Giulio Reina - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Giulio Reina

2021 IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Agriculture and Forestry (MetroAgriFor)

Machines

There is a growing interest towards multi-body modelling and simulation that play a critical role... more There is a growing interest towards multi-body modelling and simulation that play a critical role in the development and testing of new mechanical systems, in general, and formula cars specifically to avoid expensive and time-consuming experimental track testing. Recent advances in computer-aided engineering packages, allows one not only to evaluate the basic properties that define the dynamic behavior of a newly-designed formula car, but as well as to investigate the impact on the performance of the many adjustable parameters that collectively are referred to as the car set-up. Therefore, by providing a rapid feedback of a given set-up expectation, optimal configurations can be obtained ensuring the highest level of performance. In this paper, a Formula SAE vehicle is expressly targeted. First, a full multi-body model of the prototype is described detailing the properties of each subassembly, e.g., suspensions and antiroll bars, steering system, and powertrain. Then, the basic hand...

Robotics

Approximately 70% of the upper extremity amputations refers to partial hand loss with the involve... more Approximately 70% of the upper extremity amputations refers to partial hand loss with the involvement of one or more fingers. Historically, this type of limb amputation has been addressed adopting simple opposition designs that use the movement of the residual digit for grasping against a fixed device. Nevertheless, in the last few years, technological advances, and the introduction of modern computer-aided tools for the synthesis and functional design of mechanisms have led to the development of smaller, more robust systems that are constantly improving body-powered and electrically-powered prototypes. This paper surveys cutting-edge solutions proposed in research or available on the market for single finger or partial hand prostheses. First, the main design requirements are outlined. Then, a wide number of prototypes are detailed underlying advantages and drawbacks. The overall goal is to create a solid starting point for the study and development of the next generation of prosthe...

Frontiers in Robotics and AI

This paper presents a novel approach for terrain characterization based on a tracked skid-steer v... more This paper presents a novel approach for terrain characterization based on a tracked skid-steer vehicle with a passive independent suspensions system. A set of physics-based parameters is used to characterize the terrain properties: drive motor electrical currents, the equivalent track, the power spectral density for the vertical accelerations and motor currents. Based on this feature set, the system predicts the type of terrain that the robot traverses. A wide set of experimental results acquired on various surfaces are provided to verify the study in the field, proving its effectiveness for application in autonomous robots.

Reliability Engineering, 1986

2015 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), 2015

Accurate and robust environmental perception is a critical requirement to address unsolved issues... more Accurate and robust environmental perception is a critical requirement to address unsolved issues in the context of outdoor navigation, including safe interaction with living beings, obstacle detection, cooperation with other vehicles, mapping, and situation awareness in general. Aim of this paper is the development of perception algorithms to enhance the automatic understanding of the environment and develop advanced driving assistance systems for off-road vehicles. Specifically, the problem of terrain traversability assessment is addressed. Two strategies are presented. One exploits stereo data to segment drivable ground using a self-learning approach, without explicitly dealing with the obstacle detection issue, whereas the other one features a radar-stereo integrated system to detect and characterize obstacles. The paper details both methods and presents experimental results, obtained with a vehicle operating in rural and agricultural contexts.

Mobile robots are increasingly being used in situations of high-risk for man such as demining, ra... more Mobile robots are increasingly being used in situations of high-risk for man such as demining, radioactive waste site reconnaissance and "search and rescue" tasks in damaged areas. They can be also of great value in the automated monitoring of chemical warehouses and industrial sites against hazardous fluid leakages, thus increasing the safety level for human operators. This paper describes recent and current research at the University of Lecce aiming at developing a mobile "sentry" with olfactory capability for hazardous site survey. An innovative smart transducer array of tin oxide chemical sensors, compliant with the standard interface IEEE 1451, is introduced and integrated on a differential drive mobile robot in order to provide the vehicle with olfactory sensing. A strategy for environment inspection is proposed comprising two stages. The first stage is a typical path learning operation during which the vehicle is remotely controlled by an operator through potential critical locations, while the vehicle records its course relying on its odometric position estimation system. The second stage is the real automated inspection process where the vehicle tracks the prerecorded trajectory using non-linear feedback control. Along its path, the mobile robot is able to build real time olfactory maps of the environment serving as a mobile electronic "watch". Detailed experimental results are described obtained with our mobile sentry operating in a laboratory environment.

7th IFAC Symposium on Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles (2010), 2010

... suspension system for planetary rovers. Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles, Volume # 7 | Part# 1... more ... suspension system for planetary rovers. Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles, Volume # 7 | Part# 1. Location: University of Salento, Lecce, Italy. National Organizing Committee Chair: Parlangeli, Gianfranco. International Program Committee Chair: Pascoal, Antonio M., Indiveri ...

