1 History Applications Market

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23-Feb-12 Robots Mobiles - EPFL - Floreano & Zufferey 1

Robots Mobiles

1) History, applications and market


A brief history of mobile robotics


Grey Walters tortoises (1948-9, Bristol) Grey Walter wanted to prove that rich

connections between a small number ofbrain cells could give rise to very complexbehaviors - essentially that the secret of howthe brain worked lay in how it was wired up.

His first robots, which he used to call"Machina Speculatrix" and named Elmer andElsie, were constructed between 1948 and

1949 and were often described as tortoisesdue to their shape and slow rate ofmovement

The three-wheeled tortoise robots werecapable ofphototaxis, by which they couldfind their way to a recharging station whenthey ran low on battery power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Walter video

http://www.ias.uwe.ac.uk/Robots/gwonline/gwonline.html


Shakey (1970, Stanford)

Shakey was the worlds first mobile robotwith the ability to reason about itssurroundings.

Shakey had a TV camera, a triangulatingrange finder, and bump sensors, and wasconnected to DEC PDP-10 and PDP-15computers via radio and video links. It usedprograms forperception, world-modeling,

and acting. Low-level action routines tookcare of simple moving, turning, and routeplanning. Intermediate level actions strungthe low level ones together in ways thatrobustly accomplished more complex tasks.The highest level programs could make andexecute plans to achieve goals given by auser.

http://www.sri.com/about/timeline/shakey.html

Video: http://www.ai.sri.com/video_list.php

Nils Nilsson


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Stanford cart (1979) First experiments with 3D

environment mapping with stereo-vision. The Stanford Cart crosses achair-filled room without humanassistance. The cart has a TV cameramounted on a rail which takes

pictures from multiple angles andrelays them to a computer. Thecomputer analyzes the distancebetween the cart and the obstacles.

0.5MHz off-board processor with 1MBmemory

1m every 15 minutes 8 year project http://www.thocp.net/reference/robotics/robotics2.htm

Video: http://www.stanford.edu/~learnest/cart.htm


Ghenghis (1988, MIT)

In 1988, Rodney Brooks' lab at MIT created this six-legged walker,which taught itselfhow to scramble over boards and other obstacles.The secret: allow each leg to react to the environmentindependently and you won't need to program every complex step.

http://groups.csail.mit.edu/lbr/genghis/ video

Thinking and reasoning Acting and behaving Intelligence = brain Intelligence = brain + bodyArtificial Intelligence Artificial Life Information processing Sensory-motor coordinationCartesian thinking Agent-centered; action based

Shakey,

1970,

Stanford

Ghenghis, 1988, MIT

A paradigm shift

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Khepera (1994, EPFL)

Mini desktop robot for research andeducation (55mm diameter)

Widely used by over 500 universitiesworldwide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khepera_mobile_robot

Video: http://lis.epfl.ch/resources/documentation/EvolutionaryRobotics/er.php


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Autonomous aerial robot (1995)

After four years ofcompetition, a Stanfordteam accomplished thefirst autonomous objectretrieval at the

International AerialRobotics Competition. Theenabling technology wasthe use of a (differential)GPS.

http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/newsrelease/AERROB.html http://robotics.usc.edu/~avatar/ http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/project/chopper/www/


Boss (2007, CMU) Winner of the 2007 DARPA

Urban Challenge. video

Multi-modal approach topartitions the urban drivingproblem into tractablebehavioral modes (roaddriving, intersection handling

and parking). Motion planning employs a

common trajectorygeneration framework forboth on road and parking lotplanning.

