TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schulte-Tigges, Joschua
A1  - Förster, Marco
A1  - Nikolovski, Gjorgji
A1  - Reke, Michael
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Kaszner, Daniel
A1  - Matheis, Dominik
A1  - Walter, Thomas
T1  - Benchmarking of various LiDAR sensors for use in self-driving vehicles in real-world environments
JF  - Sensors
N2  - Abstract
In this paper, we report on our benchmark results of the LiDAR sensors Livox Horizon, Robosense M1, Blickfeld Cube, Blickfeld Cube Range, Velodyne Velarray H800, and Innoviz Pro. The idea was to test the sensors in different typical scenarios that were defined with real-world use cases in mind, in order to find a sensor that meet the requirements of self-driving vehicles. For this, we defined static and dynamic benchmark scenarios. In the static scenarios, both LiDAR and the detection target do not move during the measurement. In dynamic scenarios, the LiDAR sensor was mounted on the vehicle which was driving toward the detection target. We tested all mentioned LiDAR sensors in both scenarios, show the results regarding the detection accuracy of the targets, and discuss their usefulness for deployment in self-driving cars.
KW  - Lidar
KW  - Benchmark
KW  - Self-driving
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s22197146
SN  - 1424-8220
N1  - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Sensor Fusion for Vehicles Navigation and Robotic Systems"
VL  - 22
IS  - 19
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Evans, Benjamin
A1  - Braun, Sebastian
A1  - Ulmer, Jessica
A1  - Wollert, Jörg
T1  - AAS implementations - current problems and solutions
T2  - 20th International Conference on Mechatronics - Mechatronika (ME)
N2  - The fourth industrial revolution presents a multitude of challenges for industries, one of which being the increased flexibility required of manufacturing lines as a result of increased consumer demand for individualised products. One solution to tackle this challenge is the digital twin, more specifically the standardised model of a digital twin also known as the asset administration shell. The standardisation of an industry wide communications tool is a critical step in enabling inter-company operations. This paper discusses the current state of asset administration shells, the frameworks used to host them and their problems that need to be addressed. To tackle these issues, we propose an event-based server capable of drastically reducing response times between assets and asset administration shells and a multi-agent system used for the orchestration and deployment of the shells in the field.
KW  - Industry 4.0
KW  - Multi-agent Systems
KW  - Digital Twin
KW  - Asset Administration Shell
Y1  - 2022
SN  - 978-1-6654-1040-3
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ME54704.2022.9982933
PB  - IEEE
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Ulmer, Jessica
A1  - Braun, Sebastian
A1  - Cheng, Chi-Tsun
A1  - Dowey, Steve
A1  - Wollert, Jörg
T1  - Usage of digital twins for gamification applications in manufacturing
T2  - Procedia CIRP
N2  - Gamification applications are on the rise in the manufacturing sector to customize working scenarios, offer user-specific feedback, and provide personalized learning offerings. Commonly, different sensors are integrated into work environments to track workers’ actions. Game elements are selected according to the work task and users’ preferences. However, implementing gamified workplaces remains challenging as different data sources must be established, evaluated, and connected. Developers often require information from several areas of the companies to offer meaningful gamification strategies for their employees. Moreover, work environments and the associated support systems are usually not flexible enough to adapt to personal needs. Digital twins are one primary possibility to create a uniform data approach that can provide semantic information to gamification applications. Frequently, several digital twins have to interact with each other to provide information about the workplace, the manufacturing process, and the knowledge of the employees. This research aims to create an overview of existing digital twin approaches for digital support systems and presents a concept to use digital twins for gamified support and training systems. The concept is based upon the Reference Architecture Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) and includes information about the whole life cycle of the assets. It is applied to an existing gamified training system and evaluated in the Industry 4.0 model factory by an example of a handle mounting.
