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Job | Seeking a Smalltalker for a PhD on Multi-Robot Systems

by Noury Bouraqadi

Hi, My team has an opening for a PhD student to work on multi-robot exploration and mapping. We target search and rescue operations with UGVs controlled using PhaROS (Pharo + our client for the Robot Operating System). You'll find the full description below. More info on our team can be found at: http://car.mines-douai.fr <http://car.mines-douai.fr/> Best, Prof. Noury Bouraqadi Ecole des Mines de Douai Lille area France ------------ CONTACT Prof. Noury Bouraqadi, noury.bouraqadi AT mines-douai.fr <http://mines-douai.fr/> Dr. Luc Fabresse, luc.fabresse AT mines-douai.fr <http://mines-douai.fr/> Dr. Guillaume Lozengez, guillaume.lozengez AT mines-douai.fr <http://mines-douai.fr/> DESCRIPTION Robotic exploration and mapping is basic to many robotic applications and more specifically to search and rescue operations. It relies on robots to build a map of the environment as a first step to further mission specific tasks (eg. extracting trapped victims). In scenarios where time is critical such in the aftermath of an earthquake, the use of multiple robots allows to speed up the exploration and to take advantage of distributed sensor to increase the mapping process. Each robot explores a different but connected area. The global map is built by merging local maps built by individual robots. To build a map of an unknown environment, a robot has to perform Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). Based on different perceived data (typically odometery and laser scans), metric SLAM algorithms localize the robot while building an occupancy grid. The occupancy grid models the environment as a matrix where each cell denotes the probability of occupancy of a small area. Best metric SLAM algorithms produce precise maps that allow localization with typically centimetric precision. However, an occupancy grid map is materialized as a large matrix. Beside the memory consumption, such a map leads to high CPU consumption for path planning. CPU consumption is also a concern in multi-robot exploration. Indeed, merging metric maps produced by different robots is computationally intensive. The above drawbacks of metrics maps can be mitigated by the use of topological maps. However, topological maps do not allow precise obstacle delimitations needed for autonomous robots exploration. The goal of this PhD is to contribute to our ongoing effort, and propose a solution that gathers the best of both worlds. The expected outcome is a SLAM algorithm that builds a topological map that embeds metric information. The target algorithm should be implemented on top of the ROS (www.ros.org <http://www.ros.org/>) middleware and validated both in simulation and on actual robots. It should also be supported by a set of automated tests that can safely run on an actual robot. BIBLIOGRAPHY - Robotic Mapping and Exploration. C. Stachniss. Springer 2009. - An evaluation of 2D SLAM techniques available in Robot Operating System. J. M. Santos, D. Portugal, and R. Rocha. SSRR 2013. - A Methodology for Testing Mobile Autonomous Robots. Jannik Laval, Luc Fabresse and Noury Bouraqadi. IROS 2013. - Towards Test-Driven Development for Mobile Robots. Luc Fabresse, Jannik Laval and Noury Bouraqadi. ICRA 2013 eigth workshop on Software Development and Integration in Robotics (SDIR VIII). - Team Size Optimization for Multi-robot Exploration, Zhi Yan, Luc Fabresse, Jannik Laval, and Noury Bouraqadi, SIMPAR 2014. - Metrics for Performance Benchmarking of Multi-robot Exploration. Zhi Yan, Luc Fabresse, Jannik Laval, and Noury Bouraqadi. IROS 2015. - Punctual versus continuous auction coordination for multi-robot and multi-task topological navigation, Guillaume Lozenguez, Lounis Adouane, Aurélie Beynier, Abdel-Illah Mouaddib, Philippe Martinet, Autonomous Robot 2015.

Oct. 13, 2015

Re: [Esug-list] ESUG'2015 Photos

by Marcus Denker

On Mon, Oct 5, 2015 at 11:53 AM, Damien Cassou <damien.cassou(a)inria.fr> wrote: > > Boris Shingarov <boris(a)shingarov.com> writes: > > > Dear fellow Smalltalkers, > > > > I have uploaded my ESUG'2015 photos to > > http://www.shingarov.com/brescia > > > > Marcus -- would you mind linking to them off the ESUG page? I believe > > there should be other photographers' sets on the net -- I think it might > > be a good idea to link to those too. > > done: http://www.esug.org/wiki/pier/Conferences/2015/Photos > > There is http://www.a3aan.st/esug2015/index.php/list, too. I will add it to the page and later will do a news entry for the main page. Marcus

