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Design and multimodal locomotion plan of a hexapod robot with improved knee joints J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-27 Kun Xu, Ripeng Qin, Cheng Chen, Guiyu Dong, Jiawei Chen, Xilun Ding
Hexapod robots represent complex and highly redundant robotic systems capable of handling various tasks in extreme environments, such as planetary exploration and disaster response. To enhance the terrain adaptability and maneuverability of hexapod robots, we present a novel multimodal hexapod robot in this research. Our multimodal hexapod robot design incorporates knee joints with an improved multiparallel
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Developing an expansion‐based obstacle detection using panoptic segmentation J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-26 Saied Pirasteh, Masood Varshosaz, Samira Badrloo, Jonathan Li
Safe Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) navigation requires detecting and avoiding obstacles. For safe MAV navigation, expansion‐based algorithms are effective for detecting obstacles. However, accurate and real‐time obstacle detection is a fundamental challenge. Some traditional methods focus on extracting geometric features from images and applying geometric constraints to identify potential obstacles. Others
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Design and performance analysis of soft pneumatic manipulator‐based linear cutter and stem holder for sweet pepper harvesting J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-26 Zinat Tasneem, Koichi Oka
Efficient automation of stem‐cutting processes in agricultural practices is crucial but little‐studied for improving productivity and reducing labor‐intensive tasks. To address this need, we present a customized stem cutter and stem holder designed explicitly for sweet pepper harvesting. The stem cutter comprises a fixed plate and a moving plate with a blade, which moves in a single plane at an upward
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An RGB‐D object detection model with high‐generalization ability applied to tea harvesting robot for outdoor cross‐variety tea shoots detection J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-22 Yanxu Wu, Jianneng Chen, Leiying He, Jiangsheng Gui, Jiangming Jia
Detecting tea shoots is the first and most crucial step in achieving intelligent tea harvesting. However, when faced with thousands of tea varieties, establishing a high‐quality and comprehensive database comes with significant costs. Therefore, it has become an urgent challenge to improve the model's generalization ability and train it with minimal samples to develop a model capable of achieving optimal
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Multiagent robotic systems and exploration algorithms: Applications for data collection in construction sites J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-22 Samuel A. Prieto, Nikolaos Giakoumidis, Borja García de Soto
The construction industry has been notoriously slow to adopt new technology and embrace automation. This has resulted in lower efficiency and productivity compared to other industries where automation has been widely adopted. However, recent advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence offer a potential solution to this problem. In this study, a methodology is proposed to integrate multirobotic
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WheTLHLoc 4W: Small‐scale inspection ground mobile robot with two tracks, two rotating legs, and four wheels J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-18 Luca Bruzzone, Shahab Edin Nodehi, Pietro Fanghella
WheTLHLoc 4W is the second version of a hybrid leg–wheel–track small‐scale ground mobile robot, developed for surveillance and inspection applications. It differs from its predecessor, WheTLHLoc 2W, in two main aspects: the number of wheels (four instead of two), and the new leg design. The overall size of the robot varies depending on the configuration: 500 × 420 × 140 mm (length × width × height)
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Autonomous navigation and adaptive path planning in dynamic greenhouse environments utilizing improved LeGO‐LOAM and OpenPlanner algorithms J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-14 Xingbo Yao, Yuhao Bai, Baohua Zhang, Dahua Xu, Guangzheng Cao, Yifan Bian
The autonomous navigation of greenhouse robots depends on precise mapping, accurate localization information and a robust path planning strategy. However, the complex agricultural environment introduces significant challenges to robot perception and path planning. In this study, a hardware system designed exclusively for greenhouse agricultural environments is presented, employing multi‐sensor fusion
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Robotics‐driven gait analysis: Assessing Azure Kinect's performance in in‐lab versus in‐corridor environments J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-14 Diego Guffanti, Alberto Brunete, Miguel Hernando, David Álvarez, Ernesto Gambao, William Chamorro, Diego Fernández‐Vázquez, Víctor Navarro‐López, María Carratalá‐Tejada, Juan Carlos Miangolarra‐Page