KW  - Gamification
KW  - Digital Twin
KW  - Support System
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2022.05.044
SN  - 2212-8271
N1  - 55th CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems
VL  - 107
SP  - 675
EP  - 680
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Chavez Bermudez, Victor Francisco
A1  - Wollert, Jörg
T1  - 10BASE-T1L industry 4.0 smart switch for field devices based on IO-Link
T2  - 2022 IEEE 18th International Conference on Factory Communication Systems (WFCS)
N2  - The recent amendment to the Ethernet physical layer known as the IEEE 802.3cg specification, allows to connect devices up to a distance of one kilometer and delivers a maximum of 60 watts of power over a twisted pair of wires. This new standard, also known as 10BASE-TIL, promises to overcome the limits of current physical layers used for field devices and bring them a step closer to Ethernet-based applications. The main advantage of 10BASE- TIL is that it can deliver power and data over the same line over a long distance, where traditional solutions (e.g., CAN, IO-Link, HART) fall short and cannot match its 10 Mbps bandwidth. Due to its recentness, IOBASE- TIL is still not integrated into field devices and it has been less than two years since silicon manufacturers released the first Ethernet-PHY chips. In this paper, we present a design proposal on how field devices could be integrated into a IOBASE-TIL smart switch that allows plug-and-play connectivity for sensors and actuators and is compliant with the Industry 4.0 vision. Instead of presenting a new field-level protocol for this work, we have decided to adopt the IO-Link specification which already includes a plug-and-play approach with features such as diagnosis and device configuration. The main objective of this work is to explore how field devices could be integrated into 10BASE-TIL Ethernet, its adaption with a well-known protocol, and its integration with Industry 4.0 technologies.
KW  - 10BASE-T1L
KW  - Ethernet
KW  - Field device
KW  - Sensors
KW  - IO-Link
Y1  - 2022
SN  - 978-1-6654-1086-1
SN  - 978-1-6654-1087-8
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/WFCS53837.2022.9779176
N1  - 2022 IEEE 18th International Conference on Factory Communication Systems (WFCS),  27-29 April 2022, Pavia, Italy-
PB  - IEEE
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ulmer, Jessica
A1  - Braun, Sebastian
A1  - Cheng, Chi-Tsun
A1  - Dowey, Steve
A1  - Wollert, Jörg
T1  - Gamification of virtual reality assembly training: Effects of a combined point and level system on motivation and training results
JF  - International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
N2  - Virtual Reality (VR) offers novel possibilities for remote training regardless of the availability of the actual equipment, the presence of specialists, and the training locations. Research shows that training environments that adapt to users' preferences and performance can promote more effective learning. However, the observed results can hardly be traced back to specific adaptive measures but the whole new training approach. This study analyzes the effects of a combined point and leveling VR-based gamification system on assembly training targeting specific training outcomes and users' motivations. The Gamified-VR-Group with 26 subjects received the gamified training, and the Non-Gamified-VR-Group with 27 subjects received the alternative without gamified elements. Both groups conducted their VR training at least three times before assembling the actual structure. The study found that a level system that gradually increases the difficulty and error probability in VR can significantly lower real-world error rates, self-corrections, and support usages. According to our study, a high error occurrence at the highest training level reduced the Gamified-VR-Group's feeling of competence compared to the Non-Gamified-VR-Group, but at the same time also led to lower error probabilities in real-life. It is concluded that a level system with a variable task difficulty should be combined with carefully balanced positive and negative feedback messages. This way, better learning results, and an improved self-evaluation can be achieved while not causing significant impacts on the participants' feeling of competence.
KW  - Gamification
KW  - Virtual reality
KW  - Assembly
KW  - User study
KW  - Level system
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102854
SN  - 1071-5819
VL  - 165
IS  - Art. No. 102854
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Engemann, Heiko
A1  - Cönen, Patrick
A1  - Dawar, Harshal
A1  - Du, Shengzhi
A1  - Kallweit, Stephan
T1  - A robot-assisted large-scale inspection of wind turbine blades in manufacturing using an autonomous mobile manipulator
JF  - Applied Sciences
N2  - Wind energy represents the dominant share of renewable energies. The rotor blades of a wind turbine are typically made from composite material, which withstands high forces during rotation. The huge dimensions of the rotor blades complicate the inspection processes in manufacturing. The automation of inspection processes has a great potential to increase the overall productivity and to create a consistent reliable database for each individual rotor blade. The focus of this paper is set on the process of rotor blade inspection automation by utilizing an autonomous mobile manipulator. The main innovations include a novel path planning strategy for zone-based navigation, which enables an intuitive right-hand or left-hand driving behavior in a shared human–robot workspace. In addition, we introduce a new method for surface orthogonal motion planning in connection with large-scale structures. An overall execution strategy controls the navigation and manipulation processes of the long-running inspection task. The implemented concepts are evaluated in simulation and applied in a real-use case including the tip of a rotor blade form.