Perception integrates datafrom radar, lidarand visionto track vehicles and modelroad shape and obstaclelocations.

http://www.tartanracing.org


Agriculture & Harvesting

Automatic Refilling

Cleaning & Housekeeping

Construction

Edutainment

Fire Fighting

Food Industry

Guides & Office

Humanitarian Demining

HumanoidsInspection

Lawn Mowing

Medical Robotics

Mining Robots

Picking & Palletising

Rehabilitation

Surveillance & Exploration

Search & Rescue

Applications & products

http://www.service-robots.org (IEEE)

http://www.euron.org/resources/robotgallery.html


Research robots

http://www.bluebotics.com http://www.k-team.com http://www.mobilerobots.com

http://www.e-puck.org


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Space exploration

Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Spirit and Opportunity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Exploration_Rover http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/technology/is_autonomous_mobility.html video


Defense and rescue robots

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_robot http://www.irobot.com

MQ-9 Reaper, 20 m wingspan, 400km/h

iRobot PackBot> 3000 units sold (2010) video

Foster-Miller TALON


Aerial imaging

Swinglet CAM bywww.senseFly.com

- Autonomous take-off, landing,flight control and path planning.

- Intelligent snapshot control- 30 min flight, up to 18km distancevideo


Inspection robots

The solution to long range inspection challenges: inspect more than amile of pipe in a single run. The Versatrax 300 can travel within pipesof 300 mm internal diameter and greater.

http://www.inuktun.com


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Agricultural robots

The Yamaha RMAX (246cc, 30kg of payload) has an onboard system that usesa GPS to detect altitude and speed and the Yamaha Attitude Control System tocontrol all rudders through a computer. This system enables an effective andefficient spray operation and significantly reduces operator fatigue.

More than 2000 helicopters are currently in use in Japan, primarily by farmersfor crop-spraying.

http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/global/industrial/sky/agricultural/23-Feb-12 Robots Mobiles - EPFL - Floreano & Zufferey 18

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) AUVs are more efficient than a towed systems due to lack of cables.

Also, data quality is dramatically improved because an AUV can followthe bottom and thus eliminates data gaps that result from changes intopography.

Applications: Military Costal security Rescue operations Inspection and maintenance Cleaning operations Environmental monitoring Scientific missions:

Study of volcanoes Tsunami detection Deep sea biology Changes in ecosystems

http://www.bluefinrobotics.com


Autonomous container carrier

The automated 10-metre high, 65-tonne straddle carriers are fitted withsophisticated motion control andnavigation systems which allowthem to operate unmanned - movingand stacking containers from thequay, into holding yards, onto

vehicles, and back to quay craneswith pin-point accuracy.

Now that the AutoStrad system isfully operational at the Brisbaneterminal, the automated technologywill be gradually introduced toPatrick's Sydney and Melbourneport operations.

http://www.patrick.com.au23-Feb-12 Robots Mobiles - EPFL - Floreano & Zufferey 20

Patrolling robots CyberGuard can automatically patrol up to 126

hours per week (15 or more miles per nightevery night). It detects and reports suspectconditions to your central console along withreal-time video.

During its tour, it sniffs the airfor traces ofsmoke or toxic gas, monitors temperature andhumidity levels, scans for intruders, tracks

valuable assets, and inspects "virtual seals" forbarrier integrity.

CyberGuard: http://www.cybermotion.com

PatrolBot maps buildings on-the-fly andnavigates to dynamically-controlled buildingdestinations with little or no retro-fitting.

PatrolBot: http://www.mobilerobots.com


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Transportation in hospitals

Distribution of bulk food, central/sterile supplies, soiled dishes, clean and soiledlinens, trash and regulated medical waste.

TransCar utilizes virtual path, laser contour-following guidance. It requires nowall targets, embedded wires or other building modifications . Virtual pathmaps are stored at the system control center and quickly downloaded to eachvehicle.

http://www.swisslog.com (headquartered in Buchs/Aarau, Switzerland)

Transportation in warehouses

Fleets of intelligent,self-managing robotsthat automate thematerial handlingprocess withindistribution centers.

In April 2008, the1000th robot wasshipped.

In 2009, Kiva was the6th fastest growingcompany in the USA

www.kivasystems.com video



Industrial cleaner

http://www.automation.siemens.com/sinas/ video23-Feb-12 Robots Mobiles - EPFL - Floreano & Zufferey 24

Tourguide robots Fully autonomous, RoboX

interacts in 4 languages withpeople and is able to guidevisitors 12 hours per day, 7days a week.