Gait analysis offers vital insights into human movement, aiding in the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of various conditions. Analyzing gait in corridors, rather than in lab, provides unique advantages for a more comprehensive understanding of human locomotion. However, limited dedicated technologies constrain gait data analysis in this context. In this study, a markerless gait analysis system
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LiDAR‐based automated UAV inspection of wind turbine rotor blades J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-14 Carlos Castelar Wembers, Jasper Pflughaupt, Ludmila Moshagen, Michael Kurenkov, Tim Lewejohann, Georg Schildbach
The global trend indicates that overall wind energy production, both onshore and offshore, will increase drastically in the next decade. Therefore, presently, much effort is focused on optimizing the operation and maintenance of wind turbines, since these are quite challenging and cost‐intensive. To aid or even completely fulfill a specific inspection task, an automated solution is proposed in this
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ADRC‐SMC‐based disturbance rejection depth‐tracking control of underactuated AUV J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-06 Chuan Liu, Xianbo Xiang, Yu Duan, Lichun Yang, Shaolong Yang
The underactuated autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) depth‐tracking approach is presented in this research along with comparative field experiments. First, a model‐free ADRC‐SMC pitch autopilot method is proposed to eliminate dynamics‐related disturbances. The active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) framework is adopted to compensate the complicated and unknown pitch dynamics into an approximate
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Two novel approaches for solving the contradiction between efficient penetration and low recoil for the low‐velocity penetrator J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-04 Cheng Xu, Jingkai Feng, Jinguo Liu, Yuanzheng Tian, Da Lu
The low‐velocity penetrator (LVP) is a planetary penetration device that can drive itself to a target depth through its internal periodic impacts. When LVP generates impact energy, it inevitably produces a recoil that can only be counteracted by friction with the soil, if there is no other auxiliary device. Unfortunately, LVP is extraordinarily sensitive to the recoil during the initial stage since
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The Haidou‐1 hybrid underwater vehicle for the Mariana Trench science exploration to 10,908 m depth J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Jian Wang, Yuangui Tang, Shuo Li, Yang Lu, Jixu Li, Tiejun Liu, Zhibin Jiang, Cong Chen, Yu Cheng, Deyong Yu, Xingya Yan, Shuxue Yan
An unmanned Autonomous and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ARV), Haidou‐1, visited the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, and performed observation, sampling and bathymetric mapping explorations at the trench bottom. The Haidou‐1 vehicle reached a depth of 10,908 m in the west pool of the Challenger Deep and probed a depth of 10,909 m in the east pool. The 2600 kg underwater robotic vehicle could conduct
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RoboBoat: A robotic boat for 3D mapping of partially flooded underground sites J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-26 José Luis Villarroel, Francisco Lera, Danilo Tardioli, Luis Riazuelo, Luis Montano
This paper presents the development and field testing of RoboBoat, an unmanned surface vehicle designed to acquire three‐dimensional (3D) point cloud representations of narrow flooded galleries in caves, mines, and other similar environments where conventional surveying and mapping procedures cannot be applied. We developed techniques tailored to these scenarios, including a contour‐following reactive
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Gyroscopic precession control for maneuvering two-wheeled robot recoil stabilization J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-15 Gökhan Çetin, Faruk Ünker
A two-wheeled robot has high maneuverability and can spin around with a high velocity but is prone to roll over under a recoil force. Because the wheels are only used to control the maneuver speed of the robot. However, a two-wheeled robot using a gyroscope does not need the control of the wheels and can maintain the stability of the robot under a recoil force during maneuvers even if the gimbal of
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Impact of modified Harris hawks optimization on hybrid deep learning for untrained plant leaf classification J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-19 Bhanuprakash Dudi, V. Rajesh
