scholarly journals Modular automatic design of collective behaviors for robots endowed with local communication capabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e291
Author(s):  
Ken Hasselmann ◽  
Mauro Birattari
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Swarm Robotics ◽  
Design Method ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Evolutionary Approach ◽  
Automatic Design ◽  
Collective Behaviors ◽  
Local Communication ◽  
Robot Swarms

We investigate the automatic design of communication in swarm robotics through two studies. We first introduce Gianduja an automatic design method that generates collective behaviors for robot swarms in which individuals can locally exchange a message whose semantics is not a priori fixed. It is the automatic design process that, on a per-mission basis, defines the conditions under which the message is sent and the effect that it has on the receiving peers. Then, we extend Gianduja to Gianduja2 and Gianduja 3, which target robots that can exchange multiple distinct messages. Also in this case, the semantics of the messages is automatically defined on a per-mission basis by the design process. Gianduja and its variants are based on Chocolate, which does not provide any support for local communication. In the article, we compare Gianduja and its variants with a standard neuro-evolutionary approach. We consider a total of six different swarm robotics missions. We present results based on simulation and tests performed with 20 e-puck robots. Results show that, typically, Gianduja and its variants are able to associate a meaningful semantics to messages.

scholarly journals Automatic Design of Collective Behaviors for Robots that Can Display and Perceive Colors

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 4654 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Garzón Ramos ◽  
Mauro Birattari
Keyword(s):  
Collective Behavior ◽  
Swarm Robotics ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Automatic Design ◽  
Control Software ◽  
Collective Behaviors ◽  
Robot Swarms ◽  
Software Modules ◽  
Automatic Design Methods

Research in swarm robotics has shown that automatic design is an effective approach to realize robot swarms. In automatic design methods, the collective behavior of a swarm is obtained by automatically configuring and fine-tuning the control software of individual robots. In this paper, we present TuttiFrutti: an automatic design method for robot swarms that belongs to AutoMoDe—a family of methods that produce control software by assembling preexisting software modules via optimization. The peculiarity of TuttiFrutti is that it designs control software for e-puck robots that can display and perceive colors using their RGB LEDs and omnidirectional camera. Studies with AutoMoDe have been so far restricted by the limited capabilities of the e-pucks. By enabling the use of colors, we significantly enlarge the variety of collective behaviors they can produce. We assess TuttiFrutti with swarms of e-pucks that perform missions in which they should react to colored light. Results show that TuttiFrutti designs collective behaviors in which the robots identify the colored light displayed in the environment and act accordingly. The control software designed by TuttiFrutti endowed the swarms of e-pucks with the ability to use color-based information for handling events, communicating, and navigating.

scholarly journals Automatic modular design of robot swarms using behavior trees as a control architecture

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e314
Author(s):  
Antoine Ligot ◽  
Jonas Kuckling ◽  
Darko Bozhinoski ◽  
Mauro Birattari
Keyword(s):  
Swarm Robotics ◽  
Modular Design ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Finite State Machines ◽  
Control Architecture ◽  
Automatic Design ◽  
State Machines ◽  
Collective Behaviors ◽  
Behavior Trees ◽  
Finite State

We investigate the possibilities, challenges, and limitations that arise from the use of behavior trees in the context of the automatic modular design of collective behaviors in swarm robotics. To do so, we introduce Maple, an automatic design method that combines predefined modules—low-level behaviors and conditions—into a behavior tree that encodes the individual behavior of each robot of the swarm. We present three empirical studies based on two missions: aggregation and Foraging. To explore the strengths and weaknesses of adopting behavior trees as a control architecture, we compare Maple with Chocolate, a previously proposed automatic design method that uses probabilistic finite state machines instead. In the first study, we assess Maple’s ability to produce control software that crosses the reality gap satisfactorily. In the second study, we investigate Maple’s performance as a function of the design budget, that is, the maximum number of simulation runs that the design process is allowed to perform. In the third study, we explore a number of possible variants of Maple that differ in the constraints imposed on the structure of the behavior trees generated. The results of the three studies indicate that, in the context of swarm robotics, behavior trees might be appealing but in many settings do not produce better solutions than finite state machines.

scholarly journals Towards an integrated automatic design process for robot swarms

