Robotic Walker for Slope Mobility Assistance with Active-Passive Hybrid Actuator

Walking assistance can be realized by active and passive robotic walkers when their users walk on even roads.However,fast signal processing and real-time control are necessary for active robotic walkers when the users walk on slopes,while assistive forces cannot be provided by passive robotic walkers when the users walk uphill.A robotic walker with an active-passive hybrid actuator(APHA)was developed in this study.The APHA,which consists of a rotary magnetorheological(MR)brake and a DC motor,can provide mobility assistance to users walking both uphill and downhill via the cooperative operation of the MR brake and DC motor.The rotary MR brake was designed with a T-shaped configuration,and the system was optimized to minimize the brake volume.Prototypes of the APHA and robotic walker were constructed.A control algorithm for the robotic walker was developed based on the characteristics of the APHA and the structure of the robotic walker.The mechanical properties of the APHA were characterized,and experiments were conducted to evaluate the mobility assistance supplied by the robotic walker on different roads.The results show that the APHA can meet the requirements of the robotic walker,and suitable assistive forces can be provided by the robotic walker,which has a simple mechanical structure and control method.

Hybrid Visual Servoing Control for Robotic Arc Welding Based on Structured Light Vision

A novel hybrid visual servoing control method based on structured light vision is pro-posed for robotic arc welding with a general six degrees of freedom robot. It consists of a positioncontrol inner-loop in Cartesian space and two outer-loops. One is position-based visual control inCartesian space for moving in the direction of weld seam, i.e., weld seam tracking, another is image-based visual control in image space for adjustment to eliminate the errors in the process of tracking.A new Jacobian matrix from image space of the feature point on structured light stripe to Cartesianspace is provided for dierential movement of the end-e?ector. The control system model is simplifiedand its stability is discussed. An experiment of arc welding protected by gas CO2 for verifying iswell conducted.

Application of Artificial Neural Network in Robotic Hybrid Position/Force Control

A hybrid position/force controller is designed for the joint 2 and the joint 3 of thePUMA 560 robot.The hybrid controller includes a multilayered neural network,which canidentify the dynamics of the contacted environment and can optimize the parameters of PIDcontroller.The experimental results show that after having been trained,the robot has sta-ble response to the training patterns and strong adaptive ability to the situation between thepatterns.

基于改进Hybrid A^(*)算法的阿克曼移动机器人路径规划

针对移动机器人路径规划的效率和所规划路径的安全性问题,基于阿克曼六轮转向模型,提出了一种基于改进Hybrid A^(*)算法的路径规划方法。通过改进Hybrid A^(*)算法中的启发式函数,引入距离惩罚函数,减少了节点搜索数量;通过构建安全走廊,引导移动机器人尽可能远离障碍物;在代价函数中加入了节点向前、换向和向后扩展的惩罚项,确保所规划路径的可执行性与安全性。通过仿真表明,基于改进Hybrid A^(*)算法的路径规划方法适用于阿克曼六轮移动机器人,提高了路径规划的效率,规划的路径更具安全保障。

A Study on Development of a Hybrid Aerial/Terrestrial Robot System for Avoiding Ground Obstacles by Flight

To date, many studies related to robots have been performed around the world. Many of these studies have assumed operation at locations where entry is difficult, such as disaster sites, and have focused on various terrestrial robots, such as snake-like, humanoid, spider-type, and wheeled units. Another area of active research in recent years has been aerial robots with small helicopters for operation indoors and outdoors. However,less research has been performed on robots that operate both on the ground and in the air. Accordingly, in this paper, we propose a hybrid aerial/terrestrial robot system. The proposed robot system was developed by equipping a quadcopter with a mechanism for ground movement. It does not use power dedicated to ground movement, and instead uses the flight mechanism of the quadcopter to achieve ground movement as well. Furthermore, we addressed the issue of obstacle avoidance as part of studies on autonomous control. Thus, we found that autonomous control of ground movement and flight was possible for the hybrid aerial/terrestrial robot system, as was autonomous obstacle avoidance by flight when an obstacle appeared during ground movement.

