ACRA 2007

Matthew Dunbabin & Mandyam Srinivasan (editors)

December 10 – 12, 2007
Brisbane, Australia
ISBN 978-0-9587583-9-0

All full papers submitted to ACRA 2007 will undergo a peer-review process. Each manuscript will be reviewed by at least two reviewers who will give detailed comments. If the submission is accepted, the authors will submit a revised (“camera-ready”) version that takes into account this feedback. The review process is managed by the program chair of the conference.

All papers are reviewed using a single-blind review process: authors declare their names and affiliations in the manuscript for the reviewers to see, but reviewers do not know each other’s identities, nor do the authors receive information about who has reviewed their manuscript.

Welcome to ACRA 2007.

ACRA, the Australasian Conference on Robotics and Automation, is the annual conference for the Australian Robotics and Automation Association, and Australia and New Zealand’s leading forum for work in all areas of robotics and automation. ACRA attracts researchers and practitioners from around Australia and New Zealand, and an increasing number of roboticists from overseas. The work presented at ACRA 2007 is highly relevant to current interests in international robotics research, including hot topics such as localisation, navigation and human-robot interaction. ACRA 2007 also has a definite Australasian robotics flavour, with an emphasis on outdoor robotics and applications in the primary industries that continue to form the basis of the Australian and New Zealand economies in the 21st century.

We have endeavoured to ensure a balanced programme: maintaining a high standard of quality, while being inclusive of the up and coming students and junior researchers in the Australasian robotics community. The Programme Committee accepted 50 full papers for presentation and publication after a review process in which full manuscripts were reviewed by at least three committee members. The accepted papers were drawn from 62 papers submitted in total. In keeping with recent trends, the primary medium for the proceedings is CD-ROM, and we will be maintaining the proceedings online at the ARAA website. In addition to the technical paper programme, the programme includes the Annual General Meeting for the ARAA, and plenty of social opportunities for Australasian and international robotics researchers to network and develop cross-institutional links.

We hope you enjoy your time at the conference and that you come away knowing a little bit more, having met and discussed robotics issues with a colleague, having attended a paper session, or having had a quite technical debate over dinner. To all, we warmly welcome you to ACRA 2007, and to Brisbane.

Matthew Dunbabin
Mandyam Srinivasan
ACRA Co-Chairs
Brisbane, December 2007

on behalf of the Programme Committee.

Organisation

Sponsoring Organisations

Australian Robotics and Automation Association Inc.
Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland
Autonomous Systems Laboratory, CSIRO ICT Centre

Co-Chairs

Matthew Dunbabin
Mandyam Srinivasan

Programme Committee

John Billingsly
University of Southern Queensland		 Glen Bright
University of KwaZula-Natal		 Mike Bosse
CSIRO
Peter Corke
CSIRO		 Gamini Dissanayake
University of Technology Sydney		 Elliot Duff
CSIRO
Matthew Dunbabin
CSIRO		 Werner Friedrich
Industrial Research Ltd		 Ray Jarvis
Monash University
Waleed Kadous
University of New South Wales		 Jonghyuk Kim
Australian National University		 Bruce MacDonald
University of Auckland
Phillip McKerrow
University of Wollongong		 Eduardo Nebot
University of Sydney		 Maurice Pagnucco
University of New South Wales
Jonathan Roberts
CSIRO		 Claude Sammut
University of New South Wales		 Pavan Sikka
CSIRO
Mandyam Srinivasan
University of Queensland		 Steven Scheding
University of Sydney		 David Stirling
University of Wollongong
Karl Stol
University of Auckland		 Salah Sukkarieh
University of Sydney		 Ashley Tews
CSIRO
James Trevelyan
University of Western Australia		 Kane Usher
CSIRO		 Gordon Wyeth
University of Queensland

Table of Contents

BIOROBOTICS
Robotic Fish Based on a Polymer Actuator
Han Wang, Sungkono Surya Tjahyono, Bruce MacDonald, Paul A. Kilmartin, Jadranka Travas-Sejdic, and Rudolf Keifer
Evaluation of Selected Dielectric Elastomers for use in an Artificial Muscle Actuator
Alexander Barnes, Qiang Liu, George Young, and Tien-Fu Lu
Trial-and-Error Learning of a Biped Gait Constrained by Qualitative Reasoning
Tak Fai Yik and Claude Sammut
Empirical Modelling of Human Gaits for Biped Robots
Matthew Field, David Stirling, Fazel Naghdy, and Zengxi Pan

