Robotics in Spain 2019

A special issue of Robotics (ISSN 2218-6581).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2019) | Viewed by 46819

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Automatics, Robotics and Computer Vision Group, Computer Science Research Institute, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
Interests: intelligent robotic manipulation; visual control of robots; robot perception systems; field robots and advanced automation for industry 4.0; artificial vision engineering and e-learning
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The next edition of the National Robotics Conference in Spain, organized by the Spanish Automation Committee (CEA), will take place in Alicante on 13–14 June 2019, continuing the editions previously held in Valladolid in 2018 and in Valencia in 2017.

CEA, through its Robotics Thematic Group (GTRob), promotes these conferences to give visibility and show the activity that takes place in the field of research and technology transfer of robotics.

The conference is open to the participation of the entire scientific community, associations, business consortia, students, and research groups interested in robotics, with different types of registration for participants. For the conference, communications will be accepted that present results of national and international projects, as well as communications that show advances and results of the youngest researchers conducting their doctoral theses, final or master's degree projects, or any other scientific communication in the field of robotics. In this way, it is intended that the conference also be a meeting place for young and veteran researchers, where they can share challenges and research advances.

The papers selected in the conference will be considered for publication in a Special Issue of the journal Robotics, entitled "Robotics in Spain 2019"

Prof. Dr. Fernando Torres Medina
Prof. Dr. Oscar Reinoso Garcia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Robotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • industrial robotics
  • robotic inspection
  • service robotics
  • field robotics
  • social robots, entertainment robots
  • robotics in education
  • robots and autonomous vehicles
  • aerial, marine, submarine, or terrestrial robots
  • evolutionary robotics
  • search and rescue robots
  • rehabilitation robots
  • humanoid robots
  • multirobot systems and cooperative robots
  • swarm robotics
  • modeling and simulation of robots
  • control of robots
  • sensorization, computer vision, and perception
  • location, mapping, and navigation of robots
  • recognition and monitoring
  • locomotion systems and robot actuators
  • robotic manipulation
  • human–robot interaction
  • robot competitions

