@inproceedings{LeingartnerMaurerSteinbaueretal.2013, author = {Leingartner, Max and Maurer, Johannes and Steinbauer, Gerald and Ferrein, Alexander}, title = {Evaluation of sensors and mapping approaches for disasters in tunnels}, series = {IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics : SSRR : 21-26 Oct. 2013, Linkoping, Sweden}, booktitle = {IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics : SSRR : 21-26 Oct. 2013, Linkoping, Sweden}, organization = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers}, isbn = {978-1-4799-0879-0}, pages = {1 -- 7}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{KrueckelNoldenFerreinetal.2015, author = {Kr{\"u}ckel, Kai and Nolden, Florian and Ferrein, Alexander and Scholl, Ingrid}, title = {Intuitive visual teleoperation for UGVs using free-look augmented reality displays}, series = {2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Seattle, WA}, booktitle = {2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Seattle, WA}, doi = {10.1109/ICRA.2015.7139809}, pages = {4412 -- 4417}, year = {2015}, language = {en} } @incollection{NiemuellerReuterEwertetal.2015, author = {Niemueller, Tim and Reuter, Sebastian and Ewert, Daniel and Ferrein, Alexander and Jeschke, Sabina and Lakemeyer, Gerhard}, title = {Decisive Factors for the Success of the Carologistics RoboCup Team in the RoboCup Logistics League 2014}, series = {RoboCup 2014: Robot World Cup XVIII}, booktitle = {RoboCup 2014: Robot World Cup XVIII}, publisher = {Springer}, isbn = {978-3-319-18615-3}, pages = {155 -- 167}, year = {2015}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{FerreinKallweitScholletal.2015, author = {Ferrein, Alexander and Kallweit, Stephan and Scholl, Ingrid and Reichert, Walter}, title = {Learning to Program Mobile Robots in the ROS Summer School Series}, series = {Proceedings 6th International Conference on Robotics in Education (RiE 15)}, booktitle = {Proceedings 6th International Conference on Robotics in Education (RiE 15)}, pages = {6 S.}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The main objective of our ROS Summer School series is to introduce MA level students to program mobile robots with the Robot Operating System (ROS). ROS is a robot middleware that is used my many research institutions world-wide. Therefore, many state-of-the-art algorithms of mobile robotics are available in ROS and can be deployed very easily. As a basic robot platform we deploy a 1/10 RC cart that is wquipped with an Arduino micro-controller to control the servo motors, and an embedded PC that runs ROS. In two weeks, participants get to learn the basics of mobile robotics hands-on. We describe our teaching concepts and our curriculum and report on the learning success of our students.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{AlhwarinFerreinGebhardtetal.2015, author = {Alhwarin, Faraj and Ferrein, Alexander and Gebhardt, Andreas and Kallweit, Stephan and Scholl, Ingrid and Tedjasukmana, Osmond Sanjaya}, title = {Improving additive manufacturing by image processing and robotic milling}, series = {2015 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), Aug 24-28, 2015 Gothenburg, Sweden}, booktitle = {2015 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), Aug 24-28, 2015 Gothenburg, Sweden}, doi = {10.1109/CoASE.2015.7294217}, pages = {924 -- 929}, year = {2015}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{Ferrein2015, author = {Ferrein, Alexander}, title = {3D-Mapping von Straßentunneln}, series = {16. Geokinematischer Tag, 07. und 08. Mai 2015 : Tagungsband / Technische Universit{\"a}t Bergakademie Freiberg}, booktitle = {16. Geokinematischer Tag, 07. und 08. Mai 2015 : Tagungsband / Technische Universit{\"a}t Bergakademie Freiberg}, pages = {31 -- 40}, year = {2015}, language = {de} } @incollection{GoeckelSchifferWagneretal.2015, author = {Goeckel, Tom and Schiffer, Stefan and Wagner, Hermann and Lakemeyer, Gerhard}, title = {The Video Conference Tool Robot ViCToR}, series = {Intelligent Robotics and Applications : 8th International Conference, ICIRA 2015, Portsmouth, UK, August 24-27, 2015, Proceedings, Part II}, booktitle = {Intelligent Robotics and Applications : 8th International Conference, ICIRA 2015, Portsmouth, UK, August 24-27, 2015, Proceedings, Part II}, publisher = {Springer}, isbn = {978-3-319-22876-1}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-22876-1_6}, pages = {61 -- 73}, year = {2015}, abstract = {We present a robotic tool that autonomously follows a conversation to enable remote presence in video conferencing. When humans participate in a meeting with the help of video conferencing tools, it is crucial that they are able to follow the conversation both with acoustic and visual input. To this end, we design and implement a video conferencing tool robot