Kalman-Filter-Based Orientation Determination Using Inertial/Magnetic Sensors: Observability Analysis and Performance Evaluation

In this paper we present a quaternion-based Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) for estimating the three-dimensional orientation of a rigid body. The EKF exploits the measurements from an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) that is integrated with a tri-axial magnetic sensor. Magnetic disturbances and gyro bias errors are modeled and compensated by including them in the filter state vector. We employ the observability rank criterion based on Lie derivatives to verify the conditions under which the nonlinear system that describes the process of motion tracking by the IMU is observable, namely it may provide sufficient information for performing the estimation task with bounded estimation errors. The observability conditions are that the magnetic field, perturbed by first-order Gauss-Markov magnetic variations, and the gravity vector are not collinear and that the IMU is subject to some angular motions. Computer simulations and experimental testing are presented to evaluate the algorithm performance, including when the observability conditions are critical

Conceptual mechanization studies for a horizon definition spacecraft attitude control subsystem, phase A, part II, 10 October 1966 - 29 May 1967

Attitude control subsystem for spin stabilized spacecraft for mapping earths infrared horizon radiance profiles in 15 micron carbon dioxide absorption ban

Development of a Self-Balancing robot utilizing FPGA

The popularity of self-balancing vehicles in modern times is rising as the price of consumer electronics is on a steady decline. Consumers have more access to smarter electronics and mechatronics devices. Self-Balancing vehicles have become an exciting new method of human transport that have the potential to redefine the way we traverse our cities. This document will outline the research, design, construction, implementation and analysis that has been undertaken to develop from the ground up, a scaled down version of a self-balancing vehicle. The two wheeled self-balancing robot discussed in this project will take advantage of National Instruments myRIO-1900 embedded hardware device and will utilize the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) embedded hardware along with PID feedback control loops to achieve stabilization in this inherently unstable system. The final section of this document details the techniques used to achieve this objective and suggests future works for the project that would enable future students to take advantage of this new student engineering asset

Passive Resonant Coil Based Fast Registration And Tracking System For Real-Time Mri-Guided Minimally Invasive Surgery

This thesis presents a single-slice based fast stereotactic registration and tracking technique along with a corresponding modular system for guiding robotic mechanism or interventional instrument to perform needle-based interventions under live MRI guidance. The system can provide tracking of full 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) in stereotactic interventional surgery based upon a single, rapidly acquired cross-sectional image. The whole system is constructed with a modular data transmission software framework and mechanical structure so that it supports remote supervision and manipulation between a 3D Matlab tracking user interface (UI) and an existing MRI robot controller by using the OpenIGTLink network communication protocol. It provides better closed-loop control by implementing a feedback output interface to the MRI-guided robot. A new compact fiducial frame design is presented, and the fiducial is wrapped with a passive resonant coil. The coil resonates at the Larmor frequency for 3T MRI to enhance signal strength and enable for rapid imaging. The fiducial can be attached near the distal end of the robot and coaxially with a needle so as to visualize target tissue and track the surgical tool synchronously. The MRI-compatible design of fiducial frame, robust tracking algorithm and modular interface allow this tracking system to be conveniently used on different robots or devices and in different size of MRI bores. Several iterations of the tracking fiducial and passive resonant coils were constructed and evaluated in a Phillips Achieva 3T MRI. To assess accuracy and robustness of the tracking algorithm, 25 groups of images with different poses were successively scanned along specific sequence in and MRI experiment. The translational RMS error along depth is 0.271mm with standard deviation of 0.277mm for totally 100 samples. The overall angular RMS error is less than 0.426 degree with standard deviation of 0.526 degree for totally 150 samples. The passive resonant coils were shown to significantly increase signal intensity in the fiducial relative to the surroundings and provide for rapid imaging with low flip angles

