Table Of ContentMULTI-ROBOT SYSTEMS:
FROM SWARMS TO INTELLIGENT AUTOMATA
MULTI-ROBOT SYSTEMS:
FROM SWARMS TO
INTELLIGENT AUTOMATA
Proceedings from the 2002 NRL
Workshop on Multi-Robot Systems
Edited by
Alan C. Schultz
Naval Research Laboratory,
Washington D.C., U.S.A.
and
Lynne E. Parker
Oak Ridge Natiunal Laburatory,
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library ofCongress.
ISBN 978-90-481-6046-4 ISBN 978-94-017-2376-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-2376-3
Printed an acid-free paper
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© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2002
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Contents
Preface IX
Part I Localization, Mapping and Navigation
On the Positional Uncertainty of Multi-Robot Cooperative Localization 3
Ioannis M. Rekleitis, Gregory Dndek" and Evangelos E. Milios
A Multi-Agent System for Multi-Robot Mapping and Exploration 11
K nrt K onolige, Didier Gnzzoni, and Keith Nicewarner
Distributed Heterogeneous Sensing for Outdoor Multi-Robot
Localization, Mapping, and Path Planning 21
Lynne E. Parker, Kingsley Fregene, Yi Guo, and Raj Madhavan
Mission-Relevant Collaborative Observation and Localization 31
Ashley W. Stroupe, and Tucker Balch
Deployment and Localization for Mobile Robot Teams 41
Andrew Howard and Maja J Mataric
Multiple Autonomous Robots for UXO Clearance, the Basic UXO
Gathering System (BUGS) Project 53
Tuan N. Nguyen, Christopher O'Donnell, and Tuan B. Nguyen
Part II Distributed Survelliance
Programming and Controlling the Operations of a Team of
Miniature Robots 65
Paul E. Rybskb, Sascha A. Stoeter, Maria Gini,
and Nikolaos rapanikolopoulos
Autonomous Flying Vehicle Research at the University of
Southern California 73
Srikanth Saripalli, David J. NajJin, and Gaurav S. Sukhatme
v
vi MULTI-ROBOT SYSTEMS
Part III Manipulation
Distributed Manipulation of Multiple Objects Using Ropes 83
Bruce Donald, Larry Gariepy, and Daniela Rus
A Distributed Multi-Robot System for Cooperative Manipulation 93
Aveek Das, John Spletzer, Vijay Kumar, and Camillo Taylor
Part IV Coordination and Formations
A Layered Architecture for Coordination of Mobile Robots 103
Reid Simmons, Trey Smith, M. Bernardine Dias, Dani Goldberg,
David Hershberger, Anthony Stentz, and Robert Zlot
Stability Analysis of Decentralized Cooperative Controls 113
John T. Feddema and David A. Schoenwald
Snow White and the 700 Dwarves 123
Brian H. Wilcox
Part V Sensor and Hardware Issues
GOATS: Multi-platform Sonar Concept for Coastal Mine
Countermeasures 133
Henrik Schmidt and Joseph R. Edwards
Design of the UMN Multi-Robot System 141
Andrew Drenner, Ian Burt, Brian Chapeau Tom Dahlin, Bradley
Kratochvil, Colin McMillen, Brad Nelso.,,!~ Nikolaos Pap_anikoIQPoulos,
Paul E. Rybski, Kristen Stubbs, David waletzko, and Kemal Berk Yesin
Simulating Self-Organization With the Digital Hormone Model 149
Wei-Min Shen and Cheng-Ming Chuong
Part VI Design and Learning
Architecting a Simulation and Development Environment for
Multi-RObot Teams 161
Stephen Balakirsky, Elena Messina, and James Albus
RobotSoccer: A Multi-Robot Challenge 169
Manuela M. Veloso
Part VII Human/Robot Interaction
Human-Robot Interactions: Creating Synergistic Cyber Forces 177
Jean C. Scholtz
Communicating with Teams of Cooperative Robots 185
Contents vii
D. Perzanowskj; A.C. Schultz, W. Adams, M. Skubic, M. Abramson,
M. Bugajska, Marsh, J. G. Trafton, and D. Brock
J!j.
