Robust Perception System for a Last-mile Delivery Mobile Manipulator

电子商务是一个蓬勃发展的行业，随着在线送货需求的不断增长，与其相关的高成本、能源支出、碳排放和拥堵也在不断增加。这些负面影响中的许多都是所谓的“最后一英里”的结果，即交付过程的最后一段。因此，在交付进程的这一最后阶段需要额外的能力和效率。自动送货机器人提供了一种解决方案，因为它们能源效率高，污染更少。此外，机器人可以缩小尺寸，在人行道或人行道上操作，有助于减少道路拥堵。机器人也可以在正常工作时间以外的任何时间送货。开发这样的系统引起了人们对机器人研究中一些关键问题的关注，如感知、室外导航和操作，这些问题仍然有许多有待解决的研究问题。移动机器人在其环境中操纵物体时的感知系统是一个特别的领域，但研究的重点很少。目的：PHD的总体目标是开发一种健壮的感知系统，使移动机器人能够成功地操纵物体(移动操纵)，这可以用于诸如最后一英里递送等应用。目标：1.综述用于机械手、移动机器人和移动机械手的感知系统的最新进展。2.根据移动操作对最后一英里送货的要求，概述感知系统的规范。开发并测试用于操作的感知系统。开发和测试移动性感知系统。5.将两个感知子系统集成到一个单一的感知解决方案中，用于移动操作。在模拟环境中对整个感知系统进行测试和分析，然后在真实世界中进行测试和分析。这可能涉及一些关于递送问题的模拟测试，例如，开车到一户人家，通过邮箱递送一个包裹。研究问题：传感：对于移动机械手来说，最适合进行最后一英里送货的传感技术是什么？例如，机器人可以仅仅依靠一个摄像头吗？或者它需要深度信息或其他传感器模式，如激光雷达或声纳？感知：机器人如何了解其环境以实现其目标？例如，它如何在杂乱的空间中检测相关对象？抓取和操纵：机器人如何选择最佳位置来抓取对象？它如何抓取大小、形状和质地不同的物体？移动操纵：你如何开发感知系统来同时考虑操纵和移动性？

E-commerce is a thriving industry and as the demand for online delivery keeps increasing, so too do high costs, energy expenditure, carbon emissions and congestion associated with it. Many of these negative effects are a result of the so-called "last mile", the final stretch of the delivery process. Hence the need for extra capacity and efficiency in this final stage of the delivery process. Autonomous delivery robots offer a solution as they are energy efficient and less polluting. Additionally, a robot can be reduced in size and operate on sidewalks or pedestrian walkways, contributing to less congestion on roads. A robot can also delivery at any time outside normal working hours.Developing such a system brings attention to some of the key questions in robotics research, such as perception, outdoor navigation and manipulation, all of which still have many open research questions. One particular area which has had little research focus is the perception system of a mobile robot when manipulating objects in its environment. Aim:The overall aim of the PhD is to develop a robust perception system for a mobile robot to successfully manipulate objects (mobile manipulation), which could be used in applications such as last-mile delivery. Objectives:1. Review the state-of-the-art in perception systems used for manipulators, mobile robots and mobile manipulators. 2. Outline the specification for the perception system based on the requirements for mobile manipulation for last-mile delivery.3. Develop and test the perception system for manipulation.4. Develop and test the perception system for mobility. 5. Integrate the two perception subsystems into a single perception solution for mobile manipulation.6. Test and analyze the overall perception system in a simulation environment and then in the real-world. This could involve some mock-up test on a delivery problem for example, driving up to a house and delivering a package through a letter box. Research Questions:Sensing: What are the most appropriate sensing technologies for a mobile manipulator for last-mile delivery? For example, can the robot rely on just a camera? Or will it require depth information or additional sensor modalities such as lidar or sonar?Perception: How does the robot gain an understanding of its environment in order to achieve its goal? For example, how does it detect relevant objects in a cluttered space?Grasping and Manipulation: How does the robot choose the best place to grasp an object? How does it grasp objects varying in size, shape and texture?Mobile Manipulation: How do you develop perception systems to allow for both manipulation and mobility?