A Collaborative Framework for 3D Mapping Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Abstract
This paper describes an overview of a generic framework for collaboration among humans and multiple heterogeneous robotic systems based on the use of a formal characterization of delegation as a speech act. The system used contains a complex set of integrated software modules that include delegation managers for each platform, a task specification language for characterizing distributed tasks, a task planner, a multi-agent scan trajectory generation and region partitioning module, and a system infrastructure used to distributively instantiate any number of robotic systems and user interfaces in a collaborative team. The application focusses on 3D reconstruction in alpine environments intended to be used by alpine rescue teams. Two complex UAV systems used in the experiments are described. A fully autonomous collaborative mission executed in the Italian Alps using the framework is also described.
Keywords
Emergency and disaster management Robotics and multi-robot systems Human-robot interaction Distributed planning and collaboration Teamwork Unmanned aircraft systems Middleware and interaction protocolsNotes
Acknowledgments
This work is partially supported by the Swedish Research Council (VR) Linnaeus Center CADICS, the ELLIIT network organization for Information and Communication Technology, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (CUAS Project, SymbiKCloud Project), the EU FP7 project SHERPA (grant agreement 600958), and Vinnova NFFP6 Project 2013-01206.
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