Návrh a stavba mobilného robota s využitím všesmerových Mecanum kolies

The paper deals with the design and construction of a universal robotic vehicle prototype, used for laboratory and educational purposes. The main goal is its use as a technology demonstrator for the needs of students, therefore it is equipped with several kinds of sensors and universal advanced control technologies and design solutions. Its basis is a control system and construction concept using mobile battery gear and omnidirectional Mecanum wheels. A manipulating arm and advanced tracking and spatial navigation systems are also components of the design. Since the problem of a customized design and construction of such a robotic vehicle is very complex and solved in various scientific fields, in this paper we will mainly focus on the detailed description of the control systems and subsystems of the vehicle.Príspevok sa zaoberá návrhom a stavbou prototypu univerzálneho robotického vozidla, slúžiacieho pre laboratórne a študijné účely. Účelom je jeho využitie ako technologického demonštrátora pre potreby študentov, z tohto dôvodu je osadený univerzálne všetkými dostupnými druhmi snímačov a univerzálnymi pokrokovými riadiacimi technológiami a konštrukčnými riešeniami. Základom je jeho riadiaci system a konštrukčné prevedenie s batérióvym pohonom pre všesmerové Mecanum kolesá. Súčasťou konštrukcie je aj manipulačné rameno a pokrokové systémy lokalizácie a navigácie v priestore. Nakoľko problematika vlastného návrhu a stavby takéhoto mechatronického robotického vozidla je veľmi obsiahla a riešená v rôznym vedných oblastiach, budeme sa v tomto príspevku konkrétne venovať jeho riadiacim systémom a podsystémom, ktoré si podrobnejšie rozpíšeme

Design and implementation of flexible microprocessor control for retrofitting to first generation robotic devices

This Master of Science project concerns the design and development of a flexible microprocessor-based controller for a Versatran Industrial Robot. The software and hardware are designed in modules to enhance the flexibility of the controller so that it can be used as the control unit for other forms of workhandling equipment. The hardware of the designed controller is based on the Texas Instruments single board computer and interface printed circuit boards although some specially designed interface hardware was required. The software is developed in two major categories, which are "real-time" modules and "operator communication" modules. The real-time modules were for the control of the hydraulic servo-valves, pneumatic actuators and interlock switches, whilst the operator communication modules were used to assist the operator in programming "handling" sequences". The main advantages of the controller in its present form can be summarised thus:- (i) The down-time between program changes is significantly reduced; (ii) There can be many more positions programmed in a "handling sequence"; (iii)Greater control over axis dynamics can be achieved The software and hardware structure adopted has sufficient flexibility to allow many future enhancements to be provided. For example, as part of a subsequent research project additional facilities are being implemented as follows: a teach hand held pendant is being installed to improve still further the ease with which "handling sequences" can be programmed; improved control algorithms are being implemented and these will facilitate contouring; communication software is being included so that the controller can access via a node a commercially available local area network

Modelling of servo-controlled pneumatic drives: a generalised approach to pneumatic modelling and applications in servo-drive design

The primary objective of this research is to develop a general modelling facility for modular pneumatic servo-drives. The component-oriented approach has been adopted as the modelling technique to provide the flexibility of modelling a wide variety of components and the segmentation of the non-linear system to less complex uncoupled component modules. A significant part of the research work has been devoted to identify a series of component modules of the single axis linear pneumatic servomechanism with standardised linking variables. The mathematical models have been implemented in a simulation software which produces time domain responses for design evaluation purposes. Alternative components for different servomechanism design were modelled as mutually exclusive modules which could be selected for assembly as if they were real physical entities. The philosophy of the approach was validated by tests on prototype servo-drives with matching components. Design analysis could be performed by simulating and comparing the performance of alternative system structures. [Continues.

