15 accepted papers
Ground texture localization using a downward-facing camera offers a low-cost, high-precision localization solution that is robust to dynamic environments and requires no environmental modification. We present a significantly improved bag-of-words (BoW) image retrieval system for ground texture local
Automating design minimizes errors, accelerates the design process, and reduces cost. However, automating robot design is challenging due to recursive constraints, multiple design objectives, and cross-domain design complexity possibly spanning multiple abstraction layers. Here we look at the proble
This paper explores automated robotic construction of clocháin<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup>, a type of corbelled rock shelter, traditionally crafted by skilled workers. While robots have been employed for simple dry-stacking ta
This paper investigates the importance and design implications for use of rectangular blocks in collective robotic construction systems with distributed control. Specifically, we introduce an automated solver for optimizing the overlaps in user-specified structures; a new robot design capable of man
Robots are especially useful in cold, remote, and inhospitable environments such as polar regions and extraterrestrial settings. Due to subfreezing temperatures and limited resources in these environments, robots made of ice are particularly advantageous. In this paper we demonstrate how the solid a…
Pruning weight is indicative of a vine’s ability to produce a crop the following year, informing vineyard management. Current methods for estimating pruning weight are costly, laborious, and/or require specialized know-how and equipment. In this paper we demonstrate an affordable, simple, computer v…
We present a lightweight ground texture based localization algorithm (L-GROUT) that improves the state of the art in performance and can be run in real-time on single board computers without GPU acceleration. Such computers are ubiquitous on small indoor robots and thus this work enables high-precis…
Effective design automation for building robots would make development faster and easier while also less prone to design errors. However, complex multi-domain constraints make creating such tools difficult. One persistent challenge in achieving this goal of design automation is the fundamental probl…
The ability to autonomously build strong, dry-stacked structures with in-situ objects would enable new robotic applications in disaster response and remote site preparation. Previous works have demonstrated that heuristics adapted from masonry manuals allow robots to build freestanding dry-stacked s
Communication is an important capability for multi-robot exploration because (1) inter-robot communication (comms) improves coverage efficiency and (2) robot-to-base comms improves situational awareness. Exploring comms-restricted (e.g., subterranean) environments requires a multi-robot system to to
The ability to autonomously modify their environment dramatically increases the capability of robots to operate in unstructured environments. We develop a specialized construction algorithm and robotic system that can autonomously build motion support structures with previously unseen objects. The a…
We introduce a fast approximate stability analysis into an automated dry stacking procedure. Evaluating structural stability is essential for any type of construction, but especially challenging in techniques where building elements remain distinct and do not use fasteners or adhesives. Due to the i…
We present and validate a property-driven autonomous system that modifies its environment to achieve and maintain navigability over a highly irregular 3-dimensional terrain. In our approach we use decision procedures that tie building actions to the terrain model, giving rise to adaptive and robust…
We propose a reinforcement learning approach for automatically building dry stacked (i.e. no mortar) structures with irregular objects. Stacking irregular objects is a challenging problem since each assembly action can be drawn from a continuous space of poses for an object, and several local geomet…
We describe a method for automatically building structures from stacked, irregularly shaped objects. This is a simplified model for the problem of building dry stacked structures (i.e. no mortar) from found stones. Although automating such construction methods would be ideally suited for disaster ar…