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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Integration of Aerial Manipulation, Haptics-based Human-in-the-Loop Control, and Augmented Reality for Bridge Deck Hosing (AS-9)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1969850</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A mobile-manipulating unmanned aerial system (MM-UAS) was designed, developed 
and deployed in Years 1 to 5. Called Avatar-Drone, this system serves as a robotic 
agent for an embodied operator. Thru Avatar-Drone, the user can remotely perform 
tasks like aerial drilling and hosing. This Final Year 6 proposal serves to both test-and evaluate (T&E) and verify-and-validate (V&V) this system. The net effect is a prove-on 
study with the objective of knowledge and technology transfer to the INSPIRE team and 
the US Department of Transportation (USDOT).]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 31 May 2022 17:25:14 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1969850</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of Closed Crossing Tactile Indicators</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1906838</link>
      <description><![CDATA[There are currently no low maintenance, cost effective industry standard treatments for tactile closed crossing indicator markings for visually impaired people. Crossings are formally closed when an official sign prohibits such a crossing. Tactile pavement indicators are also needed as wayfinding cues for non-visual users.
Tactile paving surfaces can be used to convey important information to visually impaired pedestrians about their environment, for example, hazard warnings, directional guidance, or the presence of an amenity. Each type of tactile paving surface should be exclusively reserved for its intended use and consistently installed in accordance with guidelines. Visually impaired people are becoming increasingly mobile, both within their local area and more widely, and it is, therefore, very important that conflicting and confusing information is not conveyed. 
The development division has a proof-of-concept application applied in a partnership with WSDOT and The Lighthouse for the Blind. The new treatment application and project location provide a catalyst for evaluating, improving, and developing guidance, standards & specifications moving forward. 
The research will utilize the current WSDOT proof of concept tactile surface treatment pilot location to develop a set of guidelines that can be used to determine the frequency of the application, recommend the type of materials that should be used. Another desirable objective will be to establish a method for determining the maximum service life for different types of material markings placed on different types of pavement surfaces.
 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2022 18:36:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1906838</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Augmented Bridge Inspection with Augmented Reality and Haptics-based Aerial Manipulation (AS-7)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1739197</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Insight and leverage from prior project work identified the need for haptics; the inspector’s sense of touch is often used in bridge assessment. Haptics’ adoption in medical robotics shows potential for applications in remote inspection and maintenance. For example, surgeons employ haptic-based manipulators to both probe and operate minimally-invasive procedures. Such manipulators augment the surgeon by assessing areas that are difficult to see or reach with conventional tools. Likewise, envisioned is the augmentation of bridge personnel by providing a haptics-based aerial manipulator. Such a manipulator would reduce needs to ascend elevated structures like under bridge decks and cabling.
There is recent work that uses haptics in aerial manipulation. But these center on autonomous multi-drone flight formation for aerial shows or cooperative object delivery [1] [2]. The haptics research here is relatively straight-forward [3]. The sense of touch is used to provide spatial distance between drones. By contrast, this proposal’s novelty and merit are centered on human-in-the-loop aerial manipulation. The notion is that the expert bridge worker remotely configures the aerial manipulator to “probe” areas of interest and “operate” maintenance procedures.
This Year 4 proposal integrates haptics, augmented reality (AR), and drone-mounted arm. The specific objective is to characterize haptics and AR for their applicability to perform remote probing (i.e. inspection) and operation (i.e. maintenance).

Scope of Work in Year 4: The objectives of this study are to test, evaluate, verify and validate haptics-based aerial manipulation. Realizing such objectives would yield new capabilities for remote bridge inspection and maintenance. The tools and techniques would leverage bridge personnel expertise and introduce a new paradigm of human-in-the-loop aerial manipulation. This is akin to the advances and adoption found in medical robotics for minimally-invasive surgery.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2020 18:40:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1739197</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Preventing Clutter and Confusion on NextGen Flight Decks; Guidance for the Design, Evaluation, and Approval of NextGen Visual, Auditory and Tactile Displays and Controls</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1361226</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No summary provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2015 01:00:06 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1361226</guid>
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