Available theses (October 2016)

MERLIN Group
Politecnico di Milano - Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria
 MERLIN Group

Luca Gianni Gianantonio Paolo Andrea

Bascetta Ferretti Magnani Rocco Zanchettin
luca.bascetta@polimi.it gianni.ferretti@polimi.it gianantonio.magnani paolo.rocco@polimi.it andreamaria.zanchettin
@polimi.it @polimi.it

+ Marco Baur, Andrea Casalino, Davide Nicolis, Matteo Parigi Polverini, Roberto
Rossi, Basak Sakcak, Bruno Scaglioni (PhD students)
merlin.elet.polimi.it
www.facebook.com/merlinpolimi
www.youtube.com/MERLINpolimi
MERLIN Group DEIB
MSc Theses at Politecnico di Milano

Tesi Tesina

6 months full 34 months full

Expected effort time time

Reviewer
yes no
required

Maximum
increment for 7/110 4/110
the final grade

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Areas for possible theses at MERLIN

Industrial robotics
Main contacts: Paolo Rocco, Andrea Zanchettin

Unmanned autonomous vehicles

Main contact: Luca Bascetta, Gianantonio Magnani

Manipulation and flexibility

Main contacts: Luca Bascetta, Gianni Ferretti

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Industrial robotics
What we want to study:
Collaborative human-robot interaction
Teleoperation of robots through haptic devices
Force control of industrial robots
New applications of robots

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Industrial robotics Thesis 1
Collaborative robotics

Topic: Human-robot collaboration

The MERLIN group has a

strong background in
collaborative robotics
A technology transfer is now
in process, with a newly
established spin-off company

Theses will be available in this

area to make the use of
collaborative robots as
widespread as possible

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Online scheduling for productive human- Industrial robotics Thesis 2
robot collaboration

Topic: Human-robot collaboration

In human-robot collaboration one

issue is how to maximize
productivity while guaranteeing
safety

Development of an algorithm to
decide the activity the robot has to
perform, considering human
occupancy (safety), available
resources (tools), priority
constraints

Prediction of human activities

Optimization of the throughput

MERLIN Group DEIB
 Selection of optimal hand-over position
Industrial robotics Thesis 3
based on ergonomic evaluation

Topic: Human-robot collaboration

Robot acts as a third hand for

workpiece positioning
Muscular fatigue depends on task
and posture
Optimization of robot trajectory to
reduce muscular fatigue
Validation using sEMG data

task Ergonomic Database of

simulation tasks and postures
optimal
object pose

Human motion Trajectory

tracking generation

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Intuitive programming through voice and
Industrial robotics Thesis 4
gestures

Topic: Innovative methods for robot programming

Robot,
pick this
object
Advanced sensing
techniques are available
for immediate use

We would like to merge voice

commands and point cloud
processing to quickly select
grasping poses
of unknown objects

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO8cLKj3e_k

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Handling liquids in dynamic environments
Industrial robotics Thesis 5
with spilling avoidance

Topic: Applications of constraint-based trajectory generation

Constraint-based reactive motion

generation is a new method to
generate the motion of the robot,
solving online an optimization
problem

Perception of sloshing angle with

optical sensors

Identification of sloshing
parameters (natural frequency,
damping, etc.)

Robust spilling avoidance

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiAAxOX8YlY

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Improving interaction with the environment
Industrial robotics Thesis 6
in constrained teleoperation

Topic: Teleoperation and constrained optimization

Classical teleoperation controllers

must ensure the stability of the
delayed master-slave robot
system in contact with the
environment passivity properties
are usually exploited

Optimization algorithms can

guarantee that a robot satisfies
predefined motion constraints

min =
Is it possible to constrain the slave
robot motion to achieve stability
. .
for the whole teleoperation
system?

