Dynamic optimum design of a three translational degrees of freedom parallel robot while considering anisotropic property

By taking the Delta robot as the object of study, this paper presents the methodology of the dynamic optimum design of a three translational degrees of freedom parallel robot while considering anisotropic property. Taking the acceleration, velocity, and gravity components into account, the torque and power indices are adopted as the objective functions for the dynamic optimum design. The physical meanings of the objective functions are the maximum input torque and power of the actuating joints when the moving platform translates with assigned acceleration and velocity. The transmission angles, the determinant of the direct kinematic Jacobian matrix, the ratio of the machine volume to that of the desired workspace, and the difference between the radius of the base platform and the radius of the moving platform are adopted as the constraints for the dynamic optimum design in order to make the Delta robot have a good transmission behavior between the links, keep far away from the direct kinematic singular configuration, not to be a very tall and slender configuration, achieve the desired performance without large dimension and big building cost. The examples of the dynamic optimum design of the Delta robot based on the torque and power indices are presented in the simulation while considering the requirements of the maximum acceleration and velocity of the moving platform along the respective direction parallel to the x axis, y axis and z axis are varied. The conclusions are provided at the end of the paper.     

Marble mosaic tiling automation with a four degrees of freedom Cartesian robot

The art of mosaic has arisen thousands of years ago. Despite all those years and all the attention it has received till today, mosaic tiling is still being carried out manually and mosaic tiling processes have never been changed except the tool and material developments.     

一种新的六自由度并联机器人分散控制方法

结合六自由度并联机器人机构的特点.提出一种新的分散控制方法.首先依据机构特点指出了关节空间内惯性矩阵块对角占优特性,从而将耦合强烈的邻近支路加以整体考虑,即分散控制3个两输入两输出子系统;然后将惯性矩阵的逆分解为块对角矩阵与耦合矩阵之和,从而得到每个子系统的动力学方程;最后针对子系统负载随机构运动而变化的特点引入线性变参数(LPV)控制方法,降低了使用线性定常控制器的保守性.仿真结果表明了所提出方法的有效性.     

基于弹簧负载倒立摆模型的仿袋鼠机器人稳定跳跃控制

仿生跳跃机器人具备很强的越障和环境适应能力,但是由于机器人运动过程中较短的可控时间以及腾空阶段运动的不确定性,运动的稳定性对于仿生跳跃机器人至关重要.本文对仿袋鼠机器人跳跃运动过程中的稳定跳跃控制问题进行了研究.首先采用双质量弹簧负载倒立摆模型(spring-loaded inverted pendulum,SLIP)模型对袋鼠机器人的结构进行简化,建立了机器人系统的动力学模型,并对机器人的运动过程以及着地相与腾空相的切换条件进行了分析.然后采用解耦控制的思想,将SLIP模型的运动控制分解为水平速度控制和跳跃高度控制两个方面,分别通过控制着地角度实现对水平运动速度的控制,通过能量补偿实现对跳跃高度的控制.最后在ADAMS仿真环境中建立机器人模型并进行了机器人运动仿真实验.实验结果表明,本文提出的方法可以实现仿袋鼠机器人稳定的周期性跳跃运动.     

Dimensional synthesis of a three translational degrees of freedom parallel robot while considering kinematic anisotropic property

By taking the Delta robot as the object of study, this paper deals with the methodology of the dimensional synthesis of the three translational degrees of freedom parallel robot while considering the kinematic anisotropic property. The velocity transmission index is employed as the objective function of the optimization design. The physical meaning of the velocity transmission index is the maximum of the input angular velocity when the moving platform translates with an assigned velocity. The determinant of the direct kinematic Jacobian matrix, the ratio of the machine volume to that of the desired workspace and the difference between the radius of the base and the radius of the moving platform are adopted as the constraints for the dimensional synthesis in order to make the Delta robot have a good transmission behavior between the distal links, keep far away from the direct kinematic singular configuration, not to be a very tall and slender configuration, achieve the desired performance without large dimension and big building cost. The example of the dimensional synthesis of the Delta robot is presented in the simulation while considering the maximum velocity requirements for the moving platform along the respective direction parallel to the x axis, y axis and z axis are varied. The conclusions are provided at the end of the paper.     

