A Quadruped Micro-Robot Based on Piezoelectric Driving.

PubMed

Su, Qi; Quan, Qiquan; Deng, Jie; Yu, Hongpeng

2018-03-07

Inspired by a way of rowing, a new piezoelectric driving quadruped micro-robot operating in bending-bending hybrid vibration modes was proposed and tested in this work. The robot consisted of a steel base, four steel connecting pins and four similar driving legs, and all legs were bonded by four piezoelectric ceramic plates. The driving principle is discussed, which is based on the hybrid of first order vertical bending and first order horizontal bending vibrations. The bending-bending hybrid vibration modes motivated the driving foot to form an elliptical trajectory in space. The vibrations of four legs were used to provide the driving forces for robot motion. The proposed robot was fabricated and tested according to driving principle. The vibration characteristics and elliptical movements of the driving feet were simulated by FEM method. Experimental tests of vibration characteristics and mechanical output abilities were carried out. The tested resonance frequencies and vibration amplitudes agreed well with the FEM calculated results. The size of robot is 36 mm × 98 mm × 14 mm, its weight is only 49.8 g, but its maximum load capacity achieves 200 g. Furthermore, the robot can achieve a maximum speed of 33.45 mm/s.

The human power amplifier technology at the University of California, Berkeley.

PubMed

Kazerooni, H

1996-01-01

A human's ability to perform physical tasks is limited by physical strength, not by intelligence. We define "extenders" as a class of robot manipulators worn by humans to augment human mechanical strength, while the wearer's intellect remains the central control system for manipulating the extender. Our research objective is to determine the ground rules for the design and control of robotic systems worn by humans through the design, construction, and control of several prototype experimental direct-drive/non-direct-drive multi-degree-of-freedom hydraulic/electric extenders. The design of extenders is different from the design of conventional robots because the extender interfaces with the human on a physical level. Two sets of force sensors measure the forces imposed on the extender by the human and by the environment (i.e., the load). The extender's compliances in response to such contact forces were designed by selecting appropriate force compensators. This paper gives a summary of some of the selected research efforts related to Extender Technology, carried out during 1980s. The references, at the end of this article, give detailed description of the research efforts.

Direct target NOTES: prospective applications for next generation robotic platforms.

PubMed

Atallah, S; Hodges, A; Larach, S W

2018-05-01

A new era in surgical robotics has centered on alternative access to anatomic targets and next generation designs include flexible, single-port systems which follow circuitous rather than straight pathways. Such systems maintain a small footprint and could be utilized for specialized operations based on direct organ target natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES), of which transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME) is an important derivative. During two sessions, four direct target NOTES operations were conducted on a cadaveric model using a flexible robotic system to demonstrate proof-of-concept of the application of a next generation robotic system to specific types of NOTES operations, all of which required removal of a direct target organ through natural orifice access. These four operations were (a) robotic taTME, (b) robotic transvaginal hysterectomy in conjunction with (c) robotic transvaginal salpingo-oophorectomy, and in an ex vivo model, (d) trans-cecal appendectomy. Feasibility was demonstrated in all cases using the Flex ® Robotic System with Colorectal Drive. During taTME, the platform excursion was 17 cm along a non-linear path; operative time was 57 min for the transanal portion of the dissection. Robotic transvaginal hysterectomy was successfully completed in 78 min with transvaginal extraction of the uterus, although laparoscopic assistance was required. Robotic transvaginal unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with transvaginal extraction of the ovary and fallopian tube was performed without laparoscopic assistance in 13.5 min. In an ex vivo model, a robotic trans-cecal appendectomy was also successfully performed for the purpose of demonstrating proof-of-concept only; this was completed in 24 min. A flexible robotic system has the potential to access anatomy along circuitous paths, making it a suitable platform for direct target NOTES. The conceptual operations posed could be considered suitable for next generation robotics once the technology is optimized, and after further preclinical validation.

Autonomous assistance navigation for robotic wheelchairs in confined spaces.

PubMed

Cheein, Fernando Auat; Carelli, Ricardo; De la Cruz, Celso; Muller, Sandra; Bastos Filho, Teodiano F

2010-01-01

In this work, a visual interface for the assistance of a robotic wheelchair's navigation is presented. The visual interface is developed for the navigation in confined spaces such as narrows corridors or corridor-ends. The interface performs two navigation modus: non-autonomous and autonomous. The non-autonomous driving of the robotic wheelchair is made by means of a hand-joystick. The joystick directs the motion of the vehicle within the environment. The autonomous driving is performed when the user of the wheelchair has to turn (90, 90 or 180 degrees) within the environment. The turning strategy is performed by a maneuverability algorithm compatible with the kinematics of the wheelchair and by the SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithm. The SLAM algorithm provides the interface with the information concerning the environment disposition and the pose -position and orientation-of the wheelchair within the environment. Experimental and statistical results of the interface are also shown in this work.

Advanced mechanisms for robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vranish, John M.

1992-01-01

An overview of applied research and development at NASA-Goddard (GSFC) on mechanisms and the collision avoidance skin for robots is presented. First the work on robot end effectors is outlined, followed by a brief discussion on robot-friendly payload latching mechanisms and compliant joints. This, in turn, is followed by the collision avoidance/management skin and the GSFC research on magnetostrictive direct drive motors. Finally, a new project, the artificial muscle, is introduced. Each of the devices is described in sufficient detail to permit a basic understanding of its purpose, fundamental principles of operation, and capabilities. In addition, the development status of each is reported along with descriptions of breadboards and prototypes and their test results. In each case, the implications of the research for commercialization is discussed. The chronology of the presentation will give a clear idea of both the evolution of the R&D in recent years and its likely direction in the future.

Energy-Saving Control of a Novel Hydraulic Drive System for Field Walking Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Delei; Shang, Jianzhong; Xue, Yong; Yang, Junhong; Wang, Zhuo

2018-01-01

To improve the efficiency of the hydraulic drive system in field walking robot, this paper proposed a novel hydraulic system based on two-stage pressure source. Based on the analysis of low efficiency of robot single-stage hydraulic system, the paper firstly introduces the concept and design of two-stage pressure source drive system. Then, the new hydraulic system energy-saving control is planned according to the characteristics of walking robot. The feasibility of the new hydraulic system is proved by the simulation of the walking robot squatting. Finally, the efficiencies of two types hydraulic system are calculated, indicating that the novel hydraulic system can increase the efficiency by 41.5%, which can contribute to enhance knowledge about hydraulic drive system for field walking robot.

Performance evaluation of an improved fish robot actuated by piezoceramic actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Q. S.; Heo, S.; Park, H. C.; Byun, D.

2010-03-01

This paper presents an improved fish robot actuated by four lightweight piezocomposite actuators. Our newly developed actuation mechanism is simple to fabricate because it works without gears. With the new actuation mechanism, the fish robot has a 30% smaller cross section than our previous model. Performance tests of the fish robot in water were carried out to measure the tail-beat angle, the thrust force, the swimming speed for various tail-beat frequencies from 1 to 5 Hz and the turning radius at the optimal frequency. The maximum swimming speed of the fish robot is 7.7 cm s - 1 at a tail-beat frequency of 3.9 Hz. A turning experiment shows that the swimming direction of the fish robot can be controlled by changing the duty ratio of the driving voltage; the fish robot has a turning radius of 0.41 m for a left turn and 0.68 m for a right turn.

Decentralised consensus-based formation tracking of multiple differential drive robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Xing; Peng, Zhaoxia; Wen, Guoguang; Rahmani, Ahmed

2017-11-01

This article investigates the control problem for formation tracking of multiple nonholonomic robots under distributed manner which means each robot only needs local information exchange. A class of general state and input transform is introduced to convert the formation-tracking issue of multi-robot systems into the consensus-like problem with time-varying reference. The distributed observer-based protocol with nonlinear dynamics is developed for each robot to achieve the consensus tracking of the new system, which namely means a group of nonholonomic mobile robots can form the desired formation configuration with its centroid moving along the predefined reference trajectory. The finite-time stability of observer and control law is analysed rigorously by using the Lyapunov direct method, algebraic graph theory and matrix analysis. Numerical examples are finally provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the theory results proposed in this paper.

On the asynchronously continuous control of mobile robot movement by motor cortical spiking activity.

PubMed

Xu, Zhiming; So, Rosa Q; Toe, Kyaw Kyar; Ang, Kai Keng; Guan, Cuntai

2014-01-01

This paper presents an asynchronously intracortical brain-computer interface (BCI) which allows the subject to continuously drive a mobile robot. This system has a great implication for disabled patients to move around. By carefully designing a multiclass support vector machine (SVM), the subject's self-paced instantaneous movement intents are continuously decoded to control the mobile robot. In particular, we studied the stability of the neural representation of the movement directions. Experimental results on the nonhuman primate showed that the overt movement directions were stably represented in ensemble of recorded units, and our SVM classifier could successfully decode such movements continuously along the desired movement path. However, the neural representation of the stop state for the self-paced control was not stably represented and could drift.

Magnetostrictive direct drive motors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Naik, Dipak; Dehoff, P. H.

1990-01-01

Developing magnetostrictive direct drive research motors to power robot joints is discussed. These type motors are expected to produce extraordinary torque density, to be able to perform microradian incremental steps and to be self-braking and safe with the power off. Several types of motor designs have been attempted using magnetostrictive materials. One of the candidate approaches (the magnetostrictive roller drive) is described. The method in which the design will function is described as is the reason why this approach is inherently superior to the other approaches. Following this, the design will be modelled and its expected performance predicted. This particular candidate design is currently undergoing detailed engineering with prototype construction and testing scheduled for mid 1991.

Collaborative robotic biomechanical interactions and gait adjustments in young, non-impaired individuals.

PubMed

Dionisio, Valdeci C; Brown, David A

2016-06-16

Collaborative robots are used in rehabilitation and are designed to interact with the client so as to provide the ability to assist walking therapeutically. One such device is the KineAssist which was designed to interact, either in a self-driven mode (SDM) or in an assist mode (AM), with neurologically-impaired individuals while they are walking on a treadmill surface. To understand the level of transparency (i.e., interference with movement due to the mechanical interface) between human and robot, and to estimate and account for changes in the kinetics and kinematics of the gait pattern, we tested the KineAssist under conditions of self-drive and horizontal push assistance. The aims of this study were to compare the joint kinematics, forces and moments during walking at a fixed constant treadmill belt speed and constrained walking cadence, with and without the robotic device (OUT) and to compare the biomechanics of assistive and self-drive modes in the device. Twenty non-neurologically impaired adults participated in this study. We evaluated biomechanical parameters of walking at a fixed constant treadmill belt speed (1.0 m/s), with and without the robotic device in assistive mode. We also tested the self-drive condition, which enables the user to drive the speed and direction of a treadmill belt. Hip, knee and ankle angular displacements, ground reaction forces, hip, knee and ankle moments, and center of mass displacement were compared "in" vs "out" of the device. A repeated measures ANOVA test was applied with the three level factor of condition (OUT, AM, and SDM), and each participant was used as its own comparison. When comparing "in" and "out" of the device, we did not observe any interruptions and/or reversals of direction of the basic gait pattern trajectory, but there was increased ankle and hip angular excursions, vertical ground reaction force and hip moments and reduced center of mass displacement during the "in device" condition. Comparing assistive vs self-drive mode in device, participants had greater flexed posture and accentuated hip moments and propulsive force, but reduced braking force. Although the magnitudes and/or range of certain gait pattern components were altered by the device, we did not observe any interruption from the mechanical interface upon the advancement of the trajectories nor reversals in direction of movement which suggests that the KineAssist permits relative transparency (i.e.. lack of interference of movement by the device mechanism) to the individual's gait pattern. However, there are interactive forces to take into account, which appear to be overcome by kinematic and kinetic adjustments.

EVA Robotic Assistant Project: Platform Attitude Prediction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nickels, Kevin M.

2003-01-01

The Robotic Systems Technology Branch is currently working on the development of an EVA Robotic Assistant under the sponsorship of the Surface Systems Thrust of the NASA Cross Enterprise Technology Development Program (CETDP). This will be a mobile robot that can follow a field geologist during planetary surface exploration, carry his tools and the samples that he collects, and provide video coverage of his activity. Prior experiments have shown that for such a robot to be useful it must be able to follow the geologist at walking speed over any terrain of interest. Geologically interesting terrain tends to be rough rather than smooth. The commercial mobile robot that was recently purchased as an initial testbed for the EVA Robotic Assistant Project, an ATRV Jr., is capable of faster than walking speed outside but it has no suspension. Its wheels with inflated rubber tires are attached to axles that are connected directly to the robot body. Any angular motion of the robot produced by driving over rough terrain will directly affect the pointing of the on-board stereo cameras. The resulting image motion is expected to make tracking of the geologist more difficult. This will either require the tracker to search a larger part of the image to find the target from frame to frame or to search mechanically in pan and tilt whenever the image motion is large enough to put the target outside the image in the next frame. This project consists of the design and implementation of a Kalman filter that combines the output of the angular rate sensors and linear accelerometers on the robot to estimate the motion of the robot base. The motion of the stereo camera pair mounted on the robot that results from this motion as the robot drives over rough terrain is then straightforward to compute. The estimates may then be used, for example, to command the robot s on-board pan-tilt unit to compensate for the camera motion induced by the base movement. This has been accomplished in two ways: first, a standalone head stabilizer has been implemented and second, the estimates have been used to influence the search algorithm of the stereo tracking algorithm. Studies of the image motion of a tracked object indicate that the image motion of objects is suppressed while the robot crossing rough terrain. This work expands the range of speed and surface roughness over which the robot should be able to track and follow a field geologist and accept arm gesture commands from the geologist.

Representing and Learning Complex Object Interactions

PubMed Central

Zhou, Yilun; Konidaris, George

2017-01-01

We present a framework for representing scenarios with complex object interactions, in which a robot cannot directly interact with the object it wishes to control, but must instead do so via intermediate objects. For example, a robot learning to drive a car can only indirectly change its pose, by rotating the steering wheel. We formalize such complex interactions as chains of Markov decision processes and show how they can be learned and used for control. We describe two systems in which a robot uses learning from demonstration to achieve indirect control: playing a computer game, and using a hot water dispenser to heat a cup of water. PMID:28593181

Social humanoid robot SARA: development of the wrist mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penčić, M.; Rackov, M.; Čavić, M.; Kiss, I.; Cioată, V. G.

2018-01-01

This paper presents the development of a wrist mechanism for humanoid robots. The research was conducted within the project which develops social humanoid robot Sara - a mobile anthropomorphic platform for researching the social behaviour of robots. There are two basic ways for the realization of humanoid wrist. The first one is based on biologically inspired structures that have variable stiffness, and the second one on low backlash mechanisms that have high stiffness. Our solution is low backlash differential mechanism that requires small actuators. Based on the kinematic-dynamic requirements, a dynamic model of the robot wrist is formed. A dynamic simulation for several hand positions was performed and the driving torques of the wrist mechanism were determined. The realized wrist has 2 DOFs and enables movements in the direction of flexion/extension 115°, ulnar/radial deviation ±45° and the combination of these two movements. It consists of a differential mechanism with three spur bevel gears, two of which are driving and identical, while the last one is the driven gear to which the robot hand is attached. Power transmission and motion from the actuator to the input links of the differential mechanism is realized with two parallel placed identical gear mechanisms. The wrist mechanism has high carrying capacity and reliability, high efficiency, a compact design and low backlash that provides high positioning accuracy and repeatability of movements, which is essential for motion control.

Driving Under the Influence (of Language).

PubMed

Barrett, Daniel Paul; Bronikowski, Scott Alan; Yu, Haonan; Siskind, Jeffrey Mark

2017-06-09

We present a unified framework which supports grounding natural-language semantics in robotic driving. This framework supports acquisition (learning grounded meanings of nouns and prepositions from human sentential annotation of robotic driving paths), generation (using such acquired meanings to generate sentential description of new robotic driving paths), and comprehension (using such acquired meanings to support automated driving to accomplish navigational goals specified in natural language). We evaluate the performance of these three tasks by having independent human judges rate the semantic fidelity of the sentences associated with paths. Overall, machine performance is 74.9%, while the performance of human annotators is 83.8%.

Robotics in endoscopy.

PubMed

Klibansky, David; Rothstein, Richard I

2012-09-01

The increasing complexity of intralumenal and emerging translumenal endoscopic procedures has created an opportunity to apply robotics in endoscopy. Computer-assisted or direct-drive robotic technology allows the triangulation of flexible tools through telemanipulation. The creation of new flexible operative platforms, along with other emerging technology such as nanobots and steerable capsules, can be transformational for endoscopic procedures. In this review, we cover some background information on the use of robotics in surgery and endoscopy, and review the emerging literature on platforms, capsules, and mini-robotic units. The development of techniques in advanced intralumenal endoscopy (endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic submucosal dissection) and translumenal endoscopic procedures (NOTES) has generated a number of novel platforms, flexible tools, and devices that can apply robotic principles to endoscopy. The development of a fully flexible endoscopic surgical toolkit will enable increasingly advanced procedures to be performed through natural orifices. The application of platforms and new flexible tools to the areas of advanced endoscopy and NOTES heralds the opportunity to employ useful robotic technology. Following the examples of the utility of robotics from the field of laparoscopic surgery, we can anticipate the emerging role of robotic technology in endoscopy.

Development of Pneumatic Robot Hand and Construction of Master-Slave System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsujiuchi, Nobutaka; Koizumi, Takayuki; Nishino, Shinya; Komatsubara, Hiroyuki; Kudawara, Tatsuwo; Hirano, Masanori

Recently, research and development has focused on robots that work in place of people. It is necessary for robots to perform the same flexible motions as people. Additionally, such robots need to incorporate high-level safety features in order not to injure people. For creation of such robots, we need to develop a robot hand that functions like a human hand. At the same time, this type of robot hand can be used as an artificial hand. Here, we present artificial muscle-type pneumatic actuators as the driving source of a robot hand that is both safe and flexible. Some development of robot hands using pneumatic actuators has already taken place. But, until now, when a pneumatic actuator is used, a big compressor is needed. So, the driving system also needs to be big; enlargement of the driving system is a major problem. Consequently, in this research, we develop a low-pressure, low-volume pneumatic actuator for driving a robot hand that works flexibly and safely on the assumption that it will be in contact with people. We develop a five-fingered robot hand with pneumatic actuators. And, we construct a master-slave system to enable the robot hand to perform the same operations as a human hand. We make a 1-link arm that has one degree of freedom using a pneumatic actuator, and construct a control system for the 1-link arm and verify its control performance.

Meeting the challenges of installing a mobile robotic system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decorte, Celeste

1994-01-01

The challenges of integrating a mobile robotic system into an application environment are many. Most problems inherent to installing the mobile robotic system fall into one of three categories: (1) the physical environment - location(s) where, and conditions under which, the mobile robotic system will work; (2) the technological environment - external equipment with which the mobile robotic system will interact; and (3) the human environment - personnel who will operate and interact with the mobile robotic system. The successful integration of a mobile robotic system into these three types of application environment requires more than a good pair of pliers. The tools for this job include: careful planning, accurate measurement data (as-built drawings), complete technical data of systems to be interfaced, sufficient time and attention of key personnel for training on how to operate and program the robot, on-site access during installation, and a thorough understanding and appreciation - by all concerned - of the mobile robotic system's role in the security mission at the site, as well as the machine's capabilities and limitations. Patience, luck, and a sense of humor are also useful tools to keep handy during a mobile robotic system installation. This paper will discuss some specific examples of problems in each of three categories, and explore approaches to solving these problems. The discussion will draw from the author's experience with on-site installations of mobile robotic systems in various applications. Most of the information discussed in this paper has come directly from knowledge learned during installations of Cybermotion's SR2 security robots. A large part of the discussion will apply to any vehicle with a drive system, collision avoidance, and navigation sensors, which is, of course, what makes a vehicle autonomous. And it is with these sensors and a drive system that the installer must become familiar in order to foresee potential trouble areas in the physical, technical, and human environment.

Steerable Hopping Six-Legged Robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Younse, Paulo; Aghazarian, Hrand

2010-01-01

The figure depicts selected aspects of a six-legged robot that moves by hopping and that can be steered in the sense that it can be launched into a hop in a controllable direction. This is a prototype of hopping robots being developed for use in scientific exploration of rough terrain on remote planets that have surface gravitation less than that of Earth. Hopping robots could also be used on Earth, albeit at diminished hopping distances associated with the greater Earth gravitation. The upper end of each leg is connected through two universal joints to an upper and a lower hexagonal frame, such that the tilt of the leg depends on the relative position of the two frames. Two non-back-driveable worm-gear motor drives are used to control the relative position of the two frames along two axes 120 apart, thereby controlling the common tilt of all six legs and thereby, further, controlling the direction of hopping. Each leg includes an upper and a lower aluminum frame segment with a joint between them. A fiberglass spring, connected via hinges to both segments, is used to store hopping energy prior to launch into a hop and to cushion the landing at the end of the hop. A cable for loading the spring is run into each leg through the center of the universal joints and then down along the center lines of the segments to the lower end of the leg. A central spool actuated by a motor with a harmonic drive and an electromagnetic clutch winds in all six cables to compress all six springs (thereby also flexing all six legs) simultaneously. To ensure that all the legs push off and land in the same direction, timing- belt pulley drives are attached to the leg segments, restricting the flexing and extension of all six legs to a common linear motion. In preparation for a hop, the spool can be driven to load the spring legs by an amount corresponding to a desired hop distance within range. The amount of compression can be computed from the reading of a shaft-angle encoder that indicates the amount by which the spool has been turned. When the robot is ready to hop, the electromagnetic clutch disengages the motor from the spool, thus releasing the cable restraints on the springs and allowing the springs to extend all six legs simultaneously.

Training Toddlers Seated on Mobile Robots to Steer Using Force-Feedback Joystick.

PubMed

Agrawal, S K; Xi Chen; Ragonesi, C; Galloway, J C

2012-01-01

The broader goal of our research is to train infants with special needs to safely and purposefully drive a mobile robot to explore the environment. The hypothesis is that these impaired infants will benefit from mobility in their early years and attain childhood milestones, similar to their healthy peers. In this paper, we present an algorithm and training method using a force-feedback joystick with an "assist-as-needed" paradigm for driving training. In this "assist-as-needed" approach, if the child steers the joystick outside a force tunnel centered on the desired direction, the driver experiences a bias force on the hand. We show results with a group study on typically developing toddlers that such a haptic guidance algorithm is superior to training with a conventional joystick. We also provide a case study on two special needs children, under three years old, who learn to make sharp turns during driving, when trained over a five-day period with the force-feedback joystick using the algorithm.

Synthetic Fiber Capstan Drives for Highly Efficient, Torque Controlled, Robotic Applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mazumdar, Anirban; Spencer, Steven James; Hobart, Clinton

Here this paper describes the design and performance of a synthetic rope on sheave drive system. This system uses synthetic ropes instead of steel cables to achieve low weight and a compact form factor. We demonstrate how this system is capable of 28-Hz torque control bandwidth, 95% efficiency, and quiet operation, making it ideal for use on legged robots and other dynamic physically interactive systems. Component geometry and tailored maintenance procedures are used to achieve high endurance. Endurance tests based on walking data predict that the ropes will survive roughly 247,000 cycles when used on large (90 kg), fully actuatedmore » bipedal robot systems. The drive systems have been incorporated into two novel bipedal robots capable of three-dimensional unsupported walking. Robot data illustrate effective torque tracking and nearly silent operation. Finally, comparisons with alternative transmission designs illustrate the size, weight, and endurance advantages of using this type of synthetic rope drive system.« less

Synthetic Fiber Capstan Drives for Highly Efficient, Torque Controlled, Robotic Applications

DOE PAGES

Mazumdar, Anirban; Spencer, Steven James; Hobart, Clinton; ...

2017-01-05

Here this paper describes the design and performance of a synthetic rope on sheave drive system. This system uses synthetic ropes instead of steel cables to achieve low weight and a compact form factor. We demonstrate how this system is capable of 28-Hz torque control bandwidth, 95% efficiency, and quiet operation, making it ideal for use on legged robots and other dynamic physically interactive systems. Component geometry and tailored maintenance procedures are used to achieve high endurance. Endurance tests based on walking data predict that the ropes will survive roughly 247,000 cycles when used on large (90 kg), fully actuatedmore » bipedal robot systems. The drive systems have been incorporated into two novel bipedal robots capable of three-dimensional unsupported walking. Robot data illustrate effective torque tracking and nearly silent operation. Finally, comparisons with alternative transmission designs illustrate the size, weight, and endurance advantages of using this type of synthetic rope drive system.« less

Robotic Head and Neck Surgery: History, Technical Evolution and the Future.

PubMed

Garas, George; Arora, Asit

2018-06-20

The first application of robotic technology in surgery was described in 1985 when a robot was used to define the trajectory for a stereotactic brain biopsy. Following its successful application in a variety of surgical operations, the da Vinci® robot, the most widely used surgical robot at present, made its clinical debut in otorhinolaryngology and head and neck surgery in 2005 when the first transoral robotic surgery (TORS) resections of base of tongue neoplasms were reported. Subsequently, the indications for TORS rapidly expanded, and they now include tumours of the oropharynx, hypopharynx, parapharyngeal space, and supraglottic larynx, as well as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). The da Vinci® robot has also been successfully used for scarless-in-the-neck thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy. At present, the main barrier to the wider uptake of robotic surgery is the prohibitive cost of the da Vinci® robotic system. Several novel, flexible surgical robots are currently being developed that are likely to not only enhance patient safety and expand current indications but also drive down costs, thus making this innovation more widely available. Future directions relate to overlay technology through augmented reality/AR that allows real-time image-guidance, miniaturisation (nanorobots), and the development of autonomous robots. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Soft Dielectric Elastomer Oscillators Driving Bioinspired Robots.

PubMed

Henke, E-F Markus; Schlatter, Samuel; Anderson, Iain A

2017-12-01

Entirely soft robots with animal-like behavior and integrated artificial nervous systems will open up totally new perspectives and applications. To produce them, we must integrate control and actuation in the same soft structure. Soft actuators (e.g., pneumatic and hydraulic) exist but electronics are hard and stiff and remotely located. We present novel soft, electronics-free dielectric elastomer oscillators, which are able to drive bioinspired robots. As a demonstrator, we present a robot that mimics the crawling motion of the caterpillar, with an integrated artificial nervous system, soft actuators and without any conventional stiff electronic parts. Supplied with an external DC voltage, the robot autonomously generates all signals that are necessary to drive its dielectric elastomer actuators, and it translates an in-plane electromechanical oscillation into a crawling locomotion movement. Therefore, all functional and supporting parts are made of polymer materials and carbon. Besides the basic design of this first electronic-free, biomimetic robot, we present prospects to control the general behavior of such robots. The absence of conventional stiff electronics and the exclusive use of polymeric materials will provide a large step toward real animal-like robots, compliant human machine interfaces, and a new class of distributed, neuron-like internal control for robotic systems.

Effect of spine motion on mobility in quadruped running

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Dongliang; Liu, Qi; Dong, Litao; Wang, Hong; Zhang, Qun

2014-11-01

Most of current running quadruped robots have similar construction: a stiff body and four compliant legs. Many researches have indicated that the stiff body without spine motion is a main factor in limitation of robots' mobility. Therefore, investigating spine motion is very important to build robots with better mobility. A planar quadruped robot is designed based on cheetahs' morphology. There is a spinal driving joint in the body of the robot. When the spinal driving joint acts, the robot has spine motion; otherwise, the robot has not spine motion. Six group prototype experiments with the robot are carried out to study the effect of spine motion on mobility. In each group, there are two comparative experiments: the spinal driving joint acts in one experiment but does not in the other experiment. The results of the prototype experiments indicate that the average speeds of the robot with spine motion are 8.7%-15.9% larger than those of the robot without spine motion. Furthermore, a simplified sagittal plane model of quadruped mammals is introduced. The simplified model also has a spinal driving joint. Using a similar process as the prototype experiments, six group simulation experiments with the simplified model are conducted. The results of the simulation experiments show that the maximum rear leg horizontal thrusts of the simplified mode with spine motion are 68.2%-71.3% larger than those of the simplified mode without spine motion. Hence, it is found that spine motion can increase the average running speed and the intrinsic reason of speed increase is the improvement of the maximum rear leg horizontal thrust.

