Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems

The volume LNAI 13054 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 22th Annual Conference Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems, TAROS 2021, held in Lincoln, UK, in September 2021.*The 45 full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 66 submissions. Organized in the topical sections "Algorithms" and "Systems", they discuss significant findings and advances in the following areas: artificial intelligence; mechatronics; image processing and computer vision; special purpose and application-based systems; user interfaces and human computer interaction.
* The conference was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Algorithms.- A Study on Dense and Sparse (Visual) Rewards in Robot Policy Learning.- An Open-Source Multi-Goal Reinforcement Learning Environment for Robotic Manipulation with Pybullet.- CPG-Actor: Reinforcement Learning for Central Pattern Generators.- Deep semantic segmentation of 3D plant point clouds.- Grasp Stability Prediction for a Dexterous Robotic Hand combining RGB-D Vision and Haptic Bayesian Exploration.- Improving SLAM in Pipe Networks by Leveraging Cylindrical Regularity.- CRH*: A Deadlock Free Framework for Scalable Prioritised Path Planning in Multi-Robot Systems.- TASK-BASED AD-HOC TEAMWORK with ADVERSARY.- Human-Robot Cooperative Lifting using IMUs and Human Gestures.- Reinforcement Learning-based Mapless Navigation with Fail-safe Localisation.- Collaborative Coverage for a Network of Vacuum Cleaner Robots.- Network-Aware Genetic Algorithms for the Coordination of MALE UAV Networks.- Self-organised Flocking of Robotic Swarm in Cluttered Environments.- Exploring Feedback Modalities in a Mobile Robot for Telecare.- Demonstrating the Differential Impact of Flock Heterogeneity on Multi-Agent Herding.- Evaluation of an OpenCV Implementation of Structure from Motion on Open Source Data.- Benchmark of visual and 3D lidar SLAM systems in simulation environment for vineyards.- Lidar-only localization in 3D Pose-Feature Map.- Toward robust visual odometry using prior 2D map information.- Comparison of Concentrated and Distributed Compliant Elements in a 3D Printed Gripper.- Perception of a humanoid robot as an interface for auditory testing.- Deep Learning Traversability Estimator for Mobile Robots in Unstructured Environments.- Systems.- Predicting Artist Drawing Activity via Multi-Camera Inputs for Co-Creative Drawing.- 3D printed mechanically modular two-degree-of-freedom robotic segment utilizing variable-stiffness actuators.- Design of a Multimaterial 3D-printed Soft Actuator with Bi-directional Variable Stiffness.- Designing a Multi-Locomotion Modular Snake Robot.- Deep robot path planning from demonstrations for breast cancer examination.- Priors inspired by Speed-Accuracy Trade-Offs for Incremental Learning of Probabilistic Movement Primitives.- Tactile Dynamic Behaviour Prediction Based on Robot Action.- State space analysis of variable-stiffness tendon drive with non-back-drivable worm-gear motor actuation.- Development of a ROS Driver and Support Stack for the KMR iiwa Mobile Manipulator.- Collision Avoidance with Optimal Path Replanning for Mobile Robots.- An Autonomous Mapping Approach for Confined Spaces using Flying Robots.- Maximising availability of transportation robots through intelligent allocation of parking spaces.- A Minimalist Solution to the Multi-Robot Barrier Coverage Problem.- Scheduling Multi-robotMissions with JointTasks and Heterogeneous Robot Teams.- Area Coverage in Two-Dimensional Grid Worlds Using Computation-Free Agents.- Online Scene Visibility Estimation as a Complement to SLAM in UAVs.- Statics Optimization of a Hexapedal Robot Modelled as a Stewart Platform.- EtherCAT implementation of a variable-stiffness tendon drive with non-back-drivable worm-gear motor actuation.- Growing Robotic Endoscope for early Breast Cancer Detection: Robot Motion Control.- Design and Charachterisation of a Variable-Stiffness Soft Actuator Based on Tendon Twisting.- WhiskEye: A biomimetic model of multisensoryspatial memory based on sensory reconstruction.- Equipment Detection based Inspection Robot for Industrial Plants.- Inference of Mechanical Properties of Dynamic Objects through Active Perception.