足式机器人SLIP模型向上跳跃台阶的运动控制

由于存在地势起伏,台阶对足式机器人运动稳定性会带来较大挑战.弹簧负载倒立摆模型(SLIP)作为研究足式机器人的优良模板,能否完成向上跳跃台阶的动作与其腿部摆角,起跳位置和跳跃高度都有密切的关系.由于调整模型腿部摆角规律容易引发运动失效,故本文在算法中引入虚拟弹簧腿,根据虚拟弹簧腿的运行规律确定合理起跳位置,根据起跳位置来控制系统跳跃高度进而完成跳跃台阶的动作.最后利用仿真软件进行多组仿真,结果表明本文算法对起跳区间划分合理,对起跳高度控制精准,能够实现SLIP模型跳跃台阶前后的稳定运动.     

Effect of self-representation of interaction history by the robot on perceptions of mind and positive relationship: a case study on a home-use robot

A question in research is concerning the most important factors for increasing the motivation of a human to continue interacting with an interactional robot. Previous studies have argued that the perceptions of mind and interactability of the robot by the interacting human are essential factors. However, ways of improving such perceptions have not sufficiently investigated. In this study, we focused on the case of a home-use interactional robot and investigated ways to improve such perceptions. We proposed the perceived interaction history of the robot to be another essential factor and hypothesized that adding this factor can promote the perceptions of mind and positive relationship. We conducted a human–robot interaction experiment with 32 human subjects, and the experimental results verified our hypothesis.     

Towards human motion capture from a camera mounted on a mobile robot

This article describes a multiple feature data fusion applied to a particle filter for marker-less human motion capture (HMC) by using a single camera devoted to an assistant mobile robot. Particle filters have proved to be well suited to this robotic context. Like numerous approaches, the principle relies on the projection of the model's silhouette of the tracked human limbs and appearance features located on the model surface, to validate the particles (associated configurations) which correspond to the best model-to-image fits. Our particle filter based HMC system is improved and extended in two ways. First, our estimation process is based on the so-called AUXILIARY scheme which has been surprisingly seldom exploited for tracking purpose. This scheme is shown to outperform conventional particle filters as it limits drastically the well-known burst in term of particles when considering high dimensional state-space. The second line of investigation concerns data fusion. Data fusion is considered both in the importance and measurement functions with some degree of adaptability depending on the current human posture and the environmental context encountered by the robot. Implementation and experiments on indoor sequences acquired by an assistant mobile robot highlight the relevance and versatility of our HMC system. Extensions are finally discussed.     

Motion coordination for industrial robotic systems with redundant degrees of freedom

This work investigates how to distribute in an optimum fashion the desired movement of the end-effector of an industrial robot with respect to the workpiece, when there are redundant degrees of freedom, such as a positioning table. The desired motion is given as a series of acceleration functions in respective time intervals. The constraints of the optimisation are the available acceleration limit of axes, such as the table axes, the upper bounds to velocity and displacement of each axis and the avoidance of singular point areas of the robot, as defined by its manufacturer. The optimisation criterion is minimum total work for the motion. A genetic algorithm was used to solve the problem. The fitness function of the genetic algorithm calls a kinematics and dynamics simulation model of the robotic installation constructed in Matlab™, in order to compute the work consumed and to check possible violation of constraints. Examples of straight line and circular movement are given to prove the concept. Results are encouraging, yet demand on computing power is high.     

