Robotics Research

Applications: Field Robotics

Field robots are autonomous mobile machines developed for highly variable and often hostile environments. They use advanced sensor, modelling, navigation, control and adaptation techniques to operate effectively in a dynamic world where the topography, location of obstacles and even the robot’s own location are often unknown. The morphologies (shapes) of these robots can vary enormously, ranging from robotic helicopters to huge autonomous draglines.

Field robots have the potential to be enormously useful throughout the world, but particularly in Australia where large distances and adverse environments often make it impractical for human operators to carry out certain tasks. Field robots have found and will continue to find many applications in some of Australia’s largest industries including agriculture, construction, forestry and mining, as well as other areas such as search and rescue, undersea and even space exploration.

Field Robotics Research in Australia

• At the University of Sydney, the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) has been carrying out extensive research into many different areas of field robotics, and has become one of the largest research centers of its kind in the world. The ACFR been involved in research in a number of areas:
• • In the mining industry the centre has been developing systems for autonomous haulage in both open-cut and underground situations, as well as autonomous excavation.
  • The ACFR has also been active in the development of automated robots for cargo handling applications, including container carrying vehicles, cranes and lifting gear.
  • The centre also has a High Speed Vehicle project which aims to develop an autonomous land vehicle able to operate at high speed in non-trivial environments.
  • In the aerospace domain the ACFR is involved in a variety of research projects, including Autonomous Navigation and Sensing (ANSER) using a group of fixed wing aircraft, rotary UAVs, satellite design, satellite tracking and rocketry.

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    The Brumby fixed wing aircraft used by the ACFR to perform autonomous navigation and sensing.

  • Finally, the ACFR is carrying out research into autonomous submersible robots.

    

    The autonomous submersible vehicle, dubbed Oberon, under development at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics.

• The Queensland University of Technology and CSIRO have formed the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation(ARCAA). ARCAA primarily researches enabling technologies that will facilitate Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) integration into unsegregated National Airspace System (NAS). Areas of interest cover Collision Avoidance, Forced Landing, Mission Specific applications, Risk Management, Sensor Fusion, Artificial Intelligence. The systems are developed on both Fixed-Wing and Rotary-Wing platforms. ARCAA have also instantiated Australia's first UAV competition called the ARCAA UAV Outback Challenge. Dozens of teams of senior student's and university students/hobbyists come together each year to compete in the search for a lost bushwalker called 'Outback Joe'. With prize money totalling $80 000 this is a massive event held at the Kingaroy Airport each September school holidays.

• The Autonomous Systems Lab based with CSIRO ICT Centre in Brisbane has long been involved in a large number of industrial and academic research projects. The team has completed industrial projects in the mining industry including work on automating draglines and underground vehicles. The have also had success in developing small scale autonomous helicopters, submarines and outdoor land vehicles.

CSIRO’s “Mantis” autonomous helicopter

• Thomas Bräunl directs the University of Western Australia (UWA) Mobile Robot Lab, where research is being conducted into various mobile robotic systems controlled by the EyeBot vision and control system, including a small-scale autonomous aircraft.