Mobile Intelligent Autonomous Systems

Abstract

Mobile intelligent autonomous systems (MIAS) is a fast emerging research area. Although it can be regarded as a general R&D area, it is mainly directed towards robotics. Several important subtopics within MIAS research are:(i) perception and reasoning, (ii) mobility and navigation,(iii) haptics and teleoperation, (iv) image fusion/computervision, (v) modelling of manipulators, (vi) hardware/software architectures for planning and behaviour learning leadingto robotic architecture, (vii) vehicle-robot path and motionplanning/control, (viii) human-machine interfaces for interaction between humans and robots, and (ix) application of artificial neural networks (ANNs), fuzzy logic/systems (FLS),probabilistic/approximate reasoning (PAR), Bayesian networks(BN) and genetic algorithms (GA) to the above-mentioned problems. Also, multi-sensor data fusion (MSDF) playsvery crucial role at many levels of the data fusion process:(i) kinematic fusion (position/bearing tracking), (ii) imagefusion (for scene recognition), (iii) information fusion (forbuilding world models), and (iv) decision fusion (for tracking,control actions). The MIAS as a technology is useful for automation of complex tasks, surveillance in a hazardousand hostile environment, human-assistance in very difficultmanual works, medical robotics, hospital systems, autodiagnosticsystems, and many other related civil and military systems. Also, other important research areas for MIAScomprise sensor/actuator modelling, failure management/reconfiguration, scene understanding, knowledge representation, learning and decision-making. Examples ofdynamic systems considered within the MIAS would be:autonomous systems (unmanned ground vehicles, unmannedaerial vehicles, micro/mini air vehicles, and autonomousunder water vehicles), mobile/fixed robotic systems, dexterousmanipulator robots, mining robots, surveillance systems,and networked/multi-robot systems, to name a few.

Defence Science Journal, 2010, 60(1), pp.3-4, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.60.92