Generation of jumping motion pattern for a hopping robot using genetic algorithm

This paper describes an application of genetic algorithm to generate a jumping motion pattern for a hopping robot. A central pattern generator is used to generate the motion pattern. The tuning parameters of the central pattern generator are regarded as genes and adjusted by the genetic algorithm, so that the hopping robot can jump continuously to the reference height with the minimum force. To realize online tuning of the parameters, new genetic operations such as few individuals, quick estimation, instant selection, and intentional mutation are introduced. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. This work was presented, in part, at the Fourth International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 19–22, 1999     

Tracking control of a closed-chain five-bar robot with two degrees of freedom by integration of an approximation-based approach and mechanical design

The trajectory tracking problem of a closed-chain five-bar robot is studied in this paper. Based on an error transformation function and the backstepping technique, an approximation-based tracking algorithm is proposed, which can guarantee the control performance of the robotic system in both the stable and transient phases. In particular, the overshoot, settling time, and final tracking error of the robotic system can be all adjusted by properly setting the parameters in the error transformation function. The radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) is used to compensate the complicated nonlinear terms in the closed-loop dynamics of the robotic system. The approximation error of the RBFNN is only required to be bounded, which simplifies the initial "trail-and-error" configuration of the neural network. Illustrative examples are given to verify the theoretical analysis and illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Finally, it is also shown that the proposed approximation-based controller can be simplified by a smart mechanical design of the closed-chain robot, which demonstrates the promise of the integrated design and control philosophy.     

A walking pattern generation method of humanoid robot MAHRU-R

This paper proposes an omni-directional walking pattern generation method for a humanoid robot MAHRU-R. To walk stably without falling down, a humanoid robot needs the walking pattern. Our previous walking pattern method generated the walking pattern with linear polynomials of the zero moment point (ZMP). It implemented the simple walking like forward/backward walking, side step walking and turning. However, this method was not sufficient to satisfy the various walking which is combined by forward/backward walking, side step walking and turning. We needed to upgrade the walking pattern generation method to implement an omni-directional walking. We use the linear inverted pendulum model consisted of ZMP and center of mass in order to simplify the computation of walking pattern. The proposed method assumes that the state of the following stride is same to the state of the current stride. Using this assumption of walking pattern, the proposed method generates the stable walking pattern for various walking. And the proposed scheme generates the ZMP trajectory with the quartic polynomials in order to reduce the fluctuation of ZMP trajectory by various walking. To implement the efficient walking pattern, this method proposes three walking modules: periodic step module, transient step module and steady step module. Each step module utilizes weighted least square method with future ZMP position information. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulations of various walking. And the proposed method is confirmed by the experiment of real humanoid robot MAHRU-R.     

Robust robot manipulator control with autonomous consideration algorithm of torque saturation

As each joint actuator of a robot manipulator has a limit value of torque, the motion control system should consider the torque saturation. Conventional motion control based on robust acceleration controller cannot consider the torque saturation and it often causes an oscillated or wrong response. This paper proposes a new autonomous consideration method of joint torque saturation for robust manipulator motion control. The proposed method consists of three on-line autonomous algorithms. These algorithms are the torque limitation algorithm in joint space, the adjustment algorithm of motion control in Cartesian space, and the adjustment algorithm of motion reference in Cartesian space. The robot motion control using the proposed algorithms realizes smooth and robust robot motion response.     

基于Pro/E二自由度并联机器人的结构设计

为了提高研发效率,需要将机器人的设计过程和分析过程集成起来;针对这一集成要求,提出了基于Pro/E二自由度的机器人仿真平台,并建立两自由度平移运动并联机器人运动仿真模型;验证了机构的实际工作空间和运动情况,指出了该机构的在实际中的应用;最后通过仿真了机器人的位置轨迹、速度轨迹以及加速度轨迹来验证,文章所设计的二自由度机器人性能良好、工作灵活,很好地满足了设计指标要求,具有一定的实用性。     

Characterization of motion power loss of off-road wheeled robot in a slippery terrain

