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Virtual Robots for Research and Training Applications
Background
 The
Jacobs virtual robots are based on USARSim,
a high-fidelity simulation of large scale urban and indoor environments
where different robot platforms can operate in various scenarios. USARsim
is an extension of the Unreal Tournament game engine. The underlying Karma
physics engine provides kinematically correct robot motions, sensors from
a rich selection of standard models can be added to the robots to gather
data, and the different USARsim scenarios cover various environment conditions
ranging for example from difficult terrain as locomotion challenge to
smoke from fires as visual obstruction. The simulator is mainly laid out
for Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics (SSRR). But it is also well
suited for work on mobile robots at large. It is an ideal tool for testing
prototype implementations of robot algorithms in general. But its main
strength from a research perspective is the possibility to investigate
multi-robot teams. From an application
viewpoint, USARsim is a very beneficial tool for training and exercising.
The virtual robots supplement the real Jacobs
rescue robots. Each virtual robot runs the autonomous software developed
by Jacobs Robotics, i.e., intelligent functions for perception, control,
mapping, planning, cooperation, and so on.
Results:
- RoboCup World Championship 2006: Second place (results, code)
- RoboCup World Championship 2007: Second place (results, code)
- RoboCup German Open 2008: First place (results)
- RoboCup World Championship 2008: Fourth place and best-in-class award in Mapping (tdp, results, code)
- RoboCup German Open 2009: First place (results)
The Team Description Paper for the 2009 RoboCup World Championships may be downloaded here.
RoboCup Rescue Virtual Robots League Infrastructure
Jacobs University also actively participates in the development of the Rescue Virtual Robots league. New tools and enabling technology has been developed to facilitate and advance the league as a whole.
The GeoTiffViewer application can be used to read and compare georeferenced images.
The new Wireless Simulation Server will be used in upcoming competitions to impose a more realistic wireless communication simulation.
The maps used during the Robocup German Open 2008 Rescue Virtual Robots competition (complete with Groundtruth and Apriori) are available below:
The above maps have been optimized and altered for the Robocup German Open 2009 Rescue Virtual Robots competition and are available for download below:
- DM-reactord_250.zip: Indoors, laboratory scenario. Now optimized with zones, should increase FPS by a factor of 3 or more.
- DM-waterfrontc_250.zip: Ourdoors, harbor scenario. Optimized with distance fog, anti-portals, and removed high-detail models, should increase FPS by a factor of 5.
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