VISION – TERRESTRIAL ROBOTS
Local Path Planning along Bush Tracks using Vision
David Andrew Fernandez and Raymond Austin Jarvis
Learning to Avoid Indoor Obstacles from Optical Flow
Toby Low and Gordon Wyeth
Robust Appearance Based Visual Route Following in Large Scale Outdoor Environments
Alan Miao Zhang and Lindsay Kleeman
Anomaly Detection and Tracking for a Patrolling Robot
Punarjay Chakravarty, Alan Zhang, Ray Jarvis, and Lindsay Kleeman
Towards Coordinated Vision-based Docking Using an Autonomous Surface Vehicle
Matthew Dunbabin, Brenton Lang, and Brett Wood

NAVIGATION I
Bayesian filtering over compressed appearance states
Bertrand Douillard, Ben Upcroft, Tobias Kaupp, Fabio Ramos, and Hugh Durrant-Whyte
Global Localisation in Real and Cyber Worlds Using Vision
Nghia Ho and Ray Jarvis
Applications of an Adaptive Hierarchical Mobile Robot Navigation System
Christopher Peter Lee-Johnson, Praneel Chand, and Dale Anthony Carnegie
Automated Process for Generating Digitised Maps through GPS Data Compression
Stewart Worrall and Eduardo Nebot
A Planning System for Autonomous Ground Vehicles Operating in Unstructured Dynamic Environments
Thomas Luke Pearse Allen, James Underwood, and Steven John Scheding

INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS
A Mobile Mechatronic Platform Architecture for Flexible Materials Handling
Anthony John Walker and Glen Bright
A Geometrical Method for Calculating the Unreachable Workspace of the 3-DOF Gantry-Tau Parallel Manipulator
Ilya Tyapin, Geir Hovland, and Torgny Brogardh
Automated Apparatus for In-Line Inspection of Mass Produced Custom Parts
Glen Bright and Shaniel Davrajh
Standardised Framework for Flexible Materials Handling Management based on Operating System Primatives
Anthony John Walker and Glen Bright

VISION – AERIAL ROBOTICS I
Towards Flight Trials for an Autonomous UAV Emergency Landing using Machine Vision
Daniel Fitzgerald, Luis Mejias, Pillar Eng, Rodney Walker, and Xi Liu
Design, construction and modelling of a low cost, miniature UAV using machine vision
Peter Beasley, Phillip Charles Gray, Kane Usher, and Neil Bergmann
Simulation of a Fixed-wing UAV Forced Landing with Dynamic Path Planning
Pillar Eng, Luis Mejias, Rodney Walker, and Daniel Fitzgerald
A Vision System for Optic-flow-based Guidance of UAVs
Dean Soccol, Saul Thurrowgood, and Mandyam Srinivasan

NAVIGATION II
Featureless Vehicle-Based Visual SLAM with a Consumer Camera
Michael John Milford and Gordon Wyeth
Towards Improving SLAM Algorithm Development using Augmented Reality
Alex Kozlov, Bruce MacDonald, and Burkhard Wunsche
Multiple Laser Polar Scan Matching with Application to SLAM
Fredy Tungadi and Lindsay Kleeman
Real-Time Map Building with Uncertainty using Colour Camera and Scanning Laser
James Patrick Underwood, Steve John Scheding, and Fabio Ramos
Rao-Blackwellised Inertial-SLAM with Partitioned Vehicle Subspace
Mark Euston and Jonghyuk Kim

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Task Allocation and Coordination for Limited Capability Mobile Robots
Praneel Chand and Dale Anthony Carnegie
An Architecture for Tool Use and Learning in Robots
Solly Brown and Claude Sammut

CONTROL SYSTEMS
Proof of Concept of a Hyper-redundant Reconfigurable Modular Manipulator System
Tim Vittor, Richard Willgoss, and Javaid Iqbal
Modelling the Lama Coaxial Helicopter
Li Chen and Phillip John McKerrow
Design and Hybrid Control of a Two Wheeled Robotic Platform
Sonal Kalra, Dipesh Patel, and Karl Stol		 BalancingRobotMovie.wmv

SENSORS & SENSING
An Autonomous Human Body Parts Detector Using A Laser Range-Finder
Lara Kornienko and Lindsay Kleeman
Perceiving A Corridor With CTFM Ultrasonic Sensing
Sherine Micheal Antoun and Phillip John McKerrow
Deriving Sensor Models and Non-Linear Filtering for Exponentials of Polynomials
Bradley Tonkes and Alan D. Blair
Assessing the Safety of a Velocity Sourced Series Elastic Actuator
Gordon Fraser Wyeth and Geoffrey Ralph Walker

