Current based compliance control method for minimizing an impact force at collision of service robot arm

A motion of a robot manipulator under environment for human and robot to coexist should be able to quickly sense external force and react for minimizing a damage due to physical contacts. In the absence of sensing external force, relative motions between robot and human are not predictable and unexpected collisions may occur at some position during motion of the robot arm. This paper proposes a real-time collision detection method and a compliance control based on detecting abnormal current value to minimize an impact force at the moment of collision between service robot arm and unknown obstacle. In the introduced method, the extra sensors such as the Force/Toque sensor or the visual sensor to detect the collision are not necessary. Instead of these sensors, the collision detection and the safety motion are achieved by a simple method based on the current characteristics in according to operating of each joint motor of robot manipulator. In order to evaluate the performance for minimizing an impact force, the proposed method is applied to the developed light weight robot arm for a service robot.     

Compliant actuation of parallel-type variable stiffness actuator based on antagonistic actuation

For a service robot requiring physical human-robot interaction, stable contact motion and collision safety are very important. To accomplish these functions, we propose a novel design for a parallel-type variable stiffness actuator (PVSA). The stiffness and position of a joint can be controlled simultaneously using the PVSA based on an antagonistic actuation inspired by the musculoskeletal system. The PVSA consists of a dual-cam follower mechanism, which acts like a human muscle, and a drive module with two motors. Each cam placed inside the dual cam-follower mechanism has two types of cam profile to provide a wide range of stiffness variation and collision safety. The use of the PVSA enables position and stiffness control to occur simultaneously. Furthermore, joint stiffness instantly decreases when the PVSA is subject to a high torque exceeding a pre-determined value, thereby improving collision safety. Experiments showed that the PVSA provides effective levels of variable stiffness and collision safety.     

可变胞并联机械臂样机的研制与误差分析

提出了一种通过驱动副锁定组合实现变胞的超冗余并联机械臂,其基础构型是3-PUPS并联机构,对机械臂进行了误差建模与分析,并通过标定系统测量了机械臂实验样机的定位误差。首先,提出了通过对3-PUPS机构各驱动副的组合锁定实现机械臂变胞的设计思路,从而使机械臂可以根据任务需求改变自身构型和性能;然后,采用含误差源的闭环矢量回路法,建立了机械臂3-PUPS机构的误差传递模型,并以此为基础,分析了机械臂的各误差源对其运动平台输出误差的影响规律;接着,根据各误差源对机械臂的输出误差影响程度,确定了各主要运动副配合零件的加工精度等级及公差,在此基础上研制出机械臂的实验样机;最后,采用一套高精度的工业机器人标定系统对机械臂的实验样机进行了定位误差测量,实验表明:机械臂的运动平台的位置误差均在0.005~0.038mm之间,姿态误差均在0.010~0.044°之间,位置误差比通用式工业机器人的位置重复定位精度0.05mm略有提高,姿态误差与通用式工业机器人的姿态重复定位精度0.045°相当。     

阻抗控制框架下基于关节力矩反馈的机器人零力控制

针对当前示教器示教过程烦琐、效率低下以及对操作者技能水平要求高等缺点,提出了一种阻抗控制框架下基于关节力矩反馈的机器人零力控制方法,适用于机械臂的直接拖动示教。该方法采用阻抗控制框架,通过设置低刚度增益的方式,无需获取精确的动力学参数便可实现良好的零力控制效果。同时,区别于基于六维力传感器的零力控制方法,该方法不仅可对机械臂末端进行拖动,还可实现在关节空间下对机械臂任意关节的拖动。最后,在自行设计搭建的机器人平台上进行拖动实验。实验结果表明,该方法鲁棒性强、性能稳定,并可实现对机械臂任意关节的零力控制。     

Support and Positioning Mechanism of a Detection Robot inside a Spherical Tank

Large pressure equipment needs to be tested regularly to ensure safe operation;wall-climbing robots can carry the necessary tools to inspect spherical tanks,such as cameras and non-destructive testing equipment.However,a wall-climbing robot inside a spherical tank cannot be accurately positioned owing to the particularity of the spheri-cal tank structure.This paper proposes a passive support and positioning mechanism fixed in a spherical tank to improve the adsorption capacity and positioning accuracy of the inspection robot.The main body of the mechanism was designed as a truss composed of carbon fiber telescopic rods and can work in spherical tanks with diameters of 4.6-15.7 m.The structural strength,stiffness,and stability of the mechanism are analyzed via force and deformation simulations.By constructing a mathematical model of the support and positioning mechanism,the influence of struc-tural deformation on the supporting capacity is analyzed and calculated.The robot positioning method based on the support and positioning mechanism can effectively locate the robot inside a spherical tank.Experiments verified the support performance and robot positioning accuracy of the mechanism.This research proposes an auxiliary support and positioning mechanism for a detection robot inside a spherical tank,which can effectively improve the position-ing accuracy of the robot and meet the robotic inspection requirements.     

