In this paper, we implement and evaluate a direct image-based visual tracking system for autonomous manipulation applications. The direct image-based visual tracking method is developed to relax complex image processing tasks from traditional image and position-based visual tracking methods. The visual signals are constructed by using multiresolution coefficients. The method compares the multiresolution image transformation of the current and desired images and uses the mismatch between them to drive the system. The method needs to design a multiresolution interaction matrix with half and details images. The matrix connects the multiresolution image transformation coefficients with the velocity of the manipulator and controller. To illustrate the effectiveness, the direct image-based tracking system design is implemented and evaluated to locate the position of the valve stem and set of wrenches for autonomous grasping and manipulation for fire fighting applications.

Various multitasking approaches are investigated for optimization of large space structures. Judicious combination of microtasking, macrotasking, and autotasking is explored with the goal of achieving a vectorized and multitasked algorithm for optimization of a large structure with maximum speedup performance. Speedup results are presented and compared for three space truss structures with 526, 1046, and 3126 members.>