CAREER: Cooperative Payload Transport by Robot Collectives

职业：机器人集体的合作有效负载运输

• 批准号: 0347653
• 负责人: Venkat Krovi
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Buffalo
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-02-01 至 2010-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0347653&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Cooperative; Payload; Transport; Robot

In this career development proposal, the Principal Investigator (PI) examines the development of frameworks to create, analyze, implement and validate cooperative payload transport capabilities in distributed robot collectives. The principal research questions pertain to the investigation of the nature and selection of the underlying physical and informational infrastructure, system architecture, and mechanisms of cooperation, with the goal of realizing implementations with quantifiable performance benefits. Such investigation is proposed in the specific context of creation, control and active reconfiguration of marching formations with variable numbers of mobile manipulators for cooperative payload transportation tasks. The three aspects of research identified for examination under the common theoretical but computationally tractable framework, include: (i) methodologies for design and optimization of formations for pre-specified tasks; (ii) scalable schemes for control and adaptation of formations for changing tasks; and (iii) quantitative examination of the role of modularity, sensing, communication, modeling and decentralization on cooperative performance. A two-pronged approach of extensive simulation-based study and rigorous experimental ratification is proposed to evaluate the performance of candidate systems. The key contribution from this investigation is the development of a flexible unified framework for design, analysis, control and validation of such cooperating systems and the broad applicability of the framework for uniformly treating: cooperative material-handling by a fleet of decentralized manipulation agents; hybrid articulated-wheeled systems with enhanced locomotion capabilities; and distributed haptic collaboration with a common virtual object within a shared virtual environment; is discussed.The overall educational goals are to develop the courses, tools and the human resource base to conceive, investigate, implement and validate such systems-of-systems. Specific educational initiatives include: (i) developing and integrating new undergraduate and graduate courses in robotics and mechatronics into the curriculum; (ii) strengthening and modernizing existing undergraduate courses in design and systems; (iii) creating educational technology curricular modules for encapsulating knowledge and providing a mechanism for outreach within the university, with local high schools and industry and the educational community at large.

在这个职业发展建议中，主要研究者（PI）研究了分布式机器人集体中创建，分析，实施和验证合作有效载荷运输能力的框架的发展。主要的研究问题涉及调查的性质和选择的基础物理和信息基础设施，系统架构和合作机制，实现可量化的性能效益的实施的目标。这种调查提出了在特定背景下的创建，控制和主动重新配置的行军编队与可变数量的移动的机械手合作有效载荷运输任务。在共同的理论框架下，但计算易处理的研究确定的三个方面，包括：（一）预先指定的任务的编队设计和优化的方法;（二）可扩展的计划，控制和适应不断变化的任务编队;和（三）定量检查的作用，模块化，传感，通信，建模和分散的合作绩效。提出了一种广泛的基于仿真的研究和严格的实验验证双管齐下的方法来评估候选系统的性能。这项研究的主要贡献是开发了一个灵活的统一框架，用于设计、分析、控制和验证这种合作系统，并使该框架具有广泛的适用性，用于统一处理：由分散的操纵代理组成的车队进行的合作材料处理;具有增强运动能力的混合铰接轮式系统;和分布式触觉协作与一个共同的虚拟对象在一个共享的虚拟环境中进行了讨论。总体教育目标是开发的课程，工具和人力资源基础，构思，调查，实施和验证这样的系统的系统。具体的教育举措包括：㈠开发机器人和机电一体化方面的新本科生和研究生课程，并将其纳入课程; ㈡加强设计和系统方面的现有本科生课程，并使其现代化; ㈢建立教育技术课程模块，以封装知识并提供一个在大学内推广的机制，与当地的高中、工业和整个教育界合作。