Impedence Control for Variable Stiffness Mechanisms with Nonlinear Joint Coupling

The current discussion on physical human robot interaction and the related safety aspects, but also the interest of neuro-scientists to validate their hypotheses on human motor skills with bio-mimetic robots, led to a recent revival of tendondriven robots. In this paper, the modeling of tendon-driven elastic systems with nonlinear couplings is recapitulated. A control law is developed that takes the desired joint position and stiffness as input. Therefore, desired motor positions are determined that are commanded to an impedance controller. We give a physical interpretation of the controller. More importantly, a static decoupling of the joint motion and the stiffness variation is given. The combination of active (controller) and passive (mechanical) stiffness is investigated. The controller stiffness is designed according to the desired overall stiffness. A damping design of the impedance controller is included in these considerations. The controller performance is evaluated in simulation

A hyper-redundant manipulator

“Hyper-redundant” manipulators have a very large number of actuatable degrees of freedom. The benefits of hyper-redundant robots include the ability to avoid obstacles, increased robustness with respect to mechanical failure, and the ability to perform new forms of robot locomotion and grasping. The authors examine hyper-redundant manipulator design criteria and the physical implementation of one particular design: a variable geometry truss

Separable Tendon-Driven Robotic Manipulator with a Long, Flexible, Passive Proximal Section

This work tackles practical issues which arise when using a tendon-driven robotic manipulator (TDRM) with a long, flexible, passive proximal section in medical applications. Tendon-driven devices are preferred in medicine for their improved outcomes via minimally invasive procedures, but TDRMs come with unique challenges such as sterilization and reuse, simultaneous control of tendons, hysteresis in the tendon-sheath mechanism, and unmodeled effects of the proximal section shape. A separable TDRM which overcomes difficulties in actuation and sterilization is introduced, in which the body containing the electronics is reusable and the remainder is disposable. An open-loop redundant controller which resolves the redundancy in the kinematics is developed. Simple linear hysteresis compensation and re-tension compensation based on the physical properties of the device are proposed. The controller and compensation methods are evaluated on a testbed for a straight proximal section, a curved proximal section at various static angles, and a proximal section which dynamically changes angles; and overall, distal tip error was reduced

On Neuromechanical Approaches for the Study of Biological Grasp and Manipulation

Biological and robotic grasp and manipulation are undeniably similar at the level of mechanical task performance. However, their underlying fundamental biological vs. engineering mechanisms are, by definition, dramatically different and can even be antithetical. Even our approach to each is diametrically opposite: inductive science for the study of biological systems vs. engineering synthesis for the design and construction of robotic systems. The past 20 years have seen several conceptual advances in both fields and the quest to unify them. Chief among them is the reluctant recognition that their underlying fundamental mechanisms may actually share limited common ground, while exhibiting many fundamental differences. This recognition is particularly liberating because it allows us to resolve and move beyond multiple paradoxes and contradictions that arose from the initial reasonable assumption of a large common ground. Here, we begin by introducing the perspective of neuromechanics, which emphasizes that real-world behavior emerges from the intimate interactions among the physical structure of the system, the mechanical requirements of a task, the feasible neural control actions to produce it, and the ability of the neuromuscular system to adapt through interactions with the environment. This allows us to articulate a succinct overview of a few salient conceptual paradoxes and contradictions regarding under-determined vs. over-determined mechanics, under- vs. over-actuated control, prescribed vs. emergent function, learning vs. implementation vs. adaptation, prescriptive vs. descriptive synergies, and optimal vs. habitual performance. We conclude by presenting open questions and suggesting directions for future research. We hope this frank assessment of the state-of-the-art will encourage and guide these communities to continue to interact and make progress in these important areas

Nonlinear robust control of tendon–driven robot manipulators

This work addresses the position tracking control problem for tendon–driven robotic mechanisms in the presence of parametric uncertainty and additive external disturbances. Specifically, a full state feedback nonlinear robust controller is proposed to tackle the link position tracking problem for tendon–driven robot manipulators with uncertain dynamical system parameters. A robust backstepping approach has been utilized to achieve uniformly ultimately bounded tracking performance despite the lack of exact knowledge of the dynamical parameters and presence of additive but bounded disturbance terms. Stability of the overall system is proven via Lyapunov based arguments. Simulation studies performed on a two link planar robot manipulator driven by a six tendon mechanism are presented to illustrate the effectiveness and viability of the proposed approach.Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (112E561