Plants are extensively dispersed in nature, and they are essential for the survival and growth of the entire living creatures on the planet. Leaf classification and identification are critical in botany for recognizing new or endangered tree species. Leaf classification must be done quickly and accurately to sustain agricultural products. Traditional methods used manual classification of plant species
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Unmanned air/ground vehicle survey following a radiological dispersal event J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-15 Timothy Munsie, Blake Beckman, Ross Fawkes, Alan B. Shippen, Blaine Fairbrother, Anna Rae Green
This paper presents the method and results of surveying a dispersed radioactive field using an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) and an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). A 35 GBq of 140${}^{140}$La material was distributed in a specific geometric l-polygon pattern measuring a 120 m ×$\times $ 20 m longitudinal rectangle and an 80 m ×$\times $ 10 m transverse rectangle. Two methods were used to determine the
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Nautilus: An autonomous surface vehicle with a multilayer software architecture for offshore inspection J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-15 Daniel F. Campos, Eduardo P. Gonçalves, Hugo J. Campos, Maria I. Pereira, Andry M. Pinto
The increasing adoption of robotic solutions for inspection tasks in challenging environments is becoming increasingly prevalent, particularly in the offshore wind energy industry. This trend is driven by the critical need to safeguard the integrity and operational efficiency of offshore infrastructure. Consequently, the design of inspection vehicles must comply with rigorous requirements established
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Exploring the feasibility of autonomous forestry operations: Results from the first experimental unmanned machine J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-07 Pedro La Hera, Omar Mendoza-Trejo, Ola Lindroos, Håkan Lideskog, Torbjörn Lindbäck, Saira Latif, Songyu Li, Magnus Karlberg
This article presents a study on the world's first unmanned machine designed for autonomous forestry operations. In response to the challenges associated with traditional forestry operations, we developed a platform equipped with essential hardware components necessary for performing autonomous forwarding tasks. Through the use of computer vision, autonomous navigation, and manipulator control algorithms
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Cover Image, Volume 41, Number 2, March 2024 J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-01 Yufei Jin, Yuanbo Bi, Chenxin Lyu, Yulin Bai, Zheng Zeng, Lian Lian
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Performance evaluation of newly released cameras for fruit detection and localization in complex kiwifruit orchard environments J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-30 Xiaojuan Liu, Xudong Jing, Hanhui Jiang, Shoaib Younas, Ruiyang Wei, Haojie Dang, Zhenchao Wu, Longsheng Fu
Consumer RGB-D and binocular stereo cameras were applied to fruit detection and localization. However, few studies are documented on performance comparison of newly released cameras under same scene in complex orchard. This study evaluates performance of consumer RGB-D and binocular stereo cameras based on YOLOv5x for kiwifruit detection and localization and selection of optimal one with better application
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Correction to “Aerial online mapping on-board system by real-time object detection for UGV path generation in unstructured outdoor environments” J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-28
Lee, J., Lim, J., Pyo, S. & Lee, J. (2023) Aerial online mapping on-board system by real-time object detection for UGV path generation in unstructured outdoor environments. Journal of Field Robotics, 40, 1754–1765. The reference appearing in the published version: Guastella, D.C., Cantelli, L., Melita, C.D. & Muscato, G. (2017) A global path planning strategy for a UGV from aerial elevation maps for
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Design and Motion Principle Analysis of new parallel mechanisms with fewer active inputs than the degrees of freedom J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-28 Yu Wang, Can Qiu, Jiabin Wu, Yundou Xu, Fengfeng Xi, Shenglong Nie, Yongsheng Zhao
In this paper, two new parallel mechanisms (PMs) with fewer active inputs than the degrees of freedom (DOFs)are proposed: (i) an nSPS (n = 7, 8, 9) six-DOF PM with n-6 active inputs and six lockable joints. and (ii) a 3RPS-SPS 3-DOF PM with one active input and three lockable joints. Compared with the traditional PMs, the difference is that the proposed PMs can achieve the same mobility by using a
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Three-dimensional mapping and immersive human–robot interfacing utilize Kinect-style depth cameras and virtual reality for agricultural mobile robots J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-28 Dong Wang, Baohua Zhang, Jun Zhou, Yingjun Xiong, Longshen Liu, Qianqiu Tan
