• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.1786-1795
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• 2011

The trajectory control for omni-directional mobile robot is not easy. Especially, the tracking control which system uncertainty problem is included is much more difficult. This paper develops trajectory controller of 3-wheels omni-directional mobile robot using fuzzy multi-layered algorithm. The fuzzy control method is able to solve the problems of classical adaptive controller and conventional fuzzy adaptive controllers. It explains the architecture of a fuzzy adaptive controller using the robust property of a fuzzy controller. The basic idea of new adaptive control scheme is that an adaptive controller can be constructed with parallel combination of robust controllers. This new adaptive controller uses a fuzzy multi-layered architecture which has several independent fuzzy controllers in parallel, each with different robust stability area. Out of several independent fuzzy controllers, the most suited one is selected by a system identifier which observes variations in the controlled system parameter. This paper proposes a design procedure which can be carried out mathematically and systematically from the model of a controlled system; related mathematical theorems and their proofs are also given. Finally, the good performance of the developed mobile robot is confirmed through live tests of path control task.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.868-874
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• 2014

This paper proposes a novel mapping algorithm in Omni-directional Vision SLAM based on an obstacle's feature extraction using Lucas-Kanade Optical Flow motion detection and images obtained through fish-eye lenses mounted on robots. Omni-directional image sensors have distortion problems because they use a fish-eye lens or mirror, but it is possible in real time image processing for mobile robots because it measured all information around the robot at one time. In previous Omni-Directional Vision SLAM research, feature points in corrected fisheye images were used but the proposed algorithm corrected only the feature point of the obstacle. We obtained faster processing than previous systems through this process. The core of the proposed algorithm may be summarized as follows: First, we capture instantaneous $360^{\circ}$ panoramic images around a robot through fish-eye lenses which are mounted in the bottom direction. Second, we remove the feature points of the floor surface using a histogram filter, and label the candidates of the obstacle extracted. Third, we estimate the location of obstacles based on motion vectors using LKOF. Finally, it estimates the robot position using an Extended Kalman Filter based on the obstacle position obtained by LKOF and creates a map. We will confirm the reliability of the mapping algorithm using motion estimation based on fisheye images through the comparison between maps obtained using the proposed algorithm and real maps.

• International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.376-384
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• 2003

In this paper, the simple geometric kinematics of a three-wheeled holonomic mobile robot is proposed. Wheel architecture is developed for the holonomic mobile platform in order to provide omni-directional motions by three individually driven and steered wheels. Three types of basic motions are proposed for the path generation of the developed mobile robot. All paths of the mobile robot can be achieved through a combination of the proposed basic motion trajectories. The proposed method is verified through computer simulations and the developed mobile robot.

• Transactions on Control, Automation and Systems Engineering
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.210-216
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• 2001

In this paper, design of a 3-degree-of-freedom mobile robot with three caster wheels is performed. Initially, kinematic modeling and singularity analysis of the mobile robot is performed. It is found that the singularity can be avoided when the robot has more than two wheels on which two active joints are located. Optimal kinematic parameters of mobile robots with three active joint variables and with four active joint variables are obtained and compared with respect to kinematic isotropic index of the Jacobian matrix of the mobile robot which is functions of the wheel radius and the length of steering link.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.634-640
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• 2015

This paper proposes a novel three-dimensional mapping algorithm in Omni-Directional Vision SLAM based on a fisheye image and laser scanner data. The performance of SLAM has been improved by various estimation methods, sensors with multiple functions, or sensor fusion. Conventional 3D SLAM approaches which mainly employed RGB-D cameras to obtain depth information are not suitable for mobile robot applications because RGB-D camera system with multiple cameras have a greater size and slow processing time for the calculation of the depth information for omni-directional images. In this paper, we used a fisheye camera installed facing downwards and a two-dimensional laser scanner separate from the camera at a constant distance. We calculated fusion points from the plane coordinates of obstacles obtained by the information of the two-dimensional laser scanner and the outline of obstacles obtained by the omni-directional image sensor that can acquire surround view at the same time. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed through comparison between maps obtained using the proposed algorithm and real maps.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.273-280
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• 2009

