In this master thesis the gyroscopic stabilization of a two-wheeled amphibious concept vehicle is investigated. The key idea is to neutralize external torques applied on the vehicle by the counter torque produced from the two gyroscopes attached on the vehicle. Here the gyroscopes are used as actuators, not as sensors. When a torque is applied in order to rotate a gyroscope whose flywheel is spinning, then the gyroscope precesses and it generates a moment, orthogonal to both the torque and the spinning axis. This phenomenon is known as gyroscopic precession. As the vehicle leans from its upright position we expect to generate sufficient gyroscopic reaction moment to bring the vehicle back and get it stabilized.   We first derive the equations of motion based on Lagrangian mechanics. It is worth mentioning that we only consider the control dynamics of a static vehicle. This is the so called regulator problem where we try to counteract the effects of disturbances. The trajectory tracking (servo problem) and the water-travelling can be considered as an extension of the current project. We linearize the dynamics around an equilibrium and we study the stability of the linearized model. We then design an LQG controller, a Glover-McFarlane controller and a cascade PID controller. Regarding the implementation part, we only focus on the cascade PID controller. The results from both simulations and experiments with a small-scale prototype are presented and discussed. / <p>MARINTEKNIKDAGAR PÅ KTH 2015</p>

The complexity of mobile robots increases as more parts are added to the system. Introducing microcontrollers into a mobile robot abstracts and modularises the system architecture, creating a demand for seamless microcontroller integration. The Robot Operating System (ROS) used by ABB’s new mobile robot, the mobile YuMi prototype (mYuMi), allows standardised robot software libraries and packages to simplify robotic creations. As ABB is porting over from ROS1 to ROS2, the ROS2 compatible Microcontroller Robot Operating System (micro-ROS) will be incorporated into the system to smoothly integrate microcontrollers into mYuMi. In order to display the validity of micro-ROS, this project used tracing and latency measurements with external applications to test the remote communication between mYuMi using ROS2 and microcontrollers using micro-ROS, with three different microcontrollers tested. The communication was evaluated in different scenarios with a test bench, using ping pong communication to get the round-trip time. A reinforcement of the test results was presented by demonstrating the use of micro-ROS live in a prototype developed, where mYuMi controlled a 1D rangefinder and an RC servo motor by utilising two microcontrollers. The results concluded that the micro-ROS delay could be analysed in theory with external applications, equivalent micro-ROS functionality should apply to most microcontrollers, and the test results and prototype displayed the potential of micro-ROS matching ROS2 in terms of delay and stability.

The increasing usage of electronics and software in a modern automobile enables realization of many advanced features. One such feature is autonomous driving. Autonomous driving means that a human driver’s intervention is not required to drive the automobile; rather, theautomobile is capable of driving itself. Achieving automobile autonomyrequires research in several areas, one of which is the area of automotive electrical/electronics (E/E) architectures. These architectures deal with the design of the computer hardware and software present inside various subsystems of the vehicle, with particular attention to their interaction and modularization. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how automotive E/E architectures should be designed so that 1) it ispossible to realize autonomous features and 2) a smooth transition canbe made from existing E/E architectures, which have no explicit support for autonomy, to future E/E architectures that are explicitly designed for autonomy.The thesis begins its investigation by considering the specific problem of creating autonomous behavior under cooperative driving condi-tions. Cooperative driving conditions are those where continuous wireless communication exists between a vehicle and its surroundings, which consist of the local road infrastructure as well as the other vehicles in the vicinity. In this work, we define an original reference architecture for cooperative driving. The reference architecture demonstrates how a subsystem with specific autonomy features can be plugged into an existing E/E architecture, in order to realize autonomous driving capabilities. Two salient features of the reference architecture are that it isminimally invasive and that it does not dictate specific implementation technologies. The reference architecture has been instantiated on two separate occasions and is the main contribution of this thesis. Another contribution of this thesis is a novel approach to the design of general, autonomous, embedded systems architectures. The approach introduces an artificial consciousness within the architecture, that understands the overall purpose of the system and also how the different existing subsystems should work together in order to meet that purpose.This approach can enable progressive autonomy in existing embedded systems architectures, over successive design iterations. / <p>QC 20130412</p>

In this thesis, a kinematic model for controlling an Omni-directional 3 DOF DDR with an external navigation point is presented. Two different dynamic models for investigating the resulting torque on the three active motors on the robot are also developed and validated. The focus of the thesis is on the design of kinematic and dynamic models in an ideal environment and the kinematic model in a high fidelity environment. The kinematic model uses inverse kinematics to translate the controlling motion reference from the external navigation point to the three active motors on the DDR. The thesis also includes a comparison of the two different dynamic models based on Kane's method and Newton's second law of motion, respectively. The models presented in this thesis could aid autonomous robots with attached payloads such as hospital beds move with the centre of geometry as a focal point and thereby perform movements. The results show that such a kinematic model for controlling the specific robot is shown to be feasible in an ideal environment. However, due to PID controllers for the active wheel motors not being exact enough, the model in the high fidelity environment does not perform correctly in all cases. Furthermore, the dynamic model results provide an understanding of the difference of torque dependant on the distance to the navigation point.

