Robotics‐based telepresence using multi‐modal interaction for individuals with visual impairments

Although many assistive devices have been developed and utilized to aid in daily living, the most general assistive means for individuals with visual impairments are the walking cane and guide dogs. These assistive means are effective in assisting the user in navigating within an environment; however, the navigation space is limited to the proximal environment of the user. Thus, in this paper, we discuss a method to increase the range of accessibility to a remote environment through robotic embodiment that enables teleoperation and teleperception through multi‐modal feedback. In order to transform remote spatial information into a non‐visual modality, we present a framework for utilizing an RGB‐D‐based depth camera, a mobile robot, and a haptic interface for 3D haptic rendering to accomplish the goal of haptic exploration of a remote environment. Experiments with three different control methods for robot interaction are designed for users with and without visual impairments. Several hypothesis are built to study the correlation between control/feedback modality and performance in telerobotic operations. Results show that users performed best when combining semi‐autonomous navigation with 3D haptic exploration and also rated their experience with our system as fairly good. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Passivity‐based adaptive control of a 2‐DOF serial robot manipulator with temperature dependent joint frictions

Mechanical systems are always suffering from the effects of temperature dependent friction forces where the system is operated in a wide range of temperature. Temperature and its variation play an important role in friction force in mechanical systems. If it is not compensated, it will tend to unwanted consequences, including steady‐state errors, limit cycling, and hunting. Therefore, it is necessary to take the temperature effects into account. This has been a strong motivation for the researchers to work on temperature effects on joint friction. In this paper, an adaptive compensation (control) scheme is proposed and applied to a 2‐degree‐of‐freedom serial robot manipulator by taking the temperature effects into account on the joints friction. In the proposed control scheme, the temperature is not required to be sensed. In this paper, joint friction is described by LuGre dynamic model with temperature dependent parameters. These parameters are described by some functions with unknown temperature dependent terms. According to the mathematical and practical concepts, the temperature dependent friction is decomposed into a viscous term and a disturbance term. An adaptive controller is designed to compensate the friction effect and it is shown that the proposed controller relaxes the condition for a priori knowledge about the environment characteristics, including the upper and lower bounds of the environment temperature and the parameters of the functions, describing the temperature dependent joint frictions. The stability and convergence of the joint position and velocity are proved in the sense of Lyapunov and then the proposed method is confirmed by the simulations.     

Evolutionary reinforcement learning system with time‐varying parameters

In this paper, an evolutionary reinforcement learning system with time‐varying parameters that can learn appropriate policy in dynamical POMDPs is proposed. The proposed system has time‐varying parameters that can be adjusted by using reinforcement learning. Hence, the system can adapt to the time variation of the dynamical environment even if its variation cannot be observed. In addition, the state space of the environment is divided evolutionarily. Thus, one need not divide the state space in advance. The efficacy of the proposed system is shown by mobile robot control simulation under the environment belonging to dynamical POMDPs. The environment is the passage that has gates iterate opening and closing. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 156(1): 54–60, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20170     

Control using joint torque sensor of robot arm with two‐inertia resonance: Comparison with control using state‐estimation observer

Most industrial robots are driven through reduction gears such as Harmonic Drives and RV gears. Due to the flexibility of the drive system, vibratory behavior occurs during operation. When flexibility is considered, the drive system of the robot joint can be modeled as a resonant mechanical system called a two‐inertia system. Conventionally, studies of two‐inertia system have discussed semiclosed‐loop control using only motor information and a state observer. On the other hand, joint torque sensing of robots has been studied in the harmonic drives that are widely used in robot joints. The joint torque sensor is becoming available with higher performance. In this paper, we consider the control of a robot arm having two‐inertia resonance by using the joint torque sensor. The performance of the torque sensor and that of the observer are compared. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 156(2): 75–84, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20226     

基于Android的小型移动机器人远程控制系统设计

针对传统机器人控制终端灵活性不足的问题,结合飞速发展中的Android移动平台,设计了一种基于Android的小型移动机器人远程控制系统。该系统由小型移动机器人、无线通信模块和Android平台3部分组成,通过无线局域网实现下位机与上位机之间的视频传输以及数据通信。给出了控制系统的总体架构,并具体阐述了系统硬件及软件两方面的实现。最后对系统进行了实验测试,测试结果表明,Android移动终端可远程控制移动机器人的运动状态,并实时获取机器人传回的视频,视频播放流畅,整个系统有着较好的稳定性和可靠性。     

Localization and control of a rehabilitation mobile robot by closehuman-machine cooperation

In the field of rehabilitation robotics, a mobile personal robot represents an attractive solution, especially in economic terms in comparison with a desktop workstation. A manipulator arm mounted on a mobile robot can facilitate the restoration of the disabled user's manipulative function. In order both to encourage the person to participate in the task at hand and to be cost effective, close human-machine cooperation is essential. The person controls the robot via a remote station and develops strategies to successfully carry out a mission. The main problems encountered by the person during the execution of a mission are electing to change modes, and the mode transition itself. The authors have examined two aspects of this cooperation: 1) information exchange between human and machine for decision-making and 2) giving to operators complementary and redundant modes to command the system. An experiment has been conducted to study these two aspects. This paper focuses on the control of robot movements in an indoor environment and especially on localization parameters, human-like robot behavior, and the value of proposing complementary control modes to the operator     

