Mechatronics at the University of Twente

This paper describes some of the mechatronics activities at the University of Twente. In 1989, the founding of the Mechatronics Research Center Twente started a cooperation of the departments of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. The mechatronics activities get especially attention in projects in the Ph.D. programme and in the `mechatronic designer' program, but Msc. students participate as well. As an illustration of the philosophy behind the work at the University of Twente and of the activities carried out so far, the paper describes two projects of the institute: the MART (Mobile Autonomous Robot Twente) project and the ALASCA (Automated Laser Aided Servo Controlled Assembly) projec

Sliding modes in electrical drives and motion control

In this paper application of Sliding Mode Control (SMC) to electrical drives and motion control systems is discussed. It is shown that in these applications simplicity in implementation makes concepts of SMC a very attractive design alternative. Application in electrical drives control is discussed for supply via different topologies of the supply converters. Motion control is discussed for single degree of freedom motion control systems as an extension of the control of mechanical coordinates in electrical drives. Extension to multi-body systems is discussed very briefly

Terminal sliding mode control strategy design for second-order nonlinear system

This study mainly focuses on the terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) strategy design, including an adaptive terminal sliding mode control (ATSMC) and an exact-estimator-based terminal sliding mode control (ETSMC) for second-order nonlinear dynamical systems. In the ATSMC system, an adaptive bound estimation for the lump uncertainty is proposed to ensure the system stability. On the other hand, an exact estimator is designed for exact estimating system uncertainties to solve the trouble of chattering phenomena caused by a sign function in ATSMC law in despite of the utilization of a fixed value or an adaptive tuning algorithm for the lumped uncertainty bound. The effectiveness of the proposed control schemes can be verified in numerical simulations.<br /

Sliding modes in power electronics and motion control

In the paper the general approach to motion control systems in the sliding mode framework is discussed in details. It has been shown that, due to the fact that a motion control system with n d.o.f may be mathematically formulated in a unique way as a system composed on n 2 d.o.f systems, design of such a system may be formulated in a unique way as a requirement that the generalized coordinates must satisfy certain algebraic constrain. Such a formulation leads naturally to sliding mode methods to be applied where sliding mode manifolds are selected to coincide with desired constraints on the generalized coordinates. In addition to the above problem the design of full observer for IM based drive is discussed

Industrial applications of the Kalman filter:a review

International audienc

Implementation of explosion safety regulations in design of a mobile robot for coal mines

The article focuses on specific challenges of the design of a reconnaissance mobile robotic system aimed for inspection in underground coal mine areas after a catastrophic event. Systems that are designated for these conditions must meet specific standards and regulations. In this paper is discussed primarily the main conception of meeting explosion safety regulations of European Union 2014/34/EU (also called ATEX-from French "Appareils destines a etre utilises en ATmospheres Explosives") for Group I (equipment intended for use in underground mines) and Category M1 (equipment designed for operation in the presence of an explosive atmosphere). An example of a practical solution is described on main subsystems of the mobile robot TeleRescuera teleoperated robot with autonomy functions, a sensory subsystem with multiple cameras, three-dimensional (3D) mapping and sensors for measurement of gas concentration, airflow, relative humidity, and temperatures. Explosion safety is ensured according to the Technical Report CLC/TR 60079-33 "s" by two main independent protections-mechanical protection (flameproof enclosure) and electrical protection (automatic methane detector that disconnects power when methane breaches the enclosure and gets inside the robot body).Web of Science811art. no. 230

Navigation of mini swimmers in channel networks with magnetic fields

Controlled navigation of swimming micro robots inside fluid filled channels is necessary for applications in living tissues and vessels. Hydrodynamic behavior inside channels and interaction with channel walls need to be understood well for successful design and control of these surgical-tools-to-be. In this study, two different mechanisms are used for forward and lateral motion: rotation of helices in the direction of the helical axis leads to forward motion in the viscous fluid, and rolling due to wall traction results with the lateral motion near the wall. Experiments are conducted using a magnetic helical swimmer having 1.5 mm in length and 0.5 mm in diameter placed inside two different glycerol-filled channels with rectangular cross sections. The strength, direction and rotational frequency of the externally applied rotating magnetic field are used as inputs to control the position and direction of the micro swimmer in Y- and T-shaped channels

Mathematical model of two-degree-of-freedom direct drive induction motor considering coupling effect

The Two-degree-of-freedom direct drive induction motor, which is capable of linear, rotary and helical two, has a wide application in special industry such as industrial robot arms. It is inevitable that the linear motion and rotary motion generate coupling effect on each other on account of the high integration. The analysis of this effect has great significance in the research of two-degree-of-freedom motors, which is also crucial to realize precision control of them. The coupling factor considering the coupling effect is proposed and addressed by 3D finite element method. Then the corrected mathematical model is presented by importing the coupling factor. The results from it are verified by 3D finite element model and prototype test, which validates the corrected mathematical model