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Tales from a Robotic World. How Intelligent Machines Will Shape Our Future

Dario Floreano, Nicola Nosengo

Stories from the future of intelligent machines—from rescue drones to robot spouses—and accounts of cutting-edge research that could make it all possible. Tech prognosticators promised us robots—autonomous humanoids that could carry out any number of tasks. Instead, we have robot vacuum cleaners. But, as Dario Floreano and Nicola Nosengo report, advances in robotics could bring those rosy predictions closer to reality. A new generation of robots, directly inspired by the intelligence and bodies of living organisms, will be able not only to process data but to interact physically with humans and the environment. In this book, Floreano, a roboticist, and Nosengo, a science writer, bring us tales from the future of intelligent machines—from rescue drones to robot spouses—along with accounts of the cutting-edge research that could make it all possible. These stories from the not-so-distant future show us robots that can be used for mitigating effects of climate change, providing healthcare, working with humans on the factory floor, and more. Floreano and Nosengo tell us how an application of swarm robotics could protect Venice from flooding, how drones could reduce traffic on the congested streets of mega-cities like Hong Kong, and how a “long-term relationship model” robot could supply sex, love, and companionship. After each fictional scenario, they explain the technologies that underlie it, describing advances in such areas as soft robotics, swarm robotics, aerial and mobile robotics, humanoid robots, wearable robots, and even biohybrid robots based on living cells. Robotics technology is no silver bullet for all the world's problems—but it can help us tackle some of the most pressing challenges we face.

MIT Press2022

Uncooperative Rendezvous in Space: Design of an Electronic Architecture for High Performance Avionic with Multi Sensor Input and Intensive Data Rate.

Michaël Yannick Juillard

Active Debris Removal missions consist of sending a satellite in space and removing one or more debris from their current orbit. A key challenge is to obtain information about the uncooperative target. By gathering the velocity, position, and rotation of the desired object, the satellite is able to plan its trajectory and define the sequence of approach. It requires the use of a variety of sensors with often a high data rate. For this task, a dedicated payload computer is envisioned with the responsibility of processing the information from the various rendezvous sensors. This component has the goal to provide meaningful information to the main satellite computer about the targeted debris. The focus of this work is on the data processing, the number of elements, and the electrical energy with constraints due to internal communication.First, an avionic testbench was built at the EPFL Space Center to assess early hardware and software architectures. The goal is to enable Hardware-In-the-Loop testing while developing the payload computer. A communication data bus has been implemented between the Platform and the Payload On-Board Computer. Emphasis was placed on the reliability of the high-level protocol and multiple concepts for improvement were analyzed.In a second phase, the testbench has been extended to support other data buses. The aim was to develop a reliable and efficient backup or fall-back data bus in case of failure in the main link. Four data buses have been tested with extensive analyses on their resilience to error and the efficiency of their data exchange.In parallel, extensive work has been performed to develop a simulation and optimization tool. Its goal is to support the design of payload avionic architectures for ADR missions by providing trade-offs and analyses. In the first iteration, a simulator has been created with instances of various high-level elements modeled.The second iteration introduced the additional dimension of optimization. It is trying to determine the best set of instruments and algorithms to use. With this capability, numerous analyses have been conducted on the influence of various parameters linked to the general optimizer behavior. It allows us to better understand the strength and limitations of the tool.The third step regarding the tool was to start its verification. The task has been to develop an Hardware-In-the-Loop architecture to compare its behavior with the results of the optimizer. The implementation of various mock-up algorithms enables the verification of their models in the tool. These analyses guarantee the feasibility of the outputted solution.The last part was dedicated to the creation and analysis of a realistic payload avionic architecture. The goal was to test the capability of the tool with hardware elements inspired by actual components. This work has shown the procedure to efficiently use the tool in the design phase of a mission.In conclusion, the work on the communication between the Payload and the Platform On-Board Computer has brought valuable lessons and experiences to the projects. They can now be used for the establishment of the high-level protocol into ClearSpace-1 flight software. In addition, the optimizer created allows tackling the design of complex payload avionic architecture where mass saving and processing resources are crucial. It is an essential point to develop a highly efficient payload computer for an Active Debris Removal satellite.

EPFL2022

How to support teachers to carry out educational robotics activities in school? The case of Roteco, the Swiss robotic teacher community

Sophia Reyes Mury

The development of 21st-century transversal competences such as communication, cooperation, and creativity as well as computational thinking and programming may be aided through educational robotics (ER). Different countries have inserted ER in their school curricula, however, to date ER activities are not carried out systematically in all schools and are more an initiative from single pioneer teachers. In Switzerland, to support all teachers to carry out ER activities and to foster the presence of ER in schools, a robotic teacher community (Roteco) has been created. Teachers may obtain assistance, share experiences, and access instructional resources through a digital platform, which will help them and spread the use of robotics in the classroom. For instance, the site enables educators to simply submit their activities, connect with other educators and professionals, choose and download didactic activities from their peers together with the relevant resources, and stay updated on the newest information, events, research, and further education courses in the field of ER. In the first years of the platform’s existence, already more than 1,400 teachers have joined it. The project and the findings of two surveys are presented in this publication. The first survey was carried out in 2020 with 87 teachers and the second one in 2021 with 48 teachers from the community. The findings highlight the community’s greatest accomplishments as well as the motivations for teachers’ recruitment into the Roteco community and their contributions to its expansion. The results of this project allow for discussion on how to support teachers to implement ER activities in schools in a systematic way.

2022

Thymio: un robot pour se former à l'informatique (Valais)

Tales from a Robotic World. How Intelligent Machines Will Shape Our Future

Uncooperative Rendezvous in Space: Design of an Electronic Architecture for High Performance Avionic with Multi Sensor Input and Intensive Data Rate.

How to support teachers to carry out educational robotics activities in school? The case of Roteco, the Swiss robotic teacher community

Tales from a Robotic World. How Intelligent Machines Will Shape Our Future

Uncooperative Rendezvous in Space: Design of an Electronic Architecture for High Performance Avionic with Multi Sensor Input and Intensive Data Rate.

How to support teachers to carry out educational robotics activities in school? The case of Roteco, the Swiss robotic teacher community