engineering

IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory

IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory rather than just read about it. In short: The Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory (GCDSL) is situated in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India. The Mobile Robotics Laboratory (MRL) is its experimental division.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

The Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory (GCDSL) is situated in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India. The Mobile Robotics Laboratory (MRL) is its experimental division. They are headed by Dr. Debasish Ghose, Full Professor. GCDSL was established in 1990 (the MRL in 2002) and is considered as one of the leading robotic research centers in India. GCDSL/MRL has close research collaborations with eminent academic groups in countries such as USA, UK, Israel, South Korea etc. It also has multiple Industry project grants.

Research overview GCDSL was started with the primary aim of performing research in the fields of Swarm robotics, Multi-Robot Systems and Cooperative Robotics with applications to tasks such as cooperative transportation, robotic formations, cooperative search/rescue, and odor source localization. In MRL, several robotic platforms have been built in-house and used for real-world-experiments in order to validate algorithms related to some of the above research problems. The group is dedicated towards creating intelligent systems that are able to autonomously operate in complex and diverse scenarios. They are interested in the mechatronic design and control of vehicles that efficiently adapt to different situations and perform in dynamic environments. This includes development of novel methods and tools for perception, mapping and path planning. Over the years research has extended in the fields of Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), Aerial Robotics and machine vision. Recently there's been an emphasis on computer vision and Machine learning for improving versatility and cognitive abilities of robotic platforms.

Current Projects

Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC 2020) The goal is that MBZIRC 2020 will be based on autonomous aerial and ground robots, carrying out navigation and manipulation tasks, in unstructured, outdoor and indoor environments. All the sub-challenges involve cooperation between multiple UAVs and swarm-abilities. These Challenges are (1) grip a swinging ball hanging from a fast-moving drone, (2) Three UAVs and one UGV has to pick up bricks and build a wall, (3) A set of four vehicles (3 UAV + 1 UGV) to douse a series of simulated fires in a high-rise building using a pressurized canister. These missions are at the frontier of Intelligent Aerial Robotics technology and are meant for real-world application. The IISc-TCS team has been selected for an interim award of $100,000 (milestone prize i.e. stage-based).

UAVs for Flood emergency response, aid planning and management (EPSRC), 2020 The project focuses on using UAVs to gather information about an unfolding flooding disaster, allowing emergency response units to prioritise resources and deploy them effectively. It will also address the challenges associated with flying UAVs in difficult situations, as well as how the data can be combined with accelerated flood inundation models to generate detailed evacuation plans, build community flood resilience, save lives and reduce economic damage.

Interceptor Aerial Systems (Agile Pursuit of Target)

Archived Projects

Glowworm swarm optimization (GSO) The glowworm swarm optimization (GSO) algorithm is an optimization technique developed for simultaneous capture of multiple optimums of multi-modal functions. The algorithm utilizes agents called glowworms which use a luminescent quantity called Luciferin to (indirectly) communicate the function-profile information at their current location to their neighbors. The glowworm depends on a variable local-decision domain, which is bounded above by a circular sensor range, to identify its neighbors and compute its movements. Each glowworm selects a neighbor that has a Luciferin value more than its own, using a probabilistic mechanism, and moves towards it. These movements that are based only on local information enable the swarm of glowworms to split into disjoint subgroups, exhibit simultaneous taxis-behavior towards, and rendezvous at multiple optimums (not necessarily equal) of a given multi-modal function. The algorithm was tested on a custom designed system of robots called Kinbots.

Histogramic intensity switching Histogramic intensity switching (HIS) is a vision-based obstacle avoidance algorithm developed in the lab. It makes use of histograms of images captured by a camera in real-time and does not make use of any distance measurements to achieve obstacle avoidance. An improved algorithm called the HIS-Dynamic mask allocation (HISDMA) has also been designed. The algorithms were tested on an in-house custom built robot called the VITAR.

Multi-Robot simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) Implementation of occupancy grid mapping using a miniature mobile robot equipped with a set of five infrared based ranging sensors is explored in this research. Bayesian methods are used to update the map. Another variant of this technique will utilize a single IR-range sensor to obtain range to different distinctive features in the surrounding environment and utilize the readings obtained to make the SLAM converge. These techniques will be extended to a swarm of robots. These robots would communicate using the ZigBee protocol among themselves and with a global coordinator (PC) which would be responsible for map merging. Simulation experiments are being carried out using the Player/Stage software. The robotic platform is built using a custom designed set of swarm robots called Glowworms.

Quad-rotor and Aerial Manipulator Test-bed A quadrotor micro-air-vehicle (MAV) is a rotor-based craft with four rotors, usually placed at the corners of a square frame. The four motor speeds (and hence thrusts) are the control inputs which result in motion of the quadrotor. The dynamics of this vehicle are fast and highly coupled, and hence presents a challenging control problem.A quadrotor and control test-bed has been fabricated in-house at the Mobile Robotics Lab. Experiments on control are being conducted on the quadrotor, beginning with yaw, pitch and roll stabilization.

Robots developed in-house

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory

In research: IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Indian Institute of Science, Robotics in India, Robotics organizations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory in simple terms?

Why does IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on IISc Guidance, Control and Decision Systems Laboratory.