Navigation and autonomous operation in farmland or greenhouse environments present significant challenges for agricultural mobile robots on account of unstructured scene conditions and complex task requirements. The immersive interfaces based on human–robot interaction have been extensively developed, which bridge the high-level decision of human beings and the precise sensing and high motion ability
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Trafficability anticipation for quadruped robot in field operation J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-28 Chengjin Wang, Rui Zhang, Wenchao Dong, Tao Li, Lei Jiang, Wei Xu, Peng Xu, Yanmin Zhou, Meng Zou
The capability to predict catastrophic failures and anticipate challenges relating to trafficability enables quadruped robots to adjust their planned trajectory in time to prevent any damages. In this paper, an estimation-based method is proposed to describe the validity of the trajectory from the viewpoint of the traction performance of the terrain. The main contribution of this study lies in equipping
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Finite-time command filter control for dynamic positioning of remotely operated vehicles based on disturbance observer J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-24 Jun Tang, Yanxia Qin, Zhaokai Dang
To deal with the problems of low positioning accuracy and poor stability caused by model parameter uncertainty and external disturbances in the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dynamic positioning control system, the adaptive fuzzy control is combined with a disturbance observer to estimate the lumped disturbances and the error compensation mechanism is introduced to design the ROV dynamic positioning
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Modeling analysis and experiment for energy system of ocean energy driven unmanned marine vehicle: The Yulang II case study J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-22 Qi Jia, Yulei Liao, Peihong Xu, Shuo Pang, Bo Wang, Ye Li
It is critical to master a marine robot's energy system characteristics adequately to ensure that the robot can perform long-endurance tasks in complex and ever-changing marine environments. This paper presents, for the first time, an energy system modeling and analysis method for a marine robot driven by wind, solar, and wave composite energy, using Yulang II as an example. First, an onshore experiment
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Hierarchical rule-base reduction fuzzy control for constant velocity path tracking of a differential steer vehicle J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-22 Samuel R. Dekhterman, Maxwel T. Cichon, William R. Norris, Dustin Nottage, Ahmet Soylemezoglu
Hierarchical rule-base reduction (HRBR) was used to create a new form of waypoint navigation control for a skid-steer vehicle, which consists of a multiple input-single output nonlinear fuzzy angular velocity controller. HRBR enabled an increase in system complexity by only selecting the rules most influential on state errors. The membership functions of the fuzzy controller employed a trapezoidal
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An autonomous UAV system based on adaptive LiDAR inertial odometry for practical exploration in complex environments J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-19 Boseong Kim, Maulana Bisyir Azhari, Jaeyong Park, David Hyunchul Shim
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer many advantages over ground vehicles, including quadruped robots, based on high maneuverability when performing exploration in complex and unknown environments. However, due to their limited computational capability, UAVs require lightweight but accurate state estimation algorithms for reliable exploration. In this paper, we propose a segmented map-based exploration system
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Optimal guidance track generation for precision agriculture: A review of coverage path planning techniques J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-11 Maria Höffmann, Shruti Patel, Christof Büskens
The Complete Coverage Path Planning (CCPP) problem is a subfield of industrial motion planning that has applications in various domains, ranging from mobile robotics to treatment applications. Especially in precision agriculture with a high level of automation, the use of CCPP techniques is essential for efficient resource utilization, reduced soil compaction, and increased yields. This paper reviews
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Insights from autonomy trials of a self-reconfigurable floor-cleaning robot in a public food court J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-10 I. D. Wijegunawardana, M. A. Viraj J. Muthugala, S. M. Bhagya P. Samarakoon, Ong Jun Hua, Saurav Ghante Anantha Padmanabha, Mohan Rajesh Elara
