supports intuitive interfaces (like speech and sound based tracking), swarm planning and tracking (for... more
High Speed, Modular and Reconfigurable Object Tracking Module: Cuboid Object Tracking Module COTM is an object tracking module that supports intuitive interfaces (like speech and sound based tracking), swarm planning and tracking (for multiple robots tracking same object), modular design (same electronics being reused for different robots for all functionalities excepting the actuation), reconfigurability on-the-go, High speed tracking (with maximum speed of 20000 kilometers per hour or orbital velocity of planet/satellite whichever is lesser) and GCS independent control when necessary.
Purpose – The Printable Modular Robot (PMR) is a highly customizable, modular, snake-like robot platform for research and education. The robot can be assembled and re-assembled on the fly and automatically detects changes in its topology... more
Purpose – The Printable Modular Robot (PMR) is a highly customizable, modular, snake-like robot platform for research and education. The robot can be assembled and re-assembled on the fly and automatically detects changes in its topology during operation. Design/methodology/approach – The robot consists of a number of autonomous modules coupled by magnetic interfaces. Each module combines 3D printed mechanical parts with widely available standard electronic components, including a microcontroller and a single servo actuator. The mechanical and electrical connection is provided by a set of magnets which generate the physical force between the modules and at the same time serve as wires for power and communication. Findings – The PMR is a fully equipped robotic device, well integrated into a simulation framework, capable to execute common locomotion patterns but still very affordable (∼25 $ per module). Furthermore, the design is easy to extend and replicate for other research and education groups. Originality/value – This paper explores a novel approach of connecting robot modules by utilizing very simple magnetic parts. A second focus lies on the concept of closely integrating simulation and hardware development, blurring the edge between the digital and physical world.
This work presents an integrated simulation system for development of modular robotic locomotion patterns. Using graphical configuration interfaces users can create robots, attach sensors, create and assign actuation algorithms, build an... more
This work presents an integrated simulation system for development of modular robotic locomotion patterns. Using graphical configuration interfaces users can create robots, attach sensors, create and assign actuation algorithms, build an environment and optionally set up an optimization mode. The graphical control interface allows to interact with the simulation at runtime and to supervise it. With the possibility to run the system without graphical user interface (GUI), long-term optimizations can be performed as background processes. The system enables users to compare different locomotion patterns with the help of a standardized programming interface for actuation algorithms. Recorded data from simulations can be inspected and, if needed, exported to tab-separated value files (*.tsv) for further usage. The proposed system can be regarded as a framework for people at different levels of knowledge about modular robot locomotion principles. Its main functions are development, analysis and optimization of locomotion algorithms for different configurations of modular robots. Great benefit arises from the possibility to optimize even not well understood and complex control parameters, whose correlations with the behaviour of the associated control algorithm and other parameters are not clear. An application of the system for control parameter optimization is shown in two different experiments. In these experiments two control algorithms implemented using abstract base interfaces of the system, are automatically improved to demonstrate advantages of the system. For the best of my knowledge the presented system offers a combination of usability, features and benefits for research in the field modular robotic locomotion that exceeds other systems.
Large facilities present with wide rage of tasks and modular robots present as a flexible robot solution. Some of the tasks to be performed in large facilities can vary from, achieving locomotion with different modular robot (M-Robot)... more
Large facilities present with wide rage of tasks and modular robots present as a flexible robot solution. Some of the tasks to be performed in large facilities can vary from, achieving locomotion with different modular robot (M-Robot) configurations or the execution of cooperative tasks such as moving objects or manipulating objects with multiple modular robot configurations (M-Robot colony) and existing robot deployments. The coordination mechanisms enable the M-Robots to perform cooperative tasks as efficiently as specialised or standard robots. The approach is based on the combination of two communication types i.e., Inter Robot and Intra Robot communications. Through this communication architecture , tight and loose cooperation strategies are implemented to synchronise modules within a M-Robot configuration and to coordinate M-Robots belonging to the colony. These cooperation strategies are based on a closed-loop discrete time method, a remote clock reading method and a negotiation protocol. The coordination mechanisms and cooperation strategies are implemented into a real modular robotic system, SMART. The need for using such a mechanism in hazardous section of large scientific facilities is presented along with constraints and tasks. Locomotion execution of the mobile M-Robots colony in a bar-pushing task is used as an example for cooperative task execution of the coordination mechanisms and results are presented.
