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The Way of the Force: How Attractor Dynamics and Contact Coordinates Local and System Behavior for Multi-Agent Object Transportation

Russ, Benjamin
http://orcid.org/0009-0003-9250-3958
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1692272174344388

Abstract Details

2023, MS, University of Cincinnati, Engineering and Applied Science: Mechanical Engineering.
Multi-robot systems are a promising solution for object transportation as they have huge advantages over single-purposed robots - they are more versatile, less specialized, and more resilient to system failure while they can be scaled in numbers to meet operating requirements. As humans continue to explore further into our universe and domestic needs continue to grow with an increasing population, more robots will be required to complete more jobs. Most importantly, this current philosophy does not consider environments without human intervention or teleoperation. In projects such as NASA Gateway where “galactic pitstops” may not have a human aboard for many months, faults or incomplete tasks would endanger any mission relying on consistent uptime. Tasks such as moving a simple object from an initial position to a target region, such as staging materials, must be completed by a reliable robotic system to save mission critical resources and time. However, when scaling numbers, multi-robot control and communication becomes complex as either monitoring technology or environmental cues must be deployed to enable coordination. In order to make the multi-robot system not only resilient, but also independent from environmental cues and hence universally deployable out-of-the-box, we propose a purely emergent interaction model based on touch between the individual mobile robots and contact with a manipulated object. This is realized with an attractor dynamics trajectory planner coined as “convergence” and a contact controller referred as “adherence” is benchmarked in a simulated non-prehensile object transportation task. The outcomes from this project include the “convergence” and “adherence” algorithms and how they behave as a coupled dynamic system, a Gazebo and Robotic Operating System (ROS) simulation, documentation and analysis of emergent behaviors from the coupled dynamic system, and finally exploring system patterns across a set of four predefined cases consisting of trials with one, two, three, five, and ten robots within the workspace. Ultimately, results show that the system is successful in moving an object to a goal position with different numbers of robots. However, the individual behaviors require further exploring into their exact impacts on the greater system performance.
Tamara Lorenz, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Ali Minai, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Nikita Kuznetsov, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Manish Kumar, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
90 p.
Robotics
Multi-Agent System; Mobile Robotics; Attractor Dynamics; Impedance Control; Interactive Robotics; Coupled Dynamics

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Russ, B. (2023). The Way of the Force: How Attractor Dynamics and Contact Coordinates Local and System Behavior for Multi-Agent Object Transportation [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1692272174344388

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Russ, Benjamin. The Way of the Force: How Attractor Dynamics and Contact Coordinates Local and System Behavior for Multi-Agent Object Transportation. 2023. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1692272174344388.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Russ, Benjamin. "The Way of the Force: How Attractor Dynamics and Contact Coordinates Local and System Behavior for Multi-Agent Object Transportation." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2023. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1692272174344388

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1692272174344388
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© 2023, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.