As autonomous cleaning robots advance, we expect certain features, such as higher area coverage and robustness. To explore these features and their challenges, we need tools and strategies that allow us to develop them rapidly. In this paper, we present lessons learned and results while performing 3 months long field trials on the autonomy of a self-reconfigurable floor-cleaning robot. The autonomy
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Intelligent classifier for various degrees of coffee roasts using smart multispectral vision system J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-07 Ming-Yi Lin, Ching-Han Chen, Jung-Hua Lu
This study proposes an innovative deep learning model for use in a multispectral vision system comprising a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensor and a spectrometer. To ensure accurate color recognition, the deep learning model includes an embedded adaptive automatic color temperature correction engine. By using this color temperature correction engine, the multispectral vision system
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Formation tracking control for an air–ground system under position deviations and wind disturbances J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-02 Lei Cui, Shiqing Liang, Hongjiu Yang, Zhiqiang Zuo
In this paper, a formation tracking control strategy based on a leader–follower structure is investigated under position deviations and wind disturbances for an air–ground system. A backstepping controller is designed to achieve the expected trajectory-tracking performance for the leader which is a car-like vehicle. A robust nonsingular integral terminal sliding mode formation controller based on leader–follower
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Whole-body motion planning and tracking of a mobile robot with a gimbal RGB-D camera for outdoor 3D exploration J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-02 Zhihao Wang, Haoyao Chen, Mengmeng Fu
Autonomous exploration is a fundamental problem for certain applications of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). Depth cameras are widely used in exploring indoor and specific outdoor environments. However, existing methods suffer from inefficient and unstable performance of exploration in open outdoor environments. This study develops a framework to achieve fast and robust three-dimensional exploration
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Leveraging digital twin for autonomous docking of a container truck with stabilization control J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-02 Augie Widyotriatmo, Ivan Adi Kuncara, Husnul Amri, Agus Hasan, Yul Yunazwin Nazaruddin
This paper describes the design, development, and implementation of a high-precision autonomous docking control system for a container truck based on a digital twin approach. The digital twin is used to simulate the dynamic behavior of the physical truck and to design the controller by providing a virtual platform to test, validate, and optimize control strategies and algorithms before their deployment
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Segmentation and tracking of vegetable plants by exploiting vegetable shape feature for precision spray of agricultural robots J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-20 Nan Hu, Daobilige Su, Shuo Wang, Xuechang Wang, Huiyu Zhong, Zimeng Wang, Yongliang Qiao, Yu Tan
For robotic precision spray application in vegetable farms, simultaneous accurate instance segmentation and robust tracking of plants are of great importance and a prerequisite for the following spray action. With onboard cameras, agricultural robots can apply Multiple Object Tracking and Segmentation (MOTS) methods, for instance, segmentation and tracking of plants. By assigning a unique identification
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Calibration of an expeditious terramechanics model using a higher-fidelity model, Bayesian inference, and a virtual bevameter test J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-14 Wei Hu, Pei Li, Huzaifa Mustafa Unjhawala, Radu Serban, Dan Negrut
The soil contact model (SCM) is widely used in practice for off-road wheeled vehicle mobility studies when simulation speed is important and highly accurate results are not a main concern. In practice, the SCM parameters are obtained via a bevameter test, which requires a complex apparatus and experimental procedure. Here, we advance the idea of running a virtual bevameter test using a high-fidelity
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Lessons from robot-assisted disaster response deployments by the German Rescue Robotics Center task force J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-06 Hartmut Surmann, Kevin Daun, Marius Schnaubelt, Oskar von Stryk, Manuel Patchou, Stefan Böcker, Christian Wietfeld, Jan Quenzel, Daniel Schleich, Sven Behnke, Robert Grafe, Nils Heidemann, Dominik Slomma, Ivana Kruijff-Korbayová