Technical and Regulatory Exigencies for Grid Connection of Wind Generation

Pollution problems such as the greenhouse effect as well as the high value and volatility of fuel prices have forced and accelerated the development and use of renewable energy sources. In the three last decades, the level of penetration of renewable energy sources has undergone an important growth in several countries, mainly in the USA and Europe, where levels of 20% have been reached. Main technologies of renewable energies include wind, hydraulic, solar (photovoltaic and thermal), biofuels (liquid biodiesel, biomass, biogas), and geothermal energy. Within this great variety of alternative energy sources, wind energy has experienced a fast growth due to several advantages, such as costs, feasibility, abundance of wind resources, maturity of the technology and shorter construction times (Ackermann, 2005). This trend is expected to be increased even more in the near future, sustained mainly by the cost competitiveness of wind power technology and the development of new power electronics technologies, new circuit topologies and control strategies (Guerrero et al., 2010). However, there are some disadvantages for wind energy, as wind generation is uncontrollably variable because of the intermittency of the primary resource, i.e. the wind. Another important disadvantage is that the best places to install a wind farm, due to the certainty and intensities of suitable wind, are located in remote areas. This aspect requires of additional infrastructure to convey the generated power to the demand centres. Unfortunately, in several countries the regulatory aspect does not follow this fast growth of wind possibilities. Many countries do not have specific rules for wind generators and others do not make the necessary operating studies before installing a wind farm (Heier, 2006). Power system operators must consider the availability of these power plants which are not dispatchable and are not accessible all the time. Today, developing countries, such as Argentina, are subjected to an analogous situation with wind energy, having perhaps one of the best sources of such energy around the world. Nowadays, there are several operative wind farms and others in stage of building and planning. Similar to other countries, in Argentina there is a lack of regulatory aspects related to this topic (Labriola, 2007). This chapter thoroughly presents a revision of wind generation, including the following sections. In the first part, a brief history of the wind energy developments is presented. Following, some remarks related to the modern wind energy systems are made. Then, a survey of modern structures of wind turbines is carried out, including towers and foundations, rotor, nacelle with drive train and other equipment, control systems, etc. Subsequently, major wind turbine concepts related to fixed and variable speed operation and control modes are described. Eventually, technical and regulatory exigencies for the integration of wind generation into the electrical grid are discussed in detail, including a study of selected countries grid codes.Fil: Molina, Marcelo Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Energía Eléctrica; ArgentinaFil: Gimenez Alvarez, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Ingeniería Electromecánica; Argentin

Design of an Attitude Control System for Spin-Axis Control of a 3U CubeSat

This paper describes the design process of developing a spin-axis control system for a 3U CubeSat, a relatively small satellite. Design requires the CubeSat to de-spin after deployment and direct its antenna to track Earth nadir position. The one degree of freedom controller is developed for the TechEdSat, which is a CubeSat with a payload that allows for the assumption that rotation pitch and yaw rates are sufficiently close to zero. Satellite torqueing disturbances are modeled with reaction wheel noise for a more complete system analysis. Sensor noise is unmodeled. Frequency domain and time domain analyses are presented; the entire system bandwidth operates at 0.08 hertz with 43.2 decibels of gain and 67.7o of phase margin. During nominal operations, pointing accuracy with perfect state knowledge assumption maintains position with steady state error of 13.7 arc seconds and oscillates by 16.7 arc seconds at a rate of 0.7 mHertz. Artificial wheel noise is injected into the model causing the pointing accuracy to drop to ± 15 arc seconds. Environmental disturbances are modeled extensively; the magnetic field torque is the worst disturbance, at 4.2e-7 Newton-meters. A 0.2 Amp·m2 magnetorquer dumps the excess momentum every 7.75 hours and require 1.5 hours to complete. In the deployment simulation, a 1 rotation per minute spin is arrested with no angular offset in 60 seconds. Future plans include utilizing the model to build and fly a prototype reaction wheel on a future TechEdSat mission to verify modeled expectations

Development of A Soft Robotic Approach for An Intra-abdominal Wireless Laparoscopic Camera

In Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS), the Magnetic Anchoring and Guidance System (MAGS) arises as a promising technique to provide larger workspaces and field of vision for the laparoscopes, relief space for other instruments, and require fewer incisions. Inspired by MAGS, many concept designs related to fully insertable magnetically driven laparoscopes are developed and tested on the transabdominal operation. However, ignoring the tissue interaction and insertion procedure, most of the designs adopt rigid structures, which not only damage the patients\u27 tissue with excess stress concentration and sliding motion but also require complicated operation for the insertion. Meanwhile, lacking state tracking of the insertable camera including pose and contact force, the camera systems operate in open-loop control. This provides mediocre locomotion precision and limited robustness to uncertainties in the environment. This dissertation proposes, develops, and validates a soft robotic approach for an intra-abdominal wireless laparoscopic camera. Contributions presented in this work include (1) feasibility of a soft intra-abdominal laparoscopic camera with friendly tissue interaction and convenient insertion, (2) six degrees of freedom (DOF) real-time localization, (3) Closed-loop control for a robotic-assisted laparoscopic system and (4) untethering solution for wireless communication and high-quality video transmission. Embedding magnet pairs into the camera and external actuator, the camera can be steered and anchored along the abdominal wall through transabdominal magnetic coupling. To avoid the tissue rapture by the sliding motion and dry friction, a wheel structure is applied to achieve rolling motion. Borrowing the ideas from soft robotic research, the main body of the camera implements silicone material, which grants it the bendability to passively attach along the curved abdominal wall and the deformability for easier insertion. The six-DOF pose is estimated in real-time with internal multi-sensor fusion and Newton-Raphson iteration. Combining the pose tracking and force-torque sensor measurement, an interaction model between the deformable camera and tissue is established to evaluate the interaction force over the tissue surface. Moreover, the proposed laparoscopic system is integrated with a multi-DOF manipulator into a robotic-assisted surgical system, where a closed-loop control is realized based on a feedback controller and online optimization. Finally, the wireless control and video streaming are accomplished with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Analog Video (AV) transmission. Experimental assessments have been implemented to evaluate the performance of the laparoscopic system