that uses binaural sound source localization as its main source to autonomously orient towards the currently talking speaker. To increase robustness of the acoustic cue against noise we supplement the sound localization with a source detection stage. Also, we include a simple onset detector to retain fast response times. Since we only use two microphones, we are confronted with ambiguities on whether a source is in front or behind the device. We resolve these ambiguities with the help of face detection and additional moves. We tailor the system to our target scenarios in experiments with a four minute scripted conversation. In these experiments we evaluate the influence of different system settings on the responsiveness and accuracy of the device.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{NiemuellerFerreinReuteretal.2015, author = {Niemueller, Tim and Ferrein, Alexander and Reuter, Sebastian and Jeschke, Sabina and Lakemeyer, Gerhard}, title = {The RoboCup Logistics League as a Holistic Multi-Robot Smart Factory Benchmark}, series = {Proceedings of the IROS 2015 Open forum on evaluation of results, replication of experiments and benchmarking in robotics research}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the IROS 2015 Open forum on evaluation of results, replication of experiments and benchmarking in robotics research}, pages = {3 S.}, year = {2015}, abstract = {With autonomous mobile robots receiving increased attention in industrial contexts, the need for benchmarks becomes more and more an urgent matter. The RoboCup Logistics League (RCLL) is one specific industry-inspired scenario focusing on production logistics within a Smart Factory. In this paper, we describe how the RCLL allows to assess the performance of a group of robots within the scenario as a whole, focusing specifically on the coordination and cooperation strategies and the methods and components to achieve them. We report on recent efforts to analyze performance of teams in 2014 to understand the implications of the current grading scheme, and derived criteria and metrics for performance assessment based on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) adapted from classic factory evaluation. We reflect on differences and compatibility towards RoCKIn, a recent major benchmarking European project.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{StopforthFerreinSteinbauer2015, author = {Stopforth, Riaan and Ferrein, Alexander and Steinbauer, Gerald}, title = {Europe and South African collaboration on the Mechatronics and Robotics systems as part of the SA Robotics Center}, series = {ICRA 2015 Developing Countries Forum}, booktitle = {ICRA 2015 Developing Countries Forum}, pages = {3 S.}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Mechatronics consist of the integration of mechanical engineering, electronic integration and computer science/ engineering. These broad fields are essential for robotic systems, yet it makes it difficult for the researchers to specialize and be experts in all these fields. Collaboration between researchers allow for the integration of experience and specialization, to allow optimized systems. Collaboration between the European countries and South Africa is critical, as each country has different resources available, which the other countries might not have. Applications with the need for approval of any restrictions, can also be obtained easier in some countries compared to others, thus preventing the delays of research. Some problems that have been experienced are discussed, with the Robotics Center of South Africa as a possible solution.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{BooysenMathewKnoxetal.2015, author = {Booysen, Tracy and Mathew, Thomas and Knox, Greig and Fong, W. K. and St{\"u}ttgen, Marcel and Ferrein, Alexander and Steinbauer, Gerald}, title = {The Scarab Project}, series = {ICRA 2015 Developing Countries Forum}, booktitle = {ICRA 2015 Developing Countries Forum}, pages = {3 S.}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) is an active research field in the robotics community. Despite recent advances for many open research questions, these kind of systems are not widely used in real rescue missions. One reason is that such systems are complex and not (yet) very reliable; another is that one has to be an robotic expert to run such a system. Moreover, available rescue robots are very expensive and the benefits of using them are still limited. In this paper, we present the Scarab robot, an alternative design for a USAR robot. The robot is light weight, humanpackable and its primary purpose is that of extending the rescuer's capability to sense the disaster site. The idea is that a responder throws the robot to a certain spot. The robot survives the impact with the ground and relays sensor data such as camera images or thermal images to the responder's hand-held control unit from which the robot can be remotely controlled.