Oct. 5, 2015

Re: [Esug-list] ESUG'2015 Photos

by Damien Cassou

Boris Shingarov <boris(a)shingarov.com> writes: > Dear fellow Smalltalkers, > > I have uploaded my ESUG'2015 photos to > http://www.shingarov.com/brescia > > Marcus -- would you mind linking to them off the ESUG page? I believe > there should be other photographers' sets on the net -- I think it might > be a good idea to link to those too. done: http://www.esug.org/wiki/pier/Conferences/2015/Photos -- Damien Cassou http://damiencassou.seasidehosting.st "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another without losing enthusiasm." --Winston Churchill

Oct. 5, 2015

ESUG'2015 Photos

by Boris Shingarov

Dear fellow Smalltalkers, I have uploaded my ESUG'2015 photos to http://www.shingarov.com/brescia Marcus -- would you mind linking to them off the ESUG page? I believe there should be other photographers' sets on the net -- I think it might be a good idea to link to those too. Boris

Oct. 5, 2015

Re: [Esug-list] How did you like July as date for the conference

by jtuchel＠objektfabrik.de

Am 02.10.15 um 13:23 schrieb Thomas Brodt: > I could attend ESUG this year *because* it was held in July. The other > dates in late August to September in the recent years always collided > with our local school holidays and family vacation period. And family > always won, so I was on holidays during the ESUG conference. Maybe I > have to change my vacation habits > ...which is not easy given you only have a 6-week period for that ;-) Since most holiday arrangements go from Saturday to Saturday, returning from ESUG friday night is far from perfect to match with a holiday just the week after... That's why I started this thread: I wanted to find out if I am part of a minority. Which seems to be true. Anyway, I want to thank everybody who gave their views and opinions on this topic and welcome all upcoming reactions to this thread. I hope everybody understands I didn't want to start a revolution, just collect opinions and maybe push ESUG towards early August/July. Seems my chances are small ;-) Joachim

Oct. 2, 2015

Re: [Esug-list] How did you like July as date for the conference

by Thomas Brodt

I could attend ESUG this year *because* it was held in July. The other dates in late August to September in the recent years always collided with our local school holidays and family vacation period. And family always won, so I was on holidays during the ESUG conference. Maybe I have to change my vacation habits Thomas

Oct. 2, 2015

Re: [Esug-list] How did you like July as date for the conference

by Niall Ross

Dear Joachim, generally, I prefer August dates to July or September dates. I suspect that custom, and the existence of other conferences in other months, means we could on average lose more than we gain from a significant move of the usual ESUG dates. I researched ESUG attendance in relation to date when preparing the 2011 conference: it seemed that the traditional dates were usually better than later ones. (I note you are asking about much earlier ones, for which I had no significant data.) As Stephane says, the choice of venue and local organiser influences the dates. For example, the earliest ESUG I recall before this one was in Brussels in 2005 in mid-August, because hotels in Brussels were _much_ cheaper mid-August than after the eurocrats began to return from their holidays. In Edinburgh, I took a calculated gamble to overlap the conference with the festival, which made it more popular and memorable (I think) but meant I had to book the accommodation at the start of the year and guarantee it all myself; most local organisers are understandably not up for that kind of thing. I know the first full week in September is not popular with US attendees because of the Labour Day holiday (Monday of that week). The last Monday of August (i.e. the Monday immediately before Labour Day in most years) is a holiday in the UK. Having ESUG in that week never bothers me. It can make UK sites easier to get (but we've had two ESUG's in the UK in the last 5 years so that's not an immediate issue). I do not recall hearing another UK smalltalker name loss of the August Bank Holiday specifically as an obstacle; maybe the fact we get more annual vacation than in the US makes it less of an issue for us. Of course, August is school holiday time (only the first-half of August in Scotland but all of August in England), so having ESUG in August suits some but not others in the UK for that reason, just as in other countries. IIUC, the week straddling August-September or the week before - the last full week in August - are the typical ESUG dates when local issues do not supervene. I found the mid-August ESUG in Brussels fine, so, like David, I'd not object to earlier-in-August dates. I much enjoyed Brescia (but could have done with less heat). Whatever happens, you'll not please everyone. Predictability is worth preserving unless there's a strongish case for expecting more attendees at another time. My 0.02p Niall Ross

Oct. 1, 2015

Re: [Esug-list] How did you like July as date for the conference

by David Mason

Very late August is difficult for North-American academics, as classes typically start the day after Labour Day (first Monday in September), so some previous years, travelling back in time to get set up for the term is challenging. On the other hand, it was pretty hot this year (although that was partly anomalous weather), so a bit later (like mid-August) might be better. ../Dave

