Transputer control of a flexible robot link

The applicability of transputers in control systems is investigated. This is done by implementing a controller for a flexible robot arm with one degree of freedom on a system consisting of an IBM-AT and four transputers. It is found that a control system with transputers offers a great improvement compared with conventional digital control systems. Transputers can solve the common problem in control practice, i.e. having very sophisticted controllers but not being able to implement them because they need too much computing time. However, transputers are not an optimal solution for more sophisticated control systems because of shortcomings in the scheduling mechanism

Optimal Control of a Soft CyberOctopus Arm

In this paper, we use the optimal control methodology to control a flexible, elastic Cosserat rod. An inspiration comes from stereotypical movement patterns in octopus arms, which are observed in a variety of manipulation tasks, such as reaching or fetching. To help uncover the mechanisms underlying these observed morphologies, we outline an optimal control-based framework. A single octopus arm is modeled as a Hamiltonian control system, where the continuum mechanics of the arm is modeled after the Cosserat rod theory, and internal, distributed muscle forces and couples are considered as controls. First order necessary optimality conditions are derived for an optimal control problem formulated for this infinite dimensional system. Solutions to this problem are obtained numerically by an iterative forward-backward algorithm. The state and adjoint equations are solved in a dynamic simulation environment, setting the stage for studying a broader class of optimal control problems. Trajectories that minimize control effort are demonstrated and qualitatively compared with observed behaviors

Inverse Control and Stabilization of Free-flying Flexible Robots

The question of control and stabilization of flexible space robots is considered. Although, this approach is applicable to space robots of other configurations, for simplicity, a flexible planar two-link robot, mounted on a rigid floating platform, is considered. The robotic arm has two revolute joints and its links undergo elastic deformation in the plane of rotation. Based on nonlinear inversion technique, a control law is derived for controlling output variables describing the position and orientation of the platform and the joint angles of the robot. Although, the inverse controller accomplishes reference trajectory tracking, it excites the elastic modes of the arm. For the vibration suppression, three different stabilizer are designed. Using linear quadratic optimal control theory, a composite stabilizer for stabilization of the rigid and flexible modes and a decoupled flexible mode stabilizer are designed for regulating the end point of the robot to the target point and vibration suppression. Stabilization using only elastic mode velocity feedback is also considered. For large maneuvers, first the inverse controller is active, and the stabilizer is switched for regulation when the motion of the robot lies in the neighborhood of the terminal equilibrium state. Simulation results are presented to show that in the closed-loop system including the inverse controller and each of the stabilizers, trajectory tracking and stabilization of elastic modes are accomplished

Dynamic Analysis of a Two Member Manipulator

Attenuating start-up and stopping vibrations when maneuvering large payloads attached to flexible manipulator systems is a great concern for many space missions. To address this concern, it was proposed that the use of smart materials, and their applications in smart structures, may provide an effective method of control for aerospace structures. In this paper, a modified finite element model has been developed to simulate the performance of piezoelectric ceramic actuators, and was applied to a flexible two-arm manipulator system. Connected to a control voltage, the piezoelectric actuators produce control moments based on the optimal control theory. The computer simulation modeled the end-effector vibration suppression of the NASA manipulator testbed for berthing operations of the Space Shuttle to the Space Station. The results of the simulation show that the bonded piezoelectric actuators can effectively suppress follow-up vibrations of the end-effector, stimulated by some external disturbance

Dynamic Analysis of a Two Member Manipulator Arm

Attenuating start-up and stopping vibrations when maneuvering large payloads attached to flexible manipulator systems is a great concern for many space missions. To address this concern, it was proposed that the use of smart materials, and their applications in smart structures, may provide an effective method of control for aerospace structures. In this paper, a modified finite element model has been developed to simulate the performance of piezoelectric ceramic actuators, and was applied to a flexible two-arm manipulator system. Connected to a control voltage, the piezoelectric actuators produce control moments based on the optimal control theory. The computer simulation modeled the end-effector vibration suppression of the NASA manipulator testbed for berthing operations of the Space Shuttle to the Space Station. The results of the simulation show that the bonded piezoelectric actuators can effectively suppress follow-up vibrations of the end-effector, stimulated by some external disturbance

