Faculty of Innovation Technologies, TSU
The Master's program Computer Engineering: Applied AI and Robotics is offered by the Faculty of Innovation Technologies at Tomsk State University. Here is a short video about the Faculty.
Labs
We have multiple research Laborotaries engineered for students:
Recent R&D:
(Click ▼ to read more)
1. Autonomous Drone Delivery System ▼
Employees of the Faculty of Innovative Technologies of TSU have successfully tested the capabilities of the UAV. The tests in the interests of the residents of the Tomsk region were carried out by an experienced flight team of TSU employees using a drone with improved characteristics - wind stability, good carrying capacity, increased maneuverability.
The assigned tasks included transportation of cargo across the Ob River (in the area of Pobeda settlement). Tests have confirmed the delivery of the cargo without compromising its safety.
- TSU scientists have a number of developments in the development of technologies using drones. For example, at the end of last year, a project for the development of a hardware and software system for working with spy drones was successfully completed and handed over. The project was financed by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, - said the rector of TSU Eduard Galazhinsky . - Now scientists of the Faculty of Innovative Technologies of TSU are solving another complex technical problem - they are creating algorithmic solutions for the operation of a drone-courier. In March, successful tests were carried out on the basis of the TSU campus. Now we have taken a new step - conducted tests in the interests of the inhabitants of the region.
The use of UAVs makes it possible to minimize the number of contacts between people and reduce the number of transport movements.
It is planned that in the future, the method of delivering vital cargo using drones will be used on an ongoing basis. The delivery geography will include areas where it is extremely difficult to reach in the off-season or it is fraught with great difficulties.
2. Drone Delivery System without GPS (with Geoscan) ▼
TSU and Geoscan Group of Companies have signed a cooperation agreement, under which a leading Russian university and one of the largest Russian UAV developers are creating intelligent control systems for drones. In particular, within the framework of the Smart Campus project, the partners are solving technical problems that will ensure the autonomy of the drone even without a GPS signal, the accuracy of cargo delivery, and will also minimize the errors that occur during landing.
“The partner of TSU, Geoscan, has provided the university with a new platform with high functional capabilities,” says Stanislav Shidlovsky, Dean of the TSU Faculty of Innovative Technologies . - In particular, this drone can operate at low temperatures - up to minus 40 degrees, and its carrying capacity with absolute flight stability, including in windy weather (up to 15 m / s), is sufficient to solve a wide range of tasks. The undoubted advantage of this flight platform lies in its adaptation to perform tasks in the climatic conditions of our country, which cannot be said about the DJI platforms actively used in the world.
Now scientists of the FIT TSU are developing an intelligent superstructure for the drone: they are solving technical problems that have remained unresolved until now. Among them are problems that arise on the "last mile".
The computer "brain" of the flying courier transfers all his work to automatic mode. The difficulty lies in the delivery from the sorting center to the consumer's doorstep. Many large global firms and retailers employ drones, but a person still walks the “last mile” to the customer. One of the serious technical limitations is the presence of an unstable GPS signal or its temporary absence.
Employees of the FIT TSU create complex algorithmic solutions and orientation systems that will allow the drone to independently plot a route using a map of the settlement. Vision systems, which are also being developed at FIT, will help the courier drone bypass tall houses, wires and other obstacles.
Along with this, landing accuracy is being worked out. Most developers have an error of about five meters. To reduce it, you can use the expensive DRTK GNSS system, which, using an additional ground station, sends corrections to the GPS coordinates to the drone.
“We decided to use a fundamentally different approach,” explains Stanislav Shydlovsky . - The landing sites were equipped with infrared beacons, which are clearly visible for the drone in any weather and serve as an excellent reference point. In the future, landing zones with infrared beacons can become part of any urban area.
At the end of March 2020, the delivery drone has already passed the first successful tests on the TSU campus: it delivered several cargoes, including a monograph on robotics, from the main building of the university to the student residential complex Parus. In April, tests were carried out in the interests of the residents of the Tomsk region: the tasks included the transportation of medical cargo across the Ob River (in the area of the Pobeda village).
