Military robot

Military robots are autonomous robots or remote-controlled mobile robots designed for military applications, from transport to search & rescue and attack. Some such systems are currently in use, and many are under development. History Broadly defined, military robots date back to World War II and the Cold War in the form of the German Goliath tracked mines and the Soviet teletanks. The introduction of the MQ-1 Predator drone was when "CIA officers began to see the first practical returns on their decade-old fantasy of using aerial robots to collect intelligence". The use of robots in warfare, although traditionally a topic for science fiction, is being researched as a possible future means of fighting wars. Already several military robots have been developed by various armies. Some believe the future of modern warfare will be fought by automated weapons systems. The U.S. military is investing heavily in the RQ-1 Predator, which can be armed with air-to-ground miss

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Passive Perching with Energy Storage for Winged Aerial Robots

Dario Floreano, Luca Guarino, William John Stewart

Perching in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offers the possibility of extending the range of aerial robots beyond the limits of their batteries. It has been a topic of intense study for multirotor UAVs. Perching in winged UAVs is harder because a kinetic energy balance has to be struck. Reducing too much energy results in the vehicle stalling and falling. Too much kinetic energy at touchdown could damage the vehicle. Most studies used dangerous pitch-up maneuvers to manage this balance. This work presents a system that eliminates the pitch-up maneuver by mechanically capturing and storing kinetic energy at impact. It is validated using a passive mechanical system consisting of a storage mechanism for energy recuperation and a claw for perching on a horizontal rod. The energy stored in the mechanism is then used to unperch. The mathematical model for the recuperation strategy is presented and perching success at various approach attitudes are characterized. The proof-of-concept claw recaptures 5% of the kinetic energy during perching. Experiments indicate that the device can successfully perch at a wide range of yaw angles, but requires more precision in roll. We show that our perching mechanism enables the fastest UAV perching to date (7.4 m s^−1).

2021

Applying Aspects of Multi-Robot Search to Particle Swarm Optimization

Alcherio Martinoli, James Pugh, Loïc Segapelli

We present a modified version of the Particle swarm Optimization algorithm in which we adjust the virtual swarm search by incorporating inter-agent dynamics native to multi-robot search scenarios. The neighborhood structure of PSO is modified to accurately represent feasible neighborhoods in multiple robot systems with limited communication in several different ways. The new algorithms are tested on several standard benchmark problems with a varying number of dimensions and are shown to offer superior performances to the standard algorithm in some cases. Further potential modifications and uses of the new algorithms are discussed.

2006

Foldable and Self-Deployable Pocket Sized Quadrotor

Ludovic Daler, Dario Floreano, Stefano Mintchev, Louis Lazare Saint-Raymond

Aerial robots provide valuable support in several high-risk scenarios thanks to their capability to quickly fly to locations dangerous or even inaccessible to humans. In order to fully benefit from these features, aerial robots should be easy to transport and rapid to deploy. With this aim, this paper focuses on the development of a novel pocket sized quadrotor with foldable arms. The quadrotor can be packaged for transportation by folding its arms around the main frame. Before flight, the quadrotor’s arms self-deploy in 0.3 seconds thanks to the torque generated by the propellers. The paper describes the design strategies used for developing lightweight, stiff and self-deployable foldable arms for miniature quadrotors. The arms are manufactured according to an origami technique with a foldable multi-layer material. A prototype of the quadrotor is presented as a proof of concept and performance of the system is assessed.

2015

Robotics

Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of electronics and communication, computer science and engineering. Robotics involves the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of rob

Unmanned ground vehicle

An unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is a vehicle that operates while in contact with the ground and without an onboard human presence. UGVs can be used for many applications where it may be inconvenie

Ethics of artificial intelligence

The ethics of artificial intelligence is the branch of the ethics of technology specific to artificially intelligent systems. It is sometimes divided into a concern with the moral behavior of humans

MICRO-452: Basics of mobile robotics

The course teaches the basics of autonomous mobile robots. Both hardware (energy, locomotion, sensors) and software (signal processing, control, localization, trajectory planning, high-level control) will be tackled. The students will apply the knowledge to program and control a real mobile robot.

HUM-384: The ethics of robots

This course enables students to sharpen their proficiency in tackling ethical challenges linked to robots. Students acquire the competence to define a robot and identify ethical and legal questions linked to technology and to the increased use of robots in society.

MICRO-502: Aerial robotics

The course provides an introduction to the design, control, and applications of aerial robots. Students will be able to translate theoretical concepts into practice by means of hands-on exercises with simulated drones.