46,507 research outputs found
Semi-autonomous scheme for pushing micro-objects
-In many microassembly applications, it is often
desirable to position and orient polygonal micro-objects lying on
a planar surface. Pushing micro-objects using point contact provides
more flexibility and less complexity compared to pick and
place operation. Due to the fact that in micro-world surface forces
are much more dominant than inertial forces and these forces
are distributed unevenly, pushing through the center of mass of
the micro-object will not yield a pure translational motion. In
order to translate a micro-object, the line of pushing should pass
through the center of friction. In this paper, a semi-autonomous
scheme based on hybrid vision/force feedback is proposed to push
microobjects with human assistance using a custom built telemicromanipulation
setup to achieve pure translational motion.
The pushing operation is divided into two concurrent processes:
In one process human operator who acts as an impedance
controller alters the velocity of the pusher while in contact with
the micro-object through scaled bilateral teleoperation with force
feedback. In the other process, the desired line of pushing for
the micro-object is determined continuously using visual feedback
procedures so that it always passes through the varying center of
friction. Experimental results are demonstrated to prove nanoNewton
range force sensing, scaled bilateral teleoperation with
force feedback and pushing microobjects
Force feedback pushing scheme for micromanipulation applications
Pushing micro-objects using point contact provides
more flexibility and less complexity compared to pick
and place operation. Due to the fact that in micro-world
surface forces are much more dominant than inertial forces
and these forces are distributed unevenly, pushing through
the center of mass of the micro-object may not yield a pure
translational motion. In order to translate a micro-object, the
line of pushing should pass through the center of friction. In this
paper, a semi-autonomous scheme based on hybrid vision/force
feedback procedure is proposed to push micro-objects with
human assistance using a custom built tele-micromanipulation
setup to achieve translational motion. In the semi-autonomous
pushing process, velocity controlled pushing with force feedback
is realized along x-axis by the human operator while y-axis
orientation is undertaken automatically using visual feedback.
This way the desired line of pushing for the micro-object
is controlled to pass through the varying center of friction.
Experimental results are shown to prove nano-Newton range
force sensing, scaled bilateral teleoperation with force feedback
and snapshot of pushing operation
A Workstation for microassembly
In this paper, an open-architecture, reconfigurable microassembly workstation for efficient and reliable assembly of micromachined parts is presented. The
workstation is designed to be used as a research tool for investigation of the problems in microassembly. The development of such a workstation includes the design of: (i) a manipulation system consisting of motion stages providing
necessary travel range and precision for the realization of assembly tasks, (ii) a vision system to visualize the microworld and the determination of the position and orientation of micro components to be assembled, (iii) a robust control system and necessary mounts for the end effectors in such a way that according to the task to be realized, the manipulation tools can be easily changed and the system will be ready for the predefined task. In addition
tele-operated and semi-automated assembly concepts are implemented. The design is verified by implementing the range of the tasks in micro-parts manipulation. The versatility of the workstation is demonstrated and high accuracy of positioning is sho
Removing Orbital Debris with Lasers
Orbital debris in low Earth orbit (LEO) are now sufficiently dense that the
use of LEO space is threatened by runaway collisional cascading. A problem
predicted more than thirty years ago, the threat from debris larger than about
1 cm demands serious attention. A promising proposed solution uses a high power
pulsed laser system on the Earth to make plasma jets on the objects, slowing
them slightly, and causing them to re-enter and burn up in the atmosphere. In
this paper, we reassess this approach in light of recent advances in low-cost,
light-weight modular design for large mirrors, calculations of laser-induced
orbit changes and in design of repetitive, multi-kilojoule lasers, that build
on inertial fusion research. These advances now suggest that laser orbital
debris removal (LODR) is the most cost-effective way to mitigate the debris
problem. No other solutions have been proposed that address the whole problem
of large and small debris. A LODR system will have multiple uses beyond debris
removal. International cooperation will be essential for building and operating
such a system.Comment: 37 pages, 15 figures, in preparation for submission to Advances in
Space Researc
Efficient MRF Energy Propagation for Video Segmentation via Bilateral Filters
Segmentation of an object from a video is a challenging task in multimedia
applications. Depending on the application, automatic or interactive methods
are desired; however, regardless of the application type, efficient computation
of video object segmentation is crucial for time-critical applications;
specifically, mobile and interactive applications require near real-time
efficiencies. In this paper, we address the problem of video segmentation from
the perspective of efficiency. We initially redefine the problem of video
object segmentation as the propagation of MRF energies along the temporal
domain. For this purpose, a novel and efficient method is proposed to propagate
MRF energies throughout the frames via bilateral filters without using any
global texture, color or shape model. Recently presented bi-exponential filter
is utilized for efficiency, whereas a novel technique is also developed to
dynamically solve graph-cuts for varying, non-lattice graphs in general linear
filtering scenario. These improvements are experimented for both automatic and
interactive video segmentation scenarios. Moreover, in addition to the
efficiency, segmentation quality is also tested both quantitatively and
qualitatively. Indeed, for some challenging examples, significant time
efficiency is observed without loss of segmentation quality.Comment: Multimedia, IEEE Transactions on (Volume:16, Issue: 5, Aug. 2014
Control interface concepts for CHARA 6-telescope fringe tracking with CHAMP+MIRC
Cophasing six telescopes from the CHARA array, the CHARA-Michigan
Phasetracker (CHAMP) and Michigan Infrared Combiner (MIRC) are pushing the
frontiers of infrared long-baseline interferometric imaging in key scientific
areas such as star- and planet-formation. Here we review our concepts and
recent improvements on the CHAMP and MIRC control interfaces, which establish
the communication to the real-time data recording & fringe tracking code,
provide essential performance diagnostics, and assist the observer in the
alignment and flux optimization procedure. For fringe detection and tracking
with MIRC, we have developed a novel matrix approach, which provides
predictions for the fringe positions based on cross-fringe information.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, published in SPIE conference proceedings
(http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.926559
The separate neural control of hand movements and contact forces
To manipulate an object, we must simultaneously control the contact forces exerted on the object and the movements of our hand. Two alternative views for manipulation have been proposed: one in which motions and contact forces are represented and controlled by separate neural processes, and one in which motions and forces are controlled jointly, by a single process. To evaluate these alternatives, we designed three tasks in which subjects maintained a specified contact force while their hand was moved by a robotic manipulandum. The prescribed contact force and hand motions were selected in each task to induce the subject to attain one of three goals: (1) exerting a regulated contact force, (2) tracking the motion of the manipulandum, and (3) attaining both force and motion goals concurrently. By comparing subjects' performances in these three tasks, we found that behavior was captured by the summed actions of two independent control systems: one applying the desired force, and the other guiding the hand along the predicted path of the manipulandum. Furthermore, the application of transcranial magnetic stimulation impulses to the posterior parietal cortex selectively disrupted the control of motion but did not affect the regulation of static contact force. Together, these findings are consistent with the view that manipulation of objects is performed by independent brain control of hand motions and interaction forces
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