Minimal Representation for the Control of Gough-Stewart Platforms via Leg Observation Considering a Hidden Robot Model

International audienceThis paper presents new insights about the sensor-based control of Gough-Stewart (GS) platforms. Previous works have shown that it was possible to control the GS platform by observing its legs directions instead of using the encoders values or the measurement of the platform pose. It was demonstrated that observing only three legs directions was enough for the control but no physical explanations were given. Moreover, sometimes, the GS platform was not converging to the desired pose and the reasons of these divergences were not disclosed. This paper aims at answering to this two opened problems. It is shown that observing three leg directions involves controlling the displacement of a hidden robot whose models differs from those of the usual GS platform. This robot has assembly modes and singular configurations different from those of the GS platform. This involves that the legs to observe should be chosen carefully in order to avoid inaccuracy problems. In this sense, the accuracy analysis of the new robot is performed to show the importance of the leg selection. All these results are validated on a GS platform simulator created using ADAMS/Controls and interfaced with Matlab/Simulink

Minimal Representation for the Control of the Adept Quattro with Rigid Platform via Leg Observation Considering a Hidden Robot Model

International audiencePrevious works on the Gough-Stewart (GS) platform have shown that its visual servoing using the observation of its leg directions was possible by observing only three of its six legs but that the convergence to the desired pose was not guarantied. This can be explained by considering that the visual servoing of the leg direction of the GS platform was equivalent to controlling another robot, the 3-UPS that has assembly modes and singular configurations different from those of the GS platform. Considering this hidden robot model allowed the simplification of the singularity analysis of the mapping between the leg direction space and the Cartesian space. In this paper, the work on the definition of the hidden robot models involved in the visual servoing using the observation of the robot leg directions is extended to another robot, the Adept Quattro. It will be shown that the hidden robot model is completely different from the model involved in the control of the GS platform. Therefore, the results obtained for the GS platform are not valuable for this robot. The hidden robot has assembly modes and singular configurations different from those of the Quattro. An accuracy analysis is performed to show the importance of the leg selection. All these results are validated on a Quattro simulator created using ADAMS/Controls and interfaced with Matlab/Simulink

Parallel Manipulators

In recent years, parallel kinematics mechanisms have attracted a lot of attention from the academic and industrial communities due to potential applications not only as robot manipulators but also as machine tools. Generally, the criteria used to compare the performance of traditional serial robots and parallel robots are the workspace, the ratio between the payload and the robot mass, accuracy, and dynamic behaviour. In addition to the reduced coupling effect between joints, parallel robots bring the benefits of much higher payload-robot mass ratios, superior accuracy and greater stiffness; qualities which lead to better dynamic performance. The main drawback with parallel robots is the relatively small workspace. A great deal of research on parallel robots has been carried out worldwide, and a large number of parallel mechanism systems have been built for various applications, such as remote handling, machine tools, medical robots, simulators, micro-robots, and humanoid robots. This book opens a window to exceptional research and development work on parallel mechanisms contributed by authors from around the world. Through this window the reader can get a good view of current parallel robot research and applications

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

Use of hidden robot concept for calibration of an over-constrained mechanism

Overconstrained mechanisms prove useful in applications where high stiffness and low weight is required against high amount of forces while keeping high precision. This study issues a planar two degrees-of-freedom overconstrained parallel manipulator for positioning the end-effector with high acceleration values (>5g) with a positioning precision in the order of 30 micrometers. Since the manufacturing errors were compatible with the end-effector positioning errors, it was required to perform some system identification before the precision and repeatability tests. For the system identification, the end-effector position and motor input values are recorded. However, since the mechanism is overconstrained, the link lengths could not be obtained due to the lack of analytical inverse kinematics solution. In order to cope with this problem, the hidden robot concept is utilized in order to fit a simple kinematic model between the task space and the joint space of the manipulator. Further calibration studies are carried out using the error correction matrix. The test results are presented

