The CLAWAR project - Developments in the oldest robotics thematic network

Abstract

Networking is vital to ensure that research groups and companies can work together on common problems to make the advances that are required. Without such networking, it is inevitable that resources will be wasted through the duplication of effort. CLAWAR is a mature robotics R&D community that has already proved itself capable of collaborating and moving things forward. Within the community, the feeling is that open modularity is the only viable way forward whereby the interconnection between the components are widely available to everyone and the inventive intellectual property should be within the components.

Full text

I
n Europe, there are two main thematic groups focusing on
robotics, the Climbing and Walking Robots (CLAWAR)
project (http://www.clawar.net) and the European Robot-
ics Network (EURON) project (http://www.euron.org).
The two networks are complementary: CLAWAR is
industrially focused on the immediate needs, and EURON is
focused more on blue skies research. This article presents the
activities of the CLAWAR project.
CLAWAR is the oldest robotics thematic network in
Europe. The well-established project commenced on 1 Febru-
ary 1998 following a six-month exploratory phase in which
over 60 active research groups were identified by the project
coordinator, Prof. Gurvinder Singh Virk, who at that time was
working at the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom.
At the start, 22 of the most active and experienced partners
working in the area of applied mobile robotics were invited to
set up CLAWAR as the first European robotic network under
the industrially focused Brite Euram program. The network
has been operating ever since and is now well placed to
encourage the development of a robot component modularity
that can be used by the entire robot research and development
(R&D) community, from blue skies researchers to companies
manufacturing and selling robot components and systems.
The traditional robot market is geared towards manufactur-
ing applications. This well-established market has been stable
for many years but is not likely to grow appreciably. In order
to significantly widen the application base, CLAWAR has
focused on new sectors that show good potential for adopting
robotized solutions. In considering these new sectors, the main
driver has been small companies that have been developing
specific robots for small, high-value niche markets. The range
of these applications is extremely wide and covers tasks that are
hazardous or impossible to accomplish manually. Recently, the
trend towards “edutainment” and biomedical/healthcare sys-
tems has been
very encourag-
ing. Considered in
overall terms, these
potential new sectors
lead to an extremely wide
and demanding range of require-
ments that are impossible to satisfy with a single machine.
Hence, the approach has been to produce many simpler robot
solutions, each designed and developed for a specific purpose.
There has been no cross-fertilization in the various sectors, and
this has resulted in considerable duplication and waste of
resources on “reinventing the wheel”-type scenarios. The vast
majority of applications have demanded that the systems
should possess mobility of some form. Climbing has also been
an important capability such that the mobile platforms can
reach desired locations. This strong requirement for mobility is
the primary reason why CLAWAR has focused on climbing
and walking robots in the hope that locomotion in unstruc-
tured and dangerous environments can be fully investigated
and good robust methods realized. Many of the partners have
specific and directly relevant expertise in CLAWAR technolo-
gies, and this has been used to collect and generalize the over-
all knowledge available to make it more widely applicable.
The first CLAWAR project lasted four years. During this
period, it established a vibrant and active R&D partnership
throughout Europe and beyond by its dissemination activi-
ties, culminating in a series of conferences. The project
ended on 31 January 2002, and, due to its success, a follow-
on project was proposed and accepted by the European
Commission (EC) under the GROWTH program (the
Competitive and Sustainable Growth in Framework 5 Pro-
gramme). CLAWAR 2 commenced on 1 May 2002 and is
scheduled to last three years. It comprises 38 funded
The CLAWAR
Project
1070-9932/05/$20.00©2005 IEEE
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine JUNE 2005
14
BY GURVINDER SINGH VIRK
Developments in the Oldest
Robotics Thematic Network

members and over 30 observers active in the area of mobile
robotics and its applications. Figure 1 shows the main orga-
nizations involved in Europe.
It should be noted that both CLAWAR projects are the-
matic networks (TN) and not “normal” R&D projects that
are set up to research and develop specific solutions. The EC
has funded such TN projects so that much wider ranging
issues can be addressed by bringing together the main stake-
holders for a particular technology to share experiences and
identify the key issues that need to be investigated in order to
move the technology forward. In this respect, both CLAWAR
projects have focused on the need to integrate, encourage, and
widen the adoption of robotic devices in actual applications.
