A mechatronic approach to microsystem design

This paper discusses the implementation of a concurrent-engineering view of microsystem design. The proposed concurrent-engineering or mechatronic approach to the design of hybrid microsystems is illustrated by three case studies. First, the design of an advanced computer writing tool is discussed. The design of this consumer product requires a mechatronic approach at different functional levels and at different levels of miniaturization. Another illustration of this approach is the design of an implantable drug delivery device. A device for solid drug delivery, as well as a device for liquid drug delivery, are presented. It is demonstrated that miniaturization can be obtained by a combination of functions in a single component. The multiplication of functions in a single component automatically leads to a concurrent-engineering approach far the design. Finally, the micromanufacturing of silicon parts by electrodischarge machining is described. It is demonstrated that electrodischarge machining of silicon is not only feasible, but forms an interesting and complementary technology to traditional silicon micromachining. Therefore, this powerful manufacturing technique opens the way for concurrent engineering of real three-dimensional micromechanical sensors and actuators with integrated processing electronics on the same wafer     

A mechatronic approach for robotic deburring

This paper deals with the implementation of a mechatronic methodology for the robotic deburring of planar workpieces with an unknown shape performed by an industrial manipulator. The approach is based on the use of a hybrid force/velocity control law and on a correlated suitable design of the deburring tool. Experimental results, obtained with a two degrees-of-freedom SCARA industrial robot manipulator, show the effectiveness of the method.     

基于模糊控制的全自动洗衣机的设计

文章设计了一种全自动洗衣机,该洗衣机利用MC6805R3单片机模糊控制,能够实现自动对衣服的数量、质地和污染程度进行识别,通过模糊控制原理决定清洗衣服的过程,合理投入适量的洗衣剂,从而大大提高洗衣质量,也大大提高洗衣机的全自动化程度。     

基于FPGA的洗衣机控制系统设计

为提高家用双缸洗衣机控制系统的性能,改善定时精确度和洗涤效果,基于可编程性强的FPGA设计了一种用于洗衣机的控制系统,并进行了时序仿真。通过实验对设计方案进行了完善,得到了可进行数字化控制和显示的洗衣机控制系统,有效地提高了洗衣机性能。     

A mechatronic approach to supernormal auditory localisation for telepresence

Remote audio perception is a fundamental requirement for telepresence and teleoperation in applications that range from work in hostile environments to security and entertainment. The following paper presents the use of a mechatronic system to test the efficacy of audio for telepresence. It describes work to determine whether the use of supernormal inter-aural distance is a valid means of approaching an enhanced method of hearing for telepresence. The particular audio variable investigated is the azimuth angle of error and the construction of a dedicated mechatronic test rig is reported and the results obtained. The paper concludes by observing that the combination of the mechatronic system and supernormal audition does enhance the ability to localise sound sources and that further work in this area is justified.     

一种多功能波轮式全自动洗衣机与离合器

随着当前社会智能化的发展,电器领域也不可避免的迎来了智能化的革新,洗衣机的智能化应用更是首当其冲。针对传统洗衣机技术存在的不足,本文进行了全面的阐述,并对洗衣机的智能化设计提出了几点拙见。     

基于单片机模糊推理的洗衣机控制系统设计

为了更好的模仿人工洗涤过程,提高洗衣机的洗涤质量,针对以单片机为核心的洗衣机控制系统,引入了模糊推理技术。首先阐述了模糊洗衣机的基本原理,完成了系统硬件设计;在软件方面,对检测到的水温及肮脏度、衣质、衣量等物理量进行模糊化处理,建立了洗涤规则库,通过模糊推理,实现对洗涤时间、水流强弱、洗涤剂用量以及脱水时间的自动控制,提高了洗衣机的自动控制和智能化程度。     

A mechatronic sensing system for vehicle guidance and control

Magnetic sensing is used for control and guidance in intelligent transportation systems (ITS). This includes vehicle applications such as lane-keeping in intelligent cruise control as well as driver assistance in highway maintenance functions such as snow removal. This paper presents a new mechatronic magnetic sensing system for ITS. The new system has several advantages both in terms of its hardware design and its underlying reference detection algorithms, providing a significant improvement in performance, maintainability, and upgradability over existing systems. It is a mechatronic system in that it combines mechanical position sensing with electronics implementation of the hardware and the underlying algorithms.     

