Research

[2024-ongoing] The project aims to develop (i) a data collection and annotation interface that makes it possible to execute various robot skills and annotate execution failures in those, and (ii) a simulation-based environment that can be used to evaluate the execution of learned skills under a variety of conditions.

[2024-ongoing] The objective of INNERVATE is to develop a solution to automatically evaluate the quality of driver maneuver execution and to support drivers with information about the parts of the maneuver where they have made mistakes. This involves the evaluation of measurement series, finding errors, and explaining what needs to be done to avoid these errors. In addition, it should be possible to generate valid measurement series from partially correctly executed maneuvers.

[2024-ongoing] Researchers from all disciplines are confronted with increasingly large amounts of data. The newly founded Rhine-Ruhr Center for data literacy (DKZ.2R) has set itself the goal of supporting and promoting researchers from a variety of research disciplines with regard to increasingly complex data analysis, data management and high-performance computing.

[2023-ongoing] The Center for Assistive Technologies Rhein-Ruhr (De: ZAT Rhein-Ruhr) project is an initiative focused on creating a sustainable ecosystem for assistive technologies, encompassing infrastructure development, ethical considerations, public engagement, and financial sustainability, all with the aim of improving assistive technology research and development, teaching and transfer, thereby ensuring its widespread impact. ZAT's focus is on pro-adaptive solutions (assistive solutions that "proactively tackle adaptability") in the work, home, healthcare, mobility and education domains.

[2021-ongoing] Garrulus aims to develop a fast, reliable, and cost-effective method for the reforestation and monitoring of damaged forest areas in Germany. For this purpose, the sowing should be targeted at locations with the best possible conditions, and technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence should make the efficiency and effectiveness of direct seeding viable through precise seed planning, targeted drone seeding, and subsequent regeneration monitoring.

[Completed: 2021-2023] The goal of SESAME is to develop a model-based approach for systematic engineering of dependable MRS. The approach is supported by a set of public meta-models, components and configuration tools produced by the project. Target MRS may employ AI, and will be capable of operating dependably in open configurations, and in conditions of uncertainty that include the acknowledged possibility of cyber-attacks. Five novel applications that add value to the European science and economy will be developed and verified for dependability using the SESAME approach.

[Completed: 2020-2023] In the MigrAVE project, the objective is to develop supporting technologies for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In particular, MigrAVE aims to develop two complementary tools to support both therapists and parents in the treatment of children with ASD: (i) a robot assistant that provides a unique learning opportunity for children by reducing the pressure of challenging social situations, and (ii) an online portal that provides a complete learning curriculum for children at different levels of the disorder and different stages of development.

[Completed: 2020-2023] The main objective of METRICS is to organise challenge-led robotics competitions as clear, rigorous and effective evaluation campaigns for the four priority areas, namely healthcare, agile production, inspection and maintenance and agri-food. These competitions are a cornerstone for the effective design, manufacture, deployment and modification of robotic systems.

[Completed: 2018-2022] Smart cities offer a unique opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of using a variety of robotic applications in different living contexts for all European citizens. SciRoc calls for leading European robotics developers from European companies and research labs to send teams to demonstrate their technologies and systems in high profile competitive demonstrations in a smart city environment.

[Completed: 2020-2021] In SAFEMUV, we extend, adapt, and integrate our research and the latest advances from operational risk assessment for UAVs, managing variability in robotic systems through feature modelling, and automated synthesis of models and testing campaigns for assessing system robustness. SAFEMUV delivers a process for systematic robustness assessment of UAV teams underpinned by methods for the specification, generation and testing of collaborative inspection scenarios, enabling the progressive transition from simulation to lab-based operations and to real-world operations.

[Completed: 2019-2020] Generating robot motion is mandatory to accomplish real-world tasks that require feedback control schemes and the application of advanced force/motion control concepts, but realizing this requires composing the concepts from domains such as geometry, mechanics or control in non-trivial ways, making predictability of system-level properties related to performance, safety and other important categories difficult to achieve. VeriComp aims to address this challenge by augmenting functional composition with verifiable properties and domain-specific extensions.

