Optimal design and experimental verification of a spherical-wheel composite robot with automatic transformation system

This paper presents a design for a dual-mode prototype robot with the advantages of both a spherical robot and wheeled robot. A spherical robot has flexible movement capabilities, and the spherical shell can protect the mechanism and electronic devices. A wheeled mobile robot operates at high speed on a flat road. Its simple structure and control system has made it a popular choice in the field of robotics. Our objective was to develop a new concept robot capable of combining two different locomotion mechanisms to increase the locomotion stability and efficiency. The proposed mobile robot prototype was found to be capable and suitable in different situations. The exchange of modes between the spherical and the wheeled robot was realized by a structural change of the robot. The spherical-wheel mobile robot prototype is composed of a deformable spherical shell system, the propulsion system for the sphere and a wheeled mobile unit module. The exchange of locomotion modes was implemented by changing the geometric structure of spherical shell. The mechanical structure of the composite robot is presented in detail as well as the control system including hardware components and the software. The control system allowed for the automatic transformation of the composite robot between either of the locomotion modes. Based on analysis and simulation, the mechanism was optimized in its configuration and dimension to guarantee that robot had a compact structure and high efficiency. Finally, the experimental results of the transformation and motion processes provided dynamic motion parameters and verified the feasibility of the robot prototype

Development, analysis and control of a spherical aerial vehicle

With the ability to provide close surveillance in narrow space or urban areas, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been of great interest to many scholars and researchers. The spherical aerial vehicle offers substantial design advantages over the conventional small aerial vehicles. As a new kind of small aerial vehicles, spherical aerial vehicle is presented in this paper. Firstly, the unique structure of spherical aerial vehicle is presented in detail. And then the dynamics theory based on this vehicle’s structure is analyzed, and the equations of force and moment acting on the aircraft were deduced. Based on the above, the dynamics model of spherical aerial vehicle is derived and the nonlinear state equation is established. The control system of the spherical aerial vehicle’s flight motion, including the hardware and software parts, is presented concretely. The backstepping control method is used in the state equation to get the stability of the spherical aerial vehicle’s motion. At last, the experimental results and simulation analysis are provided to confirm the feasibility of the spherical aerial vehicle’s flight movement in the air

Analysis of Load-Carrying Capacity for Redundant Free-Floating Space Manipulators in Trajectory Tracking Task

The aim of this paper is to analyze load-carrying capacity of redundant free-floating space manipulators (FFSM) in trajectory tracking task. Combined with the analysis of influential factors in load-carrying process, evaluation of maximum load-carrying capacity (MLCC) is described as multiconstrained nonlinear programming problem. An efficient algorithm based on repeated line search within discontinuous feasible region is presented to determine MLCC for a given trajectory of the end-effector and corresponding joint path. Then, considering the influence of MLCC caused by different initial configurations for the starting point of given trajectory, a kind of maximum payload initial configuration planning method is proposed by using PSO algorithm. Simulations are performed for a particular trajectory tracking task of the 7-DOF space manipulator, of which MLCC is evaluated quantitatively. By in-depth research of the simulation results, significant gap between the values of MLCC when using different initial configurations is analyzed, and the discontinuity of allowable load-carrying capacity is illustrated. The proposed analytical method can be taken as theoretical foundation of feasibility analysis, trajectory optimization, and optimal control of trajectory tracking task in on-orbit load-carrying operations

Optimal design and experimental verification of a spherical-wheel composite robot with automatic transformation system

This paper presents a design for a dual-mode prototype robot with the advantages of both a spherical robot and wheeled robot. A spherical robot has flexible movement capabilities, and the spherical shell can protect the mechanism and electronic devices. A wheeled mobile robot operates at high speed on a flat road. Its simple structure and control system has made it a popular choice in the field of robotics. Our objective was to develop a new concept robot capable of combining two different locomotion mechanisms to increase the locomotion stability and efficiency. The proposed mobile robot prototype was found to be capable and suitable in different situations. The exchange of modes between the spherical and the wheeled robot was realized by a structural change of the robot. The spherical-wheel mobile robot prototype is composed of a deformable spherical shell system, the propulsion system for the sphere and a wheeled mobile unit module. The exchange of locomotion modes was implemented by changing the geometric structure of spherical shell. The mechanical structure of the composite robot is presented in detail as well as the control system including hardware components and the software. The control system allowed for the automatic transformation of the composite robot between either of the locomotion modes. Based on analysis and simulation, the mechanism was optimized in its configuration and dimension to guarantee that robot had a compact structure and high efficiency. Finally, the experimental results of the transformation and motion processes provided dynamic motion parameters and verified the feasibility of the robot prototype

Experiment, simulation and analysis on coupling hydrodynamic forces under key parameters for a spherical underwater exploration robot

As a novel underwater exploration robot, BYSQ-2 spherical robot uses the heavy pendulum to change the attitudes with the characteristics of small steering resistance and high compressive strength. However, the greater water resistance in the process of moving forward obstructs the rapid movement, because the robot has a spherical shell and only one propeller. The maximum speed was obtained only 0.6 m/s according to experimental tests and theoretical calculations. In order to improve the movement speed, the robot’s virtual assembly model was built to study the coupling hydrodynamic forces between the spherical shell and the propeller by CFD method. The coupling hydrodynamic forces were analyzed and summarized under different key structural parameters that include the pipe diameter and the shell diameter. Furthermore, in the conditions of different rotational speed, propeller thrust and water resistance of robot were simulated and calculated. According to the simulation results of the model with the appropriate structural parameters, it was demonstrated that the speed of the robot was improved obviously in the process of moving forward

