Multilevel Testing of Control Software for Teams of Autonomous Mobile Robots

Petters, Sebastian; Thomas, Dirk; Friedmann, Martin; Stryk, Oskar von

doi:10.1007/978-3-540-89076-8_20

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Experiments in real-world scenarios are costly when compared with simulation and formal methods and cannot thoroughly explore the full state space of an HRI scenario. Simulation and experimentation can be combined through hybrids of human-in-the-loop and simulation or robot-in-the-loop and simulation, as proposed by Petters et al (2008). However, corroborative V&V allows the use of a number of techniques, e.g., formal methods, simulation-based testing, and experiments, to verify and validate various requirements, eliminating the need to choose between examining the full state space of an HRI and modeling the HRI in satisfactory detail.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A corroborative approach to verification and validation of human–robot teams

Webster

Western

Araiza-Illan

et al. 2019

The International Journal of Robotics Research

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We present an approach for the verification and validation (V&V) of robot assistants in the context of human-robot interactions (HRI), to demonstrate their trustworthiness through corroborative evidence of their safety and functional correctness. Trust in robot assistants will allow them to transition from the laboratory into our everyday lives. Key challenges include the complex and unpredictable nature of the real world in which assistant and service robots operate, the limitations on available V&V techniques when used individually, and the consequent lack of confidence in the V&V results. Our approach, called corroborative V&V, addresses these challenges by combining several different V&V techniques; in this paper we use formal verification (model checking), simulation-based testing, and user validation in experiments with a real robot. We demonstrate our corroborative V&V approach through a handover task, the most critical part of a complex cooperative manufacturing scenario, for which we propose some safety and liveness requirements to verify and validate. We construct formal models, simulations and an experimental test rig for the HRI. To capture requirements we use temporal logic properties, assertion checkers and textual descriptions. This combination of approaches allows V&V of the HRI task at different levels of modelling detail and thoroughness of exploration, thus overcoming the individual limitations of each technique. Should the resulting V&V evidence present discrepancies, an iterative process between the different V&V techniques takes place until corroboration between the V&V techniques is gained from refining and improving the assets (i.e., system and requirement models) to represent the HRI task in a more truthful manner. Therefore, corroborative V&V affords a systematic approach to "'meta-V&V," in which different V&V techniques can be used to corroborate and check one another, increasing the level of certainty in the results of V&V.

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Section: Comparison With Other Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A corroborative approach to verification and validation of human–robot teams

Webster

Western

Araiza-Illan

et al. 2019

The International Journal of Robotics Research

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“…Testing of robotic systems can be performed in a real-life setting [20], completely in simulation [25], or in combinations of simulation and real components [24], i.e., hardware-in-the-loop. Our BDI approach offers a novel solution for the two latter cases.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Testing can be performed on models of robotic systems and their environments in simulations [25], for real robots in the real world (as in [20]), or on combinations of both [24]. In simulation, models can include a great level of detail about the physical world in which HRIs take place.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic and Realistic Testing in Simulation of Control Code for Robots in Collaborative Human-Robot Interactions

Araiza-Illan

Western

Pipe

et al. 2016

Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems

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The software of robotic assistants needs to be verified, to ensure its safety and functional correctness. Testing in simulation allows a high degree of realism in the verification. However, generating tests that cover both interesting foreseen and unforeseen scenarios in human-robot interaction (HRI) tasks, while executing most of the code, remains a challenge. We propose the use of belief-desire-intention (BDI) agents in the test environment, to increase the level of realism and human-like stimulation of simulated robots. Artificial intelligence, such as agent theory, can be exploited for more intelligent test generation. An automated testbench was implemented for a simulation in Robot Operating System (ROS) and Gazebo, of a cooperative table assembly task between a humanoid robot and a person. Requirements were verified for this task, and some unexpected design issues were discovered, leading to possible code improvements. Our results highlight the practicality of BDI agents to automatically generate valid and human-like tests to get high code coverage, compared to hand-written directed tests, pseudorandom generation, and other variants of model-based test generation. Also, BDI agents allow the coverage of combined behaviours of the HRI system with more ease than writing temporal logic properties for model checking.

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“…However, it should be noted that a tailored robot middleware, like RoboFrame, integrated with a simulator, like MuRoSimF, enables multilevel testing strategies for robot control software. These include component tests, online and offline tests as well as software-in-the-loop tests in combination with real robot hardware or an adequate robot simulation [28]. Fig.…”

Section: Multilevel Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards cooperation of heterogeneous, autonomous robots: A case study of humanoid and wheeled robots

Kiener

Stryk

2010

Robotics and Autonomous Systems

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In this paper a case study of cooperation of a strongly heterogeneous autonomous robot team, composed of a highly articulated humanoid robot and a wheeled robot with largely complementing and some redundant abilities is presented. By combining strongly heterogeneous robots the diversity of achievable tasks increases as the variety of sensing and motion abilities of the robot system is extended compared to a usually considered team of homogeneous robots. A number of methodologies and technologies required to achieve the long-term goal of cooperation of heterogeneous autonomous robots are discussed including modeling tasks and robot abilities, task assignment and redistribution, robot behavior modeling and programming, robot middleware and robot simulation. Example solutions and their application to the cooperation of autonomous wheeled and humanoid robots are presented in this case study. The scenario describes a tightly coupled cooperative task, where the humanoid robot and the wheeled robot track a moving ball, which is to be approached and kicked by the humanoid robot into a goal. The task can be fulfilled successfully by combining the abilities of both robots.

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Multilevel Testing of Control Software for Teams of Autonomous Mobile Robots

Cited by 16 publications

References 9 publications

A corroborative approach to verification and validation of human–robot teams

A corroborative approach to verification and validation of human–robot teams

Systematic and Realistic Testing in Simulation of Control Code for Robots in Collaborative Human-Robot Interactions

Towards cooperation of heterogeneous, autonomous robots: A case study of humanoid and wheeled robots

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