The ability to infer and mediate intentions has been recognized as a crucial task in recent robotics research, where it is agreed that robots are required to be equipped with intentional mechanisms in order to participate in collaborative tasks with humans. Reasoning about - or rather, perceiving - intentions enables robots to infer what other agents are doing, to communicate what are their plans, or to take proactive decisions. Intent recognition relates to several system requirements, such as the need of an enhanced collaboration mechanism in human-machine interactions, the need for adversarial technology in competitive scenarios, ambient intelligence, or predictive security systems. When attempting to describe what an intention is, agreement exists to represent it as a plan together with the goal it attempts to achieve. Being compatible with computer science concepts, this representation enables to handle intentions with methodologies based on planning, such as the Planning Domain Description Language or Hierarchical Task Networks. In this licentiate we describe how intentions can be processed using classical planning methods, with an eye also on newer technologies such as deep networks. Our goal is to study and define computational models that would allow robotic agents to infer, construct and mediate intentions. Additionally, we explore how intentions in the form of abstract plans can be grounded to sensorial data, and in particular we provide discussion on grounding over speech utterances and affordances, that correspond to the action possibilities offered by an environment.

Today's methods for depanelizing phones are inefficient and costly. Through a collaboration withStena Recycling Halmstad, this work has shown how to streamline and automate the recycling of smartphones. The project group developed a prototype that can depanelize smartphones so that batteries in modern smartphones can easily be accessible for removal. The prototype makes recycling of phones easier, faster and safer than manual recycling. As the mobile industry is a growing market, it is important to have a fully functioning life cycle of the products. Today's recycling companies process the phones by a disassembler manually crushing thephones and then removing the battery by hand. It gives rise to both broken glass that can cut theoperator and risk for injury by accidentally striking him/herself. The process can also cause thedisassembler wear damage over time. The disassembling process is also time consuming as it takes up to 1.5 minutes to depanelize a phone by hand. As Stena Recycling receives around 500 000 smartphones annually, the current method quickly becomes unsustainable. To solve those problems, we have developed a prototype, which can handle large amounts of phones.The prototype has a compartment that phones fall into, and which consists of several vacuum cups that enclose the phone on the front and back sites. By mounting vacuum cups to the actuator and frame, the machine can pull the phone apart so that operators can easily reach the battery. By automating this process, the project team has shortened disassembling time from 90 to 5 seconds. The depanelization machine shows great potential for time savings and provides great opportunities to handle smartphone recycling in a more sustainable way. / Dagens metoder för att depanelisera telefoner är ineffektiva och kostsamma. Genom ett samarbetemed Stena Recycling Halmstad har arbetet visat hur man kan effektivisera och modernisera återvinningsarbetet utav mobiltelefoner. Genom att ha utvecklat en prototyp som kan depaneliseratelefoner så kan man göra de moderna telefonernas batterier åtkomliga för enkel urtagning, så att desedan blir en säker slutprodukt som kan gå vidare i produktens livscykel. Eftersom mobilindustrin är en växande marknad så är det viktigt med en helt fungerande livscykel hos produkterna. Idag så bearbetar återvinningsföretagen telefonerna genom att en demontör manuellt krossar telefonerna för att sedan ta ur batteriet för hand. Det ger både upphov till glassplitter och förslitningsskador. Det är även tidskrävande då det tar upp mot 1,5 minuter att depanelisera en telefon för hand. Då Stena Recycling får in volymer omkring 38 000 telefoner i månaden blir den nuvarandemetoden snabbt ohållbar. För att kontra de problemen har vi utvecklat en prototyp, som klarar av att hantera de stora mängderna telefoner som kommer in varje månad. Resultatet är en prototyp som fungerar genom att den har en inbyggd fålla som telefonen faller ned i. Fållan består av ett flertal sugkoppar som omsluter telefonen på displaysida och baksida. Genom att montera hälften av sugkopparna till ett ställdon ”även kallad cylinder” och den andra hälften sitter monterade på ramen kan maskinen dra isär telefonen så att montörer enkelt kan nå batteriet. Genom att automatisera den här processen har projektgruppen förkortat tidsåtgången till 5 sekunder per telefon, från de tidigare 90 sekunderna som krävdes. Depaneliseringsmaskinen visar på stor potential för tidsbesparing samt ger stora möjligheter för att hantera återvinningen av telefoner för ett mer hållbart kretslopp.

Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in agriculture are increasingly in demand to reduce cost, labour and increase effectiveness and quality in farming. However, it is necessary to improve reliability for this technology to perform its full potential without harming humans, animals or the environment. The reliability increases by identifying the hazards and mitigating them. Therefore the risks are identified, analyzed and mitigated using analysis tools. Two different methods are used to analyze and reduce hazards, and each method utilizes various analysis tools. In addition, redundancy and preventive action are proposed to eliminate or minimize the danger. This thesis identifies risks by studying and reviewing a generic use-case from the AFarCloud project and compares the two hazard analysis methods to determine which method provides the most reliable result.