From its start in 1998, CLAWAR has stressed the importance
of modularity and the development of open standards for
robot components so that we can create and sustain a viable
and vibrant robotics industry.
It is clear that the traditional manufacturing robotics
industry is stagnant, and no new innovative technologies are
being adopted in real businesses. The main thrust has been
towards service robotics. This migration from manufacturing
towards services has also been proposed by the International
Federation of Robotics and the Japanese, who are very active
in this field [1], [2]. The basic concepts for reinvigorating the
robotics industry being developed by CLAWAR rely on open
modularity and the development of “plug-and-play”
JUNE 2005 IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine
15
Figure 1. CLAWAR coverage of Europe.
(O) = Observer
LONDON:
King's College, London
Shadow
PDD (O)
South Bank Univ (O)
University College (O)
Univ Dundee (O)
Kentree (O)
Univ Salford
Univ Leeds
Univ Sheffield (O)
Univ Loughborough (O)
BELGIUM:
Caterpillar
Philips
RMA-VUB
Robonetics
Space AS
SONY (O)
PARIS:
CEA
Cybernetix
LRP, Paris VI
ISEP (O)
Univ Coimbra
(O)
Univ Versailles (O)
Univ
Kent
(O)
TNO (O)
Univ Kaiserslautern
FZI
Fraunhofer IPA
Univ Murcia (O)
Univ Carlos III
CSIC-IAI
ISQ
UP Cartagena
Robosoft
Ecole Nantes
PARIS
BELGIUM
BAE Systems
LONDON
QinetiQ
Roboscience
Lego
Fraunhofer
IFF
Poli
Poznan
UT Warsaw (O)
Univ Orebro
HUT
Russian
Acad of
Sciences
(O)
National
Academy
of Science
(O)
Univ
lasi (O)
Univ Budapest
Bulgarian
Academy
Univ Cassino (O)
Univ Genova
Poli di Torino
CRF
D'Appolonia
INRIA (O)
Fed Inst Tech (O)
Android Ventures (O)
Univ Catania

components using a formal design methodology that has
wide applicability [3]–[13]. The intention is that such an
approach can only work if the R&D community works
together with industry to develop and use common tools and
standards at the component level.
A brief summary of the CLAWAR project and the modu-
lar design philosophy is presented next. This work covers
technical and nontechnical issues to widen the application
base for robotic systems and make them more acceptable to
the general public. A description is given of the achievements
made in bringing together all the stakeholders involved in
robotics R&D; the impact that the CLAWAR conferences
have made is also discussed. The importance of CLAWAR in
the creation of innovative mobile robot demonstrator projects
through the networking activities is also highlighted, and a
few of the projects are mentioned. The critical mass of orga-
nizations that have been brought together is leading to future
plans to create an open component-level market that can
support a supply-chain oriented robotics industry. This issue
is also touched upon. Further information can be found on
the project’s Web site at http://www.clawar.net or by con-
tacting the author.
An Overview of CLAWAR
The first CLAWAR project brought together a group of orga-
nizations that were able to focus on generic issues important
in the area of applied mobile robotics. This collective body
was able to carry out technical tasks, perform state-of-the-art
surveys, and disseminate the group’s work very effectively via
the CLAWAR conferences [14]–[18] and newsletters [23].
The technical work was carried out largely by sharing experi-
ences and expertise between the partners so that the individ-
ual-level knowledge could be generalized to make it more
widely relevant. In total, 20 technical tasks were carried out in
this manner over four years.
1) Modularity—Specifications and possible solutions: G.S.
Virk, University of Portsmouth
2) Industrial requirements—Formulate specifications:
R.N. Waterman, Portsmouth Technology Consultants
Limited (PORTECH)
3) Operational environments—Specifications for robots:
K. Berns, Forschungszentrum Informatik (FZI)
4) Nuclear operational maintenance applications: D. Bark-
er, Gravatom
5) Man-machine interface—Requirements and specifica-
tions: M. Armada, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones
Cientificas, Instituto de Automática Industrial (CSIC-
IAI)
6) Modularity—Design aspects and practical solutions: G.S.
