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We introduce a novel representation named as the unified gripper coordinate space for grasp synthesis of multiple grippers. The space is a 2D surface of a sphere in 3D using longitude and latitude as its coordinates, and it is shared for all robotic grippers. We propose a new algorithm to map the palm surface of a gripper into the unified gripper coordinate space, and design a conditional variational autoencoder to predict the unified gripper coordinates given an input object. The predicted unified gripper coordinates establish correspondences between the gripper and the object, which can be used in an optimization problem to solve the grasp pose and the finger joints for grasp synthesis. We demonstrate that using the unified gripper coordinate space improves the success rate and diversity in the grasp synthesis of multiple grippers., Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. Project page available at https://irvlutd.github.io/RobotFingerPrint

We introduce a large-scale dataset named MultiGripperGrasp for robotic grasping. Our dataset contains 30.4M grasps from 11 grippers for 345 objects. These grippers range from two-finger grippers to five-finger grippers, including a human hand. All grasps in the dataset are verified in the robot simulator Isaac Sim to classify them as successful and unsuccessful grasps. Additionally, the object fall-off time for each grasp is recorded as a grasp quality measurement. Furthermore, the grippers in our dataset are aligned according to the orientation and position of their palms, allowing us to transfer grasps from one gripper to another. The grasp transfer significantly increases the number of successful grasps for each gripper in the dataset. Our dataset is useful to study generalized grasp planning and grasp transfer across different grippers. Data, code and videos for the project are available at https://irvlutd.github.io/MultiGripperGrasp, Comment: Published in IROS 2024

During collaboration in XR (eXtended Reality), users typically share and interact with virtual objects in a common, shared virtual environment. Specifically, collaboration among users in Mixed Reality (MR) requires knowing their position, movement, and understanding of the visual scene surrounding their physical environments. Otherwise, one user could move an important virtual object to a position blocked by the physical environment for others. However, even for a single physical environment, 3D reconstruction takes a long time and the produced 3D data is typically very large in size. Also, these large amounts of 3D data take a long time to be streamed to receivers making real-time updates on the rendered scene challenging. Furthermore, many collaboration systems in MR require multiple devices, which take up space and make setup difficult. To address these challenges, in this paper, we describe a single-device system called Collaborative Adaptive Mixed Reality Environment (CAMRE). We build CAMRE using the scene understanding capabilities of HoloLens 2 devices to create shared MR virtual environments for each connected user and demonstrate using a Leader-Follower(s) paradigm: faster reconstruction and scene update times due to smaller data. Consequently, multiple users can receive shared, synchronized, and close-to-real-time latency virtual scenes from a chosen Leader, based on their physical position and movement. We also illustrate other expanded features of CAMRE MR virtual environment such as navigation using a real-time virtual mini-map and X-ray vision for handling adaptive wall opacity. We share several experimental results that evaluate the performance of CAMRE in terms of the network latency in sharing virtual objects and other capabilities.

We present a new reproducible benchmark for evaluating robot manipulation in the real world, specifically focusing on pick-and-place. Our benchmark uses the YCB objects, a commonly used dataset in the robotics community, to ensure that our results are comparable to other studies. Additionally, the benchmark is designed to be easily reproducible in the real world, making it accessible to researchers and practitioners. We also provide our experimental results and analyzes for model-based and model-free 6D robotic grasping on the benchmark, where representative algorithms are evaluated for object perception, grasping planning, and motion planning. We believe that our benchmark will be a valuable tool for advancing the field of robot manipulation. By providing a standardized evaluation framework, researchers can more easily compare different techniques and algorithms, leading to faster progress in developing robot manipulation methods., Comment: Accepted to ICRA 2024. Project page is available at https://irvlutd.github.io/SceneReplica

In the recent years, various 3D mixed reality serious games have been developed for different applications such as physical training, rehabilitation, and education. Task performance in a serious game is a measurement of how efficiently and accurately users accomplish the game's objectives. Prior research includes a graph-based representation of tasks, e.g. Hierarchical Task Network (HTN), which only models a game's tasks but does not perform assessment. In this paper, we propose Assessment HTN (A-HTN), which both models the task efficiently and incorporates assessment logic for game objectives. Based on how the task performance is evaluated, A-HTN automatically performs: (a) Task-level Assessment by comparing object manipulations and (b) Action-level Assessment by comparing motion trajectories. The system can also categorize the task performance assessment into single user or multi-user based on who is being assessed. We showcase the effectiveness of the A-HTN using two 3D VR serious games: a hydrometer experiment and a multi-user chemistry experiment. The A-HTN experiments show a high correlation between instructor scores and the system generated scores indicating that the proposed A-HTN generalizes automatic assessment at par with Subject Matter Experts., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table

Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) have been two of the most explosive research topics in the last few years. Head-Mounted Devices (HMDs) are essential intermediums for using AR and MR technology, playing an important role in the research progress in these two areas. Behavioral research with users is one way of evaluating the technical progress and effectiveness of HMDs. In addition, AR and MR technology is dependent upon virtual interactions with the real environment. Thus, conditions in real environments can be a significant factor for AR and MR measurements with users. In this paper, we survey 87 environmental-related HMD papers with measurements from users, spanning over 32 years. We provide a thorough review of AR- and MR-related user experiments with HMDs under different environmental factors. Then, we summarize trends in this literature over time using a new classification method with four environmental factors, the presence or absence of user feedback in behavioral experiments, and ten main categories to subdivide these papers (e.g., domain and method of user assessment). We also categorize characteristics of the behavioral experiments, showing similarities and differences among papers.

