Modernization of the power grid to meet the growing demand requires significant amount of operational, technological, and infrastructural overhaul. The Department of Energy's "Grid 2030" strategic vision outlines the action plan to alleviate the concerns through the development of a "Smart Grid" (SG). Key emphasis is placed on the role of consumers and their level of interaction with the power grid. Demand response (DR), distributed generation (DG) and distributed energy storage (DES) are some of the key energy management strategies areas within the smart grid paradigm. Majority of the DR programs is currently being supported by commercial and industrial sectors. With the introduction of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and advancements in communication, additional avenues for residential consumers to participate in DR programs is expected to open up. This paper first presents the idea behind the SG and the importance of DR. Currently available DR programs and their benefits are quantified across different regions. Specific DR programs suited for PHEV participation are studied. The economic benefits of controlled charging for the PHEV owner is also evaluated.
Collaborative robots are used in close proximity to humans to perform a variety of tasks, while more traditional industrial robots are required to be stopped whenever a human enters their work-volumes. Instead of relying on physical barriers or merely detecting when someone enters the area, the collaborative system must monitor the position of every person who enters the work space in time for the robot to react. The TC 184/SC 2/WG 3 Industrial Safety group within the International Organization for Standard(ISO) is developing the standards to help ensure collaborative robots operate safely. Collaborative robots require sophisticated sensing technologies that must handle dynamic interactions between the robot and the human. One potential safety risk is the occlusion of a safety sensor's field of view due to placement of objects or the movement of people in front of a safety sensor. In this situation the robot could shut down as soon as even a single sensor was partially occluded. Unfortunately this could greatly diminish the extent to which the robot could work collaboratively. In this paper we examine how a human tracking system using multiple laser line scanners [3]was adapted to work with a robot Speed and Separation Monitoring (SSM) safety system and further modified to include occlusion monitoring.
This paper presents eight novel reusable semantic differential scales measuring a variety of concepts relevant to the field of social HRI: Understandability, Persuasiveness, Naturalness, Appropriateness, Welcome, Appeal, Unobtrusiveness and Ease. These scales were successfully used in two HRI experiments, and were found to have acceptable (> 0.7) or higher levels of internal reliability. These scales are reusable and were designed to simplify comparison between HRI studies, especially in the area of social robotics, where measuring the quality of interaction and social response to robots is of paramount importance.
This paper proposes a test method for measuring the ability of a USV or ROV to fixate on an underwater object, i.e., station-keeping. Station-keeping is needed to permit an operator or domain expert to stay focused on an area in an image long enough to identify objects, such as submerged cars and debris, or a condition, such as scour eroding the underwater footing of a bridge. This problem is different from traditional robot control, as the point is not to measure the positions of the robot and sensor payload but rather how well the system maintains the position of the object in the image. The test method uses the Lucas-Kanade optical flow algorithm in OpenCV to track an inexpensive raised plywood and wire fiducial. The rotational, translational, and root mean square (RMS) error is measured over a 3 minute period as well as number of image frames in which the fiducial was not visible. The method was demonstrated using a DIDSON acoustic camera, but is generalizable to other types of sonars and underwater video cameras.
In this paper, an overview of methods that solve the robotsensor calibration problem of the forms AX = XB and AX = YB is given. Each form will be split into three solutions: separable closed-form solutions, simultaneous closed-form solutions, and iterative solutions. The advantages and disadvantages of each of the solutions in the case of evaluation of perception systems will also be discussed.
This paper describes a model to replicate the dynamics of a walking robot inside USARSim. USARSim is an existing 3D simulator based on the Unreal Engine, which provides facilities for good quality rendering, physics simulation, networking, a highly versatile scripting language and a powerful visual editor. To model the dynamics of a walking robot the balance of the robot in relation with the contact points of the body with the environment has to be calculated. To guarantee a fast frame rate several approximations in this calculation have to be tried, and the performance (both in dynamics and computational effort) is evaluated in a number of experiments. This extension is made and validated for the humanoid robot Nao. On this basis many other applications become possible. A validated simulation allows us to develop and to experiment with typical robotic tasks before they are tested on a real robot.
