9 accepted papers
The use of cables for aerial manipulation has shown to be a lightweight and versatile way to interact with objects. However, fastening objects using cables is still a challenge and human is required. In this work, we propose a novel way to secure objects using hitches. The hitch can be formed and mo…
This work deals with the problem of planning conflict-free paths for mobile robots in cluttered environments. Since centralized, coupled planning algorithms are computationally intractable for large numbers of robots, we consider decoupled planning, in which robots plan their paths sequentially in o…
There is a rising demand for multiple-cable controlled robots in stadiums or warehouses due to its low cost, longer operation time, and higher safety standards. In a cluttered environment, the cables can wrap around obstacles, but careful choice needs to be made for the initial cable configurations
In this paper we consider the problem of autonomous exploration of an unknown, GPS-denied environment using a swarm of robots with very limited resources and limited sensing capabilities. To that end we use a landmark complex, a simplicial complex utilizing an observation of landmarks, as a topologi…
Autonomous marine vehicles (AMVs) are typically deployed for long periods of time in the ocean to monitor different physical, chemical, and biological processes. Given their limited energy budgets, it makes sense to consider motion plans that leverage the dynamics of the surrounding flow field so as
There is extensive literature on using convex optimization to derive piece-wise polynomial trajectories for controlling differential flat systems with applications to three-dimensional flight for Micro Aerial Vehicles. In this work, we propose a method to formulate trajectory generation as a quadrat
We address the development of the theory and algorithms that can enable a swarm of inexpensive robots or mobile sensors to create topological maps of unknown environments without explicitly requiring metric information. Topological maps are sparse and faithful representations of environments, and ar
Autonomous surface and underwater vehicles (ASVs and AUVs) are increasingly being used for persistent monitoring of ocean phenomena. Typically, these vehicles are deployed for long periods of time and must operate with limited energy budgets. As a result, there is increased interest in recent years…
We consider the problem of deploying a swarm of mobile robots into an unknown environment for attaining complete sensor coverage of the environment. The robots have limited and noisy sensing capabilities and no metric or global information available to them. Using tools from algebraic topology, we f…