Impedance control of a direct-drive manipulator without using force sensors

This research is concerned with impedance control of a manipulator which carries out stable contact tasks. The method controls the dynamic interaction between a robot and its environment by changing the apparent mechanical impedance of the manipulator. Conventional impedance control methods required force or torque sensors, which made the manipulator system very complex. In this paper a new method is proposed for controlling the impedance of a manipulator without using force or torque sensors. The angular velocity and angular acceleration of the manipulator joints are estimated, and by using a computer model of the manipulator, the necessary torque for each joint is calculated and applied to the joint to attain the desired impedance. The feasibility of the method is verified by surface-following experiments and collision experiments using a two-degree-of-freedom direct-drive manipulator.     

Completing the forward kinematic calibration of open loop manipulators when single point position sensors are used

Single point sensors can measure the position of one point fixed to a manipulator's end effector. When single point sensors have been used for calibration, it has not been possible to calibrate the orientation of the tool. Furthermore, it can be difficult to calibrate the sensor system. Results in the literature seldom provide a complete kinematic calibration of the manipulator. Presented here is a technique that enables single point sensors to gather sufficient information to complete kinematic calibration. In addition, the method can reduce the burden of calibrating the sensor system.     

A magnetic resonance compatible surgical manipulator: part of a unified support system for the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease

A prototype of a magnetic resonance (MR)-compatible surgical manipulator was designed and evaluated. The manipulator is designed so as to fit into vertical magnetic field open-configuration MR imagers. Moreover, it is designed to work without being fixed to an MR imager, and its electrical circuits and lines of actuators and sensors are independent of the room shield so that it could be installed in various kinds of settings at many MR imager sites without any additional construction. The MR compatibility of the manipulator was evaluated: no noticeable deformation was observed in the MR images even when the manipulator was in motion. Although the signal-to-noise deterioration ratio was higher than that previously reported, the MR images were thought to be good enough for recognizing the whole structure of a targeted organ and for following the relative position of the manipulator tip with regard to the target, i.e. MR tracking.     

Scaled teleoperation system for nano-scale interaction and manipulation

In this paper, a visual and haptic human–machine interface is proposed for teleoperated nano-scale object interaction and manipulation. Design specifications for a bilateral scaled tele-operation system with slave and master robots, sensors, actuators and control are discussed. The Phantom? haptic device is utilized as the master manipulator, and a piezoresistive atomic force microscope probe is selected as the slave manipulator and as topography and force sensors. Using the teleoperation control system, initial experiments are realized for interacting with nano-scale surfaces. It is shown that fine structures can be felt on the operator's finger successfully, and improved nano-scale interaction and manipulation using visual and haptic feedback can be achieved.     

仿盲人摸巷机理的机器人导航方法分析

根据“盲人摸巷”及昆虫“用须探物”的启发,结合物体接触后能产生力的特性,提出基于接触交互信息的机器人导航方法,移动机器人与环境的接触力感觉来自移动机器人的触须,该触须可以是2个多自由度机械臂,其末端装有多维力传感器,或由弹性材料特制而成,达到完成探测、自我定位及局部路径规划任务的目标,是应用图像、光、电磁、声等原理的现有导航方法的很好补充。     

Sensor Fusion for Compliant Robot Motion Control

Force feedback is necessary for accurate force control in robotic manipulators, and thus far, wrist force/torque (F/T) sensors have been used. But an important problem arises when only these types of sensors are used. In a dynamic situation where the manipulator moves in either free or constrained space, the interaction forces and moments at the contact point and also the noncontact ones are measured by the mentioned sensor. In this paper, an estimator based on a sensor fusion strategy integrating the measurements of three different sensors (a wrist F/T sensor, an inertial sensor, and joint sensors) was developed to determine the contact force and torque exerted by the manipulator to its environment. The resulting observer helps to overcome some difficulties of uncertain world models and unknown environments since it reduces the high-frequency and low-frequency spectral contents, i.e., the low-frequency component due to inertia of a heavy tool mass and the high-frequency component due to impacts. The new improvement was experimentally validated in a force/position impedance control loop applied to a Staubli RX60 industrial robotic platform.     

Virtual Force/Tactile Sensors for Interactive Machines Using the User's Biological Signals

This study proposes a new approach to virtual realization of force/tactile sensors in machines equipped with no real sensors. The key of our approach is that a machine exploits the user's biological signals. Therefore, this approach is not dependent on controlled objects and is expected to be widely applicable for a variety of machines including robots. This article describes an example robotic system comprised of an industrial robot manipulator, a motion capture system and a surface electromyogram (EMG) measurement apparatus. By monitoring/recording the user's surface EMG and postural information in real-time, we show that a robot equipped with no force/tactile sensors behaved similarly to one possessing sensors over its body. Another advantage of our approach is demonstrated by a task in which a robot and a user cooperatively hold and move a heavy load.     