Competitions are an effective aid to the development and dissemination of standard test methods, especially in rapidly developing, fields with a wide variety of requirements and capabilities such as Urban Search and Rescue robotics. By exposing the development process to highly developmental systems that push the boundaries of current capabilities, it is possible to gain an insight into how the test methods will respond to the robots of the future. The competition setting also allows for the rapid iterative refinement of the test methods and apparatuses in response to new developments. For the research community, introducing the concepts behind the test methods at the research and development stage can also help to guide their work towards the operationally relevant requirements embodied by the test methods and apparatuses. This also aids in the dissemination of the test methods themselves as teams fabricate them in their own laboratories and re-use them in work outside the competition. In this paper, we discuss how international competitions, and in particular the RoboCupRescue Robot League competition, have played a crucial role in the development of standard test metrics for response robots as part of the ASTM International Committee of Homeland Security Applications; Operational Equipment; Robots (E54.08.01). We will also discuss how the competition has helped to drive a vibrant robot developer community towards solutions that are relevant to first responders.
This paper discusses the results of the Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance (RCTA) 2011 baseline assessment conducted over three days in August at the Combined Arms Collective Training Facility at Fort Indiantown Gap, PA. The focus of the effort was on behavior primitives that are necessary for a small robot to autonomously perceive, "Look", and maneuver, "Move", which are two of the five fundamental UGV capabilities identified by the RCTA ("think," "look," "move," "talk," and "work"). An autonomous Talon UGV was challenged to autonomously navigate cul-de-sacs, avoid pedestrians, climb stairs, and negotiate drop-offs, doorways, alleys, and street clutter having both static and dynamic obstacles present. Each of these experimental vignettes had a more detailed set of experimental conditions to be varied (e.g., door width, stair configuration, and obstacle density in a scene.) In addition, a mapping capability was exercised within two buildings to locate walls and room clutter, and a "street view" camera function provided an opportunity for remote interpretation of vision acuity charts mounted on walls within the buildings. The intent was not to revisit physical capabilities of the Talon but rather to determine its autonomous performance over a set of primitive behaviors required for successfully operating in an urban environment with the potential to assist soldiers in reconnaissance or other tasks. The study was successful in identifying some limitations to autonomy, for example, with regard to pedestrian interactions, drop-offs, and doorways but also highlighted an intelligent control system able to overcome varying degrees of disruption in the planned route due to minor and major obstacles.
United States Consortium for Automotive Research (USCAR) conducted a concept feasibility study in 2010--2011 to investigate critical requirements to implement fenceless (the long term goal) or minimally fenced (the short term goal) robotics work cells for automotive applications. One output of the study defines the levels of human and robot collaboration and addresses the levels of complexity that drive the probabilities of successful implementation. The development of these definitions was accomplished through interviews with technology providers, observation of current robot system installations, and discussions with automotive manufacturing engineers and robotic technical experts. In this paper, we attempt to categorize robotic systems for low, medium and high levels of human and robot collaboration with current state application examples in automotive body shop, automotive powertrain manufacturing and assembly, as well as in automotive general assembly. We propose potential human and robot collaboration applications in future state where sensors, when closely integrated with robotic systems with greater dynamic response and related new technology advancements, could enable a closer and more dynamic human and robot collaboration. Finally we highlight the assessment of the successful implementation probabilities for the low, medium, and high levels of human and robot collaborative applications.
In addition to its utility in terrestrial-based applications, Automated Planning and Scheduling (P&S) has had a growing impact on space exploration. Such applications require an influx of new technologies to improve performance while not comprimising safety. As a result, a reliable method to rapidly assess the effectiveness of new P&S algorithms would be desirable to ensure the fulfillment of of all software requirements. This paper introduces RoBen, a mission-independent benchmarking tool that provides a standard framework for the evaluation and comparison of P&S algorithms. RoBen considers metrics derived from the model (the system on which the P&S algorithm will operate) as well as user input (e.g., desired problem complexity) to automatically generate relevant problems for quality assessment. A thorough description of the algorithms and metrics used in RoBen is provided, along with the preliminary test results of a P&S algorithm solving RoBen-generated problems.