Numerical computation and avoidance of manipulator singularities

This thesis develops general solutions to two open problems of robot kinematics: the exhaustive computation of the singularity set of a manipulator, and the synthesis of singularity-free paths between given configurations. Obtaining proper solutions to these problems is crucial, because singularities generally pose problems to the normal operation of a robot and, thus, they should be taken into account before the actual construction of a prototype. The ability to compute the whole singularity set also provides rich information on the global motion capabilities of a manipulator. The projections onto the task and joint spaces delimit the working regions in such spaces, may inform on the various assembly modes of the manipulator, and highlight areas where control or dexterity losses can arise, among other anomalous behaviour. These projections also supply a fair view of the feasible movements of the system, but do not reveal all possible singularity-free motions. Automatic motion planners allowing to circumvent problematic singularities should thus be devised to assist the design and programming stages of a manipulator. The key role played by singular configurations has been thoroughly known for several years, but existing methods for singularity computation or avoidance still concentrate on specific classes of manipulators. The absence of methods able to tackle these problems on a sufficiently large class of manipulators is problematic because it hinders the analysis of more complex manipulators or the development of new robot topologies. A main reason for this absence has been the lack of computational tools suitable to the underlying mathematics that such problems conceal. However, recent advances in the field of numerical methods for polynomial system solving now permit to confront these issues with a very general intention in mind. The purpose of this thesis is to take advantage of this progress and to propose general robust methods for the computation and avoidance of singularities on non-redundant manipulators of arbitrary architecture. Overall, the work seeks to contribute to the general understanding on how the motions of complex multibody systems can be predicted, planned, or controlled in an efficient and reliable way.Aquesta tesi desenvolupa solucions generals per dos problemes oberts de la cinemàtica de robots: el càlcul exhaustiu del conjunt singular d'un manipulador, i la síntesi de camins lliures de singularitats entre configuracions donades. Obtenir solucions adequades per aquests problemes és crucial, ja que les singularitats plantegen problemes al funcionament normal del robot i, per tant, haurien de ser completament identificades abans de la construcció d'un prototipus. La habilitat de computar tot el conjunt singular també proporciona informació rica sobre les capacitats globals de moviment d'un manipulador. Les projeccions cap a l'espai de tasques o d'articulacions delimiten les regions de treball en aquests espais, poden informar sobre les diferents maneres de muntar el manipulador, i remarquen les àrees on poden sorgir pèrdues de control o destresa, entre d'altres comportaments anòmals. Aquestes projeccions també proporcionen una imatge fidel dels moviments factibles del sistema, però no revelen tots els possibles moviments lliures de singularitats. Planificadors de moviment automàtics que permetin evitar les singularitats problemàtiques haurien de ser ideats per tal d'assistir les etapes de disseny i programació d'un manipulador. El paper clau que juguen les configuracions singulars ha estat àmpliament conegut durant anys, però els mètodes existents pel càlcul o evitació de singularitats encara es concentren en classes específiques de manipuladors. L'absència de mètodes capaços de tractar aquests problemes en una classe suficientment gran de manipuladors és problemàtica, ja que dificulta l'anàlisi de manipuladors més complexes o el desenvolupament de noves topologies de robots. Una raó principal d'aquesta absència ha estat la manca d'eines computacionals adequades a les matemàtiques subjacents que aquests problemes amaguen. No obstant, avenços recents en el camp de mètodes numèrics per la solució de sistemes polinòmics permeten ara enfrontar-se a aquests temes amb una intenció molt general en ment. El propòsit d'aquesta tesi és aprofitar aquest progrés i proposar mètodes robustos i generals pel càlcul i evitació de singularitats per manipuladors no redundants d'arquitectura arbitrària. En global, el treball busca contribuir a la comprensió general sobre com els moviments de sistemes multicos complexos es poden predir, planificar o controlar d'una manera eficient i segur