光纤光栅的封装效果对其性能的影响

In this paper, the effects of packaging material and structure of fiber Bragg grating sensor performance are investigated. The effects of thermal expansion coefficient of different embedding materials on the temperature sensitivities of the FBG sensors are studied both theoretically and experimentally with good agreement, which provides a means for selection of FBG packaging material to achieve desired temperature sensitivity. We also demonstrate a 4-point bending structured FBG lateral force sensor that measures up to 242N force with well-preserved reflection spectrum, whereas for 3-point bending structure, multiple-peaks start to occur when applied force reaches 72N.     

Robot workplaces

Although the robot is a programmable manipulator, special-purpose tooling is required to allow it to manipulate, process or assemble workpieces. The robot must also work in a coordinated manner with associated machines (eg welding guns, paint spraying equipment). It must also respond to feedback from sensors. Here we consider some common approaches in constructing a robot system to accomplish manufacturing tasks.     

基于模糊PID的悬吊式机械臂重力补偿控制系统设计

针对悬吊式机械臂在工作过程中受起吊荷载的影响而产生的重心不稳现象,在模糊PID控制算法的支持下,进行悬吊式机械臂重力补偿控制系统设计研究。硬件方面,改装主控制器、传感器和通信模块,加设重力补偿装置及驱动电机设备。在此基础上完成软件设计,根据机械臂的组成结构以及工作原理,构建悬吊式机械臂数学模型。在该模型下,检测悬吊式机械臂实时位姿,针对不同位姿建立相应的重力平衡方程。计算机械臂负载力矩,利用模糊PID算法求解机械臂重力补偿控制量,实现悬吊式机械臂重力补偿控制功能。实验结果表明：与传统重力补偿控制系统相比,优化设计系统的控制误差降低了0.056kN,机械臂的稳定系数提升了0.14,即优化设计系统可提高补偿控制效果,具有一定应用价值。     

压电柔性机械臂的主动振动控制研究

针对柔性机械臂的振动问题,采用压电智能结构作为敏感器和驱动器进行主动控制.首先建立柔性机械臂的实验装置,其次对设计的柔性机械臂系统进行辨识研究,得到系统的前二阶模态频率,再次采用PD控制和PPF控制算法对柔性机械臂进行主动振动控制.实验结果表明,采用压电智能结构可以抑制柔性机械臂的振动,效果明显.     

Manufacturing and packaging of sensors for their integration in avertical MCM microsystem for biomedical applications

Demonstrates the feasibility of integrating fragile micromachined chips into a complex three-dimensional (3-D) multichip module (MCM) microsystem for a biomedical application. The system is based on the vertical integration of the different parts: micropumps and valves, a multisensor chip for on-line control of the system and a signal-processing chip. In this paper, packaging of the microsystem is studied in order to minimize the induced stress that can affect the integrity of the different micromachined parts of the system. Standard commercially available components and materials were used so as to minimize costs for the case of high volume packaging. For testing the approach, a multisensor chip which includes thin silicon membrane-based devices has been used as the main test structure to compare different packaging materials. In addition, for the fabrication of such a sensor chip in an efficient mode, technological modules needed to fabricate sensors on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) wafers are discussed. The definition of standardized "add-on" sensor modules to the CMOS process of a foundry is intended to limit the development cost of smart sensors     

基于卷积神经网络的机械臂抓取控制系统设计

为保证机械臂的抓取精度,保证物体抓取的稳定性,本文设计基于卷积神经网络的机械臂抓取控制系统。在系统硬件部分,加设图像、位置和压力传感器,改装机械臂抓取控制器和运动驱动器,利用图像传感器设备,获取满足质量要求的机械臂抓取目标图像,为机械臂抓取控制功能提供硬件支持。软件部分利用卷积神经网络算法提取图像特征,确定机械臂抓取目标位置。结合机械臂当前位置的检测结果,规划机械臂抓取路线,预估机械臂抓取角度与抓取力。最终通过机械臂抓取参数控制量的计算,在控制器的支持下实现系统的机械臂抓取控制功能。实验结果表明,所设计系统应用下位置控制误差和速度控制误差的平均值分别为0.192m和0.138m/s,同时物体抓取掉落概率明显降低。     

On the Robust Nonlinear Motion Position and Force Control of Flexible Joints Robot Manipulators

The design of a robust nonlinear position and force controller for a flexible joints robot manipulator interacting with a rigid environment is presented. The controller is designed using the concept of feedback linearization, sliding mode techniques, and LQE estimation methodologies. It is shown that the nonlinear robot manipulator model is feedback linearizable. A robust performance of the proposed control approach is achieved by accounting for the system parameters uncertainties in the derivation of the nonlinear control law. An upper bound of the error introduced by parametric uncertainties in the system is computed. Then, the feedback linearizing control law is modified by adding a switching action to compensate the errors and to guarantee the achievement of the desired tracking performance. The relationship between the minimum achievable boundary layer thickness and the parametric uncertainties is derived. The proposed controller is tested using an experimental flexible joints robot manipulator, and the results demonstrate its potential benefits in reducing the number of sensors required and the complexity of the design. This is achieved by eliminating the need for nonlinear observers. A robust performance is obtained with minimum control effort by taking into account the effect of system parameter uncertainties and measurement noise.     