Earthquakes, fire, and floods often cause structural collapses of buildings. However, the inspection of such damaged buildings poses a high risk for emergency forces or is even impossible. We present three recently selected missions of the Robotics Task Force of the German Rescue Robotics Center (DRZ), where both ground and aerial robots were used to explore destroyed buildings. We describe and reflect
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High maneuverability of the falcon flying robot J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-05 Liang Zhang, Xiuyu He, Wei He, Sujie Zhang, Min Zhao, Hongxue Zhao
This paper presents a highly maneuverable flapping-wing flying robot (FWFR) capable of achieving high speeds and large roll angles. The airfoil of the wing is designed based on lift and drag generation mechanisms, and the wing is manufactured using the expanded polypropylene injection method. Drawing inspiration from the tail fin of natural falcons, the tail is designed and an aerodynamic model is
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Underwater Pose SLAM using GMM scan matching for a mechanical profiling sonar J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-04 Pau Vial, Narcís Palomeras, Joan Solà, Marc Carreras
The underwater domain is a challenging environment for robotics because widely used electromagnetic devices must be substituted by acoustic equivalents, much slower and noisier. In this paper a two-dimensional pose simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system for an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle based on inertial sensors and a mechanical profiling sonar is presented. Two main systems are specially
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Cover Image, Volume 41, Number 1, January 2024 J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-03 Lefan Guo, Gangfeng Liu, Yongsheng Luo, Peng Jiang, Jie Zhao
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Multisensor fusion-based maritime ship object detection method for autonomous surface vehicles J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-28 Qi Zhang, Yunxiao Shan, Ziquan Zhang, Hongquan Lin, Yunfei Zhang, Kai Huang
Autonomous surface vehicles face the challenge of accurately detecting nearby ships in the complex and ever-changing maritime environment, which is vastly different from land areas. To address this issue, we propose an image-based multisensor fusion object detection method that combines Light Detection and Rangings and cameras. Since point clouds have poor semantics, our method primarily relies on
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ConservationBots: Autonomous aerial robot for fast robust wildlife tracking in complex terrains J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-28 Fei Chen, Hoa Van Nguyen, David A. Taggart, Katrina Falkner, S. Hamid Rezatofighi, Damith C. Ranasinghe
Radio tagging and tracking are fundamental to understanding the movements and habitats of wildlife in their natural environments. Today, the most widespread, widely applicable technology for gathering data relies on experienced scientists armed with handheld radio-telemetry equipment to locate low-power radio transmitters attached to wildlife from the ground. Although aerial robots can transform labor-intensive
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Nezha-IV: A hybrid aerial underwater vehicle in real ocean environments J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-27 Yufei Jin, Yuanbo Bi, Chenxin Lyu, Yulin Bai, Zheng Zeng, Lian Lian
Hybrid aerial underwater vehicles (HAUVs) that are capable of autonomously operating in both the aerial and underwater environments with repeated rapid transitions have received great interest in recent years. Current HAUV prototypes cannot fully cope with the unstructured, harsh, and hazardous ocean environments considering the high-pressure and the strong hydrodynamic perturbations. This work reports
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Attention mechanism-based multisensor data fusion neural network for fault diagnosis of autonomous underwater vehicles J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-23 Huaitao Shi, Zelong Song, Xiaotian Bai, Ke Zhang
The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) frequently operates in harsh underwater environments, and timely fault diagnosis of the AUV can prevent mission failure and equipment loss. Data-driven methods based on a single data source have been widely utilized for fault diagnosis of the AUV because they do not require the construction of complex mechanism models and have high fault diagnosis accuracy. However
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Agile robotic inspection of steel structures: A bicycle-like approach with multisensor integration J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-23 Son Thanh Nguyen, Kien Thanh La, Hung Manh La
