Multi-Functional Sensing for Swarm Robots Using Time Sequence Classification: HoverBot, an Example

Nemitz, Markus P.; Marcotte, Ryan; Sayed, Mohammed E.; Ferrer, Gonzalo; Hero, Alfred O.; Olson, Edwin; Stokes, Adam A.

doi:10.3389/frobt.2018.00055

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Examples include the Kilobot system 21 and the Hoverbot system. 22,23 The capability of single modules is limited, but modular robots consisting of multiple units have increased capability compared with the sum of their parts. 24 By stacking modules, we can increase the overall capability and the range of behaviors and motions of a system, and, thus, utilize it to perform useful tasks.…”

Section: Modularity Stacking and Reconfigurabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Limpet II: A Modular, Untethered Soft Robot

et al. 2021

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The ability to navigate complex unstructured environments and carry out inspection tasks requires robots to be capable of climbing inclined surfaces and to be equipped with a sensor payload. These features are desirable for robots that are used to inspect and monitor offshore energy platforms. Existing climbing robots mostly use rigid actuators, and robots that use soft actuators are not fully untethered yet. Another major problem with current climbing robots is that they are not built in a modular fashion, which makes it harder to adapt the system to new tasks, to repair the system, and to replace and reconfigure modules. This work presents a 450 g and a 250 • 250 • 140 mm modular, untethered hybrid hard/soft robot-Limpet II. The Limpet II uses a hybrid electromagnetic module as its core module to allow adhesion and locomotion capabilities. The adhesion capability is based on negative pressure adhesion utilizing suction cups. The locomotion capability is based on slip-stick locomotion. The Limpet II also has a sensor payload with nine different sensing modalities, which can be used to inspect and monitor offshore structures and the conditions surrounding them. Since the Limpet II is designed as a modular system, the modules can be reconfigured to achieve multiple tasks. To demonstrate its potential for inspection of offshore platforms, we show that the Limpet II is capable of responding to different sensory inputs, repositioning itself within its environment, adhering to structures made of different materials, and climbing inclined surfaces.

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Section: Modularity Stacking and Reconfigurabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Limpet II: A Modular, Untethered Soft Robot

et al. 2021

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“…Therefore, communication using IR light can be considered a sensing task. Another example is the use of the magnetic flux density from a single hall-effect sensor to detect whether the robot had a successful movement, collision or rotation measurands [ 36 ].…”

Section: Design and Fabrication Of The Limpetmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Limpet: A ROS-Enabled Multi-Sensing Platform for the ORCA Hub

Sayed

Nemitz

Aracri

et al. 2018

Sensors

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The oil and gas industry faces increasing pressure to remove people from dangerous offshore environments. Robots present a cost-effective and safe method for inspection, repair, and maintenance of topside and marine offshore infrastructure. In this work, we introduce a new multi-sensing platform, the Limpet, which is designed to be low-cost and highly manufacturable, and thus can be deployed in huge collectives for monitoring offshore platforms. The Limpet can be considered an instrument, where in abstract terms, an instrument is a device that transforms a physical variable of interest (measurand) into a form that is suitable for recording (measurement). The Limpet is designed to be part of the ORCA (Offshore Robotics for Certification of Assets) Hub System, which consists of the offshore assets and all the robots (Underwater Autonomous Vehicles, drones, mobile legged robots etc.) interacting with them. The Limpet comprises the sensing aspect of the ORCA Hub System. We integrated the Limpet with Robot Operating System (ROS), which allows it to interact with other robots in the ORCA Hub System. In this work, we demonstrate how the Limpet can be used to achieve real-time condition monitoring for offshore structures, by combining remote sensing with signal-processing techniques. We show an example of this approach for monitoring offshore wind turbines, by designing an experimental setup to mimic a wind turbine using a stepper motor and custom-designed acrylic fan blades. We use the distance sensor, which is a Time-of-Flight sensor, to achieve the monitoring process. We use two different approaches for the condition monitoring process: offline and online classification. We tested the offline classification approach using two different communication techniques: serial and Wi-Fi. We performed the online classification approach using two different communication techniques: LoRa and optical. We train our classifier offline and transfer its parameters to the Limpet for online classification. We simulated and classified four different faults in the operation of wind turbines. We tailored a data processing procedure for the gathered data and trained the Limpet to distinguish among each of the functioning states. The results show successful classification using the online approach, where the processing and analysis of the data is done on-board by the microcontroller. By using online classification, we reduce the information density of our transmissions, which allows us to substitute short-range high-bandwidth communication systems with low-bandwidth long-range communication systems. This work shines light on how robots can perform on-board signal processing and analysis to gain multi-functional sensing capabilities, improve their communication requirements, and monitor the structural health of equipment.

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Section: Instrument Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Limpet: A ROS-Enabled Multi-Sensing Platform for the ORCA Hub

Sayed

Nemitz

Aracri

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Abstract:The oil and gas industry faces increasing pressure to remove people from dangerous offshore environments. Robots present a cost-effective and safe method for inspection, repair and maintenance of topside and marine offshore infrastructure. In this work, we introduce a new immobile multi-sensing robot, the Limpet, which is designed to be low-cost and highly manufacturable, and thus can be deployed in huge collectives for monitoring offshore platforms. The Limpet can be considered an instrument, where in abstract terms, an instrument is a device that transforms a physical variable of interest (measurand) into a form that is suitable for recording (measurement). The Limpet is designed to be part of the ORCA (Offshore Robotics for Certification of Assets) Hub System, which consists of the offshore assets and all the robots (UAVs, drones, mobile legged robots etc.) interacting with them. The Limpet comprises the sensing aspect of the ORCA Hub System. We integrated the Limpet with Robot Operating System (ROS), which allows it to interact with other robots in the ORCA Hub System. In this work, we demonstrate how the Limpet can be used to achieve real-time condition monitoring for offshore structures, by combining remote sensing with signal processing techniques. We show an example of this approach for monitoring offshore wind turbines. We demonstrate the use of four different communication systems (WiFi, serial, LoRa and optical communication) for the condition monitoring process. By processing the sensor data on-board, we reduce the information density of our transmissions, which allows us to substitute short-range high-bandwidth communication systems with low-bandwidth long-range communication systems. We train our classifier offline and transfer its parameters to the Limpet for online classification, where it makes an autonomous decision based on the condition of the monitored structure.

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Multi-Functional Sensing for Swarm Robots Using Time Sequence Classification: HoverBot, an Example

Cited by 9 publications

References 28 publications

Limpet II: A Modular, Untethered Soft Robot

Limpet II: A Modular, Untethered Soft Robot

The Limpet: A ROS-Enabled Multi-Sensing Platform for the ORCA Hub

The Limpet: A ROS-Enabled Multi-Sensing Platform for the ORCA Hub

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