Online Observability-Constrained Motion Suggestion via Efficient Motion Primitive-Based Observability Analysis

An active perception methodology is proposed to locally predict the observability condition in a reasonable horizon and suggest an observability-constrained motion direction for the next step to ensure an accurate and consistent state estimation performance of vision-based navigation systems. The methodology leverages an efficient EOG-based observability analysis and a motion primitive-based path sampling technique to realize the local observability prediction with a real-time performance. The observability conditions of potential motion trajectories are evaluated,and an informed motion direction is selected to ensure the observability efficiency for the state estimation system. The proposed approach is specialized to a representative optimizationbased monocular vision-based state estimation formulation and demonstrated through simulation and experiments to evaluate the ability of estimation degradation prediction and efficacy of motion direction suggestion.

MEASUREMENT OF ANGULAR VIBRATION AMPLITUDE BY ACTIVELY BLURRED IMAGES

A novel motion-blur-based method for measuring the angular amplitude of a high-frequency rotational vibration is schemed. The proposed approach combines the active vision concept and the mechanism of motion-from-blur, generates motion blur on the image plane actively by extending exposure time, and utilizes the motion blur information in polar images to estimate the angular amplitude of a high-frequency rotational vibration. This method obtains the analytical results of the angular vibration amplitude from the geometric moments of a motion blurred polar image and an unblurred image for reference. Experimental results are provided to validate the presented scheme.

Influence of deformation zone length on bending radius of SS304 tubes with small diameters manufactured via free bending-based active motion

In three and six-axis free-bending equipment,the deformation zone length(A)is a fixed mechanical structure parameter modified when the relevant structure is redesigned and manufactured.In this study,a six degree of freedom(6-DOF)parallel mechanism was used as the control mechanism of the bending die,and a new method of changing the deformation zone length(A)was proposed.Firstly,an idealized geometric model of free bending-based active motion was established.Then,the influence of the deformation zone length(A)on the bending moment and the bending radius of the tube was analyzed.In addition,the finite element simulation and a kinematic model of free bending-based active motion controlled by the 6-DOF parallel mechanism were established,and bending processes of the SS304 tube with different deformation zone lengths were investigated.Afterwards,the impact of the deformation zone length(A)on the bending radius,bending moment,wall thickness,and motion of the parallel mechanism were analyzed.Finally,experiments were carried out on the free-bending equipment based on the 6-DOF parallel mechanism.Experiments verified the rules in the theoretical analysis,finite element simulation,and kinematic simulation.

A tree-shaped motion strategy for robustly executing robotic assembly tasks

An assembly robot needs to be capable of executing an assembly task robustly under various uncertainties.To attain this goal,we use a task sequence tree model originally proposed for manual assembly.This model regards an assembly task under uncertainties as a transformation of the contact state concept.The concept may contain several contact states with probabilities but these are transformed through a series of task elements into the contact state concept having only the goal state at the end.The transformed contact state concept can be classified according to the terminal condition of each task element.Thus,the whole assembly task can be designed as a tree-shaped contingent strategy called a task sequence tree.This paper proposes a systematic approach for reconfiguring a task sequence tree model for application to a robotic assembly task.In addition,by taking a 2D peg-in-hole insertion task to be performed by a robot equipped with a force sensor as an example,we confirm that the proposed approach can provide a robust motion strategy for the task and that the robot can actually execute the task robustly under bounded uncertainty according to the strategy.

Fundamentals and applications of enzyme powered micro/nano-motors

Micro/nanomotors(MNMs)are miniaturized machines that can convert many kinds of energy into mechanical motion.Over the past decades,a variety of driving mechanisms have been developed,which have greatly extended the application scenarios of MNMs.Enzymes exist in natural organisms which can convert chemical energy into mechanical force.It is an innovative attempt to utilize enzymes as biocatalyst providing driving force for MNMs.The fuels for enzymatic reactions are biofriendly as compared to traditional counterparts,which makes enzyme-powered micro/nanomotors(EMNMs)of great value in biomedical field for their nature of biocompatibility.Until now,EMNMs with various shapes can be propelled by catalase,urease and many others.Also,they can be endowed with multiple functionalities to accomplish on-demand tasks.Herein,combined with the development process of EMNMs,we are committed to present a comprehensive understanding of EMNMs,including their types,propelling principles,and potential applications.In this review,we will introduce single enzyme that can be used as motor,enzyme powered molecule motors and other micro/nano-architectures.The fundamental mechanism of energy conversion process of EMNMs and crucial factors that affect their movement behavior will be discussed.The current progress of proof-of-concept applications of EMNMs will also be elaborated in detail.At last,we will summarize and prospect the opportunities and challenges that EMNMs will face in their future development.