In August, FIT employees conducted a new series of tests, during which an air courier carried cargo from the main building of TSU to the Parus and Mayak hostels, as well as to the Institute of Military Education of TSU.
It is worth noting that to increase the intelligence of the drone-courier, the employees of the FIT TSU use the scientific groundwork accumulated in the course of work on the creation of the drone-hunter. This project was carried out in 2017-2019 with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. At present, NII PP JSC, acting as an industrial partner, is engaged in the commercialization of the project results.
3. Poison and Radiation Resistant Scout Robot - UGV(Unmanned Ground Vehicle) ▼
The system consists of the following elements: universal control station, robotic platform of the increased cross-country capacity, chassis cameras, high-resolution camera with 24x optical zoom, night vision camera (thermal imager, gamma-locator, high-radiation resistant camera), ASMRCS (automated system for monitoring radiation and chemical safety), directional auto tracking antenna, sweeper units, clamshells.
Characteristics:
- size (length x width x height, mm) – 1000 х 500 х 400
- travel speed is up to 10 km/h
- additional equipment load up to 30 kg
- overcoming vertical obstacles up to 20 cm in height
- overcoming staircase wider than 0.6 m
- overcoming stairs with 45 degrees inclination
- climbing height up to 55 degrees inclination
- capability to drive on loose snow (layer of snow up to 10 cm)
- capability to drive inside buildings and constructions
- weight with a full set of equipment is 57 kg.
- capability to drive on cross-country terrain
- controllable distance is up to 1 km without auto tracking
- digital data communications system (up to 20 km)
- system of digital monitoring and automated control
- power reserve without recharging up to 24 hours
Applications:
- engineering, radiological
- and chemical reconnaissance (in hazardous industries)
- installation of sensors of the automated system for monitoring radiation and chemical safety in specified areas
- search for people in conditions of indoor smoke and disaster environment
- monitoring of the control area around guarded objects
- indoor inspection after emergencies
- inspection of suspicious and explosive objects.
The UGV in action :
4. Robot- Ducer(all terrain UAV) ▼
The Ducer is an all terrain robotic platform with increased carying capacity.
Characteristics:
- dimensions (length x width x height) - 1000 x 900 x 900
- velocity of travel - 60 km / h
- additional equipment capacity - 10 kg
- capability to overcome water obstacles, which are up to 50 meters in width
- capability to move along the water surface
- capability to overcome vertical obstacles, which are up to 50 meters in height
- capability to overcome stair flights, which are more than 1 m in width
- capability to climb (up to 50 m in height and not less than 90 degrees)
- unrestricted capability to overcome loose snow
- capability to move inside the buildings
- weight with the installed equipment is 15 kg
- capability to move on rough terrain
Applications:
- Exploration work (mining operations)
- Control of communications (pipelines, communication facilities for housing and communal services)
- Conducting engineering, radiation and chemical reconnaissance (enterprises of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation)
- Rescue of drowning people
- Search and rescue of victims in open areas and inside the buildings (subdivisions of the Ministry of Emergency Situations)
- Reconnaissance and drawing maps of mined areas by subdivisions of the Ministry of Defense (robot’s ground pressure is less than 20 grams per square centimeter)
5. Internal Drone Delivery System(winter test) ▼
6. Drone Hunter (Detection and Capture) ▼
The DroneHunter system is a complete Autonomous Aerial + Land Robotic Protection Platform, designed to detect, eliminate and capture threats. It's deep integration of the onboard sensors(LIDAR, ZED Stereoscopic Camera and Ultrasonic Sensors) with the computing platform Nvidia Jetson Xavier, helps it to detect and track threats in realtime. It can also capture and retreive threats if requred. It can also signal the ground platform with GPS Coordinates, in cases of emergency.
