Review of Development Stages in the Conceptual Design of an Electro Hydrostatic Actuator for Robotics

The design of modern robotic devices faces numerous requirements and limitations which are related to optimization and robustness. Consequently, these stringent requirements have caused improvements in many engineering areas and lead to development of new optimization methods which better handle new complex products designed for application in industrial robots. One of the newly developed methods used in industrial robotics is the concept of a self-contained power device, an Electro-Hydrostatic Actuator (EHA). EHA devices were designed with a central idea, to avoid the possible drawbacks which were present in other types of actuators that are currently used in robotic systems. This paper is a review of the development phases of an EHA device for robotic applications. An overview of the advantages and disadvantages related to current EHA designs are presented, and finally possible ideas for future developments are suggested

Dexterous actuation

Methods that have been developed for actuation system evaluation are normally generic, and primarily intended to facilitate actuator selection. Here, we address specifically those engineering devices that exhibit multiple-degree-of-freedom motions under space and weight constraints, and focus on the evaluation of the total actuation solution. We suggest a new measure that we provisionally call ‘Actuation Dexterity’, which interrogates the effectiveness of this total solution and serves as a design support tool. The new concept is developed in the context of artificial hands, and the approach is based on the review and analysis of thirty-six different artificial hand projects described in the literature. We have identified forty-eight unique evaluation criteria that are relevant to the actuation of devices of this type, and have devised a scoring method that permits the quantification of the actuation dexterity of a given device. We have tested this approach by evaluating and quantifying the actuation dexterity of five different artificial hands from the literature. Finally, we discuss the implications of this approach to the design process, and the portability of the approach between different device types.peer-reviewe

Development of a knee prosthesis powered by electro-hydrostatic actuation

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Soft Robotics: Design for Simplicity, Performance, and Robustness of Robots for Interaction with Humans.

This thesis deals with the design possibilities concerning the next generation of advanced Robots. Aim of the work is to study, analyse and realise artificial systems that are essentially simple, performing and robust and can live and coexist with humans. The main design guideline followed in doing so is the Soft Robotics Approach, that implies the design of systems with intrinsic mechanical compliance in their architecture. The first part of the thesis addresses design of new soft robotics actuators, or robotic muscles. At the beginning are provided information about what a robotic muscle is and what is needed to realise it. A possible classification of these systems is analysed and some criteria useful for their comparison are explained. After, a set of functional specifications and parameters is identified and defined, to characterise a specific subset of this kind of actuators, called Variable Stiffness Actuators. The selected parameters converge in a data-sheet that easily defines performance and abilities of the robotic system. A complete strategy for the design and realisation of this kind of system is provided, which takes into account their me- chanical morphology and architecture. As consequence of this, some new actuators are developed, validated and employed in the execution of complex experimental tasks. In particular the actuator VSA-Cube and its add-on, a Variable Damper, are developed as the main com- ponents of a robotics low-cost platform, called VSA-CubeBot, that v can be used as an exploratory platform for multi degrees of freedom experiments. Experimental validations and mathematical models of the system employed in multi degrees of freedom tasks (bimanual as- sembly and drawing on an uneven surface), are reported. The second part of the thesis is about the design of multi fingered hands for robots. In this part of the work the Pisa-IIT SoftHand is introduced. It is a novel robot hand prototype designed with the purpose of being as easily usable, robust and simple as an industrial gripper, while exhibiting a level of grasping versatility and an aspect comparable to that of the human hand. In the thesis the main theo- retical tool used to enable such simplification, i.e. the neuroscience– based notion of soft synergies, are briefly reviewed. The approach proposed rests on ideas coming from underactuated hand design. A synthesis method to realize a desired set of soft synergies through the principled design of adaptive underactuated mechanisms, which is called the method of adaptive synergies, is discussed. This ap- proach leads to the design of hands accommodating in principle an arbitrary number of soft synergies, as demonstrated in grasping and manipulation simulations and experiments with a prototype. As a particular instance of application of the method of adaptive syner- gies, the Pisa–IIT SoftHand is then described in detail. The design and implementation of the prototype hand are shown and its effec- tiveness demonstrated through grasping experiments. Finally, control of the Pisa/IIT Hand is considered. Few different control strategies are adopted, including an experimental setup with the use of surface Electromyographic signals

Robotics 2010

Without a doubt, robotics has made an incredible progress over the last decades. The vision of developing, designing and creating technical systems that help humans to achieve hard and complex tasks, has intelligently led to an incredible variety of solutions. There are barely technical fields that could exhibit more interdisciplinary interconnections like robotics. This fact is generated by highly complex challenges imposed by robotic systems, especially the requirement on intelligent and autonomous operation. This book tries to give an insight into the evolutionary process that takes place in robotics. It provides articles covering a wide range of this exciting area. The progress of technical challenges and concepts may illuminate the relationship between developments that seem to be completely different at first sight. The robotics remains an exciting scientific and engineering field. The community looks optimistically ahead and also looks forward for the future challenges and new development

Development of new intelligent autonomous robotic assistant for hospitals

Continuous technological development in modern societies has increased the quality of life and average life-span of people. This imposes an extra burden on the current healthcare infrastructure, which also creates the opportunity for developing new, autonomous, assistive robots to help alleviate this extra workload. The research question explored the extent to which a prototypical robotic platform can be created and how it may be implemented in a hospital environment with the aim to assist the hospital staff with daily tasks, such as guiding patients and visitors, following patients to ensure safety, and making deliveries to and from rooms and workstations. In terms of major contributions, this thesis outlines five domains of the development of an actual robotic assistant prototype. Firstly, a comprehensive schematic design is presented in which mechanical, electrical, motor control and kinematics solutions have been examined in detail. Next, a new method has been proposed for assessing the intrinsic properties of different flooring-types using machine learning to classify mechanical vibrations. Thirdly, the technical challenge of enabling the robot to simultaneously map and localise itself in a dynamic environment has been addressed, whereby leg detection is introduced to ensure that, whilst mapping, the robot is able to distinguish between people and the background. The fourth contribution is geometric collision prediction into stabilised dynamic navigation methods, thus optimising the navigation ability to update real-time path planning in a dynamic environment. Lastly, the problem of detecting gaze at long distances has been addressed by means of a new eye-tracking hardware solution which combines infra-red eye tracking and depth sensing. The research serves both to provide a template for the development of comprehensive mobile assistive-robot solutions, and to address some of the inherent challenges currently present in introducing autonomous assistive robots in hospital environments.Open Acces

Conference on Intelligent Robotics in Field, Factory, Service, and Space (CIRFFSS 1994), volume 1

The AIAA/NASA Conference on Intelligent Robotics in Field, Factory, Service, and Space (CIRFFSS '94) was originally proposed because of the strong belief that America's problems of global economic competitiveness and job creation and preservation can partly be solved by the use of intelligent robotics, which are also required for human space exploration missions. Individual sessions addressed nuclear industry, agile manufacturing, security/building monitoring, on-orbit applications, vision and sensing technologies, situated control and low-level control, robotic systems architecture, environmental restoration and waste management, robotic remanufacturing, and healthcare applications

Technology 2004, Vol. 2

Proceedings from symposia of the Technology 2004 Conference, November 8-10, 1994, Washington, DC. Volume 2 features papers on computers and software, virtual reality simulation, environmental technology, video and imaging, medical technology and life sciences, robotics and artificial intelligence, and electronics