Fuzzy steering control to serpentine tracked robots in unknown environment

To solve the problem of multi-turning attitudes,unknown ground parameters and complex skidsteering control for serpentine tracked robots(STR),a fuzzy control method based on the estimation of track curvature and side slip angles is proposed.Based on the track-ground interaction,mathematical models are established for stable turning in the way of recursive homogeneous transformation.The navigation parameters such as rack curvature and side slip angles have approximately linear relationship with the yaw angles of articulate joints.Then attitude models in turning control are studied and summarized.Transforming strategies of attitude models are optimized.Based on the strategies,an adjustable fuzzy controller is designed.In the controller,an estimator is set to solve the problem of unknown and variable universe.The estimator predicts the track curvature by metabolic linear least squares estimate.Experiments have verified the feasibility and validity of the controller.

Kinematics analysis for obstacle-surmounting capability of a joint double-tracked robot

A double-tracked robot is designed from mechanical and control perspectives,which consists of two segments connected with a swing joint. As the angle between the two segments of the robot platform can be changed,the robot can move like a four-tracked robot on many terrains. The center of gravity（ CG） kinematics model is established,which plays an important role in the process of traveling over obstacles and climbing up stairs. Using this model,the CG change situation and the maximal height of the climbable obstacle are obtained. Then the relationship between the robot pitch angle and the height of the obstacle is established. Finally,a reasonable system structure for the robot is designed and its kinematics analysis for obstacle-surmounting capability is conducted through experiments.

Tracked robot with underactuated tension-driven RRP transformable mechanism:ideas and design

Robots with transformable tracked mechanisms are widely used in complex terrains because of their high adaptability,and many studies on novel locomotion mechanisms have been conducted to make them able to climb higher obstacles.Developing underactuated transformable mechanisms for tracked robots could decrease the number of actuators used while maintaining the flexibility and obstacle-crossing capability of these robots,and increasing their cost performance.Therefore,the underactuated tracked robots have appreciable research potential.In this paper,a novel tracked robot with a newly proposed underactuated revolute‒revolute‒prismatic(RRP)transformable mechanism,which is inspired by the sit-up actions of humans,was developed.The newly proposed tracked robot has only two actuators installed on the track pulleys for moving and does not need extra actuators for transformations.Instead,it could concentrate the track belt’s tension toward one side,and the unbalanced tension would drive the linkage mechanisms to change its configuration.Through this method,the proposed underactuated design could change its external shape to create support points with the terrain and move its center of mass actively at the same time while climbing obstacles or crossing other kinds of terrains,thus greatly improving the climbing capability of the robot.The geometry and kinematic relationships of the robot and the crossing strategies for three kinds of typical obstacles are discussed.On the basis of such crossing motions,the parameters of links in the robot are designed to make sure the robot has sufficient stability while climbing obstacles.Terrain-crossing dynamic simulations were run and analyzed to prove the feasibility of the robot.A prototype was built and tested.Experiments show that the proposed robot could climb platforms with heights up to 33.3%of the robot’s length or cross gaps with widths up to 43.5%of the robot’s length.

Adaptive backstepping control of tracked robot running trajectory based on real-time slip parameter estimation

To ensure the stable driving of tracked robots in a complex farmland environment,an adaptive backstepping control method for tracked robots was proposed based on real-time slip parameter estimation.According to the kinematics analysis method,the kinematic model of the tracked robot was established,and then,its pose error differential equation was further obtained.On this basis,the trajectory tracking controller of the tracked robot was designed based on the backstepping control theory.Subsequently,according to the trajectory tracking error of the tracked robot,the back propagation neural network(BPNN)was used to adaptively adjust the control parameters in the backstepping controller,and the inputs of the BPNN are the trajectory tracking error xe,ye,θe.After that,the soft-switching sliding mode observer(SSMO)was designed to identify the slip parameters during the running of the tracked robot.And then the parameters were compensated into the adaptive backstepping controller to reduce the trajectory tracking error.The simulation results show that the proposed adaptive backstepping control method with SSMO can improve the accuracy of the trajectory tracking control of the tracked robot.Additionally,the designed SSMO can accurately estimate the slip parameters.

