23,317 research outputs found
The body as a reservoir: locomotion and sensing with linear feedback
It is known that mass-spring nets have computational power and can be trained to reproduce oscillating patterns.
In this work, we extend this idea to locomotion and sensing. We simulate systems made out of bars and springs and show that stable gaits can be maintained by these structures with only linear feedback.
We then conduct a classiïŹcation experiment in which the system has to distinguish terrains while maintaining an oscillatory pattern.
These experiments indicate that the control of compliant robots can be simpliïŹed if one exploits the computational power of the bodyâs dynamics
Distributed Control of Microscopic Robots in Biomedical Applications
Current developments in molecular electronics, motors and chemical sensors
could enable constructing large numbers of devices able to sense, compute and
act in micron-scale environments. Such microscopic machines, of sizes
comparable to bacteria, could simultaneously monitor entire populations of
cells individually in vivo. This paper reviews plausible capabilities for
microscopic robots and the physical constraints due to operation in fluids at
low Reynolds number, diffusion-limited sensing and thermal noise from Brownian
motion. Simple distributed controls are then presented in the context of
prototypical biomedical tasks, which require control decisions on millisecond
time scales. The resulting behaviors illustrate trade-offs among speed,
accuracy and resource use. A specific example is monitoring for patterns of
chemicals in a flowing fluid released at chemically distinctive sites.
Information collected from a large number of such devices allows estimating
properties of cell-sized chemical sources in a macroscopic volume. The
microscopic devices moving with the fluid flow in small blood vessels can
detect chemicals released by tissues in response to localized injury or
infection. We find the devices can readily discriminate a single cell-sized
chemical source from the background chemical concentration, providing
high-resolution sensing in both time and space. By contrast, such a source
would be difficult to distinguish from background when diluted throughout the
blood volume as obtained with a blood sample
Automation and robotics for the Space Exploration Initiative: Results from Project Outreach
A total of 52 submissions were received in the Automation and Robotics (A&R) area during Project Outreach. About half of the submissions (24) contained concepts that were judged to have high utility for the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) and were analyzed further by the robotics panel. These 24 submissions are analyzed here. Three types of robots were proposed in the high scoring submissions: structured task robots (STRs), teleoperated robots (TORs), and surface exploration robots. Several advanced TOR control interface technologies were proposed in the submissions. Many A&R concepts or potential standards were presented or alluded to by the submitters, but few specific technologies or systems were suggested
Man-machine interface issues in space telerobotics: A JPL research and development program
Technology issues related to the use of robots as man-extension or telerobot systems in space are discussed and exemplified. General considerations are presentd on control and information problems in space teleoperation and on the characteristics of Earth orbital teleoperation. The JPL R and D work in the area of man-machine interface devices and techniques for sensing and computer-based control is briefly summarized. The thrust of this R and D effort is to render space teleoperation efficient and safe through the use of devices and techniques which will permit integrated and task-level (intelligent) two-way control communication between human operator and telerobot machine in Earth orbit. Specific control and information display devices and techniques are discussed and exemplified with development results obtained at JPL in recent years
Bio-inspired Tensegrity Soft Modular Robots
In this paper, we introduce a design principle to develop novel soft modular
robots based on tensegrity structures and inspired by the cytoskeleton of
living cells. We describe a novel strategy to realize tensegrity structures
using planar manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing. We use this
strategy to develop icosahedron tensegrity structures with programmable
variable stiffness that can deform in a three-dimensional space. We also
describe a tendon-driven contraction mechanism to actively control the
deformation of the tensegrity mod-ules. Finally, we validate the approach in a
modular locomotory worm as a proof of concept.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Living Machine conference 201
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