Method for Analyzing Articulated Torques of Heavy-duty Six-legged Robot

The accuracy of an articulated torque analysis influences the comprehensive performances of heavy-duty multi-legged robots. Currently, the extremal estimation method and some complex methods are employed to calculate the articulated torques, which results in a large safety margin or a large number of calculations. To quickly obtain accurate articulated torques, an analysis method for the articulated torque is presented for an electrically driven heavy-duty six-legged robot. First, the rearmost leg that experiences the maximum normal contact force is confirmed when the robot transits a slope. Based on the ant-type and crab-type tripod gaits, the formulas of classical mechanics and MATLAB software are employed to theoretically analyze the relevant static torques of the joints. With the changes in the joint angles for the abductor joint, hip joint, and knee joint, variable tendency charts and extreme curves are obtained for the static articulated torques. Meanwhile, the maximum static articulated torques and the corresponding poses of the robot are also obtained. According to the poses of the robot under the maximum static articulated torques, ADAMS software is used to carry out a static simulation analysis. Based on the relevant simulation curves of the articulated torques, the maximum static articulated torques are acquired. A comparative analysis of the maximum static articulated torques shows that the theoretical calculation values are higher than the static simulation values, and the maximum error value is approximately 10%. The proposed method lays a foundation for quickly determining accurate articulated torques to develop heavy-duty six-legged robots.

Realization of orientation interpolation of 6-axis articulated robot using quaternion

In general, the orientation interpolation of industrial robots has been done based on Euler angle system which can result in singular point （so-called Gimbal Lock）. However, quaternion interpolation has the advantage of natural （specifically smooth） orientation interpolation without Gimbal Lock. This work presents the application of quatemion interpolation, specifically Spherical Linear IntERPolation （SLERP）, to the orientation control of the 6-axis articulated robot （RS2） using LabVIEW and RecurDyn. For the comparison of SLERP with linear Euler interpolation in the view of smooth movement （profile） of joint angles （torques）, the two methods are dynamically simulated on RS2 by using both LabVIEW and RecurDyn. Finally, our original work, specifically the implementation of SLERP and linear Euler interpolation on the actual robot, i.e. RS2, is done using LabVIEW motion control tool kit. The SLERP orientation control is shown to be effective in terms of smooth joint motion and torque when compared to a conventional （linear） Euler interpolation.

Multiple Measurement Models of Articulated Arm Coordinate Measuring Machines

The existing articulated arm coordinate measuring machines（AACMM） with one measurement model are easy to cause low measurement accuracy because the whole sampling space is much bigger than the result in the unstable calibration parameters. To compensate for the deficiency of one measurement model, the multiple measurement models are built by the Denavit-Hartenberg＇s notation, the homemade standard rod components are used as a calibration tool and the Levenberg-Marquardt calibration algorithm is applied to solve the structural parameters in the measurement models. During the tests of multiple measurement models, the sample areas are selected in two situations. It is found that the measurement errors＇ sigma value（0.083 4 ram） dealt with one measurement model is nearly two times larger than that of the multiple measurement models（0.043 1 ram） in the same sample area. While in the different sample area, the measurement errors＇ sigma value（0.054 0 ram） dealt with the multiple measurement models is about 40% of one measurement model（0.137 3 mm）. The preliminary results suggest that the measurement accuracy of AACMM dealt with multiple measurement models is superior to the accuracy of the existing machine with one measurement model. This paper proposes the multiple measurement models to improve the measurement accuracy of AACMM without increasing any hardware cost.

