A Technical Paper Presented

ROBOTICS & COMPUTER VISION IN

SWARM INTELLIGENCE & TRAFFIC SAFETY

BY
V.RAMASAMY D.ANBUMANI
Email:ram_amul88@yahoo.com dhanbu_007@yahoo.com

TO

E-GLITZ’08

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING,
MAHA ENGINEERING COLLEGE,
CHENNAI,HIGHWAY,
SALEM-106.
ABSTRACT
An automotive controller that
complements the driving experience
must work to avoid collisions, enforce
a smooth trajectory, and deliver the
vehicle to the intended destination as
quickly as possible. Unfortunately,
satisfying these requirements with
traditional methods proves intractable
at best and forces us to consider
biologically -inspired techniques like
Swarm Intelligence. A controller is
currently being designed in a robot
simulation program with the goal of
implementing the system in real
hardware to investigate these
biologically inspired techniques and to
validate the results. In this paper I
present an idea that can be
implemented in traffic safety by the
application of Robotics & Computer
Vision through Swarm Intelligence.
. over these applications of robots, we
In eighteenth century the concept of
programmable machine came into
existence and since then modernization
We stand today at the culmination of
the industrial revolution. For the last
four centuries, rapid advances in
science have fueled industrial society.
In the twentieth century,
of machine has taken place which has
given momentum to the branch of
robotics. The history of automotion
characterized by periods of rapid
changes in popular methods. But since
1960, the robots became a versatile
device in world’s technology and has
given significant contribution to same.
There are several devices that not truly
robot but are often called by this name
by media, so they also need to be
classified along with classification of
the robots. The architecture and the
different methods in which a can be
programmed is also included in this
paper. It will not an exaggeration to
say robot as unique device in today’s
technology world as it has got a huge
number of applications such as in
medicine, space, military, etc. Looking
can call future age as ‘ Age of
Robotics ‘.
INTRODUCTION
industrialization found perhaps its
greatest expression in Henry Ford's
assembly line. Mass production affects
almost every facet of modern life. Our
food is
mass-produced in meat
commercial bakeries, and canaries.
Our clothing is shipped by the ton from
factories in China and
Certainly all the amenities of our lives
- our stereos, TVs, and microwave
ovens - roll off assembly lines by the
Robots are today where computers
were 25 years ago. They're huge,
hulking machines that sit on factory
floors, consume massive resources and
can only be afforded by
corporations and governments. Then
came the PC revolution of the 1980s,
when computers came out of the
basements and landed on the desktops.
So we're on the verge of a "PR"
revolution today. Personal Robotics
revolution, which will bring the robots
off the factory floor and put them in
our homes, on our desktops and inside
our vehicles
WHAT IS A ROBOT?
A robot has three
characteristics:
plants, truckload. Today, we're presented with
another solution that hopefully will
fare better than its predecessors. It goes
Taiwan. by the name of post-industrialism, and
is commonly associated with our
computer technology.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
Figure 1: Robotic Automobile
Assembly System.
Robots can take many forms-contrast
Star Wars R2D2 and C3PO with the
large Sojourner Rover that ambled around
the Martian countryside last year, and
with a factory robot arm that spends 24
hours a day welding.
But every robot has two attributes:
A "brain," which could be anything
from a sophisticated computer down to
a primitive control program.
Movement (either the computer itself
moves, or it controls an arm or other
moveable part).
There is no standardized definition,
although efforts are under way to
develop one.
essential Ø It possesses some form of mobility
Ø It can be programmed to accomplish 1974. Up to now, most of the
a large variety of tasks approximately 650,000 robots installed
Ø After being programmed, it operates worldwide have been used in
automatically manufacturing. Typical applications
are welding cars, spraying paint on
appliances, assembling printed circuit
boards, loading and unloading
machines, defense, in satellite and
telecommunication, surgery, and
placing cartons on a pallet. The
automobile and metal-manufacturing
industries have been the main users.
The mobility of these robots generally
Figure 2: Robot Mine Detectors
has been limited to a programmable
A computer is not a robot because it mechanical arm. In some installations
lacks mobility. Special-purpose the platform on which the robot arm is
machines are not robots because they mounted can travel automatically
automate only a few tasks. Remote along a fixed rail.
control devices work only with human
participation and therefore are not The International Organization for
robots. Standardization (ISO) has developed
The word 'robot' entered the English an international standard vocabulary
language in 1923 when the play (ISO 8373) to describe 'manipulating
'R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)', industrial robots operated in a
written by the Czech author Karel manufacturing environment'.
Capek, was produced in London. (In According to this standard such a robot
Czech the word 'robota' means 'heavy must possess at least three
labour'.) The robot concept remained programmable axes of motion.
science fiction until 1961 when The International Federation of
Unimation Inc. installed the world's Robotics (IFR) and the Australian
first industrial robot in the US. Robot Association follow this ISO
Australia's first robot, also made by standard when compiling robot
Unimation Inc., was introduced in statistics. Machines working in a
manufacturing environment that have locomotive actions under automatic
only one or two programmable axes of control'. Robots initially have been
motion therefore are not included in installed in factory environments
these statistics. where the tasks to be done can be
Although the vast majority of robots precisely controlled. However, it is
today are used in factories, advances in impossible to program a robot so that it
technology are enabling robots to always acts correctly in an
automate many tasks in non- environment that is poorly understood
manufacturing industries such as or loosely structured. Occasional
agriculture, construction, health care, human intervention will be required to
retailing and other services. Australia’s provide high-level guidance to robots
most famous robotics research project working in such
was concerned to develop a robot Environments. The design of suitable
capable of shearing sheep. human/robot interfaces is expected to
Technologies that are being developed become an important priority.
to extend robot capabilities include MOTIVATION
machine vision and other sensors, The goal of this project is to work
vehicles that can travel automatically toward developing a complementing
on a variety of, and mechanisms able automotive controller that improves
to manipulate flexible materials upon the driving experience. The
without damaging them. It is controller will monitor certain road
anticipated that robots will be utilized conditions and will override the human
in the 21st century not only in industry driver only in emergency situations.
but also at home. Potential domestic When overriding, it should have three
applications include assisting critical priorities:
elderly or busy people to carry out Þ Minimize propensity and severity of
tasks such as cleaning or cooking. The collisions. No control system is
ISO has not yet produced a surfaces perfect. It is impossible to
standardized definition of a robot used guarantee the elimination of
in non-manufacturing applications. automobile collisions. Automobiles are
According to the IFR such a robot is 'a complex mechanical and (increasingly)
machine which can be programmed to electronic systems. In the rare case that
perform tasks which involve enough components fail at the same
manipulative and in some cases
time, no amount of redundancy can probability of a collision and, if a
immediately restore correct operation collision is unavoidable, lessen the
of the vehicle. The goal of any system, severity of the impending collision.
given a certain cost, is to minimize the
Þ Enforce a smooth ride. A control
system, which causes an automobile to
violently weave through traffic, should
be considered inferior to a system,
which sends the car along a smoother,
more predictable trajectory. An
uncomfortable and unpredictable ride
is unpleasant for the passengers and
may be dangerous for other drivers on Figure 3. Junction Of Streets.

