Related papers: Co-Evolution of Multi-Robot Controllers and Task C…
In this paper, a control approach called Artificial Neural Tissue (ANT) is applied to multirobot excavation for lunar base preparation tasks including clearing landing pads and burying of habitat modules. We show for the first time, a team…
Future Moon bases will likely be constructed using resources mined from the surface of the Moon. The difficulty of maintaining a human workforce on the Moon and communications lag with Earth means that mining will need to be conducted using…
The mine detection in an unexplored area is an optimization problem where multiple mines, randomly distributed throughout an area, need to be discovered and disarmed in a minimum amount of time. We propose a strategy to explore an unknown…
This study presents an advanced approach to enhance robotic manipulation in uncertain and challenging environments, with a focus on autonomous operations augmented by human-in-the-loop (HITL) control for lunar missions. By integrating human…
Autonomous regolith excavation is a cornerstone of in-situ resource utilization for a sustained human presence beyond Earth. However, this task is fundamentally hindered by the complex interaction dynamics of granular media and the…
Autonomous robots have real-world applications in diverse fields, such as mobile manipulation and environmental exploration, and many such tasks benefit from a hands-off approach in terms of human user involvement over a long task horizon.…
The allure of lunar surface exploration and development has recently captured widespread global attention. Robots have proved to be indispensable for exploring uncharted terrains, uncovering and leveraging local resources, and facilitating…
The growing global demand for critical raw materials (CRMs) has highlighted the need to access difficult and hazardous environments such as abandoned underground mines. These sites pose significant challenges for conventional machinery and…
This paper introduces MRTA-Sim, a Python/ROS2/Gazebo simulator for testing approaches to Multi-Robot Task Allocation (MRTA) problems on simulated robots in complex, indoor environments. Grid-based approaches to MRTA problems can be too…
We present a simulation framework for lunar construction work involving multiple autonomous machines. The framework supports modelling of construction scenarios and autonomy solutions, execution of the scenarios in simulation, and analysis…
This work introduces a novel, nature-inspired neural architecture search (NAS) algorithm based on ant colony optimization, Continuous Ant-based Neural Topology Search (CANTS), which utilizes synthetic ants that move over a continuous search…
As robots are increasingly deployed to collaborate on tasks within shared workspaces and resources, the failure of an individual robot can critically affect the group's performance. This issue is particularly challenging when robots lack…
Field robotics applications, such as search and rescue, involve robots operating in large, unknown areas. These environments present unique challenges that compound the difficulties faced by a robot operator. The use of multi-robot teams,…
Crafting neural network architectures manually is a formidable challenge often leading to suboptimal and inefficient structures. The pursuit of the perfect neural configuration is a complex task, prompting the need for a metaheuristic…
Autonomous robots often encounter challenging situations where their control policies fail and an expert human operator must briefly intervene, e.g., through teleoperation. In settings where multiple robots act in separate environments, a…
In collaborative robotic cells, a human operator and a robot share the workspace in order to execute a common job, consisting of a set of tasks. A proper allocation and scheduling of the tasks for the human and for the robot is crucial for…
Today AUVs operation still remains restricted to very particular tasks with low real autonomy due to battery restrictions. Efficient motion planning and mission scheduling are principle requirement toward advance autonomy and facilitate the…
Many swarm robotics tasks consist of multiple conflicting objectives. This research proposes a multi-objective evolutionary neural network approach to developing controllers for swarms of robots. The swarm robot controllers are trained in a…
With the ever growing number of space debris in orbit, the need to prevent further space population is becoming more and more apparent. Refueling, servicing, inspection and deorbiting of spacecraft are some example missions that require…
Tactful coordination on earth between hundreds of operators from diverse disciplines and backgrounds is needed to ensure that Martian rovers have a high likelihood of achieving their science goals while enduring the harsh environment of the…