State Estimation of the Electric Drive Articulated Dump Truck Based on UKF

The requirements of vehicle dynamic stability control are higher than ever as the significant increase of electric drive articulated vehicle speed. According to the construction features of articulated dumping truck and nonlinear characteristics of moving vehicles,nonlinear observer of vehicle status is designed to strength robustness of dynamic control system in this paper. A 4-degree-of-freedom nonlinear dynamic model of articulated electric drive vehicle is built as reference model to estimate the state of the articulated vehicle. And by adopting Unscented Kalman Filter( UKF) algorithm,a series of state parameters such as longitudinal velocities of front and rear frames,yaw rate and side-slip angle are estimated. During the test of 60 t articulated electric drive vehicle,2 inertial navigation modules are installed in the front frame and rear frame respectively and the speed of each electric drive wheel is obtained simultaneously. As the test results suggest,in various working conditions,the algorithm based on UKF is able to accurately estimate the state parameters of articulated vehicle with the estimated error less than 5%. The proposed method is justified to be the theoretical basis and application guidance for articulated vehicle stability control.

Experiment and Simulation for Articulated Lifting Subsystem of 1000 m Deep Sea Mining System

The experiment system of 1000 m deep sea mining system is built up with the similarity theory. Sine mechanism is used to simulate mining ship to generate lateral shock excitation by ocean wave. Simulation and experiment of spherical joint connecting deep sea mining system has been done in band six marine conditions. The results indicate that the moment of spherical joint connecting deep sea mining is smaller than that of the thread connected ones, the lifting pipe of sphelical joint is ＂flexible pipe＂. The flexural torque of the articulated lifting pipe system in pump and buffer is generally periodic variation with some irregularity, the value is stable on 60 N·S, and it is obviously smaller than that of the fixed lifting pipe system; The total displacement exhibits cyclic variation pattern, and the periodicity of them is longer than that of sea current. The results of experiment and simulation are basically consistent. And the analysis in the paper offers theoretical foundation of 1000 m deep sea mining system in China.

Flexible Scanning Method by Integrating Laser Line Sensors with Articulated Arm Coordinate Measuring Machines

Measuring and reconstructing the shape of workpieces have been considered as a fundamental step in both reverse engineering and product quality control.Owing to increasing structural complexity of recent products,measurements from multiple directions are typically required in current scanning techniques.Specifically,the plane structured light can be applied to measure one area of a part at a time,with an additional algorithm required to merge the collected data of each area.Alternatively,the line structured light sensor integrated on CNC machines or CMMs could also realize multi-view measurement.However,the system needs to be repeatedly calibrated at each new direction.This paper presents a flexible scanning method by integrating laser line sensors with articulated arm coordinate measuring machines(AACMM).Since the output of the laser line sensor is 2D raw data in the laser plane,our system model introduces an explicit transformation from the 2D sensor coordinate frame to the 3D base coordinate frame of the AACMM(i.e.,the translation and rotation the of the 2D sensor coordinate in the sixth coordinate system of AACMM).To solve the model,the“conjugate pairs”are proposed and identified by measuring a fixed point(e.g.,a sphere center).Moreover,a search algorithm is adopted to find the optimal solution,which noticeably boosts the model accuracy.The experimental results show that the error of the system is about 0.2 mm,which is caused by the error of the AACMM,the sensor error and the calibration error.By measuring a complicated part,the proposed system is proved to be flexible and facilitate,with the ability to measure a part expediently from any necessary direction.Furthermore,the proposed calibration method can also be used for robot hand-eye relationship calibration.

Investigation on the Performance of Articulated Buoys

Articulated buoys become more and more popular by the marine management departments as a new type of aids to navigation, for they possess an excellent hydrodynamic performance with small static heel angle in wind and current and small rolling in wave and accurate position. The structure of articulated buoys and calculation method of their hydrodynamic performance are introduced in this paper. A scries of experiments has been conducted in the State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering of China and useful results achieved for providing a design optimization basis.

Numerical method for estimation of kinematical parameters for articulated rovers on loose rough terrain

Based on the study of passive articulated rover,a complete suspension kinematics model from wheel to inertial reference frame is presented,which uses D-H method of manipulator and presentation with Euler angle of pitch,roll and yaw.An improved contact model is adopted aimed at the loose and rough lunar terrain.Using this kinematics model and numerical continuous and discrete Newton's method with iterative factor,the numerical method for estimation of kinematical parameters of articulated rovers on loose and rough terrain is constructed.To demonstrate this numerical method,an example of two torsion bar rocker-bogie lunar rover with eight wheels is presented.Simulation results show that the numerical method for estimation of kinematical parameters of articulated rovers based on improved contact model can improve the precision of kinematical estimation on loose and rough terrain and decrease errors caused by contact models established based on general hypothesis.