It is difficult to find a practical solution for the backward-motion control of a car-like mobile robot with n passive trailers. Unlike an omni-directional robot, a car-like mobile robot has nonholonomic constraints and limitations of the steering angle. For these reasons, the backward motion control problem of a car-like mobile robot with $n$ passive trailers is not trivial. In spite of difficulties, backing up a trailer system is useful for parking control. In this study, we proposed a mechanical alteration which is connecting $n$ passive trailers to the front bumper of a car to improve the backward motion control performance. Theoretical verification and simulations show that the backward-motion control of a general car with n passive trailers can be successfully carried out by using the proposed approach.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea CI
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.27-33
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• 2012

Tele-presence and tele-operation techniques are used to build up an immersive scene and control environment for the distant user. This paper presents a novel tele-presence system using the camera tracking based on planar homography. In the first step, the user wears the HMD(head mounted display) with the camera and his/her head motion is estimated. From the panoramic image by the omni-directional camera mounted on the mobile robot, a viewing image by the user is generated and displayed through HMD. The homography of 3D plane with markers is used to obtain the head motion of the user. For the performance evaluation, the camera tracking results by ARToolkit and the homography based method are compared with the really measured positions of the camera.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.487-495
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• 2012

In this paper, a Smart Home Service Robot, McBot II, which performs mess-cleanup function etc. in house, is designed much more optimally than other service robots. It is newly developed in much more practical system than McBot I which we had developed two years ago. One characteristic attribute of mobile platforms equipped with a set of dependent wheels is their omni- directionality and the ability to realize complex translational and rotational trajectories for agile navigation in door. An accurate coordination of steering angle and spinning rate of each wheel is necessary for a consistent motion. This paper develops trajectory controller of 3-wheels omni-directional mobile robot using fuzzy azimuth estimator. A specialized anthropomorphic robot manipulator which can be attached to the housemaid robot McBot II, is developed in this paper. This built-in type manipulator consists of both arms with 4 DOF (Degree of Freedom) each and both hands with 3 DOF each. The robotic arm is optimally designed to satisfy both the minimum mechanical size and the maximum workspace. Minimum mass and length are required for the built-in cooperated-arms system. But that makes the workspace so small. This paper proposes optimal design method to overcome the problem by using neck joint to move the arms horizontally forward/backward and waist joint to move them vertically up/down. The robotic hand, which has two fingers and a thumb, is also optimally designed in task-based concept. Finally, the good performance of the developed McBot II is confirmed through live tests of the mess-cleanup task.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.86-93
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• 2017

The Expanded Guide Circle (EGC) method has been originally proposed as the guidance navigation method for improving the efficiency of the remote operation using the sensory information. The previous algorithm is, however, concerned only for the omni-directional mobile robot, so it needs to suggest a suitable one for a mobile robot with non-holonomic constraints. The ego-kinematic transform is a method to map points of $R^2$ into the ego-kinematic space which implicitly represents non-holonomic constraints for admissible paths. Thus, robots with non-holonomic constraints in the ego-kinematic space can be considered as "free-flying object". In this paper, we propose an effective obstacle avoidance method for mobile robots with non-holonomic constraints by applying EGC method in the ego-kinematic space using the ego-kinematic transformation. This proposed method shows that it works better for non-holonomic mobile robots such as differential-drive robot than the original one. The simulation results show its effectiveness of performance.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.161-167
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• 2008

This article describes the methods of a decision of the location which user points to move by an optical device like a laser pointer and a moving to that location. Using a conic mirror and CCD camera sensor, a robot observes a spot of user wanted point among an initiative, computes the location and azimuth and moves to that position. This system offers the brief data to a processor with simple devices. In these reason, we can reduce the time of a calculation to process of images and find the target by user point for carrying a robot. User points a laser spot on a point to be moved so that this sensor system in the robot, detecting the laser spot point with a conic mirror, laid on the robot, showing a camera. The camera is attached on the robot upper body and fixed parallel to the ground and the conic mirror.