The emergence of nano-electromagnetic communications ba- sed on graphene nano-antennas has opened new perspec- tives for communications between small things, referred as to the internet of micro-things or even as the... more
The emergence of nano-electromagnetic communications ba- sed on graphene nano-antennas has opened new perspec- tives for communications between small things, referred as to the internet of micro-things or even as the internet of nano-things. However, these antennas make use of the Ter- ahertz band which raises many problems like the absorption of entire range of the available bandwidth by any molecule. Meanwhile, recent advances have been made in the design and fabrication of micro-robots enabling formation of micro- robots networks. Nano-antennas are an interesting way of communicating between micro-robots. We envision two types of bene ts using integrated nano-antennas in micro-robots. First, nano-wireless communications could enhance exist- ing applications enabling a greater communication distance in an ensemble and broadcasting facilities. Second, nano- wireless communications can create new usage and new ap- plications. This article presents a simulation framework for micro-robots using nano-wireless communications and an application being developed within our simulator.
This paper surveys modular robot systems, which consist of multiple modules and aim to create versatile, robust, and low cost systems. The modularity allows these robots to self-assemble, self-reconfigure, self-repair, and self-replicate.... more
This paper surveys modular robot systems, which consist of multiple modules and aim to create versatile, robust, and low cost systems. The modularity allows these robots to self-assemble, self-reconfigure, self-repair, and self-replicate. Therefore, the surveyed research covered the previous characteristics along with evolutionary robotics and 3D printed robots. These fields are interdisciplinary, so we organize the implemented systems according to the main feature in each one. The primary motivation for this is to categorize modular robots according to their main function and to discover the similarities and differences of implementing each system.
The proposed research effort explores the development of active cells—simple contractile electro-mechanical units that can be used as the material basis for larger articulable structures. Each cell, which might be considered a ‘muscle... more
The proposed research effort explores the development of active cells—simple contractile electro-mechanical units that can be used as the material basis for larger articulable structures. Each cell, which might be considered a ‘muscle unit,’ consists of a contractile Nitinol Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) core with conductive terminals. Large numbers of these cells might be combined and externally powered to change phase, contracting to either articulate with a large strain or increase the stiffness of the ensemble, depending on the cell design. Unlike traditional work in modular robotics, the approach presented here focuses on cells that have a simplistic design and function, are inexpensive to fabricate, and are eventually scalable to sub-millimeter sizes, working toward our vision of articulated and robotic structures that can be custom- fabricated from large numbers of general cell units, similar to biological structures. In this paper, we present the design of the active cells and demonstrate their usage with three articulated structures built with them.
Self-reconfigurable modular robots have been studied worldwide mainly for autonomous exploration in unstructured environments. In previous studies, robotic modules were designed to be functional only as a part of an assembled structure,... more
Self-reconfigurable modular robots have been studied worldwide mainly for autonomous exploration in unstructured environments. In previous studies, robotic modules were designed to be functional only as a part of an assembled structure, and thus the exploration capability was limited. Symbiotic multi-robot organisms have been newly proposed to design robotic modules as large-scale swarms of robots that can physically dock with each other and symbiotically share energy and computational resources within a single “artificial-life-form”. In this paper, a novel robotic module named Scout Robot, which is one of the three robotic platforms designed for the multi-robot organisms, is presented. The Scout robot is an autonomous miniature robot and equipped with many onboard sensors and a locomotion capability. It can move autonomously on rough terrains to explore the surroundings and interact with the other robots. The Scout robot is also equipped with 2 DoFs of actuation and shares the same docking design with the other robotic platforms, and thus can be a part of an assembled organism. In the experiments, the image-guided locomotion of a Scout robot and the multimodal locomotion of assembled robots were demonstrated.
In this paper a hardware and software architecture based on a modular approach for a reconfigurable mobile robot is developed with intended use as remote experiment. A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) was chosen as control unit for... more
In this paper a hardware and software architecture based on a modular approach for a reconfigurable mobile robot is developed with intended use as remote experiment. A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) was chosen as control unit for the robot and allows the implementation of custom hardware and software by the user. FPGA configurations are downloaded to the robot using a selectable wireless interface. Users can take control of all elementary robot hardware, and an on-system recovery mechanism is included to ensure a fallback to a golden image in case of errors in downloaded bit streams.
