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In this paper, three model-based fault diagnosis algorithms for robotic systems are designed, compared, simulated, and implemented. The first algorithm is based on a nonlinear adaptive observer (NLAO), where a sufficient condition for the convergence of the estimator is derived in terms of linear matrix inequality (LMI) under persistence of excitation condition. The second algorithm is based on an adaptive extended Kalman filter (AEKF). Unlike traditional approaches, where the fault parameters are considered as augmented state variables, the AEKF directly estimates the fault parameters from measurement data. The third algorithm is based on a cascade of a nonlinear observer (NLO) and a linearized adaptive Kalman filter (LAKF), called the adaptive exogenous Kalman filter (AXKF). The pros and cons for each algorithm are discussed. The performance of the algorithms is compared in a single-link joint robot system. Furthermore, the algorithms are implemented in a ball-balancing robot to detect and estimate the magnitude of the actuator faults.

Low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) are gaining popularity in the research community due to their low power consumption, low cost, and wide geographical coverage. LPWAN technologies complement and outperform short-range and traditional cellular wireless technologies in a variety of applications, including smart city development, machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, healthcare, intelligent transportation, industrial applications, climate-smart agriculture, and asset tracking. This review paper discusses the design objectives and the methodologies used by LPWAN to provide extensive coverage for low-power devices. We also explore how the presented LPWAN architecture employs various topologies such as star and mesh. We examine many current and emerging LPWAN technologies, as well as their system architectures and standards, and evaluate their ability to meet each design objective. In addition, the possible coexistence of LPWAN with other technologies, combining the best attributes to provide an optimum solution is also explored and reported in the current overview. Following that, a comparison of various LPWAN technologies is performed and their market opportunities are also investigated. Furthermore, an analysis of various LPWAN use cases is performed, highlighting their benefits and drawbacks. This aids in the selection of the best LPWAN technology for various applications. Before concluding the work, the open research issues, and challenges in designing LPWAN are presented.

The gradual prevalence of Internet of Things (IoT) and wireless communication technologies has enabled the wide adoption of various smart devices (e.g., smart watches) in provisioning the healthcare services to massive users. Besides monitoring the real-time health signals or conditions of users, smart devices can also record a series of sport-related user information such as user location information at a certain time point. The location sequence information is valuable to cluster the users who share the similar sport preferences or habits and therefore, is also playing a key role in providing wireless healthcare services to these users. However, the user location information is often sensitive to certain wireless users as they decline to reveal their daily sport behavior patterns to others. In this situation, a natural challenge is raised in securing the sensitive user location information while mining the users’ daily sport behavior patterns and provisioning better healthcare services to the users. Considering this challenge, we take advantage of the well-known SimHash technique to protect users’ location privacy while clustering the users who share similar sport preferences or habits for better healthcare services. At last, we validate the feasibility of the proposal through a set of simulated experiments conducted on a real-world dataset. Reported results demonstrate that our solution performs better than the other two competitive ones while securing user location information.

This paper concerns the design, analysis, and simulation of a 3D non-stationary channel model fed with inertial measurement unit (IMU) data. The work in this paper provides a framework for simulating the micro-Doppler signatures of indoor channels for human activity recognition by using radiofrequency-based sensing technologies. The major human body segments, such as wrists, ankles, torso, and head, are modelled as a cluster of moving point scatterers. We provide expressions for the time variant (TV) speed and TV angles of motion based on 3D trajectories of the moving person. Moreover, we present mathematical expressions for the TV Doppler shifts and TV path gains associated with each moving point scatterer. Furthermore, a model of the non-stationary time variant channel transfer function (TV-CTF) is provided, which takes into account the effects caused by a moving person as well as fixed objects, such as furniture, walls, and ceiling. The micro-Doppler signatures of the moving person is extracted from the TV-CTF by employing the concept of the spectrogram, whose expression is also provided in closed form. Our model is confirmed by channel state information (CSI) measurements taken during walking, falling, and sitting activities. The proposed channel model is fed with IMU data that has been collected. We evaluate the micro-Doppler signature of the model and CSI measurements. The results show a good agreement between the spectrograms and the TV mean Doppler shifts of our IMU-driven channel model and the measured CSI. The proposed model enables a paradigm shift from traditional experimental-based approaches to future simulation-based approaches for the design of human activity recognition systems. This work was supported in part by the WiCare Project under Grant 261895/F20, and in part by the Research Council of Norway (RCN). Peer Reviewed

In the last ten years, advances in machine learning methods have brought tremendous developments to the field of robotics. The performance in many robotic applications such as robotics grasping, locomotion, human–robot interaction, perception and control of robotic systems, navigation, planning, mapping, and localization has increased since the appearance of recent machine learning methods. In particular, deep learning methods have brought significant improvements in a broad range of robot applications including drones, mobile robots, robotics manipulators, bipedal robots, and self-driving cars. The availability of big data and more powerful computational resources, such as graphics processing units (GPUs), has made numerous robotic applications feasible which were not possible previously.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in building smart cities based on the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. However, selecting a low-cost IoT wireless technology that enables low-power connectivity remains one of the key challenges in integrating IoT to smart cities. In this context, the IQRF technology offers promising opportunities to provide cost-effective solutions. Yet, in the literature, there are limited studies on utilizing IQRF technology for smart city applications. Therefore, this study is aimed at increasing the awareness about the use of IQRF technology in IoT-based smart city development. For this purpose, a review of smart city architectures along with challenges/requirements in adopting IoT for smart cities is provided. Then, some of the common cost-effective IoT wireless technologies that enable low-power consumption are briefly presented. Next, the benefits of IQRF technology over other technologies are discussed by making theoretical comparisons based on technical documentations and reports. Moreover, the research efforts currently being undertaken by the authors as a part of ongoing project on the development of IoT-based smart city system in Gjøvik Municipality, Norway, are conceptually introduced. Finally, the future research directions are addressed.

Path Following and Collision Avoidance, be it for unmanned surface vessels or other autonomous vehicles, are two fundamental guidance problems in robotics. For many decades, they have been subject to academic study, leading to a vast number of proposed approaches. However, they have mostly been treated as separate problems, and have typically relied on non-linear first-principles models with parameters that can only be determined experimentally. The rise of Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) in recent years suggests an alternative approach: end-to-end learning of the optimal guidance policy from scratch by means of a trial-and-error based approach. In this article, we explore the potential of Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO), a DRL algorithm with demonstrated state-of-the-art performance on Continuous Control tasks, when applied to the dual-objective problem of controlling an underactuated Autonomous Surface Vehicle in a COLREGs compliant manner such that it follows an a priori known desired path while avoiding collisions with other vessels along the way. Based on high-fidelity elevation and AIS tracking data from the Trondheim Fjord, an inlet of the Norwegian sea, we evaluate the trained agent's performance in challenging, dynamic real-world scenarios where the ultimate success of the agent rests upon its ability to navigate non-uniform marine terrain while handling challenging, but realistic vessel encounters.