5,008 research outputs found
Modularity in robotic systems
Most robotic systems today are designed one at a time, at a high cost of time and money. This wasteful approach has been necessary because the industry has not established a foundation for the continued evolution of intelligent machines. The next generation of robots will have to be generic, versatile machines capable of absorbing new technology rapidly and economically. This approach is demonstrated in the success of the personal computer, which can be upgraded or expanded with new software and hardware at virtually every level. Modularity is perceived as a major opportunity to reduce the 6 to 7 year design cycle time now required for new robotic manipulators, greatly increasing the breadth and speed of diffusion of robotic systems in manufacturing. Modularity and its crucial role in the next generation of intelligent machines are the focus of interest. The main advantages that modularity provides are examined; types of modules needed to create a generic robot are discussed. Structural modules designed by the robotics group at the University of Texas at Austin are examined to demonstrate the advantages of modular design
Design of an Anthropomorphic, Compliant, and Lightweight Dual Arm for Aerial Manipulation
This paper presents an anthropomorphic, compliant and lightweight dual arm manipulator designed and developed for aerial manipulation applications with multi-rotor platforms. Each arm provides four degrees of freedom in a human-like kinematic configuration for end effector positioning: shoulder pitch, roll and yaw, and elbow pitch. The dual arm, weighting 1.3 kg in total, employs smart servo actuators and a customized and carefully designed aluminum frame structure manufactured by laser cut. The proposed
design reduces the manufacturing cost as no computer numerical control machined part is used. Mechanical joint compliance is provided in all the joints, introducing a compact spring-lever transmission mechanism between the servo shaft and the links, integrating a potentiometer for measuring the deflection of the joints.
The servo actuators are partially or fully isolated against impacts and overloads thanks to the ange bearings attached to the frame structure that support the rotation of the links and the deflection of the joints. This simple mechanism increases the robustness of the arms and safety in the physical interactions between the aerial
robot and the environment. The developed manipulator has been validated through different experiments in fixed base test-bench and in outdoor flight tests.Unión Europea H2020-ICT-2014- 644271Ministerio de EconomÃa y Competitividad DPI2015-71524-RMinisterio de EconomÃa y Competitividad DPI2017-89790-
High speed, precision motion strategies for lightweight structures
Research on space telerobotics is summarized. Adaptive control experiments on the Robotic Arm, Large and Flexible (RALF) were preformed and are documented, along with a joint controller design for the Small Articulated Manipulator (SAM), which is mounted on the RALF. A control algorithm is described as a robust decentralized adaptive control based on a bounded uncertainty approach. Dynamic interactions between SAM and RALF are examined. Unstability of the manipulator is studied from the perspective that the inertial forces generated could actually be used to more rapidly damp out the flexible manipulator's vibration. Currently being studied is the modeling of the constrained dynamics of flexible arms
Modeling and Control of the Automated Radiator Inspection Device
Many of the operations performed at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) are dangerous and repetitive tasks which make them ideal candidates for robotic applications. For one specific application, KSC is currently in the process of designing and constructing a robot called the Automated Radiator Inspection Device (ARID), to inspect the radiator panels on the orbiter. The following aspects of the ARID project are discussed: modeling of the ARID; design of control algorithms; and nonlinear based simulation of the ARID. Recommendations to assist KSC personnel in the successful completion of the ARID project are given
SPRK: A Low-Cost Stewart Platform For Motion Study In Surgical Robotics
To simulate body organ motion due to breathing, heart beats, or peristaltic
movements, we designed a low-cost, miniaturized SPRK (Stewart Platform Research
Kit) to translate and rotate phantom tissue. This platform is 20cm x 20cm x
10cm to fit in the workspace of a da Vinci Research Kit (DVRK) surgical robot
and costs $250, two orders of magnitude less than a commercial Stewart
platform. The platform has a range of motion of +/- 1.27 cm in translation
along x, y, and z directions and has motion modes for sinusoidal motion and
breathing-inspired motion. Modular platform mounts were also designed for
pattern cutting and debridement experiments. The platform's positional
controller has a time-constant of 0.2 seconds and the root-mean-square error is
1.22 mm, 1.07 mm, and 0.20 mm in x, y, and z directions respectively. All the
details, CAD models, and control software for the platform is available at
github.com/BerkeleyAutomation/sprk
Compliance error compensation technique for parallel robots composed of non-perfect serial chains
The paper presents the compliance errors compensation technique for
over-constrained parallel manipulators under external and internal loadings.
This technique is based on the non-linear stiffness modeling which is able to
take into account the influence of non-perfect geometry of serial chains caused
by manufacturing errors. Within the developed technique, the deviation
compensation reduces to an adjustment of a target trajectory that is modified
in the off-line mode. The advantages and practical significance of the proposed
technique are illustrated by an example that deals with groove milling by the
Orthoglide manipulator that considers different locations of the workpiece. It
is also demonstrated that the impact of the compliance errors and the errors
caused by inaccuracy in serial chains cannot be taken into account using the
superposition principle.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1204.175
Design and Development of a Twisted String Exoskeleton Robot for the Upper Limb
High-intensity and task-specific upper-limb treatment of active, highly repetitive movements are the effective approaches for patients with motor disorders. However, with the severe shortage of medical service in the United States and the fact that post-stroke survivors can continue to incur significant financial costs, patients often choose not to return to the hospital or clinic for complete recovery. Therefore, robot-assisted therapy can be considered as an alternative rehabilitation approach because the similar or better results as the patients who receive intensive conventional therapy offered by professional physicians.;The primary objective of this study was to design and fabricate an effective mobile assistive robotic system that can provide stroke patients shoulder and elbow assistance. To reduce the size of actuators and to minimize the weight that needs to be carried by users, two sets of dual twisted-string actuators, each with 7 strands (1 neutral and 6 effective) were used to extend/contract the adopted strings to drive the rotational movements of shoulder and elbow joints through a Bowden cable mechanism. Furthermore, movements of non-disabled people were captured as templates of training trajectories to provide effective rehabilitation.;The specific aims of this study included the development of a two-degree-of-freedom prototype for the elbow and shoulder joints, an adaptive robust control algorithm with cross-coupling dynamics that can compensate for both nonlinear factors of the system and asynchronization between individual actuators as well as an approach for extracting the reference trajectories for the assistive robotic from non-disabled people based on Microsoft Kinect sensor and Dynamic time warping algorithm. Finally, the data acquisition and control system of the robot was implemented by Intel Galileo and XILINX FPGA embedded system
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