Forward tracking of complex trajectories with non-Standard N-Trailers of non-minimum-phase kinematics avoiding a jackknife effect

It is a common conviction that forward motion control of tractor-trailer vehicles is a substantially simpler problem relative to reversing with trailers. This opinion may be misleading when considering the N-trailer vehicles moving forward with positive hitching offsets when a guidance point is located on a trailer. Due to the non-minimum-phase nature of vehicle kinematics, closing a feedback from a trailer posture can lead to the jackknife effect in this case. So far, there has been no solution to this problem for the N-trailers admitting trajectories of a varying curvature. To fill this gap, we propose a scalable and modular control strategy applicable to the N-trailer vehicles equipped solely with off-axle interconnections. The concept relies on a transformation of the control problem posed for the non-minimum-phase kinematics into a corresponding problem formulated for a virtual vehicle of minimum-phase kinematics, which can be solved by using the recently proposed cascade-like controller.     

Application of the VFO method to set-point control for the N-trailer vehicle with off-axle hitching

In this article the cascaded set-point feedback controller has been proposed for kinematics of the articulated mobile vehicle equipped with arbitrary number of off-axle hitched trailers. The concept results from geometrical features of the vehicle model, and from application of the Vector-Field-Orientation method in the outer loop of the cascaded controller. Solution presented in this article is formulated in the original configuration space of the vehicle not involving any auxiliary state or input transformation. It guarantees convergence of the last vehicle segment to the prescribed neighbourhood of a desired posture along with approximate straightening of a vehicle kinematic chain during approaching the destination. Practical limits of the control input amplitudes have been taken into account during the control law derivation by the application of a simple on-line scaling procedure to the nominally computed control functions. Results of numerical simulations illustrate effectiveness of the method for a 3-trailer vehicle.     

离轴式拖车移动机器人的反馈镇定

由于离轴式拖车移动机器人的模型不能转化为非完整链式模型, 因而无法采用针对非完整链式模型的控制方法. 针对有多节离轴式拖车的移动机器人, 给出了一种基于时间–状态能控形的反馈镇定控制算法. 首先推导出系统的线性化时间–状态模型, 并证明了其能控性; 进而设计了一种线性切换反馈镇定控制律, 该控制律可以保证系统的状态在有限时间内收敛到原点的任意小邻域内. 仿真结果证实了所提控制算法的有效性.     

离轴式拖车移动机器人的任意路径跟踪控制

离轴式拖车移动机器人属于非完整系统,当车头线速度随时间变化且过零变号时,难以用一个控制器实现系统对期望路径的跟踪.本文研究离轴式拖车移动机器人系统的任意路径跟踪问题.首先由系统和虚拟小车的运动学方程得到误差状态模型,线性化后用坐标变换将其化为标准型,然后基于Lyapunov方法构造出一种跟踪控制律.只要车头的运动线速度有界且不趋于零,其导数有界,则所设计的控制律就可以保证系统跟踪任意的期望路径,且跟踪误差最终一致有界,最终界的大小与期望路径的曲率变化率成比例.当期望路径的曲率变化率为零或趋于零时,所设计的控制律可以保证拖车移动机器人指数收敛到期望路径.仿真结果证实了控制律的有效性.     

Characterization of a multi-chip microelectrofluidic bench for modular fluidic and electric interconnections

We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a multi-chip microelectrofluidic bench, achieving both fluidic and electric interconnections with simple and low pressure-loss interconnections. The microelectrofluidic bench provides easy alignment of fluidic interconnection using microfabricated annular fluidic connectors; also provides simple electric interconnection using isotropic conductive adhesives at room temperature. Thus, the present microelectrofluidic bench provides a modular concept for fluidic and electric interconnection. In experimental study, we characterize pressure losses, electric resistances loss, and pressure stability of the interconnection. The average pressure drop per each fluidic contact is measured 0.12 ± 0.19 kPa at the DI water flow rate from 10 to 100 μl min⁻¹. The electric resistance per each electric contact is measured as 0.64 ± 0.29 Ω. The fluidic interconnection endures maximum pressure of 115 ± 11 kPa. The present microelectrofluidic bench, therefore, offers a simple and low pressure-loss electrofluidic modular interconnection for electrofluidic multi-chip microsystems.     