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{LimpertSchifferFerrein2015, author = {Limpert, Nicolas and Schiffer, Stefan and Ferrein, Alexander}, title = {A Local Planner for Ackermann-Driven Vehicles in ROS SBPL}, series = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Pattern Recognition Association of South Africa and Robotics and Mechatronics (PRASA-RobMech), 2015}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Pattern Recognition Association of South Africa and Robotics and Mechatronics (PRASA-RobMech), 2015}, doi = {10.1109/RoboMech.2015.7359518}, pages = {172 -- 177}, year = {2015}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{FerreinMaierMuehlbacheretal.2015, author = {Ferrein, Alexander and Maier, Christopher and M{\"u}hlbacher, Clemens and Niemueller, Tim and Steinbauer, Gerald and Vassos, Stravros}, title = {Controlling Logistics Robots with the Action-based Language YAGI}, series = {Proceedings of the 2015 IROS Workshop on Workshop on Task Planning for Intelligent Robots in Service and Manufacturing}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2015 IROS Workshop on Workshop on Task Planning for Intelligent Robots in Service and Manufacturing}, year = {2015}, language = {en} } @incollection{KallweitGottschalkWalenta2016, author = {Kallweit, Stephan and Gottschalk, Michael and Walenta, Robert}, title = {ROS based safety concept for collaborative robots in industrial applications}, series = {Advances in robot design and intelligent control : proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region (RAAD). (Advances in intelligent systems and computing ; 371)}, booktitle = {Advances in robot design and intelligent control : proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region (RAAD). (Advances in intelligent systems and computing ; 371)}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Cham}, organization = {International Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region <24, 2015, Bucharest>}, isbn = {978-3-319-21289-0 (Print) ; 978-3-319-21290-6 (E-Book)}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-21290-6_3}, pages = {27 -- 35}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The production and assembly of customized products increases the demand for flexible automation systems. One approach is to remove the safety fences that separate human and industrial robot to combine their skills. This collaboration possesses a certain risk for the human co-worker, leading to numerous safety concepts to protect him. The human needs to be monitored and tracked by a safety system using different sensors. The proposed system consists of a RGBD camera for surveillance of the common working area, an array of optical distance sensors to compensate shadowing effects of the RGBD camera and a laser range finder to detect the co-worker when approaching the work cell. The software for collision detection, path planning, robot control and predicting the behaviour of the co-worker is based on the Robot Operating System (ROS). A first prototype of the work cell shows that with advanced algorithms from the field of mobile robotics a very flexible safety concept can be realized: the robot not simply stops its movement when detecting a collision, but plans and executes an alternative path around the obstacle.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{NiemuellerReuterEwertetal.2016, author = {Niemueller, Tim and Reuter, Sebastian and Ewert, Daniel and Ferrein, Alexander and Jeschke, Sabina and Lakemeyer, Gerhard}, title = {The Carologistics Approach to Cope with the Increased Complexity and New Challenges of the RoboCup Logistics League 2015}, series = {RoboCup 2015: Robot World Cup XIX}, booktitle = {RoboCup 2015: Robot World Cup XIX}, editor = {Almeida, Luis}, publisher = {Springer International Publishing}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-319-29339-4}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-29339-4_4}, pages = {47 -- 59}, year = {2016}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{NiemuellerReuterFerreinetal.2016, author = {Niemueller, Tim and Reuter, Sebastian and Ferrein, Alexander and Jeschke, Sabina and Lakemeyer, Gerhard}, title = {Evaluation of the RoboCup Logistics League and Derived Criteria for Future Competitions}, series = {RoboCup 2015: Robot World Cup XIX}, booktitle = {RoboCup 2015: Robot World Cup XIX}, editor = {Almeida, Luis}, publisher = {Springer International Publishing}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-319-29339-4}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-29339-4_3}, pages = {31 -- 43}, year = {2016}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{NiemuellerReuterFerrein2016, author = {Niemueller, Tim and Reuter, Sebastian and Ferrein, Alexander}, title = {Fawkes for the RoboCup Logistics League}, series = {RoboCup 2015: Robot World Cup XIX}, booktitle = {RoboCup 2015: Robot World Cup XIX}, editor = {Almeida, Luis}, publisher = {Springer International Publishing}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-319-29339-4}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-29339-4_31}, pages = {365 -- 373}, year = {2016}, language = {en} } @article{LeingartnerMaurerFerreinetal.2016, author = {Leingartner, Max and Maurer, Johannes and Ferrein, Alexander and Steinbauer, Gerald}, title = {Evaluation of Sensors and Mapping Approaches for Disasters in Tunnels}, series = {Journal of Field Robotics}, volume = {33}, journal = {Journal of Field Robotics}, number = {8}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {1556-4967}, doi = {10.1002/rob.21611}, pages = {1037 -- 1057}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Ground or aerial robots equipped with advanced sensing technologies, such as three-dimensional laser scanners and advanced mapping algorithms, are deemed useful as a supporting technology for first responders. A great deal of excellent research in the field exists, but practical applications at real disaster sites are scarce. Many projects concentrate on equipping robots with advanced capabilities, such as autonomous exploration or object manipulation. In spite of this, realistic application areas for such robots are limited to teleoperated reconnaissance or search. In this paper, we investigate how well state-of-the-art and off-the-shelf components and algorithms are suited for reconnaissance in current disaster-relief scenarios. The basic idea is to make use of some of the most common sensors and deploy some widely used algorithms in a disaster situation, and to evaluate how well the components work for these scenarios. We acquired the sensor data from two field experiments, one from a disaster-relief operation in a motorway tunnel, and one from a mapping experiment in a partly closed down motorway tunnel. Based on these data, which we make publicly available, we evaluate state-of-the-art and off-the-shelf mapping approaches. In our analysis, we integrate opinions and replies from first responders as well as from some algorithm developers on the usefulness of the data and the limitations of the deployed approaches, respectively. We discuss the lessons we learned during the two missions. These lessons are interesting for the community working in similar areas of urban search and rescue, particularly reconnaissance and search.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{FerreinMaierMuehlbacheretal.2016, author = {Ferrein, Alexander and Maier, Christopher and M{\"u}hlbacher, Clemens and Niem{\"u}ller, Tim and Steinbauer, Gerald and Vassos, Stravros}, title = {Controlling logistics robots with the action-based language YAGI}, series = {Intelligent Robotics and Applications: 9th International Conference, ICIRA 2016, Tokyo, Japan, August 22-24, 2016, Proceedings, Part I}, volume = {9834}, booktitle = {Intelligent Robotics and Applications: 9th International Conference, ICIRA 2016, Tokyo, Japan, August 22-24, 2016, Proceedings, Part I}, publisher = {Springer}, isbn = {978-3-319-43505-3 (Print)}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-43506-0_46}, pages = {525 -- 537}, year = {2016}, language = {en} } @article{FerreinSteinbauer2016, author = {Ferrein, Alexander and Steinbauer, Gerald}, title = {20 Years of RoboCup - A Subjective Retrospection}, series = {KI - K{\"u}nstliche Intelligenz}, volume = {30}, journal = {KI - K{\"u}nstliche Intelligenz}, number = {3}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {1610-1987}, doi = {10.1007/s13218-016-0449-5}, pages = {225 -- 232}, year = {2016}, abstract = {This summer, RoboCup competitions were held for the 20th time in Leipzig, Germany. It was the second time that RoboCup took place in Germany, 10 years after the 2006 RoboCup in Bremen. In this article, we give an overview on the latest developments of RoboCup and what happened in the different leagues over the last decade. With its 20th edition, RoboCup clearly is a success story and a role model for robotics competitions. From our personal view point, we acknowledge this by giving a retrospection about what makes RoboCup such a success.}, language = {en} } @article{FerreinSteinbauer2016, author = {Ferrein, Alexander and Steinbauer, Gerald}, title = {The Interplay of Aldebaran and RoboCup}, series = {KI - K{\"u}nstliche Intelligenz}, volume = {30}, journal = {KI - K{\"u}nstliche Intelligenz}, number = {3-4}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {1610-1987}, doi = {10.1007/s13218-016-0440-1}, pages = {325 -- 326}, year = {2016}, language = {en} }