Modeling and Control of Flexible Link Manipulators

Autonomous maritime navigation and offshore operations have gained wide attention with the aim of reducing operational costs and increasing reliability and safety. Offshore operations, such as wind farm inspection, sea farm cleaning, and ship mooring, could be carried out autonomously or semi-autonomously by mounting one or more long-reach robots on the ship/vessel. In addition to offshore applications, long-reach manipulators can be used in many other engineering applications such as construction automation, aerospace industry, and space research. Some applications require the design of long and slender mechanical structures, which possess some degrees of flexibility and deflections because of the material used and the length of the links. The link elasticity causes deflection leading to problems in precise position control of the end-effector. So, it is necessary to compensate for the deflection of the long-reach arm to fully utilize the long-reach lightweight flexible manipulators. This thesis aims at presenting a unified understanding of modeling, control, and application of long-reach flexible manipulators. State-of-the-art dynamic modeling techniques and control schemes of the flexible link manipulators (FLMs) are discussed along with their merits, limitations, and challenges. The kinematics and dynamics of a planar multi-link flexible manipulator are presented. The effects of robot configuration and payload on the mode shapes and eigenfrequencies of the flexible links are discussed. A method to estimate and compensate for the static deflection of the multi-link flexible manipulators under gravity is proposed and experimentally validated. The redundant degree of freedom of the planar multi-link flexible manipulator is exploited to minimize vibrations. The application of a long-reach arm in autonomous mooring operation based on sensor fusion using camera and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data is proposed.publishedVersio

Robotic Manipulation and Capture in Space: A Survey

Space exploration and exploitation depend on the development of on-orbit robotic capabilities for tasks such as servicing of satellites, removing of orbital debris, or construction and maintenance of orbital assets. Manipulation and capture of objects on-orbit are key enablers for these capabilities. This survey addresses fundamental aspects of manipulation and capture, such as the dynamics of space manipulator systems (SMS), i.e., satellites equipped with manipulators, the contact dynamics between manipulator grippers/payloads and targets, and the methods for identifying properties of SMSs and their targets. Also, it presents recent work of sensing pose and system states, of motion planning for capturing a target, and of feedback control methods for SMS during motion or interaction tasks. Finally, the paper reviews major ground testing testbeds for capture operations, and several notable missions and technologies developed for capture of targets on-orbit

A review of aerial manipulation of small-scale rotorcraft unmanned robotic systems

Small-scale rotorcraft unmanned robotic systems (SRURSs) are a kind of unmanned rotorcraft with manipulating devices. This review aims to provide an overview on aerial manipulation of SRURSs nowadays and promote relative research in the future. In the past decade, aerial manipulation of SRURSs has attracted the interest of researchers globally. This paper provides a literature review of the last 10 years (2008–2017) on SRURSs, and details achievements and challenges. Firstly, the definition, current state, development, classification, and challenges of SRURSs are introduced. Then, related papers are organized into two topical categories: mechanical structure design, and modeling and control. Following this, research groups involved in SRURS research and their major achievements are summarized and classified in the form of tables. The research groups are introduced in detail from seven parts. Finally, trends and challenges are compiled and presented to serve as a resource for researchers interested in aerial manipulation of SRURSs. The problem, trends, and challenges are described from three aspects. Conclusions of the paper are presented, and the future of SRURSs is discussed to enable further research interests

Large space structures and systems in the space station era: A bibliography with indexes

Bibliographies and abstracts are listed for 1219 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system between July 1, 1990 and December 31, 1990. The purpose is to provide helpful information to the researcher, manager, and designer in technology development and mission design according to system, interactive analysis and design, structural and thermal analysis and design, structural concepts and control systems, electronics, advanced materials, assembly concepts, propulsion, and solar power satellite systems

Robotics 2010

Without a doubt, robotics has made an incredible progress over the last decades. The vision of developing, designing and creating technical systems that help humans to achieve hard and complex tasks, has intelligently led to an incredible variety of solutions. There are barely technical fields that could exhibit more interdisciplinary interconnections like robotics. This fact is generated by highly complex challenges imposed by robotic systems, especially the requirement on intelligent and autonomous operation. This book tries to give an insight into the evolutionary process that takes place in robotics. It provides articles covering a wide range of this exciting area. The progress of technical challenges and concepts may illuminate the relationship between developments that seem to be completely different at first sight. The robotics remains an exciting scientific and engineering field. The community looks optimistically ahead and also looks forward for the future challenges and new development

Intelligent flight control systems

The capabilities of flight control systems can be enhanced by designing them to emulate functions of natural intelligence. Intelligent control functions fall in three categories. Declarative actions involve decision-making, providing models for system monitoring, goal planning, and system/scenario identification. Procedural actions concern skilled behavior and have parallels in guidance, navigation, and adaptation. Reflexive actions are spontaneous, inner-loop responses for control and estimation. Intelligent flight control systems learn knowledge of the aircraft and its mission and adapt to changes in the flight environment. Cognitive models form an efficient basis for integrating 'outer-loop/inner-loop' control functions and for developing robust parallel-processing algorithms