KW  - mobile manipulation
KW  - large-scale inspection
KW  - wind turbine production
KW  - autonomous navigation
KW  - surface-orthogonal path planning
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app11199271
SN  - 2076-3417
N1  - Belongs to the Special Issue "Advances in Industrial Robotics and Intelligent Systems"
VL  - 11
IS  - 19
SP  - 1
EP  - 22
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Ulmer, Jessica
A1  - Braun, Sebastian
A1  - Cheng, Chi-Tsun
A1  - Dowey, Steve
A1  - Wollert, Jörg
T1  - Adapting Augmented Reality Systems to the users’ needs using Gamification and error solving methods
T2  - Procedia CIRP
N2  - Animations of virtual items in AR support systems are typically predefined and lack interactions with dynamic physical environments. AR applications rarely consider users’ preferences and do not provide customized spontaneous support under unknown situations. This research focuses on developing adaptive, error-tolerant AR systems based on directed acyclic graphs and error resolving strategies. Using this approach, users will have more freedom of choice during AR supported work, which leads to more efficient workflows. Error correction methods based on CAD models and predefined process data create individual support possibilities. The framework is implemented in the Industry 4.0 model factory at FH Aachen.
KW  - Augmented Reality
KW  - Adaptive Systems
KW  - Gamification
KW  - Error Recovery
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2021.11.024
SN  - 2212-8271
N1  - Part of special issue: 54th CIRP CMS 2021 - Towards Digitalized Manufacturing 4.0
VL  - 104
SP  - 140
EP  - 145
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Chajan, Eduard
A1  - Schulte-Tigges, Joschua
A1  - Reke, Michael
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Matheis, Dominik
A1  - Walter, Thomas
T1  - GPU based model-predictive path control for self-driving vehicles
T2  - IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV)
N2  - One central challenge for self-driving cars is a proper path-planning. Once a trajectory has been found, the next challenge is to accurately and safely follow the precalculated path. The model-predictive controller (MPC) is a common approach for the lateral control of autonomous vehicles. The MPC uses a vehicle dynamics model to predict the future states of the vehicle for a given prediction horizon. However, in order to achieve real-time path control, the computational load is usually large, which leads to short prediction horizons. To deal with the computational load, the control algorithm can be parallelized on the graphics processing unit (GPU). In contrast to the widely used stochastic methods, in this paper we propose a deterministic approach based on grid search. Our approach focuses on systematically discovering the search area with different levels of granularity. To achieve this, we split the optimization algorithm into multiple iterations. The best sequence of each iteration is then used as an initial solution to the next iteration. The granularity increases, resulting in smooth and predictable steering angle sequences. We present a novel GPU-based algorithm and show its accuracy and realtime abilities with a number of real-world experiments.
KW  - Heuristic algorithms
KW  - Computational modeling
KW  - model-predictive control
KW  - GPU
KW  - autonomous driving
Y1  - 2021
SN  - 978-1-7281-5394-0
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IV48863.2021.9575619
N1  - 2021 IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV)
July 11-17, 2021. Nagoya, Japan
SP  - 1243
EP  - 1248
PB  - IEEE
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Braun, Sebastian
A1  - Cheng, Chi-Tsun
A1  - Dowey, Steve
A1  - Wollert, Jörg
T1  - Performance evaluation of skill-based order-assignment in production environments with multi-agent systems
JF  - IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Industrial Electronics
N2  - The fourth industrial revolution introduces disruptive technologies to production environments. One of these technologies are multi-agent systems (MASs), where agents virtualize machines. However, the agent's actual performances in production environments can hardly be estimated as most research has been focusing on isolated projects and specific scenarios. We address this gap by implementing a highly connected and configurable reference model with quantifiable key performance indicators (KPIs) for production scheduling and routing in single-piece workflows. Furthermore, we propose an algorithm to optimize the search of extrema in highly connected distributed systems. The benefits, limits, and drawbacks of MASs and their performances are evaluated extensively by event-based simulations against the introduced model, which acts as a benchmark. Even though the performance of the proposed MAS is, on average, slightly lower than the reference system, the increased flexibility allows it to find new solutions and deliver improved factory-planning outcomes. Our MAS shows an emerging behavior by using flexible production techniques to correct errors and compensate for bottlenecks. This increased flexibility offers substantial improvement potential. The general model in this paper allows the transfer of the results to estimate real systems or other models.