OMNIMO as a modular reconfigurable robot module which can navigate and perform some simple tasks, for complicated duties, proper robot type can be constructed by multiple homogeneous robot modules. It has five different active degrees of... more
OMNIMO as a modular reconfigurable robot module which can navigate and perform some simple tasks, for complicated duties, proper robot type can be constructed by multiple homogeneous robot modules. It has five different active degrees of freedom which are four revolute and one prismatic. Mobilities of robot can be used as fixed, free and actuated. Each robot module is equipped with some sort of controllers, actuators, sensing elements, a wireless communication unit, power source and complementary electronic and mechanical components. The robot module is designed to move in three dimensional workspace as a hybrid, homogeneous and autonomous. This paper describes details of the sophisticated mechanical design, manufacturing details and hardware implementation of the OMNIMO.
Nanowireless electro-magnetic communication networks in the Terahertz band have raised interest in the networking community these very last years. However, if detailed studies have been published on analytical modelling of... more
Nanowireless electro-magnetic communication networks in the Terahertz band have raised interest in the networking community these very last years. However, if detailed studies have been published on analytical modelling of these networks, no simulation have been run to study in detail the characteristics of the transmission medium. We have designed Vouivre, a standalone nanowireless simulator, which is interfaced with two micro-robots simulator DPRSim and VisibleSim. This paper describes briefly Vouivre and presents first metrics of the communication channel using a communication paradigm called TS-OOK (Time Spread On-Off Keying).
ABSTRACT Nested reconfiguration is an emerging research area in modular robotics. Such a novel design concept utilizes individual robots with distinctive reconfiguration characteristics (intra-reconfigurability) capable of combining with... more
ABSTRACT Nested reconfiguration is an emerging research area in modular robotics. Such a novel design concept utilizes individual robots with distinctive reconfiguration characteristics (intra-reconfigurability) capable of combining with other homogeneous/heterogeneous robots (inter-reconfigurability). The objective of this approach is to generate more complex morphologies for performing specific tasks that are far from the capabilities of a single module or to respond to programmable assembly requirements. The two-level reconfiguration process in nested reconfigurable robotic system implies several technical challenges in hardware design, planning algorithms, and control strategies. In this paper, we discuss the theory, concept, and initial mechanical design of Hinged-Tetro, a self-reconfigurable module conceived for the study of nested reconfiguration. Hinged-Tetro is a mobile robot that uses the principle of hinged dissection of polyominoes to transform itself into any of the seven one-sided tetrominoes, the Tetris pieces, in a straightforward way. The robot can also combine with other modules for shaping complex structures or giving rise to a robot with new capabilities. Some preliminary experiments of intra-reconfigurability with an implemented prototype are presented.
We consider the modular principle for the construction of functional units of mobile robots. The main ideas of this concept and the general structure of the heterogeneous robot are presented. Basic functions of the robot are used to... more
We consider the modular principle for the construction of functional units of mobile robots. The main ideas of this concept and the general structure of the heterogeneous robot are presented. Basic functions of the robot are used to determine the minimum set of functional modules. For one of the simple configurations of the modular robot (the service mobile robot), we develop a motion module that is one of the main modules of the mobile robot. We present the design of this motion module and the result of a mathematical model of its control system. The control system combines the tactical level (for the construction of motion sub-targets and intermediate trajectories) and the execution level. The execution level of control is implemented on the basis of the system of slave control loops. Introduction Normally, the design of robotic systems (RS) is accompanied by information about the purpose of the device. Accordingly, all the constructive and program decisions made during the design focus on the achievement of the specific purpose by the final device. Because of this, when the scope of application of the RS is changed, the designer has to revise in a varying degree the device construct ensuring its full compliance with the given purpose. One of the modern approaches to robotic design (and to machinery in general) is to divide the device structure into individual functional components. Each component is responsible for some part of the robot functionality. This unit or module normally has a simpler structure because it is responsible for a single function only. As one of many components of the robot, the module can be easily replaced by a similar or more advanced module. Then, there is no need to redesign the robot: it will suffice merely to replace it by particular functional units. Therefore, the modular robots can provide higher economic efficiency.
This paper introduces ModGrasp, an open-source virtual and physical rapid-prototyping framework that allows for the design, simulation and control of low-cost sensorised modular hands. By combining the rapid-prototyping approach with the... more
This paper introduces ModGrasp, an open-source virtual and physical rapid-prototyping framework that allows for the design, simulation and control of low-cost sensorised modular hands. By combining the rapid-prototyping approach with the modular concept, different manipulator configurations can be modelled. A real-time one-to-one correspondence between virtual and physical prototypes is established. Different control algorithms can be implemented for the models.