Contributions à la maîtrise de la dynamique des robots parallèles

Ce mémoire traite de mes contributions à la maîtrise de la dynamique des robots parallèles. Le premier chapitre présente une introduction générale de mes travaux de recherche. Le deuxième chapitre présente mon curriculum vitae. Mes activités d'encadrement, les projets de recherche que j'ai montés ainsi que ceux auxquels j'ai participé et une synthèse de mes collaborations nationales et internationales sont mentionnés dans le troisième chapitre. Mon rayonnement au sein de la communauté scientifique, qui se traduit par des activités d'intérêt général, la participation à des comités d'expertise, des activités éditoriales, la participation à l'organisation de colloques et quelques distinctions scientifiques, ainsi que la liste de mes publications ont été décrits dans le quatrième chapitre. Le cinquième chapitre synthétise mes activités d'enseignement. Le sixième chapitre présente plus en détail mes activités de recherche principales qui sont organisées autour des deux thèmes suivants : (i) Maîtrise de la dynamique des robots parallèles ; (ii) Conception et commande de nouveaux robots parallèles aux performances dynamiques améliorées. Enfin, le septième chapitre présente mes conclusions sur les travaux que j’ai pu mener ainsi que mes perspectives de recherche.Les activités de recherche que j'ai menées portent principalement sur la maîtrise de la dynamique des robots parallèles qui sont des architectures mécaniques complexes dont les performances dynamiques sont encore mal maîtrisées. J'ai cherché à mieux maîtriser la dynamique de ces machines à deux niveaux :1.un premier niveau intitulé « maîtrise de la dynamique des robots parallèles » qui se situe en aval de la phase de réalisation du robot : pour une machine donnée, comment mieux maîtriser ses performances dynamiques (par une modélisation plus fine, par la compréhension des phénomènes physiques mis en jeu et leur gestion par planification de trajectoire ou mise en place de contrôleurs avancés, etc.) ?2.un second niveau intitulé « conception et commande de nouveaux robots parallèles aux performances statiques et dynamiques améliorées» qui se situe en amont de la phase de réalisation du robot : pour des performances statiques et/ou dynamiques à atteindre, comment concevoir l'architecture de robot, voire la bonne adéquation {architecture de robot – contrôleur} qui permet de répondre au cahier des charges désiré ?Ces deux approches ne sont pas antagonistes, mais au contraire, elles sont complémentaires.Mes contributions principales autour de la maîtrise de la dynamique des robots parallèles se sont concentrées sur quatre points majeurs :1.L'étude des conditions de dégénérescence du modèle dynamique des robots parallèles 2.L'identification des paramètres du modèle dynamique rigide 3.La modélisation élastodynamique4.La proposition de techniques d'équilibrage permettant de diminuer la complexité de mise en oeuvreMes contributions principales autour de la conception et commande de nouveaux robots parallèles aux performances statiques et dynamiques améliorées se sont concentrées sur deux travaux majeurs :1.La conception de robots pour le déplacement de lourdes charges2.La conception et la commande de robots rapides et précisTous les résultats présentés, exception faite de ceux sur l'équilibrage dynamique, ont été validés expérimentalement.Les travaux présentés en perspectives se concentrent autour de deux grands axes thématiques:1.Maîtrise de la dynamique des systèmes,2.Conception de robots orientée environnements.Les activités que je souhaite mener sur la maîtrise de la dynamique des systèmes ciblent :a)La reconfiguration dynamique des robots,b)La modélisation et l'identification basées perception.Ces activités, qui s'inscrivent dans la continuité de mes travaux de recherche actuels.L'objectif du thème « Conception de robots orientée environnements », qui est un thème en rupture, est de proposer des méthodes génériques pour l'analyse, l'évaluation et la conception de nouvelles architectures de robots et de mécanismes,•en fonction d'un environnement donné (environnement en termes de milieu dans lequel le robot évolue, interagit, etc.) : le robot doit être doté d'un système de perception efficace associé à un contrôleur performant et il faut penser la conception du robot de manière intégrée afin que l'ensemble {architecture mécanique – contrôleur – capteurs –moteurs} soit le plus performant possible.•à faible impact pour l'environnement dans lequel ils évoluent (moins de pollution, moins de consommation énergétique, etc.)Les activités que je souhaite mener en conception orientée environnements ciblent :a)La proposition de méthodologies de conception orientée commande qui vont permettre de faire en sorte que l'ensemble {architecture mécanique – contrôleur – capteurs – moteurs} soit le plus performant possible pour une tâche, un ensemble de tâches, ou un environnement donnés,b)La conception de robots à faibles impacts environnementaux

Advances in Robot Kinematics : Proceedings of the 15th international conference on Advances in Robot Kinematics