GOAT (goes over all terrain) vehicle: a scaleable robotic vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dodson, Michael G.; Owsley, Stanley L.; Moorehead, Stewart J.

2003-09-01

Many of the potential applications of mobile robots require a small to medium sized vehicle that is capable of traversing large obstacles and rugged terrain. Search and rescue operations require a robot small enough to drive through doorways, yet capable enough to surmount rubble piles and stairs. This paper presents the GOAT (Goes Over All Terrain) vehicle, a medium scale robot which incorporates a novel configuration which puts the drive wheels on the ends of actuated arms. This allows GOAT to adjust body height and posture and combines the benefits of legged locomotion with the ease of wheeled driving. The paper presents the design of the GOAT and the results of prototype construction and initial testing.

Muecas: A Multi-Sensor Robotic Head for Affective Human Robot Interaction and Imitation

PubMed Central

Cid, Felipe; Moreno, Jose; Bustos, Pablo; Núñez, Pedro

2014-01-01

This paper presents a multi-sensor humanoid robotic head for human robot interaction. The design of the robotic head, Muecas, is based on ongoing research on the mechanisms of perception and imitation of human expressions and emotions. These mechanisms allow direct interaction between the robot and its human companion through the different natural language modalities: speech, body language and facial expressions. The robotic head has 12 degrees of freedom, in a human-like configuration, including eyes, eyebrows, mouth and neck, and has been designed and built entirely by IADeX (Engineering, Automation and Design of Extremadura) and RoboLab. A detailed description of its kinematics is provided along with the design of the most complex controllers. Muecas can be directly controlled by FACS (Facial Action Coding System), the de facto standard for facial expression recognition and synthesis. This feature facilitates its use by third party platforms and encourages the development of imitation and of goal-based systems. Imitation systems learn from the user, while goal-based ones use planning techniques to drive the user towards a final desired state. To show the flexibility and reliability of the robotic head, the paper presents a software architecture that is able to detect, recognize, classify and generate facial expressions in real time using FACS. This system has been implemented using the robotics framework, RoboComp, which provides hardware-independent access to the sensors in the head. Finally, the paper presents experimental results showing the real-time functioning of the whole system, including recognition and imitation of human facial expressions. PMID:24787636

Differential-Drive Mobile Robot Control Design based-on Linear Feedback Control Law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurmaini, Siti; Dewi, Kemala; Tutuko, Bambang

2017-04-01

This paper deals with the problem of how to control differential driven mobile robot with simple control law. When mobile robot moves from one position to another to achieve a position destination, it always produce some errors. Therefore, a mobile robot requires a certain control law to drive the robot’s movement to the position destination with a smallest possible error. In this paper, in order to reduce position error, a linear feedback control is proposed with pole placement approach to regulate the polynoms desired. The presented work leads to an improved understanding of differential-drive mobile robot (DDMR)-based kinematics equation, which will assist to design of suitable controllers for DDMR movement. The result show by using the linier feedback control method with pole placement approach the position error is reduced and fast convergence is achieved.

Roller-gear drives for robotic manipulators design, fabrication and test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, William J.; Shipitalo, William

1991-01-01

Two single axis planetary roller-gear drives and a two axis roller-gear drive with dual inputs were designed for use as robotic transmissions. Each of the single axis drives is a two planet row, four planet arrangement with spur gears and compressively loaded cylindrical rollers acting in parallel. The two axis drive employs bevel gears and cone rollers acting in parallel. The rollers serve a dual function: they remove backlash from the system, and they transmit torque when the gears are not fully engaged.

Controllability of Complex Dynamic Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalach, G. G.; Kazachek, N. A.; Morozov, A. A.

2017-01-01

Quality requirements for mobile robots intended for both specialized and everyday use are increasing in step with the complexity of the technological tasks assigned to the robots. Whether a mobile robot is for ground, aerial, or underwater use, the relevant quality characteristics can be summarized under the common concept of agility. This term denotes the object’s (the robot)’s ability to react quickly to control actions (change speed and direction), turn in a limited area, etc. When using this approach in integrated assessment of the quality characteristics of an object with the control system, it seems more constructive to use the term “degree of control”. This paper assesses the degree of control by an example of a mobile robot with the variable-geometry drive wheel axle. We show changes in the degree of control depending on the robot’s configuration, and results illustrated by calculation data, computer and practical experiments. We describe the prospects of using intelligent technology for efficient control of objects with a high degree of controllability.

Intelligent mobility for robotic vehicles in the army after next

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerhart, Grant R.; Goetz, Richard C.; Gorsich, David J.

1999-07-01

The TARDEC Intelligent Mobility program addresses several essential technologies necessary to support the army after next (AAN) concept. Ground forces in the AAN time frame will deploy robotic unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) in high-risk missions to avoid exposing soldiers to both friendly and unfriendly fire. Prospective robotic systems will include RSTA/scout vehicles, combat engineering/mine clearing vehicles, indirect fire artillery and missile launch platforms. The AAN concept requires high on-road and off-road mobility, survivability, transportability/deployability and low logistics burden. TARDEC is developing a robotic vehicle systems integration laboratory (SIL) to evaluate technologies and their integration into future UGV systems. Example technologies include the following: in-hub electric drive, omni-directional wheel and steering configurations, off-road tires, adaptive tire inflation, articulated vehicles, active suspension, mine blast protection, detection avoidance and evasive maneuver. This paper will describe current developments in these areas relative to the TARDEC intelligent mobility program.

An assembly-type master-slave catheter and guidewire driving system for vascular intervention.

PubMed

Cha, Hyo-Jeong; Yi, Byung-Ju; Won, Jong Yun

2017-01-01

Current vascular intervention inevitably exposes a large amount of X-ray to both an operator and a patient during the procedure. The purpose of this study is to propose a new catheter driving system which assists the operator in aspects of less X-ray exposure and convenient user interface. For this, an assembly-type 4-degree-of-freedom master-slave system was designed and tested to verify the efficiency. First, current vascular intervention procedures are analyzed to develop a new robotic procedure that enables us to use conventional vascular intervention devices such as catheter and guidewire which are commercially available in the market. Some parts of the slave robot which contact the devices were designed to be easily assembled and dissembled from the main body of the slave robot for sterilization. A master robot is compactly designed to conduct insertion and rotational motion and is able to switch from the guidewire driving mode to the catheter driving mode or vice versa. A phantom resembling the human arteries was developed, and the master-slave robotic system is tested using the phantom. The contact force of the guidewire tip according to the shape of the arteries is measured and reflected to the user through the master robot during the phantom experiment. This system can drastically reduce radiation exposure by replacing human effort by a robotic system for high radiation exposure procedures. Also, benefits of the proposed robot system are low cost by employing currently available devices and easy human interface.

Scaling effects in spiral capsule robots.

PubMed

Liang, Liang; Hu, Rong; Chen, Bai; Tang, Yong; Xu, Yan

2017-04-01

Spiral capsule robots can be applied to human gastrointestinal tracts and blood vessels. Because of significant variations in the sizes of the inner diameters of the intestines as well as blood vessels, this research has been unable to meet the requirements for medical applications. By applying the fluid dynamic equations, using the computational fluid dynamics method, to a robot axial length ranging from 10 -5 to 10 -2  m, the operational performance indicators (axial driving force, load torque, and maximum fluid pressure on the pipe wall) of the spiral capsule robot and the fluid turbulent intensity around the robot spiral surfaces was numerically calculated in a straight rigid pipe filled with fluid. The reasonableness and validity of the calculation method adopted in this study were verified by the consistency of the calculated values by the computational fluid dynamics method and the experimental values from a relevant literature. The results show that the greater the fluid turbulent intensity, the greater the impact of the fluid turbulence on the driving performance of the spiral capsule robot and the higher the energy consumption of the robot. For the same level of size of the robot, the axial driving force, the load torque, and the maximum fluid pressure on the pipe wall of the outer spiral robot were larger than those of the inner spiral robot. For different requirements of the operating environment, we can choose a certain kind of spiral capsule robot. This study provides a theoretical foundation for spiral capsule robots.

Research regarding stiffness optimization of wires used for joints actuation from an elephant's trunk robotic arm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciofu, C.; Stan, G.

2016-11-01

Elephant's trunk robotic arms driven by wires and pulley mechanisms have issues with wires stiffness because of the entailed elastic deformations that is causing errors of positioning. Static and dynamic loads from each joint of the robotic arm affect the stiffness of driving wires and precision positioning. The influence of wires elastic deformation on precision positioning decreases with the increasing of wires stiffness by using different pre-tensioning devices. In this paper, we analyze the variation of driving wires stiffness particularly to each wire driven joint. We obtain optimum wires stiffness variation by using an analytical method that highlights the efficiency of pre-tensioning mechanism. The analysis of driving wires stiffness is necessary for taking appropriate optimization measures of robotic arm dynamic behavior and, thus, for decreasing positioning errors of the elephant's trunk robotic arm with inner actuation through wires/cables.

High-voltage Array Ground Test for Direct-drive Solar Electric Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, Joe T.; Mankins, John C.; O'Neill, Mark J.

2005-01-01

Development is underway on a unique high-power solar concentrator array called Stretched Lens Array (SLA) for direct drive electric propulsion. These SLA performance attributes closely match the critical needs of solar electric propulsion (SEP) systems, which may be used for "space tugs" to fuel-efficiently transport cargo from low earth orbit (LEO) to low lunar orbit (LLO), in support of NASA s robotic and human exploration missions. Later SEP systems may similarly transport cargo from the earth-moon neighborhood to the Mars neighborhood. This paper will describe the SLA SEP technology, discuss ground tests already completed, and present plans for future ground tests and future flight tests of SLA SEP systems.

High-Voltage High-Energy Stretched Lens Array Square-Rigger (SLASR) for Direct-Drive Solar Electric Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, Joe T.; O'Neill, Mark J.; Mankins, John C.

2006-01-01

Development is underway on a unique high-voltage, high energy solar concentrator array called Stretched Lens Array Square-Rigger (SLASR) for direct drive electric propulsion. The SLASR performance attributes closely match the critical needs of solar electric propulsion (SEP) systems, which may be used for space tugs to fuel efficiently transport cargo from low earth orbit (LEO) to low lunar orbit (LLO), in support of NASA's robotic and human exploration missions. Later SEP systems may similarly transport cargo from the earth-moon neighborhood to the Mars neighborhood. This paper will describe the SLASR technology, discuss SLASR developments and ground testing, and outline plans for future SLASR technology maturation.

High-Voltage High-Energy Stretched Lens Array Square-Rigger (SLASR) for Direct-Drive Solar Electric Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, Joe T.; O'Neill, Mark; Mankins, John C.

2006-01-01

Development is underway on a unique high-voltage, high-energy solar concentrator array called Stretched Lens Array Square-Rigger (SLASR) for direct drive electric propulsion. The SLASR performance attributes closely match the critical needs of solar electric propulsion (SEP) systems, which may be used for space tugs to fuel-efficiently transport cargo from low earth orbit (LEO) to low lunar orbit (LLO), in support of NASA s robotic and human exploration missions. Later SEP systems may similarly transport cargo from the earth-moon neighborhood to the Mars neighborhood. This paper will describe the SLASR technology, discuss SLASR developments and ground testing, and outline plans for future SLASR technology maturation.

Human-Robot Teaming: From Space Robotics to Self-Driving Cars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fong, Terry

2017-01-01

In this talk, I describe how NASA Ames has been developing and testing robots for space exploration. In our research, we have focused on studying how human-robot teams can increase the performance, reduce the cost, and increase the success of space missions. A key tenet of our work is that humans and robots should support one another in order to compensate for limitations of manual control and autonomy. This principle has broad applicability beyond space exploration. Thus, I will conclude by discussing how we have worked with Nissan to apply our methods to self-driving cars, enabling humans to support autonomous vehicles operating in unpredictable and difficult situations.

Development of cable drive systems for an automated assembly project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monroe, Charles A., Jr.

1990-01-01

In a robotic assembly project, a method was needed to accurately position a robot and a structure which the robot was to assemble. The requirements for high precision and relatively long travel distances dictated the use of cable drive systems. The design of the mechanisms used in translating the robot and in rotating the assembly under construction is discussed. The design criteria are discussed, and the effect of particular requirements on the design is noted. Finally, the measured performance of the completed mechanism is compared with design requirements.

Information-driven self-organization: the dynamical system approach to autonomous robot behavior.

PubMed

Ay, Nihat; Bernigau, Holger; Der, Ralf; Prokopenko, Mikhail

2012-09-01

In recent years, information theory has come into the focus of researchers interested in the sensorimotor dynamics of both robots and living beings. One root for these approaches is the idea that living beings are information processing systems and that the optimization of these processes should be an evolutionary advantage. Apart from these more fundamental questions, there is much interest recently in the question how a robot can be equipped with an internal drive for innovation or curiosity that may serve as a drive for an open-ended, self-determined development of the robot. The success of these approaches depends essentially on the choice of a convenient measure for the information. This article studies in some detail the use of the predictive information (PI), also called excess entropy or effective measure complexity, of the sensorimotor process. The PI of a process quantifies the total information of past experience that can be used for predicting future events. However, the application of information theoretic measures in robotics mostly is restricted to the case of a finite, discrete state-action space. This article aims at applying the PI in the dynamical systems approach to robot control. We study linear systems as a first step and derive exact results for the PI together with explicit learning rules for the parameters of the controller. Interestingly, these learning rules are of Hebbian nature and local in the sense that the synaptic update is given by the product of activities available directly at the pertinent synaptic ports. The general findings are exemplified by a number of case studies. In particular, in a two-dimensional system, designed at mimicking embodied systems with latent oscillatory locomotion patterns, it is shown that maximizing the PI means to recognize and amplify the latent modes of the robotic system. This and many other examples show that the learning rules derived from the maximum PI principle are a versatile tool for the self-organization of behavior in complex robotic systems.

Human-Robot Interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandor, Aniko; Cross, E. Vincent, II; Chang, Mai Lee

2015-01-01

Human-robot interaction (HRI) is a discipline investigating the factors affecting the interactions between humans and robots. It is important to evaluate how the design of interfaces affect the human's ability to perform tasks effectively and efficiently when working with a robot. By understanding the effects of interface design on human performance, workload, and situation awareness, interfaces can be developed to appropriately support the human in performing tasks with minimal errors and with appropriate interaction time and effort. Thus, the results of research on human-robot interfaces have direct implications for the design of robotic systems. For efficient and effective remote navigation of a rover, a human operator needs to be aware of the robot's environment. However, during teleoperation, operators may get information about the environment only through a robot's front-mounted camera causing a keyhole effect. The keyhole effect reduces situation awareness which may manifest in navigation issues such as higher number of collisions, missing critical aspects of the environment, or reduced speed. One way to compensate for the keyhole effect and the ambiguities operators experience when they teleoperate a robot is adding multiple cameras and including the robot chassis in the camera view. Augmented reality, such as overlays, can also enhance the way a person sees objects in the environment or in camera views by making them more visible. Scenes can be augmented with integrated telemetry, procedures, or map information. Furthermore, the addition of an exocentric (i.e., third-person) field of view from a camera placed in the robot's environment may provide operators with the additional information needed to gain spatial awareness of the robot. Two research studies investigated possible mitigation approaches to address the keyhole effect: 1) combining the inclusion of the robot chassis in the camera view with augmented reality overlays, and 2) modifying the camera frame of reference. The first study investigated the effects of inclusion and exclusion of the robot chassis along with superimposing a simple arrow overlay onto the video feed of operator task performance during teleoperation of a mobile robot in a driving task. In this study, the front half of the robot chassis was made visible through the use of three cameras, two side-facing and one forward-facing. The purpose of the second study was to compare operator performance when teleoperating a robot from an egocentric-only and combined (egocentric plus exocentric camera) view. Camera view parameters that are found to be beneficial in these laboratory experiments can be implemented on NASA rovers and tested in a real-world driving and navigation scenario on-site at the Johnson Space Center.

Toward Modular Soft Robotics: Proprioceptive Curvature Sensing and Sliding-Mode Control of Soft Bidirectional Bending Modules.

PubMed

Luo, Ming; Skorina, Erik H; Tao, Weijia; Chen, Fuchen; Ozel, Selim; Sun, Yinan; Onal, Cagdas D

2017-06-01

Real-world environments are complex, unstructured, and often fragile. Soft robotics offers a solution for robots to safely interact with the environment and human coworkers, but suffers from a host of challenges in sensing and control of continuously deformable bodies. To overcome these challenges, this article considers a modular soft robotic architecture that offers proprioceptive sensing of pressure-operated bending actuation modules. We present integrated custom magnetic curvature sensors embedded in the neutral axis of bidirectional bending actuators. We describe our recent advances in the design and fabrication of these modules to improve the reliability of proprioceptive curvature feedback over our prior work. In particular, we study the effect of dimensional parameters on improving the linearity of curvature measurements. In addition, we present a sliding-mode controller formulation that drives the binary solenoid valve states directly, giving the control system the ability to hold the actuator steady without continuous pressurization and depressurization. In comparison to other methods, this control approach does not rely on pulse width modulation and hence offers superior dynamic performance (i.e., faster response rates). Our experimental results indicate that the proposed soft robotic modules offer a large range of bending angles with monotonic and more linear embedded curvature measurements, and that the direct sliding-mode control system exhibits improved bandwidth and a notable reduction in binary valve actuation operations compared to our earlier iterative sliding-mode controller.

Forming Human-Robot Teams Across Time and Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hambuchen, Kimberly; Burridge, Robert R.; Ambrose, Robert O.; Bluethmann, William J.; Diftler, Myron A.; Radford, Nicolaus A.

2012-01-01

NASA pushes telerobotics to distances that span the Solar System. At this scale, time of flight for communication is limited by the speed of light, inducing long time delays, narrow bandwidth and the real risk of data disruption. NASA also supports missions where humans are in direct contact with robots during extravehicular activity (EVA), giving a range of zero to hundreds of millions of miles for NASA s definition of "tele". . Another temporal variable is mission phasing. NASA missions are now being considered that combine early robotic phases with later human arrival, then transition back to robot only operations. Robots can preposition, scout, sample or construct in advance of human teammates, transition to assistant roles when the crew are present, and then become care-takers when the crew returns to Earth. This paper will describe advances in robot safety and command interaction approaches developed to form effective human-robot teams, overcoming challenges of time delay and adapting as the team transitions from robot only to robots and crew. The work is predicated on the idea that when robots are alone in space, they are still part of a human-robot team acting as surrogates for people back on Earth or in other distant locations. Software, interaction modes and control methods will be described that can operate robots in all these conditions. A novel control mode for operating robots across time delay was developed using a graphical simulation on the human side of the communication, allowing a remote supervisor to drive and command a robot in simulation with no time delay, then monitor progress of the actual robot as data returns from the round trip to and from the robot. Since the robot must be responsible for safety out to at least the round trip time period, the authors developed a multi layer safety system able to detect and protect the robot and people in its workspace. This safety system is also running when humans are in direct contact with the robot, so it involves both internal fault detection as well as force sensing for unintended external contacts. The designs for the supervisory command mode and the redundant safety system will be described. Specific implementations were developed and test results will be reported. Experiments were conducted using terrestrial analogs for deep space missions, where time delays were artificially added to emulate the longer distances found in space.

Gait development on Minitaur, a direct drive quadrupedal robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blackman, Daniel J.; Nicholson, John V.; Ordonez, Camilo; Miller, Bruce D.; Clark, Jonathan E.

2016-05-01

This paper describes the development of a dynamic, quadrupedal robot designed for rapid traversal and interaction in human environments. We explore improvements to both physical and control methods to a legged robot (Minitaur) in order to improve the speed and stability of its gaits and increase the range of obstacles that it can overcome, with an eye toward negotiating man-made terrains such as stairs. These modifications include an analysis of physical compliance, an investigation of foot and leg design, and the implementation of ground and obstacle contact sensing for inclusion in the control schemes. Structural and mechanical improvements were made to reduce undesired compliance for more consistent agreement with dynamic models, which necessitated refinement of foot design for greater durability. Contact sensing was implemented into the control scheme for identifying obstacles and deviations in surface level for negotiation of varying terrain. Overall the incorporation of these features greatly enhances the mobility of the dynamic quadrupedal robot and helps to establish a basis for overcoming obstacles.

Actively Perceiving and Responsive Soft Robots Enabled by Self-Powered, Highly Extensible, and Highly Sensitive Triboelectric Proximity- and Pressure-Sensing Skins.

PubMed

Lai, Ying-Chih; Deng, Jianan; Liu, Ruiyuan; Hsiao, Yung-Chi; Zhang, Steven L; Peng, Wenbo; Wu, Hsing-Mei; Wang, Xingfu; Wang, Zhong Lin

2018-06-04

Robots that can move, feel, and respond like organisms will bring revolutionary impact to today's technologies. Soft robots with organism-like adaptive bodies have shown great potential in vast robot-human and robot-environment applications. Developing skin-like sensory devices allows them to naturally sense and interact with environment. Also, it would be better if the capabilities to feel can be active, like real skin. However, challenges in the complicated structures, incompatible moduli, poor stretchability and sensitivity, large driving voltage, and power dissipation hinder applicability of conventional technologies. Here, various actively perceivable and responsive soft robots are enabled by self-powered active triboelectric robotic skins (tribo-skins) that simultaneously possess excellent stretchability and excellent sensitivity in the low-pressure regime. The tribo-skins can actively sense proximity, contact, and pressure to external stimuli via self-generating electricity. The driving energy comes from a natural triboelectrification effect involving the cooperation of contact electrification and electrostatic induction. The perfect integration of the tribo-skins and soft actuators enables soft robots to perform various actively sensing and interactive tasks including actively perceiving their muscle motions, working states, textile's dampness, and even subtle human physiological signals. Moreover, the self-generating signals can drive optoelectronic devices for visual communication and be processed for diverse sophisticated uses. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Three-dimensional hysteresis compensation enhances accuracy of robotic artificial muscles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jun; Simeonov, Anthony; Yip, Michael C.

2018-03-01

Robotic artificial muscles are compliant and can generate straight contractions. They are increasingly popular as driving mechanisms for robotic systems. However, their strain and tension force often vary simultaneously under varying loads and inputs, resulting in three-dimensional hysteretic relationships. The three-dimensional hysteresis in robotic artificial muscles poses difficulties in estimating how they work and how to make them perform designed motions. This study proposes an approach to driving robotic artificial muscles to generate designed motions and forces by modeling and compensating for their three-dimensional hysteresis. The proposed scheme captures the nonlinearity by embedding two hysteresis models. The effectiveness of the model is confirmed by testing three popular robotic artificial muscles. Inverting the proposed model allows us to compensate for the hysteresis among temperature surrogate, contraction length, and tension force of a shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator. Feedforward control of an SMA-actuated robotic bicep is demonstrated. This study can be generalized to other robotic artificial muscles, thus enabling muscle-powered machines to generate desired motions.

Analysis of the position of robotic cell components and its impact on energy consumption by robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banas, W.; Gwiazda, A.; Monica, Z.; Sekala, A.; Foit, K.

2016-08-01

Location elements in the robot cell is very important must provide reasonable access to technological points. This is a basic condition, but it is possible to shift these elements worth considering over other criteria. One of them can be energy consumption. This is an economic parameter and in most cases its improvement make shorten the working time an industrial robot. In most conventional mechanical systems you do not need to consume power in standby mode only for a move. Robot because of its construction, even if it does not move has enabled engines and is ready to move. In this case, the servo speed is zero. During this stop servo squeak. Low-speed motors cause the engine torque is reduced and increases power consumption. In larger robots are installed brakes that when the robot does not move mechanically hold the position. Off the robot has enabled brakes and remembers the position servo drives. Brakes must be released when the robot wants to move and drives hold the position.

Controlling a Four-Quadrant Brushless Three-Phase dc Motor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nola, F. J.

1986-01-01

Control circuit commutates windings of brushless, three-phase, permanent-magnet motor operating from power supply. With single analog command voltage, controller makes motor accelerate, drive steadily, or brake regeneratively, in clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Controller well suited for use with energy-storage flywheels, actuators for aircraft-control surfaces, cranes, industrial robots, and other electromechanical systems requiring bidirectional control or sudden stopping and reversal.

Estimation of Muscle Force Based on Neural Drive in a Hemispheric Stroke Survivor.

PubMed

Dai, Chenyun; Zheng, Yang; Hu, Xiaogang

2018-01-01

Robotic assistant-based therapy holds great promise to improve the functional recovery of stroke survivors. Numerous neural-machine interface techniques have been used to decode the intended movement to control robotic systems for rehabilitation therapies. In this case report, we tested the feasibility of estimating finger extensor muscle forces of a stroke survivor, based on the decoded descending neural drive through population motoneuron discharge timings. Motoneuron discharge events were obtained by decomposing high-density surface electromyogram (sEMG) signals of the finger extensor muscle. The neural drive was extracted from the normalized frequency of the composite discharge of the motoneuron pool. The neural-drive-based estimation was also compared with the classic myoelectric-based estimation. Our results showed that the neural-drive-based approach can better predict the force output, quantified by lower estimation errors and higher correlations with the muscle force, compared with the myoelectric-based estimation. Our findings suggest that the neural-drive-based approach can potentially be used as a more robust interface signal for robotic therapies during the stroke rehabilitation.

Human-Robot Interaction Directed Research Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rochlis, Jennifer; Ezer, Neta; Sandor, Aniko

2011-01-01

Human-robot interaction (HRI) is about understanding and shaping the interactions between humans and robots (Goodrich & Schultz, 2007). It is important to evaluate how the design of interfaces and command modalities affect the human s ability to perform tasks accurately, efficiently, and effectively (Crandall, Goodrich, Olsen Jr., & Nielsen, 2005) It is also critical to evaluate the effects of human-robot interfaces and command modalities on operator mental workload (Sheridan, 1992) and situation awareness (Endsley, Bolt , & Jones, 2003). By understanding the effects of interface design on human performance, workload, and situation awareness, interfaces can be developed that support the human in performing tasks with minimal errors and with appropriate interaction time and effort. Thus, the results of research on human-robot interfaces have direct implications for design. Because the factors associated with interfaces and command modalities in HRI are too numerous to address in 3 years of research, the proposed research concentrates on three manageable areas applicable to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) robot systems. These topic areas emerged from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 work that included extensive literature reviews and observations of NASA systems. The three topic areas are: 1) video overlays, 2) camera views, and 3) command modalities. Each area is described in detail below, along with relevance to existing NASA human-robot systems. In addition to studies in these three topic areas, a workshop is proposed for FY12. The workshop will bring together experts in human-robot interaction and robotics to discuss the state of the practice as applicable to research in space robotics. Studies proposed in the area of video overlays consider two factors in the implementation of augmented reality (AR) for operator displays during teleoperation. The first of these factors is the type of navigational guidance provided by AR symbology. In the proposed studies, participants performance during teleoperation of a robot arm will be compared when they are provided with command-guidance symbology (that is, directing the operator what commands to make) or situation-guidance symbology (that is, providing natural cues so that the operator can infer what commands to make). The second factor for AR symbology is the effects of overlays that are either superimposed or integrated into the external view of the world. A study is proposed in which the effects of superimposed and integrated overlays on operator task performance during teleoperated driving tasks are compared

Origami Wheel Transformer: A Variable-Diameter Wheel Drive Robot Using an Origami Structure.