Virk, University of Portsmouth
7) Industrial requirements—Rationalize specs into func-
tionality modules: R.N. Waterman, PORTECH
8) Nuclear decommissioning applications—Requirements:
D. Myers, Gravatom
9) Humanitarian demining—Requirements: Y. Baudoin,
Royal Military Academy (RMA)
10) Tele-operation—Definitions and requirements: M.
Armada, CSIC-IAI
11) Functionality modules—Specifications and technical
details: G.S. Virk, University of Portsmouth
12) Outdoor applications: Y. Baudoin, RMA
13) Computing requirements: G. Muscato, University of
Catania
14) Construction industry: M. Armada, CSIC-IAI
15) Pipe and duct applications: D. Myers, Gravatom
16) Functionality modules—Design and practical details:
G.S. Virk, University of Portsmouth
17) Petrochemical industry and underwater applications:
M. Armada, CSIC–IAI
18) Control and software requirements: G. Muscato, Uni-
versity of Catania
19) Barriers to commercial exploitation: H.A. Warren,
QinetiQ
20) Future applications of CLAWAR machines: K.
Berns, FZI.
Extensive reports for each task have been produced [3]–[9],
and it is the intention to publish some of these for wider dis-
semination. The state-of-the-art reports [19]–[22] have focused
on the details of the R&D being carried out throughout the
world and the important projects and results achieved. It is
clear that the main areas of activity are in the United States,
Europe, and Japan. CLAWAR has focused on the European
scene, and this networking has created a European-level entity
that can coordinate R&D efforts in the robotics area and make
an impact at the EU level with appropriate initiatives to move
things forward. Good links with EURON are also maintained
to ensure that the strategic vision of the researchers and imme-
diate needs of industry and the community stay synchronized.
CLAWAR Modularity
It is clear from the work thus far that robot component
modularity is a key issue and is widely recognized as such.
Many groups have developed innovative methods for com-
ponent integration, but these individualistic approaches have
not been acceptable to the wider community. Hence, no sig-
nificant progress has been made. It is clear that a coordinated
approach must be taken to ensure that a sensible and widely
acceptable strategy is developed. In this respect, CLAWAR
has a valuable role to play because it can include the views of
all the stakeholders in producing a generic modular design
philosophy. Such an approach has been taken by the
CLAWAR community to subdivide the robot design process
into a modular format where the individual components can
link up to other modules to form the overall system using an
“interaction space highway”-type data bus. This involves
determining how the modules need to link up. After consid-
erable investigation and discussion, it has been established
that six interaction variables are needed for this interconnec-
tivity: 1) power, 2) computer data bus, 3) mechanical link-
ages, 4) analog signals, 5) digital signals, and 6) working
environment. Figure 2 shows the concept more clearly; the
wires show the linkages needed for specific modules.
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine JUNE 2005
16

CLAWAR has focused on
strategic areas for developing the
ideas of modularity, including haz-
ardous environments (industrial and
nonindustrial scenarios), edutain-
ment, biomedical and healthcare
sectors, and outdoor applications.
Following the huge success of
CLAWAR 1, it was believed to
be worthwhile to propose the
establishment of CLAWAR 2,
focusing on mobile robotic
demonstrators and applications.
For this, the consortium was
extended and observers were also
included from outside Europe. The project continues the
modularity work to pursue the development of plug-and-
play robot components and encourage the development of
common design tools for use by the robot R&D communi-
ty. Because CLAWAR does not have the resources to actu-
ally develop the design tools needed, it is focusing on
specifying the requirements, and future activities are
planned to actually build the tool set.
R&D Project Clustering
Modularity is also being demonstrated by clustering. R&D
robot projects are being run so that components developed in
one project can be used in others. A list of 25 projects has
been identified and studied to determine the most common
modules in the following groups:
◆ Input modules: These are components that take input
signals/commands from the robot itself, its environ-
ment, and users to use for the “processing” part of the
system. Essentially, these are sensors and user interface
devices from the command input side.
◆ Processing modules: These are software algorithms
that perform the various signal and information pro-
cessing routines that enable the decision-making and
control actions.