International audienceThe motion of mechanisms, kinematics, is one of the most fundamental aspect of robot design, analysis and control but is also relevant to other scientific domains such as biome- chanics, molecular biology, . . . . The series of books on Advances in Robot Kinematics (ARK) report the latest achievement in this field. ARK has a long history as the first book was published in 1991 and since then new issues have been published every 2 years. Each book is the follow-up of a single-track symposium in which the participants exchange their results and opinions in a meeting that bring together the best of world’s researchers and scientists together with young students. Since 1992 the ARK symposia have come under the patronage of the International Federation for the Promotion of Machine Science-IFToMM.This book is the 13th in the series and is the result of peer-review process intended to select the newest and most original achievements in this field. For the first time the articles of this symposium will be published in a green open-access archive to favor free dissemination of the results. However the book will also be o↵ered as a on-demand printed book.The papers proposed in this book show that robot kinematics is an exciting domain with an immense number of research challenges that go well beyond the field of robotics.The last symposium related with this book was organized by the French National Re- search Institute in Computer Science and Control Theory (INRIA) in Grasse, France

Parallel Platform-Based Robot for Operation in Active Water Pipes

This thesis presents a novel design for a pipe inspection robot. The main aim of the design has been to allow the robot to operate in a water pipe while it is still in service. Water pipes form a very crucial part of the infrastructure of the world we live in today. Despite their importance, water leakage is a major problem suffered by water companies worldwide, costing them billions of dollars every year. There are a wide variety of different techniques used for leak detection and localisation, but no one method is capable of accurately pinpointing the leak location and severity in all pipe conditions with minimal labour. A survey of existing pipe inspection robots showed that there have been many designs implemented that are capable of navigating the pipeline environment. However, none of these were capable of fully autonomous control in a live water pipe. It was concluded that an autonomous pipe inspection robot capable of working in active pipelines would be of great industrial benefit as it would be able to carry a wide range of sensors directly to the source of the leak with minimal, if any, human intervention. An inchworm robot prototype was constructed based on a Gough-Stewart parallel platform. The robot’s inverse kinematics equations were derived and a simulation model of the robot was constructed. These were verified using a motion capture suite, confirming that they are valid representations of the robot. The simulation was used to determine the robot’s movement limitations and minimum bend radius it could navigate. Several CFD simulations were carried out in order to estimate the maximum fluid force exerted on the robot. It was found that the robot’s design successfully minimised the fluid force such that off-the-shelf actuators had the capability to overcome it. The prototype was successfully tested in both a straight and bent pipe, demonstrating its ability to navigate a dry pipe environment. Overall, the robot prototype served as a successful proof of concept for a design of pipe inspection robot that would be capable of operating in active pipelines

Kinematic Calibration of Parallel Kinematic Machines on the Example of the Hexapod of Simple Design

The aim of using parallel kinematic motion systems as an alternative of conventional machine tools for precision machining has raised the demands made on the accuracy of identification of the geometric parameters that are necessary for the kinematic transformation of the motion variables. The accuracy of a parallel manipulator is not only dependent upon an accurate control of its actuators but also upon a good knowledge of its geometrical characteristics. As the platform's controller determines the length of the actuators according to the nominal model, the resulted pose of the platform is inaccurate. One way to enhance platform accuracy is by kinematic calibration, a process by which the actual kinematic parameters are identified and then implemented to modify the kinematic model used by the controller. The first and most general valuation criterion for the actual calibration approaches is the relative improvement of the motion accuracy, eclipsing the other aspects to pay for it. The calibration outlay has been underestimated or even neglected for a long time. The scientific value of the calibration procedure is not only in direct proportion to the achieved accuracy, but also to the calibration effort. These demands become particularly stringent in case of the calibration of hexapods of the so-called simple design. The objectives of the here proposed new calibration procedure are based on the deficits mentioned above under the special requirements due to the circumstances of the simple design-concept. The main goals of the procedure can be summarized in obtaining the basics for an automated kinematic calibration procedure which works efficiently, quickly, effectively and possibly low-cost, all-in-one economically applied to the parallel kinematic machines. The problem will be approached systematically and taking step by step the necessary conclu-sions and measurements through: Systematical analysis of the workspace to determine the optimal measuring procedure, measurements with automated data acquisition and evaluation, simulated measurements based on the kinematic model of the structure and identifying the kinematic parameters using efficient optimization algorithms. The presented calibration has been successfully implemented and tested on the hexapod of simple design `Felix' available at the IWM, TU Dresden. The obtained results encourage the application of the procedure to other hexapod structures