Robotics and Computer Vision

Maria Gini
Volkan Isler
Nikos Papanikolopoulos
Stergios Roumeliotis
Guillermo Sapiro
Paul Schrater

http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~gini
http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~isler/
http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~npapas
http://www.cs.umn.edu/~stergios
http://www.ece.umn.edu/users/guille
http://www.schrater.org/

Professor Stergios Roumeliotis

Research Interests

Estimation and control of groups of autonomous vehicles, including:

• sensor networks — modeling, analysis, and information fusion
• multi-robot localization, mapping, and navigation
• distributed sensing in bandwidth-limited environments
• vision-aided inertial navigation & structure from motion
• structure from motion
• fault detection and identification
• human-robot interaction
• humanitarian robotics

Multiple Autonomous Robotic Systems (MARS) Lab
http://www.cs.umn.edu/research/mars/research.html

Current Projects

• Distributed Estimation and Active Sensing with Mobile Robot Networks
• Performance Characterization of Cooperative Localization and SLAM
• Performance Characterization of Cooperative Localization and Tracking
• Multi-robot SLAM with Unknown Initial Correspondence
• Determining the Robot-to-Robot Relative Pose using Range only Measurements
• Optimal Sensing Strategies for Mobile Robot Formations
• Optimal Motion Strategies for Distributed Range only Tracking
• Adaptive Sensing for Plume Tracking
• Coupled Vision and Inertial Navigation for Pin Point Landing
• Pin-Point Landing based on Mapped Landmark Observations
• Vision-Aided Inertial Navigation
• Sensor Calibration and Alignment
• Estimation within the CLARAty Architecture
• 3D Localization for Mars Rovers
• Simultaneous Localization and Mapping
• Autonomous Stair Climbing
• An Indoor Localization Aid for the Visually Impaired

Professor Nikos Papanikolopoulos

Safety, Security, and Rescue Research Center (SSR-RC)
http://www.ssrrc.dtc.umn.edu
An NSF Sponsored Industry / University Cooperative Research Center (I/U CRC)

The proposed I/UCRC is focused on the emerging field of Safety, Security, and Rescue Research, which includes a variety of topics in homeland security and emergency preparedness and response. As a true cooperative venture, university researchers, member company executives, and invited public safety officials play a role in the selection of research projects the Center pursues. In fact, it is the Industrial Advisory Board that allocates funding for specific projects.

The research agenda of the Center covers many proactive and reactive technologies for homeland security and emergency response. These include:

• Components and systems of unmanned ground, air and undersea vehicles for security and search and rescue
• New sensors and sensor miniaturization for CBRNE detection, medical monitoring, navigation, and situational awareness
• Coordination algorithms for distributed teams of humans/robots/sensors
• Human/robot interaction and shared control of complex systems
• Robust, ad hoc, wireless networking protocols for sensor networks and autonomous agents
• Automated video surveillance and interpretation of human activities

The Center for Distributed Robotics
http://distrob.cs.umn.edu/

The Center for Distributed Robotics is at the forefront of research in robotics, with expertise in both hardware design and algorithms. Over five different robots have been created here and one of them (UMN Scout http://distrob.cs.umn.edu/scout.php) has been used in more than 40 countries to save lives.

With nearly 100 robots in the lab, of varying sizes, locomotion, computational and sensing capabilities, there are platforms for a variety of research and real-world applications. In addition, we work very closely with the Computer Vision Lab http://mha.cs.umn.edu towards creating cutting-edge robotic applications that utilize sensors effectively.

More than 80 students have graduated from the Center and hold influential positions in the industry and academia.