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Merging teleoperation and human arm
Industrial robotics Thesis 7
impedance

Topic: Teleoperation and impedance control

State-of-the-art teleoperation schemes
provide force feedback to the user from a
remote location but have to deal with
destabilizing delays

Teleimpedance schemes instead remove

the haptic device and enhance the remote
robot with human-like characteristics via
real-time measurements of the human arm
stiffness without stability issues

Can we merge teleoperation with

teleimpedance by estimating human
impedance during operation with a master
robot device, while preserving force
feedback and stability?

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Industrial robotics Thesis 8
Force-controlled contour following

Topic: Robot force control

Use workpiece commercial CAD/CAM

Generate a suitable robot end-effector

trajectory for workpiece contour
following

Exploit hybrid force/position control to

perform the prescribed robot task

Application on the COMAU Smart Six

Robot.

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Corner detection during
Industrial robotics Thesis 9
contour following tasks

Topic: Robot force control

During a contour following task

under force control, the robot can
lose contact with the work piece in
presence of corners.

Can we devise a suitable control

strategy to avoid this undesired
robot behavior, with no need of a
vision system?

Application on the COMAU Smart

Six Robot.

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Optimization-based force control
Industrial robotics Thesis 10
with stiff environment

Topic: Robot force control

The rigid contact between a

robot and the environment
introduces constraints on the
dynamic model of the
manipulator.

Under this working condition,

how can we perform implicit
force control by means of
constraint-based optimization?

Application on the COMAU

Smart Six Robot.

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Performance Improvement of
Industrial robotics Thesis 11
Direct Force Control (1)

Topic: Robot force control

Optimization based control

strategies can outperform
standard PID-based controllers.

Starting from a recently

proposed optimization based
approach to direct force control,
how can we extend it to systems
with higher relative degree?

Application on the COMAU

Smart Six Robot.

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Performance Improvement of
Industrial robotics Thesis 12
Direct Force Control (2)

Topic: Robot force control

Direct controller synthesis

methods (e.g. the VRFT
approach) can be useful when
dealing with force control in
contact with an unknown
environment.
Optimization based control
strategies can outperform
standard PID-based controllers.
Is it possible to merge these two
approaches?

Application on the COMAU

Smart Six Robot.

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Performance Improvement of
Industrial robotics Thesis 13
Direct Force Control (3)

Topic: Robot force control

Optimization based control

strategies can outperform
standard PID-based controllers.
Until now only the unilateral
contact situation has been
addressed.
How can we extend it to
multi-lateral contact situations,
e.g. alignment of an object to a
corner?

Application on the COMAU

Smart Six Robot.

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Industrial robotics Thesis 14
Aerial manipulation

Topic: New applications of robots

An aerial robotic manipulator is

a system composed of a
quadrotor equipped with a
robotic arm.
Several control problems arise
related to the coupling of the
two systems
A prototype has been made at
MERLIN
Experiments to be performed on
the prototype

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Industrial robotics for the additive
Industrial robotics Thesis 15
manufacturing

Topic: New applications of robots

Additive manufacturing (3D

printing) is one of the most fast-
growing technologies for the
factory of the future

Industrial robots can serve as

dexterous 3D printers

Atropos +LAB POLIMI

Application on a KUKA robot.

To be confirmed (cooperation with another POLIMI Department)

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Other theses in robotics

Human robot interaction

Industrial/flexible robotics

Manipulation of complex objects

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Increasing stability and performance of
human robot interaction
22
Human robot interaction

During physical human robot interaction (e.g. walk-

through programming) the mechanical characteristics
of the operator arm have an important effect on the
system stability and performance
We have already defined a protocol to experimentally
characterized the human arm mechanical
impedance
and a methodology to determine control
parameters ensuring stability
We would like to improve the experimental
characterization
and to devise an adaptive control system that can
adapt itself arm to impedance variations ensuring
stability and improving performance
Application to a Comau robot and a Kinova Jaco 2
robot

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Improving the performance of industrial
robots using robust control
23
Industrial/flexible robotics