KW  - cyber-physical production systems
KW  - event-based simulation
KW  - multi-agent systems
KW  - digital factory
KW  - industrial agents
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/JESTIE.2021.3108524
SN  - 2687-9735
IS  - Early Access
PB  - IEEE
CY  - New York
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Hüning, Felix
A1  - Stüttgen, Marcel
T1  - Work in Progress: Interdisciplinary projects in times of COVID-19 crisis – challenges, risks and chances
T2  - 2021 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON)
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON46332.2021.9454006
SP  - 1175
EP  - 1179
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Meeßen, Marcus
A1  - Limpert, Nicolas
A1  - Schiffer, Stefan
ED  - Lepuschitz, Wilfried
T1  - Compiling ROS Schooling Curricula via Contentual Taxonomies
T2  - Robotics in Education
Y1  - 2021
SN  - 978-3-030-67411-3
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67411-3_5
N1  - RiE: International Conference on Robotics in Education (RiE);
Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing book series (AISC, volume 1316)
SP  - 49
EP  - 60
PB  - Springer
CY  - Cham
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Engemann, Heiko
A1  - Du, Shengzhi
A1  - Kallweit, Stephan
A1  - Cönen, Patrick
A1  - Dawar, Harshal
T1  - OMNIVIL - an autonomous mobile manipulator for flexible production
JF  - Sensors
Y1  - 2020
SN  - 1424-8220
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s20247249
N1  - Special issue: Sensor Networks Applications in Robotics and Mobile Systems
VL  - 20
IS  - 24, art. no. 7249
SP  - 1
EP  - 30
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Engemann, Heiko
A1  - Du, Shengzhi
A1  - Kallweit, Stephan
A1  - Ning, Chuanfang
A1  - Anwar, Saqib
T1  - AutoSynPose: Automatic Generation of Synthetic Datasets for 6D Object Pose Estimation
T2  - Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Proceedings of MLIS 2020
N2  - We present an automated pipeline for the generation of synthetic datasets for six-dimension (6D) object pose estimation. Therefore, a completely automated generation process based on predefined settings is developed, which enables the user to create large datasets with a minimum of interaction and which is feasible for applications with a high object variance. The pipeline is based on the Unreal 4 (UE4) game engine and provides a high variation for domain randomization, such as object appearance, ambient lighting, camera-object transformation and distractor density. In addition to the object pose and bounding box, the metadata includes all randomization parameters, which enables further studies on randomization parameter tuning. The developed workflow is adaptable to other 3D objects and UE4 environments. An exemplary dataset is provided including five objects of the Yale-CMU-Berkeley (YCB) object set. The datasets consist of 6 million subsegments using 97 rendering locations in 12 different UE4 environments. Each dataset subsegment includes one RGB image, one depth image and one class segmentation image at pixel-level.
Y1  - 2020
SN  - 978-1-64368-137-5
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/FAIA200770
N1  - Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications. Vol 332
SP  - 89
EP  - 97
PB  - IOS Press
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Hofmann, Till
A1  - Limpert, Nicolas
A1  - Mataré, Viktor
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Lakemeyer, Gerhard
T1  - Winning the RoboCup Logistics League with Fast Navigation, Precise Manipulation, and Robust Goal Reasoning
T2  - RoboCup 2019: Robot World Cup XXIII. RoboCup
Y1  - 2019
SN  - 978-3-030-35699-6
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35699-6_41
N1  - Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 11531
SP  - 504
EP  - 516
PB  - Springer
CY  - Cham
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Franko, Josef
A1  - Du, Shengzhi
A1  - Kallweit, Stephan
A1  - Duelberg, Enno Sebastian
A1  - Engemann, Heiko
T1  - Design of a Multi-Robot System for Wind Turbine Maintenance
JF  - Energies
N2  - The maintenance of wind turbines is of growing importance considering the transition to renewable energy. This paper presents a multi-robot-approach for automated wind turbine maintenance including a novel climbing robot. Currently, wind turbine maintenance remains a manual task, which is monotonous, dangerous, and also physically demanding due to the large scale of wind turbines. Technical climbers are required to work at significant heights, even in bad weather conditions. Furthermore, a skilled labor force with sufficient knowledge in repairing fiber composite material is rare. Autonomous mobile systems enable the digitization of the maintenance process. They can be designed for weather-independent operations. This work contributes to the development and experimental validation of a maintenance system consisting of multiple robotic platforms for a variety of tasks, such as wind turbine tower and rotor blade service. In this work, multicopters with vision and LiDAR sensors for global inspection are used to guide slower climbing robots. Light-weight magnetic climbers with surface contact were used to analyze structure parts with non-destructive inspection methods and to locally repair smaller defects. Localization was enabled by adapting odometry for conical-shaped surfaces considering additional navigation sensors. Magnets were suitable for steel towers to clamp onto the surface. A friction-based climbing ring robot (SMART— Scanning, Monitoring, Analyzing, Repair and Transportation) completed the set-up for higher payload. The maintenance period could be extended by using weather-proofed maintenance robots. The multi-robot-system was running the Robot Operating System (ROS). Additionally, first steps towards machine learning would enable maintenance staff to use pattern classification for fault diagnosis in order to operate safely from the ground in the future.