空间机器人捕获航天器操作的避撞柔顺无源神经网络H∞控制

研究了空间机器人在轨捕获非合作航天器过程避免关节受冲击破坏的避撞柔顺控制问题。为此在关节电机与机械臂之间配置了一种柔顺机构--旋转型串联弹性执行器(RSEA),可通过其内置弹簧的变形来吸收捕获过程目标航天器对空间机器人关节产生的冲击能量;结合所设计的开、关机控制策略可保证关节冲击力矩受限在安全范围内。首先利用拉格朗日方法及牛顿-欧拉法分别获得了捕获前空间机器人及目标航天器的分体系统动力学模型;之后,结合冲量定理、系统运动几何关系及力的传递规律,建立了捕获后两者形成混合体系统的动力学模型,并计算了碰撞过程的冲击力矩;最后,基于无源性理论提出了一种神经网络鲁棒H∞避撞柔顺控制策略以实现失稳混合体的镇定控制。数值仿真结果表明,配置柔顺空间机器人在捕获碰撞阶段最大可减小61.9%的关节冲击力矩,最小也可减小47.8%;而在镇定运动阶段,各关节冲击力矩均受限在安全范围内,实现了对关节有效地保护。     

A non-contact method for detecting on-line industrial robot position errors using a microwave doppler radar motion detector

To be useful, industrial robots must meet positioning accuracy requirements for their given applications. Off-line calibration generally improves robot positioning accuracy to levels needed for open-loop use in most industrial applications. Applications that require greater accuracy with respect to external assemblies generally turn to closed-loop control or passive compliance. However, industrial robot systems do not generally monitor in-process robot position to detect machine faults that can lead to product faults, scrap, machine damage, and additional costs. To achieve greater operational efficiencies, new non-invasive, noncontact methods for monitoring robot position are needed. The investigators developed a low-cost method for in-process industrial robot position monitoring using a Doppler motion detector and a statistical position error measure. The method detects position errors at robot repeatability levels.     

A non-contact method for detecting on-line industrial robot position errors using a microwave Doppler radar motion detector

To be useful, industrial robots must meet positioning accuracy requirements for their given applications. Off-line calibration generally improves robot positioning accuracy to levels needed for open-loop use in most industrial applications. Applications that require greater accuracy with respect to external assemblies generally turn to closed-loop control or passive compliance. However, industrial robot systems do not generally monitor in-process robot position to detect machine faults that can lead to product faults, scrap, machine damage, and additional costs. To achieve greater operational efficiencies, new non-invasive, non-contact methods for monitoring robot position are needed. The investigators developed a low-cost method for in-process industrial robot position monitoring using a Doppler motion detector and a statistical position error measure. The method detects position errors at robot repeatability levels.     

Control of impulsive contact force between mobile manipulator and environment using effective mass and damping controls

Recently, mobile manipulators are being widely employed for various service robots in human environments. Safety is the most important requirement for the operation of mobile robot in a human-populated environment. Indeed, safe human-machine interaction is one of grand challenges in robotics research. This paper proposes a novel control method to reduce impulsive compact force between a mobile manipulator and its environment by using optimized manipulator inertia and damping-based motion control. To find the optimized configuration through null space motion, the combined potential function method is proposed considering both the minimum effective mass and joint limit constraints. The results of this study show that the inertia optimization along with a damping controller significantly reduces the impulsive force upon collision and the contact force after collision.     

COMBINING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ROBOT MODELS FOR IMPROVED MODEL PARAMETER ESTIMATION

Experimental robot identification techniques can principally be divided into two categories, based on the type of models they use : internal or external. Internal models relate the joint torques or forces and the motion of the robot; external models relate the reaction forces and torques on the bedplate and the motion data. This paper describes how internal and external robot models can be combined into one identifiable minimal model. This model allows to combine joint torque/force and reaction torque/force measurements in one parameter estimation scheme. This combined model estimation will yield more accurate parameter estimates, and consequently better actuator torque predictions, which is shown by means of a simulated experiment on an industrial robot (KUKA IR 361). This increased accuracy is quite interesting in view of using advanced control algorithms such as computed torque control.     

