Mr. Barry J. O'Brien Profile

Barry J. O'Brien

at DEVCOM Army Research Lab

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Publications (4)

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Proceedings Article | 30 April 2009 Paper

Implementation of small robot autonomy in an integrated environment

Barry O'Brien, Laurel Sadler

Proceedings Volume 7332, 73321U (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.818494

KEYWORDS: Sensors, LIDAR, Robotics, Head, Control systems, Video, Software development, Data acquisition, Commercial off the shelf technology, Ranging

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The U.S. Army Research Laboratory's (ARL) Computational and Information Sciences Directorate (CISD) has long been involved in autonomous asset control, specifically as it relates to small robots. Over the past year, CISD has been making strides in the implementation of three areas of small robot autonomy, namely platform autonomy, Soldier-robot interface, and tactical behaviors. It is CISD's belief that these three areas must be considered as a whole in order to provide Soldiers with useful capabilities. In addressing these areas, CISD has integrated a COTS LADAR into the head of an iRobot PackBot Explorer, providing ranging information with minimal disruption to the physical characteristics of the platform. Using this range data is an implementation of obstacle detection and avoidance (OD/OA), leveraged from an existing autonomy software suite, running on the platform's native processor. These capabilities will serve as the foundation of our targeted behaviorbased control methodologies. The first behavior is guarded tele-operation that augments the existing ARL robotic control infrastructure. The second is the implementation of a multi-robot cooperative mapping behavior. Developed at ARL, collaborative simultaneous localization and mapping (CSLAM) will allow multiple robots to build a common map of an area, providing the Soldier operator with a singular view of that area. This paper will describe the hardware and software integration of the LADAR sensor into the ARL robotic control system. Further, the paper will discuss the implementation of the small robot OD/OA and CSLAM software components performed by ARL, as well as results on their performance and benefits to the Soldier.

Proceedings Article | 30 April 2009 Paper

FOCU:S - future operator control unit: soldier

Barry O'Brien, Cem Karan, Stuart Young

Proceedings Volume 7332, 73320P (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.818495

KEYWORDS: Robots, Robotics, Control systems, Software development, Video, Telecommunications, Cameras, Human-machine interfaces, Video surveillance, Robotic systems

Read Abstract +

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory's (ARL) Computational and Information Sciences Directorate (CISD) has long been involved in autonomous asset control, specifically as it relates to small robots. Over the past year, CISD has been making strides in the implementation of three areas of small robot autonomy, namely platform autonomy, Soldier-robot interface, and tactical behaviors. It is CISD's belief that these three areas must be considered as a whole in order to provide Soldiers with useful capabilities. In addressing the Soldier-robot interface aspect, CISD has begun development on a unique dismounted controller called the Future Operator Control Unit: Soldier (FOCU:S) that is based on an Apple iPod Touch. The iPod Touch's small form factor, unique touch-screen input device, and the presence of general purpose computing applications such as a web browser combine to give this device the potential to be a disruptive technology. Setting CISD's implementation apart from other similar iPod or iPhone-based devices is the ARL software that allows multiple robotic platforms to be controlled from a single OCU. The FOCU:S uses the same Agile Computing Infrastructure (ACI) that all other assets in the ARL robotic control system use, enabling automated asset discovery on any type of network. Further, a custom ad hoc routing implementation allows the FOCU:S to communicate with the ARL ad hoc communications system and enables it to extend the range of the network. This paper will briefly describe the current robotic control architecture employed by ARL and provide short descriptions of existing capabilities. Further, the paper will discuss FOCU:S specific software developed for the iPod Touch, including unique capabilities enabled by the device's unique hardware.

Proceedings Article | 16 April 2008 Paper

Small robot autonomy in an integrated environment

Barry O'Brien, Stuart Young

Proceedings Volume 6962, 69620D (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.779211

KEYWORDS: Robotics, Sensors, Control systems, Buildings, Dismounted soldiers, Telecommunications, Robotic systems, LIDAR, Video, Commercial off the shelf technology

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The U.S. Army Research Laboratory's (ARL) Computational and Information Sciences Directorate (CISD) has long been involved in autonomous asset control, specifically as it relates to small robots. Over the past year, CISD has demonstrated the ability to control and view streaming video from an FCS-surrogate PackBot robotic system over multiple network types (Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW), 802.11), as well as tasking the robot to follow both manually (ARL DigitalInk) and autonomously planned (CERDEC C2ORE) GPS waypoint routes. These capabilities remove the "stand alone system" limitations of traditional small robot systems and allow any and all data produced by such platforms to be available to anyone on the network, while at the same time reducing the amount of operator intervention required to utilize a robot. However, assumptions were made about the paths the robot was to traverse, specifically that they would be free from major obstacles. To address these system limitations, CISD is implementing obstacle detection and avoidance (OD/OA) on the PackBot. The OD/OA utilizes COTS ranging sensors with indoor and/or outdoor capabilities, and leverages existing software algorithm components into the existing CISD robotic control architecture. These new capabilities are available in an integrated environment consisting of common command and control (C2) and network interfaces and on multiple platforms (ARL ATRV, LynchBot, PackBot, etc.) due to the modular and platform/network independent architecture that ARL employs. This paper will describe the current robotic control architecture employed by ARL and provide brief descriptions of existing capabilities. Further, the paper will discuss the small robot obstacle detection/avoidance integration effort performed by ARL, along with some preliminary results on its performance and benefits.

Proceedings Article | 11 May 2007 Paper

ARL participation in the C4ISR OTM experiment: integration and performance results

Lei Zong, Barry O'Brien

Proceedings Volume 6562, 65620S (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.719354

KEYWORDS: Sensors, C4ISR, Robotics, Imaging systems, Telecommunications, Robots, Unattended ground sensors, Control systems, Video, Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Read Abstract +

The Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) On-The- Move (OTM) demonstration is an annual showcase of how innovative technologies can help modern troops increase their situational awareness (SA) in battlefield environments. To evaluate the effectiveness these new technologies have on the soldiers' abilities to gather situational information, the demonstration involves United States Army National Guard troops in realistic war game scenarios at an Army Reserve training ground. The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) was invited to participate in the event, with the objective demonstrating system-level integration of disparate technologies developed for gathering SA information in small unit combat operations. ARL provided expertise in Unattended Ground Sensing (UGS) technology, Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) technology, information processing and wireless mobile ad hoc communication. The ARL C4ISR system included a system of multimodal sensors (MMS), a trip wire imager, a man-portable robotic vehicle (PackBot), and low power sensor radios for communication between an ARL system and a hosting platoon vehicle. This paper will focus on the integration effort of bringing the multiple families of sensor assets together into a working system.

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