Related papers: Autonomous Thermalling as a Partially Observable M…

This paper presents a novel algorithm to plan energy-efficient trajectories for autonomous ornithopters. In general, trajectory optimization is quite a relevant problem for practical applications with \emph{Unmanned Aerial Vehicles} (UAVs).…

Decision-making under uncertainty is a crucial ability for autonomous systems. In its most general form, this problem can be formulated as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP). The solution policy of a POMDP can be…

Online planning under uncertainty in partially observable domains is an essential capability in robotics and AI. The partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) is a mathematically principled framework for addressing…

Autonomous planetary vehicles, also known as rovers, are small autonomous vehicles equipped with a variety of sensors used to perform exploration and experiments on a planet's surface. Rovers work in a partially unknown environment, with…

Utilizing wind hovering techniques of soaring birds can save energy expenditure and improve the flight endurance of micro air vehicles (MAVs). Here, we present a novel method for fully autonomous orographic soaring without a priori…

This paper investigates the problem of trajectory planning for autonomous vehicles at unsignalized intersections, specifically focusing on scenarios where the vehicle lacks the right of way and yet must cross safely. To address this issue,…

This paper investigates manipulation of multiple unknown objects in a crowded environment. Because of incomplete knowledge due to unknown objects and occlusions in visual observations, object observations are imperfect and action success is…

Nowadays, unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs are being used for a wide range of tasks, including infrastructure inspection, automated monitoring and coverage. This paper investigates the problem of 3D inspection planning with an autonomous…

There is an increasing demand for piloted autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to operate in polar ice conditions. At present, AUVs are deployed from ships and directly human-piloted in these regions, entailing a high carbon cost and…

This paper is on decision making of autonomous vehicles for handling roundabouts. The round intersection is introduced first followed by the Markov Decision Processes (MDP), the Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDP) and the…

With their potential to significantly reduce traffic accidents, enhance road safety, optimize traffic flow, and decrease congestion, autonomous driving systems are a major focus of research and development in recent years. Beyond these…

Scientists often search for phenomena of interest while exploring new environments. Autonomous vehicles are deployed to explore such areas where human-operated vehicles would be costly or dangerous. Online control of autonomous vehicles for…

Both humans and the sensors on an autonomous vehicle have limited sensing capabilities. When these limitations coincide with scenarios involving vulnerable road users, it becomes important to account for these limitations in the motion…

We consider partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) with a set of target states and positive integer costs associated with every transition. The traditional optimization objective (stochastic shortest path) asks to minimize…

Technology advancement for on-road vehicles has gained significant momentum in the past decades, particularly in the field of vehicle automation and powertrain electrification. The optimization of powertrain controls for autonomous vehicles…

Evaluating and updating the obstacle avoidance velocity for an autonomous robot in real-time ensures robustness against noise and disturbances. A passive damping controller can obtain the desired motion with a torque-controlled robot, which…

This paper investigates goal-oriented remote monitoring of an unobservable Markov source using energy-harvesting sensors that communicate with a mobile receiver, such as a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).…

A self-powered scheme is explored for achieving long-endurance operation, with the use of solar power and buoyancy lift. The end goal is the capability of infinite endurance while complying with the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) dynamics…

This paper introduces for the first time the design, modelling, and control of a novel morphing multi-rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that we call the OmniMorph. The morphing ability allows the selection of the configuration that…

Autonomous Driving vehicles (ADV) are on road with large scales. For safe and efficient operations, ADVs must be able to predict the future states and iterative with road entities in complex, real-world driving scenarios. How to migrate a…