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Integrated CPS Project or B.Sc. Thesis: Mobile Navigation via micro-ROS

Supervisors:

Start date: October 2022

 

Qualifications

  • Interest in controlling and simulating mobile robotics
  • Interest in Programming in Python and ROS or ROS2
 
Keywords: Mobile robot control, robot operating system (ROS), ESP32

Description

The goal of this project or thesis is to develop a control and sensing interface for our mobile robot “RMP220“. The RMP220 has two powerful brush-less motors equipped with two magnetic encoders.

Learn in this project how to read the sensor values and how to control the motors via micro-ros on a ESP32 controller.

Links:

 

Note: This project is also offered as Internship position.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MfNrxHXwow

Single Person Project or Team Work

You may work on the project alone or in teams of up to 4 persons.

For a team work task, the goals will be extended to control the robot via ROS 2 and to simulate it in Gazebo or RViz.

Interested?

If this project sounds like fun to you, please contact Linus Nwankwo or Elmar Rueckert or simply visit us at our chair in the Metallurgie building, 1st floor.

190.006 Seminar for Doctoral Students (4SH, WS)

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Elmar Rueckert is organizing this doctoral seminar.

The goals of this course are

  • Instruction in the scientific treatment of problems in machine learning,
    robotics and cyber-physical systems.
  • Presentation and defense of own hypotheses in the field of the respective dissertation.
  • Guidelines for writing scientific papers at an international level.
  • Discussion of the content and structure of a doctoral thesis.
  • Discussion of CVs with examples of Ph.Ds., Postdocs, early career stage professors and of full professors.
  • Discussion on potential career paths and differences in the individual systems.

Language:
English only

You are a doctoral student and would like to learn how AI achievements are presented, defended, and discussed?

This course will give you the opportunity to discuss all aspects of a doctoral thesis and of potential career paths in AI. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Elmar Rueckert will discuss best practices in publishing, presenting and how to get the ideal future job.

Dates

    • 07.10.22 13:15 Univ.-Prof. Dr. Elmar Rueckert gives an Introduction to the content of the doctoral seminar. Also online via: https://unileoben.webex.com/meet/elmar.rueckert
    • 14.10.22 13:15 – 17:30
    • 21.10.22 13:15 – 17:30
    • 28.10.22 13:15 – 17:30
    • 04.11.22 13:15 – 17:30
    • 11.11.22 13:15 – 17:30
    • 18.11.22 13:15 – 17:30
    • 25.11.22 13:15 – 17:30
    • 02.12.22 13:15 – 17:30
    • 09.12.22 13:15 – 17:30
    • 16.12.22 13:15 – 17:30
    • 13.01.23 13:15 – 17:30
    • 20.01.23 13:15 – 17:30
    • 27.01.23 13:15 – 17:30

Location & Time

Links and Resources

560.002 Do-it Lab Mechanical Engineering (1SH P, WS )

You have no prior experience with robots but would like to work with them?

If so, this hands-on project will enable you to build and control your own robot.

You will use Python to program intelligent navigation or even learning strategies. 

At the end of the practical project, we discuss your achievements and what you have learnt.

You can work on your own or build a team of up to three people at most. We provide a student lab with all-in-one-pcs prepared to code in Python on an ubuntu os.

The project is based on code examples, wiki pages and video tutorials for non-experts.

Links and Resources

Location & Time

Learning objectives / qualifications

  • Students get a practical experience in working, programming and understanding autonomous robots in navigation and obstacle avoidance tasks.
  • Students understand and can apply classical robot path planning and navigation algorithms.
  • Students learn how to present their implementation, assumptions and achievements.

Universal Robot UR3e

Picture Source: https://www.universal-robots.com [visited at 20.07.2022]

The UR3e from Universal Robots is an ultra-light, compact, collaborative table-top robot that can effortlessly perform high-precision assembly and screwdriving tasks, for example. It has a reach of 500 mm and can carry up to 3 kg of weight.

Links

  • For more information about the Universal Robots company and the robots they build, visit their website at: https://www.fanuc.eu/uk/en

Videos

  • Research videos using the robot will be presented here. 
 

Publications

  • Publications about the robot as well as related topics will be found here.