Application of the general elimination method in robot kinematics

A general method for solving the robot inverse kinematics problem is presented. The method is based upon the general elimination method to obtain the equivalent system of equations which are triangularized and the solutions of the inverse kinematics problem can be solved by backsubstitutions.     

On rotation representations in computational robot kinematics

Various methods of implementing forward and inverse kinematics of six-axes industrial robots are analyzed in this paper from the viewpoint of numerical conditioning and convergence speed both close to a solution and away from it. Computational complexities are derived in terms of the number of arithmetic operations and comparisons are made by observing the actual CPU time consumption. The formulations presented make use of different sets of invariants describing the orientation of the gripper. It is shown that, in inverse kinematics, there is a tradeoff between numerical stability and computational speed.An abridged version of this paper was presented in the 1992 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 1992 [1].     

The kinematics of modular spatial hyper-redundant manipulators formed from RPS-type limbs

This study addresses the kinematics, including position, velocity and acceleration analyses, of a modular spatial hyper-redundant manipulator built with a variable number of serially connected identical mechanical modules with autonomous motions. First, the kinematics of the base module, a three-legged in-parallel manipulator, is formulated using the theory of screws. After that, the results thus obtained, are applied recursively for accomplishing the kinematic analyses of the hyper-redundant manipulator at hand. A numerical exampled is included.     

两栖机器人结构设计及运动学建模

两栖仿生机器人的研究是当前新兴的一个热点,它是军用机器人研究的一个重要分支。提出一种两栖仿生机器人的设计思路,确定了一些关键参数,如电机、游动机构等。并对两栖机器人仿鱼游动的运动学进行建模,最终通过实体仿真验证方案的可行性。     

一种解析的反向运动学方法*

针对多关节的反向运动学（IK）提出一种解析的求解方法,直接给出公式来求解关节链中所有待求关节的位置和旋转变量。同传统的迭代方法相比,该方法省却了繁琐的迭代计算,具有更高的求解效率,可以应用于角色动作、运动轨迹的设计、编辑及优化等交互性强和实时性要求高的应用中。     

Symbolic modeling of robot kinematics and dynamics

As a component of advanced manufacturing technology, this report presents applications of FORM to solve symbolically a class of usual robotic problems. One advantage of this symbolic manipulation code is to perform, even on PCs, the manipulation of giant formulae. Though the code has a low built-in knowledge, but handles indices, vectors, matrices, traces, tensors, as well as factorial and delta functions, it can be directly ported on a large variety of computers such as Alliant, Appolo, Atari ST, Gould (NP1 and 9080), MacIntosh, PCs, SUN and VAX (VMS and Ultrix). The symbolic programs given in this paper perform on PCs the kinematics and dynamics analysis of simple robots via the free version 1.0 of FORM. This approach shows us a way to develop at low cost many useful robotic packages for education as well as Research & Development purposes.     

Learnt inverse kinematics for animation synthesis

Existing work on animation synthesis can be roughly split into two approaches, those that combine segments of motion-capture data, and those that perform inverse kinematics. In this paper, we present a method for performing animation synthesis of an articulated object (e.g. human body and a dog) from a minimal set of body joint positions, following the approach of inverse kinematics. We tackle this problem from a learning perspective. Firstly, we address the need for knowledge on the physical constraints of the articulated body, so as to avoid the generation of a physically impossible poses. A common solution is to heuristically specify the kinematic constraints for the skeleton model. In this paper however, the physical constraints of the articulated body are represented using a hierarchical cluster model learnt from a motion capture database. Additionally, we shall show that the learnt model automatically captures the correlation between different joints through simultaneous modelling of their angles. We then show how this model can be utilised to perform inverse kinematics in a simple and efficient manner. Crucially, we describe how IK is carried out from a minimal set of end-effector positions. Following this, we show how this “learnt inverse kinematics” framework can be used to perform animation syntheses on different types of articulated structures. To this end, the results presented include the retargeting of a flat surface walking animation to various uneven terrains to demonstrate the synthesis of a full human body motion from the positions of only the hands, feet and torso. Additionally, we show how the same method can be applied to the animation synthesis of a dog using only its feet and torso positions.     