基于物联网模式的远程无线供水系统的应用

远程无线控制系统为农安输油站解决了远程控制供水的难题。通过UDP通信协议,结合手机等通信设备、远程信息传输系统、水位传感器等实现了物联网通信,采用LabVIEW编程平台构建了图形化的软件监测系统,可实现数据的采集和在线分析,并可实现自动报警,在水位异常时,系统自动控制深水泵启停。实际测试表明所开发的系统可有效应用于远程无线控制,且能够保持准确性与实时性。     

Development of an Autonomous Mobile Robot with Several Sensors using Neuro‐Fuzzy Control Based on Server/Client Model

The purpose of this paper is to detail the development of an autonomous mobile robot and a control support system. The robot has five infrared sensors and three ultrasonic sensors to enable it to follow a ‘ guide person’ with an infrared ray transmitter. The robot will follow the infrared rays emitted by a transmitter with the guide person, and move to the destination. The control system has been developed by the network technology based on server/client model. The advanced control strategy for the autonomous mobile robot is carried out with a high‐speed host server computer connected through the TCP/IP network. Therefore, it is enough for the CPU of the robot to be of low speed. In this paper, the autonomous mobile robot system and the control system using the server/client model are described. Copyright © 2008 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Deployment control of wireless multihop‐relay mobile robots based on voronoi partition

This paper describes a new method for the deployment of wireless relay nodes. When using rescue robots in a building or underground city, radio signals are attenuated significantly, and therefore, multihop extension involving wireless communication relays is required. The goal of this research is to deploy wireless relay nodes to maintain connectivity between the base station and the leader robot that explores around the front line. To move the relay robot autonomously, a distributed algorithm is required. The proposed method is suitable when it is applied for wireless relay purposes. In this method, a virtual force drives a node to the centroid of Voronoi neighbors so that the connectivity of wireless communication is maintained. The proposed method is evaluated by conducting numerical simulations and experiments. In the simulation, one or two leader robots are assumed. In the experiment, a mobile robot equipped with omni‐wheels is used. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 184(4): 42–51, 2013; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.22413     

Prescribed performance bound‐based adaptive path‐following control of uncertain nonholonomic mobile robots

In this paper, we consider the transient performance of path‐following control of nonholonomic mobile robots with parametric uncertainties. By incorporating prescribed performance bound (PPB) technique, the transient performances on position and orientational tracking errors will be guaranteed with convergence rates no less than certain pre‐specified values and sufficiently small maximum overshoots. We also extend the proposed scheme to solve the formation control problem for a group of N unicycle‐type mobile robots without inter‐robot communications. It is ensured that all the robots can track their references with arbitrarily small errors and no collision will occur between any two robots. Simulation studies verify the established theoretical results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

一种改进的BP网络在遥操作机器人系统中的应用

遥操作机器人就是通过计算机网络利用机器人对远距离环境进行观测和操作.本文为了对不确定环境下的遥操作机器人系统进行较好的控制,研究和分析了基于神经网络的遥操作机器人系统的预测控制算法.该算法通过建立远地从机械手和环境模型,预测从机械手返回的作用力,实现主、从机械手之间的无时滞跟踪.仿真结果表明,此算法能够获得较好的稳定性和操作性能.     

Motion of control of a multijoint robot based on a robust velocity controller

This paper proposes a simple and robust robot motion control method using a robust velocity controller. The robust velocity controller is based on H^∞ control theory, and is called H^∞ velocity controller. The H^∞ velocity controller based motion control method is completely equivalent to the robust acceleration control method using the H^∞ acceleration controller, but it has simpler structure. Therefore, the proposed system can realize a fine robot motion control easily. To confirm the validity of the proposed method, this paper realizes the hybrid control of position and force for a multijoint robot manipulator. Further, the simple realization of hybrid control is proposed considering the attitude of the robot manipulator. This system achieves hybrid control of position and force of the robot manipulator while maintaining a perpendicular attitude to the target environment. The experimental results in this paper show that the proposed system has the desired force and position response to the target environment. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 118 (4): 58–69, 1997     

Electroencephalogram‐based control of a mobile robot

This paper presents electroencephalogram‐based control of a mobile robot. The purpose of control is to achieve direction control of a mobile robot only by electroencephalogram. We develop an algorithm for directing direction thinking (“going left” or “going right”) and apply it to direction control of a mobile robot. The algorithm is based on time–frequency domain analysis using continuous wavelet transformation. Our experimental results demonstrate the possibility of achieving direction control of a mobile robot only by electroencephalogram. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 152(3): 39–46, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20109     

交互式多模型算法的远程控制机器人设计

设计了一种远程控制机器人,并采用了交互式多模型(IMM)算法,使操作人员在远离危险的情况下完成控制操作,提高了机器人服务器跟踪目标的能力。实验证明:机器人系统在远程可控性和实时性上有良好的表现。     

智能变电站巡检机器人研制及应用

介绍了一种基于移动机器人的设备巡检系统在智能变电站的应用情况。该系统携带可见光摄像机、红外热像仪、拾音器等传感器,基于磁轨迹实现最优路径规划和双向行走,以自主或遥控方式对站内一次设备进行巡检,及时发现设备热缺陷和外观异常;通过图像处理和模式识别,判别出开关和刀闸的分合状态,并在遥控或顺序控制操作时,与智能变电站顺控系统...     

