Transcript slides - CompuSteer

RoboViz – CompuSteer Network
Programme
Interim Summary
Key Partners:
Anja Le Blanc, Paul Kuchar, Martin Turner, Rob
Richardson, Aladdin Aayesh, Ghada Al Hudhud
Combining the strengths of UMIST and
The Victoria University of Manchester
On The Menu
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Groups Involved
Schedule of Events – Past and Future
What is Computational Steering – narrow view.
What is Robotic Tele-presence
Component
– Of a Robot
– Of the Access Grid
 Networking Issues
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RAT and VIC definitions
Synchronization
Packet Loss
Latency in the system
 Conclusions (wait until Easter)
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Groups Within the Network
 Cross-University Visits: Robotics
Centre for Computational Intelligence, Research Group,
Intelligent Mobile Robots and Creative Computing @ De
Montfort University
Manchester Robotics @ The University of Manchester
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Groups Within the Network
 Cross-University Visits: Visualization Skills
Virtual Environment Centre @ De Montfort University
Manchester Visualization Centre @ The University of
Manchester
 And the Access Grid Support Centre
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Schedule of Events
 Calendar….
– 21 May - initial conference phone session for bid completion.
– May Preliminary Access Grid Sessions: Assignment of key objectives.
– Early June - 2 people visit Manchester minimum 2 days
– Late June Access Grid feasibility test of robot communication – delayed due
to holidays.
– August – 3 people visit DMU minimum 2 days
– Late September Feasibility test link: IP control
– December - 2 people visit: Purpose proposal writing, minimum 2 days
– January - Second Feasibility test link – remote observation and control
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CompuSteer Schedule
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1st Visit – workshop, De Montfort University visit to
Manchester: June 2006
1. e-Science Access Grid enabled talk by DMU: fully recorded.
2. Description of DMU intra-robot communication library: prototype
proof of principle used in Virtual Environment Centre (DMU) and
live with a set of two pioneer robots
3. Tours and experience of Manchester Robot lab., and
Visualization/Access Grid spaces
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CompuSteer Schedule
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Access Grid Sessions, July-August 2006
1. Impossible Problem Proposition – see later
2. Network design and grant proposals:
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DTC – Defence Technology Centre; Innovation Fund, SEAS Sensors centre
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1st (July 2006) and 2nd proposal stages (due November 2006)
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Full partner calls on range of Defence Technology Centres (due
Spring 2007)
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EU/EPSRC research opportunities: key personnel (AI communications) being
contacted
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PhD proposals inc. cross university supervision/advisory status being possible.
3. Software/driver installation feasibility program of tests.
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SEAPI – High level API network
simulator Overview
(slide 1 of 2)
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Synthetic Environment Application
Programmers Interface (SEAPI) – with
Permission (slide 2 of 2)
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MBDA Distribute Simulation Interconnect Library
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Open Systems
DIS/HLA Highway
DIS
License Management
Cornerstone of Re-use
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Implements – DIS and HLA
Flexibility
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Minimum Overhead on Application
HL
??
A
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SE-API
DIS
NRT MODEL I/F
HL
??
A
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SE-API
SYSTEM
WEAPON
SIMULATIONS
WEAPON
SYSTEM
Used across MBDA
DIS
HL
??
A
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SE-API
TRIALS REPLAY
I/F
SYSTEM
NEW
LEGACY
Projects & Functions
Deployable
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CD Rom
HIGH FIDELITY
User Guide
TRIALS DATA
6 DoF
Worked Example
MODEL
Tutorials
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CompuSteer Schedule

2nd Visit – workshop, Manchester visit to De Montfort
University: August 2006
1. Tours and experience of DMU Robot lab., and (IOCT, Institute of
Creative Technology) Access Grid and experimental space
2. Camera and video driver install-fest
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CompuSteer Schedule
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Future Visits/Workshop, December-January 2006
1. e-Science Access Grid enabled talk by Manchester to give.