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en13102552
SN  - 1996-1073
VL  - 13
IS  - 10
SP  - Article 2552
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Kirsch, Maximilian
A1  - Mataré, Victor
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Schiffer, Stefan
T1  - Integrating golog++ and ROS for Practical and Portable High-level Control
T2  - 12th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5220/0008984406920699
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Reke, Michael
A1  - Peter, Daniel
A1  - Schulte-Tigges, Joschua
A1  - Schiffer, Stefan
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Walter, Thomas
A1  - Matheis, Dominik
T1  - A Self-Driving Car Architecture in ROS2
T2  - 2020 International SAUPEC/RobMech/PRASA Conference, Cape Town, South Africa
Y1  - 2020
SN  - 978-1-7281-4162-6
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/SAUPEC/RobMech/PRASA48453.2020.9041020
SP  - 1
EP  - 6
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Steinbauer, Gerald
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
T1  - CogRob 2018 : 
Cognitive Robotics Workshop.
Proceedings of the 11th Cognitive Robotics Workshop 2018
co-located with 16th International Conference on Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KR 2018).
Tempe, AZ, USA, October 27th, 2018.
T2  - CEUR workshop proceedings
Y1  - 2019
SN  - 1613-0073
N1  - edited by Gerald Steinbauer, Alexander Ferrein
IS  - Vol-2325
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Claer, Mario
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Schiffer, Stefan
T1  - Calibration of a Rotating or Revolving Platform with a LiDAR Sensor
JF  - Applied Sciences
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app9112238
SN  - 2076-3417
VL  - Volume 9
IS  - issue 11, 2238
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Bharatheesha, Mukunda
A1  - Schiffer, Stefan
A1  - Corbato, Carlos Hernandez
T1  - TRROS 2018 :  Teaching Robotics with ROS Workshop at ERF 2018;  Proceedings of the Workshop on Teaching Robotics with ROS (held at ERF 2018), co-located with European Robotics Forum 2018 (ERF 2018), Tampere, Finland, March 15th, 2018
T2  - CEUR Workshop Proceedings
Y1  - 2019
SN  - 1613-0073
IS  - Vol-2329
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Scholl, Ingrid
A1  - Neumann, Tobias
A1  - Krückel, Kai
A1  - Schiffer, Stefan
T1  - A system for continuous underground site mapping and exploration
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85859
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Mataré, Victor
A1  - Schiffer, Stefan
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
ED  - Steinbauer, Gerald
ED  - Ferrein, Alexander
T1  - golog++ : An integrative system design
T2  - CogRob 2018. Cognitive Robotics Workshop : Proceedings of the 11th Cognitive Robotics Workshop 2018 co-located with 16th International Conference on Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KR 2018) Tempe, AZ, USA, October 27th, 2018
Y1  - 2019
SN  - 1613-0073
SP  - 29
EP  - 35
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Scholl, Ingrid
A1  - Bartella, Alex
A1  - Moluluo, Cem
A1  - Ertural, Berat
A1  - Laing, Frederic
A1  - Suder, Sebastian
T1  - MedicVR : Acceleration and Enhancement Techniques for Direct Volume Rendering in Virtual Reality
T2  - Bildverarbeitung für die Medizin 2019 : Algorithmen – Systeme – Anwendungen
Y1  - 2019
SN  - 978-3-658-25326-4
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-25326-4_32
SP  - 152
EP  - 157
PB  - Springer Vieweg
CY  - Wiesbaden
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Alhwarin, Faraj
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Scholl, Ingrid
T1  - An Efficient Hashing Algorithm for NN Problem in HD Spaces
T2  - Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Y1  - 2019
SN  - 978-303005498-4
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05499-1_6
N1  - 7th International Conference on Pattern Recognition Applications and Methods, ICPRAM 2018; Funchal; Portugal; 16 January 2018 through 18 January 2018; Code 222779
SP  - 101
EP  - 115
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Wiesen, Patrick
A1  - Engemann, Heiko
A1  - Limpert, Nicolas
A1  - Kallweit, Stephan
T1  - Learning by Doing - Mobile Robotics in the FH Aachen ROS Summer School
T2  - European Robotics Forum 2018, TRROS18 Workshop
Y1  - 2018
SP  - 47
EP  - 58
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Stopforth, Riaan
A1  - Davrajh, Shaniel
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
T1  - Design considerations of the duo fugam dual rotor UAV
T2  - 2017 Pattern Recognition Association of South Africa and Robotics and Mechatronics (PRASA-RobMech)
Y1  - 2017
SN  - 978-1-5386-2314-5
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/RoboMech.2017.8261115
SP  - 7
EP  - 13
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Schiffer, Stefan
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
T1  - A System Layout for Cognitive Service Robots
T2  - Cognitive Robot Architectures. Proceedings of EUCognition 2016
Y1  - 2017
SN  - 1613-0073
N1  - CEUR-WS Vol-1855
SP  - 44
EP  - 45
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Marco, Heather G.
