Same domain
See Also
- Optimisation
- Probability in modelling, algorithms, and verification
- Uncertainty
- Interactions, visualisation and virtual reality
- Decision and control systems
- Sensing systems
- Computing systems
- Modelling and simulation
- Software
Complements
Robotics
Robotics brings together several very different engineering areas and skills and is a quite transversal domain going from mechanical design, automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose, manipulator programmable in several axes, to multi-modal emotional man machine interface. So, most Digiteo's partners contribute, directly or indirectly, to research in robotics. In order to organise the presentation of expertises available in the consortium, we will first present the research topics carried out by the partners, then the applications and we will conclude by the safety issue.
Research topics
The characteristic of a robotic system is to be able to autonomously adapt its behaviour to its environment. The robot needs to perceive its environment, to compute the most relevant behaviour according to its perception, its memory and its goals and then to act.
So the development of robotics systems requires developing researches along these three stages.
Perception
Perception is needed to localise a mobile robot in its environment and to identify objects within this environment.
Digiteo's actors are involved in localisation based on inertial sensors, odometry, and satellites information but also on bio inspired methods for localisation. They are also involved in the study of perception-action relationship and active perception (e.g. attentional mechanism) in which action is required for perception.
Behaviour control
Work in this area goes from low level control of actuators to high level path planning and man machine interface.
Digiteo's partners are working on:
• low level control loop of classical electrical actuators or new technology based actuators (shape memory alloy, piezo-electric, magneto-rheological fluids ...) using conventional approaches, or learning and evolutionary methods,
• adaptive control architectures and models of the perception-action loop based on connexionist, bio inspired and Bayesian paradigms
• developing vision based control method to control either mobile robots or manipulators in order to servo robot motion on vision feedback,
• path planning with different methods,
• developing man machine interface based on haptic devices and graphical interfaces, or offers affective avatars as interaction support between man and robot.
Action
This issue requires efforts on the design of the physical architecture of the robot.
Digiteo's partners are involved in modelling and identification of complex mechanical structures in order to optimise their design, in flexibility and friction modelling for backdrivable mechanisms or long-range carriers.
Applications
Based on the technologies presented above, the main applications developed by Digiteo partners are flying robot, mobile robot, automatic car control, tele-robotics, adaptive robotics, assistance to disabled people, haptic interfaces, humanoid robot, mini-invasive robotic devices...
Safety
One of the main issues for robotics is safety. Men and robots will have to work together closer and closer. It is necessary for robotic industry to ensure that robot will not become a threat for man. Ability to prove that software is doing what it is designed for is critical. The software engineering expertise developed by Digiteo's partners can bring much here.