VISION – AERIAL ROBOTICS II
Dual Optic-flow Integrated Navigation for Small-scale Flying Robots
Jonghyuk Kim and Galen Brambley
A Panoramic Stereo Imaging System for Aircraft Guidance
Saul Thurrowgood, Wolfgang Stuerzl, Dean Soccol, and Mandyam Srinivasan

MACHINE VISION I
Automated Sheep Brisket Cutting
Peter Ring, Philip Boyce, Kym MacRae, and Peter Condie
A Study on Indoor Automatic Change Detection for A Mobile-Camera
Guntur Tanjung and Tien-Fu Lu
Detecting Moving Pedestrians and Vehicles in Fluctuating Lighting Conditions
Stephen Nuske and Manuel Yguel

NAVIGATION III
Adaptive Iso-Altitude Tracking and Terrain Reconstruction by Submarine Vehicle Formations
Shahab Kalantar and Uwe ralf Zimmer
Waypoint Navigation with Position and Heading Control using Complex Vector Fields for an Ackermann Steering Autonomous Vehicle
Tommie J. Liddy and Tien-Fu Lu
Bearing-only SLAM with Indistinguishable Landmarks
Henry Huang, Frederic Maire, and Narongdech Keeratipranon

HUMAN MACHINE INTERFACES
An Interest-Based Framework for Modelling of Human Gross Motion in a Dynamic Environment
David Kenneth Wood and Steven J. Scheding
Web-based Telerobotics Revisited
Elliot Duff
Multimodal Human-Robot Interaction in an Assistive Technology Context
Elizabeth Harte and Raymond Jarvis

MACHINE VISION II
Substitute Three-Dimensional Perception using Depth and Colour Sensors
Simon Meers and Koren Ward
Sensing Formats for Automating Tasks in Beef and Sheep Slaughter
Peter Ring, Kym MacRae, and Peter Condie
Automatic Camera Exposure Control
Navid Nourani-Vatani and Jonathan Roberts