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
T1  - AGNES: The African-German Network of Excellence in Science
T2  - Proceedings of the 2nd Developing World Robotics Forum, Workshop at IEEE AFRICON 2017
Y1  - 2017
SP  - 1
EP  - 2
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Zug, Sebastian
A1  - Niemueller, Tim
A1  - Hochgeschwender, Nico
A1  - Seidensticker, Kai
A1  - Seidel, Martin
A1  - Friedrich, Tim
A1  - Neumann, Tobias
A1  - Karras, Ulrich
A1  - Kraetzschmar, Gerhard K.
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
T1  - An Integration Challenge to Bridge the Gap Among Industry-Inspired RoboCup Leagues
T2  - RoboCup 2016: Robot World Cup XX. RoboCup 2016.
Y1  - 2017
SN  - 978-3-319-68792-6
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68792-6_13
N1  - Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS, Vol 9776
SP  - 157
EP  - 168
PB  - Springer
CY  - Cham
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Niemueller, Tim
A1  - Neumann, Tobias
A1  - Henke, Christoph
A1  - Schönitz, Sebastian
A1  - Reuter, Sebastian
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Jeschke, Sabina
A1  - Lakemeyer, Gerhard
T1  - International Harting Open Source Award 2016: Fawkes for the RoboCup Logistics League
T2  - RoboCup 2016: RoboCup 2016: Robot World Cup XX. RoboCup 2016
Y1  - 2017
SN  - 978-3-319-68792-6
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68792-6_53
N1  - Lecture Notes in Computer Science, LNCS, Vol 9776
SP  - 634
EP  - 642
PB  - Springer
CY  - Cham
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Walenta, Robert
A1  - Schellekens, Twan
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Schiffer, Stefan
T1  - A decentralised system approach for controlling AGVs with ROS
T2  - AFRICON, Proceedings
Y1  - 2017
SN  - 978-1-5386-2775-4
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/AFRCON.2017.8095693
SN  - 2153-0033
N1  - AFRICON <2017, 18-20 Sept., Cape Town, South Africa>
SP  - 1436
EP  - 1441
PB  - IEEE
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schiffer, Stefan
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
T1  - Decision-Theoretic Planning with Fuzzy Notions in GOLOG
JF  - International Journal of Uncertainty, Fuzziness and Knowledge-Based Systems
N2  - In this paper we present an extension of the action language Golog that allows for using fuzzy notions in non-deterministic argument choices and the reward function in decision-theoretic planning. Often, in decision-theoretic planning, it is cumbersome to specify the set of values to pick from in the non-deterministic-choice-of-argument statement. Also, even for domain experts, it is not always easy to specify a reward function. Instead of providing a finite domain for values in the non-deterministic-choice-of-argument statement in Golog, we now allow for stating the argument domain by simply providing a formula over linguistic terms and fuzzy uents. In Golog’s forward-search DT planning algorithm, these formulas are evaluated in order to find the agent’s optimal policy. We illustrate this in the Diner Domain where the agent needs to calculate the optimal serving order.
