A METHODOLOGY FOR AUTONOMOUS ROOF BOLT INSTALLATION USING INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS

The mining sector is currently in the stage of adopting more automation, and with it, robotics. Autonomous bolting in underground environments remains a hot topic for the mining industry. Roof bolter operators are exposed to hazardous conditions due to their proximity to the unsupported roof, loose bolts, and heavy spinning mass. Prolonged exposure to the risk inevitably leads to accidents and injuries. The current thesis presents the development of a robotic assembly capable of carrying out the entire sequence of roof bolting operations in full and partial autonomous sensor-driven rock bolting operations to achieve a high-impact health and safety intervention for equipment operators. The automation of a complete cycle of drill steel positioning, drilling, bolt orientation and placement, resin placement, and bolt securing is discussed using an anthropomorphic robotic arm.A human-computer interface is developed to enable the interaction of the operators with the machines. Collision detection techniques will have to be implemented to minimize the impact after an unexpected collision has occurred. A robust failure-detection protocol is developed to check the vital parameters of robot operations continuously. This unique approach to automation of small materials handling is described with lessons learned. A user-centered GUI has been developed that allows for a human user to control and monitor the autonomous roof bolter. Preliminary tests have been conducted in a mock mine to evaluate the developed system\u27s performance. In addition, a number of different scenarios simulating typical missions that a roof bolter needs to undertake in an underground coal mine were tested

Mining roof bolting machine safety : a study of the drill boom vertical velocity

"This report examines the boom arm vertical speed for roof bolting machines to study a moving boom arm appendage at different speeds during different work scenarios. The goal of this study is to determine the impact of the appendage speed on the likelihood of the operator's hand, arm, head, or leg making contact, such as touching the moving appendage. The overall research goal is to reduce workers' risks to injury from exposure to underground mining machinery. Accident investigation reports from the Mine Safety and Health Administration do not usually contain enough information to aid in studying this problem, and lab experiments with human subjects are not feasible because of safety issues. As an alternative, researchers used a unique computer simulation model that uses a virtual human, vision tracking, and generates random virtual human motions and risky work behaviors. By using specialized software to simulate the computer model, researchers accurately identified potential hazards of tasks where it is not possible to perform experiments with human subjects. Results of a frequency distribution analytic approach show that, regardless of other variables, contact incidents were always greater when the boom was moving up, always greater on the hand, and always greater for the boom arm part of the machine. The reason why the subject experiences more contacts when the boom arm is moving up rather than down is that more risky behaviors occur during drilling and bolting when the boom is ascending. Results of a cross-tabulation analytic approach show that the 25th- percentile operators experienced more contacts than other operator sizes and had most of their contacts during a boom speed of 13 in/sec. The hand-on-boom behavior during drilling and bolting tasks experienced more contacts than other work behaviors, and both tasks had most of their contacts during speed 13 in/sec. The 60-in seam experienced more contacts than other seam heights and had most of the contacts during speed 16 in/sec. For univariate logistic regression models, seam height is the most important predictor of the probability of a contact. However, a multivariate logistic regression model predicted contacts are more likely with the both-knee work posture in the 60-in seam, a 25th-percentile operator compared to a 55th-percentile operator, and speeds 16 and 22 in/sec compared to 7 in/sec. Results of a survival analytic approach suggest that controlling the boom speed is the most important factor in determining the risk of an operator making contact. Based on the data collected, boom speeds greater than 13 in/sec result in a substantial increase in risk to the roof bolter operator making contact. Speeds less than or equal to 13 in/sec are associated with a more modest relative risk of making contact, which represents a decrease in potential hazard. Virtual operator's response time has little effect on the number of contacts experienced. The mining industry can use the information in this study to reduce the likelihood that roof bolter operators will experience injury due to contact with a moving roof bolting machine's boom arm." - NIOSHTIC-

Flexible, adaptive industrial assembly: driving innovation through competition

Funder: ArmAbstract: Robotics competitions stimulate the next generation of cutting edge robotics solutions and innovative technologies. The World Robot Summit (WRS) Industrial Assembly challenge posed a key research challenge: how to develop adaptive industrial assembly robots. The overall goal is to develop robots where minimal hardware or software changes are required to manufacture a new or altered product. This will minimise waste and allow the industry to move towards a far more flexible approach to manufacturing; this will provide exciting new technologies for the manufacturing industry and support many new business models and approaches. In this paper, we present an approach where general-purpose grippers and adaptive control approaches have been developed to move towards this research goal. These approaches enable highly flexible and adaptive assembly of a belt drive system. The abilities of this approach were demonstrated by taking part in the WRS Industrial Assembly Challenge. We achieved second place in the kitting challenge and second place in the adaptive manufacturing challenge and were presented with the Innovation Award

Competitive high variance, low volume manufacturing with robot manipulators

Competitive robotized manufacturing of high specter variance, low volume product lines represents market opportunities for manufacturing companies, but cost-efficient production is challenging. In this paper, we present two main industry use cases which represent key challenges to be solved for cost-efficient low-volume, high-variance production. The use cases are found in collaboration with three manufacturing companies. We identify and describe these challenges which include perception and manipulation with shiny/high-reflectivity parts, human-machine interfaces for robot reconfiguration and calibration between simulated and real-world environments. In this paper, we present new methods for meeting these challenges: machine vision for handling sensor data with low quality in robot manipulation, automated robot programming based on CAD-models and automated calibration. Moreover, we implement and demonstrate the methods on the two identified industry use cases for robotized assembly.acceptedVersio

Robot and robot actuator module therefor

An actuator module for inducing the relative motion of robot members joined in a robot joint includes a Ferguson epicyclic gear train, integral motor and integrated control means. The gear train comprises a plurality of base gears connected to the robot members and a plurality of planet gear carriers, each planet gear carrier having a plurality of planet gears rotatably mounted therein. A motor integrated with certain gear train components induces the rotation of the planet gear carriers about or within the base gears. Because of the Ferguson paradox, this induces the motion of base gears connected to one robot member relative to those connected to the other robot member, which in turn causes the relative motion of the robot members. The actuator module can be configured as dual substantially symmetric systems and may comprise multiple stages of epicyclic gearing.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Proceedings of the 2017 Coal Operators\u27 Conference

Proceedings of the 2017 Coal Operators\u27 Conference. All papers in these proceedings are peer reviewed. ISBN: 978174128261

Spinoff, 1986

The major programs that generate new technology and therefore expand the bank of knowledge available for future transfer are outlined. The focal point of this volume contains a representative sampling of spinoff products and processes that resulted from technology utilization, or secondary application. The various mechanisms NASA employs to stimulate technology utilization are described and in an appendix, are listed contact sources for further information