PubMed

Lee, Dae-Young; Kim, Sa-Reum; Kim, Ji-Suk; Park, Jae-Jun; Cho, Kyu-Jin

2017-06-01

A wheel drive mechanism is simple, stable, and efficient, but its mobility in unstructured terrain is seriously limited. Using a deformable wheel is one of the ways to increase the mobility of a wheel drive robot. By changing the radius of its wheels, the robot becomes able to pass over not only high steps but also narrow gaps. In this article, we propose a novel design for a variable-diameter wheel using an origami-based soft robotics design approach. By simply folding a patterned sheet into a wheel shape, a variable-diameter wheel was built without requiring lots of mechanical parts and a complex assembly process. The wheel's diameter can change from 30 to 68 mm, and it is light in weight at about 9.7 g. Although composed of soft materials (fabrics and films), the wheel can bear more than 400 times its weight. The robot was able to change the wheel's radius in response to terrain conditions, allowing it to pass over a 50-mm gap when the wheel is shrunk and a 50-mm step when the wheel is enlarged.

Optimization of the Robotic Joint Equipped with Epicyloidal Gear and Direct Drive for Space Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seweryn, Karol; Grassmann, Kamil; Ciesielska, Monika; Rybus, Tomasz; Turek, Michal

2013-09-01

One of the most critical element in the orbital manipulators are kinematic joints. Joints must be adapted to work in tough conditions of space environment and must ensure the greatest efficiency and work without backlash. At the Space Mechatronics and Robotics Laboratory (LMRS) of the Space Research Centre, PAS our team designed and built a lightweight kinematic pair based on a new concept. The new concept is based on the epicycloid two-stage gearbox with torque motor. In this paper we have focused on optimization of the joint design for space application. The optimization was focused on the minimization of the mass and backlash effects and on maximizing the joint efficiency.

Robotic Attention Processing And Its Application To Visual Guidance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barth, Matthew; Inoue, Hirochika

1988-03-01

This paper describes a method of real-time visual attention processing for robots performing visual guidance. This robot attention processing is based on a novel vision processor, the multi-window vision system that was developed at the University of Tokyo. The multi-window vision system is unique in that it only processes visual information inside local area windows. These local area windows are quite flexible in their ability to move anywhere on the visual screen, change their size and shape, and alter their pixel sampling rate. By using these windows for specific attention tasks, it is possible to perform high speed attention processing. The primary attention skills of detecting motion, tracking an object, and interpreting an image are all performed at high speed on the multi-window vision system. A basic robotic attention scheme using the attention skills was developed. The attention skills involved detection and tracking of salient visual features. The tracking and motion information thus obtained was utilized in producing the response to the visual stimulus. The response of the attention scheme was quick enough to be applicable to the real-time vision processing tasks of playing a video 'pong' game, and later using an automobile driving simulator. By detecting the motion of a 'ball' on a video screen and then tracking the movement, the attention scheme was able to control a 'paddle' in order to keep the ball in play. The response was faster than that of a human's, allowing the attention scheme to play the video game at higher speeds. Further, in the application to the driving simulator, the attention scheme was able to control both direction and velocity of a simulated vehicle following a lead car. These two applications show the potential of local visual processing in its use for robotic attention processing.

A Compact Magnetic Field-Based Obstacle Detection and Avoidance System for Miniature Spherical Robots.

PubMed

Wu, Fang; Vibhute, Akash; Soh, Gim Song; Wood, Kristin L; Foong, Shaohui

2017-05-28

Due to their efficient locomotion and natural tolerance to hazardous environments, spherical robots have wide applications in security surveillance, exploration of unknown territory and emergency response. Numerous studies have been conducted on the driving mechanism, motion planning and trajectory tracking methods of spherical robots, yet very limited studies have been conducted regarding the obstacle avoidance capability of spherical robots. Most of the existing spherical robots rely on the "hit and run" technique, which has been argued to be a reasonable strategy because spherical robots have an inherent ability to recover from collisions. Without protruding components, they will not become stuck and can simply roll back after running into bstacles. However, for small scale spherical robots that contain sensitive surveillance sensors and cannot afford to utilize heavy protective shells, the absence of obstacle avoidance solutions would leave the robot at the mercy of potentially dangerous obstacles. In this paper, a compact magnetic field-based obstacle detection and avoidance system has been developed for miniature spherical robots. It utilizes a passive magnetic field so that the system is both compact and power efficient. The proposed system can detect not only the presence, but also the approaching direction of a ferromagnetic obstacle, therefore, an intelligent avoidance behavior can be generated by adapting the trajectory tracking method with the detection information. Design optimization is conducted to enhance the obstacle detection performance and detailed avoidance strategies are devised. Experimental results are also presented for validation purposes.

A 17 degree of freedom anthropomorphic manipulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vold, Havard I.; Karlen, James P.; Thompson, Jack M., Jr.; Farrell, James D.; Eismann, Paul H.

1989-01-01

A 17 axis anthropomorphic manipulator, providing coordinated control of two seven degree of freedom arms mounted on a three degree of freedom torso-waist assembly, is presented. This massively redundant telerobot, designated the Robotics Research K/B-2017 Dexterous Manipulator, employs a modular mechanism design with joint-mounted actuators based on brushless motors and harmonic drive gear reducers. Direct joint torque control at the servo level causes these high-output joint drives to behave like direct-drive actuators, facilitating the implementation of an effective impedance control scheme. The redundant, but conservative motion control system models the manipulator as a spring-loaded linkage with viscous damping and rotary inertia at each joint. This approach allows for real time, sensor-driven control of manipulator pose using a hierarchy of competing rules, or objective functions, to avoid unplanned collisions with objects in the workplace, to produce energy-efficient, graceful motion, to increase leverage, to control effective impedance at the tool or to favor overloaded joints.

Energy Efficient Legged Robotics at Sandia Labs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buerger, Steve

Sandia is developing energy efficient actuation and drive train technologies to dramatically improve the charge life of legged robots. The work is supported by DARPA, and Sandia will demonstrate an energy efficient bipedal robot at the technology exposition section of the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals in June, 2015. This video, the first in a series, describes early development and initial integration of the Sandia Transmission Efficient Prototype Promoting Research (STEPPR) robot.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

Team members of "Survey" drive their robot around the campus on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. The Survey team was one of the final teams participating in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams were challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Energy Efficient Legged Robotics at Sandia Labs

ScienceCinema

Buerger, Steve

2018-05-07

Sandia is developing energy efficient actuation and drive train technologies to dramatically improve the charge life of legged robots. The work is supported by DARPA, and Sandia will demonstrate an energy efficient bipedal robot at the technology exposition section of the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals in June, 2015. This video, the first in a series, describes early development and initial integration of the Sandia Transmission Efficient Prototype Promoting Research (STEPPR) robot.

Dynamic parameter identification of robot arms with servo-controlled electrical motors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Zhao-Hui; Senda, Hiroshi

2005-12-01

This paper addresses the issue of dynamic parameter identification of the robot manipulator with servo-controlled electrical motors. An assumption is made that all kinematical parameters, such as link lengths, are known, and only dynamic parameters containing mass, moment of inertia, and their functions need to be identified. First, we derive dynamics of the robot arm with a linear form of the unknown dynamic parameters by taking dynamic characteristics of the motor and servo unit into consideration. Then, we implement the parameter identification approach to identify the unknown parameters with respect to individual link separately. A pseudo-inverse matrix is used for formulation of the parameter identification. The optimal solution is guaranteed in a sense of least-squares of the mean errors. A Direct Drive (DD) SCARA type industrial robot arm AdeptOne is used as an application example of the parameter identification. Simulations and experiments for both open loop and close loop controls are carried out. Comparison of the results confirms the correctness and usefulness of the parameter identification and the derived dynamic model.

A neuro-inspired spike-based PID motor controller for multi-motor robots with low cost FPGAs.

PubMed

Jimenez-Fernandez, Angel; Jimenez-Moreno, Gabriel; Linares-Barranco, Alejandro; Dominguez-Morales, Manuel J; Paz-Vicente, Rafael; Civit-Balcells, Anton

2012-01-01

In this paper we present a neuro-inspired spike-based close-loop controller written in VHDL and implemented for FPGAs. This controller has been focused on controlling a DC motor speed, but only using spikes for information representation, processing and DC motor driving. It could be applied to other motors with proper driver adaptation. This controller architecture represents one of the latest layers in a Spiking Neural Network (SNN), which implements a bridge between robotics actuators and spike-based processing layers and sensors. The presented control system fuses actuation and sensors information as spikes streams, processing these spikes in hard real-time, implementing a massively parallel information processing system, through specialized spike-based circuits. This spike-based close-loop controller has been implemented into an AER platform, designed in our labs, that allows direct control of DC motors: the AER-Robot. Experimental results evidence the viability of the implementation of spike-based controllers, and hardware synthesis denotes low hardware requirements that allow replicating this controller in a high number of parallel controllers working together to allow a real-time robot control.

A Neuro-Inspired Spike-Based PID Motor Controller for Multi-Motor Robots with Low Cost FPGAs

PubMed Central

Jimenez-Fernandez, Angel; Jimenez-Moreno, Gabriel; Linares-Barranco, Alejandro; Dominguez-Morales, Manuel J.; Paz-Vicente, Rafael; Civit-Balcells, Anton

2012-01-01

In this paper we present a neuro-inspired spike-based close-loop controller written in VHDL and implemented for FPGAs. This controller has been focused on controlling a DC motor speed, but only using spikes for information representation, processing and DC motor driving. It could be applied to other motors with proper driver adaptation. This controller architecture represents one of the latest layers in a Spiking Neural Network (SNN), which implements a bridge between robotics actuators and spike-based processing layers and sensors. The presented control system fuses actuation and sensors information as spikes streams, processing these spikes in hard real-time, implementing a massively parallel information processing system, through specialized spike-based circuits. This spike-based close-loop controller has been implemented into an AER platform, designed in our labs, that allows direct control of DC motors: the AER-Robot. Experimental results evidence the viability of the implementation of spike-based controllers, and hardware synthesis denotes low hardware requirements that allow replicating this controller in a high number of parallel controllers working together to allow a real-time robot control. PMID:22666004

Design of a Compact Actuation and Control System for Flexible Medical Robots.

PubMed

Morimoto, Tania K; Hawkes, Elliot Wright; Okamura, Allison M

2017-07-01

Flexible medical robots can improve surgical procedures by decreasing invasiveness and increasing accessibility within the body. Using preoperative images, these robots can be designed to optimize a procedure for a particular patient. To minimize invasiveness and maximize biocompatibility, the actuation units of flexible medical robots should be placed fully outside the patient's body. In this letter, we present a novel, compact, lightweight, modular actuation, and control system for driving a class of these flexible robots, known as concentric tube robots. A key feature of the design is the use of three-dimensional printed waffle gears to enable compact control of two degrees of freedom within each module. We measure the precision and accuracy of a single actuation module and demonstrate the ability of an integrated set of three actuation modules to control six degrees of freedom. The integrated system drives a three-tube concentric tube robot to reach a final tip position that is on average less than 2 mm from a given target. In addition, we show a handheld manifestation of the device and present its potential applications.

Metaphors to Drive By: Exploring New Ways to Guide Human-Robot Interaction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

David J. Bruemmer; David I. Gertman; Curtis W. Nielsen

2007-08-01

Autonomous behaviors created by the research and development community are not being extensively utilized within energy, defense, security, or industrial contexts. This paper provides evidence that the interaction methods used alongside these behaviors may not provide a mental model that can be easily adopted or used by operators. Although autonomy has the potential to reduce overall workload, the use of robot behaviors often increased the complexity of the underlying interaction metaphor. This paper reports our development of new metaphors that support increased robot complexity without passing the complexity of the interaction onto the operator. Furthermore, we illustrate how recognition ofmore » problems in human-robot interactions can drive the creation of new metaphors for design and how human factors lessons in usability, human performance, and our social contract with technology have the potential for enormous payoff in terms of establishing effective, user-friendly robot systems when appropriate metaphors are used.« less

High-Efficiency Nested Hall Thrusters for Robotic Solar System Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hofer, Richard R.

2013-01-01

This work describes the scaling and design attributes of Nested Hall Thrusters (NHT) with extremely large operational envelopes, including a wide range of throttleability in power and specific impulse at high efficiency (>50%). NHTs have the potential to provide the game changing performance, powerprocessing capabilities, and cost effectiveness required to enable missions that cannot otherwise be accomplished. NHTs were first identified in the electric propulsion community as a path to 100- kW class thrusters for human missions. This study aimed to identify the performance capabilities NHTs can provide for NASA robotic and human missions, with an emphasis on 10-kW class thrusters well-suited for robotic exploration. A key outcome of this work has been the identification of NHTs as nearly constant-efficiency devices over large power throttling ratios, especially in direct-drive power systems. NHT systems sized for robotic solar system exploration are predicted to be capable of high-efficiency operation over nearly their entire power throttling range. A traditional Annular Hall Thruster (AHT) consists of a single annular discharge chamber where the propellant is ionized and accelerated. In an NHT, multiple annular channels are concentrically stacked. The channels can be operated in unison or individually depending on the available power or required performance. When throttling an AHT, performance must be sacrificed since a single channel cannot satisfy the diverse design attributes needed to maintain high thrust efficiency. NHTs can satisfy these requirements by varying which channels are operated and thereby offer significant benefits in terms of thruster performance, especially under deep power throttling conditions where the efficiency of an AHT suffers since a single channel can only operate efficiently (>50%) over a narrow power throttling ratio (3:1). Designs for 10-kW class NHTs were developed and compared with AHT systems. Power processing systems were considered using either traditional Power Processing Units (PPU) or Direct Drive Units (DDU). In a PPU-based system, power from the solar arrays is transformed from the low voltage of the arrays to the high voltage needed by the thruster. In a DDU-based system, power from the solar arrays is fed to the thruster without conversion. DDU-based systems are attractive for their simplicity since they eliminate the most complex and expensive part of the propulsion system. The results point to the strong potential of NHTs operating with either PPUs or DDUs to benefit robotic and human missions through their unprecedented power and specific impulse throttling capabilities. NHTs coupled to traditional PPUs are predicted to offer high-efficiency (>50%) power throttling ratios 320% greater than present capabilities, while NHTs with direct-drive power systems (DDU) could exceed existing capabilities by 340%. Because the NHT-DDU approach is implicitly low-cost, NHT-DDU technology has the potential to radically reduce the cost of SEP-enabled NASA missions while simultaneously enabling unprecedented performance capability.

Energy Efficient Legged Robotics at Sandia Labs, Part 2

ScienceCinema

Buerger, Steve; Mazumdar, Ani; Spencer, Steve

2018-01-16

Sandia is developing energy efficient actuation and drive train technologies to dramatically improve the charge life of legged robots. The work is supported by DARPA, and Sandia will demonstrate an energy efficient bipedal robot at the technology exposition section of the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals in June, 2015. This video, the second in a series, describes the continued development and integration of the Sandia Transmission Efficient Prototype Promoting Research (STEPPR) robot.

Energy Efficient Legged Robotics at Sandia Labs, Part 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buerger, Steve; Mazumdar, Ani; Spencer, Steve

Sandia is developing energy efficient actuation and drive train technologies to dramatically improve the charge life of legged robots. The work is supported by DARPA, and Sandia will demonstrate an energy efficient bipedal robot at the technology exposition section of the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals in June, 2015. This video, the second in a series, describes the continued development and integration of the Sandia Transmission Efficient Prototype Promoting Research (STEPPR) robot.

Design and experimental validation of a simple controller for a multi-segment magnetic crawler robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelley, Leah; Ostovari, Saam; Burmeister, Aaron B.; Talke, Kurt A.; Pezeshkian, Narek; Rahimi, Amin; Hart, Abraham B.; Nguyen, Hoa G.

2015-05-01

A novel, multi-segmented magnetic crawler robot has been designed for ship hull inspection. In its simplest version, passive linkages that provide two degrees of relative motion connect front and rear driving modules, so the robot can twist and turn. This permits its navigation over surface discontinuities while maintaining its adhesion to the hull. During operation, the magnetic crawler receives forward and turning velocity commands from either a tele-operator or high-level, autonomous control computer. A low-level, embedded microcomputer handles the commands to the driving motors. This paper presents the development of a simple, low-level, leader-follower controller that permits the rear module to follow the front module. The kinematics and dynamics of the two-module magnetic crawler robot are described. The robot's geometry, kinematic constraints and the user-commanded velocities are used to calculate the desired instantaneous center of rotation and the corresponding central-linkage angle necessary for the back module to follow the front module when turning. The commands to the rear driving motors are determined by applying PID control on the error between the desired and measured linkage angle position. The controller is designed and tested using Matlab Simulink. It is then implemented and tested on an early two-module magnetic crawler prototype robot. Results of the simulations and experimental validation of the controller design are presented.

Design and experiment of a small-scale walking robot employing stick-slip motion principle.

PubMed

Wang, Gangqiang; Li, Chaodong; Yuan, Tao

2017-11-01

We describe the design and control of a four legged walking robot, 45 g in weight and 130 mm × 105 mm × 25 mm in size. Each leg consists of two piezoelectric bimorph actuators that are bonded at the free end by a flexure and an end-effector. The robot generates stick-slip locomotion when applying sawtooth shaped voltage signals. Friction between legs and a contact surface is analyzed by using the Coulomb friction model. Locomotion characteristics are measured in several experiments. The robot was driven with frequencies up to 75 Hz, and a maximum velocity of 65 mm/s was obtained at two frequencies: 45 Hz with 190 Vpp driving voltage and 60 Hz with 170 Vpp driving voltage, respectively.

Design and experiment of a small-scale walking robot employing stick-slip motion principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Gangqiang; Li, Chaodong; Yuan, Tao

2017-11-01

We describe the design and control of a four legged walking robot, 45 g in weight and 130 mm × 105 mm × 25 mm in size. Each leg consists of two piezoelectric bimorph actuators that are bonded at the free end by a flexure and an end-effector. The robot generates stick-slip locomotion when applying sawtooth shaped voltage signals. Friction between legs and a contact surface is analyzed by using the Coulomb friction model. Locomotion characteristics are measured in several experiments. The robot was driven with frequencies up to 75 Hz, and a maximum velocity of 65 mm/s was obtained at two frequencies: 45 Hz with 190 Vpp driving voltage and 60 Hz with 170 Vpp driving voltage, respectively.

SDRE control strategy applied to a nonlinear robotic including drive motor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lima, Jeferson J. de, E-mail: jefersonjl82@gmail.com, E-mail: tusset@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: fcjanzen@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: piccirillo@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: claudinor@utfpr.edu.br; Tusset, Angelo M., E-mail: jefersonjl82@gmail.com, E-mail: tusset@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: fcjanzen@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: piccirillo@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: claudinor@utfpr.edu.br; Janzen, Frederic C., E-mail: jefersonjl82@gmail.com, E-mail: tusset@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: fcjanzen@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: piccirillo@utfpr.edu.br, E-mail: claudinor@utfpr.edu.br

A robotic control design considering all the inherent nonlinearities of the robot-engine configuration is developed. The interactions between the robot and joint motor drive mechanism are considered. The proposed control combines two strategies, one feedforward control in order to maintain the system in the desired coordinate, and feedback control system to take the system into a desired coordinate. The feedback control is obtained using State-Dependent Riccati Equation (SDRE). For link positioning two cases are considered. Case I: For control positioning, it is only used motor voltage; Case II: For control positioning, it is used both motor voltage and torque betweenmore » the links. Simulation results, including parametric uncertainties in control shows the feasibility of the proposed control for the considered system.« less

ARC-2010-ACD10-0052-214

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-03-20

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology; FIRST Robotics Competition 2010 Silicon Valley Regional held at San Jose State University, San Jose, California cheesy Poofs team 254 driving the robot

Electric drive motors for industrial robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fichtner, K.

1985-04-01

In robotized industrial plants it is possible to use electric motors in the technological process and also for control, assembly, transport, testing, and measurements. Particularly suitable for these applications are permanent-magnet d.c. motors. A new special series was developed for industrial robots with hinge joints in kinematic pairs. The complete drive includes thyristors or transistor controls with regulators and, if necessary, a line transformer as well as a servomotor with tachometer and odometer for speed, current, and position control. The drive is coupled to a robot tong through mechanical torque and force converters. In addition to a 0 to 4000 rpm speed regulation, without wobble at low speeds, and a high torque-to-weight ratio for repetitive short-time heavy duty, these low-inertia motors develop high starting and accelerating torques over the entire speed range. They operate from a 1 to O 220 V a.c. line through a rectifier. The motors are totally enclosed, or of open construction for better ventilation. Their windings have class F insulation for operation at ambient temperatures up to 40 C.

Estimating Tool–Tissue Forces Using a 3-Degree-of-Freedom Robotic Surgical Tool

PubMed Central

Zhao, Baoliang; Nelson, Carl A.

2016-01-01

Robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has gained popularity due to its high dexterity and reduced invasiveness to the patient; however, due to the loss of direct touch of the surgical site, surgeons may be prone to exert larger forces and cause tissue damage. To quantify tool–tissue interaction forces, researchers have tried to attach different kinds of sensors on the surgical tools. This sensor attachment generally makes the tools bulky and/or unduly expensive and may hinder the normal function of the tools; it is also unlikely that these sensors can survive harsh sterilization processes. This paper investigates an alternative method by estimating tool–tissue interaction forces using driving motors' current, and validates this sensorless force estimation method on a 3-degree-of-freedom (DOF) robotic surgical grasper prototype. The results show that the performance of this method is acceptable with regard to latency and accuracy. With this tool–tissue interaction force estimation method, it is possible to implement force feedback on existing robotic surgical systems without any sensors. This may allow a haptic surgical robot which is compatible with existing sterilization methods and surgical procedures, so that the surgeon can obtain tool–tissue interaction forces in real time, thereby increasing surgical efficiency and safety. PMID:27303591

Estimating Tool-Tissue Forces Using a 3-Degree-of-Freedom Robotic Surgical Tool.

PubMed

Zhao, Baoliang; Nelson, Carl A

2016-10-01

Robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has gained popularity due to its high dexterity and reduced invasiveness to the patient; however, due to the loss of direct touch of the surgical site, surgeons may be prone to exert larger forces and cause tissue damage. To quantify tool-tissue interaction forces, researchers have tried to attach different kinds of sensors on the surgical tools. This sensor attachment generally makes the tools bulky and/or unduly expensive and may hinder the normal function of the tools; it is also unlikely that these sensors can survive harsh sterilization processes. This paper investigates an alternative method by estimating tool-tissue interaction forces using driving motors' current, and validates this sensorless force estimation method on a 3-degree-of-freedom (DOF) robotic surgical grasper prototype. The results show that the performance of this method is acceptable with regard to latency and accuracy. With this tool-tissue interaction force estimation method, it is possible to implement force feedback on existing robotic surgical systems without any sensors. This may allow a haptic surgical robot which is compatible with existing sterilization methods and surgical procedures, so that the surgeon can obtain tool-tissue interaction forces in real time, thereby increasing surgical efficiency and safety.

Surf-zone Underwater Robotic Demonstration Platform

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

dynamically advantageous shape for a robotic system. To address locomotive factors ARA completed a research and technical study based on an Archimedes ...effective hull shape. To study mobility and traction a propulsion system based on an Archimedes screw drive was used. A drive design based on an... Archimedes screw was chosen because of its ability to operate in various mediums with varying flow rates. A test bed was designed and assembled in order to

Redundant drive current imbalance problem of the Automatic Radiator Inspection Device (ARID)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Latino, Carl D.

1992-01-01

The Automatic Radiator Inspection Device (ARID) is a 4 Degree of Freedom (DOF) robot with redundant drive motors at each joint. The device is intended to automate the labor intensive task of space shuttle radiator inspection. For safety and redundancy, each joint is driven by two independent motor systems. Motors driving the same joint, however, draw vastly different currents. The concern was that the robot joints could be subjected to undue stress. It was the objective of this summer's project to determine the cause of this current imbalance. In addition it was to determine, in a quantitative manner, what was the cause, how serious the problem was in terms of damage or undue wear to the robot and find solutions if possible. It was concluded that most problems could be resolved with a better motor control design. This document discusses problems encountered and possible solutions.

Adaptive torque estimation of robot joint with harmonic drive transmission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Zhiguo; Li, Yuankai; Liu, Guangjun

2017-11-01

Robot joint torque estimation using input and output position measurements is a promising technique, but the result may be affected by the load variation of the joint. In this paper, a torque estimation method with adaptive robustness and optimality adjustment according to load variation is proposed for robot joint with harmonic drive transmission. Based on a harmonic drive model and a redundant adaptive robust Kalman filter (RARKF), the proposed approach can adapt torque estimation filtering optimality and robustness to the load variation by self-tuning the filtering gain and self-switching the filtering mode between optimal and robust. The redundant factor of RARKF is designed as a function of the motor current for tolerating the modeling error and load-dependent filtering mode switching. The proposed joint torque estimation method has been experimentally studied in comparison with a commercial torque sensor and two representative filtering methods. The results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed torque estimation technique.

Robots, Jobs, and Education. State-of-the-Art Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benton, Oliver; Branch, Charles W.

The purpose of this paper is to assist those in education, government, and industry who are responsible for managing vocational and technical training in their decisions about what programs should be initiated to accommodate the growing use of robots. Section 1 describes robot characteristics (type of drive, method of teaching, lifting capacity,…

A Mobile Robot for Small Object Handling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fišer, Ondřej; Szűcsová, Hana; Grimmer, Vladimír; Popelka, Jan; Vonásek, Vojtěch; Krajník, Tomáš; Chudoba, Jan

The aim of this paper is to present an intelligent autonomous robot capable of small object manipulation. The design of the robot is influenced mainly by the rules of EUROBOT 09 competition. In this challenge, two robots pick up objects scattered on a planar rectangular playfield and use these elements to build models of Hellenistic temples. This paper describes the robot hardware, i.e. electro-mechanics of the drive, chassis and manipulator, as well as the software, i.e. localization, collision avoidance, motion control and planning algorithms.

Operational space trajectory tracking control of robot manipulators endowed with a primary controller of synthetic joint velocity.

PubMed

Moreno-Valenzuela, Javier; González-Hernández, Luis

2011-01-01

In this paper, a new control algorithm for operational space trajectory tracking control of robot arms is introduced. The new algorithm does not require velocity measurement and is based on (1) a primary controller which incorporates an algorithm to obtain synthesized velocity from joint position measurements and (2) a secondary controller which computes the desired joint acceleration and velocity required to achieve operational space motion control. The theory of singularly perturbed systems is crucial for the analysis of the closed-loop system trajectories. In addition, the practical viability of the proposed algorithm is explored through real-time experiments in a two degrees-of-freedom horizontal planar direct-drive arm. Copyright © 2010 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sandia National Laboratories proof-of-concept robotic security vehicle

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harrington, J.J.; Jones, D.P.; Klarer, P.R.

1989-01-01

Several years ago Sandia National Laboratories developed a prototype interior robot that could navigate autonomously inside a large complex building to air and test interior intrusion detection systems. Recently the Department of Energy Office of Safeguards and Security has supported the development of a vehicle that will perform limited security functions autonomously in a structured exterior environment. The goal of the first phase of this project was to demonstrate the feasibility of an exterior robotic vehicle for security applications by using converted interior robot technology, if applicable. An existing teleoperational test bed vehicle with remote driving controls was modified andmore » integrated with a newly developed command driving station and navigation system hardware and software to form the Robotic Security Vehicle (RSV) system. The RSV, also called the Sandia Mobile Autonomous Navigator (SANDMAN), has been successfully used to demonstrate that teleoperated security vehicles which can perform limited autonomous functions are viable and have the potential to decrease security manpower requirements and improve system capabilities. 2 refs., 3 figs.« less

Finite State Machine with Adaptive Electromyogram (EMG) Feature Extraction to Drive Meal Assistance Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiu; Wang, Xingyu; Wang, Bei; Sugi, Takenao; Nakamura, Masatoshi

Surface electromyogram (EMG) from elbow, wrist and hand has been widely used as an input of multifunction prostheses for many years. However, for patients with high-level limb deficiencies, muscle activities in upper-limbs are not strong enough to be used as control signals. In this paper, EMG from lower-limbs is acquired and applied to drive a meal assistance robot. An onset detection method with adaptive threshold based on EMG power is proposed to recognize different muscle contractions. Predefined control commands are output by finite state machine (FSM), and applied to operate the robot. The performance of EMG control is compared with joystick control by both objective and subjective indices. The results show that FSM provides the user with an easy-performing control strategy, which successfully operates robots with complicated control commands by limited muscle motions. The high accuracy and comfortableness of the EMG-control meal assistance robot make it feasible for users with upper limbs motor disabilities.

