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Sensor Networks Applications in Robotics and Mobile Systems
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Sensor Networks Applications in Robotics and Mobile Systems

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensor Networks".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2020) | Viewed by 17244

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gregor Klančar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Control Systems and Cybernetics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: autonomous mobile robots; motion control; trajectory tracking; path planning; localization; multiagent systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Marija Seder

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, Unska 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: autonomous mobile robots; motion planning; motion control; path planning; coverage planning; environment exploration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Sašo Blažič

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Control Systems and Cybernetics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: control of nonlinear systems; modeling of nonlinear systems; autonomous mobile systems; mobile robotics; motion control; trajectory tracking
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Several automated and autonomously operating systems require a network of spatially dispersed sensors to obtain reliable information for their operation. Sensor networks enable better coverage and real-time sensing in complex environments that cannot be reliably achieved by a single sensor.

Examples of use cases can be found in industrial applications such as process automation or robotic cells that operate in complex environments. Furthermore, such problems are often met in serving robotic applications for solving tasks related to control, localization and navigation of delivery robots, house-keeping robots, or in autonomous mobile robots, such as automated guided vehicles in warehouses, self-driving vehicles, agriculture, research and rescue missions, and so on.

This Special Issue on sensor networks welcomes contributions on recent developments that include but are not limited to the following topics: new sensor networks developments, innovations in theory, algorithms, reviews or interesting applications from environment awareness, object tracking, localization, SLAM, control tasks in automation, robotics, mobile robotics, and autonomous system design.

Dr. Gregor Klancar
Dr. Marija Seder
Prof. Sašo Blažič
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Sensor networks in process automation
  • Autonomous vehicles
  • Localization and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)
  • Navigation and motion control
  • Sensor fusion
  • Object tracking
  • Ranging, vision, and beacon sensor networks

Published Papers (4 papers)