This thesis presents an explorative approach for performing intuitive human robot interaction and programming using a physical interaction tool called Moneo. The device is the link between the the human and the robot. The Moneo is used in combination with a tablet called MoneoTablet and a Vslam camera called MoneoVision. These three units can together translate the user’s movement and pinpointed path for later being transferred to the robotic arm. A safety feature through Augumented Reality (AR) is established by the user before running the program.  The aim of the project was to create a solution that could be controlled and used by a user who has no previous knowledge within robot programming.  The research has throughout the project  been according to the design process method. The result is presented as a conceptual solution called the Moneo kit and that has technology supported to be applied within the upcoming five years. The paper concludes by discussing the power of democratizing human robot interaction, potential changes and suggestions for future development of the project Moneo. / Följande examensarbete presenterar ett människa robot interaktion koncept som hanterar ämnet programmering av robotar. Med hjälp av ett fysiskt redskap kallat Moneo, samt en surfplatta och kamera igenkänning kan de tre enheterna översätta användarens rörelse till ett program som roboten kan avläsa. Programmet kan sedan överskådas i en Augumented Reality (AR) lösning i surfplattan. Målet med Moneo är att en person utan tidigare robotprogrammerings kunskaper ska ha möjlighet att programmera en robot. I användarstudier under projektets gång uppdagades sig problemet då det fanns brist på tid och kunskap för att programmera robotar i produktionen. Detta ledde till att man inte använde sig av robotar i den utsträckning som man hade önskat. Resultatet presenteras som en konceptuell lösning som har stöd inom teknologin för att vara applicerbar inom loppet av fem år. Uppsatsen avslutas med att diskutera demokratisering av robot-användning inom produktion samt eventuella förändringar och förslag på fortsatt arbete med projektet Moneo.

Worldwide, about 35.7 million people were estimated to be affected by dementia in 2010. One way to treat dementia is by exercising, but human trainers are few and expensive. Robots can be mass produced and work at anytime of the day. This report describes research done for developing a robot exercise coach intended for treating dementia. Three main problems for people with dementia were identified: memory, attention and motivation. By using computer vision the robot can help count repetitions, grade exercise correctness and make sure that the user is still paying attention. The Kinect was used for skeleton tracking to count repetitions and provide video. For motivation, motivational models and flow theory were used to design the users interaction with the robot and make it more enjoyable and engaging. Feedback was believed to be an important part of this interaction. To provide extra feedback skeleton tracking was turned into the robot mimicking the user. To test which combination of feedback and interaction was most enjoyable, a user study was done. The user study consisted of 11 subjects, each interacting with three different systems, each system with varying levels of feedback. After interacting, the subject filled out a survey and had an interview. The results from the user study showed evidence that repetition counting and exercise correctness feedback but no mimicking is the most enjoyable. With a statistically significant difference in regards to repetition counting at the 0.05 level. Younger people found the mimicking enjoyable but still preferred the system without it, and older people found it confusing. In future systems like this, repetition counting and exercise correctness feedback should be seen as important parts of the interaction.

Detta arbete uppstod från ett samarbetsprojekt mellan Högskolan i Gävle, Radarbolaget och Gävle Energi. Arbetet har syftet att för Gävle Energis kraftvärmeverk Johannes skapa PLC-program för skattning av momentana värden på effekt och utsläpp, samt skapa ett HMI som återger de skattade värdena i diagram och har reglage för fukthaltsändring. PLC-programmet skrevs med ABB Compact Control Builder och baserades på matematiska Z-transformmodeller framtagna av handledaren Niclas Björsell. Modellerna ska omvandla insignalerna bränsleinmatning, primärfläkt, sekundärfläkt, tertiärfläkt och fukthalt till utsignalerna effekt och NOx-utsläpp. HMI:t konstruerades i programmet ABB Plant Explorer Workplace och kopplade signaler för fukthalt, effekt och NOx-utsläpp till reglage och trenddiagram. Reglaget och trenddiagrammen lades in i en s.k. Faceplate som ska kunna läggas in i operatörernas existerande processbild på kraftvärmeverket. De matematiska modellerna för signalerna från PLC:n blev lite konstiga och kommer troligtvis åtgärdas i projektets fortsatta arbete. Det fortsatta arbetet innefattar även att skapa överföringsfunktioner, PLC-program och diagram för skattning av CO-utsläpp och stoftutsläpp, att skatta av framtida värden för uteffekt och utsläpp, att skapa avancerade modellfunktioner (i.e. MPC-funktioner) för beräkning av rekommenderad fukthalt i bränslet med avseende på uteffekt, NOx-utsläpp, CO-utsläpp eller stoft-utsläpp, samt att eventuellt skapa styrsignaler till värmeverkets process.