Papers by Raffaele Grandi
Proceedings of the 19th IFAC World Congress, 2014
In this paper, a new Behavioral-based Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is proposed in order ... more In this paper, a new Behavioral-based Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is proposed in order to solve the inverse kinematics problem for a manipulator operating in an environment cluttered with obstacles. The introduced variant of the Particle Swarm Optimization relies on the idea of dividing the population of the particles in subgroups, each of which with a specific task, achieving in this manner a faster convergence to the final result. The proposed algorithm is exploited in order to solve the inverse kinematics problem for a generic serial manipulator both in its dexterous and reachable workspace.
Coordination and Control of Autonomous Mobile Robots Swarmsby using Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm and Consensus Theory
ABSTRACT A hybrid technique for the control of swarms of robots, based on Particle Swarm Optimisa... more ABSTRACT A hybrid technique for the control of swarms of robots, based on Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) and Consensus algorithms, is presented in this paper. The purpose of this technique is to combine PSO’s adaptation skills for the exploration of unknown environments and the ability of the Consensus to maintain a group of robots in a desired formation. The overall control scheme is designed in a distributed form. This fact is particularly suitable for the control of a swarm of robots where one or more agents can experience temporary or permanent communication disconnection from the group, due to various reasons (e.g. malfunctions). Simulations are presented to illustrate the proposed technique.
Proceedings of the 19th IFAC World Congress, 2014
A laboratory activity started a few years ago within a course of Foundation of Industrial Robotic... more A laboratory activity started a few years ago within a course of Foundation of Industrial Robotics for the Master Degree in Automation Engineering at the Engineering School of the University of Bologna. The goals were on one side to drive students to acquire practical knowledge on mobile robotics, on the other to teach them how to write efficient code for real time control of automatic machines and robots. The tasks assigned to the students required them to mechanically design and program autonomous robots to be used in a competition among teams. Because of its low-cost, the modularity and the possibility of building several different devices, the Lego Mindstorms Kit has been adopted. With respect to the software, the Javabased firmware LeJOS has been selected as a tool to teach how to develop structured software. The experience has being very positive both for the students and the teaching staff. Besides acquiring many technical skills, the students felt involved in practical activities, thus increasing their interest for the subject.
Solution of the Inverse Kinematic of Serial Manipulator Operating in Cluttered Environments using a new Paradigm of Particle Swarm Optimization
In this paper, a new Behavioral-based Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is proposed in order ... more In this paper, a new Behavioral-based Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is proposed in order to solve the inverse kinematics problem for a manipulator operating in an environment cluttered with obstacles. The introduced variant of the Particle Swarm Optimization relies on the idea of dividing the population of the particles in subgroups each of which with a specific task, such that the final result is a faster convergence. The proposed algorithm is then exploited in order to solve the inverse kinematics problem for a generic serial manipulator both in its dexterous and reachable workspace.
A Distributed Multi-level PSO Control Algorithm for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, 2014
ABSTRACT This paper presents a distributed control technique based on the Particle Swarm Optimiza... more ABSTRACT This paper presents a distributed control technique based on the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm and able to drive in unknown environments a group of autonomous robots to a common target point. In this paper, we consider in particular the case of underwater vehicles. The algorithm is able to deal with complex scenarios, frequently found in benthic exploration as e.g. in presence of obstacles, caves and tunnels, and to consider the case of a mobile target. Moreover, asynchronous data exchange and dynamic communication topologies are considered. Simulations results are provided to show the features of the proposed approach.
A Navigation Strategy for Multi-Robot Systems Based on Particle Swarm Optimization Techniques
10th IFAC Symposium on Robot Control, 2012
ABSTRACT In this paper, a novel strategy is presented aiming at controlling a group of mobile rob... more ABSTRACT In this paper, a novel strategy is presented aiming at controlling a group of mobile robots flocking through an unknown environment. The proposed control strategy is based on a modified version of the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, and has been extensively validated by means of numerical simulations considering complex mazelike environments and groups of robots with different numbers of units.
Coordination and control of autonomous mobile robot groups using a hybrid technique based on Particle Swarm Optimization and Consensus
2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), 2013
ABSTRACT A hybrid technique for the control of swarms of robots, based on Particle Swarm Optimisa... more ABSTRACT A hybrid technique for the control of swarms of robots, based on Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) and Consensus algorithms, is presented in this paper. The purpose of this technique is to combine PSO’s adaptation skills for the exploration of unknown environments and the ability of the Consensus to maintain a group of robots in a desired formation. The overall control scheme is designed in a distributed form. This fact is particularly suitable for the control of a swarm of robots where one or more agents can experience temporary or permanent communication disconnection from the group, due to various reasons (e.g. malfunctions). Simulations are presented to illustrate the proposed technique.
A behavioral-based approach to Particle Swarm Optimization
2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), 2013
ABSTRACT When optimization algorithms are applied to non convex functions, they are generally aff... more ABSTRACT When optimization algorithms are applied to non convex functions, they are generally affected by the problem of local minima, i.e. optimal solutions that do not correspond to the global minimum of the cost function. Particle Swarm Optimization algorithms are no exception. In order to overcome this problem and to speed up the convergence of the algorithm, in this paper a novel PSO algorithm is proposed. The presented algorithm relies on the idea that the particles exploring the search space can be divided in subgroups, each of which with a peculiar behavior, such as to enlarge the explored area while refining the actual solution. In order to prove the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, optimization benchmark functions known from the literature have been used in Matlab simulations and the results have been compared with analogous results gathered by using the standard PSO algorithm
The direct work on a real set-ups is an important experience for students in control theory and r... more The direct work on a real set-ups is an important experience for students in control theory and robotics.On the other hand, for several reasons (space, costs, complexity, etc.), it is not always possible to give students an individual access to laboratory set-ups, for their practical activities. Therefore, in recent years many tele-laboratories have been implemented by different universities, providing experimental set-ups to each student, while minimizing problems related to costs, spaces, and so on. The UniBot Remote Lab has been implemented to provide remote access via TCP connection, to assign to students different time-slots for their experiences, and to reduce the financial effort required by real set-ups. Moreover, the entire framework has been developed with high modularity both from the hardware and software point of view and, even if the basic set-up has been conceived for mobile robotics, different kind of robots or automatic machines can be easily added and be available ...
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Papers by Raffaele Grandi