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Design and Mixed-Reality Teleoperation of a Quadruped-Manipulator Robot for SAR Tasks

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Robotics in Natural Settings (CLAWAR 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 530))

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Abstract

Technological development within the robotics field has made it possible to generate great advances, developing complex bio-inspired systems, such as robots with legs. The same ones have great applicability within search and rescue (SAR) tasks. This type of robot stands out for its extraordinary ability to move within unstructured environments, overcome obstacles and adapt to different terrains. However, quadruped robots have gained space in the SAR-Tasks field over the last few years. Most implementations are limited to collecting information using different sensors, such as cameras, lasers, or microphones. This article seeks to simulate, implement and carry out the teleoperation through Mixed-Reality (M-R) of a quadruped robot equipped with a manipulator with six degrees of freedom, for which the ARTU-R robot (A1 Rescue Tasks Unitree Robot) has been used. One of the main contributions of this work focuses on improving the efficiency in executing tasks of handling and transporting medical equipment in post-disaster situations, using Mixed Reality with the ARTU-R robot and a robotic manipulator. To develop this proof of concept, Matlab has been used as a computational tool for optimizing the workspace of the integrated robot. Simulations have been carried out on Gazebo in reconstructed post-disaster environments to validate the robot’s functionality. At the same time, the effectiveness of the M-R system has been verified with field tests executing medical assistance tasks with the robot. The main results show a 21% increase in the efficiency of performing complex handling tasks using the proposed M-R system compared to conventional interfaces and the efficiency of using quadruped robots with manipulators for medical assistance tasks.

This work has received funding from the RoboCity2030-DIH-CM Madrid Robotics Digital Innovation Hub “Robótica aplicada a la mejora de la calidad de vida de los ciudadanos, fase IV”; S2018/NMT-4331), funded by “Programas de Actividades I+D en la Comunidad de Madrid” and cofunded by Structural Funds of the EU. and TASAR (Team of Advanced Search And Rescue Robots), funded by “Proyectos de I+D+i del Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades”.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Automática y Robótica, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Christyan Cruz Ulloa, David Domínguez, Antonio Barrientos & Jaime del Cerro

Authors
  1. Christyan Cruz Ulloa
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  2. David Domínguez
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  3. Antonio Barrientos
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  4. Jaime del Cerro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christyan Cruz Ulloa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, Portugal

    José M. Cascalho

  2. School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London, UK

    Mohammad Osman Tokhi

  3. School of Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Manuel F. Silva

  4. Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, Portugal

    Armando Mendes

  5. Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering (M3), Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Khaled Goher

  6. Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, Portugal

    Matthias Funk

Appendix A

Appendix A

Video of Teleoperation tests through the Mixed-Reality Execution system for the implemented robot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uN22XUTWjo.

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Ulloa, C.C., Domínguez, D., Barrientos, A., del Cerro, J. (2023). Design and Mixed-Reality Teleoperation of a Quadruped-Manipulator Robot for SAR Tasks. In: Cascalho, J.M., Tokhi, M.O., Silva, M.F., Mendes, A., Goher, K., Funk, M. (eds) Robotics in Natural Settings. CLAWAR 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 530. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15226-9_19

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