An Application of Modified T2FHC Algorithm in Two-Link Robot Controller

Parallel robotic systems have shown their advantages over the traditional serial robots such as high payload capacity, high speed, and high precision. Their applications are widespread from transportation to manufacturing fields. Therefore, most of the recent studies in parallel robots focus on finding the best method to improve the system accuracy. Enhancing this metric, however, is still the biggest challenge in controlling a parallel robot owing to the complex mathematical model of the system. In this paper, we present a novel solution to this problem with a Type 2 Fuzzy Coherent Controller Network (T2FHC), which is composed of a Type 2 Cerebellar Model Coupling Controller (CMAC) with its fast convergence ability and a Brain Emotional Learning Controller (BELC) using the Lyaponov-based weight updating rule. In addition, the T2FHC is combined with a surface generator to increase the system flexibility. To evaluate its applicability in real life, the proposed controller was tested on a Quanser 2-DOF robot system in three case studies: no load, 180 g load and 360 g load, respectively. The results showed that the proposed structure achieved superior performance compared to those of available algorithms such as CMAC and Novel Self-Organizing Fuzzy CMAC (NSOF CMAC). The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) index of the system that was 2.20E-06 for angle A and 2.26E-06 for angle B and the tracking error that was -6.42E-04 for angle A and 2.27E-04 for angle B demonstrate the good stability and high accuracy of the proposed T2FHC. With this outstanding achievement, the proposed method is promising to be applied to many applications using nonlinear systems

Optimized state feedback regulation of 3DOF helicopter system via extremum seeking

In this paper, an optimized state feedback regulation of a 3 degree of freedom (DOF) helicopter is designed via extremum seeking (ES) technique. Multi-parameter ES is applied to optimize the tracking performance via tuning State Vector Feedback with Integration of the Control Error (SVFBICE). Discrete multivariable version of ES is developed to minimize a cost function that measures the performance of the controller. The cost function is a function of the error between the actual and desired axis positions. The controller parameters are updated online as the optimization takes place. This method significantly decreases the time in obtaining optimal controller parameters. Simulations were conducted for the online optimization under both fixed and varying operating conditions. The results demonstrate the usefulness of using ES for preserving the maximum attainable performance

Classifying intelligence in machines : a taxonomy of intelligent control

The quest to create machines that can solve problems as humans do leads us to intelligent control. This field encompasses control systems that can adapt to changes and learn to improve their actions—traits typically associated with human intelligence. In this work we seek to determine how intelligent these classes of control systems are by quantifying their level of adaptability and learning. First we describe the stages of development towards intelligent control and present a definition based on literature. Based on the key elements of this definition, we propose a novel taxonomy of intelligent control methods, which assesses the extent to which they handle uncertainties in three areas: the environment, the controller, and the goals. This taxonomy is applicable to a variety of robotic and other autonomous systems, which we demonstrate through several examples of intelligent control methods and their classifications. Looking at the spread of classifications based on this taxonomy can help researchers identify where control systems can be made more intelligent

Development of Self-Learning Type-2 Fuzzy Systems for System Identification and Control of Autonomous Systems

