DSLs in Robotics: A Case Study in Programming Self-reconfigurable Robots

Developed in this paper is a hybrid method for calibration of modular reconfigurable robots (MRRs). The underlying problem under study is unique to MRRs, that is, how to calibrate a set of MRR’s geometric parameters that are applicable to all feasible configurations. For this reason, a hybrid search method is developed to ensure a global search over the MRRs’ workspace for each feasible configuration. By combining a genetic algorithm method with a Monte Carlo method, this method includes three levels of search, namely, pose, workspace, and configuration-space. The final set of global solutions is generated progressively from the results of these three levels of search. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated through a case study.

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Design of a Multi-Directional Hybrid-Locomotion Modular Robot With Feedforward Stability Control

Volume 5B: 41st Mechanisms and Robotics Conference ◽

10.1115/detc2017-67436 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Prashant Kumar ◽

Wael Saab ◽

Pinhas Ben-Tzvi

Keyword(s):

Vertical Direction ◽

Stability Control ◽

Modular Robot ◽

Uneven Terrain ◽

Reconfigurable Robots ◽

Compact Size ◽

Mobility System ◽

Translation Mechanism ◽

Hybrid Locomotion

This paper presents the design of a modular robot capable of multi-directional mobility to aid reconfiguration on uneven terrain. Modular reconfigurable robotic systems consist of a large number of self-sufficient modules that can dock and reconfigure to scale locomotion and manipulation capabilities. However, on uneven terrains, reconfigurable robots face challenges due to the requirement of precise alignment between modules during the docking procedure. First, a survey of current modular reconfigurable robots is presented, analyzing their strengths and shortcomings in reconfiguration and mobility. A novel design is formulated that features a hybrid combination of wheels and tracks, symmetrically assembled about the front and right planes, providing multi-directional mobility and modularity. The robot can move over uneven terrain via tracks, move at higher speeds via wheels placed orthogonally to the tracks, and move in the vertical direction via a vertical translation mechanism in order to aid in multi-robot docking. Both the wheels and tracks possess yaw mobility via differential drive. The design’s compact size and hybrid multi-directional mobility system make the robot highly mobile on uneven terrain. Presented in this paper are the mechanical and electrical design and a feedforward dynamic stability controller, the performance of which is validated using a simulated case study.

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A memetic algorithm approach for solving the task-based configuration optimization problem in serial modular and reconfigurable robots

Robotica ◽

10.1017/s0263574714002690 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 34 (9) ◽

pp. 1979-2008 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Saleh Tabandeh ◽

William Melek ◽

Mohammad Biglarbegian ◽

Seong-hoon Peter Won ◽

Chris Clark

Keyword(s):

Multiple Solutions ◽

Inverse Kinematics ◽

Optimization Problem ◽

Memetic Algorithm ◽

Optimization Method ◽

Spatial Task ◽

Search Method ◽

Configuration Optimization ◽

Reconfigurable Robots

SUMMARYThis paper presents a novel configuration optimization method for multi degree-of-freedom modular reconfigurable robots (MRR) using a memetic algorithm (MA) that combines genetic algorithms (GAs) and a local search method. The proposed method generates multiple solutions to the inverse kinematics (IK) problem for any given spatial task and the MA chooses the most suitable configuration based on the search objectives. Since the dimension of each robotic link in this optimization is considered telescopic, the proposed method is able to find better solutions to the IK problem than GAs. The case study for a 3-DOF MRR shows that the MA finds solutions to the IK problem much faster than a GA with noticeably less reachability error. Additional case studies show that the proposed MA method can find multiple IK solutions in various scenarios and identify the fittest solution as a suboptimal configuration for the MRR.

