Collaborative Research: Omnidirectional Perching on Dynamic Surfaces: Emergence of Robust Behaviors from Joint Learning of Embodied and Motor Control

合作研究：动态表面上的全方位栖息：从具身控制和运动控制的联合学习中出现鲁棒行为

• 批准号: 2230320
• 负责人: Bo Cheng
• 金额: $ 70万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-15 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2230320&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Omnidirectional; Perching; Dynamic

This project will endow small aerial vehicles (e.g., quadcopters) with autonomous and universal perching capability on stationary or moving surfaces of arbitrary orientations, thereby expanding their operational capabilities in the areas of reconnaissance, inspection, surveillance, environmental monitoring, and search and rescue. For example, it will enable them to land on a sailing ship that heaves and sways with the sea, to hitchhike onto a moving ground or aerial platform for charging or safety, to assist a human-pilot to easily land a drone on self-selected targets (e.g., on walls, powerlines, and underneath a bridge). The research will focus on the co-design of embodied physical and computational intelligence through an integrated learning framework to achieve robust perching in most circumstances. The project will also create a STEM educational framework for K-12 students through visually appealing, interactive robotic flight and perching experiments to introduce multidisciplinary concepts in robotics, machine learning, mechanical design, smart materials, and flight principles. Furthermore, the research outcomes will be integrated into various educational and outreach modules for undergraduate students as well as general workforce development, leveraging the newly NSF-funded Center for Autonomous Air Mobility and Sensing (CAAMS) at Pennsylvania State University.The objective of this research is to combine the design and learning modalities of both physically embodied intelligence and computational intelligence to enable a wide range of dynamic touchdown mechanisms necessary for robust omnidirectional perching of small aerial vehicles. Physical intelligence will be achieved via a novel landing gear system with an array of bio-inspired, miniature robotic tarsi, whose compliance can be rapidly tuned on the spot during the touchdown. Computational intelligence will be achieved via 1) the initiation and control of perching angular maneuvers by learning predictive policy regions and the associated policy mapping for motor control and 2) vision based, optical-flow-constrained tau-guidance that simultaneously brings a robot into the target policy region and the target landing location. Finally, computational intelligence will be integrated with physical intelligence through a two-layered framework composed of joint learning of: a) mechanical design and motor control policies and b) embodied and motor control policies, respectively, as the former component would control the bio-inspired tarsi compliance and the latter would control the aerial maneuvers. In conclusion, this project will advance knowledge in the co-design, integration, interplay, and trade-offs between computational and physical intelligence in robots to achieve novel and robust capabilities. This project is supported by the cross-directorate Foundational Research in Robotics program, jointly managed and funded by the Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目将赋予小型飞行器（例如，四轴飞行器），具有在任意方向的静止或移动表面上自主和通用的栖息能力，从而扩大了它们在侦察、检查、监视、环境监测以及搜索和救援领域的作战能力。例如，它将使它们能够降落在随着大海起伏和摇摆的帆船上，搭便车到移动的地面或空中平台上进行充电或安全，帮助人类飞行员轻松地将无人机降落在自选目标上（例如，在墙上、电线上和桥下）。该研究将侧重于通过一个综合的学习框架，实现在大多数情况下强大的栖息体现物理和计算智能的共同设计。该项目还将为K-12学生创建一个STEM教育框架，通过视觉吸引力，交互式机器人飞行和栖息实验，介绍机器人，机器学习，机械设计，智能材料和飞行原理的多学科概念。此外，研究成果将被纳入各种教育和推广模块，为本科生以及一般的劳动力发展，利用美国国家科学基金会新资助的自主空中机动和传感中心（CAAMS）这项研究的目的是联合收割机物理体现智能和计算智能的设计和学习模式，以实现广泛的小型飞行器的稳健全向停驻所必需的动态触地机构。物理智能将通过一种新型的起落架系统实现，该系统具有一系列生物启发的微型机器人跗关节，其顺应性可以在着陆过程中当场快速调整。计算智能将通过以下方式实现：1）通过学习预测策略区域和用于电机控制的相关策略映射来启动和控制栖息角度机动; 2）基于视觉的光流约束τ制导，其同时将机器人带入目标策略区域和目标着陆位置。最后，计算智能将通过两层框架与物理智能相结合，这两层框架分别由以下方面的联合学习组成：a）机械设计和运动控制策略，以及B）具体化和运动控制策略，因为前者将控制生物启发的跗骨顺应性，后者将控制空中机动。总之，该项目将推进机器人计算和物理智能之间的协同设计，集成，相互作用和权衡方面的知识，以实现新颖和强大的功能。该项目由跨部门的机器人基础研究项目支持，该项目由工程部（ENG）和计算机与信息科学与工程部（CISE）共同管理和资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。