Survey of Motion Tracking Methods Based on Inertial Sensors: A Focus on Upper Limb Human Motion

Motion tracking based on commercial inertial measurements units (IMUs) has been widely studied in the latter years as it is a cost-effective enabling technology for those applications in which motion tracking based on optical technologies is unsuitable. This measurement method has a high impact in human performance assessment and human-robot interaction. IMU motion tracking systems are indeed self-contained and wearable, allowing for long-lasting tracking of the user motion in situated environments. After a survey on IMU-based human tracking, five techniques for motion reconstruction were selected and compared to reconstruct a human arm motion. IMU based estimation was matched against motion tracking based on the Vicon marker-based motion tracking system considered as ground truth. Results show that all but one of the selected models perform similarly (about 35 mm average position estimation error)

Development of a sensor for microvibrations measurement in the AlbaSat CubeSat mission

openMicrovibrations on spacecraft represent an issue for payloads requiring high pointing accuracy and/or stability over time, and they might represent a particular concern for CubeSats and small satellites that, usually, are not equipped with very-high performance attitude control systems. Hence, collecting reliable measures of the vibration spectra during the operations of a CubeSat represents a significant research activity. This thesis presents the development of a sensor, configured as a payload within the AlbaSat mission, capable of accurately measuring the microvibrations in space, with particular focus on those produced by the Momentum Exchange Devices (MED), i.e., Reaction or Momentum Wheels, that represent one of the most important microvibrations sources. The thesis takes place in the framework of the AlbaSat mission. AlbaSat is a 2U CubeSat developed by a student team of the University of Padova under the “Fly Your Satellite! – Design Booster” programme promoted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The mission has four different objectives: (1) to collect measurements of the space debris environment in-situ, (2) to measure the microvibrations on board the CubeSat, (3) to precisely determine the position of the satellite through laser ranging and (4) to investigate alternative systems for possible Satellite Quantum Communication applications on nanosatellites. The requirements for the correct sizing of the sensor and the chosen physical and functional architecture are defined and presented in the thesis. A meticulous schedule for functional tests is finally outlined, aimed at verifying the correct functionality of the microvibration sensor. These tests serve as a starting point for the future development of the payload.Microvibrations on spacecraft represent an issue for payloads requiring high pointing accuracy and/or stability over time, and they might represent a particular concern for CubeSats and small satellites that, usually, are not equipped with very-high performance attitude control systems. Hence, collecting reliable measures of the vibration spectra during the operations of a CubeSat represents a significant research activity. This thesis presents the development of a sensor, configured as a payload within the AlbaSat mission, capable of accurately measuring the microvibrations in space, with particular focus on those produced by the Momentum Exchange Devices (MED), i.e., Reaction or Momentum Wheels, that represent one of the most important microvibrations sources. The thesis takes place in the framework of the AlbaSat mission. AlbaSat is a 2U CubeSat developed by a student team of the University of Padova under the “Fly Your Satellite! – Design Booster” programme promoted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The mission has four different objectives: (1) to collect measurements of the space debris environment in-situ, (2) to measure the microvibrations on board the CubeSat, (3) to precisely determine the position of the satellite through laser ranging and (4) to investigate alternative systems for possible Satellite Quantum Communication applications on nanosatellites. The requirements for the correct sizing of the sensor and the chosen physical and functional architecture are defined and presented in the thesis. A meticulous schedule for functional tests is finally outlined, aimed at verifying the correct functionality of the microvibration sensor. These tests serve as a starting point for the future development of the payload