Nowadays many industrial robots cannot be modelled as rigid machines, joint and
link flexibilities have to be considered
Robot manufacturers are setting up numerical and experimental procedures to
identify the rigid and elastic parameters of the robot
and are interested to exploit this knowledge in the control system to improve the
positioning performance
The aim of this work is the design of an innovative architecture for the industrial
controller, based on robust control, able to exploit the knowledge of the elastic
model
The work can be done at our lab or at Comau Lab in Grugliasco (TO)

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Control of flexible and continuous robots
24
Industrial/flexible robotics

A novel approach to (highly) flexible robots

modelling has been developed and validated
The approach allows for a real implementation of
a two-time-scale integral manifold control
strategy, exploiting advanced H-based control
techniques
The thesis work, with a strong experimental
characterization, is just focused on the
implementation of the two-time-scale control
technique on an experimental flexible robot arm,
located at the MUSP (Machine Tools and
Production Systems) laboratory (Piacenza)

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Visual servoing control for object
manipulation and mobile manipulation
25
Manipulation of complex objects

A robotic arm can be used to grasp and manipulate complex objects, considering
a static or a moving base (mobile manipulation)
An example application in agricultural robotics: using an arm to take a pheromone
dispenser and twist it on a grape branch
another example application in service robotics: taking and manipulating
objects from a wheelchair
We would like to develop a planning/control system to drive the arm to grasp and
manipulate an object using an arm-mounted camera

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Grasping randomly arranged objects from a
box
26
Manipulation of complex objects

There are many industrial applications that entail the task of taking an object from
a randomly arranged set
Before planning the task, the easiest object to be grasped has to be identified
using a 2D or a 3D sensor
then a trajectory to approach and grasp the object is computed, and the robot is
moved to the object thanks to a vision sensor
Application to a Comau robot and a Kinova Jaco 2 robot

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Unmanned autonomous vehicles

Planning techniques for UAVs

UAV modelling and control

Mobile manipulation

Manipulation

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Planning techniques for UAVs 28

Planning with kino-dynamic constraints

Multi-agent planning

Planning with rules

Planning with visibility constraints

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Introducing kino-dynamic constraints in 29
random sampling planners Planning techniques for UAVs

path/trajectory planning is the first

task to be accomplished to set up
an autonomous vehicle
to create feasible and safe paths
we must consider vehicle dynamic
and kinematic characteristics

we aim at developing a random

sampling planner that takes into
account vehicle kino-dynamic
constraints

application to ground (off-road and

road) and aerial vehicles

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Multi-agent random sampling planners 30
Planning techniques for UAVs

we would like to consider different

vehicles, each one characterized
by different abilities
or a single vehicle whose behavior
can change during the execution
of the task

we aim at developing a random

sampling planner that takes into
account and exploits the ability of
each vehicle and/or the variability
of its behavior

application to ground (off-road and

road) and aerial vehicles

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Introducing rules in multi-agent random 31
sampling planners Planning techniques for UAVs

we would like to consider set of

similar or different vehicles

we aim at developing a random

sampling planner for a multi-agent
scenario that takes into account
interaction rules (e.g., to give
way to vehicles coming from the
right)

application to ground (off-road and

road) and aerial vehicles

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Optimized visibility in random sampling 32
planners Planning techniques for UAVs

moving from a start position to a

goal region within the feature rich
areas
or keeping a target feature
always in field of view of the vision
sensor

we aim to design a random

sampling planner that takes into
account the visibility concern of the
vision sensor

application to ground (off-road and

road) and aerial vehicles

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Comparing different path planning 33
techniques for autonomous vehicles Planning techniques for UAVs

there are at least three different

path planning techniques: random
sampling, search based, and
model based planners

we want to define benchmark

environments for outdoor
autonomous vehicles to compare
the different techniques
and compare at least two of
them in different environments

application to ground (off-road and

road) and aerial vehicles eminently necessary since, by definition,
a robot accomplishes tasks by moving in the
real world.
J.-C. Latombe (1991)