Solution of forward kinematics in Stewart platform using six rotary sensors on joints of three legs

A novel method is proposed for real-time solution of direct kinematics problem of Stewart platform (SP) using six measurements on three legs’ joints consisting of the rotations of three legs in two directions. After the application of the method on a laboratory sample SP, it is observed that the method is preferable to the conventional method that uses the length measurements of all six legs, in the grounds of industrial applicability. It is due to simpler implementation, less expense, easier maintenance, and stress-free assembly. The algorithms of both forward and inverse kinematics are fully derived based on geometric relationships between the platform states and the measurement data. The sensitivity to the measurement errors is analyzed theoretically and is applied through a computer simulation to several configurations of the sample SP which are uniformly distributed in the workspace. The variances of measurement errors for those configurations are compared between the conventional and proposed methods and it is observed that: the proposed method operates more accurate in position measurement especially in lateral movements. Additionally, the proposed method is not too sensitive to direction of movement and geometry of the SP.     

Analytic generation of workspace using the robot kinematics

When designing workplaces, controls should be placed within the reach of an operator's arm or foot for guaranteeing effective performance. In designing a workplace which must cater to a wide range of operator size, it might be sufficient to plan only for the ‘average person’. Static arm reach measurements which are taken in conventional, standardized positions provide necessary information, but they cannot be applied to dynamic situations directly. To obtain reach envelope or workspace of the human body not by direct measurement but by analytic generation, data on range of joint motion(ROM) are required as an input. The purposes of this research are to measure the range of motion of two degrees of freedom for Korean young males, and to propose an approximate algorithm to generate the workspace of the human body including foot and trunk motion, in which joint mobility of two degrees of freedom motion are considered. The robot kinematics was employed to represent the human body as a multi-link system.     

Effects of military load carriage on kinematics of gait

Manual load carriage is a universal activity and an inevitable part of the daily schedule of a soldier. Indian Infantry soldiers carry loads on the waist, back, shoulders and in the hands for a marching order. There is no reported study on the effects of load on gait in this population. It is important to evaluate their kinematic responses to existing load carriage operations and to provide guidelines towards the future design of heavy military backpacks (BPs) for optimising soldiers' performance. Kinematic changes of gait parameters in healthy male infantry soldiers whilst carrying no load (NL) and military loads of 4.2–17.5 kg (6.5–27.2% body weight) were investigated. All comparisons were conducted at a self-selected speed. Soldier characteristics were: mean (SD) age 23.3 (2.6) years; height 172.0 (3.8) cm; weight 64.3 (7.4) kg. Walk trials were collected using a 3-D Motion Analysis System. Results were subjected to one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett post hoc test. There were increases in step length, stride length, cadence and midstance with the addition of a load compared to NL. These findings were resultant of an adaptive phenomenon within the individual to counterbalance load effect along with changes in speed. Ankle and hip ranges of motion (ROM) were significant. The ankle was more dorsiflexed, the knee and hip were more flexed during foot strike and helped in absorption of the load. The trunk showed more forward leaning with the addition of a load to adjust the centre of mass of the body and BP system back to the NL condition. Significant increases in ankle and hip ROM and trunk forward inclination (≥10°) with lighter loads, such as a BP (10.7 kg), BP with rifle (14.9 kg) and BP with a light machine gun (17.5 kg), may cause joint injuries. It is concluded that the existing BP needs design improvisation specifically for use in low intensity conflict environments.

Statement of Relevance:The present study evaluates spatial, temporal and angular changes at trunk and limb joints during military load carriage of relatively lighter magnitude. Studies on similar aspects on the specific population are limited. These data can be used for optimising load carriage and designing ensembles, especially a heavy BP, for military operations.     