2. Full duplex communication trials – discussed simultaneously over
Access Grid
3. Three network prototype to be tested simultaneously: Intra robot
comms., robot steering comms., and command centre (Access Grid)
cross comms.
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 Often large racks of CPU clusters controlled remotely, in a
possible Grid manner, outputting visual or data analysis,
CFD and FEA
computational
steering model
Archimedes Eureka moment
University of Manchester
Physics 2000 cpu box –
Reynolds House
Think laterally now – use Robotic Control and Tele-presence ideas.
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A scenario that without time travel was unlikely to happen, but…
Computational Steering is …
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RoboViz – Computational Steering Ideas for
Robot Telepresence
Two Assumptions
1. There are now extensive computational processing
elements within robot.
2. Recent computer simulations have shown novel emergent
behaviours with 20-30 different (virtual) robots using
'animal-like' intelligence rules.
Thus this allows semi-autonomous computation processing
modules designed to solve a specific task - as a cluster and then relay information back to a command and control
centre.
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Components: CPU blades are now Robots
 Pioneer Robots
One of dozens of possible
webcam’s and drivers to be
tested!
Think of them as – “Linux Box on wheels” – with other bits.
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Components: Data status lines
These CPUs come with unusual add-ons:
 Sonar Sensors
 Laser Scanner
 Robotic arm grip
 Proximity Detectors
but Linux Box limitations – low processor
performance and low power
requirements.
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Components: They do have Cameras
Bumblebee Stereo
camera “gold” block
 Firewire cameras
 “Access Grid” clone
camera – installable :-)
 USB?? Camera - possible
(not shown)
Do have standard Linux Box
limitations – drivers :-(
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Networking – Proposed Links
System needs three Networks:
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Data stream from Robots to Command Centres
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Light weight camera capture and encoding - RTP vic format
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Integration via wi-fi-bridged network-multicast-Access Grid environment
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Use of various stream formats; vic (video), rat (audio), custom (data)
Command Streams to Robots
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VNC Virtual commands to bridging wi-fi robot/machine, or
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Direct TCP/IP to robot (AI blackboard information - simple e-mail/status
type system)
Between Command Centres
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Standard Access Grid Environment
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What is a Robot ‘Cluster’?
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Think of 100’s of robots: need intrarobot communication – with semiautonomous actions.
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Use Flocking Rules:
1. Alignment
2. Collision Avoidance
3. Cohesion
Now Add Steering:
4. Direction Control – command
centre instructions.
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Simulator – VR environment, using
all the rules including directed
computational control for fire
extinguishing task. Ghada
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What is the Access Grid?
Combining the strengths of UMIST and
The Victoria University of Manchester
What is the Access Grid?
 An “Advanced Collaboration
Environment”
 Large-scale display – typically a whole
wall
 Multiple video streams from each site
 Natural, full-duplex audio with echo
cancellation
Usually,
but…
 Uses IP multicast for video/audio
 Commodity equipment
 Open Source software
 Commercial software, (inSORS)
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What is the Access Grid?
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What is Multicast?
Compared
with Unicast.
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What Can I do with the
Access Grid?
Combining the strengths of UMIST and
The Victoria University of Manchester
What can I do with Access Grid?
A 12-site meeting between UK nodes
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What can I do with Access Grid?
A meeting with three UK nodes and Pittsburgh
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What can I do with Access Grid?
Performance Art
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What can I do with Access Grid?
Virtual Genomics 2004
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What can I do with Access Grid?
SC Global 2004 ~ 41 Sites
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What can I do with Access Grid?
SC Global 2004 ~ 41 Sites
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Reminder - Who has AG Nodes in the UK ?