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Darko Bozhinoski ◽  
Mauro Birattari
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
Automatic Design ◽  
Control Software ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Robot Swarm ◽  
Robot Swarms ◽  
Integrated Design Process ◽  
Optimization Based Design

Background: The specification of missions to be accomplished by a robot swarm has been rarely discussed in the literature: designers do not follow any standardized processes or use any tool to precisely define a mission that must be accomplished. Methods: In this paper, we introduce a fully integrated design process that starts with the specification of a mission to be accomplished and terminates with the deployment of the robots in the target environment. We introduce Swarm Mission Language (SML), a textual language that allows swarm designers to specify missions. Using model-driven engineering techniques, we define a process that automatically transforms a mission specified in SML into a configuration setup for an optimization-based design method.  Upon completion, the output of the optimization-based design method is an instance of control software that is eventually deployed on real robots. Results: We demonstrate the fully integrated process we propose on three different missions. Conclusions: We aim to show that in order to create reliable, maintainable and verifiable robot swarms,  swarm designers need to follow standardised automatic design processes that will facilitate the design of control software in all stages of the development.

scholarly journals Empirical assessment and comparison of neuro-evolutionary methods for the automatic off-line design of robot swarms

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Hasselmann ◽  
Antoine Ligot ◽  
Julian Ruddick ◽  
Mauro Birattari
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Automatic Design ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Typical Application ◽  
Collective Behaviors ◽  
Evolutionary Methods ◽  
Robot Swarms ◽  
The Neural Networks ◽  
Real Robot ◽  
Line Design

AbstractNeuro-evolution is an appealing approach to generating collective behaviors for robot swarms. In its typical application, known as off-line automatic design, the neural networks controlling the robots are optimized in simulation. It is understood that the so-called reality gap, the unavoidable differences between simulation and reality, typically causes neural network to be less effective on real robots than what is predicted by simulation. In this paper, we present an empirical study on the extent to which the reality gap impacts the most popular and advanced neuro-evolutionary methods for the off-line design of robot swarms. The results show that the neural networks produced by the methods under analysis performed well in simulation, but not in real-robot experiments. Further, the ranking that could be observed in simulation between the methods eventually disappeared. We find compelling evidence that real-robot experiments are needed to reliably assess the performance of neuro-evolutionary methods and that the robustness to the reality gap is the main issue to be addressed to advance the application of neuro-evolution to robot swarms.

Development of the design method for the optimal design of the Neutron Converter experimental plant

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timur Smetani ◽  
Elizaveta Gureva ◽  
Vyacheslav Andreev ◽  
Natalya Tarasova ◽  
Nikolai Andree
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Design ◽  
Flux Density ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Fast Neutrons ◽  
Experimental Plant ◽  
Plant Design ◽  
State Technical ◽  
Research Organizations ◽  
Neutron Converter

The article discusses methods for optimizing the design of the Neutron Converter research plant design with parameters that are most suitable for a particular consumer. 38 similar plant structures with different materials and sources were calculated, on the basis of which the most optimal options were found. As part of the interaction between OKBM Afrikantov JSC and the Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University named after R. E. Alekseev, the Neutron Converter research plant was designed and assembled. The universal neutron converter is a device for converting a stream of fast neutrons emitted by isotopic sources into a "standardized" value of flux density with known parameters in the volume of the central part of the product, which is the working part of the universal neutron converter. To supply neutron converters to other customer organizations (universities, research organizations and collective centers), it is necessary to take into account the experience of operating an existing facility, as well as rationalize the design process of each specific instance in accordance with the requirements of the customer.

scholarly journals Development of Optimal Design Method for Steel Double-Beam Floor System Considering Rotational Constraints

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 3266
Author(s):  
Insub Choi ◽  
Dongwon Kim ◽  
Junhee Kim
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Steel Beams ◽  
High Gravity ◽  
Double Beam ◽  
Iterative Analysis ◽  
Floor Systems ◽  
Optimal Design Method ◽  
Floor System