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/S0218488516400134
SN  - 1793-6411
VL  - 24
IS  - Issue Suppl. 2
SP  - 123
EP  - 143
PB  - World Scientific
CY  - Singapur
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Stopforth, Riaan
A1  - Davrajh, Shaniel
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
T1  - South African robotics entity for a collaboration initiative
T2  - Pattern Recognition Association of South Africa and Robotics and Mechatronics International Conference (PRASA-RobMech), 2016
Y1  - 2017
SN  - 978-1-5090-3335-5
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/RoboMech.2016.7813144
N1  - PRASA-RobMech, Nov. 30 2016-Dec. 2 2016, Stellenbosch, South Africa
SP  - 1
EP  - 6
PB  - IEEE
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Niemueller, Tim
A1  - Zwilling, Frederik
A1  - Lakemeyer, Gerhard
A1  - Löbach, Matthias
A1  - Reuter, Sebastian
A1  - Jeschke, Sabina
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
T1  - Cyber-Physical System Intelligence
T2  - Industrial Internet of Things
N2  - Cyber-physical systems are ever more common in manufacturing industries. Increasing their autonomy has been declared an explicit goal, for example, as part of the Industry 4.0 vision. To achieve this system intelligence, principled and software-driven methods are required to analyze sensing data, make goal-directed decisions, and eventually execute and monitor chosen tasks. In this chapter, we present a number of knowledge-based approaches to these problems and case studies with in-depth evaluation results of several different implementations for groups of autonomous mobile robots performing in-house logistics in a smart factory. We focus on knowledge-based systems because besides providing expressive languages and capable reasoning techniques, they also allow for explaining how a particular sequence of actions came about, for example, in the case of a failure.
KW  - Smart factory
KW  - Industry 4.0
KW  - Multi-robot systems
KW  - Autonomous mobile robots
KW  - RoboCup
Y1  - 2017
SN  - 978-3-319-42559-7
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42559-7_17
N1  - Springer Series in Wireless Technology
SP  - 447
EP  - 472
PB  - Springer
CY  - Cham
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Steinbauer, Gerald
T1  - Looking back on 20 Years of RoboCup
JF  - KI - Künstliche Intelligenz
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13218-016-0443-y
SN  - 1610-1987
VL  - 30
IS  - 3-4
SP  - 321
EP  - 323
PB  - Springer
CY  - Berlin
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Steinbauer, Gerald
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
T1  - 20 Years of RoboCup
JF  - KI - Künstliche Intelligenz
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13218-016-0442-z
SN  - 1610-1987
VL  - 30
IS  - 3-4
SP  - 221
EP  - 224
PB  - Springer
CY  - Berlin
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Steinbauer, Gerald
T1  - The Interplay of Aldebaran and RoboCup
JF  - KI - Künstliche Intelligenz
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13218-016-0440-1
SN  - 1610-1987
VL  - 30
IS  - 3-4
SP  - 325
EP  - 326
PB  - Springer
CY  - Berlin
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Niemueller, Tim
A1  - Neumann, Tobias
A1  - Henke, Christoph
A1  - Schönitz, Sebastian
A1  - Reuter, Sebastian
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Jeschke, Sabina
A1  - Lakemeyer, Gerhard
T1  - Improvements for a robust production in the RoboCup logistics league 2016
T2  - RoboCup 2016: Robot World Cup XX. RoboCup 2016.
Y1  - 2017
SN  - 978-3-319-68792-6
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68792-6_49
SP  - 589
EP  - 600
PB  - Springer
CY  - Cham
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Engemann, Heiko
A1  - Wiesen, Patrick
A1  - Kallweit, Stephan
A1  - Deshpande, Harshavardhan
A1  - Schleupen, Josef
T1  - Autonomous mobile manipulation using ROS
T2  - Advances in Service and Industrial Robotics
Y1  - 2018
SN  - 978-3-319-61276-8
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61276-8_43
N1  - International Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria Danube Region RAAD 2017;
Mechanisms and Machince Science book series, Vol 49.
SP  - 389
EP  - 401
PB  - Springer
CY  - Cham
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Steinbauer, Gerald
T1  - 20 Years of RoboCup -  A Subjective Retrospection
JF  - KI - Künstliche Intelligenz
N2  - 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.