The kinematics modeling based on Spinor theory for CT-guided hybrid robot

This paper focused on a simplified method for solving the hybrid robot kinematics in CT-guided （computerized tomography, CT） surgery. By position constraint introduced, the hybrid robot can be transformed as a redundant serial 7-DOF robot. The forward displacement calculation was developed based on the product-of-exponential formula （POE）. Because of the kinematics complexity of the hybrid and redundant robot, the combination technique of Ulrich two-step iteration method and paul variables detachment method （UTI-PVD） was introduced to fulfill the inverse kinematics of redundant robot, the novelty of which lay in the flexibility of various robots structures and in high calculation efficiency for realtime control. The process of solving the inverse displacement was analyzed. The UTI-PVD method can be applicable to kinematics of many robots, especially for redundant robots with more than 6DOF. The kinematics simulation was provided, and robot dexterity analysis was presented. The results indicated that the hybrid robot could implement the minimally invasive CT-guided surgery.

Design of Underwater Robot Lines Based on a Hybrid Automatic Optimization Strategy

In this paper, a hybrid automatic optimization strategy is proposed for the design of underwater robot lines. Isight is introduced as an integration platform. The construction of this platform is based on the user programming and several commercial software including UG6.0, GAMBIT2.4.6 and FLUENT12.0. An intelligent parameter optimization method, the particle swarm optimization, is incorporated into the platform. To verify the strategy proposed, a simulation is conducted on the underwater robot model 5470, which originates from the DTRC SUBOFF project. With the automatic optimization platform, the minimal resistance is taken as the optimization goal;the wet surface area as the constraint condition; the length of the fore-body, maximum body radius and after-body＇s minimum radius as the design variables. With the CFD calculation, the RANS equations and the standard turbulence model are used for direct numerical simulation. By analyses of the simulation results, it is concluded that the platform is of high efficiency and feasibility. Through the platform, a variety of schemes for the design of the lines are generated and the optimal solution is achieved. The combination of the intelligent optimization algorithm and the numerical simulation ensures a global optimal solution and improves the efficiency of the searching solutions.

Compliant landing of a trotting quadruped robot based on hybrid motion/force robust control

A compliant landing strategy for a trotting quadruped robot on unknown rough terrains based on contact force control is presented. Firstly, in order to lower the disturbance caused by the landing impact force, a landing phase is added between the swing phase and the stance phase, where the desired contact force is set as a small positive constant. Secondly, the joint torque optimization of the stance legs is formulated as a quadratic programming(QP) problem subject to equality and inequality/bound constraints. And a primal-dual dynamical system solver based on linear variational inequalities(LVI) is applied to solve this QP problem. Furthermore, based on the optimization results, a hybrid motion/force robust controller is designed to realize the tracking of the contact force, while the constraints of the stance feet landing angles are fulfilled simultaneously. Finally, the experiments are performed to validate the proposed methods.

Hybrid input shaping control scheme for reducing vibration of robot based on multi-mode control

The classic multi-mode input shapers(MMISs)are valid to decrease multi-mode residual vibration of manipulators or robots simultaneously.But these input shapers cannot suppress more residual vibration with a quick response time when the frequency bandwidth of each mode vibration is very different.The methodologies and various types of multi-mode classic and hybrid input shaping control schemes with positive impulses were introduced in this paper.Six types of two-mode hybrid input shapers with positive impulses of a 3 degree of freedom robot were established.The ability and robustness of these two-mode hybrid input shapers to suppress residual vibration were analyzed by vibration response curve and sensitivity curve via numerical simulation.The response time of the zero vibration-zero vibration and derivative(ZV-ZVD)input shaper is the fastest,but the robustness is the least.The robustness of the zero vibration and derivative-extra insensitive(ZVD-EI)input shaper is the best,while the response time is the longest.According to the frequency bandwidth at each mode and required system response time,the most appropriate multi-mode hybrid input shaper(MMHIS)can be selected in order to improve response time as much as possible under the condition of suppressing more residual vibration.

Analysis on the crossing obstacle of wheel-track hybrid mobile robot

A novel wheel-track hybrid mobile robot with many movement patterns is designed.According to different environments,it can switch between the pure wheel pattern and the pure track one.According to a homogeneous coordinate transformation matrix,gravity stability and its obstacle performance are analyzed.Its gravity equation and climbing obstacle conditions are established.Experimental results show that this hybrid mobile robot could fully possess the advantages of both the wheel and the track mechanisms and achieve a good obstacle climbing capability.