University of Maryland walking robot: A design project for undergraduate students

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olsen, Bob; Bielec, Jim; Hartsig, Dave; Oliva, Mani; Grotheer, Phil; Hekmat, Morad; Russell, David; Tavakoli, Hossein; Young, Gary; Nave, Tom

1990-01-01

The design and construction required that the walking robot machine be capable of completing a number of tasks including walking in a straight line, turning to change direction, and maneuvering over an obstable such as a set of stairs. The machine consists of two sets of four telescoping legs that alternately support the entire structure. A gear-box and crank-arm assembly is connected to the leg sets to provide the power required for the translational motion of the machine. By retracting all eight legs, the robot comes to rest on a central Bigfoot support. Turning is accomplished by rotating the machine about this support. The machine can be controlled by using either a user operated remote tether or the on-board computer for the execution of control commands. Absolute encoders are attached to all motors (leg, main drive, and Bigfoot) to provide the control computer with information regarding the status of the motors (up-down motion, forward or reverse rotation). Long and short range infrared sensors provide the computer with feedback information regarding the machine's relative position to a series of stripes and reflectors. These infrared sensors simulate how the robot might sense and gain information about the environment of Mars.

Agile and dexterous robot for inspection and EOD operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Handelman, David A.; Franken, Gordon H.; Komsuoglu, Haldun

2010-04-01

The All-Terrain Biped (ATB) robot is an unmanned ground vehicle with arms, legs and wheels designed to drive, crawl, walk and manipulate objects for inspection and explosive ordnance disposal tasks. This paper summarizes on-going development of the ATB platform. Control technology for semi-autonomous legged mobility and dual-arm dexterity is described as well as preliminary simulation and hardware test results. Performance goals include driving on flat terrain, crawling on steep terrain, walking on stairs, opening doors and grasping objects. Anticipated benefits of the adaptive mobility and dexterity of the ATB platform include increased robot agility and autonomy for EOD operations, reduced operator workload and reduced operator training and skill requirements.

Mars Exploration Rover surface operations: driving opportunity at Meridiani Planum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biesiadecki, Jeffrey J.; Baumgartner, E.; Bonitz, R.; Cooper, B.; Hartman, F.; Leger, C.; Maimone, M.; Maxwell, S.; Trebi-Ollenu, A.; Wright, J.

2005-01-01

This paper will detail the experience of driving Opportunity through this alien landscape from the point of view of the Rover Planners, the people who tell the rover where to drive and how to use its robotic arm.

Teleoperation of an experimental mobile vehicle via a free-space optical laser line-of-sight communication link for use in nuclear power plant environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girach, Khalid; Bouazza-Marouf, K.; Kerr, David; Hewit, Jim

1994-11-01

The paper describes the investigations carried out to implement a line of sight control and communication link for a mobile robot vehicle for use in structured nuclear semi-hazardous environments. Line of sight free space optical laser communication links for remote teleoperation have important applications in hazardous environments. They have certain advantages over radio/microwave links and umbilical control such as greater protection against generation of and susceptance to electro-magnetic fields. The cable-less environment provides increased integrity and mechanical freedom to the mobile robot. However, to maintain the communication link, continuous point and tracking is required between the base station and the mobile vehicle. This paper presents a novel two ended optical tracking system utilizing the communication laser beams and photodetectors. The mobile robot is a six wheel drive vehicle with a manipulator arm which can operate in a variety of terrain. The operator obtains visual feedback information from cameras placed on the vehicle. From this information, the speed and direction of the vehicle can be controlled from a joystick panel. We describe the investigations carried out for the communication of analogue video and digital data signals over the laser link for speed and direction control.

Design and Integration of a Three Degrees-of-Freedom Robotic Vehicle with Control Moment Gyro for the Autonomous Multi-Agent Physically Interacting Spacecraft (AMPHIS) Testbed

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-09-01

required directional control for each thruster due to their high precision and equivalent power and computer interface requirements to those for the...Universal Serial Bus) ports, LPT (Line Printing Terminal) and KVM (Keyboard-Video- Mouse) interfaces. Additionally, power is supplied to the computer through...of the IDE cable to the Prometheus Development Kit ACC-IDEEXT. Connect a small drive power connector from the desktop ATX power supply to the ACC

Cryobot: an ice penetrating robotic vehicle for Mars and Europa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zimmerman, W. F.; Bonitz, R.; Feldman, J.

2001-01-01

This paper describes the science driven requirements for a robotic vehicle, which utilizes gravity, and both passive and active heating systems to drive ice to a liquid phase change state, in order to facilitate mobility.

Training a Network of Electronic Neurons for Control of a Mobile Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vromen, T. G. M.; Steur, E.; Nijmeijer, H.

An adaptive training procedure is developed for a network of electronic neurons, which controls a mobile robot driving around in an unknown environment while avoiding obstacles. The neuronal network controls the angular velocity of the wheels of the robot based on the sensor readings. The nodes in the neuronal network controller are clusters of neurons rather than single neurons. The adaptive training procedure ensures that the input-output behavior of the clusters is identical, even though the constituting neurons are nonidentical and have, in isolation, nonidentical responses to the same input. In particular, we let the neurons interact via a diffusive coupling, and the proposed training procedure modifies the diffusion interaction weights such that the neurons behave synchronously with a predefined response. The working principle of the training procedure is experimentally validated and results of an experiment with a mobile robot that is completely autonomously driving in an unknown environment with obstacles are presented.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

NASA Program Manager for Centennial Challenges Sam Ortega help show a young visitor how to drive a rover as part of the interactive NASA Mars rover exhibit during the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) "TouchTomorrow" education and outreach event that was held in tandem with the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. The NASA-WPI challenge tasked robotic teams to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Workshop on Critical ORI Issues Held in Bordeaux, France on OCtober 27 - 29, 1992. Program and Abstracts.

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-10-29

These people try to make their robotic vehicle as intelligent and autonomous as possible with the current state of technology. The robot only interacts... Robotics Peter J. Burt David Sarnoff Research Center Princeton, NJ 08543-5300 U.S.A. The ability of an operator to drive a remotely piloted vehicle depends...RESUPPLY - System which can rapidly and autonomously load and unload palletized ammunition. (18) AUTONOMOUS COMBAT EVACUATION VEHICLE - Robotic arms

Project based, Collaborative, Algorithmic Robotics for High School Students: Programming Self Driving Race Cars at MIT

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-19

software systems: the students design and build robotics software towards real-world applications, without being distracted by hardware issues; (ii) it...high school students require the students to focus on building and integrating the hardware that make up the robot, at the expense of designing and...robotics programs focus on the mechanics; as a result, they do not have room for students to design and implement relatively complex software systems, as

A review of physical security robotics at Sandia National Laboratories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roerig, S.C.

1990-01-01

As an outgrowth of research into physical security technologies, Sandia is investigating the role of robotics in security systems. Robotics may allow more effective utilization of guard forces, especially in scenarios where personnel would be exposed to harmful environments. Robots can provide intrusion detection and assessment functions for failed sensors or transient assets, can test existing fixed site sensors, and can gather additional intelligence and dispense delaying elements. The Robotic Security Vehicle (RSV) program for DOE/OSS is developing a fieldable prototype for an exterior physical security robot based upon a commercial four wheel drive vehicle. The RSV will be capablemore » of driving itself, being driven remotely, or being driven by an onboard operator around a site and will utilize its sensors to alert an operator to unusual conditions. The Remote Security Station (RSS) program for the Defense Nuclear Agency is developing a proof-of-principle robotic system which will be used to evaluate the role, and associated cost, of robotic technologies in exterior security systems. The RSS consists of an independent sensor pod, a mobile sensor platform and a control and display console. Sensor data fusion is used to optimize the system's intrusion detection performance. These programs are complementary, the RSV concentrates on developing autonomous mobility, while the RSS thrust is on mobile sensor employment. 3 figs.« less

Control of flexible robots with prismatic joints and hydraulic drives

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Love, L.J.; Kress, R.L.; Jansen, J.F.

1997-03-01

The design and control of long-reach, flexible manipulators has been an active research topic for over 20 years. Most of the research to date has focused on single link, fixed length, single plane of vibration test beds. In addition, actuation has been predominantly based upon electromagnetic motors. Ironically, these elements are rarely found in the existing industrial long-reach systems. One example is the Modified Light Duty Utility Arm (MLDUA) designed and built by Spar Aerospace for Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This arm operates in larger, underground waste storage tanks located at ORNL. The size and nature of the tanksmore » require that the robot have a reach of approximately 15 ft and a payload capacity of 250 lb. In order to achieve these criteria, each joint is hydraulically actuated. Furthermore, the robot has a prismatic degree-of-freedom to ease deployment. When fully extended, the robot`s first natural frequency is 1.76 Hz. Many of the projected tasks, coupled with the robot`s flexibility, present an interesting problem. How will many of the existing flexure control algorithms perform on a hydraulic, long-reach manipulator with prismatic links? To minimize cost and risk of testing these algorithms on the MLDUA, the authors have designed a new test bed that contains many of the same elements. This manuscript described a new hydraulically actuated, long-reach manipulator with a flexible prismatic link at ORNL. Focus is directed toward both modeling and control of hydraulic actuators as well as flexible links that have variable natural frequencies.« less

A power autonomous monopedal robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krupp, Benjamin T.; Pratt, Jerry E.

2006-05-01

We present the design and initial results of a power-autonomous planar monopedal robot. The robot is a gasoline powered, two degree of freedom robot that runs in a circle, constrained by a boom. The robot uses hydraulic Series Elastic Actuators, force-controllable actuators which provide high force fidelity, moderate bandwidth, and low impedance. The actuators are mounted in the body of the robot, with cable drives transmitting power to the hip and knee joints of the leg. A two-stroke, gasoline engine drives a constant displacement pump which pressurizes an accumulator. Absolute position and spring deflection of each of the Series Elastic Actuators are measured using linear encoders. The spring deflection is translated into force output and compared to desired force in a closed loop force-control algorithm implemented in software. The output signal of each force controller drives high performance servo valves which control flow to each of the pistons of the actuators. In designing the robot, we used a simulation-based iterative design approach. Preliminary estimates of the robot's physical parameters were based on past experience and used to create a physically realistic simulation model of the robot. Next, a control algorithm was implemented in simulation to produce planar hopping. Using the joint power requirements and range of motions from simulation, we worked backward specifying pulley diameter, piston diameter and stroke, hydraulic pressure and flow, servo valve flow and bandwidth, gear pump flow, and engine power requirements. Components that meet or exceed these specifications were chosen and integrated into the robot design. Using CAD software, we calculated the physical parameters of the robot design, replaced the original estimates with the CAD estimates, and produced new joint power requirements. We iterated on this process, resulting in a design which was prototyped and tested. The Monopod currently runs at approximately 1.2 m/s with the weight of all the power generating components, but powered from an off-board pump. On a test stand, the eventual on-board power system generates enough pressure and flow to meet the requirements of these runs and we are currently integrating the power system into the real robot. When operated from an off-board system without carrying the weight of the power generating components, the robot currently runs at approximately 2.25 m/s. Ongoing work is focused on integrating the power system into the robot, improving the control algorithm, and investigating methods for improving efficiency.

Trajectory control of an articulated robot with a parallel drive arm based on splines under tension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Seung-Jong

Today's industrial robots controlled by mini/micro computers are basically simple positioning devices. The positioning accuracy depends on the mathematical description of the robot configuration to place the end-effector at the desired position and orientation within the workspace and on following the specified path which requires the trajectory planner. In addition, the consideration of joint velocity, acceleration, and jerk trajectories are essential for trajectory planning of industrial robots to obtain smooth operation. The newly designed 6 DOF articulated robot with a parallel drive arm mechanism which permits the joint actuators to be placed in the same horizontal line to reduce the arm inertia and to increase load capacity and stiffness is selected. First, the forward kinematic and inverse kinematic problems are examined. The forward kinematic equations are successfully derived based on Denavit-Hartenberg notation with independent joint angle constraints. The inverse kinematic problems are solved using the arm-wrist partitioned approach with independent joint angle constraints. Three types of curve fitting methods used in trajectory planning, i.e., certain degree polynomial functions, cubic spline functions, and cubic spline functions under tension, are compared to select the best possible method to satisfy both smooth joint trajectories and positioning accuracy for a robot trajectory planner. Cubic spline functions under tension is the method selected for the new trajectory planner. This method is implemented for a 6 DOF articulated robot with a parallel drive arm mechanism to improve the smoothness of the joint trajectories and the positioning accuracy of the manipulator. Also, this approach is compared with existing trajectory planners, 4-3-4 polynomials and cubic spline functions, via circular arc motion simulations. The new trajectory planner using cubic spline functions under tension is implemented into the microprocessor based robot controller and motors to produce combined arc and straight-line motion. The simulation and experiment show interesting results by demonstrating smooth motion in both acceleration and jerk and significant improvements of positioning accuracy in trajectory planning.

Biologically-inspired hexapod robot design and simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Espenschied, Kenneth S.; Quinn, Roger D.

1994-01-01

The design and construction of a biologically-inspired hexapod robot is presented. A previously developed simulation is modified to include models of the DC drive motors, the motor driver circuits and their transmissions. The application of this simulation to the design and development of the robot is discussed. The mechanisms thought to be responsible for the leg coordination of the walking stick insect were previously applied to control the straight-line locomotion of a robot. We generalized these rules for a robot walking on a plane. This biologically-inspired control strategy is used to control the robot in simulation. Numerical results show that the general body motion and performance of the simulated robot is similar to that of the robot based on our preliminary experimental results.

Biodegradable and edible gelatine actuators for use as artificial muscles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chambers, L. D.; Winfield, J.; Ieropoulos, I.; Rossiter, J.

2014-03-01

The expense and use of non-recyclable materials often requires the retrieval and recovery of exploratory robots. Therefore, conventional materials such as plastics and metals in robotics can be limiting. For applications such as environmental monitoring, a fully biodegradable or edible robot may provide the optimum solution. Materials that provide power and actuation as well as biodegradability provide a compelling dimension to future robotic systems. To highlight the potential of novel biodegradable and edible materials as artificial muscles, the actuation of a biodegradable hydrogel was investigated. The fabricated gelatine based polymer gel was inexpensive, easy to handle, biodegradable and edible. The electro-mechanical performance was assessed using two contactless, parallel stainless steel electrodes immersed in 0.1M NaOH solution and fixed 40 mm apart with the strip actuator pinned directly between the electrodes. The actuation displacement in response to a bias voltage was measured over hydration/de-hydration cycles. Long term (11 days) and short term (1 hour) investigations demonstrated the bending behaviour of the swollen material in response to an electric field. Actuation voltage was low (<10 V) resulting in a slow actuation response with large displacement angles (<55 degrees). The stability of the immersed material decreased within the first hour due to swelling, however, was recovered on de-hydrating between actuations. The controlled degradation of biodegradable and edible artificial muscles could help to drive the development of environmentally friendly robotics.

RoboSimian Driving

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-06-09

JPL's RoboSimian drives a four-wheeled vehicle through a slalom course at the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals in Pomona, California. This image was taken on June 6, 2015. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19325

Gear bearing drive

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mavroidis, Constantinos (Inventor); Vranish, John M. (Inventor); Weinberg, Brian (Inventor)

2011-01-01

A gear bearing drive provides a compact mechanism that operates as an actuator providing torque and as a joint providing support. The drive includes a gear arrangement integrating an external rotor DC motor within a sun gear. Locking surfaces maintain the components of the drive in alignment and provide support for axial loads and moments. The gear bearing drive has a variety of applications, including as a joint in robotic arms and prosthetic limbs.

Experiments in advanced control concepts for space robotics - An overview of the Stanford Aerospace Robotics Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hollars, M. G.; Cannon, R. H., Jr.; Alexander, H. L.; Morse, D. F.

1987-01-01

The Stanford University Aerospace Robotics Laboratory is actively developing and experimentally testing advanced robot control strategies for space robotic applications. Early experiments focused on control of very lightweight one-link manipulators and other flexible structures. The results are being extended to position and force control of mini-manipulators attached to flexible manipulators and multilink manipulators with flexible drive trains. Experimental results show that end-point sensing and careful dynamic modeling or adaptive control are key to the success of these control strategies. Free-flying space robot simulators that operate on an air cushion table have been built to test control strategies in which the dynamics of the base of the robot and the payload are important.

Mobility of lightweight robots over snow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lever, James H.; Shoop, Sally A.

2006-05-01

Snowfields are challenging terrain for lightweight (<50 kg) unmanned ground vehicles. Deep sinkage, high snowcompaction resistance, traction loss while turning and ingestion of snow into the drive train can cause immobility within a few meters of travel. However, for suitably designed vehicles, deep snow offers a smooth, uniform surface that can obliterate obstacles. Key requirements for good over-snow mobility are low ground pressure, large clearance relative to vehicle size and a drive system that tolerates cohesive snow. A small robot will invariably encounter deep snow relative to its ground clearance. Because a single snowstorm can easily deposit 30 cm of fresh snow, robots with ground clearance less than about 10 cm must travel over the snow rather than gain support from the underlying ground. This can be accomplished using low-pressure tracks (< 1.5 kPa). Even still, snow-compaction resistance can exceed 20% of vehicle weight. Also, despite relatively high traction coefficients for low track pressures, differential or skid steering is difficult because the outboard track can easily break traction as the vehicle attempts to turn against the snow. Short track lengths (relative to track separation) or coupled articulated robots offer steering solutions for deep snow. This paper presents preliminary guidance to design lightweight robots for good mobility over snow based on mobility theory and tests of PackBot, Talon and SnoBot, a custom-designed research robot. Because many other considerations constrain robot designs, this guidance can help with development of winterization kits to improve the over-snow performance of existing robots.

Disposable Fluidic Actuators for Miniature In-Vivo Surgical Robotics.

PubMed

Pourghodrat, Abolfazl; Nelson, Carl A

2017-03-01

Fusion of robotics and minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has created new opportunities to develop diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Surgical robotics is advancing from externally actuated systems to miniature in-vivo robotics. However, with miniaturization of electric-motor-driven surgical robots, there comes a trade-off between the size of the robot and its capability. Slow actuation, low load capacity, sterilization difficulties, leaking electricity and transferring produced heat to tissues, and high cost are among the key limitations of the use of electric motors in in-vivo applications. Fluid power in the form of hydraulics or pneumatics has a long history in driving many industrial devices and could be exploited to circumvent these limitations. High power density and good compatibility with the in-vivo environment are the key advantages of fluid power over electric motors when it comes to in-vivo applications. However, fabrication of hydraulic/pneumatic actuators within the desired size and pressure range required for in-vivo surgical robotic applications poses new challenges. Sealing these types of miniature actuators at operating pressures requires obtaining very fine surface finishes which is difficult and costly. The research described here presents design, fabrication, and testing of a hydraulic/pneumatic double-acting cylinder, a limited-motion vane motor, and a balloon-actuated laparoscopic grasper. These actuators are small, seal-less, easy to fabricate, disposable, and inexpensive, thus ideal for single-use in-vivo applications. To demonstrate the ability of these actuators to drive robotic joints, they were modified and integrated in a robotic arm. The design and testing of this surgical robotic arm are presented to validate the concept of fluid-power actuators for in-vivo applications.

Disposable Fluidic Actuators for Miniature In-Vivo Surgical Robotics

PubMed Central

Pourghodrat, Abolfazl; Nelson, Carl A.

2017-01-01

Fusion of robotics and minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has created new opportunities to develop diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Surgical robotics is advancing from externally actuated systems to miniature in-vivo robotics. However, with miniaturization of electric-motor-driven surgical robots, there comes a trade-off between the size of the robot and its capability. Slow actuation, low load capacity, sterilization difficulties, leaking electricity and transferring produced heat to tissues, and high cost are among the key limitations of the use of electric motors in in-vivo applications. Fluid power in the form of hydraulics or pneumatics has a long history in driving many industrial devices and could be exploited to circumvent these limitations. High power density and good compatibility with the in-vivo environment are the key advantages of fluid power over electric motors when it comes to in-vivo applications. However, fabrication of hydraulic/pneumatic actuators within the desired size and pressure range required for in-vivo surgical robotic applications poses new challenges. Sealing these types of miniature actuators at operating pressures requires obtaining very fine surface finishes which is difficult and costly. The research described here presents design, fabrication, and testing of a hydraulic/pneumatic double-acting cylinder, a limited-motion vane motor, and a balloon-actuated laparoscopic grasper. These actuators are small, seal-less, easy to fabricate, disposable, and inexpensive, thus ideal for single-use in-vivo applications. To demonstrate the ability of these actuators to drive robotic joints, they were modified and integrated in a robotic arm. The design and testing of this surgical robotic arm are presented to validate the concept of fluid-power actuators for in-vivo applications. PMID:28070227

Solar Thermal Utility-Scale Joint Venture Program (USJVP) Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

MANCINI,THOMAS R.

2001-04-01

Several years ago Sandia National Laboratories developed a prototype interior robot [1] that could navigate autonomously inside a large complex building to aid and test interior intrusion detection systems. Recently the Department of Energy Office of Safeguards and Security has supported the development of a vehicle that will perform limited security functions autonomously in a structured exterior environment. The goal of the first phase of this project was to demonstrate the feasibility of an exterior robotic vehicle for security applications by using converted interior robot technology, if applicable. An existing teleoperational test bed vehicle with remote driving controls was modifiedmore » and integrated with a newly developed command driving station and navigation system hardware and software to form the Robotic Security Vehicle (RSV) system. The RSV, also called the Sandia Mobile Autonomous Navigator (SANDMAN), has been successfully used to demonstrate that teleoperated security vehicles which can perform limited autonomous functions are viable and have the potential to decrease security manpower requirements and improve system capabilities.« less

International attitudes of early adopters to current and future robotic technologies in pediatric surgery.

PubMed

Cundy, Thomas P; Marcus, Hani J; Hughes-Hallett, Archie; Najmaldin, Azad S; Yang, Guang-Zhong; Darzi, Ara

2014-10-01

Perceptions toward surgical innovations are critical to the social processes that drive technology adoption. This study aims to capture attitudes of early adopter pediatric surgeons toward robotic technologies in order to clarify 1) specific features that are driving appeal, 2) limiting factors that are acting as diffusion barriers, and 3) future needs. Electronic surveys were distributed to pediatric surgeons with personal experience or exposure in robotic surgery. Participants were classified as experts or nonexperts for subgroup analysis. Coded Likert scale responses were analyzed using the Friedman or Mann-Whitney test. A total of 48 responses were received (22 experts, 26 nonexperts), with 14 countries represented. The most highly rated benefits of robot assistance were wristed instruments, stereoscopic vision, and magnified view. The most highly rated limitations were capital outlay expense, instrument size, and consumables/maintenance expenses. Future technologies of greatest interest were microbots, image guidance, and flexible snake robots. Putative benefits and limitations of robotic surgery are perceived with widely varied weightings. Insight provided by these responses will inform relevant clinical, engineering, and industry groups such that unambiguous goals and priorities may be assigned for the future. Pediatric surgeons seem most receptive toward technology that is smaller, less expensive, more intelligent and flexible. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Drive reconfiguration mechanism for tracked robotic vehicle

DOEpatents

Willis, W. David

2000-01-01

Drive reconfiguration apparatus for changing the configuration of a drive unit with respect to a vehicle body may comprise a guide system associated with the vehicle body and the drive unit which allows the drive unit to rotate about a center of rotation that is located at about a point where the drive unit contacts the surface being traversed. An actuator mounted to the vehicle body and connected to the drive unit rotates the drive unit about the center of rotation between a first position and a second position.

Modular Robotic Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borroni-Bird, Christopher E. (Inventor); Lapp, Anthony Joseph (Inventor); Vitale, Robert L. (Inventor); Lee, Chunhao J. (Inventor); Bluethmann, William J. (Inventor); Ridley, Justin S. (Inventor); Junkin, Lucien Q. (Inventor); Ambrose, Robert O. (Inventor); Lutz, Jonathan J. (Inventor); Guo, Raymond (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A modular robotic vehicle includes a chassis, driver input devices, an energy storage system (ESS), a power electronics module (PEM), modular electronic assemblies (eModules) connected to the ESS via the PEM, one or more master controllers, and various embedded controllers. Each eModule includes a drive wheel containing a propulsion-braking module, and a housing containing propulsion and braking control assemblies with respective embedded propulsion and brake controllers, and a mounting bracket covering a steering control assembly with embedded steering controllers. The master controller, which is in communication with each eModule and with the driver input devices, communicates with and independently controls each eModule, by-wire, via the embedded controllers to establish a desired operating mode. Modes may include a two-wheel, four-wheel, diamond, and omni-directional steering modes as well as a park mode. A bumper may enable docking with another vehicle, with shared control over the eModules of the vehicles.

The role of intrinsic motivations in attention allocation and shifting

PubMed Central

Di Nocera, Dario; Finzi, Alberto; Rossi, Silvia; Staffa, Mariacarla

2014-01-01

The concepts of attention and intrinsic motivations are of great interest within adaptive robotic systems, and can be exploited in order to guide, activate, and coordinate multiple concurrent behaviors. Attention allocation strategies represent key capabilities of human beings, which are strictly connected with action selection and execution mechanisms, while intrinsic motivations directly affect the allocation of attentional resources. In this paper we propose a model of Reinforcement Learning (RL), where both these capabilities are involved. RL is deployed to learn how to allocate attentional resources in a behavior-based robotic system, while action selection is obtained as a side effect of the resulting motivated attentional behaviors. Moreover, the influence of intrinsic motivations in attention orientation is obtained by introducing rewards associated with curiosity drives. In this way, the learning process is affected not only by goal-specific rewards, but also by intrinsic motivations. PMID:24744746

3D vision system assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pezzaniti, J. Larry; Edmondson, Richard; Vaden, Justin; Hyatt, Bryan; Chenault, David B.; Kingston, David; Geulen, Vanilynmae; Newell, Scott; Pettijohn, Brad

2009-02-01

In this paper, we report on the development of a 3D vision system consisting of a flat panel stereoscopic display and auto-converging stereo camera and an assessment of the system's use for robotic driving, manipulation, and surveillance operations. The 3D vision system was integrated onto a Talon Robot and Operator Control Unit (OCU) such that direct comparisons of the performance of a number of test subjects using 2D and 3D vision systems were possible. A number of representative scenarios were developed to determine which tasks benefited most from the added depth perception and to understand when the 3D vision system hindered understanding of the scene. Two tests were conducted at Fort Leonard Wood, MO with noncommissioned officers ranked Staff Sergeant and Sergeant First Class. The scenarios; the test planning, approach and protocols; the data analysis; and the resulting performance assessment of the 3D vision system are reported.

Human-like Compliance for Dexterous Robot Hands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jau, Bruno M.

1995-01-01

This paper describes the Active Electromechanical Compliance (AEC) system that was developed for the Jau-JPL anthropomorphic robot. The AEC system imitates the functionality of the human muscle's secondary function, which is to control the joint's stiffness: AEC is implemented through servo controlling the joint drive train's stiffness. The control strategy, controlling compliant joints in teleoperation, is described. It enables automatic hybrid position and force control through utilizing sensory feedback from joint and compliance sensors. This compliant control strategy is adaptable for autonomous robot control as well. Active compliance enables dual arm manipulations, human-like soft grasping by the robot hand, and opens the way to many new robotics applications.

