2,370 research outputs found
Robust Cooperative Manipulation without Force/Torque Measurements: Control Design and Experiments
This paper presents two novel control methodologies for the cooperative
manipulation of an object by N robotic agents. Firstly, we design an adaptive
control protocol which employs quaternion feedback for the object orientation
to avoid potential representation singularities. Secondly, we propose a control
protocol that guarantees predefined transient and steady-state performance for
the object trajectory. Both methodologies are decentralized, since the agents
calculate their own signals without communicating with each other, as well as
robust to external disturbances and model uncertainties. Moreover, we consider
that the grasping points are rigid, and avoid the need for force/torque
measurements. Load distribution is also included via a grasp matrix
pseudo-inverse to account for potential differences in the agents' power
capabilities. Finally, simulation and experimental results with two robotic
arms verify the theoretical findings
Space robotics: Recent accomplishments and opportunities for future research
The Langley Guidance, Navigation, and Control Technical Committee (GNCTC) was one of six technical committees created in 1991 by the Chief Scientist, Dr. Michael F. Card. During the kickoff meeting Dr. Card charged the chairmen to: (1) establish a cross-Center committee; (2) support at least one workshop in a selected discipline; and (3) prepare a technical paper on recent accomplishments in the discipline and on opportunities for future research. The Guidance, Navigation, and Control Committee was formed and selected for focus on the discipline of Space robotics. This report is a summary of the committee's assessment of recent accomplishments and opportunities for future research. The report is organized as follows. First is an overview of the data sources used by the committee. Next is a description of technical needs identified by the committee followed by recent accomplishments. Opportunities for future research ends the main body of the report. It includes the primary recommendation of the committee that NASA establish a national space facility for the development of space automation and robotics, one element of which is a telerobotic research platform in space. References 1 and 2 are the proceedings of two workshops sponsored by the committee during its June 1991, through May 1992 term. The focus of the committee for the June 1992 - May 1993 term will be to further define to the recommended platform in space and to add an additional discipline which includes aircraft related GN&C issues. To the latter end members performing aircraft related research will be added to the committee. (A preliminary assessment of future opportunities in aircraft-related GN&C research has been included as appendix A.
Coordinated Control of a Mobile Manipulator
In this technical report, we investigate modeling, control, and coordination of mobile manipulators. A mobile manipulator in this study consists of a robotic manipulator and a mobile platform, with the manipulator being mounted atop the mobile platform. A mobile manipulator combines the dextrous manipulation capability offered by fixed-base manipulators and the mobility offered by mobile platforms. While mobile manipulators offer a tremendous potential for flexible material handling and other tasks, at the same time they bring about a number of challenging issues rather than simply increasing the structural complexity. First, combining a manipulator and a platform creates redundancy. Second, a wheeled mobile platform is subject to nonholonomic constraints. Third, there exists dynamic interaction between the manipulator and the mobile platform. Fourth, manipulators and mobile platforms have different bandwidths. Mobile platforms typically have slower dynamic response than manipulators. The objective of the thesis is to develop control algorithms that effectively coordinate manipulation and mobility of mobile manipulators.
We begin with deriving the motion equations of mobile manipulators. The derivation presented here makes use of the existing motion equations of manipulators and mobile platforms, and simply introduces the velocity and acceleration dependent terms that account for the dynamic interaction between manipulators and mobile platforms. Since nonholonomic constraints play a critical role in control of mobile manipulators, we then study the control properties of nonholonomic dynamic systems, including feedback linearization and internal dynamics. Based on the newly proposed concept of preferred operating region, we develop a set of coordination algorithms for mobile manipulators. While the manipulator performs manipulation tasks, the mobile platform is controlled to always bring the configuration of the manipulator into a preferred operating region. The control algorithms for two types of tasks - dragging motion and following motion - are discussed in detail. The effects of dynamic interaction are also investigated.
To verify the efficacy of the coordination algorithms, we conduct numerical simulations with representative task trajectories. Additionally, the control algorithms for the dragging motion and following motion have been implemented on an experimental mobile manipulator. The results from the simulation and experiment are presented to support the proposed control algorithms
Time Scaling of Cooperative Multi-Robot Trajectories
In this paper we develop an algorithm to modify the trajectories of multiple robots in cooperative manipulation. If a given trajectory results in joint torques which exceed the admissible torque range for one or more joints, the algorithm slows down or speeds up the trajectory so as to maintain all the torques within the admissible boundary. Our trajectory modification algorithm uses the concept of time scaling developed by Hollerbach[10] for single robots. A multiple robot system in cooperative manipulation has significantly different dynamics compared to single robot dynamics. As a result, time scaling algorithm for single robots is not usable with multi-robot system. The trajectory scaling schemes described in this paper requires the use of linear programming techniques and is designed to accommodate the internal force constraints and payload distribution strategies. As the multi-robot system is usually redundantly actuated, the actuator torques may be found from the quadratic minimization which has the effect of lowering energy consumption for the trajectory. A scheme for generating a robust multi-robot trajectories when the carried load mass and inertia matrix are unknown but vary within a certain range is also described in this paper. Several examples are given to show the effectiveness of our multi-robot trajectory sealing scheme
A Nonlinear Model Predictive Control Scheme for Cooperative Manipulation with Singularity and Collision Avoidance
This paper addresses the problem of cooperative transportation of an object
rigidly grasped by robotic agents. In particular, we propose a Nonlinear
Model Predictive Control (NMPC) scheme that guarantees the navigation of the
object to a desired pose in a bounded workspace with obstacles, while complying
with certain input saturations of the agents. Moreover, the proposed
methodology ensures that the agents do not collide with each other or with the
workspace obstacles as well as that they do not pass through singular
configurations. The feasibility and convergence analysis of the NMPC are
explicitly provided. Finally, simulation results illustrate the validity and
efficiency of the proposed method.Comment: Simulation results with 3 agents adde
Trajectory Deformations from Physical Human-Robot Interaction
Robots are finding new applications where physical interaction with a human
is necessary: manufacturing, healthcare, and social tasks. Accordingly, the
field of physical human-robot interaction (pHRI) has leveraged impedance
control approaches, which support compliant interactions between human and
robot. However, a limitation of traditional impedance control is that---despite
provisions for the human to modify the robot's current trajectory---the human
cannot affect the robot's future desired trajectory through pHRI. In this
paper, we present an algorithm for physically interactive trajectory
deformations which, when combined with impedance control, allows the human to
modulate both the actual and desired trajectories of the robot. Unlike related
works, our method explicitly deforms the future desired trajectory based on
forces applied during pHRI, but does not require constant human guidance. We
present our approach and verify that this method is compatible with traditional
impedance control. Next, we use constrained optimization to derive the
deformation shape. Finally, we describe an algorithm for real time
implementation, and perform simulations to test the arbitration parameters.
Experimental results demonstrate reduction in the human's effort and
improvement in the movement quality when compared to pHRI with impedance
control alone
The Ariadne's Clew Algorithm
We present a new approach to path planning, called the "Ariadne's clew
algorithm". It is designed to find paths in high-dimensional continuous spaces
and applies to robots with many degrees of freedom in static, as well as
dynamic environments - ones where obstacles may move. The Ariadne's clew
algorithm comprises two sub-algorithms, called Search and Explore, applied in
an interleaved manner. Explore builds a representation of the accessible space
while Search looks for the target. Both are posed as optimization problems. We
describe a real implementation of the algorithm to plan paths for a six degrees
of freedom arm in a dynamic environment where another six degrees of freedom
arm is used as a moving obstacle. Experimental results show that a path is
found in about one second without any pre-processing
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