Hybrid force control of astronaut rehabilitative training robot under active loading mode

In order to mitigate the effects of space adaptation syndrome(SAS) and improve the training efficiency of the astronauts, a novel astronaut rehabilitative training robot(ART) was proposed. ART can help the astronauts to carry out the bench press training in the microgravity environment. Firstly, a dynamic model of cable driven unit(CDU) was established whose accuracy was verified through the model identification. Secondly, to improve the accuracy and the speed of the active loading, an active loading hybrid force controller was proposed on the basis of the dynamic model of the CDU. Finally, the actual effect of the hybrid force controller was tested by simulations and experiments. The results suggest that the hybrid force controller can significantly improve the precision and the dynamic performance of the active loading with the maximum phase lag of the active loading being 9° and the maximum amplitude error being 2% at the frequency range of 10 Hz. The controller can meet the design requirements.

Collision avoidance for a mobile robot based on radial basis function hybrid force control technique

Collision avoidance is always difficult in the planning path for a mobile robot. In this paper, the virtual force field between a mobile robot and an obstacle is formed and regulated to maintain a desired distance by hybrid force control algorithm. Since uncertainties from robot dynamics and obstacle degrade the performance of a collision avoidance task, intelligent control is used to compensate for the uncertainties. A radial basis function （RBF） neural network is used to regulate the force field of an accurate distance between a robot and an obstacle in this paper and then simulation studies are conducted to confirm that the proposed algorithm is effective.

Docking process on hybrid self-reconfigurable modular robots

A novel hybrid self-reconfigurable modular robot is designed to finish the morphing action from line shape to hexagon shape. The robot is composed of many basic modules,each of which consists of a master module and a slave module in the shape of triangular prism. There are four connection ports on each basic module. For the master module there are two holes on each connection port,and for the slave one there are two pegs on each connection. The docking process between two neighboring basic modules is analyzed with a peg-in-hole mechanical structure. A small motion's method is presented and the contact forces are derived. According to the force/moment,the pose of a motion module should be adjusted to make two neighboring modules align and finish the docking process.Finally,a simulation of 3 basic modules is shown to finish the morphing and docking process effectively. The system can finish the morphing task from the line shape to the hexagon shape.

Dynamics of 3-DOF Hybrid Robot Manipulator

This paper introduces a 3-dof hybrid robotic manipulator which is constructed by combining a parallel mechanism and a pantograph to increase stiffness as well as workspace. And by analyzing its kinematics and dynamics with Lagrange’s method, the dynamic model is obtained which is essential for feed-forward control of the manipulator. An explicit solution is given out. Finally, a simulation test is carried out on computers.

Motion design of a hybrid wheeled/legged robot for lunar exploration

The robot consists of a quadruped mechanism and two active dual-wheel casters possesses the advantages of wheeled and legged mechanism, and can quickly move on the relatively plane ground with the wheeled mechanism, and can walk on the extremely uneven terrain with the legged mechanism. The effectiveness of the motion design of the hybrid robot is iHustrated by simulation results.

A Sensing and Robot Navigation of Hybrid Sensor Network

Traditional sensor network and robot navigation are based on the map of detecting fields available in advance. The optimal algorithms are explored to solve the energy saving, shortest path problems, etc. However, in practical environment, there are many fields, whose map is difficult to get, and need to detect. This paper explores a kind of ad-hoc navigation algorithm based on the hybrid sensor network without the prior map. The system of navigation is composed of static nodes and mobile nodes. The static nodes monitor events occurring and broadcast. In the system, a kind of cluster broadcast method is adopted to determine the robot localization. The mobile nodes detect the adversary or dangerous fields and broadcast warning message. Robot gets the message and follows ad-hoc routine to arrive the events occurring place. In the whole process, energy saving has taken into account. The algorithms of nodes and robot are given in this paper. The simulate and practical results are available as well.

