A binary approximating method for graspable region determination of biped climbing robots

For a biped pole-climbing robot (BiPCR) with grippers, it is an essential demand to determine the target grasp configuration for climbing and transiting between poles, with the graspable region as a priori knowledge. The graspable region on the target pole is critically important for climbing path planning and motion control. To efficiently compute the graspable region for a BiPCR, we propose a novel binary approximating method in this paper. This method may also be applied to generate the three-dimensional (3-D) workspace of a manipulator with constant orientation. The grasping problem and the concept of graspable region for a BiPCR are first introduced. The binary approximating method and the corresponding algorithms are then presented to generate the graspable region. Additional constraints on a biped climbing robot with five degrees of freedom (DoFs) are presented as a supplement to the algorithm. A series of comprehensive simulations are conducted with the five-DoF and six-DoF climbing robots to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Finally, the dexterity of biped climbing robots with different DoFs is discussed.     

Model reference adaptive impedance control in Cartesian coordinates for physical human–robot interaction

In this paper, a nonlinear model reference adaptive impedance controller is proposed and tested. The controller provides asymptotic tracking of a reference impedance model for the robot end-effector in Cartesian coordinates applicable to rehabilitation robotics or any other human–robot interactions such as haptic systems. The controller uses the parameters of a desired stable reference model which is the target impedance for the robot’s end-effector. It also considers uncertainties in the model parameters of the robot. The asymptotic tracking is proven using Lyapunov stability theorem. Moreover, the adaptation law is proposed in joint space for reducing the complexity of its calculations; however, the controller and the stability proof are all presented in Cartesian coordinates. Using simulations and experiments on a two DOFs robot, the effectiveness of the proposed controller is investigated.     

Design of a slave arm of a surgical robot system to estimate the contact force at the tip of the employed instruments

Acquisition of the contact force at the instrument tip can enable better performance, e.g. transparency of the haptic feedback in the surgical robot systems. It is, however, difficult to measure the contact force directly due to technical limitations in attaching sensors to the tip of the instruments. This paper proposes a method to estimate the forces by installing the sensors away from the instrument tip. The proposed method employs specially designed mechanical parts of the slave robot, i.e. a slider cover plate for the z-axis translational force along the insertion direction, and docking clamps for the rotational pivot torques around the fulcrum point. Strain gauges are attached to specially designed places with enhancing shapes. The simulation results of the force estimation are presented to confirm the strain concentration area. The proposed method is validated with quantitative experimental results. Calibrated weights are determined upon the comparison of the strain value with a calibrated 6-axis force/torque sensor. The percentage error in the force calibration is about 5~8% calculated by the root mean square error (RMSE) of force-sensing performance. In addition, it can be computed by considering only the bending phase of each sensor although the hysteresis is observed from the calibration graph.     

Tactile display with tangential and normal skin displacement for robot-assisted surgery

This paper proposes a tactile display providing both shear and normal feedback to the fingertip for generating three-axis tactile feedback during teleoperation of a surgical robot. The display is composed of five balloons actuated by controlling the pneumatic pressure. The implemented display is 18?mm?×?18?mm?×?15?mm. This size is suitable for mounting the display onto the master controls of a surgical robot. The maximum normal and shear displacements are 2 and 1.3?mm, respectively. The proposed tactile display may provide perceivable stimuli to a human finger pad in all five directions: normal, distal, proximal, radial, and ulnar. This paper also reports on the results of psychophysical measurement of the minimum perceivable movement of the developed tactile display for each of the five directions.     

Noncertainty equivalent adaptive control of robot manipulators without velocity measurements

This paper presents a noncertainty equivalent adaptive motion control scheme for robot manipulators in the absence of link velocity measurements. A new output feedback adaptation algorithm, based on the attractive manifold design approach, is developed. A proportional-integral adaptation is selected for the adaptive parameter estimator to strengthen the passivity of the system. In order to relieve velocity measurements, an observer is designed to estimate the velocities. The controller guarantees semiglobal asymptotic motion tracking and velocity estimation, as well as L_∞ and L₂ bounded parameter estimation error. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is verified by simulations for a two-link robot manipulator and a four-bar linkage. The results are further compared with the earlier certainty-equivalent adaptive partial and full state feedback controller to highlight potential closed-loop performance improvements.     