Modelling and control of dynamic systems are faced by multiple technical challenges, mainly due to the nature of uncertain complex, nonlinear, and time-varying systems. Traditional modelling techniques require a complete understanding of system dynamics and obtaining comprehensive mathematical models is not always achievable due to limited knowledge of the systems as well as the presence of multiple uncertainties in the environment. As universal approximators, fuzzy logic systems (FLSs), neural networks (NNs) and neuro-fuzzy systems have proved to be successful computational tools for representing the behaviour of complex dynamical systems. Moreover, FLSs, NNs and learning-based techniques have been gaining popularity for controlling complex, ill-defined, nonlinear, and time-varying systems in the face of uncertainties. However, fuzzy rules derived by experts can be too ad-hoc, and the performance is less than optimum. In other words, generating fuzzy rules and membership functions in fuzzy systems is a potential challenge especially for systems with many variables. Moreover, under the umbrella of FLSs, although type-1 fuzzy logic control systems (T1-FLCs) have been applied to control various complex nonlinear systems, they have limited capability to handle uncertainties. Aiming to accommodate uncertainties, type-2 fuzzy logic control systems (T2-FLCs) were established. This thesis aims to address the shortcomings of existing fuzzy techniques by utilisation of type-2 FLCs with novel adaptive capabilities. The first contribution of this thesis is a novel online system identification technique by means of a recursive interval type-2 Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy C-means clustering technique (IT2-TS-FC) to accommodate the footprint-of-uncertainties (FoUs). This development is meant to specifically address the shortcomings of type-1 fuzzy systems in capturing the footprint-of-uncertainties such as mechanical wear, rotor damage, battery drain and sensor and actuator faults. Unlike previous type-2 TS fuzzy models, the proposed method constructs two fuzzifiers (upper and lower) and two regression coefficients in the consequent part to handle uncertainties. The weighted least square method is employed to compute the regression coefficients. The proposed method is validated using two benchmarks, namely, real flight test data of a quadcopter drone and Mackey-Glass time series data. The algorithm has the capability to model uncertainties (e.g., noisy dataset). The second contribution of this thesis is the development of a novel self-adaptive interval type-2 fuzzy controller named the SAF2C for controlling multi-input multi-output (MIMO) nonlinear systems. The adaptation law is derived using sliding mode control (SMC) theory to reduce the computation time so that the learning process can be expedited by 80% compared to separate single-input single-output (SISO) controllers. The system employs the `Enhanced Iterative Algorithm with Stop Condition' (EIASC) type-reduction method, which is more computationally efficient than the `Karnik-Mendel' type-reduction algorithm. The stability of the SAF2C is proven using the Lyapunov technique. To ensure the applicability of the proposed control scheme, SAF2C is implemented to control several dynamical systems, including a simulated MIMO hexacopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the face of external disturbance and parameter variations. The ability of SAF2C to filter the measurement noise is demonstrated, where significant improvement is obtained using the proposed controller in the face of measurement noise. Also, the proposed closed-loop control system is applied to control other benchmark dynamic systems (e.g., a simulated autonomous underwater vehicle and inverted pendulum on a cart system) demonstrating high accuracy and robustness to variations in system parameters and external disturbance. Another contribution of this thesis is a novel stand-alone enhanced self-adaptive interval type-2 fuzzy controller named the ESAF2C algorithm, whose type-2 fuzzy parameters are tuned online using the SMC theory. This way, we expect to design a computationally efficient adaptive Type-2 fuzzy system, suitable for real-time applications by introducing the EIASC type-reducer. The proposed technique is applied on a quadcopter UAV (QUAV), where extensive simulations and real-time flight tests for a hovering QUAV under wind disturbances are also conducted to validate the efficacy of the ESAF2C. Specifically, the control performance is investigated in the face of external wind gust disturbances, generated using an industrial fan. Stability analysis of the ESAF2C control system is investigated using the Lyapunov theory. Yet another contribution of this thesis is the development of a type-2 evolving fuzzy control system (T2-EFCS) to facilitate self-learning (either from scratch or from a certain predefined rule). T2-EFCS has two phases, namely, the structure learning and the parameters learning. The structure of T2-EFCS does not require previous information about the fuzzy structure, and it can start the construction of its rules from scratch with only one rule. The rules are then added and pruned in an online fashion to achieve the desired set-point. The proposed technique is applied to control an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) in the presence of multiple external disturbances demonstrating the robustness of the proposed control systems. The proposed approach turns out to be computationally efficient as the system employs fewer fuzzy parameters while maintaining superior control performance

Advanced Strategies for Robot Manipulators

Amongst the robotic systems, robot manipulators have proven themselves to be of increasing importance and are widely adopted to substitute for human in repetitive and/or hazardous tasks. Modern manipulators are designed complicatedly and need to do more precise, crucial and critical tasks. So, the simple traditional control methods cannot be efficient, and advanced control strategies with considering special constraints are needed to establish. In spite of the fact that groundbreaking researches have been carried out in this realm until now, there are still many novel aspects which have to be explored

Dynamic Modeling, Design and Control of Wire-Borne Underactuated Brachiating Robots: Theory and Application

The ability of mobile robots to locomote safely in unstructured environments will be a cornerstone of robotics of the future. Introducing robots into fully unstructured environments is known to be a notoriously difficult problem in the robotics field. As a result, many of today's mobile robots are confined to prepared level surfaces in laboratory settings or relatively controlled environments only. One avenue for deploying mobile robots into unstructured settings is to utilize elevated wire networks. The research conducted under this thesis lays the groundwork for developing a new class of wire-borne underactuated robots that employs brachiation -- swinging like an ape -- as a means of locomotion on flexible cables. Executing safe brachiation maneuvers with a cable-suspended underactuated robot is a challenging problem due to the complications induced by the cable dynamics and vibrations. This thesis studies, from concept through experiments, the dynamic modeling techniques and control algorithms for wire-borne underactuated brachiating robots, to develop advanced locomotion strategies that enable the robots to perform energy-efficient and robust brachiation motions on flexible cables. High-fidelity and approximate dynamic models are derived for the robot-cable system, which provide the ability to model the interactions between the cable and the robot and to include the flexible cable dynamics in the control design. An optimal trajectory generation framework is presented in which the flexible cable dynamics are explicitly accounted for when designing the optimal swing trajectories. By employing a variety of control-theoretic methods such as robust and adaptive estimation, control Lyapunov and barrier functions, semidefinite programming and sum-of-squares optimization, a set of closed-loop control algorithms are proposed. A novel hardware brachiating robot design and embodiment are presented, which incorporate unique mechanical design features and provide a reliable testbed for experimental validation of the wire-borne underactuated brachiating robots. Extensive simulation results and hardware experiments demonstrate that the proposed multi-body dynamic models, trajectory optimization frameworks, and feedback control algorithms prove highly useful in real world settings and achieve reliable brachiation performance in the presence of uncertainties, disturbances, actuator limits and safety constraints.Ph.D