Haoxiang Lang

• Professor
• Professor (Associate) at University of Ontario Institute of Technology

div class="section abstract"> With the growing diversification of modern urban transportation options, such as delivery robots, patrol robots, service robots, E-bikes, and E-scooters, sidewalks have gained newfound importance as critical features of High-Definition (HD) Maps. Since these emerging modes of transportation are designed to operate on s...

Autonomous driving has been among the most popular and challenging topics in the past few years. Among all modules in autonomous driving, High-definition (HD) map has drawn lots of attention in recent years due to its high precision and informative level in localization. Since localization is a significant module for automated vehicles to navigate...

This paper presents the application of the concepts and approaches of linear graph (LG) theory in the modeling and simulation of a four-wheel skid-steer mobile robotic system. An LG representation of the system is proposed, and the accompanying state-space model of the dynamics of a mobile robot system is evaluated using the associated LGtheory MAT...

Grasping unfamiliar-adjacent objects based on limited previous information is a daunting task in robotic manipulation. It is substantially more difficult to grasp an object in such a scenario than grasping secluded objects. For this reason, recent solutions typically require non-prehensile actions prior to grasping (e.g., pushing, toppling, squeezi...

Autonomous driving has been among the most popular and challenging topics in the past few years. On the road to achieving full autonomy, researchers have utilized various sensors, such as LiDAR, camera, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), and GPS, and developed intelligent algorithms for autonomous driving applications such as object detection, object...

div class="section abstract"> The objective of the Integrated Chassis Controllers (ICC) is to combine multiple actuators and dynamics controllers to maximize the overall vehicle performance at all driving conditions. It is well known that there are two methods that can be used to develop an ICC. The first is a centralized method, where all the actu...

The fourth industrial revolution (industry 4.0) demands high-autonomy and intelligence robotic manipulators. The goal is to accomplish autonomous manipulation tasks without human interventions. However, visual pose estimation of target object in 3D space is one of the critical challenges for robot-object interaction. Incorporating the estimated pos...

In this study, thermal energy management systems with the choices of three different thermal insulating materials are experimentally investigated for robotic applications. These insulating materials are stone wool, fiberglass and extruded polyurethane with air cooling and heating system which are evaluated in the low and high temperature environmen...

The critical challenge, for robot-object-interaction, is to estimate visually the pose of the target object in a 3D space and combine it into a vision-based control scheme in manipulation applications. This paper proposes a novel reliable framework for deep ConvNet combined with visual servoing using a single RGB camera. We introduce an extensive s...

As with many other applications, the need for an improved charging strategy with an emphasis on the health of the cells is increasingly important for the optimization of automotive and robotic systems. This paper introduces a novel method of managing the anode potential vs Li/Li⁺ of a lithium-ion battery pack using a 3D map based on experimental da...

This paper presents the application of the concepts and approaches of linear graph (LG) theory in the modeling and simulation of a 4-wheel skid-steer mobile robotic system. An LG representation of the system is proposed and the accompanying state-space model of the dynamics of a mobile robot system is evaluated using the associated LGtheory MATLAB...

This paper proposes a methodology of integrating the Linear Graph (LG) approach with Genetic Programming (GP) for generating an automated multi-domain engineering design approach by using the in-house developed LG MATLAB toolbox and the GP toolbox in MATLAB. The necessary background for the development are presented, and the methodology used in thi...

This article proposes the design and development of a novel custom-built, autonomous scaled multiwheeled vehicle that features an eight-wheel drive and eight-wheel steer system. In addition to the mechanical and electrical design, high-level path planning and low-level vehicle control algorithms are developed and implemented including a two-stage a...

Grasping unfamiliar objects (unknown during training) based on limited prior knowledge is a challenging task in robotic manipulation. Recent solutions typically require predefined information of target objects, task-specific training data, or a huge experience data with training time-consuming to achieve usable generalization ability. This paper in...