This paper describes a novel, low cost HRI testbed for the evaluation of robot movement, gaze, audio style, and media content as a function of proximity. Numerous human-robot interaction studies have established the importance of proxemics in establishing trust and social consonance, but each has used a robot capable of only some component, for example gaze but not audio style. The Survivor Buddy proxemics testbed is expected to serve as blueprint for duplication or inspire the creation of other robots, enabling researchers to rapidly develop and test new schemes of proxemic based control. It is a small, four-degree of freedom, multi-media "head" costing approximately $2,000 USD to build and can be mounted on other robots or used independently. To enable proxemics support, Survivor Buddy can be coupled with either a dedicated range sensor or distance can be extracted from the embedded camera using computer vision. The paper presents a sample demonstration of proxemic competence for Survivor Buddy mounted on a search and rescue robot following the victim management scenario developed by Bethel and Murphy.
This paper presents the design, fabrication and characterization of a single-layer out-of-plane electrothermal actuator based on MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System). The proposed electrothermal actuator is designed to generate motions along the out-of-plane or normal to a wafer by a Joule heating when the current flows through the actuator. This out-of-plane electrothermal actuator is based on a single layer of a SOI (Silicon on Insulator) wafer and two notches near the middle of the actuator beams. Due to these notches, the thermal expansion of the beams in the actuator generates an eccentric loading, which converts into the bending of the beams. This bending of the beam finally generates the out-of-plane motion at the middle of the beam. This behavior is described by the prepared analytic equations and compared by the results from FEM (Finite element Model) analysis. With fabricated samples, a 30 μm displacement is measured along out-of-plane at 5 V driving voltage. The 1st mode of the resonant frequency for the out-of-plane motion is expected to occur at 74.9 kHz from FEA. The proposed actuator is based on the standard SOI-MUMPs (SOI-Multi User Manufacturing Process), so it has good integration capability with other system employing same fabrication techniques. To test its integration capability, a MEMS XYZ stage is fabricated by embedding the proposed out-of-plane electrothermal actuator onto an existing MEMS XY stage. The range of motion of the fabricated XYZ stage is measured about 35 μm x 35 μm x 30 μm along X, Y and Z axes without any changes on its fabrication process.
A proposal for the utilization of Technology Readiness Levels to the application of unstructured bin picking is discussed. A special session was held during the 2012 Performance Metrics for Intelligent Systems workshop to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with the bin picking problem, and to identify the potentials for applying an industry-wide standardized assessment and reporting framework such as Technology Readiness Levels to bin picking. Representative experts from government, academia, and industry were assembled to form a special panel to share their insights into the challenge.
The numerous time synchronization performance requirements in the Smart Grid necessitates a set of common metrics and test methods. The test methods help to verify the ability of the network system and its components to meet the power industry's accuracy, reliability and interoperability criteria for next-generation substations. In order to develop viable metrics and test methods, an IEEE 1588 Testbed for the power industry has been established. To ease the challenges of testing, monitoring and analysis of the results, a software-based testing dashboard was designed and implemented. The dashboard streamlines the performance testing process by converging multiple tests for accuracy, reliability and interoperability into a centralized interface. The dashboard enables real-time visualization and analysis of the results. The paper details the design and implementation of the IEEE 1588 Power Industry Performance Testing Dashboard as well as an update of the preliminary findings from the testbed.
Systems developed to estimate poses of objects in 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF) Cartesian space (X, Y, and Z coordinates plus roll, pitch, and yaw) are reliant on the vendors' own processes to determine performance and measurement accuracy. These practices are not yet standardized, and are rarely reported by the vendors in sufficient detail to enable users and integrators to recreate the process. Efforts must therefore be made to enable the documented and, more importantly, independently repeatable evaluation of such systems using standardized processes, fixtures, and artifacts. In this paper, we describe three 6DOF ground truth systems utilized at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): a laser-tracker-based system for pose measurement, an aluminum fixture-based system that can be used to set the pose of artifacts, and a modular, medium-density fiberboard (MDF) fixture system. Descriptions, characterizations, and measured accuracies of these systems are provided for reference.
