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 - https://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 - 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 - https://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 - Eichenbaum, Julian A1 - Nikolovski, Gjorgji A1 - Mülhens, Leon A1 - Reke, Michael A1 - Ferrein, Alexander A1 - Scholl, Ingrid T1 - Towards a lifelong mapping approach using Lanelet 2 for autonomous open-pit mine operations T2 - 2023 IEEE 19th International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE) N2 - Autonomous agents require rich environment models for fulfilling their missions. High-definition maps are a well-established map format which allows for representing semantic information besides the usual geometric information of the environment. These are, for instance, road shapes, road markings, traffic signs or barriers. The geometric resolution of HD maps can be as precise as of centimetre level. In this paper, we report on our approach of using HD maps as a map representation for autonomous load-haul-dump vehicles in open-pit mining operations. As the mine undergoes constant change, we also need to constantly update the map. Therefore, we follow a lifelong mapping approach for updating the HD maps based on camera-based object detection and GPS data. We show our mapping algorithm based on the Lanelet 2 map format and show our integration with the navigation stack of the Robot Operating System. We present experimental results on our lifelong mapping approach from a real open-pit mine. Y1 - 2023 SN - 979-8-3503-2069-5 (Online) SN - 979-8-3503-2070-1 (Print) U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/CASE56687.2023.10260526 N1 - 19th International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), 26-30 August 2023, Auckland, New Zealand. PB - IEEE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Dey, Thomas A1 - Elsen, Ingo A1 - Ferrein, Alexander A1 - Frauenrath, Tobias A1 - Reke, Michael A1 - Schiffer, Stefan ED - Makedon, Fillia T1 - CO2 Meter: a do-it-yourself carbon dioxide measuring device for the classroom T2 - PETRA '21: Proceedings of the 14th Pervasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments Conference N2 - In this paper we report on CO2 Meter, a do-it-yourself carbon dioxide measuring device for the classroom. Part of the current measures for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is proper ventilation in indoor settings. This is especially important in schools with students coming back to the classroom even with high incidents rates. Static ventilation patterns do not consider the individual situation for a particular class. Influencing factors like the type of activity, the physical structure or the room occupancy are not incorporated. Also, existing devices are rather expensive and often provide only limited information and only locally without any networking. This leaves the potential of analysing the situation across different settings untapped. Carbon dioxide level can be used as an indicator of air quality, in general, and of aerosol load in particular. Since, according to the latest findings, SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted primarily in the form of aerosols, carbon dioxide may be used as a proxy for the risk of a virus infection. Hence, schools could improve the indoor air quality and potentially reduce the infection risk if they actually had measuring devices available in the classroom. Our device supports schools in ventilation and it allows for collecting data over the Internet to enable a detailed data analysis and model generation. First deployments in schools at different levels were received very positively. A pilot installation with a larger data collection and analysis is underway. KW - embedded hardware KW - sensor networks KW - information systems KW - education KW - do-it-yourself Y1 - 2021 SN - 9781450387927 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1145/3453892.3462697 N1 - PETRA '21: The 14th PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments Conference Corfu Greece 29 June 2021- 2 July 2021 SP - 292 EP - 299 PB - Association for Computing Machinery CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Coll-Perales, Baldomero A1 - Schulte-Tigges, Joschua A1 - Rondinone, Michele A1 - Gozalvez, Javier A1 - Reke, Michael A1 - Matheis, Dominik A1 - Walter, Thomas T1 - Prototyping and evaluation of infrastructure-assisted transition of control for cooperative automated vehicles JF - IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems N2 - Automated driving is now possible in diverse road and traffic conditions. However, there are still situations that automated vehicles cannot handle safely and efficiently. In this case, a Transition of Control (ToC) is necessary so that the driver takes control of the driving. Executing a ToC requires the driver to get full situation awareness of the driving environment. If the driver fails to get back the control in a limited time, a Minimum Risk Maneuver (MRM) is executed to bring the vehicle into a safe state (e.g., decelerating to full stop). The execution of ToCs requires some time and can cause traffic disruption and safety risks that increase if several vehicles execute ToCs/MRMs at similar times and in the same area. This study proposes to use novel C-ITS traffic management measures where the infrastructure exploits V2X communications to assist Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) in the execution of ToCs. The infrastructure can suggest a spatial distribution of ToCs, and inform vehicles of the locations where they could execute a safe stop in case of MRM. This paper reports the first field operational tests that validate the feasibility and quantify the benefits of the proposed infrastructure-assisted ToC and MRM management. The paper also presents the CAV and roadside infrastructure prototypes implemented and used in the trials. The conducted field trials demonstrate that infrastructure-assisted traffic management solutions can reduce safety risks and traffic disruptions. KW - Automated driving KW - automated vehicles KW - connected automated vehicles KW - CAV KW - experimental evaluation Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/TITS.2021.3061085 SN - 1524-9050 (Print) SN - 1558-0016 (Online) VL - 23 IS - 7 SP - 6720 EP - 6736 PB - IEEE 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 - https://doi.org/10.3390/app9112238 SN - 2076-3417 VL - Volume 9 IS - issue 11, 2238 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cheng, Chi-Tsun A1 - Wollert, Jörg F. A1 - Chen, Xi A1 - Fapojuwo, Abraham O. T1 - Guest Editorial : Circuits and Systems for Industry X.0 Applications JF - IEEE Journal on Emerging and Selected Topics in Circuits and Systems Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/JETCAS.2023.3278843 SN - 2156-3357 (Print) SN - 2156-3365 (Online) VL - 13 SP - 457 EP - 460 PB - IEEE CY - New York ET - 2 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Chavez Bermudez, Victor Francisco A1 - Wollert, Jörg F. 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 - https://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 CY - New York, NY ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Chavez Bermudez, Victor Francisco A1 - Cruz Castanon, Victor Fernando A1 - Ruchay, Marco A1 - Wollert, Jörg F. ED - Leipzig, Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Kultur T1 - Rapid prototyping framework for automation applications based on IO-Link T2 - Tagungsband AALE 2022: Wissenstransfer im Spannungsfeld von Autonomisierung und Fachkräftemangel N2 - The development of protype applications with sensors and actuators in the automation industry requires tools that are independent of manufacturer, and are flexible enough to be modified or extended for any specific requirements. Currently, developing prototypes with industrial sensors and actuators is not straightforward. First of all, the exchange of information depends on the industrial protocol that these devices have. Second, a specific configuration and installation is done based on the hardware that is used, such as automation controllers or industrial gateways. This means that the development for a specific industrial protocol, highly depends on the hardware and the software that vendors provide. In this work we propose a rapid-prototyping framework based on Arduino to solve this problem. For this project we have focused to work with the IO-Link protocol. The framework consists of an Arduino shield that acts as the physical layer, and a software that implements the IO-Link Master protocol. The main advantage of such framework is that an application with industrial devices can be rapid-prototyped with ease as its vendor independent, open-source and can be ported easily to other Arduino compatible boards. In comparison, a typical approach requires proprietary hardware, is not easy to port to another system and is closed-source. KW - Rapid-prototyping KW - Arduino KW - IO-Link KW - Industrial Communication Y1 - 2022 SN - 978-3-910103-00-9 U6 - https://doi.org/10.33968/2022.28 N1 - 18. AALE-Konferenz. Pforzheim, 09.03.-11.03.2022 CY - Leipzig 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 - https://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 CY - New York, NY ER -