For the first time in realm of power study of off-road wheeled robots, this study deals with motion power loss due to slippage of robot wheels traversed on slippery terrain. For this purpose, effects of slippery terrain type (solid balls with diameter of 0.0127, 0.0254, and 0.0508 m), tire air pressure (20.68, 34.47, and 55.16 kPa), and robot forward speed (0.17, 0.33, and 0.5 m/s) on the power loss were characterized. Derived results proved that the increasing effect of slippery terrain type on the power loss was dominant (1.08 and 3.21 times) than that of robot forward speed and tire air pressure, respectively. Meanwhile, the increasing effect of robot forward speed on the power loss was prevailed (2.98 times) than that of tire air pressure. Hence, to minimize the power loss of the robot traversed on each type of slippery terrain, adjustment of robot forward speed should be considered as first priority. A comparison between motion power loss (43.60–249.40 W) and provided motion power for the robot (136–436.37 W) implies that 12.93–75.44% of provided motion power was wasted by slippage of the robot wheels on slippery terrains. Overall, the analytical results obtained in this study lead to open a new prospection for comprehending of the power loss trends of off-road wheeled robots traversed on slippery terrains. As slippery terrain composed of solid balls, the results can be especially utilized for final phase of unloading robotic operations of catalyst handling procedure in process towers and reactors of oil, gas, petrochemical, and chemical industries.     

A robust control scheme for asymptotic tracking of robot motion

In this paper, a controller structure is developed to provide for asymptotic tracking of robot motion. The design tool is the theory of hyperstability and the analysis has led to a simple and an easy-to-implement robust version of the inverse dynamics. Simulation studies are worked out to demonstrate the controller performance. A comparison with other methods is done to show the merits of the developed scheme vs. other recently developed schemes. The implementation and computational requirements of the control schemes are determined and shown to be within the capabilities of new control hardware.This work was supported by the Kuwait University Research Administration under Grant No. EE063.     

Mathematical model of an industrial robot with articulated configuration and six degrees of freedom

This paper analyses the load influence on a d.c. drive motor servo system for all six degrees of freedom of industrial robots with an articulated configuration. Through the analyses, the analytical equations of total inertia and gravitation moments of an industrial robot servo system for external coordinate function were obtained. A mathematical model of an electro-mechanical industrial robot system was also developed.     

一个微小型仿蛇机器人样机的研究

本文从仿生机械学的角度出发,阐述了仿蛇机器人的 运动原理,给出了仿蛇机器人的结构和基本运动模式,在此基础上研制成微小型仿蛇机器人 样机,对样机进行了实验,结果表明,该样机能在平面上实现驱动运动并完成各项设定操作 ．     

A gait study for a one-leg-disabled hexapod robot

—As a remarkably strong point of a hexapod walking robot, it is considered that even if one of the six legs is disabled, static walking may be maintained by the remaining five legs. However, to maintain the static stability at maximum, a gait study for five-legged walking is a necessary factor. Hence, this paper describes a method of gait study for such a situation. Since it is very difficult to find a suitable gait by use of an analytical method without any model, such as a model based on insects' walking, we employed a programming method with the help of recent powerful computers. Some devices are applied to reduce the number of computations. As a result, we have obtained two kinds of gaits which can maintain the gait stability margin at a high level for a duty factor in the range of 0.6β < 1.     

Development of a separable search-and-rescue robot composed of a mobile robot and a snake robot

Abstract

In this study, we propose a new robot system consisting of a mobile robot and a snake robot. The system works not only as a mobile manipulator but also as a multi-agent system by using the snake robot's ability to separate from the mobile robot. Initially, the snake robot is mounted on the mobile robot in the carrying mode. When an operator uses the snake robot as a manipulator, the robot changes to the manipulator mode. The operator can detach the snake robot from the mobile robot and command the snake robot to conduct lateral rolling motions. In this paper, we present the details of our robot and its performance in the World Robot Summit.