10,751 research outputs found
Dynamic simulation of task constrained of a rigid-flexible manipulator
A rigid-flexible manipulator may be assigned tasks in a moving environment
where the winds or vibrations affect the position and/or orientation of surface
of operation. Consequently, losses of the contact and perhaps degradation of
the performance may occur as references are changed. When the environment is
moving, knowledge of the angle α between the contact surface and the
horizontal is required at every instant. In this paper, different profiles for
the time varying angle α are proposed to investigate the effect of this
change into the contact force and the joint torques of a rigid-flexible
manipulator. The coefficients of the equation of the proposed rotating surface
are changing with time to determine the new X and Y coordinates of the moving
surface as the surface rotates
Point trajectory planning of flexible redundant robot manipulators using genetic algorithms
The paper focuses on the problem of point-to-point trajectory planning for flexible redundant robot manipulators (FRM) in joint space. Compared with irredundant flexible manipulators, a FRM possesses additional possibilities during point-to-point trajectory planning due to its kinematics redundancy. A trajectory planning method to minimize vibration and/or executing time of a point-to-point motion is presented for FRMs based on Genetic Algorithms (GAs). Kinematics redundancy is integrated into the presented method as planning variables. Quadrinomial and quintic polynomial are used to describe the segments that connect the initial, intermediate, and final points in joint space. The trajectory planning of FRM is formulated as a problem of optimization with constraints. A planar FRM with three flexible links is used in simulation. Case studies show that the method is applicable
Space Applications of Automation, Robotics and Machine Intelligence Systems (ARAMIS), phase 2. Volume 1: Telepresence technology base development
The field of telepresence is defined, and overviews of those capabilities that are now available, and those that will be required to support a NASA telepresence effort are provided. Investigation of NASA's plans and goals with regard to telepresence, extensive literature search for materials relating to relevant technologies, a description of these technologies and their state of the art, and projections for advances in these technologies over the next decade are included. Several space projects are examined in detail to determine what capabilities are required of a telepresence system in order to accomplish various tasks, such as servicing and assembly. The key operational and technological areas are identified, conclusions and recommendations are made for further research, and an example developmental program is presented, leading to an operational telepresence servicer
Stiffness Analysis Of Multi-Chain Parallel Robotic Systems
The paper presents a new stiffness modelling method for multi-chain parallel
robotic manipulators with flexible links and compliant actuating joints. In
contrast to other works, the method involves a FEA-based link stiffness
evaluation and employs a new solution strategy of the kinetostatic equations,
which allows computing the stiffness matrix for singular postures and to take
into account influence of the external forces. The advantages of the developed
technique are confirmed by application examples, which deal with stiffness
analysis of a parallel manipulator of the Orthoglide famil
A Passivity-based Nonlinear Admittance Control with Application to Powered Upper-limb Control under Unknown Environmental Interactions
This paper presents an admittance controller based on the passivity theory
for a powered upper-limb exoskeleton robot which is governed by the nonlinear
equation of motion. Passivity allows us to include a human operator and
environmental interaction in the control loop. The robot interacts with the
human operator via F/T sensor and interacts with the environment mainly via
end-effectors. Although the environmental interaction cannot be detected by any
sensors (hence unknown), passivity allows us to have natural interaction. An
analysis shows that the behavior of the actual system mimics that of a nominal
model as the control gain goes to infinity, which implies that the proposed
approach is an admittance controller. However, because the control gain cannot
grow infinitely in practice, the performance limitation according to the
achievable control gain is also analyzed. The result of this analysis indicates
that the performance in the sense of infinite norm increases linearly with the
control gain. In the experiments, the proposed properties were verified using 1
degree-of-freedom testbench, and an actual powered upper-limb exoskeleton was
used to lift and maneuver the unknown payload.Comment: Accepted in IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics (T-MECH
Stanford Aerospace Research Laboratory research overview
Over the last ten years, the Stanford Aerospace Robotics Laboratory (ARL) has developed a hardware facility in which a number of space robotics issues have been, and continue to be, addressed. This paper reviews two of the current ARL research areas: navigation and control of free flying space robots, and modelling and control of extremely flexible space structures. The ARL has designed and built several semi-autonomous free-flying robots that perform numerous tasks in a zero-gravity, drag-free, two-dimensional environment. It is envisioned that future generations of these robots will be part of a human-robot team, in which the robots will operate under the task-level commands of astronauts. To make this possible, the ARL has developed a graphical user interface (GUI) with an intuitive object-level motion-direction capability. Using this interface, the ARL has demonstrated autonomous navigation, intercept and capture of moving and spinning objects, object transport, multiple-robot cooperative manipulation, and simple assemblies from both free-flying and fixed bases. The ARL has also built a number of experimental test beds on which the modelling and control of flexible manipulators has been studied. Early ARL experiments in this arena demonstrated for the first time the capability to control the end-point position of both single-link and multi-link flexible manipulators using end-point sensing. Building on these accomplishments, the ARL has been able to control payloads with unknown dynamics at the end of a flexible manipulator, and to achieve high-performance control of a multi-link flexible manipulator
Space robot simulator vehicle
A Space Robot Simulator Vehicle (SRSV) was constructed to model a free-flying robot capable of doing construction, manipulation and repair work in space. The SRSV is intended as a test bed for development of dynamic and static control methods for space robots. The vehicle is built around a two-foot-diameter air-cushion vehicle that carries batteries, power supplies, gas tanks, computer, reaction jets and radio equipment. It is fitted with one or two two-link manipulators, which may be of many possible designs, including flexible-link versions. Both the vehicle body and its first arm are nearly complete. Inverse dynamic control of the robot's manipulator has been successfully simulated using equations generated by the dynamic simulation package SDEXACT. In this mode, the position of the manipulator tip is controlled not by fixing the vehicle base through thruster operation, but by controlling the manipulator joint torques to achieve the desired tip motion, while allowing for the free motion of the vehicle base. One of the primary goals is to minimize use of the thrusters in favor of intelligent control of the manipulator. Ways to reduce the computational burden of control are described
NASA Center for Intelligent Robotic Systems for Space Exploration
NASA's program for the civilian exploration of space is a challenge to scientists and engineers to help maintain and further develop the United States' position of leadership in a focused sphere of space activity. Such an ambitious plan requires the contribution and further development of many scientific and technological fields. One research area essential for the success of these space exploration programs is Intelligent Robotic Systems. These systems represent a class of autonomous and semi-autonomous machines that can perform human-like functions with or without human interaction. They are fundamental for activities too hazardous for humans or too distant or complex for remote telemanipulation. To meet this challenge, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has established an Engineering Research Center for Intelligent Robotic Systems for Space Exploration (CIRSSE). The Center was created with a five year $5.5 million grant from NASA submitted by a team of the Robotics and Automation Laboratories. The Robotics and Automation Laboratories of RPI are the result of the merger of the Robotics and Automation Laboratory of the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE) and the Research Laboratory for Kinematics and Robotic Mechanisms of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, and Mechanics (ME,AE,&M), in 1987. This report is an examination of the activities that are centered at CIRSSE
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