Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REGO (Cognitive robotic tools for human-centered small-scale multi-robot operations)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-10-01 do 2023-09-30
Nature teaches us that the coordinated motion of multiple simple agents can enable complex tasks otherwise impossible to achieve. A remarkable example is given by ants. Indeed, a colony of garden ants can transform a pile of dirt into a multi-level underground structure in about a week, without a blueprint or a leader. Scientists have often taken inspiration from the coordination capabilities of animals to develop multi-robot systems showing bio-inspired collaboration and interaction features. The most striking results in this respect have been achieved by multi-drone systems. Nonetheless, such remarkable and often spectacular results achieved at the macro-scale did not translate well to smaller scales, where robotic systems, despite the promising features and highly-anticipated impacts, still face significant challenges in providing real added value.
Such daunting situation of small-scale robotics is due to different factors, including:
* Lack of interaction intelligence;
* Low cognitive capabilities;
* Low adaptability, scalability, and modularity;
* Limited capabilities and functionalities;
* Insufficient trust by the public.
We believe in a scientific revolution brought by AI-powered small-scale wireless multi-robot systems, naturally controlled by humans through advanced cognitive human-robot interaction techniques. We want to bring what is possible nowadays with multi-robot macro-scale robots to the smaller scales, powering small-scale robots with a deeper kind of cognitive intelligence, endowing them with higher dexterity and interaction capabilities with other robots, humans, and the environment.
Such daunting situation of small-scale robotics is due to different factors, including:
* Lack of interaction intelligence;
* Low cognitive capabilities;
* Low adaptability, scalability, and modularity;
* Limited capabilities and functionalities;
* Insufficient trust by the public.
We believe in a scientific revolution brought by AI-powered small-scale wireless multi-robot systems, naturally controlled by humans through advanced cognitive human-robot interaction techniques. We want to bring what is possible nowadays with multi-robot macro-scale robots to the smaller scales, powering small-scale robots with a deeper kind of cognitive intelligence, endowing them with higher dexterity and interaction capabilities with other robots, humans, and the environment.
The REGO project has evolved in line with the objectives and expectations, including the submission of the five planned deliverables related to the thematics of dissemination, management, and ethics. From the scientific point of view, the project has seen the beginning of WP1 on the “Design of small-scale stimuli-responsive wireless robots”, WP2 on the “Low-level wireless multi-robot control,” and of WP3 on “High-level cognitive-based control and human-machine interfacing.” In this respect, the scientific work has focused on the design and development of magnetically-driven carrier robots, magnetic-field-driven small-size robots, as well as on their modelling and characterization. In parallel, we worked on the control capabilities of the distributed magnetic actuation system for advanced steering of the composite robotic systems at small scales, as well as designing its proper interfacing towards the other work packages. Finally, we have started some work with respect to the development of the multi-functional haptic handle, as well as preparatory studies regarding the state-of-the-art on shared control techniques and multisensory feedback rendering.
Objective: endow small-scale robots of stimuli-responsive and multi-robot collaboration capabilities, taking advantage from the outstanding properties of new smart materials and the capabilities of cutting-edge fabrication technologies.
We have designed and developed small-scale robots responsive to different types of stimuli – magnetic at first. We have focused on the development of several milli-scale carrier designs capable of magnetic navigation under external magnetic guidance and on-demand release of either magnetic and nonmagnetic microrobots. In parallel, we established a fabrication routine to realize functional Janus particles with sizes ranging from 300 nm to 10 μm. Furthermore, we developed a fluidic platform to realize sub-mm sized carriers represented by core-shell droplets, i.e. capsules. These capsules were validated to be able to accommodate living cells as well as different inorganic fillers including ferrofluids. Magnetic content in capsules enables magnetic field control of the location of droplets.
Objective: enable precise, safe, independent, and repeatable autonomous control of multiple wireless robots through distributed electromagnetic fields and other relevant external stimuli.