Characteristic analysis and fluctuation control for a underactuated spherical underwater robot

With robots used widely in many fields in recent years, the underwater robot with various characteristics has been thoroughly researched. As a new type of underwater spherical robot, BYSQ-2 uses the heavy pendulum to adjust the attitude, which is flexible and novel. However, it has been not fully understood that how the heavy pendulum would affect the underactuated robot’s regular movement. In this paper a fluctuation characteristic for the robot is shown, and then an adaptive control method is proposed to suppress the fluctuation. Based on the simplified structure of the robot, a swing phenomenon of the heavy pendulum is found. Moreover, the reason for the fluctuation is analyzed in the processes of the accelerating and pitching. A dynamic equation for this model is established to accurately calculate the characteristic, and the virtual simulation proves the validity of the theoretical calculation. The characteristics of this coupling fluctuation are summarized by changing motion parameters and structure parameters. The results prove that the pendulum’s length and the controlling process are closely related with the velocity fluctuation of the robot. Moreover, in order to suppress the fluctuations, a pitching controller is designed to prevent the heavy pendulum from swinging based on the method of neural network sliding mode. The RBF neural network is used to compensate the nonlinearity and disturbance uncertainties, and two sliding mode structures make the swing rapidly inhibited. At the same time, the pitch angle's error also got convergence. The stability of the control system is proof by Lyapunov and Barbalat theories. Finally, the simulation and experiment show that the control method is feasible and excellent, which can fulfill the suppressed control for the fluctuation of the robot

Singularity Analysis of Redundant Space Robot with the Structure of Canadarm2

A novel method of singularity analysis for redundant space robot with the structure of Canadarm2 is proposed in this paper. This kind of structure has the characteristics of three consecutive parallel axes. First, the “virtual manipulator” method is employed to transfer the singularity problem of a space robot to that of a ground one. By choosing an appropriate reference system and a reference point of the end-effector, Jacobian matrix is greatly simplified and then it is reconstructed according to a new standard. On this basis, the Jacobian matrix can be partitioned into four submatrixes whose degradation conditions are put forward; thereafter, the singularity conditions and singular directions of the redundant space robot are obtained. The effectiveness of the proposed singularity analysis method is verified through simulation

Aloperine attenuates high glucose-induced oxidative injury in Schwann cells via activation of NRF2/HO-1 pathway

Purpose: To determine the involvement of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in the action of aloperine on Schwann cell injury caused by high glucose (HG).Methods: Cell viability was determined using MTT assay while the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was determined by biochemical assay. Apoptosis was assessed using flow cytometry, while the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined by Annexin V-FIT staining. Glutathione Stransferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results: Treatment with HG suppressed RSC96 cell viability and increased LDH release, while aloperine reversed these results (p < 0.05). Apoptosis of RSC96 cells was induced by HG stimulation, but was abolished by aloperine. The levels of ROS, MDA, and GST were enhanced in cells followingtreatment with HG, but was reversed by aloperine (p < 0.05). The decreased level of GPX caused by HG in RSC96 cells was elevated by aloperine. Moreover, aloperine upregulated NRF2 and HO-1 in RSC96 cells treated with HG (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Aloperine attenuates HG-induced oxidative injury in Schwann cells via activation of NRF2/HO-1 pathway, suggesting its potential as a potent drug for the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Keywords: Aloperine, Schwann cells, High glucose, Oxidative stress, NRF2, HO-

Hierarchical Task Planning for Multiarm Robot with Multiconstraint

Multiarm systems become the trends of space robots, for the on-orbit servicing missions are becoming more complex and various. A hierarchical task planning method with multiconstraint for multiarm space robot is presented in this paper. The process of task planning is separated into two hierarchies: mission profile analysis and task node planning. In mission profile analysis, several kinds of primitive tasks and operators are defined. Then, a complex task can be decomposed into a sequence of primitive tasks by using hierarchical task network (HTN) with those primitive tasks and operators. In task node planning, A⁎ algorithm is improved to adapt the continuous motion of manipulator. Then, some of the primitive tasks which cannot be executed directly because of constraints are further decomposed into several task nodes by using improved A⁎ algorithm. Finally, manipulators execute the task by moving from one node to another with a simple path plan algorithm. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed task planning method are verified by simulation

Finite time point-stabilization of underwater spherical roving robot

This paper addresses the point stabilization problem for the underwater spherical roving robot (BYSQ-3) in the horizontal plane. The finite-time stable control laws are adopted to steer the robot to the origin fast, accurately and reliably. Firstly, the inner structure and operational principle of the robot is described and the kinematic and dynamic equations are established. Secondly, the diffeomorphism transformation and change of inputs are introduced to decouple the multivariable coupling system into two subsystems. The second subsystem consists of two double integrator systems. The finite-time controller is introduced to ensure part states converge to zero in finite time. Then, the other states are steered to the origin using the same method. Thirdly, the design process has no virtual input and the stability analysis is simple, the controller designed is easy for engineering implementation. The simulation and experiment results are presented to validate the shorter convergence time and better stability character of the controller