ROBMIND

Objectives

ROBMIND will develop the strengthening, building, validation with TRL6/7 in real industrial settings and analysis of exploitability of two intelligent aerial manipulation robots with automous capabilities developed by the GRVC Robotics Lab research group:

• SARM, a low-size aerial robotic manipulator equipped with a simple robotic manipulator and endowed with highly autonomous capabilities suitable for contact inspection in industrial confined spaces. SARM will include autonomous functionalities for accurate 6-DoF robot self-localization, trajectory planning, mapping, and obstacle avoidance that enable safe fully autonomous navigation in confined spaces as well as in open GNSS-denied spaces.
• DARM, an aerial robot equipped with a dual-arm manipulator and endowed with hybrid autonomous-teleoperated operation for performing complex I&M tasks in industrial open spaces. It includes a compliant dual-arm robotic manipulator capable or dexterous manipulation and it is focussed on I&M tasks in open spaces. It combines autonomous functionalities with asisted teleoperation that enable performing complex I&M tasks that require dexterous manipulation.

Both robots will include robust functionalities for 6DoF localization, control, planning, mapping, and obstacle avoidance that will enable them to autonomously navigate in industrial settings with no GNSS. Prototype DARM will combine these autonomous functionalities with assisted teleoperation to allow it to perform more complex tasks that require the intervention of industry maintenance experts.

 

These two prototypes will perform a wide range of I&M tasks, including tasks of different complexity (from contact inspection to manipulation tasks e.g., the installation of permanent sensors, painting, and repairing of pipes), also including tasks in confined spaces (involving no reception of GNSS, potential radio communication difficulties, higher risk of collision) and in open spaces. Between both prototypes a wide variety of technological needs in I&M tasks are covered in many applications and industrial sectors, reducing risk of accidents and costs, and enabling more agile and frequent predictive maintenance, which will improve the efficiency of industrial processes and will reduce their environmental impact.

Both prototypes will be robust for operational use in industrial settings and will include autonomous functionalities that facilitate their use reducing the need for training. The objectives of ROBMIND are the following:

The objectives are ambitious but can be achieved due to the large expertise of the research team, a world leader in aerial robotic manipulation, and its wide trajectory in technology transfer to companies.

Keywords: Aerial robotics, aerial robotic manipulators, inspection & maintenance.

Publications

• Tapia, R., Martínez-de Dios, J.R., Gómez Eguíluz, A. et al. ASAP: adaptive transmission scheme for online processing of event-based algorithms. Auton Robot 46, 879–892 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10514-022-10051-y
• Gañán, F. J., Suárez, A., Tapia, R., Martínez de Dios, J. R. M., & Ollero, A. (2022). Aerial Manipulation System for Safe Human-Robot Handover in Power Line Maintenance. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.7153329
• Paneque, J., Valseca, V., Martinez-de Dios, J. R., & Ollero, A. (2022). Autonomous Reactive LiDAR-based Mapping for Powerline Inspection. In 2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS). 2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/icuas54217.2022.9836213
• Valseca, V., Paneque, J., Martinez-de Dios, J. R., & Ollero, A. (2022). Real-time LiDAR-based Semantic Classification for Powerline Inspection. In 2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS). 2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/icuas54217.2022.9836185
• Suarez, A., & Ollero, A. (2022). Dual Arm Aerial Manipulation While Flying, Holding and Perching: Comparative Case Study. In ROBOT2022: Fifth Iberian Robotics Conference (pp. 259–270). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21065-5_22
• Mygdalis, V., Carnevale, L., Martinez de Dios, J. R., Shutin, D., Aiello, G., Villari, M., & Pitas, I. (2022). OTE: Optimal Trustworthy EdgeAI solutions for smart cities. In 2022 22nd IEEE International Symposium on Cluster, Cloud and Internet Computing (CCGrid). 2022 22nd International Symposium on Cluster, Cloud and Internet Computing (CCGrid). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ccgrid54584.2022.00100
• Suarez, A., Salmoral, R., Garofano-Soldado, A., Heredia, G., & Ollero, A. (2022). Aerial Device Delivery for Power Line Inspection and Maintenance. In 2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS). 2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/icuas54217.2022.9836039