By using a low-cost sensing approach, functions for torque sensing at the joint level, sensitive collision detection and joint compliant control are possible. A 3-D visualization environment provides the user with an intuitive visual feedback.
As a case study, a three-fingered modular manipulator is presented. Related simulations are carried out to validate efficiency and flexibility of the proposed rapid-prototyping framework.
A bio-inspired mechanism to optimize infor- mation foraging in modular robotics is presented. In this context, information exchange between robotic modules are performed through intercommunication of neighbour- ing robotic modules with... more
A bio-inspired mechanism to optimize infor- mation foraging in modular robotics is presented. In this context, information exchange between robotic modules are performed through intercommunication of neighbour- ing robotic modules with limited hardware resources. In- spired from real ant colony research, we propose vir- tual pheromone as a metric for parameters selection to improve communication quality in modular robotic sys- tems. Experiment results on real robotic platforms illus- trate properties of proposed method.
The main objective of the proposed research work is to establish communication between different modules in modular robots. In this paper, a 7 module modular robot system capable of achieving both local and global communication is... more
The main objective of the proposed research work is to establish communication between different modules in modular robots. In this paper, a 7 module modular robot system capable of achieving both local and global communication is presented. The proposed work present, how RF communication between various modules in a modular robot can be effected by changing the operating frequency and distance between the modules. The RF based modular robots are highly useful in the applications like space exploration, where the scenarios are highly unpredictable.
This paper describes the design and development of a modular soft manipulator for minimally invasive surgery, which equals the high dexterity of classic hyper redundant continuum, but rigid, robots resulting in safer potential interaction... more
This paper describes the design and development of a modular soft manipulator for minimally invasive surgery, which equals the high dexterity of classic hyper redundant continuum, but rigid, robots resulting in safer potential interaction with internal organs. The manipulator relies on the use of a soft flexible fluidic actuator in each of its modules, which can be wireless controlled by means of an embedded fluidic control unit. This actuation unit is equipped with three miniaturized latching valves, a wireless microcontroller board, and a specifically designed fluidic distributor integrated into the elastomeric material that the module is made of. FEM simulations and experimental tests verified the reliability of the distributor in acting as a piping system inside each module. The mobility of the fully integrated soft module was evaluated in terms of static performances and covered workspace. The module’s dynamic model during one-chamber motion was estimated from the parameter estimation analysis. The characterization of the single module behaviour is intended as first step to ease the future high level control of the multi-modular architecture.
This paper introduces a new modular approach to robotic grasping that allows for finding a trade off between a simple gripper and more complex human like manipulators. The modular approach to robotic grasping aims to understand human... more
This paper introduces a new modular approach to robotic grasping that allows for finding a trade off between a simple gripper and more complex human like manipulators. The modular approach to robotic grasping aims to understand human grasping behavior in order to replicate grasping and skilled in-hand movements with an artificial hand using simple, robust, and flexible modules. In this work, the design of modular grasping devices capable of adapting to different requirements and situations is investigated. A novel algorithm that determines effective modular configurations to get efficient grasps of given objects is presented. The resulting modular configurations are able to perform effective grasps that a human would consider "stable". Related simulations were carried out to validate the efficiency of the algorithm. Preliminary results show the versatility of the modular approach in designing grippers.
In an attempt to solve the problem of finding a set of multiple unique modular robotic designs that can be constructed using a given repertoire of modules to perform a specific task, a novel synthesis framework is introduced based on... more
In an attempt to solve the problem of finding a set of multiple unique modular robotic designs that can be constructed using a given repertoire of modules to perform a specific task, a novel synthesis framework is introduced based on design optimization concepts and evolutionary algorithms to search for the optimal solution. The discrete optimization procedure is based on the use of assembly incidence matrix to represent modular robotic designs. Fitness function is formulated for each task separately to incorporate task-specific performance evaluation criteria. The fitness of every design is measured in simulation. Solution evaluation can be carried out in parallel in order to reduce synthesis time, because evaluating a certain design is independent of evaluating other designs. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated by several examples.