Designing a robotic port system for laparo-endoscopic single-site surgery

Current research and development in the field of surgical interventions aim to reduce the invasiveness by using few incisions or natural orifices in the body to access the surgical site. Considering surgeries in the abdominal cavity, the Laparo-Endoscopic Single-site Surgery (LESS) can be performed through a single incision in the navel, reducing blood loss, post-operative trauma, and improving the cosmetic outcome. However, LESS results in less intuitive instrument control, impaired ergonomic, loss of depth and haptic perception, and restriction of instrument positioning by a single incision. Robot-assisted surgery addresses these shortcomings, by introducing highly articulated, flexible robotic instruments, ergonomic control consoles with 3D visualization, and intuitive instrument control algorithms. The flexible robotic instruments are usually introduced into the abdomen via a rigid straight port, such that the positioning of the tools and therefore the accessibility of anatomical structures is still constrained by the incision location. To address this limitation, articulated ports for LESS are proposed by recent research works. However, they focus on only a few aspects, which are relevant to the surgery, such that a design considering all requirements for LESS has not been proposed yet. This partially originates in the lack of anatomical data of specific applications. Further, no general design guidelines exist and only a few evaluation metrics are proposed. To target these challenges, this thesis focuses on the design of an articulated robotic port for LESS partial nephrectomy. A novel approach is introduced, acquiring the available abdominal workspace, integrated into the surgical workflow. Based on several generated patient datasets and developed metrics, design parameter optimization is conducted. Analyzing the surgical procedure, a comprehensive requirement list is established and applied to design a robotic system, proposing a tendon-driven continuum robot as the articulated port structure. Especially, the aspects of stiffening and sterile design are addressed. In various experimental evaluations, the reachability, the stiffness, and the overall design are evaluated. The findings identify layer jamming as the superior stiffening method. Further, the articulated port is proven to enhance the accessibility of anatomical structures and offer a patient and incision location independent design

A New Approach of Soft Joint Based on a Cable-Driven Parallel Mechanism for robotic Applications

A soft joint has been designed and modeled to perform as a robotic joint with 2 Degrees of Freedom (DOF) (inclination and orientation). The joint actuation is based on a Cable-Driven Parallel Mechanism (CDPM). To study its performance in more detail, a test platform has been developed using components that can be manufactured in a 3D printer using a flexible polymer. The mathematical model of the kinematics of the soft joint is developed, which includes a blocking mechanism and the morphology workspace. The model is validated using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) (CAD software). Experimental tests are performed to validate the inverse kinematic model and to show the potential use of the prototype in robotic platforms such as manipulators and humanoid robots.The research leading to these results has received funding from the project Desarrollo de articulaciones blandas para aplicaciones robóticas, with reference IND2020/IND-1739, funded by the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (CAM) (Department of Education and Research), and from RoboCity2030-DIH-CM, Madrid Robotics Digital Innovation Hub (Robótica aplicada a la mejora de la calidad de vida de los ciudadanos, FaseIV; S2018/NMT-4331), funded by Programas de Actividades I+D en la Comunidad de Madrid and cofunded by Structural Funds of the EU

Ground Robotic Hand Applications for the Space Program study (GRASP)

This document reports on a NASA-STDP effort to address research interests of the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) through a study entitled, Ground Robotic-Hand Applications for the Space Program (GRASP). The primary objective of the GRASP study was to identify beneficial applications of specialized end-effectors and robotic hand devices for automating any ground operations which are performed at the Kennedy Space Center. Thus, operations for expendable vehicles, the Space Shuttle and its components, and all payloads were included in the study. Typical benefits of automating operations, or augmenting human operators performing physical tasks, include: reduced costs; enhanced safety and reliability; and reduced processing turnaround time