Accessory hardware for neuromuscular measurements during functional MRI experiments

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is increasingly being used for human sensorimotor function research. Few studies, however, have been able to acquire peripheral neuromuscular data (e.g. joint force and electromyograms [EMG]) online with fMRI measurements. The lack of muscle output information hinders interpretation of fMRI data and prevents investigators from designing more sophisticated experiments. We developed a data-acquisition system that can record force and EMG data simultaneously with fMRI signals. This system included three major components: a hydraulic, pressure transducer-based force measurement device, a well-shielded EMG-recording apparatus, and a visual feedback setup. The three components were integrated with a laptop computer equipped with data acquisition hardware and software. System evaluation experiments demonstrated that no significant mutual interference occurred between the MRI environment and the force-EMG data-acquisition system, i.e. the system can record relatively noise-free force and EMG signals while maintaining the quality of fMRI data. The system has enabled us to study human motor control function involving motor tasks such as handgrip and finger pinch that require precision control of force and EMG. This accessory equipment can facilitate fMRI investigations of human sensorimotor function.     

Condition monitoring systems for power equipment using Internet‐based technology

The implementation of Internet technologies in power equipment monitoring systems will allow free and flexible acquisition of power system information and equipment sensor information at remote locations. By utilizing general‐purpose Internet technologies such as IP telecommunication and browser, widely distributed data can be collected easily. This paper introduces the basic configurations of Internet‐based systems and provides examples of where these systems have been implemented. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Accessory hardware for neuromuscular measurements during functional MRI experiments.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is increasingly being used for human sensorimotor function research. Few studies, however, have been able to acquire peripheral neuromuscular data (e.g. joint force and electromyograms [EMG]) online with fMRI measurements. The lack of muscle output information hinders interpretation of fMRI data and prevents investigators from designing more sophisticated experiments. We developed a data-acquisition system that can record force and EMG data simultaneously with fMRI signals. This system included three major components: a hydraulic, pressure transducer-based force measurement device, a well-shielded EMG-recording apparatus, and a visual feedback setup. The three components were integrated with a laptop computer equipped with data acquisition hardware and software. System evaluation experiments demonstrated that no significant mutual interference occurred between the MRI environment and the force-EMG data-acquisition system, i.e. the system can record relatively noise-free force and EMG signals while maintaining the quality of fMRI data. The system has enabled us to study human motor control function involving motor tasks such as handgrip and finger pinch that require precision control of force and EMG. This accessory equipment can facilitate fMRI investigations of human sensorimotor function.     

Force‐based disturbance observer for dynamic force control and a position/force hybrid controller

In this paper, a force‐based disturbance observer (DOB) and a force control system using the DOB are proposed to obtain dynamic force control under disturbances. A DOB can reduce the effect of disturbances and modeling errors on robots. In a conventional DOB, an acceleration response is fed back to a reference, enabling highly precise position control. In other words, the effect of disturbances is decreased by emphasizing the effect of inertial forces. When a force controller is implemented, however, inertial forces are regarded as disturbances respect to a force response. Because inertial forces increase according to the acceleration, conventional DOBs are not suitable for dynamic force control. In the proposed DOB, a force response is fed back instead of an acceleration response. The effect of inertial forces is thus eliminated, thereby improving the tracking performance of force controllers. The proposed method's validity is verified analytically and experimentally. A position/force hybrid controller and a DOB for the controller are proposed as an extension of the proposed DOB. A bilateral controller is given as an example of the proposed hybrid controller, and its tracking performance is demonstrated experimentally. © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A force regulation guaranteeing input‐to‐state stability for a robot manipulator in a potential field

This paper is concerned with the compliant force regulation for a robot manipulator interacting with a deformable environment described as a potential field. We extend the conventional result of the asymptotic force regulation based on the energy shaping method for a port‐Hamiltonian system. Additionally, we add an extra compensator and equip a modified integrator dynamics to the proposed controller in order to introduce sufficient degrees of freedom. Those degrees of freedom enable dealing with a wider class of disturbances, which are possibly time‐varying and appear in the dynamics of all the variables of the closed‐loop system. Moreover, first, we prove that the proposed controller achieves asymptotic force regulation at the desired position without disturbances. Second, we prove that the closed‐loop system with the proposed controller becomes input‐to‐state stable with respect to any bounded disturbances and guarantees that both the solution of the system and resultant interaction force remain bounded.