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Control of autonomous vehicles for off- 34
road applications using torque vectoring UAV modelling and control

developing a model based control

system for unmanned autonomous
vehicles

exploiting the torque vectoring

strategy in order to improve the
performance in off-road complex
environments

application to an all-wheel drive

vehicle

MERLIN Group DEIB

 MPC control of autonomous vehicles with 35
moving obstacle prediction UAV modelling and control

autonomous vehicles (cars, but also wheelchairs)

move in an environment full of static and moving
obstacles

considering the MPC control of a vehicle,

introducing a motion model of the moving obstacles
(e.g., walking people) can greatly increase
performance and passenger comfort

the project aims at developing motion models of

moving obstacles and introducing them in an
existing MPC control architecture

application to a wheelchair and a small electric

vehicle

MERLIN Group DEIB

 MPC shared control of autonomous 36
vehicles UAV modelling and control

in many different applications, ranging from

wheelchairs to autonomous cars, a vehicle can be
controlled thanks to the collaboration between a
human driver and an autonomous control system

the human driver can partially control the vehicle,

or control it using high level commands, the
autonomous control system ensures safety,
obstacle avoidance

the project aims at developing a MPC control

system supporting shared control of the vehicle

application to a wheelchair and a small electric

vehicle

MERLIN Group DEIB

 LFT vehicle parameter estimation 37
UAV modelling and control

the aim is the online estimation of the

most important vehicle parameters in
order to support model based controller
design
an innovative technique, based on the
reformulation of the dynamic model of
the vehicle in the LFT form, will be
evaluated, with the aim of guaranteeing
high computational efficiency
application to a model of a drifting car
and a small electric vehicle

MERLIN Group DEIB

 A trajectory tracking controller to handle 38
aggressive maneuvers UAV modelling and control

When moving to off-road

conditions [or to low grip
terrains] the minimum time
maneuver is characterized by
aggressive, high-drift, even
counter-steering maneuvers
[Tavernini, Velenis et Al Minimum time
cornering: the effect of road surface and car
transmission layout, Vehicle System
Dynamics (2013)]

Control techniques to be assessed:

sliding mode control, MPC, LTV
The developed algorithm will be
tested on a model of a drifting car

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Robust linearization of vehicles 39
represented by single-track models UAV modelling and control

to ease the design of trajectory tracking

controllers for autonomous vehicles
feedback linearization is often applied
in order to ensure stability and
performance of the controlled system the
robustness of feedback linearization with
respect to parameter variations has to
be measured
a robustifying control law for the most
critical parameters has to be devise as
well
application to a model of a drifting car

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Manipulation and mobile manipulation

Developing planning and control strategies

for object grasping and manipulation with
multiple robotic arms

Developing planning and control strategies

for mobile manipulation

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Navigation of a small mobile manipulator 41
in off-road terrains Manipulation and Mobile manipulation

developing a control system for

autonomous and semi-
autonomous navigation of a small
robot on rough sloping terrains
autonomous navigation and
obstacle avoidance exploiting the
arm to increase the stability of the
system
ensure the system integrity
(obstacle avoidance and stability)
during arm teleoperation

application to a small mobile robot

for agricultural applications

MERLIN Group DEIB

 Visual servoing control for mobile 42
manipulation in off-road terrains Manipulation and Mobile manipulation

developing a control system to

execute manipulation and
monitoring tasks with a mobile
manipulator
manipulation task: grasping little
tubes and tie them to a vine
branch
monitoring task: collect video
images of leaves, branches, soil
visual based arm control is used,
but all the robot d.o.f. should be
exploited to maximize dexterity
obstacle avoidance and platform
stability have to be ensured

application to a small mobile robot

for agricultural applications

MERLIN Group DEIB