Active rear steering has been used in many research work to enhance ground vehicles’ lateral stability. However, there is a shortage in the published research studies that consider the incorporation of active rear steering for autonomous vehicles applications, especially in case of multi-axle combat vehicles. In this paper, various H[Formula: see t...

Multi-axle vehicles are widely used in several applications such as transportation, industrial, and military field, because of its higher reliability in comparison with conventional two axles vehicles. Despite that, there is a paucity of research studies that consider lateral stability enhancement of these vehicles, especially on rough terrain. Thi...

Lateral stability of multi-axle vehicle’s was not considered and studied widely despite its advantages and utilization in different fields such as transportation, commercial, and military applications. In this research, a novel adaptive Direct Yaw moment Control based on Genetic-Programming (GPDB) is developed and compared with an Adaptive Neuro-Fu...

In this research paper, the handling stability of an 8x8 combat vehicle will be assessed using two different control systems. The first technique utilizes a Torque Vectoring Controller (TVC) to control the vehicle yaw rate to meet the desired value. The second technique utilizes an Active Rear-axles Steering (ARS) to minimize the vehicle sideslip....

The safety and reliability of Lithium-ion batteries are increasingly critical, especially as more products on the market are powered by them. The core temperature of batteries is one of the important factors to consider when improving safety, longevity, and performance. To overcome the inability to practically obtain direct core temperature measure...

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) problem, where an autonomous vehicle moving in an unknown environment attempts to sense and map its surroundings while recognizing its own location and trajectory within the map, has always been a notable and popular research topic in the field of computer vision, robotics and artificial intelligence. Am...

Feedback in robotic systems is imperative to accomplishing the required task. Speed controllers, visual feedback and other sensors that offer a closed-loop control system dramatically increases the effectiveness of the system. Having a sense of touch greatly increases the ability to pick-up and manipulate objects in robotic manipulation systems. Cu...

Detecting thermal faults is critical to the safety of lithium-ion batteries. This paper, therefore, proposes a neural network-based approach. The approach relies on the long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network, in conjunction with an alteration to the walk-forward technique, to accurately estimate the surface temperature of the cell. It also re...

2020 Acta Press. All rights reserved. This paper proposes and implements an efficient method to recognize hand gestures and estimate the motion of each fingertip using a combination of RGB image and depth image data acquired from Microsoft's Kinect sensor. The real-time performance of hand identification, tracking and motion estimation is achieved...

This paper presents a method for quantifying drivers’ driving skills using closed-loop dynamic simulations of articulated heavy vehicles (AHVs). Due to AHVs’ multi-unit configurations, large sizes, and high centers of gravity (CGs), these large vehicles exhibit poor directional performance. AHVs require wide roads and large radii of path curvature...

Current literature pertaining to multi-steerable mobile platforms and the progression of military vehicles in the past few decades suggest a lack of effort in pursuing advanced technologies in this joint area. As a result, a novel 1:6 scaled electric combat vehicle prototype that features eight independently driven and steerable wheels is designed...

The modern realization that climate change has unwanted consequences is causing an increasing demand for sustainable product alternatives. The automotive industry is an example of where this zeal for change is present. Electric vehicles (EVs) being the solution for the automotive industry is only viable because of the electric storage systems avail...

In this paper, a model-based fault detection and isolation (FDI) method is presented using an adaptive system identification approach. The proposed FDI method consists of three essential steps: adaptive modeling and residual generation, fault detection using adaptive hybrid threshold, and fault identification using fault severity indices. The prima...

Theoretical and experimental heat transfer studies are conducted for performance assessment and evaluation of various thermal insulation materials for robotic operations in this study. Nineteen different thermal insulation materials are theoretically analysed, and three of these materials (namely stone wool, fiberglass and extruded polyurethane) ar...

This paper describes the development and modeling of a remotely operated scaled multi-wheeled combat vehicle (ROMW-CV) using system identification methodology for heading angle tracking. The vehicle was developed at the vehicle dynamics and crash research (VDCR) Lab at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) to analyze the characte...

