I/UCRC FRP: Collaborative Research: Autonomous Perception and Manipulation in Search and Rescue

该项目希望利用一组移动的机器人，以便更好地感知环境，然后执行基本的操作任务。该项目的愿景是轻松集成机器人、提供人机交互界面并开发操纵算法。该研究将涉及感知策略和操纵方案的开发，使机器人团队能够在搜索和救援任务期间在现实环境中进行操作。此外，这项研究将涉及在照明条件可能不理想的杂乱场景中进行工作。该项目致力于： (i) 研究机器人感知和操纵目标物体的新问题，这些目标物体作为环境的一个组成部分与其他物体相互作用，在被操纵之前无法在视图和物理布置中完全隔离； (ii) 基于外观的方法，用于从单一视图识别杂乱场景中的 3D 对象并进行姿态估计； (iii) 开发从每个视点测量场景可识别性的方法，以评估识别部分遮挡物体的准确度以及估计其姿态的准确度； (iv) 创建 3D 结构拆卸分析的解决方案，扩展我们对 2D 结构的初步分析； (v) 基于感知结果并借助物体排列及其与环境和彼此相互作用的稳定性分析来发展抓握； (vi) 与我们的工业合作伙伴密切协商，在现实环境中对系统进行实验验证。该项目将允许创建操纵能力和感知方案，以促进用于搜索和救援任务的多机器人团队的开发。该项目的影响包括： (i) 扩大年度机器人夏令营，纳入机器人团队活动，目的是吸引弱势群体的中学生学习计算机科学/电气工程； (ii) 通过宾夕法尼亚大学和北卡罗来纳大学夏洛特分校的合作，将活动与急救人员结合起来； (ii) 在 UMN 和德克萨斯州灾难城市的 SAFL 中进行实验验证； (iii) 向 REU 本科生或 UROP 项目提供项目主题； (iv) 涉及向当地 K-12 机构进行示范的外展计划； (v) 将项目主题纳入常规课程。

This project wants to capitalize on a team of robots that move in order to better sense the environment and then perform basic manipulation tasks. The vision of the project is to integrate robots easily, provide human-team interfaces, and develop manipulation algorithms. The research will involve the development of perception strategies and manipulation schemes that will allow operation of the robot teams in real-world environments during search and rescue missions. In addition, this research will involve working in cluttered scenes where the lighting conditions may not be ideal. The project addresses: (i) Research on the novel problem of robotic perception and manipulation of target objects that interact with other objects as an integral part of the environment, which cannot be fully isolated in views and in physical arrangements before being manipulated; (ii) An appearance-based approach for recognition and pose estimation of 3D objects in cluttered scenes from a single view; (iii) Development of a measure of scene recognizability from each viewpoint to evaluate how accurately partially-occluded objects are recognized and how well their poses are estimated; (iv) Creation of solutions for disassembly analysis of 3D structures, extending our preliminary analysis of 2D structures; (v) Development of grasping based on the results of perception and with the aid of stability analysis of the arrangement of the objects and their interaction with the environment and with one another; and (vi) Experimental validation of the system in real-world settings, in close consultation with our industrial partners.This project will allow the creation of manipulation capabilities along with perception schemes to facilitate the development of a multi-robot team for search and rescue missions. The impacts of the project include: (i) Expansion of the annual robot summer camp to include robot-team activities with the objective of attracting middle-schoolers from under-represented groups to computer science/electrical engineering; (ii) Integration of the activities with first responders through the UPenn and UNC Charlotte collaborations; (ii) Experimental validation in SAFL at UMN and the Disaster City in TX; (iii) Offering project themes to REU undergraduates or to the UROP program; (iv) Outreach programs that involve demonstrations to local K-12 institutions; and (v) Inclusion of the project theme to the regular curricula.