Modelling and control of a high redundancy actuator

The high redundancy actuation concept is a completely new approach to fault tolerance, and it is important to appreciate that it provides a transformation of the characteristics of actuators so that the actuation performance (capability) degrades slowly rather than suddenly failing, even though individual elements themselves fail. This paper aims to demonstrate the viability of the concept by showing that a highly redundant actuator, comprising a relatively large number of actuation elements, can be controlled in such a way that faults in individual elements are inherently accommodated, although some degradation in overall performance will inevitably be found. The paper introduces the notion of fault-tolerant systems and the highly redundant actuator concept. Then a model for a two by two configuration with electro-mechanical actuation elements is derived. Two classical control approaches are then considered based on frequency domain techniques. Finally simulation results under a number of faults show the viability of the approach for fault accommodation without re-configuratio

Optimal control design for robust fuzzy friction compensation in a robot joint

This paper presents a methodology for the compensation of nonlinear friction in a robot joint structure based on a fuzzy local modeling technique. To enhance the tracking performance of the robot joint, a dynamic model is derived from the local physical properties of friction. The model is the basis of a precompensator taking into account the dynamics of the overall corrected system by means of a minor loop. The proposed structure does not claim to faithfully reproduce complex phenomena driven by friction. However, the linearity of the local models simplifies the design and implementation of the observer, and its estimation capabilities are improved by the nonlinear integral gain. The controller can then be robustly synthesized using linear matrix inequalities to cancel the effects of inexact friction compensation. Experimental tests conducted on a robot joint with a high level of friction demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed fuzzy observer-based control strategy for tracking system trajectories when operating in zero-velocity regions and during motion reversals

Control of posture with FES systems

One of the major obstacles in restoration of functional FES supported standing in paraplegia is the lack of knowledge of a suitable control strategy. The main issue is how to integrate the purposeful actions of the non-paralysed upper body when interacting with the environment while standing, and the actions of the artificial FES control system supporting the paralyzed lower extremities. In this paper we provide a review of our approach to solving this question, which focuses on three inter-related areas: investigations of the basic mechanisms of functional postural responses in neurologically intact subjects; re-training of the residual sensory-motor activities of the upper body in paralyzed individuals; and development of closed-loop FES control systems for support of the paralyzed joints

Exploiting short-term memory in soft body dynamics as a computational resource

Soft materials are not only highly deformable but they also possess rich and diverse body dynamics. Soft body dynamics exhibit a variety of properties, including nonlinearity, elasticity, and potentially infinitely many degrees of freedom. Here we demonstrate that such soft body dynamics can be employed to conduct certain types of computation. Using body dynamics generated from a soft silicone arm, we show that they can be exploited to emulate functions that require memory and to embed robust closed-loop control into the arm. Our results suggest that soft body dynamics have a short-term memory and can serve as a computational resource. This finding paves the way toward exploiting passive body dynamics for control of a large class of underactuated systems.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures; email address correcte

Preliminary study, analysis and design for a power switch for digital engine actuators

Innovative control configurations using high temperature switches to operate actuator driving solenoids were studied. The impact on engine control system life cycle costs and reliability of electronic control and (ECU) heat dissipation due to power conditioning and interface drivers were addressed. Various power supply and actuation schemes were investigated, including optical signal transmission and electronics on the actuator, engine driven alternator, and inside the ECU. The use of a switching shunt power conditioner results in the most significant decrease in heat dissipation within the ECU. No overall control system reliability improvement is projected by the use of remote high temperature switches for solenoid drivers

Robust tuning of robot control systems

The computed torque control problem is examined for a robot arm with flexible, geared, joint drive systems which are typical in many industrial robots. The standard computed torque algorithm is not directly applicable to this class of manipulators because of the dynamics introduced by the joint drive system. The proposed approach to computed torque control combines a computed torque algorithm with torque controller at each joint. Three such control schemes are proposed. The first scheme uses the joint torque control system currently implemented on the robot arm and a novel form of the computed torque algorithm. The other two use the standard computed torque algorithm and a novel model following torque control system based on model following techniques. Standard tasks and performance indices are used to evaluate the performance of the controllers. Both numerical simulations and experiments are used in evaluation. The study shows that all three proposed systems lead to improved tracking performance over a conventional PD controller

A New Position and Speed Estimation Scheme for Position Control of PMSM Drives Using Low-Resolution Position Sensors

A new position control method for permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive with a low-resolution encoder is proposed in this paper. Three binary Hall position sensors are utilized to realize a moderate-performance position control system for the consideration of economy and simplicity in servo application. Compared with sensorless control, the usage of binary Hall position sensors is a guarantee of both control performance and low cost. However, the low resolution of the Hall sensor will heavily deteriorate the accuracy of the position and speed calculation. Such drawback can be effectively minimized by using appropriate position and speed estimation schemes. With the help of polynomial fitting and state observer techniques, a solution is provided to realize semi-closed loop control by treating the position and speed estimators as separate systems. The performance can be improved (1) by proposing a polynomial fitting scheme with least squares method, high-resolution rotor-position predictor can be derived by fitting the predefined position data from binary Hall position sensors in a linear or quadratic manner; (2) by adopting the dual-sampling-rate observer, instantaneous speed can be estimated at each control cycle and the estimation error is corrected once a new measurement form the Hall arrives. Furthermore, a nonlinear position control algorithm is introduced to increase standstill stability. Extensive experimental results are given to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method and its superiority over conventional methods