Implementation of a new PC based controller for a PUMA robot

This paper describes the replacement of a controller for a programmable universal machine for assembly (PUMA) 512 robot with a newly designed PC based (open architecture) controller employing a real-time direct control of six joints. The original structure of the PUMA robot is retained. The hardware of the new controller includes such in-house designed parts as pulse width modulation (PWM) amplifiers, digital and analog controllers, I/O cards, signal conditioner cards, and 16-bit A/D and D/A boards. An Intel Pentium IV industrial computer is used as the central controller. The control software is implemented using VC++ programming language. The trajectory tracking performance of all six joints is tested at varying velocities. Experimental results show that it is feasible to implement the suggested open architecture platform for PUMA 500 series robots through the software routines running on a PC. By assembling controller from off-the-shell hardware and software components, the benefits of reduced and improved robustness have been realized.

Orthogonal transformation operation theorem of a spatial universal uniform rotating magnetic field and its application in capsule endoscopy

According to the anti-phase sine current superposition theorem, the orientation, the magnetic flux density, the angular speed and the rotational direction of the spatial universal rotating magnetic field (SURMF) can be controlled within the tri-axial orthogonal square Helmholtz coils (TOSHC). Nevertheless, three coupling direction angles of the normal vector of the SURMF in the Descartes coordinate system cannot be separately controlled, thus the adjustment of the orientation of the SURMF is difficult and the flexibility of the robotic posture control is restricted. For the dimension reduction and the decoupling of control variables, the orthogonal transformation operation theorem of the SURMF is proposed based on two independent rotation angular variables, which employs azimuth and altitude angles as two variables of the three-phase sine current superposition formula derived by the orthogonal rotation inverse transformation. Then the unique control rules of the orientation and the rotational direction of the SURMF are generalized in each spatial quadrant, thus the scanning of the normal vector of the SURMF along the horizontal or vertical direction can be achieved through changing only one variable, which simplifies the control process of the orientation of the SURMF greatly. To validate its feasibility and maneuverability, experiments were conducted in the animal intestine utilizing the innovative dual hemisphere capsule robot (DHCR) with active and passive modes. It was demonstrated that the posture adjustment and the steering rolling locomotion of the DHCR can be realized through single variable control, thus the orthogonal transformation operation theorem makes the control of the orientation of the SURMF convenient and flexible significantly. This breakthrough will lay a foundation for the human-machine interaction control of the SURMF.