In this study, energy and exergy analyses of a biogas driven multigeneration system is conducted for performance assessment and evaluation. In this regard, the multigeneration system with a biomass digestion process is developed for this purpose. Multigeneration system consists of different subsystems, such as two-stage biomass digester, open-type...

Vision based robot motion control (Visual Servoing) is a challenging research direction in utilizing vision information to control the robot motion. In this work, we successfully controlled the real-time pose of an end-effector based on a hand gesture detector that we trained with acquired training data in the lab environment. Meanwhile, a machine...

The development of image processing algorithms grew exponentially over the past few decades with improvements in vision sensors and computational power. In this paper, a visual servo controller is designed and developed using the image based method for a differential drive robot. The objective is to reach a desired pose relative to a target object...

In this work, a Position Based Visual Servo (PBVS) control system is designed and developed for a differential drive mobile robot to regulate its pose. The target object is a Quick Response code where its model is known to the PBVS system beforehand. The kinematics model of the mobile robot is presented along with the formulation of the Lyapunov’s...

In this study, various thermal management systems, which are designed for robotic systems, have been investigated. The robots are such a structure that consists of numerous different electronic components and devices. Such electronic parts have an operating temperature that directly effects the performance of the robot. Therefore, thermal managemen...

Autonomous vehicle technologies are receiving more and more attention with increasing demands for autonomy and performance for both civilian and military purposes. In our previous paper Mohamed et al (2016), the recent developments in autonomous vehicles in the fields of advanced control, perception and motion planning techniques is surveyed. In th...

This paper proposed an optimal path planning algorithm for autonomous vehicle with two trailers in autonomous navigation. The proposed algorithm is based on combination of artificial potential field (APF) method and optimal control theory. A linear two-degree-of-freedom vehicle model with both lateral and yaw motion is derived and simulated in MATL...

Autonomous vehicle technologies are receiving great attention with increasing demands for autonomy for both civilian and military purposes. In previous work (Mohamed et al., 2016), the recent developments in autonomous vehicles in the fields of advanced control, perception and motion planning techniques is surveyed. In this paper, the state of rese...

This paper presents procedures for parameter analysis and modeling, which are applicable in the development and quality control of a high-speed-resistance welding process. Two test beds are introduced, which are used in the experimental investigation, particularly to establish efficient methodologies for welding wire mesh. Test data are acquired un...

This paper presents a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controller for active trailer steering (ATS) of a tractor-semitrailer. The tractor-semitrailer is modelled as a linear yaw/roll model with 5 Degrees-Of-Freedom (DOF). The linear yaw/roll model is validated with a nonlinear tractor-semitrailer model developed with TruckSim under a simulated sing...

This paper presents an optimal collision-free path planning algorithm of an autonomous multi-wheeled combat vehicle using optimal control theory and artificial potential field function (APF). The optimal path of the autonomous vehicle between a given starting and goal points is generated by an optimal path planning algorithm. The cost function of t...

This paper presents a Neural Network (NN) model for predicting Ionospheric Delay (ID) which is used particularly in the Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) as a new and alternative approach. It is vital to have positioning solutions exhibiting high levels of performance in terms of navigation for aircraft to counter systematic errors in broadca...

This paper presents a motion planning algorithm for generating optimal collision-free paths for robotic vehicle with two trailers moving autonomously. The proposed algorithm is based on combination between artificial potential field method (APF) and optimal control theory. The optimal control theory is applied to generate an optimal collision-free...

This paper proposes a design and development of a water quality monitoring network and system for real-time water parameter acquisition, water quality monitoring, estimation. A low-cost measurement unit of water quality is designed and developed which is considered as a sensor node in a water quality monitoring sensor network. A comprehensive water...

Mobile robots that integrate visual servo control for facilitating autonomous grasping and manipulation are the focus of this paper. In view of mobility, they have wider application than traditional fixed-based robots with visual servoing. Visual servoing is widely used in mobile robot navigation. However, there are not so many report for applying...

