Heterogeneous Robotics Systems for Mission Support
Abstract
There are a number of disciplines that utilize robotic systems to improve the efficiency of operations by automating processes used to perform a variety of tasks. The Department of Defense, more specifically, the Army Research Office, is interested in the development of robotic systems that can aid soldiers during field operations. This requires the development of a robotic system framework that allows the robots to work collaboratively with soldiers and other robotic systems. This proposal is a multidisciplinary effort that includes faculty from Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computing and Information Science, the Applied Research Center and the Center for Diversity and Student Success in Engineering and Computing. The team proposes to procure two Spot robots manufactured by Boston Dynamics that includes a six degree-of-freedom arm, cameras, LiDAR and a GPU core for advanced processing and on-board decision making. Spot is a robot that can traverse complex terrains, carry payloads and conduct inspections. The robots will be the basis of a heterogeneous framework that includes UAVs, other mobile platforms and human soldiers. Reinforcement learning, cooperative control and optimal path planning will be investigated with additional challenges associated with the interactions between robotic systems and human soldiers. Challenges will also be addressed that include communication between systems in a complex and dynamic environment with no WiFi or GPS access. The intent is to develop the necessary achetecture to train the robotic systems to conduct field operations, reduce uncertainty in the field and improve the efficiency of the soldiers. The two robots will also significantly impact the training and education of students. Results from the development of cooperative control techniques and machine learning algorithms using the systems will be incorporated into a number of both undergraduate and graduate courses. It will also provide the students with the ability to train with multi-robot systems and gain valuable hands on experience. The Spot robots will also augment the existing suite of systems already used to support K-12 outreach programs and aid in attracting students to enter STEM fields related to robotics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 02, 2022
- Source ID
- W911NF2210220
Entities
People
- Dwayne Mcdaniel
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Florida International University
- United States Army