Robust tracking control of mechatronic arms

A robust tracking control scheme based on variable structure systems (VSS) theory is presented to cope with the uncertainties and parameter variations in mechatronic arm dynamics. A modification of VSS is used to remove its restrictions with regard to chattering and required control efforts. By blending VSS with a self-organizing controller (SOC), a sliding mode self-organizing controller (SLIMSOC)scheme has been developed. In this scheme, both control actions and performance evaluation are executed using the distance from the desired sliding surface and rate of approach to it. Comparisons are drawn and it is shown that the inherent robustness properties of variable structure systems are retained while the undesirable chatter motion of the sliding mode is eliminated. The results are illustrated by applications of SLIMSOC on a direct drive SCARA type of robot.     

The Illinois Roadway Simulator: a mechatronic testbed for vehicledynamics and control

The Illinois Roadway Simulator (IRS) is a novel, mechatronic, scaled testbed used to study vehicle dynamics and controls. An overview of this system is presented, and individual hardware issues are addressed. System modeling results on the vehicles and hardware are introduced, and comparisons of the resulting dynamics are made with full-sized vehicles. Comparisons are made between dynamic responses of full-scale and IRS-scale vehicles. The method of dynamic similitude is a key to gaining confidence in the scaled testbed as an accurate representation of actual vehicles to a first approximation. The IRS is then used in a vehicle control case study to demonstrate the potential benefits of scaled investigations. The idea of driver-assisted control is formulated as a yaw-rate model-following problem based on the representation of the driver as a known disturbance model. The controller is designed and implemented to show that the vehicle's dynamics can be changed to match a prescribed reference model     

Virtual prototyping of embedded control software in mechatronic systems: A case study

The large majority of technological devices can be seen as the sum of components of heterogeneous nature (electrical, mechanical, thermal, software, etc.) so that their analysis and design calls for the use of tools from different engineering disciplines. Integration among the different tools is particularly relevant at control system design level, since it is at this stage that it is required to analyze the behavior of both each single component and the system as a whole, with different levels of detail. In this paper mechatronic systems are considered, that exhibit a strong interplay between mechanical and electrical components, and the issue of modeling and designing embedded control algorithms and architectures for such systems is addressed. In particular, an integrated virtual prototyping approach for analyzing the system behavior down to embedded software level is proposed, that can be used in a wide number of situations that can represent the actual real-world operational conditions of consumer products. This approach can be used for system design (in particular at control systems level), embedded software design, and virtual testing so as to optimize and reduce the costs of late stage software development, physical prototypes, and their testing. The case study is based on some recently derived software tools that perform the co-simulation of the firmware execution and the multi-physical controlled system dynamics. The actual control software implemented in the final product can be entirely developed and tested inside the virtual prototype. To prove the validity and potentialities of the proposed approach, a real case study is presented, regarding a very common, though complex to simulate, mechatronic system such as an electric sliding gate. It turns out that the proposed environment goes beyond hardware-in-the-loop tools, since it does not require the use of specific hardware (the hardware itself is simulated in detail) but allows to analyze in detail the status of the microprocessors and peripherals at arbitrary time-scales and allows the designer to study at the earliest design stages the dynamics between the multi-physical controlled system and the firmware, without committing to a given hardware structure.     

洗衣机模糊控制系统设计及模糊推理系统仿真

针对洗衣机洗涤过程的时变、非线性、难以建模等特点,将模糊智能控制引入洗衣机控制系统中,根据洗衣机工作原理和特性,详细介绍了洗衣机模糊控制系统的设计,并在Matlab中实现了洗衣机模糊推理系统的设计,仿真结果表明,系统的跟踪特性优良。     

Automatic calibration with robust control of a six DoF mechatronic system

This paper presents a robust control methodology incorporating an automatic calibration step to compensate dynamic variations in a 6 DoF mechatronic system. The application used to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed approach is the ball and plate system based on the Stewart platform. To emulate dynamic changes in the system, we make use of various types of balls, varying in mass, diameter and surface. An automatic calibration step is introduced to obtain a model based on the type of ball which is placed on the plate. Using a model-based tuning technique, an optimal proportional-differential (PD) controller is designed based on the previous calibration. The resulting controller is tested for robustness by changing the ball without changing the controller parameters. The results indicate that our setup is robust and performs well in the presence of significant changes.     