Robot as Partner: Vehicle Teleoperation with Collaborative Control 195
Terrence Fong and Charles Thorpe, Charles Baur
Adaptive Multi-Robot, Multi-Operator Work Systems 203
Aaron C. Morris, Charles K. Smart, and Scott M. Thayer
User Interaction with Multi-Robot Systems 213
David Kortenkamp, Debra Schreckenghost, and Cheryl Martin
Human-Robot Interactions in Robot-Assisted Urban Search and Rescue 221
Robin Murphy and Jenn Casper
Usability Issues for Designing Multi-Robot Missions 223
Ronald C. Arkin
Perception-Based Navigation for Mobile Robots 225
K. Kawamura, D. M. Wilkes, A.B. Koku, and T. Keskinpala
Author Index 235
Preface
In March 2002, the Naval Research Laboratory brought together leading
researchers and government sponsors for a three-day workshop in Washington,
D.C. on Multi-Robot Systems.
The workshop began with presentations by various government program
managers describing application areas and programs with an interest in multi
robot systems. Government representatives were on hand from the Office of
Naval Research, the Air Force, the Army Research Lab, the National Aeronau
tics and Space Administration, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency.
Top researchers then presented their current activities in the areas of multi
robot systems and human-robot interaction. The first two days of the workshop
concentrated on multi-robot control issues, including the topics of1ocalizatio~.
mapping, and navigation; distributed surveillance; manipulation; coordination
and formations; and sensors and hardware. The third day was focused on hu
man interactions with multi-robot teams. All presentations were given in a
single-track workshop format. This proceedings documents the work presented
by these researchers at the workshop.
The invited presentations were followed by panel discussions, in which all
participants interacted to highlight the challenges of this field and to develop
possible solutions. In addition to the invited research talks, students were given
an opportunity to present their work at poster sessions.
This workshop was held in advance of the formal meeting of the NATO
working group IST-032IRTG-014 on Multi-Robot Systems in Military Do
mains. The workshop itself was held, in part, as a way to let the NATO working
group members learn more about current efforts within the United States.
We would like to thank the Naval Research Laboratory for sponsoring this
workshop and providing the facilities for these meetings to take place, and to
the Office of Naval Research for their generous student travel grants.
We are extremely grateful to Magdalena Bugajska and Mitchell A. Potter
for their vital help (and long hours) in editing these proceedings. Michelle
Caccivio provided the administrative support to the workshop.
ALAN C. SCHULTZ AND LYNNE E. PARKER
IX
I
LOCALIZATION, MAPPING AND
NAVIGATION
ON THE POSITIONAL UNCERTAINTY
OF MULTI-ROBOT COOPERATIVE
LOCALIZATION
Ioannis M. Rekleitis, Gregory Dudek
Centre for Intelligent Machines, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
{yiannis,dudek} @cim.mcgill.ca
Evangelos E. Milios
Faculty of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
eem@cs.dal.ca
Abstract This paper deals with terrain mapping and position estimation using multiple
robots. Here we will discuss work where a larger group of robots can mutually
estimate one another's position (in 2D or 3D) and uncertainty using a sample
based (particle filter) model of uncertainty. Our prior work has dealt with a pair
of robots that estimate one another's position using visual tracking and coordi
nated motion and we extend these results and consider a richer set of sensing and
motion options. In particular, we focus on issues related to confidence estimation
for groups of more than two robots.
Keywords: Cooperative Localization, Multi-Robot Navigation, Position Estimation, Local
ization, Mapping.
1. INTRODUCTION
In this paper we discuss the benefits of cooperative localization for a team
of mobile robots. The term cooperative localization describes the technique
whereby the members of a team of robots estimate one another's positions.
This is achieved by employing a special sensor (robot tracker) that estimates
a function of the pose of a moving robot relative to one or more stationary
ones (see section 1.1). Furthermore, we consider the effects of different robot
tracker sensors on the accuracy of localization for a moving robot using only
the information from the rest of the robots (as opposed to observations of the
environment). This approach results in an open loop estimate (with respect
3
A. C. Schultz and L.E. Parker (eds.), Multi-Robot Systems: From Swarms to Intelligent Automata, 3-\ O.
''G 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