Rover Wheel-Actuated Tool Interface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matthews, Janet; Ahmad, Norman; Wilcox, Brian

2007-01-01

A report describes an interface for utilizing some of the mobility features of a mobile robot for general-purpose manipulation of tools and other objects. The robot in question, now undergoing conceptual development for use on the Moon, is the All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer (ATHLETE) rover, which is designed to roll over gentle terrain or walk over rough or steep terrain. Each leg of the robot is a six-degree-of-freedom general purpose manipulator tipped by a wheel with a motor drive. The tool interface includes a square cross-section peg, equivalent to a conventional socket-wrench drive, that rotates with the wheel. The tool interface also includes a clamp that holds a tool on the peg, and a pair of fold-out cameras that provides close-up stereoscopic images of the tool and its vicinity. The field of view of the imagers is actuated by the clamp mechanism and is specific to each tool. The motor drive can power any of a variety of tools, including rotating tools for helical fasteners, drills, and such clamping tools as pliers. With the addition of a flexible coupling, it could also power another tool or remote manipulator at a short distance. The socket drive can provide very high torque and power because it is driven by the wheel motor.

A Low Cost Mobile Robot Based on Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) Control System and Odometer for Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haq, R.; Prayitno, H.; Dzulkiflih; Sucahyo, I.; Rahmawati, E.

2018-03-01

In this article, the development of a low cost mobile robot based on PID controller and odometer for education is presented. PID controller and odometer is applied for controlling mobile robot position. Two-dimensional position vector in cartesian coordinate system have been inserted to robot controller as an initial and final position. Mobile robot has been made based on differential drive and sensor magnetic rotary encoder which measured robot position from a number of wheel rotation. Odometry methode use data from actuator movements for predicting change of position over time. The mobile robot is examined to get final position with three different heading angle 30°, 45° and 60° by applying various value of KP, KD and KI constant.

A Novel Mittag-Leffler Kernel Based Hybrid Fault Diagnosis Method for Wheeled Robot Driving System.

PubMed

Yuan, Xianfeng; Song, Mumin; Zhou, Fengyu; Chen, Zhumin; Li, Yan

2015-01-01

The wheeled robots have been successfully applied in many aspects, such as industrial handling vehicles, and wheeled service robots. To improve the safety and reliability of wheeled robots, this paper presents a novel hybrid fault diagnosis framework based on Mittag-Leffler kernel (ML-kernel) support vector machine (SVM) and Dempster-Shafer (D-S) fusion. Using sensor data sampled under different running conditions, the proposed approach initially establishes multiple principal component analysis (PCA) models for fault feature extraction. The fault feature vectors are then applied to train the probabilistic SVM (PSVM) classifiers that arrive at a preliminary fault diagnosis. To improve the accuracy of preliminary results, a novel ML-kernel based PSVM classifier is proposed in this paper, and the positive definiteness of the ML-kernel is proved as well. The basic probability assignments (BPAs) are defined based on the preliminary fault diagnosis results and their confidence values. Eventually, the final fault diagnosis result is archived by the fusion of the BPAs. Experimental results show that the proposed framework not only is capable of detecting and identifying the faults in the robot driving system, but also has better performance in stability and diagnosis accuracy compared with the traditional methods.

A Novel Mittag-Leffler Kernel Based Hybrid Fault Diagnosis Method for Wheeled Robot Driving System

PubMed Central

Yuan, Xianfeng; Song, Mumin; Chen, Zhumin; Li, Yan

2015-01-01

The wheeled robots have been successfully applied in many aspects, such as industrial handling vehicles, and wheeled service robots. To improve the safety and reliability of wheeled robots, this paper presents a novel hybrid fault diagnosis framework based on Mittag-Leffler kernel (ML-kernel) support vector machine (SVM) and Dempster-Shafer (D-S) fusion. Using sensor data sampled under different running conditions, the proposed approach initially establishes multiple principal component analysis (PCA) models for fault feature extraction. The fault feature vectors are then applied to train the probabilistic SVM (PSVM) classifiers that arrive at a preliminary fault diagnosis. To improve the accuracy of preliminary results, a novel ML-kernel based PSVM classifier is proposed in this paper, and the positive definiteness of the ML-kernel is proved as well. The basic probability assignments (BPAs) are defined based on the preliminary fault diagnosis results and their confidence values. Eventually, the final fault diagnosis result is archived by the fusion of the BPAs. Experimental results show that the proposed framework not only is capable of detecting and identifying the faults in the robot driving system, but also has better performance in stability and diagnosis accuracy compared with the traditional methods. PMID:26229526

Small Dog-Like Quadruped Robot Powered With McKibben Air Muscles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lacy, John M.

2005-01-01

Planetary surface robotic exploration is typically done by wheeled robots, which are limited to traveling on relatively flat terrain. The goal of this project was to design a bio-inspired robot to mimic the movements and agility of animals to navigate in various types of natural terrain, such as found on Mars. My objective for the summer was to design and construct a quadruped robot with a locomotion gait similar to a small dog. The design includes four legs and an actuated flexible spine for added mobility and performance; each leg has three joints - hip, knee, and ankle. I created 3D CAD models and machined the pieces for the assemblies of each part. One of the key areas of concern is weight vs. power issues for the driving force of locomotion. To maximize the power-to-weight ratio, I used McKibben air muscles to drive the motion of the quadruped. The prototype went through several iterations to analyze performance, with adjustments made to each assembly. We expect the final working prototype will be capable of standing unassisted and pronking into the air without active control. It will serve as a research platform for future bio-inspired control algorithms.

Interactions With Robots: The Truths We Reveal About Ourselves.

PubMed

Broadbent, Elizabeth

2017-01-03

In movies, robots are often extremely humanlike. Although these robots are not yet reality, robots are currently being used in healthcare, education, and business. Robots provide benefits such as relieving loneliness and enabling communication. Engineers are trying to build robots that look and behave like humans and thus need comprehensive knowledge not only of technology but also of human cognition, emotion, and behavior. This need is driving engineers to study human behavior toward other humans and toward robots, leading to greater understanding of how humans think, feel, and behave in these contexts, including our tendencies for mindless social behaviors, anthropomorphism, uncanny feelings toward robots, and the formation of emotional attachments. However, in considering the increased use of robots, many people have concerns about deception, privacy, job loss, safety, and the loss of human relationships. Human-robot interaction is a fascinating field and one in which psychologists have much to contribute, both to the development of robots and to the study of human behavior.

A Coordinated Control Architecture for Disaster Response Robots

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-01

to use these same algorithms to provide navigation Odometry for the vehicle motions when the robot is driving. Visual Odometry The YouTube link... depressed the accelerator pedal. We relied on the fact that the vehicle quickly comes to rest when the accelerator pedal is not being pressed. The

Recent testing of a micro autonomous positioning system for multi-object instrumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cochrane, W. A.; Atkinson, D. C.; Bailie, T. E. C.; Dickson, C.; Lim, T.; Luo, X.; Montgomery, D. M.; Schnetler, H.; Taylor, W. D.; Wilson, B.

2012-09-01

A multiple pick off mirror positioning sub-system has been developed as a solution for the deployment of mirrors within multi-object instrumentation such as the EAGLE instrument in the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). The positioning sub-system is a two wheeled differential steered friction drive robot with a footprint of approximately 20 x 20 mm. Controlled by RF communications there are two versions of the robot that exist. One is powered by a single cell lithium ion battery and the other utilises a power floor system. The robots use two brushless DC motors with 125:1 planetary gear heads for positioning in the coarse drive stages. A unique power floor allows the robots to be positioned at any location in any orientation on the focal plane. The design, linear repeatability tests, metrology and power continuity of the robot will be evaluated and presented in this paper. To gather photons from the objects of interest it is important to position POMs within a sphere of confusion of less than 10 μm, with an angular alignment better than 1 mrad. The robots potential of meeting these requirements will be described through the open-loop repeatability tests conducted with a Faro laser beam tracker. Tests have involved sending the robot step commands and automatically taking continuous measurements every three seconds. Currently the robot is capable of repeatedly travelling 233 mm within 0.307 mm at 5 mm/s. An analysis of the power floors reliability through the continuous monitoring of the voltage across the tracks with a Pico logger will also be presented.

Towards a real-time interface between a biomimetic model of sensorimotor cortex and a robotic arm

PubMed Central

Dura-Bernal, Salvador; Chadderdon, George L; Neymotin, Samuel A; Francis, Joseph T; Lytton, William W

2015-01-01

Brain-machine interfaces can greatly improve the performance of prosthetics. Utilizing biomimetic neuronal modeling in brain machine interfaces (BMI) offers the possibility of providing naturalistic motor-control algorithms for control of a robotic limb. This will allow finer control of a robot, while also giving us new tools to better understand the brain’s use of electrical signals. However, the biomimetic approach presents challenges in integrating technologies across multiple hardware and software platforms, so that the different components can communicate in real-time. We present the first steps in an ongoing effort to integrate a biomimetic spiking neuronal model of motor learning with a robotic arm. The biomimetic model (BMM) was used to drive a simple kinematic two-joint virtual arm in a motor task requiring trial-and-error convergence on a single target. We utilized the output of this model in real time to drive mirroring motion of a Barrett Technology WAM robotic arm through a user datagram protocol (UDP) interface. The robotic arm sent back information on its joint positions, which was then used by a visualization tool on the remote computer to display a realistic 3D virtual model of the moving robotic arm in real time. This work paves the way towards a full closed-loop biomimetic brain-effector system that can be incorporated in a neural decoder for prosthetic control, to be used as a platform for developing biomimetic learning algorithms for controlling real-time devices. PMID:26709323

Nonlinear adaptive formation control for a class of autonomous holonomic planetary exploration rovers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganji, Farid

This dissertation presents novel nonlinear adaptive formation controllers for a heterogeneous group of holonomic planetary exploration rovers navigating over flat terrains with unknown soil types and surface conditions. A leader-follower formation control architecture is employed. In the first part, using a point-mass model for robots and a Coulomb-viscous friction model for terrain resistance, direct adaptive control laws and a formation speed-adaptation strategy are developed for formation navigation over unknown and changing terrain in the presence of actuator saturation. On-line estimates of terrain frictional parameters compensate for unknown terrain resistance and its variations. In saturation events over difficult terrain, the formation speed is reduced based on the speed of the slowest saturated robot, using internal fleet communication and a speed-adaptation strategy, so that the formation error stays bounded and small. A formal proof for asymptotic stability of the formation system in non-saturated conditions is given. The performance of robot controllers are verified using a modular 3-robot formation simulator. Simulations show that the formation errors reduce to zero asymptotically under non-saturated conditions as is guaranteed by the theoretical proof. In the second part, the proposed adaptive control methodology is extended for formation control of a class of omnidirectional rovers with three independently-driven universal holonomic rigid wheels, where the rovers' rigid-body dynamics, drive-system electromechanical characteristics, and wheel-ground interaction mechanics are incorporated. Holonomic rovers have the ability to move simultaneously and independently in translation and rotation, rendering great maneuverability and agility, which makes them suitable for formation navigation. Novel nonlinear adaptive control laws are designed for the input voltages of the three wheel-drive motors. The motion resistance, which is due to the sinkage of rover wheels in soft planetary terrain, is modeled using classical terramechanics theory. The unknown system parameters for adaptive estimation pertain to the rolling resistance forces and scrubbing resistance torques at the wheel-terrain interfaces. Novel terramechanical formulas for terrain resistance forces and torques are derived via considering the universal holonomic wheels as rigid toroidal wheels moving forward and/or sideways as well as turning on soft ground. The asymptotic stability of the formation control system is rigorously proved using Lyapunov's direct method.

Research and development of electric vehicles for clean transportation.

PubMed

Wada, Masayoshi

2009-01-01

This article presents the research and development of an electric vehicle (EV) in Department of Human-Robotics Saitama Institute of Technology, Japan. Electric mobile systems developed in our laboratory include a converted electric automobile, electric wheelchair and personal mobile robot. These mobile systems contribute to realize clean transportation since energy sources and devices from all vehicles, i.e., batteries and electric motors, does not deteriorate the environment. To drive motors for vehicle traveling, robotic technologies were applied.

A two degrees-of-freedom piezoelectric single-crystal micromotor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhijiang; Li, Xiaotian; Liu, Guoxi; Dong, Shuxiang

2014-12-01

A two degrees-of-freedom (DOF) ultrasonic micromotor made of piezoelectric Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PIN-PMN-PT) single crystal square-bar (dimensions 2 × 2 × 9 mm3) was developed. The PIN-PMN-PT square-bar stator can generate standing wave elliptical motions in two orthogonal vertical planes by combining the first longitudinal and second bending vibration modes, enabling it to drive a slider in two orthogonal directions. The relatively large driving forces of 0.25 N and motion speed of 35 mm/s were obtained under a voltage of 80 Vpp at its resonance frequency of 87.5 kHz. The proposed micromotor has potential for applications in micro robots, cell manipulators, and digital cameras as a two-DOF actuator.

A motion sensing-based framework for robotic manipulation.

PubMed

Deng, Hao; Xia, Zeyang; Weng, Shaokui; Gan, Yangzhou; Fang, Peng; Xiong, Jing

2016-01-01

To data, outside of the controlled environments, robots normally perform manipulation tasks operating with human. This pattern requires the robot operators with high technical skills training for varied teach-pendant operating system. Motion sensing technology, which enables human-machine interaction in a novel and natural interface using gestures, has crucially inspired us to adopt this user-friendly and straightforward operation mode on robotic manipulation. Thus, in this paper, we presented a motion sensing-based framework for robotic manipulation, which recognizes gesture commands captured from motion sensing input device and drives the action of robots. For compatibility, a general hardware interface layer was also developed in the framework. Simulation and physical experiments have been conducted for preliminary validation. The results have shown that the proposed framework is an effective approach for general robotic manipulation with motion sensing control.

SOFT ROBOTICS. A 3D-printed, functionally graded soft robot powered by combustion.

PubMed

Bartlett, Nicholas W; Tolley, Michael T; Overvelde, Johannes T B; Weaver, James C; Mosadegh, Bobak; Bertoldi, Katia; Whitesides, George M; Wood, Robert J

2015-07-10

Roboticists have begun to design biologically inspired robots with soft or partially soft bodies, which have the potential to be more robust and adaptable, and safer for human interaction, than traditional rigid robots. However, key challenges in the design and manufacture of soft robots include the complex fabrication processes and the interfacing of soft and rigid components. We used multimaterial three-dimensional (3D) printing to manufacture a combustion-powered robot whose body transitions from a rigid core to a soft exterior. This stiffness gradient, spanning three orders of magnitude in modulus, enables reliable interfacing between rigid driving components (controller, battery, etc.) and the primarily soft body, and also enhances performance. Powered by the combustion of butane and oxygen, this robot is able to perform untethered jumping. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Assessing the cost effectiveness of robotics in urological surgery - a systematic review.

PubMed

Ahmed, Kamran; Ibrahim, Amel; Wang, Tim T; Khan, Nuzhath; Challacombe, Ben; Khan, Muhammed Shamim; Dasgupta, Prokar

2012-11-01

Although robotic technology is becoming increasingly popular for urological procedures, barriers to its widespread dissemination include cost and the lack of long term outcomes. This systematic review analyzed studies comparing the use of robotic with laparoscopic and open urological surgery. These three procedures were assessed for cost efficiency in the form of direct as well as indirect costs that could arise from length of surgery, hospital stay, complications, learning curve and postoperative outcomes. A systematic review was performed searching Medline, Embase and Web of Science databases. Two reviewers identified abstracts using online databases and independently reviewed full length papers suitable for inclusion in the study. Laparoscopic and robot assisted radical prostatectomy are superior with respect to reduced hospital stay (range 1-1.76 days and 1-5.5 days, respectively) and blood loss (range 482-780 mL and 227-234 mL, respectively) when compared with the open approach (range 2-8 days and 1015 mL). Robot assisted radical prostatectomy remains more expensive (total cost ranging from US $2000-$39,215) than both laparoscopic (range US $740-$29,771) and open radical prostatectomy (range US $1870-$31,518). This difference is due to the cost of robot purchase, maintenance and instruments. The reduced length of stay in hospital (range 1-1.5 days) and length of surgery (range 102-360 min) are unable to compensate for the excess costs. Robotic surgery may require a smaller learning curve (20-40 cases) although the evidence is inconclusive. Robotic surgery provides similar postoperative outcomes to laparoscopic surgery but a reduced learning curve. Although costs are currently high, increased competition from manufacturers and wider dissemination of the technology could drive down costs. Further trials are needed to evaluate long term outcomes in order to evaluate fully the value of all three procedures in urological surgery. © 2012 BJU INTERNATIONAL.

System and method for seamless task-directed autonomy for robots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nielsen, Curtis; Bruemmer, David; Few, Douglas

Systems, methods, and user interfaces are used for controlling a robot. An environment map and a robot designator are presented to a user. The user may place, move, and modify task designators on the environment map. The task designators indicate a position in the environment map and indicate a task for the robot to achieve. A control intermediary links task designators with robot instructions issued to the robot. The control intermediary analyzes a relative position between the task designators and the robot. The control intermediary uses the analysis to determine a task-oriented autonomy level for the robot and communicates targetmore » achievement information to the robot. The target achievement information may include instructions for directly guiding the robot if the task-oriented autonomy level indicates low robot initiative and may include instructions for directing the robot to determine a robot plan for achieving the task if the task-oriented autonomy level indicates high robot initiative.« less

PD-like controller for delayed bilateral teleoperation of wheeled robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slawiñski, E.; Mut, V.; Santiago, D.

2016-08-01

This paper proposes a proportional derivative (PD)-like controller applied to the delayed bilateral teleoperation of wheeled robots with force feedback in face of asymmetric and varying-time delays. In contrast to bilateral teleoperation of manipulator robots, in these systems, there is a mismatch between the models of the master and slave (mobile robot), problem that is approached in this work, where the system stability is analysed. From this study, it is possible to infer the control parameters, depending on the time delay, necessary to assure stability. Finally, the performance of the delayed teleoperation system is evaluated through tests where a human operator drives a 3D simulator as well as a mobile robot for pushing objects.

Off-Earth Driving Champs in Miles

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-12-07

The total distance driven on Mars by NASA Mars Exploration Rover, 21.35 miles by early December 2011, is approaching the record total for off-Earth driving, held by the robotic Lunokhod 2 rover operated on Earth moon by the Soviet Union in 1973.

Visual Control for Multirobot Organized Rendezvous.

PubMed

Lopez-Nicolas, G; Aranda, M; Mezouar, Y; Sagues, C

2012-08-01

This paper addresses the problem of visual control of a set of mobile robots. In our framework, the perception system consists of an uncalibrated flying camera performing an unknown general motion. The robots are assumed to undergo planar motion considering nonholonomic constraints. The goal of the control task is to drive the multirobot system to a desired rendezvous configuration relying solely on visual information given by the flying camera. The desired multirobot configuration is defined with an image of the set of robots in that configuration without any additional information. We propose a homography-based framework relying on the homography induced by the multirobot system that gives a desired homography to be used to define the reference target, and a new image-based control law that drives the robots to the desired configuration by imposing a rigidity constraint. This paper extends our previous work, and the main contributions are that the motion constraints on the flying camera are removed, the control law is improved by reducing the number of required steps, the stability of the new control law is proved, and real experiments are provided to validate the proposal.

Olfaction and Hearing Based Mobile Robot Navigation for Odor/Sound Source Search

PubMed Central

Song, Kai; Liu, Qi; Wang, Qi

2011-01-01

Bionic technology provides a new elicitation for mobile robot navigation since it explores the way to imitate biological senses. In the present study, the challenging problem was how to fuse different biological senses and guide distributed robots to cooperate with each other for target searching. This paper integrates smell, hearing and touch to design an odor/sound tracking multi-robot system. The olfactory robot tracks the chemical odor plume step by step through information fusion from gas sensors and airflow sensors, while two hearing robots localize the sound source by time delay estimation (TDE) and the geometrical position of microphone array. Furthermore, this paper presents a heading direction based mobile robot navigation algorithm, by which the robot can automatically and stably adjust its velocity and direction according to the deviation between the current heading direction measured by magnetoresistive sensor and the expected heading direction acquired through the odor/sound localization strategies. Simultaneously, one robot can communicate with the other robots via a wireless sensor network (WSN). Experimental results show that the olfactory robot can pinpoint the odor source within the distance of 2 m, while two hearing robots can quickly localize and track the olfactory robot in 2 min. The devised multi-robot system can achieve target search with a considerable success ratio and high stability. PMID:22319401

Robotic surgery in urological oncology: patient care or market share?

PubMed

Kaye, Deborah R; Mullins, Jeffrey K; Carter, H Ballentine; Bivalacqua, Trinity J

2015-01-01

Surgical robotic use has grown exponentially in spite of limited or uncertain benefits and large costs. In certain situations, adoption of robotic technology provides value to patients and society. In other cases, however, the robot provides little or no increase in surgical quality, with increased expense, and, therefore, does not add value to health care. The surgical robot is expensive to purchase, maintain and operate, and can contribute to increased consumerism in relation to surgical procedures, and increased reliance on the technology, thus driving future increases in health-care expenditure. Given the current need for budget constraints, the cost-effectiveness of specific procedures must be evaluated. The surgical robot should be used when cost-effective, but traditional open and laparoscopic techniques also need to be continually fostered.

2014 NASA Centennial Challenges Sample Return Robot Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-06-11

The team AERO robot drives off the starting platform during the level one competition at the 2014 NASA Centennial Challenges Sample Return Robot Challenge, Wednesday, June 11, 2014, at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Eighteen teams are competing for a $1.5 million NASA prize purse. Teams will be required to demonstrate autonomous robots that can locate and collect samples from a wide and varied terrain, operating without human control. The objective of this NASA-WPI Centennial Challenge is to encourage innovations in autonomous navigation and robotics technologies. Innovations stemming from the challenge may improve NASA's capability to explore a variety of destinations in space, as well as enhance the nation's robotic technology for use in industries and applications on Earth. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

A robot arm simulation with a shared memory multiprocessor machine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Sung-Soo; Chuang, Li-Ping

1989-01-01

A parallel processing scheme for a single chain robot arm is presented for high speed computation on a shared memory multiprocessor. A recursive formulation that is derived from a virtual work form of the d'Alembert equations of motion is utilized for robot arm dynamics. A joint drive system that consists of a motor rotor and gears is included in the arm dynamics model, in order to take into account gyroscopic effects due to the spinning of the rotor. The fine grain parallelism of mechanical and control subsystem models is exploited, based on independent computation associated with bodies, joint drive systems, and controllers. Efficiency and effectiveness of the parallel scheme are demonstrated through simulations of a telerobotic manipulator arm. Two different mechanical subsystem models, i.e., with and without gyroscopic effects, are compared, to show the trade-off between efficiency and accuracy.

Cortical Spiking Network Interfaced with Virtual Musculoskeletal Arm and Robotic Arm.

PubMed

Dura-Bernal, Salvador; Zhou, Xianlian; Neymotin, Samuel A; Przekwas, Andrzej; Francis, Joseph T; Lytton, William W

2015-01-01

Embedding computational models in the physical world is a critical step towards constraining their behavior and building practical applications. Here we aim to drive a realistic musculoskeletal arm model using a biomimetic cortical spiking model, and make a robot arm reproduce the same trajectories in real time. Our cortical model consisted of a 3-layered cortex, composed of several hundred spiking model-neurons, which display physiologically realistic dynamics. We interconnected the cortical model to a two-joint musculoskeletal model of a human arm, with realistic anatomical and biomechanical properties. The virtual arm received muscle excitations from the neuronal model, and fed back proprioceptive information, forming a closed-loop system. The cortical model was trained using spike timing-dependent reinforcement learning to drive the virtual arm in a 2D reaching task. Limb position was used to simultaneously control a robot arm using an improved network interface. Virtual arm muscle activations responded to motoneuron firing rates, with virtual arm muscles lengths encoded via population coding in the proprioceptive population. After training, the virtual arm performed reaching movements which were smoother and more realistic than those obtained using a simplistic arm model. This system provided access to both spiking network properties and to arm biophysical properties, including muscle forces. The use of a musculoskeletal virtual arm and the improved control system allowed the robot arm to perform movements which were smoother than those reported in our previous paper using a simplistic arm. This work provides a novel approach consisting of bidirectionally connecting a cortical model to a realistic virtual arm, and using the system output to drive a robotic arm in real time. Our techniques are applicable to the future development of brain neuroprosthetic control systems, and may enable enhanced brain-machine interfaces with the possibility for finer control of limb prosthetics.

Combined virtual and real robotic test-bed for single operator control of multiple robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sam Y.-S.; Hunt, Shawn; Cao, Alex; Pandya, Abhilash

2010-04-01

Teams of heterogeneous robots with different dynamics or capabilities could perform a variety of tasks such as multipoint surveillance, cooperative transport and explorations in hazardous environments. In this study, we work with heterogeneous robots of semi-autonomous ground and aerial robots for contaminant localization. We developed a human interface system which linked every real robot to its virtual counterpart. A novel virtual interface has been integrated with Augmented Reality that can monitor the position and sensory information from video feed of ground and aerial robots in the 3D virtual environment, and improve user situational awareness. An operator can efficiently control the real multi-robots using the Drag-to-Move method on the virtual multi-robots. This enables an operator to control groups of heterogeneous robots in a collaborative way for allowing more contaminant sources to be pursued simultaneously. The advanced feature of the virtual interface system is guarded teleoperation. This can be used to prevent operators from accidently driving multiple robots into walls and other objects. Moreover, the feature of the image guidance and tracking is able to reduce operator workload.

Robot gripper

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webb, Winston S. (Inventor)

1987-01-01

An electronic force-detecting robot gripper for gripping objects and attaching to an external robot arm is disclosed. The gripper comprises motor apparatus, gripper jaws, and electrical circuits for driving the gripper motor and sensing the amount of force applied by the jaws. The force applied by the jaws is proportional to a threshold value of the motor current. When the motor current exceeds the threshold value, the electrical circuits supply a feedback signal to the electrical control circuit which, in turn, stops the gripper motor.

Rotary Series Elastic Actuator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ihrke, Chris A. (Inventor); Mehling, Joshua S. (Inventor); Parsons, Adam H. (Inventor); Griffith, Bryan Kristian (Inventor); Radford, Nicolaus A. (Inventor); Permenter, Frank Noble (Inventor); Davis, Donald R. (Inventor); Ambrose, Robert O. (Inventor); Junkin, Lucien Q. (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A rotary actuator assembly is provided for actuation of an upper arm assembly for a dexterous humanoid robot. The upper arm assembly for the humanoid robot includes a plurality of arm support frames each defining an axis. A plurality of rotary actuator assemblies are each mounted to one of the plurality of arm support frames about the respective axes. Each rotary actuator assembly includes a motor mounted about the respective axis, a gear drive rotatably connected to the motor, and a torsion spring. The torsion spring has a spring input that is rotatably connected to an output of the gear drive and a spring output that is connected to an output for the joint.

Rotary series elastic actuator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ihrke, Chris A. (Inventor); Mehling, Joshua S. (Inventor); Parsons, Adam H. (Inventor); Griffith, Bryan Kristian (Inventor); Radford, Nicolaus A. (Inventor); Permenter, Frank Noble (Inventor); Davis, Donald R. (Inventor); Ambrose, Robert O. (Inventor); Junkin, Lucien Q. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A rotary actuator assembly is provided for actuation of an upper arm assembly for a dexterous humanoid robot. The upper arm assembly for the humanoid robot includes a plurality of arm support frames each defining an axis. A plurality of rotary actuator assemblies are each mounted to one of the plurality of arm support frames about the respective axes. Each rotary actuator assembly includes a motor mounted about the respective axis, a gear drive rotatably connected to the motor, and a torsion spring. The torsion spring has a spring input that is rotatably connected to an output of the gear drive and a spring output that is connected to an output for the joint.

3D display for enhanced tele-operation and other applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edmondson, Richard; Pezzaniti, J. Larry; Vaden, Justin; Hyatt, Brian; Morris, James; Chenault, David; Bodenhamer, Andrew; Pettijohn, Bradley; Tchon, Joe; Barnidge, Tracy; Kaufman, Seth; Kingston, David; Newell, Scott

2010-04-01

In this paper, we report on the use of a 3D vision field upgrade kit for TALON robot consisting of a replacement flat panel stereoscopic display, and multiple stereo camera systems. An assessment of the system's use for robotic driving, manipulation, and surveillance operations was conducted. A replacement display, replacement mast camera with zoom, auto-focus, and variable convergence, and a replacement gripper camera with fixed focus and zoom comprise the upgrade kit. The stereo mast camera allows for improved driving and situational awareness as well as scene survey. The stereo gripper camera allows for improved manipulation in typical TALON missions.