Novel torsional spring with corrugated flexible units for series elastic actuators for cooperative robots

Reasonable robot joint stiffness is necessary to guarantee the safety and control accuracy of cooperative robots. In this study, a novel flat torsional spring with corrugated flexible units for a series elastic actuator (SEA) was developed to meet the requirements of cooperative robots. The torsional spring can absorb impact energy. The spring was optimized through the design of experiment method, and its theoretical stiffness was verified through numerical calculation and finite element analysis. Compared with other existing flat torsional springs in the simulation, the proposed torsional spring showed reasonable torsional stiffness and high radial and axial stiffness, which could guarantee safety and control accuracy. The proposed torsional spring was also evaluated through real experiments. Simulation and experimental results revealed that the proposed torsional spring has a linear torque versus angle characteristic.

     

Stiffness analysis and optimization in robotic drilling application

Low stiffness characteristics limit the application of industrial robots in the field of precision manufacturing. This paper focuses primarily on the stiffness properties of drilling robots by further studying the stiffness ellipsoid model. A Cartesian compliance model is proposed to describe the robot stiffness in Cartesian space. Based on the compliance model, a quantitative evaluation index of the robot’s processing performance is defined. By choosing a proper drilling posture, the performance index in the cutting tool direction is optimized. Higher accuracy of the countersink depth and hole axial direction can be guaranteed. From the perspective of the robot processing mechanism, the key role of the per-load pressing force is first indicated. By applying a per-load pressing force, the performance index on the machining plane is enhanced. Hole diameter accuracy is improved significantly. A stiffness improving factor used to evaluate the stiffness promotion degree is also proposed. Finally, experiments were conducted to verify the correctness of the proposed model. Drilling experiments were performed to investigate the effectiveness of the robot processing performance index improving methods The principle of pressing force used in engineering applications is given based on processing parameters.     

基于PLC机械手控制系统设计与实现

为了提高机械手在工业生产中定位的精度,介绍一种基于PLC的三自由度机械手控制系统设计方案.详尽地论述了三自由度机械手控制系统的硬件结构及软件实现方法.     

并串联复合机器人的鲁棒控制

针对并联机构具有较高的刚度和精度,但工作空间小的特点,提出一种由3自由度平动并联机构和放大机构相结合的机构,从而组成新型并串联复合机器人。根据拉格朗日方法,建立并串联复合机器人的动力学方程, 并讨论动力学方程的性质。研究并串联复合机器人的鲁棒控制问题,根据动力学的性质在笛卡儿坐标系中设计一种鲁棒控制策略。控制器由两部分组成:一部分为基于标称模型设计的计算力矩控制器,其作用是镇定标称的机器人系统;另一部分为一种基于Lyapunov方法设计的鲁棒控制器,其作用是消除不确定性对跟踪性能的影响。理论分析与仿真结果表明,该控制器对改善并串联复合机器人的轨迹跟踪精度十分有效。     

工业机器人定位误差在线自适应补偿

受工业机器人本体结构几何及非几何误差因素的影响,机器人执行末端的实际运动轨迹与其理论规划轨迹往往不一致,这严重限制了机器人在加工领域的拓展应用。另外,通过研究发现机器人除在工作空间上定位误差等级存在差异分布外,在服役时间上随着机器人工作性能的退化也会显著恶化其定位精度。为解决该问题,提出了一种基于定长记忆窗增量学习的机器人定位误差在线自适应补偿方法。在该方法中,首先定量分析机器人定位误差与位姿的相关关系,将工作空间划分为多个位姿区块并创建校准样本库,建立了位姿映射模型的自适应优化机制以克服空间中误差等级差异分布的问题;然后设计了定长记忆窗增量学习算法,克服神经网络模型的灾难性遗忘缺陷,并平衡了在线模式下建立机器人新、旧位姿数据映射关系的精度和效率,解决了机器人性能退化加剧定位误差影响位姿映射模型适用性的问题,从而确保算法的补偿精度稳定在目标精度水平线以上;最后,利用St?ubli机器人和UR机器人对所提方法进行了精度在线补偿实验验证。实验结果表明该方法可将St?ubli机器人的定位误差从0.85 mm降至0.13 mm,将UR机器人的定位误差从2.11 mm降至0.17 mm,明显提高...     