A Hybrid Path Planning Method Based on Articulated Vehicle Model

Due to the unique steering mechanism and driving characteristics of the articulated vehicle,a hybrid path planning method based on the articulated vehicle model is proposed to meet the demand of obstacle avoidance and searching the path back and forth of the articulated vehicle.First,Support Vector Machine(SVM)theory is used to obtain the two-dimensional optimal zero potential curve and the maximum margin,and then,several key points are selected from the optimal zero potential curves by using Longest Accessible Path(LAP)method.Next,the Cubic Bezier(CB)curve is adopted to connect the curve that satisfies the curvature constraint of the articulated vehicle between every two key points.Finally,Back and Forth Rapidly-exploring Random Tree with Course Correction(BFRRT-CC)is designed to connect paths that do not meet articulated vehicle curvature requirements.Simulation results show that the proposed hybrid path planning method can search a feasible path with a 90-degree turn,which meets the demand for obstacle avoidance and articulated vehicle back-and-forth movement.

Articulated Lifting System Modeling Based on Dynamics of Flexible Multi-Body Systems

In lifting sub-system of deep-sea mining system, spherical joint is used to connect lifting pipes to replace fixed joint. Based on Dynamics of Flexible Multi-body systems, the mechanics model of articulated lifting system is established. Under the four-grade and six-grade oceanic condition, dynamic responses of lifting system are simulated and experiment verified. The simulation results are consistent with experimental ones. The maximum moment of flexion is 322 kN-m on the first pipe under six-grade sea condition. It is seen that the articulated connection can reduce the moment of flexion. The bending deformation of pipe center is researched, and the maximum is 0. 000479 m on the first pipe. Deformation has a little effect on the motion of system. It is feasible to analyze articulated lifting system by applying the theory of flexible multi-body dynamics. The articulated lifting system is obviously better than the fixed one.

Mechanical-Hydraulic Co-Simulation of Full Hydraulic Articulated Steering System

With the development and improvement of the hydraulic steering system,the articulated steering system became the research focus of numerous domestic and foreign scholars.The full hydraulic steering system with a compact structure and ease of operation,is widely used in articulated steering mode.Furthermore,its performance can directly impact the steering sensitivity and stability.This paper studies the working principle and actual structure of the priority valve and the steering control valve,which are very important.By setting up a mathematic model,the system’s load-sensing characteristics and the impact of steering control valve bypass throttle damping on steering stability can be analyzed.The Hydraulic Components Design(HCD)model was established for the hydraulic part of this system.It is proved that the model can reflect the system’s actual properties by comparing simulation and experimental results.The dynamic model is based on its actual prototype parameters by taking the tire and ground forces into account.The steering process’s dynamic characteristics are co-simulated in the 1D+3D system model by combining AMESim and Virtual.Lab Motion.The simulation results show that the system’s load-sensing characteristics ensure the sensitivity of the steering operation,and the bypass throttle damping has significantly improved the operation stability and lowered down the cylinder pressure fluctuations.This can improve the system performance by appropriate optimization.

Motion estimation of elastic articulated objects from image contours

A new method of elastic articulated objects (human bodies) modeling was presented based on a new conic curve. The model includes 3D object deformable curves which can represent the deformation of human occluding contours. The deformation of human occluding contour can be represented by adjusting only four deformation parameters for each limb. Then, the 3D deformation parameters are determined by corresponding 2D contours from a sequence of stereo images. The algorithm presented in this paper includes deformable conic curve parameters determination and the plane, 3D conic curve lying on, parameter determination.

