iR²L Research
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Last Updated: 8th November 2007
iR²L Research
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The IIIT Robotics Research focus is diverse and involves multi robotic systems, mobile robotics, control strategies and robotic system development. Research Projects include probabilistic localization and map building and exploration, SLAM, planning under constraints, multi sensor surveillance systems for multi target detection, cooperative localization and navigation and force feedback control for hybrid legged wheeled vehicles. The center's activities include algorithms for off the shelf mobile platforms as well as platform development. Two robots - micro robot and SPAWN have been developed in collaboration with CAIR as a part of platform development to get insight into hardware and embedded system related issues as well as to jump start swarm robotics research. Previously a four-wheeled steered bot was developed in collaboration with CMU.
Multi Robotic System
Localization is one of the fundamental problems in mobile robotics. Localization is the process of determining the robot's position in the environment. In this research we strive to see how multiple robots can aid in localization of one another.
The objective is to see what kind of coordination mechanisms between sensors enables optimal detection of targets moving across a surveillance area.
<Go to the Project Page , published paper>
A framework for guaranteeing detection performance of a sensor network
We present a framework for modeling and analysis for a surveillance network consisting of multiple sensors. Sensors monitor targets that crisscross a rectangular surveillance zone. When a sensor pursuits a target it leaves areas unguarded through which other targets can get past undetected. A methodology that computes the tracking time for sensor such that a fraction of the targets expected to cross its home area is detected to an arbitrary probabilistic guarantee is presented based on the framework. Targets enter the surveillance zone according to Poisson statistics. The time spent by a target within a sensor's home area follows uniform random statistics. The home area of the sensor is the area guarded by it when it is stationed at its home position, its default position when it is not in pursuit of a target. The framework is further extended to situations where multiple sensors monitor the same home area. Simulation results presented corroborate with the probabilistic framework developed and verify its correctness for single as well as multi-sensor cases.
In an area that is prone to be criss crossed by several robots collision avoidance amongst them is inevitable. Here we see how cooperation between robots could enhance collision avoidance maneuvers between them.
<Go to the Project Page, published paper>
We are working on methodologies for coordination of multiple robotic agents moving from one location to another in an environment embedded with sensor motes. Sensor motes placed at strategic locations such as intersections coordinate robots in a way as to minimize the congestion, thus ensuring the continuous flow of robot traffic. A robot's path to its destination is computed by the network in terms of the next waypoints to reach and local navigation to the next waypoint is achieved through a reactive navigation system. The motes are capable of identifying robots in their proximity based on signal strength. Transferring the burden of coordination to the network releases more computational power for the robots to engage in critical assistive activities.
Unmanned Air Vehicle Surveillance
The objective here is to see how a group of unmanned air vehicles can be used to effectively perform surveillance while maintaining stealth
Mobile Robots
We have developed an integrated mobile robot navigation system for a mobile robot equipped with sonar only sensors that has SLAM, planning and exploration modules working in tandem and seamlessly.
Traditional planners for mobile robots produce geometric plans that are kinematically infeasible since they do not incorporate kinematic constraints. This flaw was addressed in kinodynamic planning. In this effort we show how other kinds of constraints such as those imposed by the environment can also be incorporated apart from the kinodynamic constraints.
This methodology helps in making global localization faster than many of the existing techniques like markov localization , correlation-based localization , etc.
Control Strategies for an All-terrain Vehicle
We aim to study the role of force control vis-a-vis other control methodologies such as posture for wheeled legged vehicles moving on uneven terrain with slopes and possibly stairs.
Robotic System Development
The main objective is to develop small low cost swarm of mobile robot for research in multi robotic algorithms. Micro robot is small versatile low cost robotic system. Its mechanical structure comprises of holonomic drive system making it capable of navigating in tight space. Micro robot incorporates an array of various sensors for sensing its environment with high accuracy. It has scalable architecture in all the aspects viz. mechanics, electronics, software. It can also be scaled in terms of number of robots in a swarm of robot.
The robot , SPAWN has been built with the odometry system , a USB interface is also built to have the exchange of data for odometry with laptop ( new laptops don't have serial ports , so USB was built ) . So this robot can move to any direction , and any scale the user prompts it to with the minimal error in the position . The position control and velocity control is done on the host itself.