Shared Autonomy for Safety Between a Self-reconfigurable Robot and a Teleoperator Using Multi-layer Fuzzy Logic

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles are designed to elevate the efficiency of assigned tasks and ensure the safety of the environment in which they operate. This paper presents a research study focused on shared autonomy using a multi-layer fuzzy logic framework to build a relationship between an autonomous self-reconfigurable robot and a human user by switching control to the teleoperator to assist the robot when it faces challenging scenarios while keeping a good performance and maintaining a safe environment. A novel multi-layer fuzzy logic decision process with shared autonomy for a safety framework is proposed. It evaluates safety based on the robot's multi-sensor inputs, the teleoperator's attention level, and the configuration state of the self-reconfigurable robot and switches the operation mode, robot speed gain, and configuration state for performance and safety without compromises. The experimental outcome successfully demonstrates the self-reconfigurable robot's capability to navigate safely using shared autonomy in real-world pavement scenarios using the proposed algorithm during autonomous navigation.