New nonlinear stiffness actuator with predefined torque‒deflection profile

A nonlinear stiffness actuator (NSA) could achieve high torque/force resolution in low stiffness range and high bandwidth in high stiffness range, both of which are beneficial for physical interaction between a robot and the environment. Currently, most of NSAs are complex and hardly used for engineering. In this paper, oriented to engineering applications, a new simple NSA was proposed, mainly including leaf springs and especially designed cams, which could perform a predefined relationship between torque and deflection. The new NSA has a compact structure, and it is lightweight, both of which are also beneficial for its practical application. An analytical methodology that maps the predefined relationship between torque and deflection to the profile of the cam was developed. The optimal parameters of the structure were given by analyzing the weight of the NSA and the mechanic characteristic of the leaf spring. Though sliding friction force is inevitable because no rollers were used in the cam-based mechanism, the sliding displacement between the cam and the leaf spring is very small, and consumption of sliding friction force is very low. Simulations of different torque‒deflection profiles were carried out to verify the accuracy and applicability of performing predefined torque‒deflection profiles. Three kinds of prototype experiments, including verification experiment of the predefined torque‒deflection profile, torque tracking experiment, and position tracking experiment under different loads, were conducted. The results prove the accuracy of performing the predefined torque‒deflection profile, the tracking performance, and the interactive performance of the new NSA.     

包带式解锁支座的设计与试验

为了满足空间载荷在发射阶段的复杂动力学特性要求,并满足入轨之后的解锁分离,设计了一种爆炸螺栓驱动的包带式解锁支座,并对其进行了受力分析和爆炸螺栓拧紧力矩加载分析。建立了包带与支座的接触有限元模型,进行了预紧力加载分析和轴向拉伸载荷分析。由分析结果可知,包带上的应力分布沿着远离夹紧区域的方向逐渐减小,同时啮合区域的摩擦因数越大,包带的最大应力越小。分析了两种故障模式及其处理措施。振动试验表明：3个方向的均方根加速度放大倍率都很小,其一阶模态全部大于200Hz,满足刚度和承载能力要求;同时该装置解锁可靠性高,具有良好的冲击响应衰减特性。     

基于凸轮机构的变刚度仿生柔性关节设计与分析

为满足足式机器人跑跳等动态运动对关节柔性及其变刚度特性的迫切要求,借鉴生物关节柔性特征与主被动刚度调节机理,创新地提出了一种基于凸轮机构的新型变刚度仿生柔性关节。基于关节刚度特性分析,构建了关节整体刚度模型,并针对影响关节刚度特性的各结构参数开展了系统优化设计,研制出了一款紧凑型高集成度关节样机。关节样机性能实验结果表明,基于凸轮机构的变刚度仿生柔性关节具备理想的关节输出力矩与刚度调节范围,可通过关节固有刚度特性与动态刚度特性的主被动融合控制,实现关节瞬时刚度的动态非线性精确调节,能够满足机器人动态运动对关节柔性与刚度的需求。     

球面三自由度机器人的力矩输入均衡性能分析与设计

对球面三自由度机器人力矩输入均衡性能进行了分析,给出了其机构设计。分析了球面三自由度机器人的输入力矩与输出力矩之间的关系,定义了力矩输入均衡性能评价指标和全域力矩输入均衡性能评价指标。在满足全域性能较好的情况下,应用空间模型技术选取了一组合理的机器人结构尺寸参数,同时考虑加工与装配工艺性,设计了一种球面三自由度机器人,该机器人可用作腰关节、腕关节和精密工作台等。     

Study on a ultra-light dual revolute manipulator with high joint torque

This paper details a study performed on a new proposed twelve degree-of-freedom dual robot arm, which is very light but capable of handling heavy loads. The proposed robot arm has a higher value for the ratio of the load capacity/robot weight than conventional robot arms, which are actuated by motors with speed reducers, such as a harmonic drives, since it adopts a new type of robot actuator based on a closed chain mechanism. Because of the high value of the ratio of the payload capacity/robot weight, it can be used as a robot arm for mobile robots and for walking robots. Analyses of the design scheme and of the mechanism of the joint actuator used for the robot arm are presented. Also, the control system developed for the robot arm is introduced. The superior characteristics of the new proposed robot arm, handling heavy payloads with light weight links compared to industrial robots, are presented through carrying out various payload capacity tests. Since the robot arm is designed with light links, it has some deflections and these deflections of the links are analyzed using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The results of performance tests are presented to check the correctness of the FEM analysis and to demonstrate the actual capability of handling heavy payloads applied to the robot arm.