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13218-016-0449-5
SN  - 1610-1987
VL  - 30
IS  - 3
SP  - 225
EP  - 232
PB  - Springer
CY  - Berlin
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Schleupen, Josef
A1  - Engemann, Heiko
A1  - Bagheri, Mohsen
A1  - Kallweit, Stephan
A1  - Dahmann, Peter
T1  - Developing a climbing maintenance robot for tower and rotor blade service of wind turbines
T2  - Advances in Robot Design and Intelligent Control : Proceedings of the 25th Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region (RAAD16)
Y1  - 2017
SN  - 978-3-319-49058-8
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49058-8_34
N1  - Advances in Robot Design and Intelligent Control ; Vol. 540
SP  - 310
EP  - 319
PB  - Springer
CY  - Cham
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Maier, Christopher
A1  - Mühlbacher, Clemens
A1  - Niemüller, Tim
A1  - Steinbauer, Gerald
A1  - Vassos, Stravros
T1  - Controlling logistics robots with the action-based language YAGI
T2  - Intelligent Robotics and Applications: 9th International Conference, ICIRA 2016, Tokyo, Japan, August 22-24, 2016, Proceedings, Part I
Y1  - 2016
SN  - 978-3-319-43505-3 (Print)
SN  - 978-3-319-43506-0 (Online)
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43506-0_46
N1  - Series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
VL  - 9834
SP  - 525
EP  - 537
PB  - Springer
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Niemueller, Tim
A1  - Reuter, Sebastian
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
ED  - Almeida, Luis
T1  - Fawkes for the RoboCup Logistics League
T2  - RoboCup 2015: Robot World Cup XIX
Y1  - 2016
SN  - 978-3-319-29339-4
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29339-4_31
N1  - Lecture Notes in Computer Science ; 9513
SP  - 365
EP  - 373
PB  - Springer International Publishing
CY  - Cham
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Niemueller, Tim
A1  - Reuter, Sebastian
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Jeschke, Sabina
A1  - Lakemeyer, Gerhard
ED  - Almeida, Luis
T1  - Evaluation of the RoboCup Logistics League and Derived Criteria for Future Competitions
T2  - RoboCup 2015: Robot World Cup XIX
Y1  - 2016
SN  - 978-3-319-29339-4
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29339-4_3
N1  - Lecture Notes in Computer Science ; 9513
SP  - 31
EP  - 43
PB  - Springer International Publishing
CY  - Cham
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Niemueller, Tim
A1  - Reuter, Sebastian
A1  - Ewert, Daniel
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Jeschke, Sabina
A1  - Lakemeyer, Gerhard
ED  - Almeida, Luis
T1  - The Carologistics Approach to Cope with the Increased Complexity and New Challenges of the RoboCup Logistics League 2015
T2  - RoboCup 2015: Robot World Cup XIX
Y1  - 2016
SN  - 978-3-319-29339-4
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29339-4_4
N1  - Lecture Notes in Computer Science ; 9513
SP  - 47
EP  - 59
PB  - Springer International Publishing
CY  - Cham
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Booysen, Tracy
A1  - Mathew, Thomas
A1  - Knox, Greig
A1  - Fong, W. K.
A1  - Stüttgen, Marcel
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Steinbauer, Gerald
T1  - The Scarab Project
T2  - ICRA 2015 Developing Countries Forum
N2  - 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.
Y1  - 2015
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Stopforth, Riaan
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Steinbauer, Gerald
T1  - Europe and South African collaboration on the Mechatronics and Robotics systems as part of the SA Robotics Center
T2  - ICRA 2015 Developing Countries Forum
N2  - 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.
Y1  - 2015
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Niemueller, Tim
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Reuter, Sebastian
A1  - Jeschke, Sabina
A1  - Lakemeyer, Gerhard
T1  - The RoboCup Logistics League as a Holistic Multi-Robot Smart Factory Benchmark
T2  - Proceedings of the IROS 2015 Open forum on evaluation of results, replication of experiments and benchmarking in robotics research
N2  - 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.
Y1  - 2015
ER  - 
TY  - CHAP
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Maier, Christopher
A1  - Mühlbacher, Clemens
A1  - Niemueller, Tim
A1  - Steinbauer, Gerald
A1  - Vassos, Stravros
T1  - Controlling Logistics Robots with the Action-based Language YAGI
T2  - Proceedings of the 2015 IROS Workshop on Workshop on Task Planning for Intelligent Robots in Service and Manufacturing
Y1  - 2015
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Leingartner, Max
A1  - Maurer, Johannes
A1  - Ferrein, Alexander
A1  - Steinbauer, Gerald
T1  - Evaluation of Sensors and Mapping Approaches for Disasters in Tunnels
JF  - Journal of Field Robotics
N2  - 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.
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rob.21611
SN  - 1556-4967
VL  - 33
IS  - 8
SP  - 1037
EP  - 1057
PB  - Wiley-VCH
CY  - Weinheim
ER  -