[Completed: 2017-2020] Rural regions are affected by demographic change in several ways. People of working age are moving away or commuting from their place of residence to more distant workplaces and the lack of professional and informal caregivers is exacerbating the situation for the steadily growing group of older people (in need of care). This can lead to considerable gaps in the care of people with dementia in particular. In RoboLand, possibilities for the use of telepresence robotics for people with dementia living at home and their relatives are explored.

[Completed: 2017-2020] ROPOD aims to develop and implement a disruptive concept for automatically guided vehicles (AGVs) that lowers the still existing barrier in logistics by offering cost-effective, automated or semi-automated indoor transportation of goods, while coping with existing legacy in terms of size, shape, and weight of goods and containers, without imposing disruptive changes in existing logistic solutions, such as rebuilding entire warehouses or switching to new containers or storage technology.

[Completed: 2016-2018] RockEU2 is a continuation of the RoCKIn project (see below).

[Completed: 2013-2016] The EmoRobot project aims to explore the use of robotic assistance systems to support the care of people who are in various stages of dementia. On the one hand, the project aims to make statements on the (potential) suitability of (robotic) assistance systems - virtual or physical - in terms of maintaining, or (re)establishing and promoting the well-being, independence, self-determination and sense of security of people with dementia. On the other hand, empirical studies are conducted to determine which requirement profiles can be derived for robotic assistance systems.

[Completed: 2015-2017] The aim of RoCKIn is to drive progress in the field of intelligent robotic systems through scientific competitions. The project was inspired by existing RoboCup competitions, among others. RoCKIn focuses specifically on the area of service robotics (RoCKIn @Home), as well as on robot applications in an industrial context (RoCKIn@Work). The aim is not to replace the existing leagues, but to improve and expand them by trying to introduce new aspects, such as the networking of mobile robots with existing sensors/actuators in the environment (cameras, electric doors, etc.).

[Completed: 2014-2015] The AICISS project aims to develop a new type of controller for the KUKA youBot robot based on force control. The controller integrates several functionalities for the navigation of mobile robots in the form of motion control, path planning, obstacle avoidance, localization and human-machine interaction. The controller to be developed is based on the KUKA youBot, one of the technologically leading robot systems for research and development in the field of mobile manipulation. The intended use case is a restaurant service robot application.

[Completed: 2011-2014] In this project, the aim is to develop a virtual laboratory that allows students to access several real-life setups whenever they are connected to the internet. These setups will be developed by the partnering institutes and will be made programmable through the internet using VHDL. Each setup will be accompanied by a camera that films the behaviour of the setup and sends back the result to the student. This way, the verification of the design can be done by checking the behaviour of the application instead of digital simulation results.

[Completed: 2012-2013] The objective of EduFill is to use a standard robot platform (a KUKA youBot) to promote mobile manipulation by (i) providing university courses, (ii) creating teaching material for in-house training of workers, (i) developing, a software toolbox to ease creating robot applications, and (iv) making software portable to other robots.

[Completed: 2009-2013] BRICS aims to develop best practices for developing interoperable robot components as well as to design a robotic development environment based on those practices, along with an accompanying software repository.

[Completed: 2011-2012] The objective of this initiative is to encourage knowledge transfer and cooperation between German and Russian research institutions in the field of robotics.

[Completed: 2007-2008] The objective of the RoSta is to take the initiative on the definition of formal standards and the establishment of de facto standards in the field of robotics, especially service robotics. The project proposes to take initiative in the formulation of standards in a very few, selected key topics which have the highest possible impact. These topics are at the core of robotics research and development, and therefore have the potential to form the root of a whole chain of standard defining activities going far beyond the specific activities proposed here.

[Completed: 2006-2009] The aim of XPERO is to investigate whether robot learning through experimentation can be formalized and mechanized in a computer program to such an extent that even a mindless and soulless machine such as a robot can acquire qualitative, new knowledge.