In this paper we present an architecture for the operation of an assistive robot finally aimed at allowing users with severe motion disabilities to perform manipulation tasks that may help in daily-life operations. The robotic system, based on a lightweight robot manipulator, receives high level commands from the user through a Brain-Computer Interface based on P300 paradigm. The motion of the manipulator is controlled relying on a closed loop inverse kinematic algorithm that simultaneously manages multiple set-based and equalitybased tasks. The software architecture is developed relying on widely used frameworks to operate BCIs and robots (namely, BCI2000 for the operation of the BCI and ROS for the control of the manipulator) integrating control, perception and communication modules developed for the application at hand. Preliminary experiments have been conducted to show the potentialities of the developed architecture.
The operation of a ROV requires significant off-shore dedicated manpower to handle and operate the robotic platform. In order to reduce the burden of operations, DexROV proposes to work out more cost effective and time efficient ROV operations, where manned support is in a large extent delocalized onshore (i.e. from a ROV control center), possibly at a large distance from the actual operations, relying on satellite communications. The proposed scheme makes provision for advanced dexterous manipulation capabilities, exploiting human expertise from a remote location when deemed useful. The outcomes of the project will be integrated and evaluated in a series of tests and evaluation campaigns, culminating with a realistic deep sea (1,300 meters) trial. After one year, the project specified the system architecture of the system and carried out preliminary technological trade-offs for the subsystems
In this paper, we present DexROV, a funded EC Horizon 2020 project that proposes to implement novel operation strategies for underwater semi-autonomous interventions. These costly and demanding operations are more and more often performed by ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles), contributing to risks cutting for human divers. However ROV operations require offshore structures, hosted on a support vessel with a crew of a significant amount of personnel necessary to properly handle and operate the robotic platform. One of the key goals of DexROV is to delocalize on-shore the manned support as much as possible, reducing the crew onboard the support vessel and consequently the whole operation costs and risks. The Control Center is located onshore, far away from the actual operation location. Operators interact with the ROV through a simulation environment that exploit 3D models of the environment built online relying on the perception and modeling capabilities of the robotic system and transmitted via satellite communication. Currently ROVs lack the dexterous capabilities needed to perform many kind of operations, for which human divers are still necessary. DexROV addresses this problem, equipping the ROV with two 6 DoF (Degrees of Freedom) dexterous manipulators with anthropomorphic end-effectorsand providing semi-autonomous capabilities. The control will rely on a multi-task priority approach that will help the operator to focus on the main operation, leaving the low-level tasks to be autonomously performed by the ROV.
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