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About

About

I was born in  Leiria, Portugal, in July, 1985. I graduated with a M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Porto in 2009. Since then, I have been developing my research within the Robotic and Intelligent Systems Unit of INESC-Porto (the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering of Porto). My main research area is navigation and control of indoor autonomous vehicles.

Interest
Topics
Details

Details

  • Name

    Héber Miguel Sobreira
  • Role

    Senior Researcher
  • Since

    08th December 2010
027
Publications

2024

The CrossLog System Concept and Architecture

Authors
Silva M.F.; Rebelo P.M.; Sobreira H.; Ribeiro F.;

Publication
Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering

Abstract
Logistics chains are being increasingly developed due to several factors, among which the exponential growth of e-commerce. Crossdocking is a logistics strategy used by several companies from varied economic sectors, applied in warehouses and distribution centres. In this context, it is the objective of the “CrossLog – Automatic Mixed-Palletizing for Crossdocking Logistics Centers” Project, to investigate and study an automated and collaborative crossdocking system, capable of moving and managing the flow of products within the warehouse in the fastest and safest way. In its scope, this paper describes the concept and architecture envisioned for the crossdocking system developed in the scope of the CrossLog Project. One of its main distinguishing characteristics is the use of Autonomous Mobile Robots for performing much of the operations traditionally performed by human operators in today’s logistics centres.

2024

A Performance Comparison between Different Industrial Real-Time Indoor Localization Systems for Mobile Platforms

Authors
Rebelo, PM; Lima, J; Soares, SP; Oliveira, PM; Sobreira, H; Costa, P;

Publication
SENSORS

Abstract
The flexibility and versatility associated with autonomous mobile robots (AMR) have facilitated their integration into different types of industries and tasks. However, as the main objective of their implementation on the factory floor is to optimize processes and, consequently, the time associated with them, it is necessary to take into account the environment and congestion to which they are subjected. Localization, on the shop floor and in real time, is an important requirement to optimize the AMRs' trajectory management, thus avoiding livelocks and deadlocks during their movements in partnership with manual forklift operators and logistic trains. Threeof the most commonly used localization techniques in indoor environments (time of flight, angle of arrival, and time difference of arrival), as well as two of the most commonly used indoor localization methods in the industry (ultra-wideband, and ultrasound), are presented and compared in this paper. Furthermore, it identifies and compares three industrial indoor localization solutions: Qorvo, Eliko Kio, and Marvelmind, implemented in an industrial mobile platform, which is the main contribution of this paper. These solutions can be applied to both AMRs and other mobile platforms, such as forklifts and logistic trains. In terms of results, the Marvelmind system, which uses an ultrasound method, was the best solution.

2024

Comparison of Pallet Detection and Location Using COTS Sensors and AI Based Applications

Authors
Caldana, D; Carvalho, R; Rebelo, PM; Silva, MF; Costa, P; Sobreira, H; Cruz, N;

Publication
ROBOT 2023: SIXTH IBERIAN ROBOTICS CONFERENCE ADVANCES IN ROBOTICS, VOL 1

Abstract
Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) are seeing an increased introduction in distinct areas of daily life. Recently, their use has expanded to intralogistics, where forklift type AMR are applied in many situations handling pallets and loading/unloading them into trucks. One of the these vehicles requirements, is that they are able to correctly identify the location and status of pallets, so that the forklifts AMR can insert the forks in the right place. Recently, some commercial sensors have appeared in the market for this purpose. Given these considerations, this paper presents a comparison of the performance of two different approaches for pallet detection: using a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) sensor and a custom developed application based on Artificial Intelligence algorithms applied to an RGB-D camera, where both the RGB and depth data are used to estimate the position of the pallet pockets.

2024

Hybrid Localization Solution for Autonomous Mobile Robots in Complex Environments

Authors
Rebelo, PM; Valente, A; Oliveira, PM; Sobreira, H; Costa, P;

Publication
ROBOT 2023: SIXTH IBERIAN ROBOTICS CONFERENCE ADVANCES IN ROBOTICS, VOL 1

Abstract
Mobile robot platforms capable of operating safely and accurately in dynamic environments can have a multitude of applications, ranging from simple delivery tasks to advanced assembly operations. These abilities rely heavily on a robust navigation stack, which requires stable and accurate pose estimations within the environment. The wide range of AMR's applications and the characteristics of multiple industrial environments (indoor and outdoor) have led to the development of a flexible and robust robot software architecture that allows the fusion of different data sensors in real time. In this way, and in terms of localization, AMRs have greater precision when it comes to uncontrolled and unstructured environments. These complex environments feature a variety of dynamic and unpredictable elements, such as variable layouts, limited visibility, unstructured spaces, and uncertain terrain. This paper presents a multi-localization system for industrial mobile robots in complex and dynamic industrial scenarios, based on different localization technologies and methods that can interact together and simultaneously.

2024

Control of a Mobile Robot Through VDA5050 Standard

Authors
Brilhante, M; Rebelo, PM; Oliveira, PM; Sobreira, H; Costa, P;

Publication
ROBOT 2023: SIXTH IBERIAN ROBOTICS CONFERENCE ADVANCES IN ROBOTICS, VOL 1

Abstract
Since creating universally capable robots is challenging for a single manufacturer, a diverse fleet of robots from various manufacturers is utilized. However, these heterogeneous fleets encounter communication and interoperability issues. As a result, there is a growing need for a standardized interface that is capable of communicating, controlling and managing a diverse fleet without these interoperability issues. This paper presents a translation software module capable of controlling an autonomous mobile robot and communicating with a ROS-based robot fleet manager using the VDA5050 Standard and exchanging information via the MQTT communication protocol, aiming at flexibility and control across different robot brands. The effectiveness of the software in controlling a mobile robot via the VDA5050 standard was demonstrated by the results. It accurately analysed data from the Robot Fleet Manager, converted it into VDA 5050 JSON messages and skilfully translated it back into ROS messages. The robot's behavior remained consistent before and after the VDA5050 implementation.

Supervised
thesis

2023

RicoSLAM: Long-Term Localization and Mapping in Dynamic Environments

Author
Ricardo Barbosa Sousa

Institution

Plataforma robótica genérica para robô de logística, serviços ou vigilância com mecanismo de troca automática da bateria

Author
Ivo Emanuel Milheiro de Sousa

Institution
INESCTEC

Sistema de navegação para plataforma móvel omnidirecional

Author
Fernando Jorge Marques de Sá

Institution
INESCTEC