Specially designed fornavigation in a crowdedarea, RoboX is a

communication tool and tourguide for exhibitions, tradefairs, marketing and corporate

events.

http://www.bluebotics.com video


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Entertainment robots

60000 Abo sold the first year(1500 USD)

Now production has stopped http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aibo

Pleo 14 motors, 38

sensors, 2 ARM7processors

450 USD 100000 units sold

until in 2008

www.pleoworld.com


Robots for handicap assistance

TAO-7 from Applied AI Systems, Inc. http://www.aai.ca video

iBOT Mobility SystemPower across sand, gravel, grass and otheruneven terrain, easily climb curbs up to 5 andsteps, rise to an eye-level position and hold aconversation, even when you are on the move.http://www.ibotnow.com


Autonomous lawn mower

RL1000 (~2000 USD) provides complete automation of the mowingprocess. Simply schedule a weekly program and forget about mowingfor the entire season! The RL1000 will automatically depart at the timesyou have pre-set, cut your lawn and return to the Charging Station atthe end of each operation.

http://www.friendlyrobotics.com video

In 2009, robotic mowers represented amarket of about 100 million annuallywith good profitability and consistentdouble figure growth rate from oneyear to the next.


Swimming pool cleaning

The Aquabot T4 (~1000 USD) will alternate between the pool waterline,walls and bottom. It uses a "planned" pattern to cover the pool area inthe most efficient manner. It covers the entire length of the pool on eachpass, rises to the waterline, scrubs across and reverses.

Self-contained with onboard filtration system and drive and pump motorsfree operator from traditional cleaning methods that require pool's filter,hoses, booster pumps, assembly or installation.

http://www.aquaproducts.com


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Roomba (since 2002) Start price: 120 USD 5 million units sold (up to 2010) Effective vacuum cleaner Gets under beds Returns to recharge Detects dirtier areas Avoids stairs and cliffs Cleans along walls

Roombas sensors figure out the size and shape of your room, andcontinually readjusts its cleaning pattern until it has covered yourwhole floor, multiple times.

Floor washing robot: Scooba Workshop cleaning robot: Dirt Dog http://www.irobot.com scooba_video roomba_video23-Feb-12 Robots Mobiles - EPFL - Floreano & Zufferey 29

Household


World market


World robot market: projectionsSource: Japan Robotics Association

Recent research by theJapan Robotics

Association (JRA), UnitedNations EconomicCommission (UNEC) andthe International

Federation of Robotics(IFR) indicates that thenascent personal andservice robotics marketwill exhibit exceptionalnear term growth.

The JRA predicts that by 2025, the personal robot industry will be worth morethan $50 billion a year worldwide, compared with about $5 billion today.


World robot market

Definition ofservice robots: robots which operate semi- or fullyautonomously to perform services useful to the well-being of humansand equipment, excluding manufacturing operations.

Total world stock ofservice robots for professional use at the end of2008 is estimated at some 63,000 units (11 billion USD). Some 49,000(10 billion USD) units are forecast to be added in the period 2009-2012.

The world sales ofservice robots for domestic (household) use up tothe end of 2008 is estimated in the order of 4.4 million units (1.5 billionUSD). Some 4.8 million units may be added in the period 2009-2012.

The world sales ofentertainment and leisure robots up to the end of2008 is estimated in the order of 2.8 million units (0.8 billion USD).Some 6.7 million units may be added in the period 2009-2012.

Source: WORLD ROBOTICS 2009 Service Robotics


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Service robots for professional useSource: WORLD ROBOTICS 2009 Service Robotics


Service robots for personnel/domestic useSource: WORLD ROBOTICS 2009 Service Robotics

in

1000

A robot in every home

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Bill Gates, 2007Scientific American

As I look at the trends that are nowstarting to converge, I can envisiona future in which robotic devices willbecome a nearly ubiquitous part ofour day-to-day lives.

The challenges facing the roboticsindustry are similar to those wetackled in computing three decadesago.


Typical exam questions

History of mobile robotics: milestones & achievements. Why the Khepera has been a revolution in robotic research? Boss: task, hardware, sensors, and navigation. Describe three different mobile robot products. In which domains/applications do we find the best sellers in

mobile robotics and the highest growth?

1 History Applications Market

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