◆ Output modules: These are components that actually
produce an output from the robot to interact with its
environment. They comprise actuators and user inter-
face devices to provide user feedback.
◆ Infrastructure modules: These are components that
“support” the overall status and operation of the robot.
They include power supplies, materials, communication
channels, etc.
The grouping of robot modules can be conducted in many
different ways, but the above is felt to be a generic and useful
way of presenting and analyzing the information. Certainly,
the CLAWAR community has found it extremely useful to
study the modular aspects in this way, and this framework is
being used to develop further plans to realize the open stan-
dards needed for the robot components. The R&D project
clustering activities have used this grouping to study the robot
component aspects, focusing on designing a modular power
supply that can be used in several projects. The design of the
power supply has been completed, and it is currently being
built to demonstrate the “use and reuse” aspects that are key
to ensuring the future successful growth in the adoption of
robotic systems in new emerging mass markets.
Societal Needs
As already mentioned and widely recognized, the robotics
industry is likely to grow significantly in the near future, and
this growth is expected to be in the area of service provision
rather than in the traditional manufacturing sectors. Much of
this new activity will be driven by the current and future
needs of society. In view of this, CLAWAR has been carrying
out analysis and formative work for robotic system require-
ments from the viewpoint of the needs of society. Specific
societal needs are being investigated, including education and
training, working conditions and safety, environment, health,
employment, and quality of life.
Economic Prospects
In order to improve the commercialization of robotic systems,
CLAWAR has been using the extensive experience available
within the partnership to determine the reasons for poor
acceptance of the new robotic systems being developed. The
following barriers have been identified:
◆ No effective demonstrators exist, indicating immaturity
of the technology and leading to poor confidence in all
sectors of society.
◆ Low-volume markets lead to high unit costs; this cou-
pled with the fact that no regulations exist for the new
sectors causes significant safety concerns.
These conclusions have led the CLAWAR community to
strongly pursue the development of a suitable modular
approach so that the complex systems needed can be
designed, developed, and supplied. This strongly suggests that
an open component market needs to be encouraged since this
offers the most promising approach for creating and sustaining
a supply-chain based industry. As a consequence, standards
and guidelines for the new robotic systems and their compo-
nents need to be formulated via the establishment of appro-
priate ISO working groups.
JUNE 2005 IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine
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Figure 2. CLAWAR’s modular design principles using the “interaction space highways.”
Power
Mechanics
Analog
Databus
Digital
Environment
Intelligent
Actuator
Actuator
ACT1 ACT2
CHW1
SEN1
SEN2
POW1
MECH1
Software Software
Software
Software
Communications
Systems
Analog
Sensor
Intelligent
Sensor
Intelligent
Power
Supply
Mechanics

Dissemination
As part of the dissemination activities, the annual CLAWAR
conference was initiated in 1998. The first conference was held
in Brussels in 1998 and attracted about 90 delegates. This was
followed by CLAWAR 1999 in Portsmouth with 140 dele-
gates, CLAWAR 2000 in Madrid, Spain, with 150 delegates,
and CLAWAR 2001 in Karlsruhe, Germany, with 200 dele-
gates. The fifth CLAWAR conference in Paris, France, was
attended by 250 delegates and the sixth conference (CLAWAR
2003 conference in Catania, Italy) attracted 250 delegates. The
seventh conference, CLAWAR 2004, was held in Madrid,
Spain, and attracted 200 delegates. The eighth conference will
be held in London on 13–15 September 2005 (visit
http://www.iai.csic.es/clawar04). The CLAWAR conference
is now well established on the annual calendar, and major
researchers attend it to present their latest results and interact
with the rest of the CLAWAR community. In addition to the
annual conference, a Web site has been created
(http://www.clawar.net), and a CLAWAR newsletter is pro-
duced every six months and distributed to nearly 900
researchers throughout the world.
Achievements
The CLAWAR project has created a good focus for the area
of applied mobile robotics within Europe and beyond. The
partnership has been able to propose many innovative R&D
projects in new robotic applications as a direct result of the
networking and the fact that there is now common thinking
within the partnership. The funding (approximately €2.2
million) received from the EC for establishing the CLAWAR
networking projects has led to the securement of approxi-
mately €30 million for projects to carry out real R&D. A
few of these projects are presented next, and the robots
developed are shown in Figure 3.