Backstepping Based Global Exponential Stabilization of a Tracked Mobile Robot with Slipping Perturbation

While the nonholonomic robots with no-slipping constraints are studied extensively nowadays, the slipping effect is inevitable in many practical applications and should be considered necessarily to achieve autonomous navigation and control purposes especially in outdoor environments. In this paper the robust point stabilization problem of a tracked mobile robot is discussed in the presence of track slipping, which can be treated as model perturbation that violates the pure nonholonomic constraints. The kinematic model of the tracked vehicle is created, in which the slipping is assumed to be a time-varying pa- rameter under certain assumptions of track-soil interaction. By transforming the original system to the special chained form of nonholonomic system, the integrator backstepping procedure with a state-scaling technique is used to construct the controller to stabilize the system at the kinematic level. The global exponential stability of the final system can be guaranteed by Lyapunov theory. Simulation results with different initial states and slipping parameters demonstrate the fast convergence, robustness and insensitivity to the initial state of the proposed method.

A reconfigurable tracked mobile robot based on four-linkage mechanism

A novel reconfigurable tracked robot based on four-link mechanism was proposed and released for the complicated terrain environment. This robot was modularly designed and developed, which is composed of one suspension and one pair of symmetrical deployed reconfigurable track modules. This robot can implement multiple locomotion configurations by changing the track configuration, and the geometric theory analysis shows that the track length keeps constant during the process of track reconfiguration. Furthermore, a parameterized geometric model of the robot was established to analyze the kinematic performance of the robot while overcoming various obstacles. To investigate the feasibility and correctness of design theory and robot scheme, an example robot was designed to climb 45° slopes and 200 mm steps, and a group of design parameters of the robot were determined. Finally, A prototype of this robot was developed, and the test results show that the robot own powerful mobility and obstacle overcoming performance, for example, running across obstacle like mantis, extending to stride over entrenchment, standing up to elevate height, and going ahead after overturn.

Parameter Identification and Application of Slippage Kinematics for Tracked Mobile Robots

A new parameter identification method is proposed to solve the slippage problem when tracked mobile robots execute turning motions.Such motion is divided into two states in this paper:pivot turning and coupled turning between angular velocity and linear velocity.In the processing of pivot turning,the slippage parameters could be obtained by measuring the end point in a square path.In the process of coupled turning,the slippage parameters could be calculated by measuring the perimeter of a circular path and the linear distance between the start and end points.The identification results showed that slippage parameters were affected by velocity.Therefore,a fuzzy rule base was established with the basis on the identification data,and a fuzzy controller was applied to motion control and dead reckoning.This method effectively compensated for errors resulting in unequal tension between the left and right tracks,structural dimensions and slippage.The results demonstrated that the accuracy of robot positioning and control could be substantially improved on a rigid floor.

Modeling and simulation for small-tracked mobile robots

The small-tracked mobile robots（ STMRs） are small,portable and concealed,and they are widely used in scouting,investigation,rescue and assistance. In this paper,a mechanical model is established based on the multi-body dynamic software RecurD yn,and a control system is simulated through Simulink,including its kinematics model,speed controller,motors＇ model. Associating the mechanical and control model,the cosimulation model is established for STMRs. The co-simulation approach is applied to optimize the motor parameters. A series of experiments are conducted to examine the accuracy of the virtual prototype,and the results demonstrate that the STMR virtual prototype can exactly illustrate the dynamic performance of the physical one.The co-simulation of mechanical model and control model is applied in forecasting and debugging critical parameters,also it provides guidance in defining motor＇s peak current.

Vision Navigation Based PID Control for Line Tracking Robot

In a controlled indoor environment,line tracking has become the most practical and reliable navigation strategy for autonomous mobile robots.A line tracking robot is a self-mobile machine that can recognize and track a painted line on thefloor.In general,the path is set and can be visible,such as a black line on a white surface with high contrasting colors.The robot’s path is marked by a distinct line or track,which the robot follows to move.Several scientific contributions from the disciplines of vision and control have been made to mobile robot vision-based navigation.Localization,automated map generation,autonomous navigation and path tracking is all becoming more frequent in vision applications.A visual navigation line tracking robot should detect the line with a camera using an image processing technique.The paper focuses on combining computer vision techniques with a proportional-integral-derivative(PID)control-ler for automatic steering and speed control.A prototype line tracking robot is used to evaluate the proposed control strategy.