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 10601 KiB  
Article
Dexterous Manipulation of Unknown Objects Using Virtual Contact Points
by Andrés Montaño and Raúl Suárez
Robotics 2019, 8(4), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics8040086 - 12 Oct 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 8043
Abstract
The manipulation of unknown objects is a problem of special interest in robotics since it is not always possible to have exact models of the objects with which the robot interacts. This paper presents a simple strategy to manipulate unknown objects using a [...] Read more.
The manipulation of unknown objects is a problem of special interest in robotics since it is not always possible to have exact models of the objects with which the robot interacts. This paper presents a simple strategy to manipulate unknown objects using a robotic hand equipped with tactile sensors. The hand configurations that allow the rotation of an unknown object are computed using only tactile and kinematic information, obtained during the manipulation process and reasoning about the desired and real positions of the fingertips during the manipulation. This is done taking into account that the desired positions of the fingertips are not physically reachable since they are located in the interior of the manipulated object and therefore they are virtual positions with associated virtual contact points. The proposed approach was satisfactorily validated using three fingers of an anthropomorphic robotic hand (Allegro Hand), with the original fingertips replaced by tactile sensors (WTS-FT). In the experimental validation, several everyday objects with different shapes were successfully manipulated, rotating them without the need of knowing their shape or any other physical property. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotics in Spain 2019)
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20 pages, 4164 KiB  
Article
Tactile-Driven Grasp Stability and Slip Prediction
by Brayan S. Zapata-Impata, Pablo Gil and Fernando Torres
Robotics 2019, 8(4), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics8040085 - 26 Sep 2019
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7672
Abstract
One of the challenges in robotic grasping tasks is the problem of detecting whether a grip is stable or not. The lack of stability during a manipulation operation usually causes the slippage of the grasped object due to poor contact forces. Frequently, an [...] Read more.
One of the challenges in robotic grasping tasks is the problem of detecting whether a grip is stable or not. The lack of stability during a manipulation operation usually causes the slippage of the grasped object due to poor contact forces. Frequently, an unstable grip can be caused by an inadequate pose of the robotic hand or by insufficient contact pressure, or both. The use of tactile data is essential to check such conditions and, therefore, predict the stability of a grasp. In this work, we present and compare different methodologies based on deep learning in order to represent and process tactile data for both stability and slip prediction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotics in Spain 2019)
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16 pages, 25374 KiB  
Article
Virtualization of Robotic Hands Using Mobile Devices
by Santiago T. Puente, Lucía Más, Fernando Torres and and Francisco A. Candelas
Robotics 2019, 8(3), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics8030081 - 16 Sep 2019
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 6443
Abstract
This article presents a multiplatform application for the tele-operation of a robot hand using virtualization in Unity 3D. This approach grants usability to users that need to control a robotic hand, allowing supervision in a collaborative way. This paper focuses on a user [...] Read more.
This article presents a multiplatform application for the tele-operation of a robot hand using virtualization in Unity 3D. This approach grants usability to users that need to control a robotic hand, allowing supervision in a collaborative way. This paper focuses on a user application designed for the 3D virtualization of a robotic hand and the tele-operation architecture. The designed system allows for the simulation of any robotic hand. It has been tested with the virtualization of the four-fingered Allegro Hand of SimLab with 16 degrees of freedom, and the Shadow hand with 24 degrees of freedom. The system allows for the control of the position of each finger by means of joint and Cartesian co-ordinates. All user control interfaces are designed using Unity 3D, such that a multiplatform philosophy is achieved. The server side allows the user application to connect to a ROS (Robot Operating System) server through a TCP/IP socket, to control a real hand or to share a simulation of it among several users. If a real robot hand is used, real-time control and feedback of all the joints of the hand is communicated to the set of users. Finally, the system has been tested with a set of users with satisfactory results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotics in Spain 2019)
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22 pages, 4480 KiB  
Article
Trajectory Analysis for the MASAR: A New Modular and Single-Actuator Robot
by Adrián Peidró, Julio Gallego, Luis Payá, José María Marín and Óscar Reinoso
Robotics 2019, 8(3), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics8030078 - 05 Sep 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5472
Abstract
Single-actuator mobile robots offer the benefits of low energy consumption, low weight and size, and low cost, but their motion is typically only one-dimensional. By using auxiliary binary mechanisms that redirect and channel the driving force of their only actuator in different ways, [...] Read more.
Single-actuator mobile robots offer the benefits of low energy consumption, low weight and size, and low cost, but their motion is typically only one-dimensional. By using auxiliary binary mechanisms that redirect and channel the driving force of their only actuator in different ways, it is possible for these robots to perform higher-dimensional motions, such as walking straight, steering, or jumping, with only one motor. This paper presents the MASAR, a new Modular And Single-Actuator Robot that carries a single motor and several adhesion pads. By alternately releasing or attaching these adhesion pads to the environment, the proposed robot is able to pivot about different axes using only one motor, with the possibility of performing concave plane transitions or combining with other identical modules to build more complex reconfigurable robots. In this paper, we solve the planar trajectory tracking problem of this robot for polygonal paths made up of sequences of segments, which may include narrow corridors that are difficult to traverse. We propose a locomotion based on performing rotations of 180 , which we demonstrate to be the minimum-time solution for long trajectories, and a near-optimal solution for shorter ones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotics in Spain 2019)
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17 pages, 1291 KiB  
Article
An Architecture for the Integration of Robots and Sensors for the Care of the Elderly in an Ambient Assisted Living Environment
by David Loza-Matovelle, Alexandra Verdugo, Eduardo Zalama and Jaime Gómez-García-Bermejo
Robotics 2019, 8(3), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics8030076 - 03 Sep 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6514
Abstract
In this paper, the development of an assistance system for the elderly that combines robots with a network of sensors and actuators is described. The architecture was developed with the aim of interaction. With this reason, the system incorporates particular solutions that are [...] Read more.
In this paper, the development of an assistance system for the elderly that combines robots with a network of sensors and actuators is described. The architecture was developed with the aim of interaction. With this reason, the system incorporates particular solutions that are adaptable to the needs of the user, such as a pyramid interaction system, a telepresence robot, a biometric bracelet, and others. In the software, the system is composed of two servers: local and web. The local server is in charge of different modules that interact with direct users and their needs. The web server provides different facilities to external users to access the system remotely. A use case is analyzed where the proposed system is validated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotics in Spain 2019)
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12 pages, 2927 KiB  
Article
People Detection and Tracking Using LIDAR Sensors
by Claudia Álvarez-Aparicio, Ángel Manuel Guerrero-Higueras, Francisco Javier Rodríguez-Lera, Jonatan Ginés Clavero, Francisco Martín Rico and Vicente Matellán
Robotics 2019, 8(3), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics8030075 - 31 Aug 2019
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 11581
Abstract
The tracking of people is an indispensable capacity in almost any robotic application. A relevant case is the @home robotic competitions, where the service robots have to demonstrate that they possess certain skills that allow them to interact with the environment and the [...] Read more.
The tracking of people is an indispensable capacity in almost any robotic application. A relevant case is the @home robotic competitions, where the service robots have to demonstrate that they possess certain skills that allow them to interact with the environment and the people who occupy it; for example, receiving the people who knock at the door and attending them as appropriate. Many of these skills are based on the ability to detect and track a person. It is a challenging problem, particularly when implemented using low-definition sensors, such as Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensors, in environments where there are several people interacting. This work describes a solution based on a single LIDAR sensor to maintain a continuous identification of a person in time and space. The system described is based on the People Tracker package, aka PeTra, which uses a convolutional neural network to identify person legs in complex environments. A new feature has been included within the system to correlate over time the people location estimates by using a Kalman filter. To validate the solution, a set of experiments have been carried out in a test environment certified by the European Robotic League. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotics in Spain 2019)
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