Sept. 27, 2015

Re: [Esug-list] How did you like July as date for the conference

by stephane ducasse

usually we try to adapt to local constraints :) On 25 Sep 2015, at 08:27, jtuchel(a)objektfabrik.de wrote: > Hi ESUG list readers, > > first of all, I'd like to send a late but nevertheless earnest and warm Thank You to all who organized the ESUG 2015 conference. I've enjoyed the conference and the networking. The social event location was great and also Brescia as a city was fantastic. > > I'd like to ask all who came or couldn't come to comment on the selection of the Date for the conference. This year, the conference was held in early July rather than in late August. > > To me, personally, that was an excellent choice, and I've spoken to many people at the conference and on other occasions about the date. Most people I talked to were either pleased or indifferent. But I could imagine some people didn't come because early July didn't fit well. I would like to have ESUg earlier in the year, and early July was very convenient for me for several reasons: > > * In my area (southern Germany), the school holidays haven't started by that time, so the conference doesn't interfere with our vacation plans > * For exactly that reason, I think we've had a few more people from a more "enterprisey" background > * There aren't many other events in July that might interfere with teh ESUG conference > > Let me also state very clearly that I am not asking on behalf of ESUG or that I am in a position to influence the date, other than maybe by starting a discussion on this list ;-) > I am not involved in the planning or organisation of the next ESUG conferences, though this might change in the future, never say never ;-) > > So, what is your opinion? Does July fit for you, or was the changed date keeping you from attending? > Thanks for commenting. Maybe this is of help to the conference organisers, at least I hope so. > My intentions are positive ;-) > > > Joachim > > > > > -- > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Objektfabrik Joachim Tuchel mailto:jtuchel@objektfabrik.de > Fliederweg 1 http://www.objektfabrik.de > D-71640 Ludwigsburg http://joachimtuchel.wordpress.com > Telefon: +49 7141 56 10 86 0 Fax: +49 7141 56 10 86 1 > > > _______________________________________________ > Esug-list mailing list > Esug-list(a)lists.esug.org > http://lists.esug.org/mailman/listinfo/esug-list_lists.esug.org

Sept. 26, 2015

Re: [Esug-list] How did you like July as date for the conference

by Alexandre Bergel

Hi Joachim, Personally, for me July is better. However, I would be careful when conducting such opinion survey since mostly people who are not happy with July are answering. People who are happy with July or without a strong opinion will probably not reply. Maybe using an online survey (instead of sending a mass email) will probably reduce biases, get more opinions, and reflect the truth. Cheers, Alexandre > On Sep 25, 2015, at 3:27 AM, jtuchel(a)objektfabrik.de wrote: > > Hi ESUG list readers, > > first of all, I'd like to send a late but nevertheless earnest and warm Thank You to all who organized the ESUG 2015 conference. I've enjoyed the conference and the networking. The social event location was great and also Brescia as a city was fantastic. > > I'd like to ask all who came or couldn't come to comment on the selection of the Date for the conference. This year, the conference was held in early July rather than in late August. > > To me, personally, that was an excellent choice, and I've spoken to many people at the conference and on other occasions about the date. Most people I talked to were either pleased or indifferent. But I could imagine some people didn't come because early July didn't fit well. I would like to have ESUg earlier in the year, and early July was very convenient for me for several reasons: > > * In my area (southern Germany), the school holidays haven't started by that time, so the conference doesn't interfere with our vacation plans > * For exactly that reason, I think we've had a few more people from a more "enterprisey" background > * There aren't many other events in July that might interfere with teh ESUG conference > > Let me also state very clearly that I am not asking on behalf of ESUG or that I am in a position to influence the date, other than maybe by starting a discussion on this list ;-) > I am not involved in the planning or organisation of the next ESUG conferences, though this might change in the future, never say never ;-) > > So, what is your opinion? Does July fit for you, or was the changed date keeping you from attending? > Thanks for commenting. Maybe this is of help to the conference organisers, at least I hope so. > My intentions are positive ;-) > > > Joachim > > > > > -- > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Objektfabrik Joachim Tuchel mailto:jtuchel@objektfabrik.de > Fliederweg 1 http://www.objektfabrik.de > D-71640 Ludwigsburg http://joachimtuchel.wordpress.com > Telefon: +49 7141 56 10 86 0 Fax: +49 7141 56 10 86 1 > > > _______________________________________________ > Esug-list mailing list > Esug-list(a)lists.esug.org > http://lists.esug.org/mailman/listinfo/esug-list_lists.esug.org > -- _,.;:~^~:;._,.;:~^~:;._,.;:~^~:;._,.;:~^~:;._,.;: Alexandre Bergel http://www.bergel.eu ^~:;._,.;:~^~:;._,.;:~^~:;._,.;:~^~:;._,.;:~^~:;.

Sept. 26, 2015