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The Genesis and Internal Dynamics of El Salvador's People's Revolutionary Army, 1970–1976

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x13009850 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 38 (01) ◽

pp. 102-129

Author(s):

ALBERTO MARTÍN ÁLVAREZ ◽

EUDALD CORTINA ORERO

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

El Salvador ◽

Early Years ◽

Left Wing ◽

Internal Dynamics ◽

Internal Coherence ◽

The 1960S

AbstractUsing interviews with former militants and previously unpublished documents, this article traces the genesis and internal dynamics of the Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (People's Revolutionary Army, ERP) in El Salvador during the early years of its existence (1970–6). This period was marked by the inability of the ERP to maintain internal coherence or any consensus on revolutionary strategy, which led to a series of splits and internal fights over control of the organisation. The evidence marshalled in this case study sheds new light on the origins of the armed Salvadorean Left and thus contributes to a wider understanding of the processes of formation and internal dynamics of armed left-wing groups that emerged from the 1960s onwards in Latin America.

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Culture and the plasticity of perception

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x19002887 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Lifshitz ◽

T. M. Luhrmann

Keyword(s):

Cultural Context ◽

Sensory Experience ◽

Cultural Learning ◽

The World

Abstract Culture shapes our basic sensory experience of the world. This is particularly striking in the study of religion and psychosis, where we and others have shown that cultural context determines both the structure and content of hallucination-like events. The cultural shaping of hallucinations may provide a rich case-study for linking cultural learning with emerging prediction-based models of perception.

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Dual systems for all: Higher-order, role-based relational reasoning as a uniquely derived feature of human cognition

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x19000451 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel J. Povinelli ◽

Gabrielle C. Glorioso ◽

Shannon L. Kuznar ◽

Mateja Pavlic

Keyword(s):

Temporal Reasoning ◽

Higher Order ◽

Important Case ◽

Human Cognition ◽

Relational Reasoning ◽

Dual Systems ◽

First Order ◽

Reasoning System ◽

Role Based

Abstract Hoerl and McCormack demonstrate that although animals possess a sophisticated temporal updating system, there is no evidence that they also possess a temporal reasoning system. This important case study is directly related to the broader claim that although animals are manifestly capable of first-order (perceptually-based) relational reasoning, they lack the capacity for higher-order, role-based relational reasoning. We argue this distinction applies to all domains of cognition.

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Sociocultural memory development research drives new directions in gadgetry science

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x19000979 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Author(s):

Penny Van Bergen ◽

John Sutton

Keyword(s):

Episodic Memory ◽

Autobiographical Memory ◽

Developmental Psychology ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Memory Development ◽

Development Research ◽

Cultural Research ◽

New Directions ◽

Cross Cultural Research

Abstract Sociocultural developmental psychology can drive new directions in gadgetry science. We use autobiographical memory, a compound capacity incorporating episodic memory, as a case study. Autobiographical memory emerges late in development, supported by interactions with parents. Intervention research highlights the causal influence of these interactions, whereas cross-cultural research demonstrates culturally determined diversity. Different patterns of inheritance are discussed.

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Construction of plastic contact deformation maps on ceramics: a case study on aluminum nitride

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100165641 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 54 ◽

pp. 636-637

Author(s):

D. L. Callahan

Keyword(s):

Plastic Deformation ◽

Aluminum Nitride ◽

Mechanical Response ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Bright Field Image ◽

Perfectly Plastic ◽

Contrast Analysis ◽

Deformation Patterns

Modern polishing, precision machining and microindentation techniques allow the processing and mechanical characterization of ceramics at nanometric scales and within entirely plastic deformation regimes. The mechanical response of most ceramics to such highly constrained contact is not predictable from macroscopic properties and the microstructural deformation patterns have proven difficult to characterize by the application of any individual technique. In this study, TEM techniques of contrast analysis and CBED are combined with stereographic analysis to construct a three-dimensional microstructure deformation map of the surface of a perfectly plastic microindentation on macroscopically brittle aluminum nitride.The bright field image in Figure 1 shows a lg Vickers microindentation contained within a single AlN grain far from any boundaries. High densities of dislocations are evident, particularly near facet edges but are not individually resolvable. The prominent bend contours also indicate the severity of plastic deformation. Figure 2 is a selected area diffraction pattern covering the entire indentation area.

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