◆ ROWER (BRITE EURAM BE2-7229): Development
of shipbuilding methods using robots; Coordinator:
CSIC-IAI; http://www.iai.csic.es/dca/rower1_i.htm
◆ AURORA (GRD1-1999-11153): Robot for cleaning
ship hulls; Coordinator: CSIC-IAI; http://europa.eu.int/
comm/research/growth/gcc/projects/shipyard.html#09
◆ ROBOVOLC (IST 1999-10762): Mobile robot able to
carry out monitoring and inspection tasks in volcanic
environments; Coordinator: University of Catania;
http://www.robovolc.dees.unict.it
◆ ROBTANK (G1RD-CT 2000-00230): Robot for
inspecting metal tanks; Coordinator: ISQ; http://www.
clawar.com/clawar1/newsletters/issue7/robtank.htm
◆ ROBUG 3 (Project ref. FI2T0027): An articulated limb
climbing robot; Coordinator: PORTECH; http://
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/robots/hazard/meetrobug.html
◆ WIRED (ESPRIT 4): Robug 4-Walking intelligent
robot demonstrator; Coordinator: University of
Southampton; http://www.it-innovation.soton.ac.uk/
research/decision_control.shtml
◆ NESTOR (ISP-1999-00030): Robotic courier for
transporting goods in hospitals; Coordinator:
Robosoft; http://www.clawar.com/clawar1/newslet-
ters/issue7/nestor.htm
◆ WorkPartner (National contract Tekes 40372/02): Ser-
vice robot for outdoor tasks; Coordinator: Helsinki
University of Technology; http://www.automation.hut.
fi/IMSRI/workpartner/
◆ ROBOCLIMBER (G1ST-CT-2002-50160): Tele-oper-
ated climbing robot for slopes and landslides;
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine JUNE 2005
18
Figure 3. Prototype robots developed within the CLAWAR partnership for various R&D projects: (a) Rower: shipbuilding; (b)
NESTOR: hospitals; (c) Portsmouth’s Robug 4 modular demonstrator; (d) ROBTANK: tanks; (e) Helsinki’s WorkPartner; (f) F-IPA’s
RACCOON; (g) ROBOVOLC: volcanoes; and (h) Portsmouth’s Robug 3 rescue machine.
(a) (b) (d)(c)
(e) (f) (h)(g)

Coordinator: ICOP SPA; http://www.dimec.unige.it/
PMAR/Pages/ricerca/roboclimber.htm
◆ RACCOON (Industrial Contract: Procter & Gamble):
Autonomous window cleaning robot; Coordinator:
Fraunhofer-IPA; http://www.ipa.fhg.de/Arbeitsgebi-
ete/BereichC/320/leistungsangebote/mechatronik/Pro
duktblatt300_177RACCOON-Haushaltsrobotik.pdf
◆ ISAMCO (FP6-505275-1): Ionic polymer-metal
composites for microsensors and actuators in robotic
applications; Coordinator: Consorzio Catania
Richche, http://www.mediainnovation.it/progetti/
isamco/home.html.
In addition to these successes, CLAWAR also participated
in the launch of the 6th Framework Programme (FP6) of
the EC. CLAWAR was the only robotic project invited to
contribute a stand for this event, and Figure 4 shows
RoboDog, developed by one of the CLAWAR partners
(Roboscience Ltd., United Kingdom; see http://www.robo-
science.com), stealing the scene.
Future Activities
The overall activities of the CLAWAR projects have created
tremendous enthusiasm and a sense of collegiality within the part-
nership. From this has evolved the feeling that the R&D commu-
nity needs to work together if it is to grow to meet the
requirements for service robotics. The central theme within
CLAWAR is to build on the modularity work to formulate an
open approach capable of assisting in the creation of a new open
component market that can support and sustain a supply chain-
oriented robotics industry in Europe. This initiative is being pur-
sued under the EC’s FP6, and over
120 organizations have agreed to
work towards realizing this goal. The
intention is to create the tools and
guidelines and demonstrate a supply
chain culture for the area of robotics
so that specific supply chains can be
set up, as shown in Figure 5.
