IEEE RAS Technical Committee on Algorithms for Planning and Control of Robot Motion

Outline of this Newsletter

Newsletter December 2008

Dear Committee Members,

In this newsletter:

  1. The Eighth International Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR) was held in Guanajuato, Mexico, December 7-9, 2008. Planning was a central theme in the workshop, as several researchers presented their work in geometric planning, kinodynamic planning, distributed systems and networks, manipulation planning, robust and stochastic planning, and medical applications of planning.
    • In geometric planning, new approaches were presented to achieve probabilistic path planning among movable obstacles, effectively plan in non-expansive spaces with a multi-modal structure, improve planning in narrow passages via probabilistic diffusion, improve sampling by generating uniform incremental grids on SO(3), improve local planning by connecting neighboring configurations via a distance-constrained motion interpolation, improve local planning for closed chains or articulated linkages by planning with reachable distances, efficiently answer geodesic-distance queries in dynamic environments in which obstacles are being deformed continuously, and simplify the computation of accurate approximations of the Minkowski sum boundary in 3D.
    • In kinodynamic planning, a new sampling-based approach was presented specifically designed for systems with complex dynamics, where physics-based simulation is necessary.
    • In distributed systems and networks, new approaches were presented to simultaneously cover an environment and track intruders, cooperatively tow payloads by multiple mobile robots that move in a plane, implement planar microassembly using groups of stress-engineered microrobots, efficiently propagate information among robots scattered in an environment, reconfigure robotic networks to obtain coverage, and maintain and repair connectivity.
    • Manipulation planning included studies of two-finger caging of a mobile robot in any Euclidean space, modeling multibody collisions in the impulse space as state-transition diagrams, modeling human hands, analysis and control of underactuated mechanical systems in the nonzero velocity.
    • In robust planning, researchers presented their work in generating robust motion plans in the presence of uncertainties in obstacle behaviors, environment maps, and the outcome of motion controls. In stochastic planning, new approaches were presented to conduct probabilistic search for a stationary target using a decision-theoretic formulation, and cope with uncertainties in traffic conditions by stochastic modeling of travel delays on road networks.
    • Medical applications of planning focused on new approaches for steering of flexible needles with a bevel tip in 3D and in the presence of uncertainties.
  2. Winter School on Medical Robotics and Computer-Integrated Interventional Systems (January 12-16, 2009 at Johns Hopkins University)
The NSF Engineering Research Center for Computer-integrated Surgical Systems and Technology (CISST ERC) is organizing a week-long "winter school" on medical robotics and computer-integrated interventional medicine at Johns Hopkins University. This intensive short course will include tutorial lectures and research talks by internationally recognized faculty, lab tours & demonstrations in the new facilities in the Computational Sciences and Engineering Building on the Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus, and a compressed version of Johns Hopkins' unique Surgery for Engineers course.
A major theme of the course relates to combining preoperative planning based on medical images with medical robots or other interventional technology to improve accuracy, efficiency, or invasiveness of interventions. Special emphasis will be given to medical robotic placement of needles and similar devices under image guidance.
More information can be found at CISST ERC