Thermoelectric modules in mechatronic systems: Temperature-dependent modeling and control

Active thermal control is crucial in achieving the required accuracy and throughput in many industrial applications, e.g., in the medical, high-power lighting, and semiconductor industry. Thermoelectric Modules (TEMs) can be used to both heat and cool, alleviating some of the challenges associated with traditional electric heater based control. However, the dynamic behavior of these modules is non-affine in their inputs and state, complicating their implementation. To facilitate advanced control approaches a high fidelity model is required. In this paper an approach is presented that increases the modeling accuracy by incorporating temperature-dependent parameters. Using an experimental identification procedure, the parameters are estimated under different operating conditions. The resulting model is used in a feedback linearization approach to linearize the system, facilitating the use of advanced linear control techniques. Moreover, it presents an observer based approach to reconstruct state information in cases where sensor placement is limited. The resulting framework forms a complete approach to temperature-dependent modeling and control of thermoelectric elements.     

An architecture model to support cooperative design for mechatronic products: A control design case

Efficient integration of systems in the mechatronic industry is critical for complex product development and is still challenging. A particular example of this situation can be pinpointed in the development of control software for mechatronic products: design is not carried out in a concurrent way in order to exploit the synergy among domain experts and many “last minute” problems are detected and forcefully solved in the control software domain at an advanced development stage. Unfortunately, industrially applicable research to improve integration in the development process is currently at a stale. This work addresses system architecting introducing a model, a method, and a tool implementation, which aim to help changing this situation by supporting cooperative design, providing usable documentation and improving understanding of the design process by the stakeholders.     

Control of magnetorheological dampers for vibration reduction in a washing machine

The aim of this work is the analysis and design of a control system for vibration and noise reduction in a washing machine. The control system is implemented via a semi-active magnetorheological (MR) damper located on the suspension that links the drum to the cabinet. The entire design procedure is outlined: first, the semi-active actuator is described and an experimental protocol is proposed and tested; two adaptive control strategies are proposed, designed and tested. Some experiments are done in an anechoic chamber to assess the noise reduction. The reported results show the effectiveness of the proposed control system.     

DRIBON: A mechatronic bone drilling tool

This paper presents a new automatic mechatronic tool for bone drilling, a procedure which is currently very manual and where depth control is critical in most scenarios. The system and methods developed involve driving a rotating drill bit in an axial direction so that both the linear movement and the rotation of the drill bit are controlled and measurable for automatic drilling procedures. Control algorithms allow the system to effectively stop the drilling procedure as a response to bone layer transitions and/or breakthroughs without damaging the surrounding tissue. Validation experiments on the new bone drilling methodology and proposed system have been carried out.     

Reduction in vibration of a washing machine by means of a disengaging damper

This paper presents a new semi-active technique for reducing the vibration of a washing machine frame during the spin cycle. A new electromechanical damper was proposed for this purpose. The damper is disengaged during the spin cycle, which results in the reduction of the vibration of the frame. A unit for switching the state (on/off) of the damper is presented. A dynamic model of the washing unit was developed to simulate the motion of the system after the damping forces are disengaged. Numerical results proved that there is no danger of the collision between the drum and the frame. The model also allowed estimation of the forces transmitted from the drum onto the frame through the suspension. The model was validated by the experiments carried out at a stand dedicated to measuring the vibration of the washing unit suspended on original and new dampers. The reduction of the frame vibration without perceptible increase in the drum vibration was observed.     

Synthesis of modular mechatronic products: a testabilityperspective

Producing modular products that combine modules with the consideration of product performance, e.g., testability of electronic systems, is frequently stated as a design goal. However, most of mechatronic frameworks (models) discussed in the literature do not consider testability of electronic subsystems of mechatronic products. This paper assumes that the product modules have been established, and aims at the development of modular mechatronic products with the consideration of testability of electronic subsystems as a performance criterion. The generation of modular products and module testability issues are discussed. Testability points, testability values, and access paths for a module/system are crucial to the generation of modular mechatronic products. A generalized label-correcting algorithm is developed to determine the points of focus, testability values, and access paths in modules