A Simple Elasto-Plastic Iterative Method by Fem for the Analysis of Plane Articulated Truss: Case of a 3-Bar Truss

This paper presents a simplified numerical simulation tool for the elasto-plastic calculation of plane articulated truss by the finite element method (FEM) in MATLAB. The simplified approach consists of linearizing isotropic strain-hardening (to obtain a bilinear material law). The numerical implementation is built on the basis of the incremental and iterative FEM algorithms. The numerical resolution technique used is based on the projection methods of the modified Newton-Raphson solution. The MATLAB program is developed for the application of a 3-bar truss under monotonous quasi-static loading. Different values of the approximation error of the convergence criterion are used to study its impact on the quality of the algorithm. Numerical simulations have shown the reliability and quality of our simplified approach regardless of the approximation error.

Seismic Response and Stability Analysis of Single Hinged Articulated Tower

Study of dynamic stability phenomenon in transient systems has always created interest amongst the researchers because of its inherent non-linearities. Offshore structures subjected to wave, earthquake or wind loads or a combination of these loads show non-linear transient behaviour. As oceanic waves are better modelled as stochastic process, there is a need to investigate the stochastic stability of flexible offshore structures as well. Present study has been carried out to determine seismic response of Single Hinged Articulated Tower (SHAT) under different categories of wave loads and earthquake followed by its dynamic stability analysis. Different phases of wave/earthquake loading on SHAT have been explored to investigate dynamic instabilities existing during each phase. Two dimensional phase plots have been used to identify phases of dynamic instability existing within the responses of SHAT under various conditions of loading.

Design of a Preview Controller for Articulated Heavy Vehicles

The paper presents a preview controller design for ATS （active trailer steering） systems to improve high-speed stability of AHVs （articulated heavy vehicles）. An AHV consists of a towing unit, namely tractor or truck, and one or more towed units which called trailers. Individual units are connected to one another at articulated joints by mechanical couplings. Due to the multi-unit configurations, AHVs exhibit unique unstable motion modes, including jack-knifing, trailer swing and rollover. These unstable motion modes are the leading cause of highway accidents. To prevent these unstable motion modes, the preview controller, namely the LPDP （lateral position deviation preview） controller, is proposed. For a truck/full-trailer combination, the LPDP controller is designed to control the steering of the front and rear axle wheels of the trailing unit. The calculation of the corrective steering angle of the trailer front axle wheels is based on the preview information of the lateral position deviation of the trajectory of the axle center from that of the truck front axle center. Similarly, the steering angle of the trailer rear axle wheels is calculated by using the lateral position deviation of the trajectory of the axle center from that of the truck front axle. To perform closed-loop dynamic simulations and evaluate the vehicle performance measure, a driver model is introduced and it ＇derives＇ the AHV model based on well-defined testing specifications. The proposed preview control scheme in the continuous time domain is developed by using the LQR （linear quadratic regular） technique. The closed-loop simulation results indicate that the performance of the AHV with the LPDP controller is improved by decreasing rearward amplification ratio from the baseline value of 1.28 to 0.98 and reducing transient off-tracking by 95.03%. The proposed LPDP control algorithm provides an alternative method for the design optimization of AHVs with ATS systems.

MODALS RELATED TO STABILITY AND COMFORTABILITY OF ARTICULATED VEHICLE

An articulated vehicle is simplified as a multibody system. tires are simplified asparagraphic linear springs with damping, and the differential equations of system motion aregiven. Taking the ZL10 loader as an example, and measuring three-dimensional dynamicstiffness and damping of the tires, seven orders of natural frequencies and related natural modesare obtained by modal analysis, and shown on the computer with three-dimensional moving pic-tures. The following conclusions are obtained: the first order frequency relates to the horizontalstability, the second order frequency relates to the vertical stability, and each order of frequencyrelates to the comfortability. All results of this work can be applied .to monitor stability and eval-uate comfortability.