This paper presents an overview of our work on integrating language with vision to endow robots with the ability of complex scene understanding. We propose and motivate the Vision-Action-Language loop as a form of cognitive dialogue that enables us to integrate current tools in linguistics, vision and AI. We present several experimental results of preliminary implementation and discuss future research directions that we view as crucial for developing the cognitive robots of the future.
Robotic Minimally Invasive Surgery, and the engendered computer-integration, offers unique opportunities for quantitative computer-based surgical-performance evaluation. In this work, we examine extension of traditional manipulative skill assessment, having deep roots in performance evaluation in manufacturing industries, for applicability to robotic surgical skill evaluation. This method relies on: defining task-level segmentation of modular sub-tasks/micro-motions called 'Therbligs' that can be combined to perform a given task; and analyzing intra-and inter-user performance variance by studying surgeons' performance over each 'Therbligs'. Any of the performance metrics of macro-motions-from motioneconomy, tool motion measurements to handed-symmetry-can now be extended over the micro-motion temporal segments. Evaluation studies were based on video recordings of surgical tasks in two settings: first, we examined performance of two representative manipulation exercises (peg board and pick-and-place) on a da Vinci surgical SKILLS simulator. This affords a relativelycontrolled and standardized test-scenarios for surgeons with varied experience-levels. Second, task-sequences from real surgical videos were analyzed with a list of predefined 'Therbligs' in order to investigate its overall usefulness.
This article introduces the Temple Map Evaluation Toolkit (TMET), which is a tool for evaluating robotic maps produced by existing mapping algorithms. The toolkit performs ground truth based evaluation, i.e. it compares similarities between a map defined as ground truth and a target map. TMET allows for hybrid evaluation, since methods for pose based as well as grid based evaluation are implemented. For pose based evaluation, the user can define regions on the ground truth map which are handled as transformable sub-maps. TMET allows for evaluation of grid based maps as well as segment based maps, and therefore covers most of the representations of maps for existing mapping algorithms. The paper introduces the toolkit and the underlying design principles and algorithms. Experiments with maps from simulated as well as real world data are presented, demonstrating that the tool can be used to evaluate the quality of a map in a quantitative way.
Autonomous robots offer the potential to conduct CounterWeapons of Mass Destruction (C-WMD) missions in an efficient and robust manner. However, to leverage this potential, a mission designer needs to be able to determine how well a robot system will operate in the noisy and uncertain environments that a CWMD mission may require. We are developing a software framework for verification of performance guarantees for CWMD missions based on the MissionLab software system and a novel process algebra approach to representing robot programs and operating environments. In this paper, we report on our initial research for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in understanding what is required from a performance guarantee to give a mission designer the information necessary to understand how well a robot program will perform in a specific environment. We link this to prior work on metrics for robot performance. Using a simple mission scenario, we explore the implications of uncertainty in the four components of the problem: the robot program, and the sensors, actuators and environment with which the program is executed.
Intelligent systems performance is a result of the interaction and cooperation of the system's components with one another and with their environment. In general, those components and subsystems can be fundamentally different in nature, structure and the role each plays in the system's overall activity. It might be possible to measure the performance of each subsystem in its own terms. However, such measures will apply only to the subsystems of the same type. Taking intelligent systems heterogeneity into consideration, the paper argues that to understand and analyze the performance of intelligent systems, it is necessary to develop measures that apply to their different components regardless of their nature. The paper applies communication theory to develop such measures. Accordingly, the activities of an intelligent system and its subsystems are considered to be communication activities. The characteristics of this communication determine the system technical performance. Communication measures are used to define a system's communication state, which reflects the system technical performance regardless of its nature.