Evaluation of upper body kinematics and muscle activity during milking attachment task

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of udder height on upper body kinematics and muscle activity during a simulated attachment task in a parallel parlor set up, and the effects of udder access method (back or side) on the task biomechanics. Twenty males performed the task under conditions that simulated three udder heights and two udder access methods. The muscular load and kinematics during the task confirmed that milking is a physically demanding task. Trunk flexion angle increased with decreasing udder height, and the erector spinae activation was higher when the udder was below shoulder height compared to at or above. Compared to accessing the udder from side of the cow (herringbone parlor style), accessing from behind (Parallel parlor style) was associated with lower trunk flexion, greater shoulder horizontal adduction, lower shoulder elevation, and greater anterior deltoid activation. Milking in herringbone parlor style and with the udder at or above shoulder level may help reduce strain on the trunk/neck.     

Inverse kinematics of spherical wrist robot arms: Analysis and simulation

The spherical wrist robot arm is the most common type of industrial robot. This paper presents an efficient analytical computation procedure of its inverse kinematics. It is based on the decomposition of the inverse kinematic problem to two less complex problems; one concerns the robot arm basic structure and the other concerns its hand. The proposed computation procedure is used to obtain the inverse kinematic position models of two robot arms: one contains only revolute joints and the other contains both revolute and prismatic joints. The 1st and 2nd time derivatives of the obtained models give more accurate inverse kinematic velocity and acceleration models than numerical differentiation. These models are verified by simulation for two different trajectories. The obtained results demonstrate the effect of the proposed procedure on reducing the necessary computation time compared to other computation techniques.     

Kneeling trunk kinematics during simulated sloped roof shingle installation

Trunk musculoskeletal disorders are common among residential roofers. Addressing this problem requires a better understanding of the movements required to complete working tasks, such as affixing shingles on a sloped residential roof. We analyzed the extent to which the trunk kinematics during a shingling process are altered due to different angles of roof slope. Eight male subjects completed a kneeling shingle installation process on three differently sloped roof surfaces. The magnitude of the trunk kinematics was significantly influenced by both slope and task phase of the shingling process, depending on the metric. The results unequivocally point to roof slope and task phase as significant factors altering trunk kinematics. However, extension of the results to roofing workers should be done carefully, depending on the degree to which the study protocol represents the natural setting. Future studies on shingle installation in residential roofing should absolutely consider capturing a wider array of shingling procedures in order to encapsulate all the possible methods that are used due to the lack of a standardized procedure.     

6R关节型机器人运动学建模

为满足新开发的多机器人实验系统编程需要,研究了6R机器人运动学逆解问题.推导了代数逆解结果,并研究了将其用于实际控制系统时,逆解的漏解、增根和多解问题.与传统方法比较,采用了便于程序模块化的坐标系设置方式,在需要经常更换作业工具的多机器人系统中更为适用.推导过程只需2次矩阵逆乘,步骤简单.基于VC++和OpenGL技术编制了系统程序,检验了方法的有效性.以其中一个位姿为例,对比几何方法得出的结果,验证了算法的正确性.研究的结果适用于MOTOMAN-UP6和PUMA560等相似构型的所有机器人.     

Parallel VLSI architectures for real-time kinematics of redundant robots

We describe new architectures for the efficient computation of redundant manipulator kinematics (direct and inverse). By calculating the core of the problem in hardware, we can make full use of the redundancy by implementing more complex self-motion algorithms. A key component of our architecture is the calculation in the VLSI hardware of the Singular Value Decomposition of the manipulator Jacobian. Recent advances in VLSI have allowed the mapping of complex algorithms to hardware using systolic arrays with advanced computer arithmetic algorithms, such as the coordinate rotation (CORDIC) algorithms. We use CORDIC arithmetic in the novel design of our special-purpose VLSI array, which is used in computation of the Direct Kinematics Solution (DKS), the manipulator Jacobian, as well as the Jacobian Pseudoinverse. Application-specific (subtask-dependent) portions of the inverse kinematics are handled in parallel by a DSP processor which interfaces with the custom hardware and the host machine. The architecture and algorithm development is valid for general redundant manipulators and a wide range of processors currently available and under development commercially.