Self-Reconfigurable Robots have shown great versatility and promise for building dynamic and self-adapting structures of modular robots. Unfortunately, the structural requirements for building structurally-sound robotic structures of... more
Self-Reconfigurable Robots have shown great versatility and promise for building dynamic and self-adapting structures of modular robots. Unfortunately, the structural requirements for building structurally-sound robotic structures of modular robots at the architectural scale, where structural performance and stability of the assembly are crucial for success, have yet to be properly addressed.
This thesis addresses these requirements and proposes a structurally-driven control strategy for a self-reconfigurable robotic system based on the structural analysis and performance of not only the final target configuration of a robotic assembly but also of the intermediate transitional configurations achieved during self-reconfiguration. To formulate a structurally feasible target shape, a topology optimization is used to evolve the target shape based specific boundary and loading conditions and to maximize structural stiffness. Thereafter, the control strategy drives the modules’ decision-making process using three fitness criteria for action selection: modules’ convergence towards the given target configuration, stability of the overall assembly, and the structural performance of the assembly. While the proposed control strategy succeeds in filtering out unstable and structurally unsafe configurations, corrective measures fail in completely dealing with a declining structural performance. Nevertheless, this thesis exposes some of the difficulties in using local decision-making to solve global structural issues and extends the state-of-art on structurally-aware self-reconfigurable robots.
Homogeneity and heterogeneity represent a well-known trade-off in the design of modular robot systems. This work addresses the heterogeneity concept, its rationales, design choices and performance evaluation. We introduce challenges for... more
Homogeneity and heterogeneity represent a well-known trade-off in the design of modular robot systems. This work addresses the heterogeneity concept, its rationales, design choices and performance evaluation. We introduce challenges for self-reconfigurable systems, show advances of mechatronic and software design of heterogeneous platforms and discuss experiments, which intend to demonstrate usability and performance of this system.
— A novel compliant robot is proposed for traversing on unstructured terrains. The robot has a set of modules where each module contains a trunk or link and an active wheel-pair, and it is connected to the adjacent module using a passive... more
— A novel compliant robot is proposed for traversing on unstructured terrains. The robot has a set of modules where each module contains a trunk or link and an active wheel-pair, and it is connected to the adjacent module using a passive joint. This type of robots are inherently lightweight and provide high durability due to the absence of actuators at the link joints. However, they have limited climbing ability due to tendency of tipping over while climbing big obstacles. In order to overcome this disadvantage, the use of compliant joints is proposed in this work. Spring stiffness of each compliant joint is estimated by formulating an optimization problem using the static equilibrium equations of the robot. This is one of the key novelties of the proposed work. A design methodology is also proposed for developing an n-module compliant robot for climbing given height on a surface with prescribed coefficient of friction. The efficacy of the proposed formulation is illustrated for climbing big obstacles and traversing uneven terrains using simulation of 3-and 5-module robots. The robot is successfully able to climb maximum heights of 17 cm and 36 cm using 3 and 5 modules, respectively. Mechanical and electrical design of the robot is conceived, and a working prototype of the robot is developed. Simulation results are validated using the prototype.
A bio-inspired mechanism to optimize infor- mation foraging in modular robotics is presented. In this context, information exchange between robotic modules are performed through intercommunication of neighbour- ing robotic modules with... more
A bio-inspired mechanism to optimize infor- mation foraging in modular robotics is presented. In this context, information exchange between robotic modules are performed through intercommunication of neighbour- ing robotic modules with limited hardware resources. In- spired from real ant colony research, we propose vir- tual pheromone as a metric for parameters selection to improve communication quality in modular robotic sys- tems. Experiment results on real robotic platforms illus- trate properties of proposed method.
Self-reconfigurable modular robots have been studied worldwide mainly for autonomous exploration in unstructured environments. In previous studies, robotic modules were designed to be functional only as a part of an assembled structure,... more
Self-reconfigurable modular robots have been studied worldwide mainly for autonomous exploration in unstructured environments. In previous studies, robotic modules were designed to be functional only as a part of an assembled structure, and thus the exploration capability was limited. Symbiotic multi-robot organisms have been newly proposed to design robotic modules as large-scale swarms of robots that can physically dock with each other and symbiotically share energy and computational resources within a single “artificial-life-form”. In this paper, a novel robotic module named Scout Robot, which is one of the three robotic platforms designed for the multi-robot organisms, is presented. The Scout robot is an autonomous miniature robot and equipped with many onboard sensors and a locomotion capability. It can move autonomously on rough terrains to explore the surroundings and interact with the other robots. The Scout robot is also equipped with 2 DoFs of actuation and shares the same docking design with the other robotic platforms, and thus can be a part of an assembled organism. In the experiments, the image-guided locomotion of a Scout robot and the multimodal locomotion of assembled robots were demonstrated.