Robust adaptive tracking control of robotic systems with uncertainties

To deal with the uncertainty factors of robotic systems, a robust adaptive tracking controller is proposed. The knowledge of the uncertainty factors is assumed to be unidentified; the proposed controller can guarantee robustness to parametric and dynamics uncertainties and can also reject any bounded, immeasurable disturbances entering the system. The stability of the proposed controller is proven by the Lyapunov method. The proposed controller can easily be implemented and the stability of the closed system can be ensured; the tracking error and adaptation parameter error are uniformly ultimately bounded （UUB）. Finally, some simulation examples are utilized to illustrate the control performance.

Object-tracking robot using ultrasonic sensor and servo motor

This paper proposes a method that rotation angle of servo motor and distance values of ultrasonic sensor are used for tracking an object in real-time while the robot keeps regular distance.Object detection distance widens by using ultrasonic sensors and object recognition,and movement of robot is controlled by angle of servo motor and distance of ultrasonic sensors.Not adopting the existing tracking methods:camera,laser-infrared(LRF)and many ultrasonic sensors,the proposed method proves that it is possible to track object using ultrasonic sensor and servo motor.Trajectory of robot is represented and analysed according to movement of object in limited conditions.

Control Design for Harmonic Disturbance Rejection for Robot Manipulators with Bounded Inputs

Currently most of control methods are of one degree of freedom（1-DOF） control structure for the robot systems which are affected by unmeasurable harmonic disturbances,at the same time in order to obtain perfect disturbance attenuation level,the controller gain must be increased.In practice,however,for robotic actuators,there are physical constraints that limit the amplitude of the available torques.This paper considers the problem of tracking control under input constraints for robot manipulators which are affected by unmeasurable harmonic disturbances.A new control scheme is proposed for the problem,which is composed of a parameter-dependent nonlinear observer and a tracking controller.The parameter-dependent nonlinear observer,designed based on the internal model principle,can achieve an estimation and compensation of a class of harmonic disturbances with unknown frequencies.The tracking controller,designed via adaptive control techniques,can make the systems asymptotically track the desired trajectories.In the control design,the continuous piecewise differentiable increasing function is used to limit control input amplitude,such that the control input saturation is avoided.The Lyapunov stability of closed loop systems is analyzed.To validate proposed control scheme,simulation results are provided for a two link horizontal robot manipulator.The simulation results show that the proposed control scheme ensures asymptotic tracking in presence of an uncertain external disturbance acting on the system.An important feature of the methodology consists of the fact that the designed controller is of 2-DOF control structure,namely,it has the ability to overcome the conflict between controller gain and robustness against external disturbances in the traditional 1 -DOF control structure framework.

Path Recognition Algorithm of Tracking Robots Based on Image Sensor

Path recognition is an inevitable core technology in the development of tracking robot. In this paper,the path tracking system of tracking robot can be realized by image sensor module based on camera to obtain lane image information,and then extract the path through visual servo. The whole system can be divided into seven modules: micro control unit( MCU) processor module,image acquisition module,debugging module,motor drive module,servo drive module,speed sensor module,and voltage conversion module.In image pre-processing part,there is an introduction of binarization processing and the median filtering to strengthen the image information. About recognition algorithm,three key variables which are changed in the movement state are discussed and there are also many auxiliary algorithms that help to improve the path recognition.The experiment can verify that the whole system can accurately abstract the black guide lines from the white track and make the robot moving fast and stable by following the road parameters and conditions.

