Paper Info
Title
SKATES: Interoperable Multi-Connectivity Communication Module for Reliable Search and Rescue Robot Operation
Abstract
Robots are used more and more often in search and rescue scenarios, for example in post-disaster situations, which are dangerous or lethal for humans, when searching for missing persons after earthquakes. Here, reliable communication is indispensable: on the one hand, unmanned vehicles need to be teleoperated in real-time. On the other hand, high-resolution images, video and sensor-readings producing huge data volume must be transported from the robot back to the operator or rescue forces. This work presents and evaluates SKATES, a new solution enabling interoperable multi-connectivity for reliable communication between a search and rescue (SAR) robot and its remote operator. In this paper, the SKATES concept, its implementation and subsequent validation in a field experiment are presented. SKATES operates protocol agnostic and tunnels any data from the robot reliably to the operator using an improved SOCKS proxy. To increase robustness, a Multi-Radio-AccessTechnology (Multi-RAT) approach incorporating cellular as well as WiFi connectivity options is implemented. This enables link aggregation as well as smooth handover between different wireless technologies in case of outages of one technology. As part of the experimental validation, an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) has been equipped with a 360° 8K resolution camera, a First Person View (FPV)-camera and the proposed SKATES solution. Being teleoperated, the robot explores a building, while streaming live camera data to the remote operator. The experimental results underline the feasibility and good performance of the approach in a challenging environment: when single communication links break down or do not provide sufficient capacity, the SKATES-enabled Multi-RAT approach enables smooth handovers between different RATs and ensures reliable and real-time communication during the whole experiment.
Year
DOI
Venue
2020
10.1109/WiMob50308.2020.9253399
2020 16th International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking and Communications (WiMob)
Keywords
DocType
ISSN
rescue robotics,search and rescue,SAR,Multi-RAT,multi-link,multipath,shadowsocks
Conference
2160-4886
ISBN
Citations 
PageRank 
978-1-7281-9723-4
0
0.34
References 
Authors
4
6
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Johannes Güldenring120.72
Philipp Gorczak220.72
Manuel Patchou331.82
Christian Arendt400.34
Janis Tiemann521.86
Christian Wietfeld6621114.76