Conclusions
It is clear that networking is vital to
ensure that research groups and
companies can work together on
common problems to make the
advances that are required. Without
such networking, it is inevitable
that resources will be wasted
through the duplication of effort.
CLAWAR is now a mature robot-
ics R&D community that has
already proven itself capable of col-
laborating and moving things for-
ward. A common approach is vital
if robotic technologies are to be
produced to meet the needs that
are emerging for providing services.
JUNE 2005 IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine
19
Figure 4. RoboDog in Brussels.
Figure 5. CLAWAR’s supply chain concept.
CS
Edutainment
Aerospace
Production
Hazardous
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS
Etc.
CS
Automated and Robotic Products
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS
CS - Component Supplier (Company/University)
- Interoperative Requirement/Supply Link
Strategic Partners

In this respect, it is also vital that all the stakeholders are
involved in these collaborations, from the pioneering “blue
skies” researchers to application manufacturers and commercial
organizations interested in developing products for specific mar-
ket sectors. CLAWAR is doing exactly this, and this approach is
the main reason for the great successes achieved to date. The
intention is to increase these collaborations through future
activities under FP6 and beyond, where the critical mass is
being brought together to make the changes necessary to ensure
progress. CLAWAR Ltd. has been set up to continue the activi-
ties after the current CLAWAR project ends in October 2005.
Only time will tell if the efforts succeed, but the feeling within
the CLAWAR community is that open modularity is the only
viable way forward whereby the “interconnection” between the
components are widely available to everyone and the “inventive
intellectual property” should be within the components.
Indeed, to make all this work we need to make the wires
open and the boxes closed.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to acknowledge the support of the
European Commission for funding the CLAWAR Thematic
Network under contracts BRRT-CT97-5030 and G1RT-CT-
2002-05080. He would also like to express his gratitude to all
the CLAWAR partners and observers who have contributed
to the various activities of the project.
Keywords
Robot components, modularity, new robot markets, service
robots, standards.
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[19] G.S. Virk, “CLAWAR state of the art 1998–99,” Univ. Portsmouth,
Portsmouth, UK, EC Contract BRRT-CT97-5030, 1999.
[20] G.S. Virk, “CLAWAR state of the art 1999–2000,” Univ. Portsmouth,
Portsmouth, UK, EC Contract BRRT-CT97-5030, 2000.
[21] G.S. Virk, “CLAWAR state of the art 2000–01,” Univ. Portsmouth,
Portsmouth, UK, EC Contract BRRT-CT97-5030, 2001.
[22] G.S. Virk, “CLAWAR state of the art 2001–02,” Univ. Portsmouth,
Portsmouth, UK, EC Contract BRRT-CT97-5030, 2002.
[23] CLAWAR Newsletters 1–12, M.O. Tokhi, Ed., Univ. Sheffield, UK.
Gurvinder Singh Virk holds the chair of Robotics and Con-
trol and is head of the Intelligent Systems Group in the School
of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, United King-
dom. He graduated with first class B.Sc. honors in electronic
and electrical engineering from the University of Manchester
and went on to obtain a Ph.D. in control theory from Imperial
College, London. Since then, he has worked at Sheffield City
Polytechnic and Southampton, Sheffield, Bradford, and
Portsmouth universities. His main research interests include
mobile robotics, with special emphasis on climbing and walking
robots (CLAWAR) and smelling robots, building management
systems, and the use of advanced model-based control for a
variety of applications. Currently, he is coordinating the Euro-
pean activity for the CLAWAR technology and has been
involved in several projects to develop innovative robots for
exploring volcanic environments, inspecting highway bridges
and dams, and performing search and rescue operations in
nuclear disaster scenarios. He is a fellow of the Institution of
Electrical Engineers (FIEE), a fellow of the Chartered Institu-
tion of Building Services Engineers (FCIBSE), and a fellow of
the Institution of Applied Mathematics and its Applications. He
has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London for his
work in promoting information technology.
Address for Correspondence: Gurvinder Singh Virk, School of
Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane,
Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK. Phone: +44 113 343
2156. Fax: +44 113 343 2150. E-mail: g.s.virk@leeds. ac.uk.
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine JUNE 2005
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