the road. A smoother ride also results

in less wear and tear on the These requirements imply the

components of the automobile and necessity of introducing a priority-

prolongs the life span and reliability of based architecture for the

critical parts. complementing controller. The

Þ Get the passenger from point A to controller will do all it can to deliver

point B as quickly and efficiently as the passenger(s) to the destination as

possibly. Of course, the quickly as possible unless this results

ultimate goal of any automatic in an un smooth ride. Likewise, the

vehicular controller is to deliver the controller will enforce a smooth ride

passenger to his/her intended unless the safety of the passenger(s)

destination. If this proves to be is/are threatened. The approach I

unrealizable (hardware fault, streets propose is the insertion of an

closed, etc) then the system should intermediate controller situated

give the passenger the option to abort between the human driver and the

the trip or transport the passenger to a automobile actuators. In addition to the

point as close as possible to the above constraints, the automobile

original intended destination. control system must also be able to

cope with a diversity of vehicles and
drivers while coping with the
environment in a robust way.
RESEARCH
Satisfying all of these conditions
would be a tall order for traditional
control algorithms. As a result, we
look for inspiration from biological
systems. The principal advantage of a
biologically inspired approach is that
such techniques have stood the test of
eons of competition and evolution. Not
only are these techniques robust, they Figure4. Screenshot Of Webots2.0
also have the advantage of scalable and Simulation Program.
distributed operation, as well as IMPRESSION
acceptance of existing heterogeneous Sample traffic situations will be
agents. A specific biologically inspired simulated in the WEBOTS 2.0
approach that seems well optimized for simulator. The simulated
understanding collective phenomena automobiles are controlled by a
(like automobile traffic) is Swarm subsumption architecture. A simplified
Intelligence. Swarm Intelligence model of a human driver (which is
provides a framework in which aware of his/her speed, orientation, and
autonomy, emergence, and distributed what lies within his/her field of view)
robustness replace centralized control. will just try to avoid other cars and
This is analogous to comparing birds follow the lanes. If, for
flocks to a complex man- made air- whatever reason, the simulated human
traffic control system that results in driver causes the car to enter any
countless flight delays and lost undesirable situation, the driver will
luggage. first be warned. Only when the
situation becomes dire and requires
immediate evasive action, will the
complementing controller override the
driver. In all other cases, the
commands given by the driver
(steering wheel angle, gas/brake pedal
deflection, etc) are passed directly to
the actuators.

relative location of the vehicle. The

initial simulations will take place on a
straight three-lane highway but curved
streets may be added later (see Figure
4). Currently, the Webots simulator
does not simulate the holonomicity of
real automobiles. Specifically, Webots
was designed to simulate small round

Figure 5. Prototype Implementation robots with two wheels on either side.

Of Traffic Scenario With Real This presents a problem in regards to

Robots. how a real traffic situation should be

scaled so that a simulation can be
The complementing controller will realistic. An impending software
have access to data from on-board revision of the simulator should
obstacle sensors and lane sensors in resolve the issue. The Webots
order to have an awareness of the state simulator is also not optimized for very
of the environment. The sensors on the large macroscopic simulations
Road that uses Radio signals will (hundreds of automobiles and drivers).
provide the necessary traffic For extremely large simulations,
information. Evolutionary techniques cellular automata-based platforms
will be used to suggest optimal (e.g. Transits) may eventually have to
placements and configurations for the be leveraged. Finally, implementing
sensors on the vehicle as well as other this system in real robots (see Figure 5)
controller parameters. Using the GPS would provide concrete confirmation
(Globe Positioning Satellite) System or refutation of any conclusions
the on-board computer systems gives obtained during simulation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Swarm Intelligence: From Natural to
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A Robust Layered Control System for
a Mobile Robot. Brooks, R. IEEE
Journal of Robotics and Automation,
1996.
Robot Herds: Group Behaviors for
Systems with Significant Dynamics.
Proceedings of Artificial Life IV,
1994. Reynolds, C.
Personal Robotics by Brent Baccala.
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system.htm
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