Cooperative Three-Robot System for Traversing Steep Slopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stroupe, Ashley; Huntsberger, Terrance; Aghazarian, Hrand; Younse, Paulo; Garrett, Michael

2009-01-01

Teamed Robots for Exploration and Science in Steep Areas (TRESSA) is a system of three autonomous mobile robots that cooperate with each other to enable scientific exploration of steep terrain (slope angles up to 90 ). Originally intended for use in exploring steep slopes on Mars that are not accessible to lone wheeled robots (Mars Exploration Rovers), TRESSA and systems like TRESSA could also be used on Earth for performing rescues on steep slopes and for exploring steep slopes that are too remote or too dangerous to be explored by humans. TRESSA is modeled on safe human climbing of steep slopes, two key features of which are teamwork and safety tethers. Two of the autonomous robots, denoted Anchorbots, remain at the top of a slope; the third robot, denoted the Cliffbot, traverses the slope. The Cliffbot drives over the cliff edge supported by tethers, which are payed out from the Anchorbots (see figure). The Anchorbots autonomously control the tension in the tethers to counter the gravitational force on the Cliffbot. The tethers are payed out and reeled in as needed, keeping the body of the Cliffbot oriented approximately parallel to the local terrain surface and preventing wheel slip by controlling the speed of descent or ascent, thereby enabling the Cliffbot to drive freely up, down, or across the slope. Due to the interactive nature of the three-robot system, the robots must be very tightly coupled. To provide for this tight coupling, the TRESSA software architecture is built on a combination of (1) the multi-robot layered behavior-coordination architecture reported in "An Architecture for Controlling Multiple Robots" (NPO-30345), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 10 (October 2004), page 65, and (2) the real-time control architecture reported in "Robot Electronics Architecture" (NPO-41784), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 32, No. 1 (January 2008), page 28. The combination architecture makes it possible to keep the three robots synchronized and coordinated, to use data from all three robots for decision- making at each step, and to control the physical connections among the robots. In addition, TRESSA (as in prior systems that have utilized this architecture) , incorporates a capability for deterministic response to unanticipated situations from yet another architecture reported in Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing (NPO-43635), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 32, No. 10 (October 2008), page 40. Tether tension control is a major consideration in the design and operation of TRESSA. Tension is measured by force sensors connected to each tether at the Cliffbot. The direction of the tension (both azimuth and elevation) is also measured. The tension controller combines a controller to counter gravitational force and an optional velocity controller that anticipates the motion of the Cliffbot. The gravity controller estimates the slope angle from the inclination of the tethers. This angle and the weight of the Cliffbot determine the total tension needed to counteract the weight of the Cliffbot. The total needed tension is broken into components for each Anchorbot. The difference between this needed tension and the tension measured at the Cliffbot constitutes an error signal that is provided to the gravity controller. The velocity controller computes the tether speed needed to produce the desired motion of the Cliffbot. Another major consideration in the design and operation of TRESSA is detection of faults. Each robot in the TRESSA system monitors its own performance and the performance of its teammates in order to detect any system faults and prevent unsafe conditions. At startup, communication links are tested and if any robot is not communicating, the system refuses to execute any motion commands. Prior to motion, the Anchorbots attempt to set tensions in the tethers at optimal levels for counteracting the weight of the Cliffbot; if either Anchorbot fails to reach its optimal tension level within a specified time, it sends message to the other robots and the commanded motion is not executed. If any mechanical error (e.g., stalling of a motor) is detected, the affected robot sends a message triggering stoppage of the current motion. Lastly, messages are passed among the robots at each time step (10 Hz) to share sensor information during operations. If messages from any robot cease for more than an allowable time interval, the other robots detect the communication loss and initiate stoppage.

Landmark-based robust navigation for tactical UGV control in GPS-denied communication-degraded environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Endo, Yoichiro; Balloch, Jonathan C.; Grushin, Alexander; Lee, Mun Wai; Handelman, David

2016-05-01

Control of current tactical unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) is typically accomplished through two alternative modes of operation, namely, low-level manual control using joysticks and high-level planning-based autonomous control. Each mode has its own merits as well as inherent mission-critical disadvantages. Low-level joystick control is vulnerable to communication delay and degradation, and high-level navigation often depends on uninterrupted GPS signals and/or energy-emissive (non-stealth) range sensors such as LIDAR for localization and mapping. To address these problems, we have developed a mid-level control technique where the operator semi-autonomously drives the robot relative to visible landmarks that are commonly recognizable by both humans and machines such as closed contours and structured lines. Our novel solution relies solely on optical and non-optical passive sensors and can be operated under GPS-denied, communication-degraded environments. To control the robot using these landmarks, we developed an interactive graphical user interface (GUI) that allows the operator to select landmarks in the robot's view and direct the robot relative to one or more of the landmarks. The integrated UGV control system was evaluated based on its ability to robustly navigate through indoor environments. The system was successfully field tested with QinetiQ North America's TALON UGV and Tactical Robot Controller (TRC), a ruggedized operator control unit (OCU). We found that the proposed system is indeed robust against communication delay and degradation, and provides the operator with steady and reliable control of the UGV in realistic tactical scenarios.

Human-Robot Teaming: Communication, Coordination, and Collaboration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fong, Terry

2017-01-01

In this talk, I will describe how NASA Ames has been studying how human-robot teams can increase the performance, reduce the cost, and increase the success of a variety of endeavors. The central premise of our work is that humans and robots should support one another in order to compensate for limitations of automation and manual control. This principle has broad applicability to a wide range of domains, environments, and situations. At the same time, however, effective human-robot teaming requires communication, coordination, and collaboration -- all of which present significant research challenges. I will discuss some of the ways that NASA Ames is addressing these challenges and present examples of our work involving planetary rovers, free-flying robots, and self-driving cars.

CSI related dynamics and control issues in space robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmitz, Eric; Ramey, Madison

1993-01-01

The research addressed includes: (1) CSI issues in space robotics; (2) control of elastic payloads, which includes 1-DOF example, and 3-DOF harmonic drive arm with elastic beam; and (3) control of large space arms with elastic links, which includes testbed description, modeling, and experimental implementation of colocated PD and end-point tip position controllers.

Fabrication and Properties of Composite Artificial Muscles Based on Nylon and a Shape Memory Alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Haibin; Zhou, Jia; Li, Junfeng; Joseph, Vincent S.

2018-05-01

This paper focuses on the design, fabrication and investigation of the mechanical properties of new artificial muscles formed by twisting and annealing. The artificial muscles designed by twisting nylon have become a popular topic in the field of smart materials due to their high mechanical performance with a large deformation and power density. However, the complexity of the heating and cooling system required to control the nylon muscle is a disadvantage, so we have proposed a composite artificial muscle for providing a direct electricity-driven actuation by integrating nylon and a shape memory alloy (SMA). In this paper, the design and fabrication process of these composite artificial muscles are introduced before their mechanical properties, which include the deformation, stiffness, load and response, are investigated. The results show that these composite artificial muscles that integrate nylon and a SMA provide better mechanical properties and yield up to a 44.1% deformation and 3.43 N driving forces. The good performance and direct electro-thermal actuation make these composite muscles ideal for driving robots in a method similar to human muscles.

Kinematical simulation of robotic complex operation for implementing full-scale additive technologies of high-end materials, composites, structures, and buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antsiferov, S. I.; Eltsov, M. Iu; Khakhalev, P. A.

2018-03-01

This paper considers a newly designed electronic digital model of a robotic complex for implementing full-scale additive technologies, funded under a Federal Target Program. The electronic and digital model was used to solve the problem of simulating the movement of a robotic complex using the NX CAD/CAM/CAE system. The virtual mechanism was built and the main assemblies, joints, and drives were identified as part of solving the problem. In addition, the maximum allowed printable area size was identified for the robotic complex, and a simulation of printing a rectangular-shaped article was carried out.

Meal assistance robot with ultrasonic motor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kodani, Yasuhiro; Tanaka, Kanya; Wakasa, Yuji; Akashi, Takuya; Oka, Masato

2007-12-01

In this paper, we have constructed a robot that help people with disabilities of upper extremities and advanced stage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients to eat with their residual abilities. Especially, many of people suffering from advanced stage ALS of the use a pacemaker. And they need to avoid electromagnetic waves. Therefore we adopt ultra sonic motor that does not generate electromagnetic waves as driving sources. Additionally we approach the problem of the conventional meal assistance robot. Moreover, we introduce the interface with eye movement so that extremities can also use our system. User operates our robot not with hands or foot but with eye movement.

Robotic Surgery

PubMed Central

Lanfranco, Anthony R.; Castellanos, Andres E.; Desai, Jaydev P.; Meyers, William C.

2004-01-01

Objective: To review the history, development, and current applications of robotics in surgery. Background: Surgical robotics is a new technology that holds significant promise. Robotic surgery is often heralded as the new revolution, and it is one of the most talked about subjects in surgery today. Up to this point in time, however, the drive to develop and obtain robotic devices has been largely driven by the market. There is no doubt that they will become an important tool in the surgical armamentarium, but the extent of their use is still evolving. Methods: A review of the literature was undertaken using Medline. Articles describing the history and development of surgical robots were identified as were articles reporting data on applications. Results: Several centers are currently using surgical robots and publishing data. Most of these early studies report that robotic surgery is feasible. There is, however, a paucity of data regarding costs and benefits of robotics versus conventional techniques. Conclusions: Robotic surgery is still in its infancy and its niche has not yet been well defined. Its current practical uses are mostly confined to smaller surgical procedures. PMID:14685095

Hopping Robot with Wheels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barlow, Edward; Marzwell, Nevellie; Fuller, Sawyer; Fionni, Paolo; Tretton, Andy; Burdick, Joel; Schell, Steve

2003-01-01

A small prototype mobile robot is capable of (1) hopping to move rapidly or avoid obstacles and then (2) moving relatively slowly and precisely on the ground by use of wheels in the manner of previously reported exploratory robots of the "rover" type. This robot is a descendant of a more primitive hopping robot described in "Minimally Actuated Hopping Robot" (NPO- 20911), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 26, No. 11 (November 2002), page 50. There are many potential applications for robots with hopping and wheeled-locomotion (roving) capabilities in diverse fields of endeavor, including agriculture, search-and-rescue operations, general military operations, removal or safe detonation of land mines, inspection, law enforcement, and scientific exploration on Earth and remote planets. The combination of hopping and roving enables this robot to move rapidly over very rugged terrain, to overcome obstacles several times its height, and then to position itself precisely next to a desired target. Before a long hop, the robot aims itself in the desired hopping azimuth and at a desired takeoff angle above horizontal. The robot approaches the target through a series of hops and short driving operations utilizing the steering wheels for precise positioning.

Robotic surgery

MedlinePlus

Robot-assisted surgery; Robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery; Laparoscopic surgery with robotic assistance ... computer station and directs the movements of a robot. Small surgical tools are attached to the robot's ...

Middleware Design for Swarm-Driving Robots Accompanying Humans.

PubMed

Kim, Min Su; Kim, Sang Hyuck; Kang, Soon Ju

2017-02-17

Research on robots that accompany humans is being continuously studied. The Pet-Bot provides walking-assistance and object-carrying services without any specific controls through interaction between the robot and the human in real time. However, with Pet-Bot, there is a limit to the number of robots a user can use. If this limit is overcome, the Pet-Bot can provide services in more areas. Therefore, in this study, we propose a swarm-driving middleware design adopting the concept of a swarm, which provides effective parallel movement to allow multiple human-accompanying robots to accomplish a common purpose. The functions of middleware divide into three parts: a sequence manager for swarm process, a messaging manager, and a relative-location identification manager. This middleware processes the sequence of swarm-process of robots in the swarm through message exchanging using radio frequency (RF) communication of an IEEE 802.15.4 MAC protocol and manages an infrared (IR) communication module identifying relative location with IR signal strength. The swarm in this study is composed of the master interacting with the user and the slaves having no interaction with the user. This composition is intended to control the overall swarm in synchronization with the user activity, which is difficult to predict. We evaluate the accuracy of the relative-location estimation using IR communication, the response time of the slaves to a change in user activity, and the time to organize a network according to the number of slaves.

Middleware Design for Swarm-Driving Robots Accompanying Humans

PubMed Central

Kim, Min Su; Kim, Sang Hyuck; Kang, Soon Ju

2017-01-01

Research on robots that accompany humans is being continuously studied. The Pet-Bot provides walking-assistance and object-carrying services without any specific controls through interaction between the robot and the human in real time. However, with Pet-Bot, there is a limit to the number of robots a user can use. If this limit is overcome, the Pet-Bot can provide services in more areas. Therefore, in this study, we propose a swarm-driving middleware design adopting the concept of a swarm, which provides effective parallel movement to allow multiple human-accompanying robots to accomplish a common purpose. The functions of middleware divide into three parts: a sequence manager for swarm process, a messaging manager, and a relative-location identification manager. This middleware processes the sequence of swarm-process of robots in the swarm through message exchanging using radio frequency (RF) communication of an IEEE 802.15.4 MAC protocol and manages an infrared (IR) communication module identifying relative location with IR signal strength. The swarm in this study is composed of the master interacting with the user and the slaves having no interaction with the user. This composition is intended to control the overall swarm in synchronization with the user activity, which is difficult to predict. We evaluate the accuracy of the relative-location estimation using IR communication, the response time of the slaves to a change in user activity, and the time to organize a network according to the number of slaves. PMID:28218650

Motion synthesis and force distribution analysis for a biped robot.

PubMed

Trojnacki, Maciej T; Zielińska, Teresa

2011-01-01

In this paper, the method of generating biped robot motion using recorded human gait is presented. The recorded data were modified taking into account the velocity available for robot drives. Data includes only selected joint angles, therefore the missing values were obtained considering the dynamic postural stability of the robot, which means obtaining an adequate motion trajectory of the so-called Zero Moment Point (ZMT). Also, the method of determining the ground reaction forces' distribution during the biped robot's dynamic stable walk is described. The method was developed by the authors. Following the description of equations characterizing the dynamics of robot's motion, the values of the components of ground reaction forces were symbolically determined as well as the coordinates of the points of robot's feet contact with the ground. The theoretical considerations have been supported by computer simulation and animation of the robot's motion. This was done using Matlab/Simulink package and Simulink 3D Animation Toolbox, and it has proved the proposed method.

Active colloids as mobile microelectrodes for unified label-free selective cargo transport.

PubMed

Boymelgreen, Alicia M; Balli, Tov; Miloh, Touvia; Yossifon, Gilad

2018-02-22

Utilization of active colloids to transport both biological and inorganic cargo has been widely examined in the context of applications ranging from targeted drug delivery to sample analysis. In general, carriers are customized to load one specific target via a mechanism distinct from that driving the transport. Here we unify these tasks and extend loading capabilities to include on-demand selection of multiple nano/micro-sized targets without the need for pre-labelling or surface functionalization. An externally applied electric field is singularly used to drive the active cargo carrier and transform it into a mobile floating electrode that can attract (trap) or repel specific targets from its surface by dielectrophoresis, enabling dynamic control of target selection, loading and rate of transport via the electric field parameters. In the future, dynamic selectivity could be combined with directed motion to develop building blocks for bottom-up fabrication in applications such as additive manufacturing and soft robotics.

The use of harmonic drives on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krishnan, S.; Voorhees, C.

2001-01-01

The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission will send two 185 kg rovers to Mars in 2003 to continue the scientific community's search for evidence of past water on Mars. These twin robotic vehicles will carry harmonic drives and their performance will be characterized at various temperatures, speeds and loads.

Robot Arm with Tendon Connector Plate and Linear Actuator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bridgwater, Lyndon (Inventor); Millerman, Alexander (Inventor); Ihrke, Chris A. (Inventor); Diftler, Myron A. (Inventor); Nguyen, Vienny (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A robotic system includes a tendon-driven end effector, a linear actuator, a flexible tendon, and a plate assembly. The linear actuator assembly has a servo motor and a drive mechanism, the latter of which translates linearly with respect to a drive axis of the servo motor in response to output torque from the servo motor. The tendon connects to the end effector and drive mechanism. The plate assembly is disposed between the linear actuator assembly and the tendon-driven end effector and includes first and second plates. The first plate has a first side that defines a boss with a center opening. The second plate defines an accurate through-slot having tendon guide channels. The first plate defines a through passage for the tendon between the center opening and a second side of the first plate. A looped end of the flexible tendon is received within the tendon guide channels.

Homography-based control scheme for mobile robots with nonholonomic and field-of-view constraints.

PubMed

López-Nicolás, Gonzalo; Gans, Nicholas R; Bhattacharya, Sourabh; Sagüés, Carlos; Guerrero, Josechu J; Hutchinson, Seth

2010-08-01

In this paper, we present a visual servo controller that effects optimal paths for a nonholonomic differential drive robot with field-of-view constraints imposed by the vision system. The control scheme relies on the computation of homographies between current and goal images, but unlike previous homography-based methods, it does not use the homography to compute estimates of pose parameters. Instead, the control laws are directly expressed in terms of individual entries in the homography matrix. In particular, we develop individual control laws for the three path classes that define the language of optimal paths: rotations, straight-line segments, and logarithmic spirals. These control laws, as well as the switching conditions that define how to sequence path segments, are defined in terms of the entries of homography matrices. The selection of the corresponding control law requires the homography decomposition before starting the navigation. We provide a controllability and stability analysis for our system and give experimental results.

Selective Perception for Robot Driving

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-05-01

models are theories of human cognitive activity during driving. Van der Molen and Botticher recently reviewed several of these models [ van der Molen 871...how to represent driving knowledge, how to perceive traffic situations, or how to process information to obtain actions. Van der Molen and Botticher...attempted to compare the operations of various models objectively on the same task [Rothengatter 88, van der Molen 87], but the models could be

2016 Summer Series - Terry Fong - Planetary Exploration Reinvented

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-07-07

The allure of deep space drives humanity’s curiosity to further explore the universe, but the risks associated with spaceflight are still limiting. Technological advancements in robotics and data processing are pushing the envelope of Human planetary exploration and habitation. Dr. Terry Fong from the NASA Ames’ Intelligent Robotics Group will describe how we are reinventing the approach to explore the universe.

NASA Technology Transfer - Human Robot Teaming

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-12-23

Produced for Intelligent Robotics Group to show at January 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Highlights development of VERVE (Visual Environment for Remote Virtual Exploration) software used on K-10, K-REX, SPHERES and AstroBee projects for 3D awareness. Also mentions transfer of software to Nissan for their development in their Autonomous Vehicle project. Video includes Nissan's self-driving car around NASA Ames.

Control of a Wheeled Transport Robot with Two Steerable Wheels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larin, V. B.

2017-09-01

The control of a system with one actuator failed is studied. The problem of control of a wheeled transport robot with two steerable wheels of which the rear one is stuck (its drive has failed) is solved. An algorithm for controlling the system in this situation is proposed. The effectiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated by way of an example.

BeBot: A Modular Mobile Miniature Robot Platform Supporting Hardware Reconfiguration and Multi-standard Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herbrechtsmeier, Stefan; Witkowski, Ulf; Rückert, Ulrich

Mobile robots become more and more important in current research and education. Especially small ’on the table’ experiments attract interest, because they need no additional or special laboratory equipments. In this context platforms are desirable which are small, simple to access and relatively easy to program. An additional powerful information processing unit is advantageous to simplify the implementation of algorithm and the porting of software from desktop computers to the robot platform. In this paper we present a new versatile miniature robot that can be ideally used for research and education. The small size of the robot of about 9 cm edge length, its robust drive and its modular structure make the robot a general device for single and multi-robot experiments executed ’on the table’. For programming and evaluation the robot can be wirelessly connected via Bluetooth or WiFi. The operating system of the robot is based on the standard Linux kernel and the GNU C standard library. A player/stage model eases software development and testing.

An Ultralightweight and Living Legged Robot.

PubMed

Vo Doan, Tat Thang; Tan, Melvin Y W; Bui, Xuan Hien; Sato, Hirotaka

2018-02-01

In this study, we describe the most ultralightweight living legged robot to date that makes it a strong candidate for a search and rescue mission. The robot is a living beetle with a wireless electronic backpack stimulator mounted on its thorax. Inheriting from the living insect, the robot employs a compliant body made of soft actuators, rigid exoskeletons, and flexure hinges. Such structure would allow the robot to easily adapt to any complex terrain due to the benefit of soft interface, self-balance, and self-adaptation of the insect without any complex controller. The antenna stimulation enables the robot to perform not only left/right turning but also backward walking and even cessation of walking. We were also able to grade the turning and backward walking speeds by changing the stimulation frequency. The power required to drive the robot is low as the power consumption of the antenna stimulation is in the order of hundreds of microwatts. In contrast to the traditional legged robots, this robot is of low cost, easy to construct, simple to control, and has ultralow power consumption.

Translational control of a graphically simulated robot arm by kinematic rate equations that overcome elbow joint singularity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barker, L. K.; Houck, J. A.; Carzoo, S. W.

1984-01-01

An operator commands a robot hand to move in a certain direction relative to its own axis system by specifying a velocity in that direction. This velocity command is then resolved into individual joint rotational velocities in the robot arm to effect the motion. However, the usual resolved-rate equations become singular when the robot arm is straightened. To overcome this elbow joint singularity, equations were developed which allow continued translational control of the robot hand even though the robot arm is (or is nearly) fully extended. A feature of the equations near full arm extension is that an operator simply extends and retracts the robot arm to reverse the direction of the elbow bend (difficult maneuver for the usual resolved-rate equations). Results show successful movement of a graphically simulated robot arm.

Terabyte IDE RAID-5 Disk Arrays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

David A. Sanders et al.

2003-09-30

High energy physics experiments are currently recording large amounts of data and in a few years will be recording prodigious quantities of data. New methods must be developed to handle this data and make analysis at universities possible. We examine some techniques that exploit recent developments in commodity hardware. We report on tests of redundant arrays of integrated drive electronics (IDE) disk drives for use in offline high energy physics data analysis. IDE redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) prices now are less than the cost per terabyte of million-dollar tape robots! The arrays can be scaled to sizes affordablemore » to institutions without robots and used when fast random access at low cost is important.« less

Robotic arm

DOEpatents

Kwech, Horst

1989-04-18

A robotic arm positionable within a nuclear vessel by access through a small diameter opening and having a mounting tube supported within the vessel and mounting a plurality of arm sections for movement lengthwise of the mounting tube as well as for movement out of a window provided in the wall of the mounting tube. An end effector, such as a grinding head or welding element, at an operating end of the robotic arm, can be located and operated within the nuclear vessel through movement derived from six different axes of motion provided by mounting and drive connections between arm sections of the robotic arm. The movements are achieved by operation of remotely-controllable servo motors, all of which are mounted at a control end of the robotic arm to be outside the nuclear vessel.

Electromagnetic driving units for complex microrobotic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michel, Frank; Ehrfeld, Wolfgang; Berg, Udo; Degen, Reinhard; Schmitz, Felix

1998-10-01

Electromagnetic actuators play an important role in macroscopic robotic systems. In combination with motion transformers, like reducing gear units, angular gears or spindle-screw drives, electromagnetic motors in large product lines ensure the rotational or linear motion of robot driving units and grippers while electromagnets drive valves or part conveyors. In this paper micro actuators and miniaturized motion transformers are introduced which allow a similar development in microrobotics. An electromagnetic motor and a planetary gear box, both with a diameter of 1.9 mm, are already commercially available from the cooperation partner of IMM, the company Dr. Fritz Faulhaber GmbH in Schonaich, Germany. In addition, a motor with a diameter of 2.4 mm is in development. The motors successfully drive an angular gear and a belt drive. A linear stage with a motion range of 7 mm and an overall size as small as 5 X 3.5 X 24 mm3 has been realized involving the motor, a stationary spur gear with zero backlash and a spindle-screw drive. By the use of these commercially available elements complex microrobots can be built up cost-efficiently and rapidly. Furthermore, a batch process has been developed to produce the coils of micro actuator arrays using lithographic techniques with SU-8 resin. In applying these components, the modular construction of complex microrobotic systems becomes feasible.

Intelligent Articulated Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nyein, Aung Kyaw; Thu, Theint Theint

2008-10-01

In this paper, an articulated type of industrial used robot is discussed. The robot is mainly intended to be used in pick and place operation. It will sense the object at the specified place and move it to a desired location. A peripheral interface controller (PIC16F84A) is used as the main controller of the robot. Infrared LED and IR receiver unit for object detection and 4-bit bidirectional universal shift registers (74LS194) and high current and high voltage Darlington transistors arrays (ULN2003) for driving the arms' motors are used in this robot. The amount of rotation for each arm is regulated by the limit switches. The operation of the robot is very simple but it has the ability of to overcome resetting position after power failure. It can continue its work from the last position before the power is failed without needing to come back to home position.

Full-driving soft robotic colonoscope in compliant colon tissue.

PubMed

Wang, Kundong; Ma, Jiayi; Wang, Feng; Wang, Zhiwu; Yan, Guozheng; Zhou, Yilu

2017-11-01

Robotic colonoscopy is an efficient examination method for finding malignant tumour in its early stage. This research developed a novel robotic endoscope with 13 mm diameter, 105 mm length and 22.3 g weight. A contact biomechanical model is proposed to increase the locomotion safety and efficiency in the soft tissue. The model shows that the friction difference between the robot and the tissue is a key factor to locomotion capability. A soft, full bellow with excellent compatibility was designed to package the robot body. The bellow increased the static friction and decreased the kinetic friction given the change in the contact state. The bellow is divided into three segments. Each segment is composed of a linear locomotor with micromotor, turbine-worm and wire wrapping-sliding mechanism. The robot is tested in in vivo pig colon, which revealed an excellent locomotion capability and safety in soft tissues.

Robotic control and inspection verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Virgil Leon

1991-01-01

Three areas of possible commercialization involving robots at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) are discussed: a six degree-of-freedom target tracking system for remote umbilical operations; an intelligent torque sensing end effector for operating hand valves in hazardous locations; and an automatic radiator inspection device, a 13 by 65 foot robotic mechanism involving completely redundant motors, drives, and controls. Aspects concerning the first two innovations can be integrated to enable robots or teleoperators to perform tasks involving orientation and panal actuation operations that can be done with existing technology rather than waiting for telerobots to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) to perform 'smart' autonomous operations. The third robot involves the application of complete control hardware redundancy to enable performance of work over and near expensive Space Shuttle hardware. The consumer marketplace may wish to explore commercialization of similiar component redundancy techniques for applications when a robot would not normally be used because of reliability concerns.

Rewards-driven control of robot arm by decoding EEG signals.

PubMed

Tanwani, Ajay Kumar; del R Millan, Jose; Billard, Aude

2014-01-01

Decoding the user intention from non-invasive EEG signals is a challenging problem. In this paper, we study the feasibility of predicting the goal for controlling the robot arm in self-paced reaching movements, i.e., spontaneous movements that do not require an external cue. Our proposed system continuously estimates the goal throughout a trial starting before the movement onset by online classification and generates optimal trajectories for driving the robot arm to the estimated goal. Experiments using EEG signals of one healthy subject (right arm) yield smooth reaching movements of the simulated 7 degrees of freedom KUKA robot arm in planar center-out reaching task with approximately 80% accuracy of reaching the actual goal.

Dexterity-Enhanced Telerobotic Microsurgery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Charles, Steve; Das, Hari; Ohm, Timothy; Boswell, Curtis; Rodriguez, Guillermo; Steele, Robert; Istrate, Dan

1997-01-01

The work reported in this paper is the result, of a collaboration between researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Steve Charles, MD, a vitreo-retinal surgeon. The Robot Assisted MicroSurgery (RAMS) telerobotic workstation developed at JPL is a prototype of a system that will be completely under the manual control of a surgeon. The system has a slave robot that will hold surgical instruments. The slave robot motions replicate in six degrees of freedom those of tile. surgeon's hand measured using a master input device with a surgical instrument, shaped handle. The surgeon commands motions for the instrument by moving the handle in the desired trajectories. The trajectories are measured, filtered, and scaled down then used to drive the slave robot.