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18 pages, 6228 KiB  
Article
Fast and Reliable Alternative to Encoder-Based Measurements of Multiple 2-DOF Rotary-Linear Transformable Objects Using a Network of Image Sensors with Application to Table Football
by Matevž Bošnak and Gregor Klančar
Sensors 2020, 20(12), 3552; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s20123552 - 23 Jun 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2527
Abstract
Simultaneous determination of linear and angular positions of rotating objects is a challenging task for traditional sensor applications and a very limited set of solutions is available. The paper presents a novel approach of replacing a set of traditional linear and rotational sensors [...] Read more.
Simultaneous determination of linear and angular positions of rotating objects is a challenging task for traditional sensor applications and a very limited set of solutions is available. The paper presents a novel approach of replacing a set of traditional linear and rotational sensors by a small set of image sensors. While the camera’s angle of view can be a limiting factor in the tracking of multiple objects, the presented approach allows for a network of image sensors to extend the covered area. Furthermore, rich image data allows for the application of different data processing algorithms to effectively and accurately determine the object’s position. The proposed solution thus provides a set of smart visual encoders emulated by an image sensor or a network of image sensors for more demanding spatially distributed tasks. As a proof of concept, we present the results of the experiment in the target application, where a 1.6 MP image sensor was used to obtain sub-degree angular resolution at 600 rpm and thus exceeding the design parameters and requirements. The solution allows for a compact, cost-effective, and robust integration into the final product. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensor Networks Applications in Robotics and Mobile Systems)
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30 pages, 13033 KiB  
Article
OMNIVIL—An Autonomous Mobile Manipulator for Flexible Production
by Heiko Engemann, Shengzhi Du, Stephan Kallweit, Patrick Cönen and Harshal Dawar
Sensors 2020, 20(24), 7249; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s20247249 - 17 Dec 2020
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 5014
Abstract
Flexible production is a key element in modern industrial manufacturing. Autonomous mobile manipulators can be used to execute various tasks: from logistics, to pick and place, or handling. Therefore, autonomous robotic systems can even increase the flexibility of existing production environments. However, the [...] Read more.
Flexible production is a key element in modern industrial manufacturing. Autonomous mobile manipulators can be used to execute various tasks: from logistics, to pick and place, or handling. Therefore, autonomous robotic systems can even increase the flexibility of existing production environments. However, the application of robotic systems is challenging due to their complexity and safety concerns. This paper addresses the design and implementation of the autonomous mobile manipulator OMNIVIL. A holonomic kinematic design provides high maneuverability and the implemented sensor setup with the underlying localization strategies are robust against typical static and dynamic uncertainties in industrial environments. For a safe and efficient human–robot collaboration (HRC), a novel workspace monitoring system (WMS) is developed to detect human co-workers and other objects in the workspace. The multilayer sensor setup and the parallel data analyzing capability provide superior accuracy and reliability. An intuitive zone-based navigation concept is implemented, based on the workspace monitoring system. Preventive behaviors are predefined for a conflict-free interaction with human co-workers. A workspace analyzing tool is implemented for adaptive manipulation, which significantly simplifies the determination of suitable platform positions for a manipulation task. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensor Networks Applications in Robotics and Mobile Systems)
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19 pages, 3871 KiB  
Article
Twist-n-Sync: Software Clock Synchronization with Microseconds Accuracy Using MEMS-Gyroscopes
by Marsel Faizullin, Anastasiia Kornilova, Azat Akhmetyanov and Gonzalo Ferrer
Sensors 2021, 21(1), 68; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s21010068 - 24 Dec 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4335
Abstract
Sensor networks require a high degree of synchronization in order to produce a stream of data useful for further purposes. Examples of time misalignment manifest as undesired artifacts when doing multi-camera bundle-adjustment or global positioning system (GPS) geo-localization for mapping. Network Time Protocol [...] Read more.
Sensor networks require a high degree of synchronization in order to produce a stream of data useful for further purposes. Examples of time misalignment manifest as undesired artifacts when doing multi-camera bundle-adjustment or global positioning system (GPS) geo-localization for mapping. Network Time Protocol (NTP) variants of clock synchronization can provide accurate results, though present high variance conditioned by the environment and the channel load. We propose a new precise technique for software clock synchronization over a network of rigidly attached devices using gyroscope data. Gyroscope sensors, or IMU, provide a high-rate measurements that can be processed efficiently. We use optimization tools over the correlation signal of IMU data from a network of gyroscope sensors. Our method provides stable microseconds accuracy, regardless of the number of sensors and the conditions of the network. In this paper, we show the performance of the gyroscope software synchronization in a controlled environment, and we evaluate the performance in a sensor network of smartphones by our open-source Android App, Twist-n-Sync, that is publicly available. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensor Networks Applications in Robotics and Mobile Systems)
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26 pages, 9579 KiB  
Article
Optimal Cluster Head Positioning Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks
by Ala’ Khalifeh, Husam Abid and Khalid A. Darabkh
Sensors 2020, 20(13), 3719; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s20133719 - 03 Jul 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4526
Abstract
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are increasingly gaining popularity, especially with the advent of many artificial intelligence (AI) driven applications and expert systems. Such applications require specific relevant sensors’ data to be stored, processed, analyzed, and input to the expert systems. Obviously, sensor nodes [...] Read more.
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are increasingly gaining popularity, especially with the advent of many artificial intelligence (AI) driven applications and expert systems. Such applications require specific relevant sensors’ data to be stored, processed, analyzed, and input to the expert systems. Obviously, sensor nodes (SNs) have limited energy and computation capabilities and are normally deployed remotely over an area of interest (AoI). Therefore, proposing efficient protocols for sensing and sending data is paramount to WSNs operation. Nodes’ clustering is a widely used technique in WSNs, where the sensor nodes are grouped into clusters. Each cluster has a cluster head (CH) that is used to gather captured data of sensor nodes and forward it to a remote sink node for further processing and decision-making. In this paper, an optimization algorithm for adjusting the CH location with respect to the nodes within the cluster is proposed. This algorithm aims at finding the optimal CH location that minimizes the total sum of the nodes’ path-loss incurred within the intra-cluster communication links between the sensor nodes and the CH. Once the optimal CH is identified, the CH moves to the optimal location. This suggestion of CH re-positioning is frequently repeated for new geometric position. Excitingly, the algorithm is extended to consider the inter-cluster communication between CH nodes belonging to different clusters and distributed over a spiral trajectory. These CH nodes form a multi-hop communication link that convey the captured data of the clusters’ nodes to the sink destination node. The performance of the proposed CH positioning algorithm for the single and multi-clusters has been evaluated and compared with other related studies. The results showed the effectiveness of the proposed CH positioning algorithm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensor Networks Applications in Robotics and Mobile Systems)
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