This paper introduces an innovative and streamlined design of a robot, resembling a bicycle, created to effectively inspect a wide range of ferromagnetic structures, even those with intricate shapes. The key highlight of this robot lies in its mechanical simplicity coupled with remarkable agility. The locomotion strategy hinges on the arrangement of two magnetic wheels in a configuration akin to a
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An automated apple harvesting robot—From system design to field evaluation J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-14 Kaixiang Zhang, Kyle Lammers, Pengyu Chu, Zhaojian Li, Renfu Lu
Decreased availability and rising cost in labor poses a serious threat to the long-term profitability and sustainability of the apple industry in the United States and many other countries. Harvest automation is thus urgently needed. In this paper, we present the unified system design and field evaluation of a new apple harvesting robot. The robot is mainly composed of a specially designed perception
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Design and field test of a foldable wing unmanned aerial–underwater vehicle J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-14 Xiangren Sun, Jian Cao, Ye Li, Baoxu Wang
This paper presents the design and field test of a foldable wing unmanned aerial–underwater vehicle (UAUV). The vehicle can complete diving and air operations, and still have the ability of multiple trans-medium water egress and ingress under the condition of carrying mission load during a single flight. The wings can be folded back for drag reduction in underwater sailing and water egress, and unfolded
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Robot self-calibration using actuated 3D sensors J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-14 Arne Peters, Alois C. Knoll
Both robot and hand-eye calibration have been object of research for decades. While current approaches manage to precisely and robustly identify the parameters of a robot's kinematic model, they still rely on external devices such as calibration objects, markers and/or external sensors. Instead of trying to fit recorded measurements to a model of a known object, this paper treats robot calibration
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A stereo visual navigation method for docking autonomous underwater vehicles J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-14 Shuo Xu, Yanqing Jiang, Ye Li, Bo Wang, Tianqi Xie, Shuchang Li, Haodong Qi, Ao Li, Jian Cao
Recovering and recharging autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) on a regular basis allows for long-term underwater activities. This research provides a vision-based navigation strategy for AUVs to independently identify and reconstruct the docking station (DS). The proposed framework includes a light beacon detection approach, a filter-based light beacon matching method, and a fusion pose estimation
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Guidance method of underwater vehicle for rugged seafloor observation in close proximity J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-09 Yukiyasu Noguchi, Yuki Sekimori, Toshihiro Maki
Obtaining detailed information about the ocean through seafloor optical imaging is crucial, yet poses significant challenges due to the high attenuation of light, which necessitates the camera to be positioned within several meters of the seafloor. This paper proposes a method for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to track the seafloor at a close range suitable for optical survey. Through the
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Leaping fishbot by combustion and propulsion hybrid actuation J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-06 Zhiguo He, Guanzheng Lin, Yang Yang, Pengcheng Jiao
Autonomous underwater vehicles have been extensively developed in the past decades and deployed for various ocean research activities. While the leaping-out motions of underwater creatures have motivated the development of underwater robots with the motion ability to jump out of water, the dynamics of such jumping robots have not been fully described. In this study, we developed a leaping fishbot,
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Field experiment of autonomous ship navigation in canal and surrounding nearshore environments J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-08 Jonghwi Kim, Changyu Lee, Dongha Chung, Yonghoon Cho, Jinwhan Kim, Wangseok Jang, Saeyong Park
In this paper, we present the development of autonomous navigation capabilities for small cruise boats, and their verification by field experiments in a canal and its surrounding waters. A cruise boat was converted to an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) by installing various sensors and actuators to enable autonomous navigation. Navigation and perception sensors, such as global positioning system,
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Fruit growing direction recognition and nesting grasping strategies for tomato harvesting robots J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-06 Xiajun Zheng, Jiacheng Rong, Zhiqin Zhang, Yan Yang, Wei Li, Ting Yuan