Under high gravity loads, steel double-beam floor systems need to be reinforced by beam-end concrete panels to reduce the material quantity since rotational constraints from the concrete panel can decrease the moment demand by inducing a negative moment at the ends of the beams. However, the optimal design process for the material quantity of steel beams requires a time-consuming iterative analysis for the entire floor system while especially keeping in consideration the rotational constraints in composite connections between the concrete panel and steel beams. This study aimed to develop an optimal design method with the LM (Length-Moment) index for the steel double-beam floor system to minimize material quantity without the iterative design process. The LM index is an indicator that can select a minimum cross-section of the steel beams in consideration of the flexural strength by lateral-torsional buckling. To verify the proposed design method, the material quantities between the proposed and code-based design methods were compared at various gravity loads. The proposed design method successfully optimized the material quantity of the steel double-beam floor systems without the iterative analysis by simply choosing the LM index of the steel beams that can minimize objective function while satisfying the safety-related constraint conditions. In particular, under the high gravity loads, the proposed design method was superb at providing a quantity-optimized design option. Thus, the proposed optimal design method can be an alternative for designing the steel double-beam floor system.

Impact of Secondary Flow on the Accuracy of Simplified Design Methods for Steam Turbine Stages

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Schumann ◽  
Ulrich Harbecke ◽  
Daniel Sahnen ◽  
Thomas Polklas ◽  
Peter Jeschke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Flow ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Computing Time ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Preliminary Design ◽  
Line Design ◽  
Radial Equilibrium

The subject of the presented paper is the validation of a design method for HP and IP steam turbine stages. Common design processes have been operating with simplified design methods in order to quickly obtain feasible stage designs. Therefore, inaccuracies due to assumptions in the underlying methods have to be accepted. The focus of this work is to quantify the inaccuracy of a simplified design method compared to 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. Short computing time is very convenient in preliminary design; therefore, common design methods work with a large degree of simplification. The origin of the presented analysis is a mean line design process, dealing with repeating stage conditions. Two features of the preliminary design are the stage efficiency, based on loss correlations, and the mechanical strength, obtained by using the beam theory. Due to these simplifications, only a few input parameters are necessary to define the primal stage geometry and hence, the optimal design can easily be found. In addition, by using an implemented law to take the radial equilibrium into account, the appropriate twist of the blading can be defined. However, in comparison to the real radial distribution of flow angles, this method implies inaccuracies, especially in regions of secondary flow. In these regions, twisted blades, developed by using the simplified radial equilibrium, will be exposed to a three-dimensional flow, which is not considered in the design process. The analyzed design cases show that discrepancies at the hub and shroud section do exist, but have minor effects. Even the shroud section, with its thinner leading-edge, is not vulnerable to these unanticipated flow angles.

Comprehensive Design Method for Open or Ducted Propellers for Underwater Vehicles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spyros A. Kinnas ◽  
Kyungjung Cha ◽  
Seungnam Kim
Keyword(s):  
Design Method ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Underwater Vehicles ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Lattice Method ◽  
B Spline ◽  
Effective Wake ◽  
Propeller Thrust ◽  
Ducted Propellers

A comprehensive method which determines the most efficient propeller blade shapes for a given axisymmetric hull to travel at a desired speed, is presented. A nonlinear optimization method is used to design the blade, the shape of which is defined by a 3-D B-spline polygon, with the coordinates of the B-spline control points being the parameters to be optimized for maximum propeller efficiency, for given effective wake and propeller thrust. The performance of the propeller within the optimization scheme is assessed by a vortex-lattice method (VLM). To account fully for the hull/propeller interaction, the effective wake to the propeller and the hull resistance are determined by analyzing the designed propeller geometry by the VLM, coupled with a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver. The optimization method re-designs the optimum blade with the updated effective wake and propeller thrust (taken to be equal to the updated hull resistance), and the procedure continues until convergence of the propeller performance. The current approach does not require knowledge of the wake fraction or the thrust deduction factor, both of which must be estimated a priori in traditional propeller design. The method is applied for a given hull to travel at a desired speed, and the optimum blades are designed for various combinations of propeller diameter and RPM, in the case of open and ducted propellers with provided duct shapes. The effects of the propeller diameter and RPM on the designed propeller thrust, torque, propeller efficiency, and required power are presented and compared with each other in the case of open and ducted propellers. The present approach is shown to provide guidance on the design of propulsors for underwater vehicles, and is applicable to the design of propulsors for surface ships.

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