X-ray vision, a technique that allows users to see through walls and other obstacles, is a popular technique for Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR). In this paper, we demonstrate a dynamic X-ray vision window that is rendered in real-time based on the user's current position and changes with movement in the physical environment. Moreover, the location and transparency of the window are also dynamically rendered based on the user's eye gaze. We build this X-ray vision window for a current state-of-the-art MR Head-Mounted Device (HMD) -- HoloLens 2 by integrating several different features: scene understanding, eye tracking, and clipping primitive.

Mixed Reality (MR) is an evolving technology lying in the continuum spanned by related technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), and creates an exciting way of interacting with people and the environment. This technology is fast becoming a tool used by many people, potentially improving living environments and work efficiency. Microsoft HoloLens has played an important role in the progress of MR, from the first generation to the second generation. In this paper, we systematically evaluate the functions of applicable functions in HoloLens 2. These evaluations can serve as a performance benchmark that can help people who need to use this instrument for research or applications in the future. The detailed tests and the performance evaluation of the different functionalities show the usability and possible limitations of each function. We mainly divide the experiment into the existing functions of the HoloLens 1, the new functions of the HoloLens 2, and the use of research mode. This research results will be useful for MR researchers who want to use HoloLens 2 as a research tool to design their own MR applications.

We introduce a neural implicit representation for grasps of objects from multiple robotic hands. Different grasps across multiple robotic hands are encoded into a shared latent space. Each latent vector is learned to decode to the 3D shape of an object and the 3D shape of a robotic hand in a grasping pose in terms of the signed distance functions of the two 3D shapes. In addition, the distance metric in the latent space is learned to preserve the similarity between grasps across different robotic hands, where the similarity of grasps is defined according to contact regions of the robotic hands. This property enables our method to transfer grasps between different grippers including a human hand, and grasp transfer has the potential to share grasping skills between robots and enable robots to learn grasping skills from humans. Furthermore, the encoded signed distance functions of objects and grasps in our implicit representation can be used for 6D object pose estimation with grasping contact optimization from partial point clouds, which enables robotic grasping in the real world.

The adoption of deep learning-based healthcare decision support systems such as the detection of irregular cardiac rhythm is hindered by challenges such as lack of access to quality data and the high costs associated with the collection and annotation of data. The collection and processing of large volumes of healthcare data is a continuous process. The performance of data-hungry Deep Learning models (DL) is highly dependent on the quantity and quality of the data. While the need for data quantity has been established through research adequately, we show how a selection of good quality data improves deep learning model performance. In this work, we take Electrocardiogram (ECG) data as a case study and propose a model performance improvement methodology for algorithm developers, that selects the most informative data samples from incoming streams of multi-class ECG data. Our Core-Set selection methodology uses metrics-based explanations to select the most informative ECG data samples. This also provides an understanding (for algorithm developers) as to why a sample was selected as more informative over others for the improvement of deep learning model performance. Our experimental results show a 9.67% and 8.69% precision and recall improvement with a significant training data volume reduction of 50%. Additionally, our proposed methodology asserts the quality and annotation of ECG samples from incoming data streams. It allows automatic detection of individual data samples that do not contribute to model learning thus minimizing possible negative effects on model performance. We further discuss the potential generalizability of our approach by experimenting with a different dataset and deep learning architecture., Comment: Accepted IEEE ICHI Copyright owned by IEEE

Currently, most social robots interact with their surroundings and humans through sensors that are integral parts of the robots, which limits the usability of the sensors, human-robot interaction, and interchangeability. A wearable sensor garment that fits many robots is needed in many applications. This article presents an affordable wearable sensor vest, and an open-source software architecture with the Internet of Things (IoT) for social humanoid robots. The vest consists of touch, temperature, gesture, distance, vision sensors, and a wireless communication module. The IoT feature allows the robot to interact with humans locally and over the Internet. The designed architecture works for any social robot that has a general-purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU), I2C/SPI buses, Internet connection, and the Robotics Operating System (ROS). The modular design of this architecture enables developers to easily add/remove/update complex behaviors. The proposed software architecture provides IoT technology, GPGPU nodes, I2C and SPI bus mangers, audio-visual interaction nodes (speech to text, text to speech, and image understanding), and isolation between behavior nodes and other nodes. The proposed IoT solution consists of related nodes in the robot, a RESTful web service, and user interfaces. We used the HTTP protocol as a means of two-way communication with the social robot over the Internet. Developers can easily edit or add nodes in C, C++, and Python programming languages. Our architecture can be used for designing more sophisticated behaviors for social humanoid robots., Comment: This is the preprint version. The final version is published in Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Volume 139, 2021, Page 103536, ISSN 0921-8890, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2020.103536