In order to develop an autonomous mobile manipulation system that works in an unstructured environment, a modified image-based visual servo (IBVS) controller using hybrid camera configuration is proposed in this paper. In particular, an eye-in-hand web camera is employed to visually track the target object while a stereo camera is used to measure t...

Vision based robotic grasping systems have significant applications in the areas of space exploration and service robots. In this paper, an image based visual servoing controller with a hybrid camera configuration is proposed. In particular, an eye-in-hand camera is employed to track the position of the target object while a stereo camera is utiliz...

A new trend in mobile robotics is to integrate visual information in feedback control for facilitating autonomous grasping and manipulation. The result is a visual servo system, which is quite beneficial in autonomous mobile manipulation. In view of mobility, it has wider application than the traditional visual servoing in manipulators with fixed b...

This paper presents an autonomous grasping system using visual servoing and mobile robots. While this kind of system has many potential significant applications, there have been several key challenges, for example, localization accuracy, visibility and velocity constraints, obstacle avoidance, and so on, to prevent the implementation of such a syst...

This paper develops a robust vision-based mobile manipulation system for wheeled mobile robots (WMRs). In particular, this paper addresses the retention of visual features in the field of view of the camera, which is an important robustness issue in visual servoing. First, the classical approach of image-based visual servoing (IBVS) for fixed-base...

This paper presents an autonomous grasping system using visual servoing and mobile robots. While this kind of system has many potential significant applications, there have been several key challenges, for example, localization accuracy, visibility and velocity constraints, obstacle avoidance, and so on, to prevent the implementation of such a syst...

A key problem of an Image Based Visual Servo (IBVS) system is how to identify and track objects in a series of images. In this paper, a scale-invariant image feature detector and descriptor, which is called the Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT), is utilized to achieve robust object tracking in terms of rotation, scaling and changes of illumi...

This paper studies visual-servo control for robust motion of a wheeled mobile robot. First, the kinematic model of a wheeled Pioneer DX3TM mobile robot with a CCD camera is generated. Second, a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) law is developed to control the motion of the robot to a goal location (grasping location). The derived controller, which i...

This paper develops a robust vision-based mobile manipulation system for wheeled mobile robots. In particular, the paper addresses the retention of visual features in the field of view of the camera, which is an important robustness issue in visual servoing. First, the classical approach of Image-Based Visual Servoing (IBVS) for fixed-base manipula...

A key problem of a mobile robot system is how to localize itself and detect objects in the workspace. In this paper, a multiple sensor based robot localization and object pose estimation method is presented. First, optical encoders and odometry model are utilized to determine the pose of the mobile robot in the workspace, with respect to the global...

In the recent years visual servo control has become a popular research topic in robotics. Usually, it is applied to fixed-base robotic manipulators working in a structured industrial environment. This paper focuses on developing a visual servo control system for a mobile robot, which operates in an unstructured environment. First, the system hardwa...

Reinforcement learning has been commonly used in multi-robot decision making to cope with uncertainties in the environment. A shortcoming of this approach is the need for the robots to change their actions quite frequently, which is not feasible in a physical multi-robot system. This paper focuses on the development of a modified Q-learning algorit...

In this paper, an automated industrial fish cutting machine, which was developed and tested in the Industrial Automation Laboratory (IAL) of the University of British Columbia, is presented including its hardware structure, control sub-system, fault diagnosis sub-system and the remote monitoring sub-system. First, the hardware of the machine includ...

In this paper, the trajectory control of an AESA RIb-6 manipulator is addressed. In order to solve the problem of singular inverse kinematics, the normal form approach is employed for computing the joint trajectories from the desired trajectory in the task space. The basic idea of the normal form approach is introduced, and the detailed algorithm i...

In this paper a neuro-fuzzy approach of multi-sensor fusion is developed for a fault diagnosis system. The approach is validated by applying it to a machine called the Iron Butcher, which is used in industry for the removal of heads in fish prior to further processing for canning. An important goal of this approach developed in this paper is to mak...