Abstract
The Poppy Project aims to offer a platform accessible to beginners and experts, allowing robots to be used in multiple fields, including research and teaching. During the work with Pypot, the control library in charge of controlling the Poppy robots, several limitations have been detected. One of the main problems found in the library is the low number of sensors implemented out of the box. Since both software and hardware are open sources, a series of modifications were introduced on the control library, to fulfill some specific requirements and start using the Poppy humanoid robot in some research projects. One of the main requirements was the ability to use and control new sensors and actuators added to the robot, via Pypot. The library got improvements in the image processing module, communication with IMU and Arduino boards, implementation of facial recognition, use of proximity sensors in simulation, use of custom motors in simulation, simultaneous execution of instructions in multiple robots, display of animations through the LCD screen, and a module called ”behavior controller” that executes one or more functionalities in order to create behaviors.
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Author Keywords
- Human-Robot Interaction,
- Artificial Vision,
- Sensors,
- Humanoid Robot,
- Poppy Robot,
- Pypot
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IEEE Keywords
- Robot sensing systems,
- Libraries,
- Cameras,
- Actuators,
- Vision sensors
Introduction
For many years, humanoid robots have been mainly used to study and simulate human behavior [1], [2], to the point that some robots have been taken outside the limits of the planet [3]. Following the research line of humanoid robots within the Integrated Group for Engineering Research at Universidade da Coruna, an internal research project studies ˜ how the morphology of a robot influence on the learning and adaptation to its environment, a specific task, or the interaction of the robot with the environment in which it is located. The robot selected to carry out that research project was the Poppy humanoid robot, created by the Flowers team of the INRIA laboratories in France [4]. The main features of this robot are the open-source of its software and the access to the users to the hardware diagrams so they can create their own robot. The Poppy robot is inspired by basic aspects of human morphology, focusing mainly on a structure that allows simulating human movements in a more natural and fluid way [5]. Pypot [6] is the open-source library developed as the Poppy Project with the purpose of being able to control the Poppy’s family robots and any other robot that makes use of dynamixel motors. The Poppy robot also has a simulated model to which the library communicates through the remote API of a V-REP simulator [7]. However, despite the fact that the Pypot library allows working with a simulated version of the robot and with the real robot, during the work with the control library, several existing limitations have been detected that are intended to be corrected in this work. One of the main problems found in the library, at the level of research work that is planned, is the low number of sensors implemented out of the box, which is understandable because it is a general-purpose library. Since the Poppy Project is open source, it is possible to add to the library those sensors and actuators that are necessary for the robot to interact in a better way with the user and its environment. Due to the need to use simulated cameras and sensors in simulation programs, receive information from digital and analog components, and the need to control external actuators, the solution proposed consists in the extension, flexibility and improvement of the Pypot control library, mainly in sensors components, actuators components and communication modules with the remote API of the V-REP simulator; with the purpose of providing new functionalities to the library for its concrete application with the Poppy humanoid robot, both in the simulation environment and in the real robot.
Conclusion
As evidenced in the presented work, different functionalities have been developed that add new capabilities to the library and enhance existing ones, with the main objective of improving the interaction of the robots with both the user and its environment. Improvements have been successfully implemented to the camera or vision sensor module, serial USB communication with IMU and Arduino boards, implementation of face recognition, proximity sensors in simulation, use of custom engines in simulation, simultaneous execution of instructions in multiple robots, deployment of animations through the LCD screen, and a module that allows combining more than one function to be able to create behaviors. During the work carried out, it was detected that the fluidity of the system in the Odroid UX4 board and the Raspberry Pi 3 was reduced when executing the tasks that involve detection and facial recognition. It is important to highlight that the changes made to the library do not affect the programs that make use of previous versions of the library, because they were added in such a way that they will not affect the behavior of the existing modules in a negative way.
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank the support provided by the Rectory, the members of the PARMA Group, the International Cooperation Office, and the Computing School at Tecnologico de Costa ´ Rica for the internship scholarship provided for the realization of this work at the Integrated Group for Engineering Research at Universidade da Coruna˜. Also, the support provided by all the people in the Integrated Group for Engineering Research and the Internship Program for International Student Mobility at UDC.
About KSRA
The Kavian Scientific Research Association (KSRA) is a non-profit research organization to provide research / educational services in December 2013. The members of the community had formed a virtual group on the Viber social network. The core of the Kavian Scientific Association was formed with these members as founders. These individuals, led by Professor Siavosh Kaviani, decided to launch a scientific / research association with an emphasis on education.
KSRA research association, as a non-profit research firm, is committed to providing research services in the field of knowledge. The main beneficiaries of this association are public or private knowledge-based companies, students, researchers, researchers, professors, universities, and industrial and semi-industrial centers around the world.
Our main services Based on Education for all Spectrum people in the world. We want to make an integration between researches and educations. We believe education is the main right of Human beings. So our services should be concentrated on inclusive education.
The KSRA team partners with local under-served communities around the world to improve the access to and quality of knowledge based on education, amplify and augment learning programs where they exist, and create new opportunities for e-learning where traditional education systems are lacking or non-existent.
FULL Paper PDF file:
Control Library modification to improve robot interaction with its environmentBibliography
author
Year
2019
Title
Control Library modification to improve robot interaction with its environment
Publish in
019 International Conference in Engineering Applications (ICEA), Sao Miguel, Portugal, 2019, pp. 1-6,
Doi
10.1109/CEAP.2019.8883472.
PDF reference and original file: Click here
Somayeh Nosrati was born in 1982 in Tehran. She holds a Master's degree in artificial intelligence from Khatam University of Tehran.
Professor Siavosh Kaviani was born in 1961 in Tehran. He had a professorship. He holds a Ph.D. in Software Engineering from the QL University of Software Development Methodology and an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Chelsea.
Nasim Gazerani was born in 1983 in Arak. She holds a Master's degree in Software Engineering from UM University of Malaysia.