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Belfast
Birmingham (2)
BGS (2)
Bristol (3)
Cambridge
Cardiff (3)
Central Lancashire
Daresbury (3)
De Montford (2)
Diamond Light Source
Durham
East Anglia
Edinburgh (2)
Essex
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Glasgow (2)
Hull
Imperial College
Lancaster (5)
Leeds (2)
Leicester
Liverpool (2)
Loughborough
Manchester (8)
NERC
Newcastle (4)
Nottingham (2)
Oxford (2)
Portsmouth (2)
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RAL (2)
Reading
Salford (3)
Sheffield (3)
Sheffield Hallam
Southampton (2)
Surrey (3)
Sussex
UCL (3)
Wales
Warwick
Westminster
Wolverhampton
York
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 Over 80 nodes
…and rising!
 e-Science
 Virtual
Research
Environments
 e-Social Science
 Teaching
 Seminars, etc.
 Art
 Music
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Packet Based Data – Test Music
Combining the strengths of UMIST and
The Victoria University of Manchester
Packet Based Data
 VIC and RAT
 UDP – packet loss – latency etc.
 Synchronisation issues
 Buffer optimisation for a fixed delay latency
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VIC - Videoconferencing Tool
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RAT - Robust Audio Tool
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Packet Based Music
24, 33, 10, 0, 234, 1, 54, 3,
1, 43, 56, 46, 7, 23, 4, 23,
76, 38, 91, 3, 10, 68, 59, 1
24, 33, 10, 0
234, 1, 54, 3
24, 33, 10, 0
234, 1, 54, 3
1, 43, 56, 46
7, 23, 4, 23
1, 43, 56, 46
7, 23, 4, 23
76, 38, 91, 3
10, 68, 59, 1
76, 38, 91, 3
10, 68, 59, 1
24, 33, 10, 0, 234, 1, 54, 3,
1, 43, 56, 46, 7, 23, 4, 23,
76, 38, 91, 3, 10, 68, 59, 1
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Play-out Buffering
24, 33, 10, 0 234, 1, 54, 3 1, 43, 56, 46 7, 23, 4, 23
24, 33, 10, 0
234, 1, 54, 31, 43, 56, 46
7, 23, 4, 23
24, 33, 10, 0 234, 1, 54, 3 1, 43, 56, 46 7, 23, 4, 23
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Synchronization
24, 33, 10, 0
234, 1, 54, 3
24, 33, 10, 0
234, 1, 54, 3
24, 33, 10, 0
234, 1, 54, 3
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Latency and Loss
Combining the strengths of UMIST and
The Victoria University of Manchester
Latency
Send-out
Buffer
Decoder
Play-out
Buffer
Encoder
Encoder
Play-out
Buffer
Decoder
Network Latency
(Prioritise Traffic to
guarantee latency)
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Send-out
Buffer
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Loss
24, 33, 10, 0 234, 1, 54, 3 1, 43, 56, 46 7, 23, 4, 23
24, 33, 10, 0
24, 33, 10, 0
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234, 1,1,54,
43,3 56, 46
7, 23, 4, 23
1, 43, 56, 46 7, 23, 4, 23
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Latency vs Loss
Latency
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Loss
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Experimental Space
Combining the strengths of UMIST and
The Victoria University of Manchester
Suitability of Spaces
Experimental remote control to create a feasibility proof-ofprinciple test-bed environment:
1. Multiple DMU robots (autonomous, emergent behaviour)
2. via Manchester Access Grid enabled Command Centre
3. with advice from other Command Centres
Stereoscopically
equipped Access
Grid spaces and
areas for maze
creation
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The “Impossible Aim”
A long term aim is that we wish to build a robust system, over
a poor network to control a minimum of a thousand small
autonomous robots with less than a dozen individual
human operators, all potentially at different physical
locations.
Probably not possible.
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Summing up – demo etc. in Easter.
RoboViz is a small step in the way to consider robotic
autonomous engines, as connected computational engines,
that have to be steered and also have local communication
modes towards each other as well as to and from command
centres and operators.
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Search and Rescue Robots
Silly Aside.
 It is possible to modify
AIBOs for the Access Grid!
as they appear to be
programmable into webservers.
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