ASME 2008 Dynamic Systems and Control Conference, Parts A and B, 2008

External perception based on vision plays a critical role in developing improved and robust local... more External perception based on vision plays a critical role in developing improved and robust localization algorithms for mobile robots, as well as gaining important information about the vehicle and the traversed terrain. This paper presents two novel methods to improve mobility on rough terrains by using visual input. The first method consists of a stereovision algorithm for real-time 6-DoF ego-motion estimation, which integrates image intensity information and 3D stereo data using an Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm. The second method aims at estimating the wheel sinkage of a mobile robot on deformable soil, based on the visual input from an onboard monocular camera, and an edge detection strategy. Both methods were integrated and experimentally validated on an all-terrain mobile robot, showing that the proposed techniques can be successfully employed to improve the performance of ground vehicles operating in uncharted environments.

2007 IEEE International Workshop on Safety, Security and Rescue Robotics, 2007

Kalman filters have been widely used for navigation in mobile robotics. One of the key problems a... more Kalman filters have been widely used for navigation in mobile robotics. One of the key problems associated with Kalman filter is how to assign suitable statistical properties to both the dynamic and the observational models. For GPS-based localization of a rough-terrain mobile robot, the maneuver of the vehicle and the level of measurement noise are environmental dependent, and hard to be predicted. This is particularly true when the vehicle experiences a sudden change of its state, which is typical on rugged terrain due, for example, to an obstacle or slippery slopes. Therefore to assign constant noise levels for such applications is not realistic. In this work we propose a real-time adaptive algorithm for GPS data processing based on the observation of residuals. Large value of residuals suggests poor performance of the filter that can be improved giving more weight to the measurements provided by the GPS using a fading memory factor. For a finer gradation of this parameter, we used a fuzzy logic inference system implementing our physical understanding of the phenomenon. The proposed approach was validated in experimental trials comparing the performance of the adaptive algorithm with a conventional Kalman filter for vehicle localization. The results demonstrate that the novel adaptive algorithm is much robust to the sudden changes of vehicle motion and measurement errors.

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, 2013

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the locomotion performance of all-terrain rovers... more Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the locomotion performance of all-terrain rovers employing rocker-type suspension system. Design/methodology/approach-In this paper, a robot with advanced mobility features is presented and its locomotion performance is evaluated, following an analytical approach via extensive simulations. The vehicle features an independently controlled four-wheel-drive/4-wheel-steer architecture and it also employs a passive rocker-type suspension system that improves the ability to traverse uneven terrain. An overview of modeling techniques for rover-like vehicles is introduced. First, a method for formulating a kinematic model of an articulated vehicle is presented. Next, a method for expressing a quasi-static model of forces acting on the robot is described. A modified rocker-type suspension is also proposed that enables wheel camber change, allowing each wheel to keep an upright posture as the suspension conforms to ground unevenness. Findings-The proposed models can be used to assess the locomotion performance of a mobile robot on rough-terrain for design, control and path planning purposes. The advantage of the rocker-type suspension over conventional spring-type counterparts is demonstrated. The variable camber suspension is shown to be effective in improving a robot's traction and climbing ability. Research limitations/implications-The paper can be of great value when studying and optimizing the locomotion performance of mobile robots on rough terrain. These models can be used as a basis for advanced design, control and motion planning. Originality/value-The paper describes an analytical approach for the study of the mobility characteristics of vehicles endowed with articulated suspension systems. A variable camber mechanism is also presented.

Research at the University of Michigan's Mobile Robotics Lab aims at the development of an accura... more Research at the University of Michigan's Mobile Robotics Lab aims at the development of an accurate proprioceptive (i.e., without external references) position estimation (PPE) system for Mars Rovers. Much like other PPE systems, ours uses an inertial measurement unit (IMU) comprising three-axis fiber-optic gyroscopes and a two-axis accelerometer, as well as odometry based on wheel encoders. Our PPE system, however, is unique in that it does not use the conventional Kalman Filter approach for fusing data from the different sensor modalities. Rather, our system combines data based on expert rules that implement our indepth understanding of each sensor modality's behavior under different driving and environmental conditions. Since our system also uses Fuzzy Logic operations in conjunction with the Expert Rules for finer gradation, we call it Fuzzy Logic Expert navigation (FLEXnav) PPE system. The paper presents detailed experimental results obtained with our FLEXnav system integrated with our Mars Rover clone Rocky-8B and operating in a Mars-like environment. The paper also introduces new methods for wheel slippage detection and correction, along with preliminary experimental results.

Mechatronics and Machine Vision in …, 2008

In the last few years robotics has been increasingly adopted in agriculture to im-prove productiv... more In the last few years robotics has been increasingly adopted in agriculture to im-prove productivity and efficiency. Most of the efforts in this research area have been devoted to fresh market fruit and vegetable harvesting tasks, which are gen-erally, time consuming, tiring, and ...

… and Systems, 2008 …

Abstract—In this paper, we propose an action planning algorithm and its evaluation method based o... more Abstract—In this paper, we propose an action planning algorithm and its evaluation method based on dynamic sim- ulation for a novel type of hybrid leg-wheel rover for planetary exploration. Hybrid leg-wheel robots are recently receiving a growing interest from the space community to ...