Time-Optimal Control Of High-Speed Flexible-Robot Arm Using PD Algorithms

This paper addresses utilization of proportional-plus derivative (PD) control algorithms for time-optimal control of flexible-robots. Flexibility is modeled using one mode of vibration with negligible structural damping. Two novel methods for time-optimal control were derived and closed form equations for tuning the required PD gains were obtained. The resulting controllers were used to control a high-speed flexible-robot for minimum settling time in response to a step angular motion command. Similarly, for the sake of comparison, three other techniques were used to control the same flexible-robot arm. The first used multi-switch bang-bang control technique. The second used PD approach in which the gains are computed through locating the dominant poles as far left as possible in the left hand side of the complex plane. The third approach used multi-switch bang-bang control followed by PD control. Uncertainties were introduced in the model to evaluate robustness of the methods. Results obtained showed that the novel techniques out performed the other ones

Spherical acquisition trajectories for X-ray computed tomography with a robotic sample holder

This work presents methods for the seamless execution of arbitrary spherical trajectories with a seven-degree-of-freedom robotic arm as a sample holder. The sample holder is integrated into an existing X-ray computed tomography setup. We optimized the path planning and robot control algorithms for the seamless execution of spherical trajectories. A precision-manufactured sample holder part is attached to the robotic arm for the calibration procedure. Different designs of this part are tested and compared to each other for optimal coverage of trajectories and reconstruction image quality. We present experimental results with the robotic sample holder where a sample measurement on a spherical trajectory achieves improved reconstruction quality compared to a conventional circular trajectory. Our results demonstrate the superiority of the discussed system as it outperforms single-axis systems by reaching nearly 82\% of all possible rotations. The proposed system is a step towards higher image reconstruction quality in flexible X-ray CT systems. It will enable reduced scan times and radiation dose exposure with task-specific trajectories in the future, as it can capture information from various sample angles

Mixed H2/H∞ control for infinite dimensional systems

The class of infinite dimensional systems often occurs when dealing with distributed parameter models consisting of partial differential equations. Although forming a comprehensive description, they mainly become manageable by finite dimensional approximations which likely neglect important effects, but underlies a certain structure. In contrast to common techniques for controlling infinite dimensional systems, this work focuses on using robust control methods. Thus, the uncertainty structure that occurs due to the discretization shall be taken into account particularly. Additionally, optimal performance measures can be included into the design process. The mixed H2/H∞ control approach handles the inclusion of disturbances and inaccuracies while guaranteeing specified energy or magnitude bounds. In order to include various of these system requirements, multi-objective robust control techniques based on the linear matrix inequality framework are utilized. This offers great flexibility concerning the formulation of the control task and results in convex optimization problems which can be solved numerically efficient by semi-definite programming. A flexible robot arm structure serves as the major application example during this work. The model discretization leads to an LTI system of specified order with an uncertainty model which is obtained by considering the concrete approximation impact and frequency domain tests. A structural analysis of the system model relates the neglected dynamics to a robust characterization. For the objective selection, stability shall be ensured under all expected circumstances while the aspects of optimal H2 performance, passive behavior and optimal measurement output selection are included. The undesirable spillover effect is thoroughly investigated and thus avoided.Tesi

Planning and Real Time Control of a Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery System

This paper introduces the planning and control software of a teleoperating robotic system for minimally invasive surgery. It addresses the problem of how to organize a complex system with 41 degrees of freedom including robot setup planning, force feedback control and nullspace handling with three robotic arms. The planning software is separated into sequentially executed planning and registration procedures. An optimal setup is first planned in virtual reality and then adapted to variations in the operating room. The real time control system is composed of hierarchical layers. The design is flexible and expandable without losing performance. Structure, functionality and implementation of planning and control are described. The robotic system provides the surgeon with an intuitive hand-eye-coordination and force feedback in teleoperation for both hands

Flexible joint control : robustness analysis of the collocated and non-collocated feedbacks

In this paper, we propose a discussion on the robustness and performance properties of a proportional-derivative controller applied to a very flexible joint. Because of the flexible mode due to in-joint compliance, the classical collocated control does not allow to obtain good rigid mode dynamics with a correct phase margin in low and high frequency, and the non-collocated control does not allow to damp correctly the rotor mode. The simultaneous analysis of discrete root loci and Nichols plots leads to a phase control law with a derivative term built from both input and output velocities. Simulations taking into account various real non-linearities and measurement imperfections are proposed to validate this improved control design