Robots assist in many areas that are considered unsafe for humans to operate. For instance, in handling pandemic diseases such as the recent Covid-19 outbreak and other outbreaks like Ebola, robots can assist in reaching areas dangerous for humans and do simple tasks such as pick up the correct medicine (among a set of bottles prescribed) and deliver to patients. In such cases, it might not be good to rely on the fully autonomous operation of robots. Since many mobile robots are fully functional with low-level tasks such as grabbing and moving, we consider the mixed-initiative control where the user can guide the robot remotely to finish such tasks. For this mixed-initiative control, the user controlling the robot needs to visualize a 3D scene as seen by the robot and guide it. Mixed reality can virtualize reality and immerse users in the 3D scene that is reconstructed from the real-world environment. This technique provides the user more freedom such as choosing viewpoints at view time. In recent years, benefiting from the high-quality data from Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) and RGBD cameras, mixed reality is widely used to build networked platforms to improve the performance of robot teleoperations and robot-human collaboration, and enhanced feedback for mixed-initiative control. In this paper, we proposed a novel haptic-enabled mixed reality system, that provides haptic interfaces to interact with the virtualized environments and give remote guidance for mobile robots towards high-level tasks. The experimental results show the effectiveness and flexibility of the proposed haptic enabled mixed reality system., Comment: 14 pages

With the transformative technologies and the rapidly changing global R&D landscape, the multimedia and multimodal community is now faced with many new opportunities and uncertainties. With the open source dissemination platform and pervasive computing resources, new research results are being discovered at an unprecedented pace. In addition, the rapid exchange and influence of ideas across traditional discipline boundaries have made the emphasis on multimedia multimodal research even more important than before. To seize these opportunities and respond to the challenges, we have organized a workshop to specifically address and brainstorm the challenges, opportunities, and research roadmaps for MM research. The two-day workshop, held on March 30 and 31, 2017 in Washington DC, was sponsored by the Information and Intelligent Systems Division of the National Science Foundation of the United States. Twenty-three (23) invited participants were asked to review and identify research areas in the MM field that are most important over the next 10-15 year timeframe. Important topics were selected through discussion and consensus, and then discussed in depth in breakout groups. Breakout groups reported initial discussion results to the whole group, who continued with further extensive deliberation. For each identified topic, a summary was produced after the workshop to describe the main findings, including the state of the art, challenges, and research roadmaps planned for the next 5, 10, and 15 years in the identified area., Comment: Long Report of NSF Workshop on Multimedia Challenges, Opportunities and Research Roadmaps, held in March 2017, Washington DC. Short report available separately

The advancement in digital technologies have made it possible to produce perfect copies of digital content. In this environment, malicious users reproduce the digital content and share it without compensation to the content owner. Content owners are concerned about the potential loss of revenue and reputation from piracy, especially when the content is available over the Internet. Digital watermarking has emerged as a deterrent measure towards such malicious activities. Several methods have been proposed for copyright protection and fingerprinting of digital images. However, these methods are not applicable to text documents as these documents lack rich texture information which is abundantly available in digital images. In this paper, a framework (mPDF) is proposed which facilitates the usage of digital image watermarking algorithms on text documents. The proposed method divides a text document into texture and non-texture blocks using an energy-based approach. After classification, a watermark is embedded inside the texture blocks in a content adaptive manner. The proposed method is integrated with five known image watermarking methods and its performance is studied in terms of quality and robustness. Experiments are conducted on documents in 11 different languages. Experimental results clearly show that the proposed method facilitates the usage of image watermarking algorithms on text documents and is robust against attacks such as print & scan, print screen, and skew. Also, the proposed method overcomes the drawbacks of existing text watermarking methods such as manual inspection and language dependency., Comment: 20 pages

In this paper, we propose a multi-object detection and tracking method using depth cameras. Depth maps are very noisy and obscure in object detection. We first propose a region-based method to suppress high magnitude noise which cannot be filtered using spatial filters. Second, the proposed method detect Region of Interests by temporal learning which are then tracked using weighted graph-based approach. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed method on standard depth camera datasets with and without object occlusions. Experimental results show that the proposed method is able to suppress high magnitude noise in depth maps and detect/track the objects (with and without occlusion)., Comment: Accepted in IEEE Winter Conference in Computer Vision (WACV'16)