Unmanned systems are often used to augment the ability of humans to perform challenging tasks. While the value of
individual unmanned vehicles has been proven for a variety of tasks, it is less understood how multiple unmanned
systems should be used together to accomplish larger missions such as site security. The purpose of this paper is to
discuss efforts by researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to explore the utility and practicality of operating
multiple unmanned systems for a site security mission. This paper reviews the technology developed for a multi-agent
mission and summarizes the lessons-learned from a technology demonstration.
The Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been researching autonomous unmanned
vehicle systems for over fifteen years. Areas of research have included unmanned ground and aerial vehicles used for
hazardous and remote operations as well as teamed together for advanced payloads and mission execution. Areas of
application include aerial particulate sampling, cooperative remote radiological sampling, and persistent surveillance
including real-time mosaic and geo-referenced imagery in addition to high-resolution still imagery. Both fixed-wing and
rotary airframes are used possessing capabilities spanning remote control to fully autonomous operation. Patented INL-developed
auto steering technology is taken advantage of to provide autonomous parallel path swathing with either
manned or unmanned ground vehicles. Aerial look-ahead imagery is utilized to provide a common operating picture for
the ground and air vehicles during cooperative missions. This paper will discuss the various robotic vehicles, including
sensor integration, used to achieve these missions and anticipated cost and labor savings.
The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), through collaboration with INSAT Co., has developed a low cost robotic auto-steering system for parallel contour swathing. The capability to perform parallel contour swathing while minimizing “skip” and “overlap” is a necessity for cost-effective crop management within precision agriculture. Current methods for performing parallel contour swathing consist of using a Differential Global Position System (DGPS) coupled with a light bar system to prompt an operator where to steer. The complexity of operating heavy equipment, ensuring proper chemical mixture and application, and steering to a light bar indicator can be overwhelming to an operator. To simplify these tasks, an inexpensive robotic steering system has been developed and tested on several farming implements. This development leveraged research conducted by the INEEL and Utah
State University. The INEEL-INSAT Auto-Steering Software and Equipment Technology provides the following: 1) the ability to drive in a straight line within ± 2 feet while traveling at least 15 mph, 2) interfaces to a Real Time Kinematic (RTK) DGPS and sub-meter DGPS, 3) safety features such as Emergency-stop, steering wheel deactivation, computer watchdog deactivation, etc., and 4) a low-cost, field-ready system that is easily adapted to other systems.
Micro-robots may soon be available for deployment by the thousands. Consequently, controlling and coordinating a force this large to accomplish a prescribed task is of great interest. This paper describes a flexible architecture for deploying thousands of autonomous robots simultaneously. The robots' behavior is based on a subsumption architecture in which individual behaviors are prioritized with respect to all others. The primary behavior explored in this paper is group formation behavior drawn from the work in social potential fields applications conducted by Reif and Wang, and Dudehoeffer and Jones. While many papers have examined the application of social potential fields in a simulation environment, this paper describes the implementation of this behavior in a collective of small robots.
The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) and Utah State University's Center for Self-Organizing and Intelligent Systems have developed a team of autonomous robotic vehicles. This paper discusses the development of a strategy that uses a sophisticated, highly intelligent sensor platform to allow centralized coordination between smaller and inexpensive robots. The three components of the multi-agent cooperative scheme are small-scale robots, large-scale robots, and the central control station running a mission and path- planning software. The smaller robots are used for activities where the probability of loss increases, such as Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) or mine detonation. The research is aimed at building simple, inexpensive multi-agent vehicles and an intelligent navigation and multi-vehicle coordination system suitable for UXO, environmental remediation or mine detection. These simplified robots are capable of conducting hunting missions using low-cost positioning sensors and intelligent algorithms. Additionally, a larger sensor-rich intelligent system capable of transporting smaller units to outlying remote sites has been developed. The larger system interfaces to the central control station and provides navigation assistance to multiple low-cost vehicles. Finally, mission and path-planning software serves as the operator control unit, allowing central data collection, map creation and tracking, and an interface to the larger system as well as each smaller unit. The power of this scheme is the ability to scale to the appropriate level for the complexity of the mission.
An important need while using unmanned vehicles is the ability for the remote operator or observer to easily and accurately perceive the operating environment. A classic problem in providing a complete representation of the remote work area is sensory overload or excessive complexity in the human-machine interface. In addition, remote operations often benefit from depth perception capability while viewing or manipulating objects. Thus, there is an on going effort within the remote and teleoperated robotic field to develop better human-machine interfaces. The Department of Energy's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) has been researching methods to simplify the human-machine interface using atypical operator techniques. Initial telepresence research conducted at the INEEL developed and implemented a concept called the VirtualwindoW. This system minimized the complexity of remote stereo viewing controls and provided the operator the 'feel' of viewing the environment, including depth perception, in a natural setting. The VirtualwindoW has shown that the human-machine interface can be simplified while increasing operator performance. This paper deals with the continuing research and development of the VirtualwindoW to provide a reconfigurable, modular system that easily utilizes commercially available off the shelf components. This adaptability is well suited to several aspects of unmanned vehicle applications, most notably environmental perception and vehicle control.
Regulatory agencies are imposing limits and constraints to protect the operator and/or the environment. While generally necessary, these controls also tend to increase cost and decrease efficiency and productivity. Intelligent computer systems can be made to perform these hazardous tasks with greater efficiency and precision without danger to the operators. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and the Center for Self-Organizing and Intelligent Systems at Utah State University have developed a series of autonomous all-terrain multi-agent systems capable of performing automated tasks within hazardous environments. This pare discusses the development and application of cooperative small-scale and large-scale robots for use in various activities associated with radiologically contaminated areas, prescription farming, and unexploded ordinances.
A growing concern with the rapid advances in technology is robotic systems will become so complex that operators will be overwhelmed by the complexity and number of controls. Thus, there is a need within the remote and teleoperated robotic field for better man-machine interfaces. Telepresence attempts to bring real world senses to the operator, especially where the scale and orientation of the robot is so different from the scale of a human operator. This paper reports on research performed at the INEL which identified and evaluated current developments in telepresence best suited for nuclear applications by surveying of national laboratories, universities, and evaluation of commercial products available in industry. The resulting telepresence system, VirtualwindoW, attempts to minimize the complexity of robot controls and to give the operator the 'feel' of the environment without actually contacting items in the environment. The authors of this report recommend that a prolonged use study be conducted on the VirtualwindoW to determine and bench mark the length of time users can be safely exposed to this technology. In addition, it is proposed that a stand alone system be developed which combines the existing multi-computer platform into a single processor telepresence platform. The stand alone system would provide a standard camera interface and allow the VirtualwindoW to be ported to other telerobotic systems.
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