A hybrid BCI for enhanced control of a telepresence robot.

PubMed

Carlson, Tom; Tonin, Luca; Perdikis, Serafeim; Leeb, Robert; del R Millán, José

2013-01-01

Motor-disabled end users have successfully driven a telepresence robot in a complex environment using a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). However, to facilitate the interaction aspect that underpins the notion of telepresence, users must be able to voluntarily and reliably stop the robot at any moment, not just drive from point to point. In this work, we propose to exploit the user's residual muscular activity to provide a fast and reliable control channel, which can start/stop the telepresence robot at any moment. Our preliminary results show that not only does this hybrid approach increase the accuracy, but it also helps to reduce the workload and was the preferred control paradigm of all the participants.

Experimental setup for evaluating an adaptive user interface for teleoperation control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wijayasinghe, Indika B.; Peetha, Srikanth; Abubakar, Shamsudeen; Saadatzi, Mohammad Nasser; Cremer, Sven; Popa, Dan O.

2017-05-01

A vital part of human interactions with a machine is the control interface, which single-handedly could define the user satisfaction and the efficiency of performing a task. This paper elaborates the implementation of an experimental setup to study an adaptive algorithm that can help the user better tele-operate the robot. The formulation of the adaptive interface and associate learning algorithms are general enough to apply when the mapping between the user controls and the robot actuators is complex and/or ambiguous. The method uses a genetic algorithm to find the optimal parameters that produce the input-output mapping for teleoperation control. In this paper, we describe the experimental setup and associated results that was used to validate the adaptive interface to a differential drive robot from two different input devices; a joystick, and a Myo gesture control armband. Results show that after the learning phase, the interface converges to an intuitive mapping that can help even inexperienced users drive the system to a goal location.

System-level challenges in pressure-operated soft robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onal, Cagdas D.

2016-05-01

Last decade witnessed the revival of fluidic soft actuation. As pressure-operated soft robotics becomes more popular with promising recent results, system integration remains an outstanding challenge. Inspired greatly by biology, we envision future robotic systems to embrace mechanical compliance with bodies composed of soft and hard components as well as electronic and sensing sub-systems, such that robot maintenance starts to resemble surgery. In this vision, portable energy sources and driving infrastructure plays a key role to offer autonomous many-DoF soft actuation. On the other hand, while offering many advantages in safety and adaptability to interact with unstructured environments, objects, and human bodies, mechanical compliance also violates many inherent assumptions in traditional rigid-body robotics. Thus, a complete soft robotic system requires new approaches to utilize proprioception that provides rich sensory information while remaining flexible, and motion control under significant time delay. This paper discusses our proposed solutions for each of these system-level challenges in soft robotics research.

Terrain discovery and navigation of a multi-articulated linear robot using map-seeking circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snider, Ross K.; Arathorn, David W.

2006-05-01

A significant challenge in robotics is providing a robot with the ability to sense its environment and then autonomously move while accommodating obstacles. The DARPA Grand Challenge, one of the most visible examples, set the goal of driving a vehicle autonomously for over a hundred miles avoiding obstacles along a predetermined path. Map-Seeking Circuits have shown their biomimetic capability in both vision and inverse kinematics and here we demonstrate their potential usefulness for intelligent exploration of unknown terrain using a multi-articulated linear robot. A robot that could handle any degree of terrain complexity would be useful for exploring inaccessible crowded spaces such as rubble piles in emergency situations, patrolling/intelligence gathering in tough terrain, tunnel exploration, and possibly even planetary exploration. Here we simulate autonomous exploratory navigation by an interaction of terrain discovery using the multi-articulated linear robot to build a local terrain map and exploitation of that growing terrain map to solve the propulsion problem of the robot.

UROLOGIC ROBOTS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

PubMed Central

Mozer, Pierre; Troccaz, Jocelyne; Stoianovici, Dan

2009-01-01

Purpose of review Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery in urology has gained immense popularity with the Da Vinci system but a lot of research teams are working on new robots. The purpose of this paper is to review current urologic robots and present future developments directions. Recent findings Future systems are expected to advance in two directions: improvements of remote manipulation robots and developments of image-guided robots. Summary The final goal of robots is to allow safer and more homogeneous outcomes with less variability of surgeon performance, as well as new tools to perform tasks based on medical transcutaneous imaging, in a less invasive way, at lower costs. It is expected that improvements for remote system could be augmented reality, haptic feed back, size reduction and development of new tools for NOTES surgery. The paradigm of image-guided robots is close to a clinical availability and the most advanced robots are presented with end-user technical assessments. It is also notable that the potential of robots lies much further ahead than the accomplishments of the daVinci system. The integration of imaging with robotics holds a substantial promise, because this can accomplish tasks otherwise impossible. Image guided robots have the potential to offer a paradigm shift. PMID:19057227

Urologic robots and future directions.

PubMed

Mozer, Pierre; Troccaz, Jocelyne; Stoianovici, Dan

2009-01-01

Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery in urology has gained immense popularity with the daVinci system, but a lot of research teams are working on new robots. The purpose of this study is to review current urologic robots and present future development directions. Future systems are expected to advance in two directions: improvements of remote manipulation robots and developments of image-guided robots. The final goal of robots is to allow safer and more homogeneous outcomes with less variability of surgeon performance, as well as new tools to perform tasks on the basis of medical transcutaneous imaging, in a less invasive way, at lower costs. It is expected that improvements for a remote system could be augmented in reality, with haptic feedback, size reduction, and development of new tools for natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery. The paradigm of image-guided robots is close to clinical availability and the most advanced robots are presented with end-user technical assessments. It is also notable that the potential of robots lies much further ahead than the accomplishments of the daVinci system. The integration of imaging with robotics holds a substantial promise, because this can accomplish tasks otherwise impossible. Image-guided robots have the potential to offer a paradigm shift.

HiMoP: A three-component architecture to create more human-acceptable social-assistive robots : Motivational architecture for assistive robots.

PubMed

Rodríguez-Lera, Francisco J; Matellán-Olivera, Vicente; Conde-González, Miguel Á; Martín-Rico, Francisco

2018-05-01

Generation of autonomous behavior for robots is a general unsolved problem. Users perceive robots as repetitive tools that do not respond to dynamic situations. This research deals with the generation of natural behaviors in assistive service robots for dynamic domestic environments, particularly, a motivational-oriented cognitive architecture to generate more natural behaviors in autonomous robots. The proposed architecture, called HiMoP, is based on three elements: a Hierarchy of needs to define robot drives; a set of Motivational variables connected to robot needs; and a Pool of finite-state machines to run robot behaviors. The first element is inspired in Alderfer's hierarchy of needs, which specifies the variables defined in the motivational component. The pool of finite-state machine implements the available robot actions, and those actions are dynamically selected taking into account the motivational variables and the external stimuli. Thus, the robot is able to exhibit different behaviors even under similar conditions. A customized version of the "Speech Recognition and Audio Detection Test," proposed by the RoboCup Federation, has been used to illustrate how the architecture works and how it dynamically adapts and activates robots behaviors taking into account internal variables and external stimuli.

Human-Robot Interaction: Status and Challenges.

PubMed

Sheridan, Thomas B

2016-06-01

The current status of human-robot interaction (HRI) is reviewed, and key current research challenges for the human factors community are described. Robots have evolved from continuous human-controlled master-slave servomechanisms for handling nuclear waste to a broad range of robots incorporating artificial intelligence for many applications and under human supervisory control. This mini-review describes HRI developments in four application areas and what are the challenges for human factors research. In addition to a plethora of research papers, evidence of success is manifest in live demonstrations of robot capability under various forms of human control. HRI is a rapidly evolving field. Specialized robots under human teleoperation have proven successful in hazardous environments and medical application, as have specialized telerobots under human supervisory control for space and repetitive industrial tasks. Research in areas of self-driving cars, intimate collaboration with humans in manipulation tasks, human control of humanoid robots for hazardous environments, and social interaction with robots is at initial stages. The efficacy of humanoid general-purpose robots has yet to be proven. HRI is now applied in almost all robot tasks, including manufacturing, space, aviation, undersea, surgery, rehabilitation, agriculture, education, package fetch and delivery, policing, and military operations. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Field testing of tele-operation versus shared and traded control for military assets: an evaluation involving real-time embedded simulation and soldier assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metcalfe, Jason S.; Alban, Jillyn; Cosenzo, Keryl; Johnson, Tony; Capstick, Erin

2010-04-01

Those applying autonomous technologies to military systems strive to enhance human-robot and robot-robot performance. Beyond performance, the military must be concerned with local area security. Characterized as "secure mobility", military systems must enable safe and effective terrain traversal concurrent with maintenance of situational awareness (SA). One approach to interleaving these objectives is supervisory control, with popular options being shared and traded control. Yet, with the scale and expense of military assets, common technical issues such as transition time and safeguarding become critical; especially as they interact with Soldier capabilities. Study is required to enable selection of control methods that optimize Soldier-system performance while safeguarding both individually. The current report describes a study utilizing experimental military vehicles and simulation systems enabling teleoperation and supervisory control. Automated triggering of SA demands was interspersed with a set of challenging driving maneuvers in a 'teleoperation-like' context to examine the influence of supervisory control on Soldier-system performance. Results indicated that direct application of supervisory control, while beneficial under particular demands, requires continued development to be perceived by Soldiers as useful. Future efforts should more tightly couple the information exchanged between the Soldier and system to overcome current challenges not addressed by standard control methods.

The Matter Simulation (R)evolution

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

To date, the program for the development of methods and models for atomistic and continuum simulation directed toward chemicals and materials has reached an incredible degree of sophistication and maturity. Currently, one can witness an increasingly rapid emergence of advances in computing, artificial intelligence, and robotics. This drives us to consider the future of computer simulation of matter from the molecular to the human length and time scales in a radical way that deliberately dares to go beyond the foreseeable next steps in any given discipline. This perspective article presents a view on this future development that we believe is likely to become a reality during our lifetime. PMID:29532014

Solaris: a global network of autonomous observatories in the southern hemisphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozłowski, S. K.; Sybilski, P.; Konacki, Maciej; Pawłaszek, R. K.; Ratajczak, Milena; Helminiak, K. G.

2014-07-01

We present Project Solaris, a network of four autonomous observatories in the Southern Hemisphere. The Project's primary goal is to detect and characterize circumbinary planets using the eclipse timing approach. This method requires high-cadence and long time-span photometric coverage of the binaries' eclipses, hence the observatories are located at sites having similar separation in longitude and nearly identical latitudes: South African Astronómical Observatory, Republic of South Africa (Solaris-1 and -2), Siding Spring Observatory, Australia (Solaris-3) and Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito, Argentina (Solaris-4). The headquarters coordinating and monitoring the network is based in Toruń, Poland. All four sites are operational as of December 2013. The instrument and hardware configurations are nearly identical. Each site is equipped with a 0.5-m Ritchey-Chrétien or Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube assembly mounted on a direct-drive modified German equatorial mount along with a set of instruments. Computer, power and networking components are installed in rack cabinets. Everything is housed in sandwiched fiberglass clamshell 3.5-m diameter robotized domes. The Argentinian site is additionally equipped with a 20-ft office container. We discuss the design requirements of robotic observatories aimed to operate autonomously as a global network with concentration on efficiency, robustness and modularity. We also present a newly introduced spectroscopic mode of operation commissioned on the Solaris-1 telescope. Using a compact échelle spectrograph (20 000 resolution) mounted directly on the imaging train of the telescope, we are able to remotely acquire spectra. A fully robotic spectroscopic mode is planned for 2015.

Motion planning and synchronized control of the dental arch generator of the tooth-arrangement robot.

PubMed

Jiang, Jin-Gang; Zhang, Yong-De

2013-03-01

The traditional, manual method of reproducing the dental arch form is prone to numerous random errors caused by human factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the automatic acquisition of the dental arch and implement the motion planning and synchronized control of the dental arch generator of the multi-manipulator tooth-arrangement robot for use in full denture manufacture. First, the mathematical model of the dental arch generator was derived. Then the kinematics and control point position of the dental arch generator of the tooth arrangement robot were calculated and motion planning of each control point was analysed. A hardware control scheme is presented, based on the industrial personal computer and control card PC6401. In order to gain single-axis, precise control of the dental arch generator, we studied the control pulse realization of high-resolution timing. Real-time, closed-loop, synchronous control was applied to the dental arch generator. Experimental control of the dental arch generator and preliminary tooth arrangement were gained by using the multi-manipulator tooth-arrangement robotic system. The dental arch generator can automatically generate a dental arch to fit a patient according to the patient's arch parameters. Repeated positioning accuracy is 0.12 mm for the slipways that drive the dental arch generator. The maximum value of single-point error is 1.83 mm, while the arc-width direction (x axis) is -33.29 mm. A novel system that generates the dental arch has been developed. The traditional method of manually determining the dental arch may soon be replaced by a robot to assist in generating a more individual dental arch. The system can be used to fabricate full dentures and bend orthodontic wires. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Structure, Design, and Closed-Loop Motion Control of a Differential Drive Soft Robot.

PubMed

Wu, Pang; Jiangbei, Wang; Yanqiong, Fei

2018-02-01

This article presents the structure, design, and motion control of an inchworm inspired pneumatic soft robot, which can perform differential movement. This robot mainly consists of two columns of pneumatic multi-airbags (actuators), one sensor, one baseboard, front feet, and rear feet. According to the different inflation time of left and right actuators, the robot can perform both linear and turning movements. The actuators of this robot are composed of multiple airbags, and the design of the airbags is analyzed. To deal with the nonlinear performance of the soft robot, we use radial basis function neural networks to train the turning ability of this robot on three different surfaces and create a mathematical model among coefficient of friction, deflection angle, and inflation time. Then, we establish the closed-loop automatic control model using three-axis electronic compass sensor. Finally, the automatic control model is verified by linear and turning movement experiments. According to the experiment, the robot can finish the linear and turning movements under the closed-loop control system.

An octopus-bioinspired solution to movement and manipulation for soft robots.

PubMed

Calisti, M; Giorelli, M; Levy, G; Mazzolai, B; Hochner, B; Laschi, C; Dario, P

2011-09-01

Soft robotics is a challenging and promising branch of robotics. It can drive significant improvements across various fields of traditional robotics, and contribute solutions to basic problems such as locomotion and manipulation in unstructured environments. A challenging task for soft robotics is to build and control soft robots able to exert effective forces. In recent years, biology has inspired several solutions to such complex problems. This study aims at investigating the smart solution that the Octopus vulgaris adopts to perform a crawling movement, with the same limbs used for grasping and manipulation. An ad hoc robot was designed and built taking as a reference a biological hypothesis on crawling. A silicone arm with cables embedded to replicate the functionality of the arm muscles of the octopus was built. This novel arm is capable of pushing-based locomotion and object grasping, mimicking the movements that octopuses adopt when crawling. The results support the biological observations and clearly show a suitable way to build a more complex soft robot that, with minimum control, can perform diverse tasks.

Cortical Spiking Network Interfaced with Virtual Musculoskeletal Arm and Robotic Arm

PubMed Central

Dura-Bernal, Salvador; Zhou, Xianlian; Neymotin, Samuel A.; Przekwas, Andrzej; Francis, Joseph T.; Lytton, William W.

2015-01-01

Embedding computational models in the physical world is a critical step towards constraining their behavior and building practical applications. Here we aim to drive a realistic musculoskeletal arm model using a biomimetic cortical spiking model, and make a robot arm reproduce the same trajectories in real time. Our cortical model consisted of a 3-layered cortex, composed of several hundred spiking model-neurons, which display physiologically realistic dynamics. We interconnected the cortical model to a two-joint musculoskeletal model of a human arm, with realistic anatomical and biomechanical properties. The virtual arm received muscle excitations from the neuronal model, and fed back proprioceptive information, forming a closed-loop system. The cortical model was trained using spike timing-dependent reinforcement learning to drive the virtual arm in a 2D reaching task. Limb position was used to simultaneously control a robot arm using an improved network interface. Virtual arm muscle activations responded to motoneuron firing rates, with virtual arm muscles lengths encoded via population coding in the proprioceptive population. After training, the virtual arm performed reaching movements which were smoother and more realistic than those obtained using a simplistic arm model. This system provided access to both spiking network properties and to arm biophysical properties, including muscle forces. The use of a musculoskeletal virtual arm and the improved control system allowed the robot arm to perform movements which were smoother than those reported in our previous paper using a simplistic arm. This work provides a novel approach consisting of bidirectionally connecting a cortical model to a realistic virtual arm, and using the system output to drive a robotic arm in real time. Our techniques are applicable to the future development of brain neuroprosthetic control systems, and may enable enhanced brain-machine interfaces with the possibility for finer control of limb prosthetics. PMID:26635598

Stiffness Control of Surgical Continuum Manipulators

PubMed Central

Mahvash, Mohsen; Dupont, Pierre E.

2013-01-01

This paper introduces the first stiffness controller for continuum robots. The control law is based on an accurate approximation of a continuum robot’s coupled kinematic and static force model. To implement a desired tip stiffness, the controller drives the actuators to positions corresponding to a deflected robot configuration that produces the required tip force for the measured tip position. This approach provides several important advantages. First, it enables the use of robot deflection sensing as a means to both sense and control tip forces. Second, it enables stiffness control to be implemented by modification of existing continuum robot position controllers. The proposed controller is demonstrated experimentally in the context of a concentric tube robot. Results show that the stiffness controller achieves the desired stiffness in steady state, provides good dynamic performance, and exhibits stability during contact transitions. PMID:24273466

A mobile robot therapist for under-supervised training with robot/computer assisted motivating systems.

PubMed

Shakya, Yuniya; Johnson, Michelle J

2008-01-01

Robot assisted therapy is a new and promising area in stroke rehabilitation and has shown to be effective in reducing motor impairment, but is a costly solution for home rehabilitation. High medical costs could be reduced if we could improve rehabilitation exercise in unsupervised environments such as the home. Hence, there is an augmented need for a cost effective rehabilitation system that can be used outside the clinic. This paper presents the design concept for an autonomous robotic assistant that is low-cost and effective in engaging the users while assisting them with therapy in any under-supervised area. We investigated how the robot assistant can support TheraDrive, our low-cost therapy system. We present the design methods and a case study demonstrating the arm and video collection system.

The application of virtual prototyping methods to determine the dynamic parameters of mobile robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurc, Krzysztof; Szybicki, Dariusz; Burghardt, Andrzej; Muszyńska, Magdalena

2016-04-01

The paper presents methods used to determine the parameters necessary to build a mathematical model of an underwater robot with a crawler drive. The parameters present in the dynamics equation will be determined by means of advanced mechatronic design tools, including: CAD/CAE software andMES modules. The virtual prototyping process is described as well as the various possible uses (design adaptability) depending on the optional accessories added to the vehicle. A mathematical model is presented to show the kinematics and dynamics of the underwater crawler robot, essential for the design stage.

A novel traveling wave piezoelectric actuated tracked mobile robot utilizing friction effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Liang; Shu, Chengyou; Jin, Jiamei; Zhang, Jianhui

2017-03-01

A novel traveling wave piezoelectric-actuated tracked mobile robot with potential application to robotic rovers was proposed and investigated in this study. The proposed tracked mobile robot is composed of a parallelogram-frame-structure piezoelectric transducer with four rings and a metal track. Utilizing the converse piezoelectric and friction effects, traveling waves were propagated in the rings and then the metal track was actuated by the piezoelectric transducer. Compared with traditional tracked mechanisms, the proposed tracked mobile robot has a simpler and more compact structure without lubricant, which eliminates the problem of lubricant volatilization and deflation, thus, it could be operated in the vacuum environment. Dynamic characteristics were simulated and measured to reveal the mechanism of actuating track of the piezoelectric transducer. Experimental investigations of the traveling wave piezoelectric-actuated tracked mobile robot were then carried out, and the results indicated that the robot prototype with a pair of exciting voltages of 460 Vpp is able to achieve a maximum velocity of 57 mm s-1 moving on the foam plate and possesses the obstacle crossing capability with a maximum height of 27 mm. The proposed tracked mobile robot exhibits potential to be the driving system of robotic rovers.

Low Reynolds Number Bacterial Robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giesbrecht, Grant; Ni, Katha; Vock, Isaac; Rodenborn, Bruce

The dynamics of prokaryotic motility in a fluid is important in a wide range of fields. Our experiment models the locomotion of bacteria with a robotic swimmer made using a computer controlled DC motor that drives a helical flagellum formed from welding wire. Because of its small size, a bacterium swimming in water is like our robot swimming in corn syrup. We compensate for the size difference by placing the robot in highly viscous silicone oil. Previous research measured helical propulsion of a swimmer far from a boundary. However proximity to a boundary strongly affects bacterial swimming. We have designed a system to precisely control the distance from the flagellum to the tank wall, and have made some of the first macroscopic measurements of boundary effects on helical propulsion.

Overcoming Robot-Arm Joint Singularities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barker, L. K.; Houck, J. A.

1986-01-01

Kinematic equations allow arm to pass smoothly through singular region. Report discusses mathematical singularities in equations of robotarm control. Operator commands robot arm to move in direction relative to its own axis system by specifying velocity in that direction. Velocity command then resolved into individual-joint rotational velocities in robot arm to effect motion. However, usual resolved-rate equations become singular when robot arm is straightened.

Method for surmounting an obstacle by a robot vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, Brian H. (Inventor); Ohm, Timothy R. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

Surmounting obstacles in the path of a robot vehicle is accomplished by rotating the wheel forks of the vehicle about their transverse axes with respect to the vehicle body so as to shift most of the vehicle weight onto the rear wheels, and then driving the vehicle forward so as to drive the now lightly-loaded front wheels (only) over the obstacle. Then, after the front wheels have either surmounted or completely passed the obstacle (depending upon the length of the obstacle), the forks are again rotated about their transverse axes so as to shift most of the vehicle weight onto the front wheels. Then the vehicle is again driven forward so as to drive the now lightly-loaded rear wheels over the obstacle. Once the obstacle has been completely cleared and the vehicle is again on relatively level terrain, the forks are again rotated so as to uniformly distribute the vehicle weight between the front and rear wheels.

Autonomous Soft Robotic Fish Capable of Escape Maneuvers Using Fluidic Elastomer Actuators.

PubMed

Marchese, Andrew D; Onal, Cagdas D; Rus, Daniela

2014-03-01

In this work we describe an autonomous soft-bodied robot that is both self-contained and capable of rapid, continuum-body motion. We detail the design, modeling, fabrication, and control of the soft fish, focusing on enabling the robot to perform rapid escape responses. The robot employs a compliant body with embedded actuators emulating the slender anatomical form of a fish. In addition, the robot has a novel fluidic actuation system that drives body motion and has all the subsystems of a traditional robot onboard: power, actuation, processing, and control. At the core of the fish's soft body is an array of fluidic elastomer actuators. We design the fish to emulate escape responses in addition to forward swimming because such maneuvers require rapid body accelerations and continuum-body motion. These maneuvers showcase the performance capabilities of this self-contained robot. The kinematics and controllability of the robot during simulated escape response maneuvers are analyzed and compared with studies on biological fish. We show that during escape responses, the soft-bodied robot has similar input-output relationships to those observed in biological fish. The major implication of this work is that we show soft robots can be both self-contained and capable of rapid body motion.

Mastery-Based Virtual Reality Robotic Simulation Curriculum: The First Step Toward Operative Robotic Proficiency.

PubMed

Hogg, Melissa E; Tam, Vernissia; Zenati, Mazen; Novak, Stephanie; Miller, Jennifer; Zureikat, Amer H; Zeh, Herbert J

Hepatobiliary surgery is a highly complex, low-volume specialty with long learning curves necessary to achieve optimal outcomes. This creates significant challenges in both training and measuring surgical proficiency. We hypothesize that a virtual reality curriculum with mastery-based simulation is a valid tool to train fellows toward operative proficiency. This study evaluates the content and predictive validity of robotic simulation curriculum as a first step toward developing a comprehensive, proficiency-based pathway. A mastery-based simulation curriculum was performed in a virtual reality environment. A pretest/posttest experimental design used both virtual reality and inanimate environments to evaluate improvement. Participants self-reported previous robotic experience and assessed the curriculum by rating modules based on difficulty and utility. This study was conducted at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Pittsburgh, PA), a tertiary care academic teaching hospital. A total of 17 surgical oncology fellows enrolled in the curriculum, 16 (94%) completed. Of 16 fellows who completed the curriculum, 4 fellows (25%) achieved mastery on all 24 modules; on average, fellows mastered 86% of the modules. Following curriculum completion, individual test scores improved (p < 0.0001). An average of 2.4 attempts was necessary to master each module (range: 1-17). Median time spent completing the curriculum was 4.2 hours (range: 1.1-6.6). Total 8 (50%) fellows continued practicing modules beyond mastery. Survey results show that "needle driving" and "endowrist 2" modules were perceived as most difficult although "needle driving" modules were most useful. Overall, 15 (94%) fellows perceived improvement in robotic skills after completing the curriculum. In a cohort of board-certified general surgeons who are novices in robotic surgery, a mastery-based simulation curriculum demonstrated internal validity with overall score improvement. Time to complete the curriculum was manageable. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A comparative direct cost analysis of pediatric urologic robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery versus open surgery: could robot-assisted surgery be less expensive?

PubMed

Rowe, Courtney K; Pierce, Michael W; Tecci, Katherine C; Houck, Constance S; Mandell, James; Retik, Alan B; Nguyen, Hiep T

2012-07-01

Cost in healthcare is an increasing and justifiable concern that impacts decisions about the introduction of new devices such as the da Vinci(®) surgical robot. Because equipment expenses represent only a portion of overall medical costs, we set out to make more specific cost comparisons between open and robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery. We performed a retrospective, observational, matched cohort study of 146 pediatric patients undergoing either open or robot-assisted laparoscopic urologic surgery from October 2004 to September 2009 at a single institution. Patients were matched based on surgery type, age, and fiscal year. Direct internal costs from the institution were used to compare the two surgery types across several procedures. Robot-assisted surgery direct costs were 11.9% (P=0.03) lower than open surgery. This cost difference was primarily because of the difference in hospital length of stay between patients undergoing open vs robot-assisted surgery (3.8 vs 1.6 days, P<0.001). Maintenance fees and equipment expenses were the primary contributors to robotic surgery costs, while open surgery costs were affected most by room and board expenses. When estimates of the indirect costs of robot purchase and maintenance were included, open surgery had a lower total cost. There were no differences in follow-up times or complication rates. Direct costs for robot-assisted surgery were significantly lower than equivalent open surgery. Factors reducing robot-assisted surgery costs included: A consistent and trained robotic surgery team, an extensive history of performing urologic robotic surgery, selection of patients for robotic surgery who otherwise would have had longer hospital stays after open surgery, and selection of procedures without a laparoscopic alternative. The high indirect costs of robot purchase and maintenance remain major factors, but could be overcome by high surgical volume and reduced prices as competitors enter the market.

Modeling of dielectric elastomer oscillators for soft biomimetic applications.

PubMed

Henke, E-F M; Wilson, Katherine E; Anderson, I A

2018-06-26

Biomimetic, entirely soft robots with animal-like behavior and integrated artificial nervous systems will open up totally new perspectives and applications. However, until now, most presented studies on soft robots were limited to only partly soft designs, since all solutions at least needed conventional, stiff electronics to sense, process signals and activate actuators. We present a novel approach for a set up and the experimental validation of an artificial pace maker that is able to drive basic robotic structures and act as artificial central pattern generator. The structure is based on multi-functional dielectric elastomers (DEs). DE actuators, DE switches and DE resistors are combined to create complex DE oscillators (DEOs). Supplied with only one external DC voltage, the DEO autonomously generates oscillating signals that can be used to clock a robotic structure, control the cyclic motion of artificial muscles in bionic robots or make a whole robotic structure move. We present the basic functionality, derive a mathematical model for predicting the generated signal waveform and verify the model experimentally.