Telescience Testbed Pilot Program

The Telescience Testbed Pilot Program is developing initial recommendations for requirements and design approaches for the information systems of the Space Station era. During this quarter, drafting of the final reports of the various participants was initiated. Several drafts are included in this report as the University technical reports

Integrated High-Speed Torque Control System for a Robotic Joint

A control system for achieving high-speed torque for a joint of a robot includes a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having a collocated joint processor and high-speed communication bus. The PCBA may also include a power inverter module (PIM) and local sensor conditioning electronics (SCE) for processing sensor data from one or more motor position sensors. Torque control of a motor of the joint is provided via the PCBA as a high-speed torque loop. Each joint processor may be embedded within or collocated with the robotic joint being controlled. Collocation of the joint processor, PIM, and high-speed bus may increase noise immunity of the control system, and the localized processing of sensor data from the joint motor at the joint level may minimize bus cabling to and from each control node. The joint processor may include a field programmable gate array (FPGA)

Aspects of an open architecture robot controller and its integration with a stereo vision sensor.

The work presented in this thesis attempts to improve the performance of industrial robot systems in a flexible manufacturing environment by addressing a number of issues related to external sensory feedback and sensor integration, robot kinematic positioning accuracy, and robot dynamic control performance. To provide a powerful control algorithm environment and the support for external sensor integration, a transputer based open architecture robot controller is developed. It features high computational power, user accessibility at various robot control levels and external sensor integration capability. Additionally, an on-line trajectory adaptation scheme is devised and implemented in the open architecture robot controller, enabling a real-time trajectory alteration of robot motion to be achieved in response to external sensory feedback. An in depth discussion is presented on integrating a stereo vision sensor with the robot controller to perform external sensor guided robot operations. Key issues for such a vision based robot system are precise synchronisation between the vision system and the robot controller, and correct target position prediction to counteract the inherent time delay in image processing. These were successfully addressed in a demonstrator system based on a Puma robot. Efforts have also been made to improve the Puma robot kinematic and dynamic performance. A simple, effective, on-line algorithm is developed for solving the inverse kinematics problem of a calibrated industrial robot to improve robot positioning accuracy. On the dynamic control aspect, a robust adaptive robot tracking control algorithm is derived that has an improved performance compared to a conventional PID controller as well as exhibiting relatively modest computational complexity. Experiments have been carried out to validate the open architecture robot controller and demonstrate the performance of the inverse kinematics algorithm, the adaptive servo control algorithm, and the on-line trajectory generation. By integrating the open architecture robot controller with a stereo vision sensor system, robot visual guidance has been achieved with experimental results showing that the integrated system is capable of detecting, tracking and intercepting random objects moving in 3D trajectory at a velocity up to 40mm/s

Robot manipulator prototyping (Complete Design Review)

Journal ArticlePrototyping is an important activity in engineering. Prototype development is a good test for checking the viability of a proposed system. Prototypes can also help in determining system parameters, ranges, or in designing better systems. The interaction between several modules (e.g., S/W, VLSI, CAD, CAM, Robotics, and Control) illustrates an interdisciplinary prototyping environment that includes radically different types of information, combined in a coordinated way. Developing an environment that enables optimal and flexible design of robot manipulators using reconfigurable links, joints, actuators, and sensors is an essential step for efficient robot design and prototyping. Such an environment should have the right "mix" of software and hardware components for designing the physical parts and the controllers, and for the algorithmic control of the robot modules (kinematics, inverse kinematics, dynamics, trajectory planning, analog control and digital computer control). Specifying object-based communications and catalog mechanisms between the software modules, controllers, physical parts, CAD designs, and actuator and sensor components is a necessary step in the prototyping activities. We propose a flexible prototyping environment for robot manipulators with the required subsystems and interfaces between the different components of this environment

Intelligence and Autonomy

The terms “Intelligent Buildings” and “Smart Buildings” have been used in the building industry for almost two decades. They refer to a wide variety of capabilities integrated into the building fabric based on computer and communications technologies