Index of Authors

Author Papers
Allen, Thomas A Planning System for Autonomous Ground Vehicles Operating in Unstructured Dynamic Environments
Antoun, Sherine Perceiving A Corridor With CTFM Ultrasonic Sensing
Barnes, Alexander Evaluation of Selected Dielectric Elastomers for use in an Artificial Muscle Actuator
Beasley, Peter Design, construction and modelling of a low cost, miniature UAV using machine vision
Bergmann, Neil Design, construction and modelling of a low cost, miniature UAV using machine vision
Blair, Alan Deriving Sensor Models and Non-Linear Filtering for Exponentials of Polynomials
Boyce, Philip Automated Sheep Brisket Cutting
Brambley, Galen Dual Optic-flow Integrated Navigation for Small-scale Flying Robots
Bright, Glen A Mobile Mechatronic Platform Architecture for Flexible Materials Handling,Automated Apparatus for In-Line Inspection of Mass Produced Custom Parts,Standardised Framework for Flexible Materials Handling Management based on Operating System Primatives
Brogardh, Torgny A Geometrical Method for Calculating the Unreachable Workspace of the 3-DOF Gantry-Tau Parallel Manipulator
Brown, Solly An Architecture for Tool Use and Learning in Robots
Carnegie, Dale Applications of an Adaptive Hierarchical Mobile Robot Navigation System, Task Allocation and Coordination for Limited Capability Mobile Robots
Chakravarty, Punarjay Anomaly Detection and Tracking for a Patrolling Robot
Chand, Praneel Applications of an Adaptive Hierarchical Mobile Robot Navigation System, Task Allocation and Coordination for Limited Capability Mobile Robots
Chen, Li Modelling the Lama Coaxial Helicopter
Condie, Peter Automated Sheep Brisket Cutting, Sensing Formats for Automating Tasks in Beef and Sheep Slaughter
Davrajh, Shaniel Automated Apparatus for In-Line Inspection of Mass Produced Custom Parts
Douillard, Bertrand Bayesian filtering over compressed appearance states
Duff, Elliot Web-based Telerobotics Revisited
Dunbabin, Matthew Towards Coordinated Vision-based Docking Using an Autonomous Surface Vehicle
Durrant-Whyte, Hugh Bayesian filtering over compressed appearance states
Eng, Pillar Towards Flight Trials for an Autonomous UAV Emergency Landing using Machine Vision, Simulation of a Fixed-wing UAV Forced Landing with Dynamic Path Planning
Euston, Mark Rao-Blackwellised Inertial-SLAM with Partitioned Vehicle Subspace
Fernandez, David Local Path Planning along Bush Tracks using Vision
Field, Matthew Empirical Modelling of Human Gaits for Biped Robots
Fitzgerald, Daniel Towards Flight Trials for an Autonomous UAV Emergency Landing using Machine Vision, Simulation of a Fixed-wing UAV Forced Landing with Dynamic Path Planning
Gray, Phillip Design, construction and modelling of a low cost, miniature UAV using machine vision
Harte, Elizabeth Multimodal Human-Robot Interaction in an Assistive Technology Context
Ho, Nghia Global Localisation in Real and Cyber Worlds Using Vision
Hovland, Geir A Geometrical Method for Calculating the Unreachable Workspace of the 3-DOF Gantry-Tau Parallel Manipulator
Huang, Henry Bearing-only SLAM with Indistinguishable Landmarks
Iqbal, Javaid Proof of Concept of a Hyper-redundant Reconfigurable Modular Manipulator System
Jarvis, Raymond Local Path Planning along Bush Tracks using Vision, Anomaly Detection and Tracking for a Patrolling Robot, Global Localisation in Real and Cyber Worlds Using Vision, Multimodal Human-Robot Interaction in an Assistive Technology Context
Kalantar, Shahab Adaptive Iso-Altitude Tracking and Terrain Reconstruction by Submarine Vehicle Formations
Kalra, Sonal Design and Hybrid Control of a Two Wheeled Robotic Platform
Kaupp, Tobias Bayesian filtering over compressed appearance states
Keeratipranon, Narongdech Bearing-only SLAM with Indistinguishable Landmarks
Keifer, Rudolf Robotic Fish Based on a Polymer Actuator
Kilmartin, Paul Robotic Fish Based on a Polymer Actuator
Kim, Jonghyuk Rao-Blackwellised Inertial-SLAM with Partitioned Vehicle Subspace, Dual Optic-flow Integrated Navigation for Small-scale Flying Robots
Kleeman, Lindsay Robust Appearance Based Visual Route Following in Large Scale Outdoor Environments, Anomaly Detection and Tracking for a Patrolling Robot, Multiple Laser Polar Scan Matching with Application to SLAM, An Autonomous Human Body Parts Detector Using A Laser Range-Finder
Kornienko, Lara An Autonomous Human Body Parts Detector Using A Laser Range-Finder
Kozlov, Alex Towards Improving SLAM Algorithm Development using Augmented Reality
Lang, Brenton Towards Coordinated Vision-based Docking Using an Autonomous Surface Vehicle
Lee-Johnson, Christopher Applications of an Adaptive Hierarchical Mobile Robot Navigation System
Liddy, Tommie Waypoint Navigation with Position and Heading Control using Complex Vector Fields for an Ackermann Steering Autonomous Vehicle
Liu, Qiang Evaluation of Selected Dielectric Elastomers for use in an Artificial Muscle Actuator
Liu, Xi Towards Flight Trials for an Autonomous UAV Emergency Landing using Machine Vision
Low, Toby Learning to Avoid Indoor Obstacles from Optical Flow
Lu, Tien-Fu Evaluation of Selected Dielectric Elastomers for use in an Artificial Muscle Actuator, A Study on Indoor Automatic Change Detection for A Mobile-Camera,Waypoint Navigation with Position and Heading Control using Complex Vector Fields for an Ackermann Steering Autonomous Vehicle
