STATE TRANSFORMATION PROCESSES FOR FREE-FLOATING THREE-LINK PLANAR ROBOTS

The transformation process of an m-DOF free-floating robot from one staticstate to a different static state has m degrees of freedom. The proposed approach of thesetransformations utilizes a series of single-DOF transformation processes as an alternative to them-DOF transformation process. Two static state transformation processes are studied in detail.First, a single-DOF transformation process is established using a newly defined concept, referred toas transformation planning, and the definite integral of conservation of angular momentum. Second,the governing equation of the single-DOF transformation process is established using the dynamicequations of motion of the robot. This allows the joint torques to be computed to effect the statetransformation. Finally, an extension of the single-DOF transformation process is proposed to extendthe application of this proposed transformation methodology to create a transformation net whichallows the reconfiguration of a robot from one state to many other possible states.

Aφ6-m Tunnel Boring Machine Steel Arch Splicing Manipulator

Robotic splicing of steel arches is a challenging task that is necessary to realize the grasping and docking of steel arches in a limited space.Steel arches often have a mass of more than 200 kg and length of more than 4 m.Owing to the large volume and mass of steel arches and the high requirements for accurately positioning the splicing,it is difficult for a general manipulator to meet the stiffness requirements.To enhance the structural stiffness of the steel arch splicing manipulator,a single-degree-of-freedom(DOF)closed-loop mechanism was added to the grasping structure of the manipulator.Based on the basic principle of structural synthesis,a solution model of the single-DOF closed-loop mechanism was developed,and alternative kinematic pairs of the mechanism with different input constraints and output requirements were derived.Based on this model,a design method for a single-DOF closed-loop grasping mechanism and a posture adjustment mechanism for a steel arch was devised.Combined with the same dimensional subspace equivalence principle of the graphical-type synthesis method,12 types of steel arch splicing manipulator were constructed.By analyzing the motion/force transmission and structural complexity of the steel arch splicing manipulators,the best scheme was selected.A prototype of the steel arch splicing manipulator was manufactured.Adams software was used to obtain clearly the output trajectory of the end of the manipulator.The relative spatial positions of the upper and lower jaws under different working stages were analyzed,demonstrating that the manipulator satisfied the grasping requirements.Through a steel arch splicing experiment,the grasping effect,docking accuracy,and splicing efficiency of the manipulator met the design requirements.The steel arch splicing manipulator can replace the manual completion of the steel arch splicing operation,significantly improving the operation efficiency.

Estimate pose deviation of on-orbit deployable mechanisms based on cross-ratio invariability

With the rapid development of space science projects,large deployable mechanisms have been widely used.However,due to the effects of mechanical friction and gravitational acceleration,on-orbit mechanisms cannot be always deployed to the expected pose.For some precision optical mechanisms,even a minor deviation can result in significant error,so it needs to be measured and corrected.In this paper,the deployment process was modeled and simplified as rotation under single-rotation-axis constraint and translation under single-direction constraint.To solve the problem,a method based on cross-ratio invariability was proposed.The proposed method does not rely on camera calibration techniques,as well as artificial marking points,both of which are necessary in PnP.Instead,only three calibration images before launch and a measurement image on orbit were required.Simulations and experiments demonstrated that the proposed method is more accurate than PnP.In addition,experiments also proved that the feasibility of the proposed method under dark conditions with the aid of a light source and some reflective marking points.