Multi-body dynamics modeling and test of an articulated steering half-track tractor

With the benefits of small turning radius and high trafficability, the articulated steering half-track tractor had been widely utilized in orchard and small spaced farmland. To study the dynamic performance of the articulated steering half-track tractor and provide a model basis for studying the path tracking control, an accurate multi-body dynamic model of the tractor was required. In this study, the crucial parameters in the dynamic model construction of the tractor were investigated. Firstly, the topology model of the components of the half-track tractor was built by RecurDyn, in which the movement subs and driver functions were given. Secondly, considering the difference of dynamic characteristic of the articulated steering tractor with respect to different pavement hardnesses, the soft and hard pavement models were constructed by employing the harmonic superposition method. Finally, the simulations of the half-track tractor under straight-line and swerve had been conducted on the two types of pavements, and the simulation results were compared with the experimental and theoretical results. The results indicated that the average speed error of the dynamic model on hard pavement and farmland soft pavement were 2.7% and 2.1% compared with the real tractor tests. At the same time, the straight-line driving offset errors of the dynamic model on the two pavements were 1.6% and 3.8% for the front wheels and the rear wheels offset errors were 3.9% and 2.4%, respectively. Furthermore, the turning radius error under front wheel steering was 8.2% and the error under articulated steering was 5.3%. It is proved that the established dynamic model had high accuracy, which provides an efficient approach to analyze the dynamic features of the half-track tractor.

LQR-GA Controller for Articulated Dump Truck Path Tracking System

This paper designs a novel controller to improve the path-tracking performance of articulated dump truck(ADT). By combining linear quadratic regulator(LQR) with genetic algorithm(GA), the designed controller is used to control linear and angular velocities on the midpoint of the front frame. The novel controller based on the error dynamics model is eventually realized to track the path high-precisely with constant speed. The results of simulation and experiment show that the LQR-GA controller has a better tracking performance than the existing methods under a low speed of 3 m/s. In this paper, kinematics model and simulation control models based on co-simulation of ADAMS and Matlab/Simulink are established to verify the proposed strategy. In addition, a real vehicle experiment is designed to further more correctness of the conclusion. With the proposed controller and considering the steering model in the simulation, the control performance is improved and matches the actual situation better. The research results contribute to the development of automation of ADT.

Experimental Study on Frog-inspired Swimming Robot Based on Articulated Pneumatic Soft Actuator

This paper presents a frog-inspired swimming robot based on articulated pneumatic soft actuator.To realize the miniaturization of the robot and enhance its environmental adaptability,combined with the advantages and characteristics of soft materials,an articulated pneumatic soft actuator is designed based on analysis of a frog's propulsion characteristics.A structural model is established to analyse the mechanical properties of the soft actuator.With the goal of making full use of the driving torque of the actuator and enhancing the propulsion efficiency of the robot,the motion trajectories of each joint of the robot are planned.Based on the trajectory planning,the control strategy of the soft actuator is determined to realize the frog-like swimming of the robot.The torso size after assembly is 0.175 m×0.100 m×0.060 m,which realizes the miniaturization of the frog-inspired robot.During the movement of the robot,the torso moves stably and flexibly,and can realize continuous linear and turning movements.The rationality of the structure and trajectory planning are verified by prototype experiments.

Active steering control strategy for articulated vehicles

To improve maneuverability and stability of articulated vehicles, we design an active steering controller, including tractor and trailer controllers, based on linear quadratic regulator(LQR) theory. First, a three-degree-of-freedom(3-DOF) model of the tractor-trailer with steered trailer axles is built. The simulated annealing particle swarm optimization(SAPSO) algorithm is applied to identify the key parameters of the model under specified vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. Thus, the key parameters of the simplified model can be obtained according to the vehicle conditions using an online look-up table and interpolation. Simulation results show that vehicle parameter outputs of the simplified model and Truck Sim agree well, thus providing the ideal reference yaw rate for the controller. Then the active steering controller of the tractor and trailer based on LQR is designed to follow the desired yaw rate and minimize their side-slip angle of the center of gravity(CG) at the same time. Finally, simulation tests at both low speed and high speed are conducted based on the Truck Sim-Simulink program. The results show significant effects on the active steering controller on improving maneuverability at low speed and lateral stability at high speed for the articulated vehicle. The control strategy is applicable for steering not only along gentle curves but also along sharp curves.