7. 3D X-Ray Micro-Tomograph ▼
Modern science allows analyzing the internal microstructure of objects by means of different methods. X-ray microtomography is one of the best techniques of non-invasive and non-destructive visualization. X-ray microtomography allows obtaining 3D high spatial resolution images of the internal structure of non-transparent objects. Many sectors of human activity require examination of the internal structure of objects, which are non- transparent in the visible range of electromagnetic emission, especially biological objects of micron resolution. Today, computed microtomography is the primary technique to visualize the 3-dimensional internal microstructure of organic and non-organic objects with the use of X-ray emission. This scanning method visualizes the entire 3-dimensional internal structure of objects and completely preserves samples for other research studies.
Characteristics:
- capability to distinguish details 1-13 microns
- X-ray source: smoothly adjustable from 20 to 160 kW
- plate current: 10 - 250 μA, 10 W, the focal spot size of less than 5 microns
- X-ray detector: 4872 x 3248 pixels (if one element is not more than 7,4 x 7,4 microns)
- time for 3D image reconstruction - 30 min / cm3
- time for 3D image analysis - 60 min / cm3
Applications:
Techniques of digital X-ray tomography provide the possibility to study and examine both organic and inorganic objects, materials and components of electronic equipment, as well as to identify statistical characteristics of composition and structure of the examined samples.
8. FabLab ▼
FabLab (from “fabrication laboratory”) opened at TSU on the 19th of November. This center aids the development of creative engineering and new educational contexts. Using the new laboratory’s equipment, students can try out new high-tech solutions and build up competencies in project management and cutting-edge technologies.
“This space has everything you need to realize your project from scratch. It used to take months, experts, and special laboratories, but now things like additive technologies, virtual reality, and modeling technologies are available in one place. It shortens the idea-to-product life cycle by tenfold. This space is a test site for new ideas, which is important, because, without implementation, the idea is stuck,” said Eduard Galazhinskiy, TSU Rector, at the opening ceremony.
FabLab can accept more than 1000 students for consultation, education, and project implementation. The students will be able to test new high-tech solutions and turn their idea into a product in no time.
Marina Shikhman, a postgraduate student at the Faculty of Innovative Technologies, develops drone movement algorithms. At FabLab she works on the necessary program and uses a 3D printer. Her project on the use of computer vision to enable a more precise drone delivery won the UMNIK – Russian Post competition.
“Sometimes I have trouble finding the necessary part to improve the drone, and waiting for it wastes time. Now, we can make things we need at the university using a 3D-printer. It speeds up the process and grants us freedom: we can design a part that is not on the market but will fit the rest of the mechanism perfectly,” explained Marina Shikhman.
The new center can realize 30 projects per year, in both technical sciences and humanities. For example, TSU Faculty of Psychology students are constructing and testing a case for AICOG – a medical device for exercise and testing human cognitive abilities.
The device trains human cognition by interfering with the image of the user’s hands: it distorts the color, slows down the movements, etc. The inventors now are patenting their creation and searching for opportunities to introduce their device to the market.
FabLab is organized like a technology company – it has everything to design and manufacture something from scratch. It has a 3D-printer farm, a VR station, and CNC machines that work with wood, metal, and plastic. Most importantly, the center is open to everyone who wants to use it. Currently, the laboratory is used by several teams from various TSU faculties, including the Faculty of Psychology, Faculty of Innovative Technologies, and Faculty of Physics and Engineering.
The center also facilitates inter-university projects. For example, TSU and TSUAB as partners design street furniture from concrete and recycled materials. The team uses FabLab to create formwork for furniture, and later in May, the students may be involved in creating life-size street furniture prototypes.
“We design tables, benches, flowerpots, fire bowls, exchange cabinets, and other useful furniture to create an aesthetic and functional environment that would suit our university city. All ideas are tested by their target audience” explained Nika Eremina, an officer of the TSUAB International Office in Research and Innovation.
The center will be open to the students of other Tomsk universities as well as to the general public. A FabLab team is now developing special introductory courses to make the machinery available for open use.