A helical drive in-pipe robot based on compound planetary gearing

The modern society is fuelled by very comprehensive grids of gas and liquid pipelines. In recent years, various in-pipe robots have been developed for inspection and maintenance tasks inside such pipes. In this paper, a novel in-pipe robot is proposed and developed for gas/oil well interventions at thousands of meters downhole. Due to the nature of such intervention, in-pipe robot design must be capable of carrying a very large payload, as large as 2500?N inside a pipe with diameter as small as 54?mm. The proposed design concept is based on a compound planetary gearing system. One of the major novelties of this design is the use of pipe wall as a ring gear for one stage of the compound planetary gear system; the other novelty is the generation of helical angle when the planetary gears are expanded to press on the pipe wall. The proposed concept is compact, efficient, and has never been reported before. In this paper, the helical angle, the velocity, and load capability of the proposed system will be analyzed. The load transportation capability of the proposed robot is also measured based on an experiment. Initial data have shown great potential in carrying large payloads.     

Modeling and solving mixed-model assembly line balancing problem with setups. Part I: A mixed integer linear programming model

This paper is the first one of the two papers entitled “modeling and solving mixed-model assembly line balancing problem with setups”, which has the aim of developing the mathematical programming formulation of the problem and solving it with a hybrid meta-heuristic approach. In this current part, a mixed-integer linear mathematical programming (MILP) model for mixed-model assembly line balancing problem with setups is developed. The proposed MILP model considers some particular features of the real world problems such as parallel workstations, zoning constraints, and sequence dependent setup times between tasks, which is an actual framework in assembly line balancing problems. The main endeavor of Part-I is to formulate the sequence dependent setup times between tasks in type-I mixed-model assembly line balancing problem. The proposed model considers the setups between the tasks of the same model and the setups because of the model switches in any workstation. The capability of our MILP is tested through a set of computational experiments. Part-II tackles the problem with a multiple colony hybrid bees algorithm. A set of computational experiments is also carried out for the proposed approach in Part-II.     

Perception of own and robot engagement in human–robot interactions and their dependence on robotics knowledge

Communication between socially assistive robots and humans might be facilitated by intuitively understandable mechanisms. To investigate the effects of some key nonverbal gestures on a human’s own engagement and robot engagement experienced by humans, participants read a series of instructions to a robot that responded with nods, blinks, changes in gaze direction, or a combination of these. Unbeknown to the participants, the robot had no form of speech processing or gesture recognition, but simply measured speech volume levels, responding with gestures whenever a lull in sound was detected. As measured by visual analogue scales, engagement of participants was not differentially affected by the different responses of the robot. However, their perception of the robot’s engagement in the task, its likability and its understanding of the instructions depended on the gesture presented, with nodding being the most effective response. Participants who self-reported greater robotics knowledge reported higher overall engagement and greater success at developing a relationship with the robot. However, self-reported robotics knowledge did not differentially affect the impact of robot gestures. This suggests that greater familiarity with robotics may help to maximise positive experiences for humans involved in human–robot interactions without affecting the impact of the type of signal sent by the robot.     

基于通用即插即用的服务监控机器人在智能家居中的应用

针对智能家居系统中多种异构电子设备难以与其他设备集成的问题,采用一种通用即插即用(UPnP)方式将服务机器人集成到智能家居系统中,着重介绍了集成后衍生的新服务.首先系统地介绍了UPnP标准和服务机器人Rovio;然后开发一个PC应用程序作为服务机器人和家庭智能网络之间连接的虚拟桥,形成服务机器人为智能家居网络提供服务的控制回路.最后通过一些实际操作来验证UPnP Rovio虚拟桥的性能,旨在探索服务机器人集成到智能家居的可能性和一些衍生的先进服务.通过路径跟踪、垃圾检测等一些先进服务的实际演示验证了通过UPnP方式将服务机器人集成到智能家居网络中的可行性,并展示了智能家居互通后的巨大潜在利益.