Robot Positioning and Navigation Based on Hybrid Wireless Sensor Network

Traditional sensor network and robot navigation are based on the map of detecting the fields available in advance. The optimal algorithms are developed to solve the energy saving, the shortest path problems, etc. However, in the practical enviroranent, there are many fields, whose map is difficult to get, and needs to be detected. In this paper a kind of ad-hoc navigation algorithm is explored, which is based on the hybrid sensor network without the prior map in advance. The navigation system is composed of static nodes and dynamic trades. The static nodes monitor the occurrances of the events and broadcast them. In the syston, a kind of algorithm is to locate the rdbot, which is based on duster broadcasting. The dynamic nodes detect the adversary or dangerous fields and broadcast warning messages. The robot gets the message and follows ad-hoc routine to arrive where the events occur. In the whole process, energy saving has been taken into account. The algorithms, which are based on the hybrid sensor network, are given in this paper. The simulation and practical results are also available.

A Closed-Loop Dynamic Controller for Active Vibration Isolation Working on A Parallel Wheel-Legged Robot

Serving the Stewart mechanism as a wheel-legged structure,the most outstanding superiority of the proposed wheel-legged hybrid robot(WLHR)is the active vibration isolation function during rolling on rugged terrain.However,it is difficult to obtain its precise dynamic model,because of the nonlinearity and uncertainty of the heavy robot.This paper presents a dynamic control framework with a decentralized structure for single wheel-leg,position tracking based on model predictive control(MPC)and adaptive impedance module from inside to outside.Through the Newton-Euler dynamic model of the Stewart mechanism,the controller first creates a predictive model by combining Newton-Raphson iteration of forward kinematic and inverse kinematic calculation of Stewart.The actuating force naturally enables each strut to stretch and retract,thereby realizing six degrees-of-freedom(6-DOFs)position-tracking for Stewart wheel-leg.The adaptive impedance control in the outermost loop adjusts environmental impedance parameters by current position and force feedback of wheel-leg along Z-axis.This adjustment allows the robot to adequately control the desired support force tracking,isolating the robot body from vibration that is generated from unknown terrain.The availability of the proposed control methodology on a physical prototype is demonstrated by tracking a Bezier curve and active vibration isolation while the robot is rolling on decelerate strips.By comparing the proportional and integral(PI)and constant impedance controllers,better performance of the proposed algorithm was operated and evaluated through displacement and force sensors internally-installed in each cylinder,as well as an inertial measurement unit(IMU)mounted on the robot body.The proposed algorithm structure significantly enhances the control accuracy and vibration isolation capacity of parallel wheel-legged robot.

基于改进HybridA^(*)的非完整约束机器人路径规划算法研究

为了实现单舵轮AGV在物流场景下的精准自主导航,针对基于HybridA*算法搜索的路径容易贴近障碍物的缺陷和算法在路径平滑后可能与障碍物冲突的问题,本文提出一种基于改进HybridA*的非完整约束轮式移动机器人路径规划方法。对于路径搜索部分,将距离场地图引入启发式函数,以提高搜索效率,并保持搜索路径远离障碍物;对于路径平滑部分,将优化问题转化为二次规划问题,通过边界约束保证避障效果。在ROS平台上仿真实验的结果表明,该路径规划方法可有效用于非完整约束系统,为单舵轮AGV自主导航的准确运动奠定了路径智能规划的基础。

香蕉采摘与吊运作业机器人运动与动力性能分析

由于香蕉果串的结果高度和果形尺寸较大,且采摘过程极易发生损伤,给其采摘带来极高难度,目前仍停留在比较落后的人工采摘方式上,劳动强度大。为此,提出了一种香蕉采摘与吊运作业机器人,可将香蕉果柄的切割、夹持和香蕉果串的吊放作业整体性完成,其机械系统主要由伺服连杆机械臂、夹持与切割末端执行器和液压履带行走动力单元等部分组成。工作时,末端执行器夹持与切割香蕉果柄的直径范围为40~150mm,液压履带车行走的最大行走速度为1.07m/s。通过基于ADAMS的机械系统运动和动力学仿真分析获得了伺服连杆机械臂的作业范围,以香蕉按照宽窄行宜机化种植模式为基础,对接近实际情况的伺服驱动作业流程进行了仿真研究,验证了各伺服电机的驱动能力。