Study of A New Method for Vision Based Robot Target-Tracking Problem

Focused on several problems during robot target tracking, and proposed a new kind of scheme and algorithm for it. The hybrid systematic structure reduces the control complexity and guarantees the tracking effectiveness as well as the control stability. The convergence and the feasibility of the algorithm are analyzed and proofed thoroughly. An on-line updating method for navigation coefficient is presented. Finally, the control scheme and proposed algorithm is applied to the real robotic system. The simulation and experimental results show its effectiveness.

A Nonlinear Optimal Control Approach for Tracked Mobile Robots

The article proposes a nonlinear optimal(H-infinity)control approach for the model of a tracked robotic vehicle.The kinematic model of such a tracked vehicle takes into account slippage effects due to the contact of the tracks with the ground.To solve the related control problem,the dynamic model of the vehicle undergoes first approximate linearization around a temporary operating point which is updated at each iteration of the control algorithm.The linearization process relies on first-order Taylor series expansion and on the computation of the Jacobian matrices of the state-space model of the vehicle.For the approximately linearized description of the tracked vehicle a stabilizing H-infinity feedback controller is designed.To compute the controller’s feedback gains an algebraic Riccati equation is solved at each time-step of the control method.The stability properties of the control scheme are proven through Lyapunov analysis.It is also demonstrated that the control method retains the advantages of linear optimal control,that is fast and accurate tracking of reference setpoints under moderate variations of the control inputs.

Modeling and Simulation of the Tracked Pipe Duct Cleaning Robot Based on the Pro/Engingeer and RecurDyn

In order to solve the problem of the pipeline inspection and cleaning, combining the 3D modeling software Pro/Eningeer （Pro/E） and the dynamics analysis software RecurDyn, the main model, the track system model of the tracked pipe duct cleaning robot and the road model are built, and the entity assembly in RecurDyn is applied and the simulation model is obtained. The paper RecurDyn. The speed, the torque of driving wheel and the carries out the dynamic simulation with the software vibration-acceleration of gravity of the whole robot in the vertical direction are obtained and analyzed. Finally, the simulation and the calculation results are compared, the two results are basically the same, it has guiding significance for the further study and the potential applications of the tracked pipe duct cleaning robot

An adaptive thresholding for weld seam image recognition in real time

Image prooessing of wehl seam in real time is an importunity to make welding rohot be able to track weld seam. The algorithm described in this paper combines some image technologies, such as modified Sobel edge detector and Hough transformation function, and especially the thresholds for image processing are ore aled adaptively by Ineans of a neural network. aests proved that this algorithm has a high reliability and rapidity in distinguishing the position of weld seam even with noises. The algorithm can be used ac the basic program .for robot to track welding seam and furthermore for calculating 3 dimensional information plan robot movement automatically.

SPATIAL TRAJECTORY PREDICTION OF VISUAL SERVOING

Target tracking is one typical application of visual servoing technology. It is still a difficult task to track high speed target with current visual servo system. The improvement of visual servoing scheme is strongly required. A position-based visual servo parallel system is presented for tracking target with high speed. A local Frenet frame is assigned to the sampling point of spatial trajectory. Position estimation is formed by the differential features of intrinsic geometry, and orientation estimation is formed by homogenous transformation. The time spent for searching and processing can be greatly reduced by shifting the window according to features location prediction. The simulation results have demonstrated the ability of the system to track spatial moving object.

Fuzzy adaptive robust control for space robot considering the effect of the gravity

Space robot is assembled and tested in gravity environment, and completes on-orbit service（OOS） in microgravity environment. The kinematic and dynamic characteristic of the robot will change with the variations of gravity in different working condition. Fully considering the change of kinematic and dynamic models caused by the change of gravity environment, a fuzzy adaptive robust control（FARC） strategy which is adaptive to these model variations is put forward for trajectory tracking control of space robot. A fuzzy algorithm is employed to approximate the nonlinear uncertainties in the model, adaptive laws of the parameters are constructed, and the approximation error is compensated by using a robust control algorithm. The stability of the control system is guaranteed based on the Lyapunov theory and the trajectory tracking control simulation is performed. The simulation results are compared with the proportional plus derivative（PD） controller, and the effectiveness to achieve better trajectory tracking performance under different gravity environment without changing the control parameters and the advantage of the proposed controller are verified.