MacDonald, Bruce Robotic Fish Based on a Polymer Actuator, Towards Improving SLAM Algorithm Development using Augmented Reality
MacRae, Kym Automated Sheep Brisket Cutting, Sensing Formats for Automating Tasks in Beef and Sheep Slaughter
Maire, Frederic Bearing-only SLAM with Indistinguishable Landmarks
McKerrow, Phillip Modelling the Lama Coaxial Helicopter, Perceiving A Corridor With CTFM Ultrasonic Sensing
Meers, Simon Substitute Three-Dimensional Perception using Depth and Colour Sensors
Mejias, Luis Towards Flight Trials for an Autonomous UAV Emergency Landing using Machine Vision, Simulation of a Fixed-wing UAV Forced Landing with Dynamic Path Planning
Milford, Michael Featureless Vehicle-Based Visual SLAM with a Consumer Camera
Naghdy, Fazel Empirical Modelling of Human Gaits for Biped Robots
Nebot, Eduardo Automated Process for Generating Digitised Maps through GPS Data Compression
Nourani-Vatani, Navid Automatic Camera Exposure Control
Nuske, Stephen Detecting Moving Pedestrians and Vehicles in Fluctuating Lighting Conditions
Pan, Zengxi Empirical Modelling of Human Gaits for Biped Robots
Patel, Dipesh Design and Hybrid Control of a Two Wheeled Robotic Platform
Ramos, Fabio Bayesian filtering over compressed appearance states, Real-Time Map Building with Uncertainty using Colour Camera and Scanning Laser
Ring, Peter Automated Sheep Brisket Cutting, Sensing Formats for Automating Tasks in Beef and Sheep Slaughter
Roberts, Jonathan Automatic Camera Exposure Control
Sammut, Claude Trial-and-Error Learning of a Biped Gait Constrained by Qualitative Reasoning,An Architecture for Tool Use and Learning in Robots
Scheding, Steven Real-Time Map Building with Uncertainty using Colour Camera and Scanning Laser, A Planning System for Autonomous Ground Vehicles Operating in Unstructured Dynamic Environments, An Interest-Based Framework for Modelling of Human Gross Motion in a Dynamic Environment
Soccol, Dean A Vision System for Optic-flow-based Guidance of UAVs, A Panoramic Stereo Imaging System for Aircraft Guidance
Srinivasan, Mandyam A Vision System for Optic-flow-based Guidance of UAVs, A Panoramic Stereo Imaging System for Aircraft Guidance
Stirling, David Empirical Modelling of Human Gaits for Biped Robots
Stol, Karl Design and Hybrid Control of a Two Wheeled Robotic Platform
Stuerzl, Wolfgang A Panoramic Stereo Imaging System for Aircraft Guidance
Tanjung, Guntur A Study on Indoor Automatic Change Detection for A Mobile-Camera
Thurrowgood, Saul A Vision System for Optic-flow-based Guidance of UAVs, A Panoramic Stereo Imaging System for Aircraft Guidance
Tjahyono, Sungkono Robotic Fish Based on a Polymer Actuator
Tonkes, Bradley Deriving Sensor Models and Non-Linear Filtering for Exponentials of Polynomials
Travas-Sejdic, Jadranka Robotic Fish Based on a Polymer Actuator
Tungadi, Fredy Multiple Laser Polar Scan Matching with Application to SLAM
Tyapin, Ilya A Geometrical Method for Calculating the Unreachable Workspace of the 3-DOF Gantry-Tau Parallel Manipulator
Underwood, James A Planning System for Autonomous Ground Vehicles Operating in Unstructured Dynamic Environments, Real-Time Map Building with Uncertainty using Colour Camera and Scanning Laser
Upcroft, Ben Bayesian filtering over compressed appearance states
Usher, Kane Design, construction and modelling of a low cost, miniature UAV using machine vision
Vittor, Tim Proof of Concept of a Hyper-redundant Reconfigurable Modular Manipulator System
Walker, Anthony A Mobile Mechatronic Platform Architecture for Flexible Materials Handling,Standardised Framework for Flexible Materials Handling Management based on Operating System Primatives
Walker, Geoffrey Assessing the Safety of a Velocity Sourced Series Elastic Actuator
Walker, Rodney Towards Flight Trials for an Autonomous UAV Emergency Landing using Machine Vision, Simulation of a Fixed-wing UAV Forced Landing with Dynamic Path Planning
Wang, Han Robotic Fish Based on a Polymer Actuator
Ward, Koren Substitute Three-Dimensional Perception using Depth and Colour Sensors
Willgoss, Richard Proof of Concept of a Hyper-redundant Reconfigurable Modular Manipulator System
Wood, Brett Towards Coordinated Vision-based Docking Using an Autonomous Surface Vehicle
Wood, David An Interest-Based Framework for Modelling of Human Gross Motion in a Dynamic Environment
Worrall, Stewart Automated Process for Generating Digitised Maps through GPS Data Compression
Wunsche, Burkhard Towards Improving SLAM Algorithm Development using Augmented Reality
Wyeth, Gordon Learning to Avoid Indoor Obstacles from Optical Flow, Featureless Vehicle-Based Visual SLAM with a Consumer Camera, Assessing the Safety of a Velocity Sourced Series Elastic Actuator
Yguel, Manuel Detecting Moving Pedestrians and Vehicles in Fluctuating Lighting Conditions
Yik, Tak Fai Trial-and-Error Learning of a Biped Gait Constrained by Qualitative Reasoning
Young, George Evaluation of Selected Dielectric Elastomers for use in an Artificial Muscle Actuator
Zhang, Alan Anomaly Detection and Tracking for a Patrolling Robot, Robust Appearance Based Visual Route Following in Large Scale Outdoor Environments
Zimmer, Uwe Adaptive Iso-Altitude Tracking and Terrain Reconstruction by Submarine Vehicle Formations