In recent years, the potential of robotic harvesting in greenhouse tomato production has garnered significant attention within the tomato industry. However, there is a lack of sufficient research on the complete replacement of manual harvesting with this technology. In this paper, we propose a tomato harvesting method that utilizes a nesting approach to simplify the process and minimize damage. The
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Cover Image, Volume 40, Number 8, December 2023 J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-02 Wei Wang, David Fernández-Gutiérrez, Rens Doornbusch, Joshua Jordan, Tixiao Shan, Pietro Leoni, Niklas Hagemann, Jonathan Klein Schiphorst, Fabio Duarte, Carlo Ratti, Daniela Rus
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Paddy field object detection for robotic combine based on real-time semantic segmentation algorithm J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-02 Jiajun Zhu, Michihisa Iida, Sikai Chen, Shijing Cheng, Masahiko Suguri, Ryohei Masuda
The development of robotic combine for rice harvesting has garnered worldwide attention in recent years. The robotic combine is capable of running along a designated path; however, it still requires human operator supervision due to the lack of object detection sensors for safety purposes. To achieve a fully unmanned robotic combine, a real-time paddy field object detection method is necessary. Typically
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Four years of multimodal odometry and mapping on the rail vehicles J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-10-26 Yusheng Wang, Weiwei Song, Yi Zhang, Fei Huang, Zhiyong Tu, Ruoying Li, Shimin Zhang, Yidong Lou
Precise, seamless, and efficient train localization as well as long-term railway environment monitoring is the essential property towards reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety engineering for railroad systems. Simultaneous localization and mapping is right at the core of solving the two problems concurrently. To this end, we propose a high-performance and versatile multimodal framework
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Coordinated trajectory tracking control for mining excavator with oscillating external disturbance J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-10-26 Rujun Fan, Yunhua Li, Liman Yang, Tao Qin, Yongwei Zhang, Zhaoxiong Wang
The mining excavator is a significant type of field robot, however, its ability to track excavation trajectories accurately is limited by model uncertainties and fast-changing external digging force. This paper presents a novel trajectory tracking coordinate control approach for mining excavators by utilizing cross-coupling control (CCS). The approach begins by defining the coordination error based
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Modeling of novel circular gait motion through daisy sequence fitting algorithm in a vertical climbing snake robot J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-10-23 Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Aravind Prakash Senthil, Dhananjay Raghavan, Sakthiprasad Kuttankulangara Manoharan
Snake robots can be used in multiple tasks, like, climbing, surveillance, pipe inspection, welding, and so forth. Current gaits of snake robots do not support rotation on a single horizontal plane in a circular fashion of a pole or tree at a fixed height. This makes snake robot extremely difficult to take the end effector to the desired target position and orientation. In addition, torque requirement
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Modeling and optimization using artificial neural network and genetic algorithm of self-propelled machine reach envelope J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-10-10 Gajendra Singh, V. K. Tewari, R. R. Potdar, Sitesh Kumar
Self-propelled machinery, which is a crucial component of agricultural mechanization, is essential for enhancing production. Few farming operations involve the operation of riding-type self-propelled machinery for a prolonged period of time (6–8 h/day) and in a fluctuating weather condition in field condition. To alleviate the operator's workload, an ergonomically designed self-propelled reach envelope
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Development of a user-friendly automatic ground-based imaging platform for precise estimation of plant phenotypes in field crops J. Field Robot. (IF 8.3) Pub Date : 2023-10-09 Narayan Gatkal, Tushar Dhar, Athira Prasad, Ranganath Prajwal, Santosh, Bikram Jyoti, Ajay Kumar Roul, Rahul Potdar, Aman Mahore, Bhupendra Singh Parmar, Vala Vimalsinh
Plant phenotyping is the science to quantify the quality, photosynthesis, development, growth, and biomass productivity of different crop plants. In the past, plant phenotyping employed methods such as grid count and regression models. However, the grid count method proved to be labor-intensive and time-consuming, while the regression model lacked accuracy in calculating leaf area. To address these