We have been working on the design, modelling and implementation of magnetic actuation systems and the associated algorithms for the control of singular and multiple microrobots. In particular, we have developed new control algorithms to exploit the magnetic interactions between agents and with the environment and exploited local magnetic actuation for the creation of new small scale tools. Such autonomous control algorithms are being jointly integrated into the high-level shared control framework, to enable a human operator to control the robotic team. To enable active feedback on the state of small-scale tools like grippers, we also developed ultrathin and highly conformal multifunctional sensor elements, which can discriminate magnetic field and mechanical pressure stimuli. These sensors enable tactile sensing (i.e. detection of strain) and touchless sensing (i.e. proximity sensing via measurement of magnetic fields).
Objective: enable intuitive and trustworthy human control of the multi-robot small-scale system via innovative cognitive-based interfaces and interaction techniques, exploiting multisensory feedback and AI-powered shared control.
We focused on the development of a novel haptic handle for the display of multiple cutaneous stimuli (e.g. temperature, vibrations), together with preliminary user subjects evaluations considering the perceptual performance as well as user’s comfort and acceptability. In this respect, we also prepared a skin conformal multitouch flexible haptic interface based on an array of planar coils complemented with very thin soft magnetic actuators. It was demonstrated that users experience a soft touch at the location of the actuated coil.
Objective: disseminate the project's result and advocate for the applicability of the developed robotic core technologies for and beyond the use cases considered.
Project advancements and research has been communicated and disseminated through different channels, including the project website (https://rego-project.eu) and social media channels (LinkedIn and X/Twitter), the participation in scientific and industrial conferences, the publication of scientific papers, the participation to large public events reaching local communities and engaging in clustering activities with other projects.
We have designed and developed small-scale robots responsive to different types of stimuli – magnetic at first. We have focused on the development of several milli-scale carrier designs capable of magnetic navigation under external magnetic guidance and on-demand release of either magnetic and nonmagnetic microrobots. In parallel, we established a fabrication routine to realize functional Janus particles with sizes ranging from 300 nm to 10 μm. Furthermore, we developed a fluidic platform to realize sub-mm sized carriers represented by core-shell droplets, i.e. capsules. These capsules were validated to be able to accommodate living cells as well as different inorganic fillers including ferrofluids. Magnetic content in capsules enables magnetic field control of the location of droplets.
Objective: enable precise, safe, independent, and repeatable autonomous control of multiple wireless robots through distributed electromagnetic fields and other relevant external stimuli.
We have been working on the design, modelling and implementation of magnetic actuation systems and the associated algorithms for the control of singular and multiple microrobots. In particular, we have developed new control algorithms to exploit the magnetic interactions between agents and with the environment and exploited local magnetic actuation for the creation of new small scale tools. Such autonomous control algorithms are being jointly integrated into the high-level shared control framework, to enable a human operator to control the robotic team. To enable active feedback on the state of small-scale tools like grippers, we also developed ultrathin and highly conformal multifunctional sensor elements, which can discriminate magnetic field and mechanical pressure stimuli. These sensors enable tactile sensing (i.e. detection of strain) and touchless sensing (i.e. proximity sensing via measurement of magnetic fields).
Objective: enable intuitive and trustworthy human control of the multi-robot small-scale system via innovative cognitive-based interfaces and interaction techniques, exploiting multisensory feedback and AI-powered shared control.
We focused on the development of a novel haptic handle for the display of multiple cutaneous stimuli (e.g. temperature, vibrations), together with preliminary user subjects evaluations considering the perceptual performance as well as user’s comfort and acceptability. In this respect, we also prepared a skin conformal multitouch flexible haptic interface based on an array of planar coils complemented with very thin soft magnetic actuators. It was demonstrated that users experience a soft touch at the location of the actuated coil.
Objective: disseminate the project's result and advocate for the applicability of the developed robotic core technologies for and beyond the use cases considered.
Project advancements and research has been communicated and disseminated through different channels, including the project website (https://rego-project.eu) and social media channels (LinkedIn and X/Twitter), the participation in scientific and industrial conferences, the publication of scientific papers, the participation to large public events reaching local communities and engaging in clustering activities with other projects.