Liam Brown
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Research Subjects
Research Interests
Liam Brown has a total of 10 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Simon Watson
University of Manchester
3 shared publications - Joaquin Carrasco
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, U.K.
2 shared publications - Aliakbar Akbari
Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
1 shared publication - Barry Lennox
Control Systems and Robotics Group (CSR), Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester, U.K.
1 shared publication - Ognjen Marjanovic
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Floor 3, Core 1, Nancy Rothwell Building, The University of Manchester, Manchester, U.K
1 shared publication - Puneet Chhabra
Headlight AI Limited, London EC2A 1AF, UK
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
Autonomous Elbow Controller for Differential Drive In-Pipe Robots
The inspection of legacy nuclear facilities to aid in decommissioning is a world wide issue. One of the challenges is the characterisation of pipe networks within them. This paper presents an autonomous control system for the navigation of these unknown pipe networks, specifically focusing on elbows. The controller utilises three low-cost feeler sensors to navigate the FURO II robot around 150 mm short elbows. The controller is shown to allow the robot to safely navigate around an elbow on all 39 attempts comparing that with the brute force method which only completed five of the nine attempts and damaging the robot. This shows the advantages of the proposed controller. A new metric (Impulse) is also proposed to compare the extra force applied to the robot over the time it is slipping in the elbow due to the errors in the drive unit speeds. Using this metric, the controller is shown to decrease the Impulse applied to the robot by Ns when compared to the brute force method.Open AccessAutonomous Elbow Controller for Differential Drive In-Pipe Robots
The inspection of legacy nuclear facilities to aid in decommissioning is a world wide issue. One of the challenges is the characterisation of pipe networks within them. This paper presents an autonomous control system for the navigation of these unknown pipe networks, specifically focusing on elbows. The controller utilises three low-cost feeler sensors to navigate the FURO II robot around 150 mm short elbows. The controller is shown to allow the robot to safely navigate around an elbow on all 39 attempts comparing that with the brute force method which only completed five of the nine attempts and damaging the robot. This shows the advantages of the proposed controller. A new metric (Impulse) is also proposed to compare the extra force applied to the robot over the time it is slipping in the elbow due to the errors in the drive unit speeds. Using this metric, the controller is shown to decrease the Impulse applied to the robot by Ns when compared to the brute force method. - Open Access
The Design of Prometheus: A Reconfigurable UAV for Subterranean Mine Inspection
The inspection of legacy mine workings is a difficult, time consuming, costly task, as traditional methods require multiple boreholes to be drilled to allow sensors to be placed in the voids. Discrete sampling of the void from static locations also means that full coverage of the area cannot be achieved and occluded areas and side tunnels may not be fully mapped. The aim of the Prometheus project is to develop an autonomous robotic solution that is able to inspect the mine workings from a single borehole. This paper presents the challenges of operating autonomous aerial vehicles in such an environment, as well as physically entering the void with an autonomous robot. The paper address how some of these challenges can be overcome with bespoke design and intelligent controllers. It details the design of a reconfigurable UAV that is able to be deployed through a 150 mm borehole and unfold to a tip-to-tip diameter of 780 mm, allowing it to carry a payload suitable for a full autonomous mission.
Open AccessThe Design of Prometheus: A Reconfigurable UAV for Subterranean Mine Inspection
The inspection of legacy mine workings is a difficult, time consuming, costly task, as traditional methods require multiple boreholes to be drilled to allow sensors to be placed in the voids. Discrete sampling of the void from static locations also means that full coverage of the area cannot be achieved and occluded areas and side tunnels may not be fully mapped. The aim of the Prometheus project is to develop an autonomous robotic solution that is able to inspect the mine workings from a single borehole. This paper presents the challenges of operating autonomous aerial vehicles in such an environment, as well as physically entering the void with an autonomous robot. The paper address how some of these challenges can be overcome with bespoke design and intelligent controllers. It details the design of a reconfigurable UAV that is able to be deployed through a 150 mm borehole and unfold to a tip-to-tip diameter of 780 mm, allowing it to carry a payload suitable for a full autonomous mission.
- Open Access
- 6 August 2018
- Published by Springer Nature in Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems
- Vol. 95 (2) , 527-541
Elbow Detection in Pipes for Autonomous Navigation of Inspection Robots
- 6 August 2018
- Published by Springer Nature in Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems
- Vol. 95 (2) , 527-541
Open AccessElbow Detection in Pipes for Autonomous Navigation of Inspection Robots