FANUC CRX-10iA

The FANUC CRX-10iA robot is a six-axis robot that has a reach of 1249 mm and can carry up to 10 kg of weight. The reliability and sensitive touch detection allows the CRX-10iA to work safely alongside humans in a variety of industrial and manufacturing tasks.

Links

Videos

  • Research videos using the robot will be presented here. 
 

Publications

  • Publications about the robot as well as related topics will be found here.

Open Source Mobile Robot

CPS presents a guide to build an open-source modular mobile platform for research, navigation and logistics applications. Its design leveraged off-the-shelf (OTS) components, additive manufacturing technologies, aluminium profiles, and consumable hover-board high-torque brushless direct current (BLDC) motors. It is compatible with the robot operating system (ROS) with a maximum payload of 90kg.

It provides a simple yet robust framework for contextualising simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) algorithms, which are the fundamental prerequisites for autonomous navigating robots. It features several control approaches such as remote control from RC devices, Android-based devices, hand gestures, ROS rqt etc.

Components

Sensors:

  • RPLIDAR A2 M8

  • RealSense Depth Camera D435i

  • Intel Realsense Tracking Camera T265

  • Turnigy 9X 2,4 GHz 8CH Receiver (V2)

Power Supply:

  • VARTA Slim Power Bank – 18000 mAh

  • 36V Lithium-ion battery 4400mAh

Electronics:

  • 2 x 6,5“  hoverboard brushless DC (BLDC) motors with 15 pole pairs

  • Nvidia Jetson Nano B01 64GB

  • Arduino Mega 2650 Rev3

  • ODRIVE 56V V3.6

Videos

Publications

More information can be found in the publication: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2023.e00426

Links

RMP Lite 220

Picture Source: https://robotics.segway.com/ [visited at 15.07.2022]

The RMP Lite 220 is a highly adaptable robot which can be used for different scenarios like f.e. indoor/outdoor delivery, patrolling, service, cleaning, AFV (warehouse), or other special applications.

Links


Videos

  • Research videos using the robot will be presented here. 
 

Publications

  • Publications about the robot as well as related topics will be found here.

M.Sc. Thesis: Nikolaus Feith on A Motor Control Learning Framework for Cyber Physical Systems

Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr Elmar Rückert
Start date: 1st of July 2021

Theoretical difficulty: mid
Practical difficulty: mid

Abstract

 A central problem in robotics is the description of the movement of a robot. This task is complex, especially for robots with high degrees of freedom. In the case of complex movements, they can no longer be programmed manually. Instead, they are taught to the robot utilizing machine learning. The Motor Control Learning framework presents an easy-to-use method for generating complex trajectories. Dynamic Movement Primitives is a method for describing movements as a non-linear dynamic system. Here, the trajectories are modelled by weighted basis functions, whereby the machine learning algorithms must determine only the respective weights. Thus, it is possible for complex movements to be defined by a few parameters. As a result, two motion learning methods were implemented. When imitating motion demonstrations, the weights are determined using regression methods. A reinforcement learning algorithm is used for policy optimization to generate waypoint trajectories. For this purpose, the weights are improved iteratively through a cost function using the covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy. The generated trajectories were evaluated in experiments. 

Thesis Document

Data Science Summer School 2022, Leoben

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Elmar Rueckert presents in his two slots how machine learning approaches can be used in robotics. 

Materials for the Robotics Workshop

Clemens Fritze, B.Sc.

Student Assistant at the Montanuniversität Leoben

Foto_20220621

Short bio: Clemens Fritze, B.Sc B.Sc started at CPS in July 2022. After a short break he joined the team again in November 2023.

Clemens Fritze is a master student at the Montanuniversität Leoben. Prior to his master program he studied Mechanical Engineering at the Montanuniversität Leoben, where he passed his Bachelor defense in May 2022. In 2018, Mr. Fritze finished a Bachelor study in Business Informatics at the university of applied science in Vienna (german FH Technikum Wien).

Research Interests

  • Robotics
  • Applied Machine Learning
  • IoT

Thesis

Contact

Clemens Fritze, B.Sc B.Sc.
Student Assistent at the Chair of Cyber-Physical-Systems
Montanuniversität Leoben
Franz-Josef-Straße 18, 
8700 Leoben, Austria 

Email:   clemens.fritze@stud.unileoben.ac.at