A human–robot interface using particle filter,Kalman filter,and over-damping method

This paper presents a novel human–manipulator interface which copies the hand motion to control a manipulator. In the proposed interface, an inertial measurement unit is used to measure the orientation of the human hand, and a 3D camera is employed to locate the human hand using the Camshift algorithm. Although the position and the orientation of the human can be obtained from two sensors, the measurement errors increase over time due to the noise of the devices and the tracking errors. Therefore, particle filter and Kalman filter are used to estimate the position and the orientation of the human hand. Due to the limitations of the perceptive and the motor, human operator cannot accomplish the high-precision manipulation without any assistance. An over-damping method is employed to assist the operator to improve the accuracy and reliability in determining the postures of the manipulator. The human–manipulator interface system was experimentally tested in a lab environment, and the results indicate that such an interface can successfully control a robot manipulator even when the operator is not an expert.     

Functional testing and characterisation of (bio-)chemical sensors on wafer level

An automated computer-assisted system for the functional testing and characterisation of (bio-)chemical sensors on wafer level is developed and integrated into a commercial prober station. The system enables the identification and selection of “good” sensors on wafer level and thus, allows to avoid further expensive bonding, encapsulation and packaging processes for defective or non-functioning sensor structures. Moreover, a specifically designed flow-through electrochemical microcell offers the possibility of wafer-level characterisation of (bio-)chemical sensors in terms of sensitivity, drift, hysteresis and response time at an early process stage. The system has been exemplarily tested using wafers combining pH-sensitive capacitive electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor structures as well as ion-sensitive field-effect transistors with different geometrical sizes and gate layouts.     

High-performance temperature-programmed microfabricated gas chromatography columns

This paper reports the first development of high-performance, silicon-glass micro-gas chromatography (/spl mu/GC) columns having integrated heaters and temperature sensors for temperature programming, and integrated pressure sensors for flow control. These 3-m long, 150-/spl mu/m wide and 250-/spl mu/m deep columns, integrated on a 3.3 cm square die, were fabricated using a silicon-on-glass dissolved wafer process. Demonstrating the contributions to heat dissipation from conduction, convection, and radiation with and without packaging, it is shown that using a 7.5-mm high atmospheric pressure package reduces power consumption to about 650 mW at 100/spl deg/C, while vacuum packaging reduces the steady-state power requirements to less than 100 mW. Under vacuum conditions, 600 mW is needed for a temperature-programming rate of 40/spl deg/C/min. The 2300 ppm//spl deg/C TCR of the temperature sensors and the 50 fF/kPa sensitivity of the pressure sensors satisfy the requirements needed to achieve reproducible separations in a /spl mu/GC system. Using these columns, highly resolved 20-component separations were obtained with analysis times that are a factor of two faster than isothermal responses.     

Intelligent and Efficient Strategy for Unstructured Environment Sensing Using Mobile Robot Agents

In field environments it is not usually possible to provide robots in advance with valid geometric models of its task and environment. The robot or robot teams need to create these models by scanning the environment with its sensors. Here, an information-based iterative algorithm to plan the robot's visual exploration strategy is proposed to enable it to most efficiently build 3D models of its environment and task. The method assumes mobile robot (or vehicle) with vision sensors mounted at a manipulator end-effector (eye-in-hand system). This algorithm efficiently repositions the systems' sensing agents using an information theoretic approach and fuses sensory information using physical models to yield a geometrically consistent environment map. This is achieved by utilizing a metric derived from Shannon's information theory to determine optimal sensing poses for the agent(s) mapping a highly unstructured environment. This map is then distributed among the agents using an information-based relevant data reduction scheme. This method is particularly well suited to unstructured environments, where sensor uncertainty is significant. Issues addressed include model-based multiple sensor data fusion, and uncertainty and vehicle suspension motion compensation. Simulation results show the effectiveness of this algorithm.     

Three-dimensional shape recognition method using ultrasonics for manipulator control system

This article describes a three-dimensional shape recognition method that employs an ultrasonic distance sensor mounted on a manipulator, and its application to a manipulator control system. The principle of the method is to reconstruct an object surface numerically using both distance and orientation informations of an object. The method makes it possible to control the manipulator, to set the sensor in any position and orientation employing freedom of the manipulator, and to measure the object. The method is available for manipulator control because it can precisely assess the distance from the manipulator to the object, as well as reconstruct the object shape. Experimental results show that the newly developed method make object shape recognition easy and inexpensive. Application experiment proved that the method is effective for manipulator work due to its provision of distance information.     

Modeling, analysis, and performance evaluation of a robotic grippersystem for limp material handling

This paper presents an analytical model of a flat surfaced robotic gripper designed to automate the process of reliable, rapid and distortion-free limp material handling. The designed gripper prototype is integrated with an industrial robot manipulator. The gripper geometry and its grasp stability are justified. Performance of the overall system is experimentally tested, based on a set of industry dictated operational constraints. It is found that the gripper system has high reliability, grasp stability, and that it is capable of rapid rates of manipulation.