User Interface with Multisensory Feedback for Fluid Powered Rescue Robot

Presented at the 6th FPNI – PhD Symposium, June 15-19 2010, West Lafayette, Indiana.A semi-autonomously controlled fluid-powered legged search and rescue robot is proposed as a solution to the ever-increasing demand for more versatile rescue robot technology. The success of such a robot is dependent on the existence of a user interface that optimizes the balance between user and machine decisions and provides the operator with the appropriate amount of information to soundly make such decisions. The system design, consisting of a simulation/physical robot, on-board computer, and operator interface are described. Aspects of the relation between operator input and robot motion are discussed, such as the influence of feedback on operator actions or the integration of input into semi-autonomous gaits. The basis for tests seeking to optimize the interface design is established

Modeling and Simulation of a Pneumatically-Actuated Rescue Robot

Presented at the 52nd National Conference on Fluid Power, Las Vegas, NV, USA, March 23-25, 2011.A four-legged pneumatically actuated search and rescue robot is presented as a system with potentially enhanced versatility relative to existing rescue robots. The usage of fluid powered actuation, combined with tele-operation of the robot via an operator workstation, enables the twelve degree of freedom robot to better manipulate large objects. A simulation is developed to enable ease of design variation and implementation testing in difficult virtual terrains. The simulation consists of an actuator model, modeled in Simulink, which is interfaced with an open-source dynamic simulation. The simulation calculates the robot dynamics based on actuator inputs. Where previous research has focused on the development of simulation kinematics and simple actuator models, this paper discusses development of a friction model for improved fidelity of the simulator, as well as implementation and verification in the dynamic model. The balance between model performance and the level of realism required for system development is found and discussed

An interactive simulation for a fluid-powered legged search and rescue robot

© 2010 by ISFAA pneumatically actuated search and rescue quadrapedal robot is presented as a system with potentially enhanced versatility relative to existing rescue robots. The usage of fluid powered actuation, combined with tele-operation of the robot via an operator workstation, enables the 12 degree of freedom robot to better manipulate large objects and provide on-site victim assistance than existing rescue robots, which are often limited solely to assisting in search functions. To better examine the system’s capabilities, a simple model of a pneumatic actuator is created and then integrated into a simulation that allows the user to manipulate a model of the robot in a virtual environment. Constraints on simulation design and control for optimal performance are discussed and implementation and potential further impact are presented