The mechanical design of a novel robotic module for a self-reconfigurable modular robotic system is presented in this paper. The robotic module, named Scout robot, was designed to serve both as a fully sensorized autonomous... more
The mechanical design of a novel robotic module for
a self-reconfigurable modular robotic system is presented in this
paper. The robotic module, named Scout robot, was designed to
serve both as a fully sensorized autonomous miniaturized robot
for exploration in unstructured environments and as a module of a
larger robotic organism. The Scout robot has a quasi-cubic shape
of 105 mm × 105 mm × 123.5 mm, and weighs less than 1 kg. It
is provided with tracks for 2-D locomotion and with two rotational
DoFs for reconfiguration and macrolocomotion when assembled in a modular structure. A laser sensor was incorporated to measure the distance and relative angle to an object, and image-guided locomotion was successfully demonstrated. In addition, five Scout robot prototypes were fabricated, and multimodal locomotion of assembled robots was demonstrated.
During the last decade, the main challenge for autonomous robots was the ability to adapt adequately to continuously changing environments, or to the ones with uncertain/not com-plete information. Different from traditional robotics, with... more
During the last decade, the main challenge for autonomous robots was the ability to adapt adequately to continuously changing environments, or to the ones with uncertain/not com-plete information. Different from traditional robotics, with well determined and programmed ...
In the domain of modular self-reconfigurable robotic systems, self-reconfiguration is known to be a highly challenging task. This article presents a novel algorithm for distributed self-reconfiguration by combining cellular automata and... more
In the domain of modular self-reconfigurable robotic systems, self-reconfiguration is known to be a highly challenging task. This article presents a novel algorithm for distributed self-reconfiguration by combining cellular automata and L-systems. Cellular automata is used to handle the relative motion planning of decentralized modules. L-systems are introduced to provide a topological description for the target configuration. The turtle interpretation is extended to modular robotics to generate local predictions for distributed modules from global description. Local predictions spread out in the system through gradient propagation. Modules, using cellular automata rules managing local motion, climb gradient to the expanding fronts for constructing global configurations. Both simulations and experiments have demonstrated the practical effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
In this work, the open-source plugin OpenMRH is presented for the Open Robotics Automation Virtual Environment (OpenRAVE), a simulation environment for testing, developing and deploying motion planning algorithms. The proposed plugin... more
In this work, the open-source plugin OpenMRH is presented for the Open Robotics Automation Virtual Environment (OpenRAVE), a simulation environment for testing, developing and deploying motion planning algorithms. The proposed plugin allows for a fast and automated generation of different modular hand models OpenMRH combines virtual-prototyping and modular concepts. Each modular model is generated by applying a dynamically generated code, which is consistent with the standard syntax expected by OpenRAVE for the simulated models. In this way, once the desired model is generated, an instance of OpenRAVE can be launched and the model can be visualised. Alternatively, the modular models can be generated from a user-defined input specified via a graphical user interface (GUI). The generated models can be used for testing, developing and deploying grasp or motion planning algorithms. Two case studies are considered to validate the efficiency of the proposed model generator. In the first case study, a modular robotic hand model is generated with OpenMRH by using user-defined input parameters. In the second case study, another hand model is generated with OpenMRH by using algorithmic defined input parameters.
The object-oriented (OO) paradigm is a wel-lknown model that is used widely in the fields of both artificial intelligence (AI) and software engineering. OO models have been shown to be very powerful tools for dealing with complex human... more
The object-oriented (OO) paradigm is a wel-lknown model that is used widely in the fields of both artificial intelligence (AI) and software engineering. OO models have been shown to be very powerful tools for dealing with complex human oriented activities. In the world of technology, object-oriented programming has been shown to be a very effective way of dealing with the complexity of programming advanced software applications. By bringing the object-oriented world of computing together with the object-oriented aspect of a pedagogical model, we extend our pedagogical virtual machine (PVM) model to be able to link human activities with technical activities inside learning environments. We propose a conceptual 4 layered architecture for our PVM and explain what each layer performs. Finally, the paper concludes by reviewing the main findings and discussing our future research plans.