3D Printed Robotic Hand

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pizarro, Yaritzmar Rosario; Schuler, Jason M.; Lippitt, Thomas C.

2013-01-01

Dexterous robotic hands are changing the way robots and humans interact and use common tools. Unfortunately, the complexity of the joints and actuations drive up the manufacturing cost. Some cutting edge and commercially available rapid prototyping machines now have the ability to print multiple materials and even combine these materials in the same job. A 3D model of a robotic hand was designed using Creo Parametric 2.0. Combining "hard" and "soft" materials, the model was printed on the Object Connex350 3D printer with the purpose of resembling as much as possible the human appearance and mobility of a real hand while needing no assembly. After printing the prototype, strings where installed as actuators to test mobility. Based on printing materials, the manufacturing cost of the hand was $167, significantly lower than other robotic hands without the actuators since they have more complex assembly processes.

Robot formation control in stealth mode with scalable team size

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Hongjun; Shi, Peng; Lim, Cheng-Chew

2016-11-01

In situations where robots need to keep electromagnetic silent in a formation, communication channels become unavailable. Moreover, as passive displacement sensors are used, limited sensing ranges are inevitable due to power insufficiency and limited noise reduction. To address the formation control problem for a scalable team of robots subject to the above restrictions, a flexible strategy is necessary. In this paper, under the assumption that the data transmission among the robots is not available, a novel controller and a protocol are designed that do not rely on communication. As the controller only drives the robots to a partially desired formation, a distributed coordination protocol is proposed to resolve the imperfections. It is shown that the effectiveness of the controller and the protocol rely on the formation connectivity, and a condition is given on the sensing range. Simulations are conducted to illustrate the feasibility and advantages of the new design scheme developed.

How to Build an Intentional Android: Infants' Imitation of a Robot's Goal-Directed Actions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Itakura, Shoji; Ishida, Hiraku; Kanda, Takayuki; Shimada, Yohko; Ishiguro, Hiroshi; Lee, Kang

2008-01-01

This study examined whether young children are able to imitate a robot's goal-directed actions. Children (24-35 months old) viewed videos showing a robot attempting to manipulate an object (e.g., putting beads inside a cup) but failing to achieve its goal (e.g., beads fell outside the cup). In 1 video, the robot made eye contact with a human…

Design and testing of a model CELSS chamber robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Mark; Dezego, Shawn; Jones, Kinzy; Kewley, Christopher; Langlais, Mike; McCarthy, John; Penny, Damon; Bonner, Tom; Funderburke, C. Ashley; Hailey, Ruth

1994-08-01

A robot system for use in an enclosed environment was designed and tested. The conceptual design will be used to assist in research performed by the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) project. Design specifications include maximum load capacity, operation at specified environmental conditions, low maintenance, and safety. The robot system must not be hazardous to the sealed environment, and be capable of stowing and deploying within a minimum area of the CELSS chamber facility. This design consists of a telescoping robot arm that slides vertically on a shaft positioned in the center of the CELSS chamber. The telescoping robot arm consists of a series of links which can be fully extended to a length equal to the radius of the working envelope of the CELSS chamber. The vertical motion of the robot arm is achieved through the use of a combination ball screw/ball spline actuator system. The robot arm rotates cylindrically about the vertical axis through use of a turntable bearing attached to a central mounting structure fitted to the actuator shaft. The shaft is installed in an overhead rail system allowing the entire structure to be stowed and deployed within the CELSS chamber. The overhead rail system is located above the chamber's upper lamps and extends to the center of the CELSS chamber. The mounting interface of the actuator shaft and rail system allows the entire actuator shaft to be detached and removed from the CELSS chamber. When the actuator shaft is deployed, it is held fixed at the bottom of the chamber by placing a square knob on the bottom of the shaft into a recessed square fitting in the bottom of the chamber floor. A support boot ensures the rigidity of the shaft. Three student teams combined into one group designed a model of the CELSS chamber robot that they could build. They investigated materials, availability, and strength in their design. After the model arm and stand were built, the class performed pre-tests on the entire system. A stability pre-test was used to determine whether the model robot arm would tip over on the stand when it was fully extended. Results showed the stand tipped when 50 Newtons were applied horizontally to the top of the vertical shaft while the arm was fully extended.

Design and testing of a model CELSS chamber robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Mark; Dezego, Shawn; Jones, Kinzy; Kewley, Christopher; Langlais, Mike; Mccarthy, John; Penny, Damon; Bonner, Tom; Funderburke, C. Ashley; Hailey, Ruth

1994-01-01

A robot system for use in an enclosed environment was designed and tested. The conceptual design will be used to assist in research performed by the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) project. Design specifications include maximum load capacity, operation at specified environmental conditions, low maintenance, and safety. The robot system must not be hazardous to the sealed environment, and be capable of stowing and deploying within a minimum area of the CELSS chamber facility. This design consists of a telescoping robot arm that slides vertically on a shaft positioned in the center of the CELSS chamber. The telescoping robot arm consists of a series of links which can be fully extended to a length equal to the radius of the working envelope of the CELSS chamber. The vertical motion of the robot arm is achieved through the use of a combination ball screw/ball spline actuator system. The robot arm rotates cylindrically about the vertical axis through use of a turntable bearing attached to a central mounting structure fitted to the actuator shaft. The shaft is installed in an overhead rail system allowing the entire structure to be stowed and deployed within the CELSS chamber. The overhead rail system is located above the chamber's upper lamps and extends to the center of the CELSS chamber. The mounting interface of the actuator shaft and rail system allows the entire actuator shaft to be detached and removed from the CELSS chamber. When the actuator shaft is deployed, it is held fixed at the bottom of the chamber by placing a square knob on the bottom of the shaft into a recessed square fitting in the bottom of the chamber floor. A support boot ensures the rigidity of the shaft. Three student teams combined into one group designed a model of the CELSS chamber robot that they could build. They investigated materials, availability, and strength in their design. After the model arm and stand were built, the class performed pre-tests on the entire system. A stability pre-test was used to determine whether the model robot arm would tip over on the stand when it was fully extended. Results showed the stand tipped when 50 Newtons were applied horizontally to the top of the vertical shaft while the arm was fully extended. This proved that it was stable. Another pre-test was the actuator slip test used to determine if there is an adequate coefficient of friction between the actuator drive wheels and drive cable to enable the actuator to fully extend and retract the arm. This pre-test revealed that the coefficient of friction was not large enough to prevent slippage. Sandpaper was glued to the drive wheel and this eliminated the slippage problem. The class preformed a fit test in the CELSS chamber to ensure that the completed robot arm is capable of reaching the entire working envelope. The robot was centered in the chamber and the arm was fully extended to the sides of the chamber. The arm was also able to retract to clear the drain pipes separating the upper and lower plant trays.

Research regarding the influence of driving-wires length change on positioning precision of a robotic arm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciofu, C.; Stan, G.

2016-08-01

The paper emphasise positioning precision of an elephant's trunk robotic arm which has joints driven by wires with variable length while operating The considered 5 degrees of freedom robotic arm has a particular structure of joint that makes possible inner actuation with wire-driven mechanism. We analyse solely the length change of wires as a consequence due inner winding and unwinding on joints for certain values of rotational angles. Variations in wires length entail joint angular displacements. We analyse positioning precision by taking into consideration equations from inverse kinematics of the elephant's trunk robotic arm. The angular displacements of joints are considered into computational method after partial derivation of positioning equations. We obtain variations of wires length at about tenths of micrometers. These variations employ angular displacements which are about minutes of sexagesimal degree and, thus, define positioning precision of elephant's trunk robotic arms. The analytical method is used for determining aftermath design structure of an elephant's trunk robotic arm with inner actuation through wires on positioning precision. Thus, designers could take suitable decisions on accuracy specifications limits of the robotic arm.

Korea's Robotland: Merging Intelligent Robotics Strategic Policy, Business Development, and Fun

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jun, Eugene

South Korea specializes in the design and manufacture of service and entertainment robots for consumer use. The government of South Korea considers robotics one of the countries main growth industries. To boost robot industry and accelerate the social demand of intelligent robots, a theme park titled ’Robotland’ is being constructed in Korea near Incheon International airport, the gateway to Seoul. A total of 700 million will be invested by the Korean government, the city of Incheon and financial investors. The 760,000 square meter site (188 acres) will contains a number of displays featuring famous robots and robot characters from around the world. Ultra-modern rides and amusement facilities, exhibition halls, shopping arcades and hotels, featuring advanced ubiquitous environments, will also be included in the park. In addition, Robotland will contain R&D centers and educational institutions. The Grand opening is scheduled in 2012. In this session, attendees will hear of development plans for Robotland, along with the social and business issues that are driving the development of the world’s first theme park.

Parallel robot for micro assembly with integrated innovative optical 3D-sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hesselbach, Juergen; Ispas, Diana; Pokar, Gero; Soetebier, Sven; Tutsch, Rainer

2002-10-01

Recent advances in the fields of MEMS and MOEMS often require precise assembly of very small parts with an accuracy of a few microns. In order to meet this demand, a new approach using a robot based on parallel mechanisms in combination with a novel 3D-vision system has been chosen. The planar parallel robot structure with 2 DOF provides a high resolution in the XY-plane. It carries two additional serial axes for linear and rotational movement in/about z direction. In order to achieve high precision as well as good dynamic capabilities, the drive concept for the parallel (main) axes incorporates air bearings in combination with a linear electric servo motors. High accuracy position feedback is provided by optical encoders with a resolution of 0.1 μm. To allow for visualization and visual control of assembly processes, a camera module fits into the hollow tool head. It consists of a miniature CCD camera and a light source. In addition a modular gripper support is integrated into the tool head. To increase the accuracy a control loop based on an optoelectronic sensor will be implemented. As a result of an in-depth analysis of different approaches a photogrammetric system using one single camera and special beam-splitting optics was chosen. A pattern of elliptical marks is applied to the surfaces of workpiece and gripper. Using a model-based recognition algorithm the image processing software identifies the gripper and the workpiece and determines their relative position. A deviation vector is calculated and fed into the robot control to guide the gripper.

Insect-controlled Robot: A Mobile Robot Platform to Evaluate the Odor-tracking Capability of an Insect.

PubMed

Ando, Noriyasu; Emoto, Shuhei; Kanzaki, Ryohei

2016-12-19

Robotic odor source localization has been a challenging area and one to which biological knowledge has been expected to contribute, as finding odor sources is an essential task for organism survival. Insects are well-studied organisms with regard to odor tracking, and their behavioral strategies have been applied to mobile robots for evaluation. This "bottom-up" approach is a fundamental way to develop biomimetic robots; however, the biological analyses and the modeling of behavioral mechanisms are still ongoing. Therefore, it is still unknown how such a biological system actually works as the controller of a robotic platform. To answer this question, we have developed an insect-controlled robot in which a male adult silkmoth (Bombyx mori) drives a robot car in response to odor stimuli; this can be regarded as a prototype of a future insect-mimetic robot. In the cockpit of the robot, a tethered silkmoth walked on an air-supported ball and an optical sensor measured the ball rotations. These rotations were translated into the movement of the two-wheeled robot. The advantage of this "hybrid" approach is that experimenters can manipulate any parameter of the robot, which enables the evaluation of the odor-tracking capability of insects and provides useful suggestions for robotic odor-tracking. Furthermore, these manipulations are non-invasive ways to alter the sensory-motor relationship of a pilot insect and will be a useful technique for understanding adaptive behaviors.

Using qualitative maps to direct reactive robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bertin, Randolph; Pendleton, Tom

1992-01-01

The principal advantage of mobile robots is that they are able to go to specific locations to perform useful tasks rather than have the tasks brought to them. It is important therefore that the robot be used to reach desired locations efficiently and reliably. A mobile robot whose environment extends significantly beyond its sensory horizon must maintain a representation of the environment, a map, in order to attain these efficiency and reliability requirements. We believe that qualitative mapping methods provide useful and robust representation schemes and that such maps may be used to direct the actions of a reactively controlled robot. In this paper we describe our experience in employing qualitative maps to direct, through the selection of desired control strategies, a reactive-behavior based robot. This mapping capability represents the development of one aspect of a successful deliberative/reactive hybrid control architecture.

Design and Experimental Validation of a Simple Controller for a Multi-Segment Magnetic Crawler Robot

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-01

Ave, Cambridge, MA USA 02139; bSpace and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, CA USA 92152 ABSTRACT A novel, multi-segmented...high-level, autonomous control computer. A low-level, embedded microcomputer handles the commands to the driving motors. This paper presents the...to be demonstrated.14 The Unmanned Systems Group at SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific has developed a multi-segment magnetic crawler robot (MSMR

Using Visual Odometry to Estimate Position and Attitude

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maimone, Mark; Cheng, Yang; Matthies, Larry; Schoppers, Marcel; Olson, Clark

2007-01-01

A computer program in the guidance system of a mobile robot generates estimates of the position and attitude of the robot, using features of the terrain on which the robot is moving, by processing digitized images acquired by a stereoscopic pair of electronic cameras mounted rigidly on the robot. Developed for use in localizing the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) vehicles on Martian terrain, the program can also be used for similar purposes on terrestrial robots moving in sufficiently visually textured environments: examples include low-flying robotic aircraft and wheeled robots moving on rocky terrain or inside buildings. In simplified terms, the program automatically detects visual features and tracks them across stereoscopic pairs of images acquired by the cameras. The 3D locations of the tracked features are then robustly processed into an estimate of overall vehicle motion. Testing has shown that by use of this software, the error in the estimate of the position of the robot can be limited to no more than 2 percent of the distance traveled, provided that the terrain is sufficiently rich in features. This software has proven extremely useful on the MER vehicles during driving on sandy and highly sloped terrains on Mars.

Soft Robotics: Academic Insights and Perspectives Through Bibliometric Analysis.

PubMed

Bao, Guanjun; Fang, Hui; Chen, Lingfeng; Wan, Yuehua; Xu, Fang; Yang, Qinghua; Zhang, Libin

2018-06-01

Soft robotics is of growing interest in the robot community as well as in public media, and there is an increase in the quality and quantity of publications related to this topic. To formally elaborate this growth, we have used a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the publications in the field from 1990 to 2017 based on the Science Citation Index Expanded database. We present a detailed overview and discussion based on keywords, citation, h-index, year, journal, institution, country, author, and review articles. The results show that the United States takes the leading position in this research field, followed by China and Italy. Harvard University has the most publications, high average number of citations per publication and the highest h-index. IEEE Transactions on Robotics ranks first among the top 20 academic journals publishing articles related to this field, whereas Soft Robotics holds the top position in journals categorized with "ROBOTICS." Actuator, fabrication, control, material, sensing, simulation, bionics, stiffness, modeling, power, motion, and application are the hot topics of soft robotics. Smart materials, bionics, morphological computation, and embodiment control are expected to contribute to this field in the future. Application and commercialization appear to be the initial driving force and final goal for soft robots.

Robust, Flexible Motion Control for the Mars Explorer Rovers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maimone, Mark; Biesiadecki, Jeffrey

2007-01-01

The Mobility Flight Software, running on computers aboard the Mars Explorer Rover (MER) robotic vehicles Spirit and Opportunity, affords the robustness and flexibility of control to enable safe and effective operation of these vehicles in traversing natural terrain. It can make the vehicles perform specific maneuvers commanded from Earth, and/or can autonomously administer multiple aspects of mobility, including choice of motion, measurement of actual motion, and even selection of targets to be approached. Motion of a vehicle can be commanded by use of multiple layers of control, ranging from motor control at a low level, direct drive operations (e.g., motion along a circular arc, motion along a straight line, or turn in place) at an intermediate level to goal-position driving (that is, driving to a specified location) at a high level. The software can also perform high-level assessment of terrain and selection of safe paths across the terrain: this involves processing of the digital equivalent of a local traversability map generated from images acquired by stereoscopic pairs of cameras aboard the vehicles. Other functions of the software include interacting with the rest of the MER flight software and performing safety checks.

Research and development of service robot platform based on artificial psychology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xueyuan; Wang, Zhiliang; Wang, Fenhua; Nagai, Masatake

2007-12-01

Some related works about the control architecture of robot system are briefly summarized. According to the discussions above, this paper proposes control architecture of service robot based on artificial psychology. In this control architecture, the robot can obtain the cognition of environment through sensors, and then be handled with intelligent model, affective model and learning model, and finally express the reaction to the outside stimulation through its behavior. For better understanding the architecture, hierarchical structure is also discussed. The control system of robot can be divided into five layers, namely physical layer, drives layer, information-processing and behavior-programming layer, application layer and system inspection and control layer. This paper shows how to achieve system integration from hardware modules, software interface and fault diagnosis. Embedded system GENE-8310 is selected as the PC platform of robot APROS-I, and its primary memory media is CF card. The arms and body of the robot are constituted by 13 motors and some connecting fittings. Besides, the robot has a robot head with emotional facial expression, and the head has 13 DOFs. The emotional and intelligent model is one of the most important parts in human-machine interaction. In order to better simulate human emotion, an emotional interaction model for robot is proposed according to the theory of need levels of Maslom and mood information of Siminov. This architecture has already been used in our intelligent service robot.

Robots drive the German radical prostatectomy market: a total population analysis from 2006 to 2013.

PubMed

Groeben, C; Koch, R; Baunacke, M; Wirth, M P; Huber, J

2016-12-01

To assess trends in the distribution of patients for radical prostatectomy in Germany from 2006 to 2013 and the impact of robotic surgery on annual caseloads. We hypothesized that the advent of robotics and the establishment of certified prostate cancer centers caused centralization in the German radical prostatectomy market. Using remote data processing we analyzed the nationwide German billing data from 2006 to 2013. We supplemented this database with additional hospital characteristics like the prostate cancer center certification status. Inclusion criteria were a prostate cancer diagnosis combined with radical prostatectomy. Hospitals with certification or a surgical robot in 2009 were defined as 'early' group. Linear covariant-analytic models were applied to describe trends over time. Annual radical prostatectomy numbers declined from 28 374 (2006) to 21 850 (2013). High-volume hospitals (⩾100 cases) decreased from 87 (22.0%) in 2006 to 43 (10.4%) in 2013. Low-volume hospitals (<50 cases) increased from 193 (48.7%) to 280 (67.4%). Mean radical prostatectomy caseloads of hospitals with early vs without certification declined from 155 to 130 vs 77 to 39 (P=0.021 for trend comparison). Early robotic hospitals maintained their volume >200 cases per year contrary to the overall trend (P<0.001 for trend comparison). A multivariate model for caseload numbers of 2013 indicated a robotic system to be the most important factor for higher caseloads (multiplication factor 7.3; 95% confidence interval: 6.6-8.0). A prostate cancer center certification (multiplication factor 1.6; 95% confidence interval: 1.50-1.59) had a much smaller impact. We found decentralization of radical prostatectomy in Germany. The driving force for this development might consist in the overall decline of radical prostatectomy numbers. The most important factor for achieving higher caseloads was the presence of a robotic system. In order to optimize outcomes of radical prostatectomy additional health policy measures might be necessary.

Designing a social and assistive robot for seniors.

PubMed

Eftring, H; Frennert, S

2016-06-01

The development of social assistive robots is an approach with the intention of preventing and detecting falls among seniors. There is a need for a relatively low-cost mobile robot with an arm and a gripper which is small enough to navigate through private homes. User requirements of a social assistive robot were collected using workshops, a questionnaire and interviews. Two prototype versions of a robot were designed, developed and tested by senior citizens (n = 49) in laboratory trials for 2 h each and in the private homes of elderly persons (n = 18) for 3 weeks each. The user requirement analysis resulted in a specification of tasks the robot should be able to do to prevent and detect falls. It was a challenge but possible to design and develop a robot where both the senior and the robot arm could reach the necessary interaction points of the robot. The seniors experienced the robot as happy and friendly. They wanted the robot to be narrower so it could pass through narrow passages in the home and they also wanted it to be able to pass over thresholds without using ramps and to drive over carpets. User trials in seniors' homes are very important to acquire relevant knowledge for developing robots that can handle real life situations in the domestic environment. Very high reliability of a robot is needed to get feedback about how seniors experience the overall behavior of the robot and to find out if the robot could reduce falls and improve the feeling of security for seniors living alone.

Adaptive Behavior for Mobile Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huntsberger, Terrance

2009-01-01

The term "System for Mobility and Access to Rough Terrain" (SMART) denotes a theoretical framework, a control architecture, and an algorithm that implements the framework and architecture, for enabling a land-mobile robot to adapt to changing conditions. SMART is intended to enable the robot to recognize adverse terrain conditions beyond its optimal operational envelope, and, in response, to intelligently reconfigure itself (e.g., adjust suspension heights or baseline distances between suspension points) or adapt its driving techniques (e.g., engage in a crabbing motion as a switchback technique for ascending steep terrain). Conceived for original application aboard Mars rovers and similar autonomous or semi-autonomous mobile robots used in exploration of remote planets, SMART could also be applied to autonomous terrestrial vehicles to be used for search, rescue, and/or exploration on rough terrain.

A PIC microcontroller-based system for real-life interfacing of external peripherals with a mobile robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, N. Nirmal; Chatterjee, Amitava; Rakshit, Anjan

2010-02-01

The present article describes the development of a peripheral interface controller (PIC) microcontroller-based system for interfacing external add-on peripherals with a real mobile robot, for real life applications. This system serves as an important building block of a complete integrated vision-based mobile robot system, integrated indigenously in our laboratory. The system is composed of the KOALA mobile robot in conjunction with a personal computer (PC) and a two-camera-based vision system where the PIC microcontroller is used to drive servo motors, in interrupt-driven mode, to control additional degrees of freedom of the vision system. The performance of the developed system is tested by checking it under the control of several user-specified commands, issued from the PC end.

The Evolution of Software and Its Impact on Complex System Design in Robotic Spacecraft Embedded Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Roy

2013-01-01

The growth in computer hardware performance, coupled with reduced energy requirements, has led to a rapid expansion of the resources available to software systems, driving them towards greater logical abstraction, flexibility, and complexity. This shift in focus from compacting functionality into a limited field towards developing layered, multi-state architectures in a grand field has both driven and been driven by the history of embedded processor design in the robotic spacecraft industry.The combinatorial growth of interprocess conditions is accompanied by benefits (concurrent development, situational autonomy, and evolution of goals) and drawbacks (late integration, non-deterministic interactions, and multifaceted anomalies) in achieving mission success, as illustrated by the case of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Approaches to optimizing the benefits while mitigating the drawbacks have taken the form of the formalization of requirements, modular design practices, extensive system simulation, and spacecraft data trend analysis. The growth of hardware capability and software complexity can be expected to continue, with future directions including stackable commodity subsystems, computer-generated algorithms, runtime reconfigurable processors, and greater autonomy.

Are You Talking to Me? Dialogue Systems Supporting Mixed Teams of Humans and Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dowding, John; Clancey, William J.; Graham, Jeffrey

2006-01-01

This position paper describes an approach to building spoken dialogue systems for environments containing multiple human speakers and hearers, and multiple robotic speakers and hearers. We address the issue, for robotic hearers, of whether the speech they hear is intended for them, or more likely to be intended for some other hearer. We will describe data collected during a series of experiments involving teams of multiple human and robots (and other software participants), and some preliminary results for distinguishing robot-directed speech from human-directed speech. The domain of these experiments is Mars-analogue planetary exploration. These Mars-analogue field studies involve two subjects in simulated planetary space suits doing geological exploration with the help of 1-2 robots, supporting software agents, a habitat communicator and links to a remote science team. The two subjects are performing a task (geological exploration) which requires them to speak with each other while also speaking with their assistants. The technique used here is to use a probabilistic context-free grammar language model in the speech recognizer that is trained on prior robot-directed speech. Intuitively, the recognizer will give higher confidence to an utterance if it is similar to utterances that have been directed to the robot in the past.

Robotic thoracic surgery: technical considerations and learning curve for pulmonary resection.

PubMed

Veronesi, Giulia

2014-05-01

Retrospective series indicate that robot-assisted approaches to lung cancer resection offer comparable radicality and safety to video-assisted thoracic surgery or open surgery. More intuitive movements, greater flexibility, and high-definition three-dimensional vision overcome limitations of video-assisted thoracic surgery and may encourage wider adoption of robotic surgery for lung cancer, particularly as more early stage cases are diagnosed by screening. High capital and running costs, limited instrument availability, and long operating times are important disadvantages. Entry of competitor companies should drive down costs. Studies are required to assess quality of life, morbidity, oncologic radicality, and cost effectiveness. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Design and Development of an Omni-Directional Mobile Robot Oriented to an Intelligent Manufacturing System

PubMed Central

Qian, Jun; Zi, Bin; Ma, Yangang; Zhang, Dan

2017-01-01

In order to transport materials flexibly and smoothly in a tight plant environment, an omni-directional mobile robot based on four Mecanum wheels was designed. The mechanical system of the mobile robot is made up of three separable layers so as to simplify its combination and reorganization. Each modularized wheel was installed on a vertical suspension mechanism, which ensures the moving stability and keeps the distances of four wheels invariable. The control system consists of two-level controllers that implement motion control and multi-sensor data processing, respectively. In order to make the mobile robot navigate in an unknown semi-structured indoor environment, the data from a Kinect visual sensor and four wheel encoders were fused to localize the mobile robot using an extended Kalman filter with specific processing. Finally, the mobile robot was integrated in an intelligent manufacturing system for material conveying. Experimental results show that the omni-directional mobile robot can move stably and autonomously in an indoor environment and in industrial fields. PMID:28891964

The Design and Development of an Omni-Directional Mobile Robot Oriented to an Intelligent Manufacturing System.

PubMed

Qian, Jun; Zi, Bin; Wang, Daoming; Ma, Yangang; Zhang, Dan

2017-09-10

In order to transport materials flexibly and smoothly in a tight plant environment, an omni-directional mobile robot based on four Mecanum wheels was designed. The mechanical system of the mobile robot is made up of three separable layers so as to simplify its combination and reorganization. Each modularized wheel was installed on a vertical suspension mechanism, which ensures the moving stability and keeps the distances of four wheels invariable. The control system consists of two-level controllers that implement motion control and multi-sensor data processing, respectively. In order to make the mobile robot navigate in an unknown semi-structured indoor environment, the data from a Kinect visual sensor and four wheel encoders were fused to localize the mobile robot using an extended Kalman filter with specific processing. Finally, the mobile robot was integrated in an intelligent manufacturing system for material conveying. Experimental results show that the omni-directional mobile robot can move stably and autonomously in an indoor environment and in industrial fields.

From decimeter- to centimeter-sized mobile microrobots: the development of the MINIMAN system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woern, Heinz; Schmoeckel, Ferdinand; Buerkle, Axel; Samitier, Josep; Puig-Vidal, Manel; Johansson, Stefan A. I.; Simu, Urban; Meyer, Joerg-Uwe; Biehl, Margit

2001-10-01

Based on small mobile robots the presented MINIMAN system provides a platform for micro-manipulation tasks in very different kinds of applications. Three exemplary applications demonstrate the capabilities of the system. Both the high precision assembly of an optical system consisting of three millimeter-sized parts and the positioning of single 20-μm-cells under the light microscope as well as the handling of tiny samples inside the scanning electron microscope are done by the same kind of robot. For the different tasks, the robot is equipped with appropriate tools such as micro-pipettes or grippers with force and tactile sensors. For the extension to a multi-robot system, it is necessary to further reduce the size of robots. For the above mentioned robot prototypes a slip-stick driving principle is employed. While this design proves to work very well for the described decimeter-sized robots, it is not suitable for further miniaturized robots because of their reduced inertia. Therefore, the developed centimeter-sized robot is driven by multilayered piezoactuators performing defined steps without a slipping phase. To reduce the number of connecting wires the microrobot has integrated circuits on board. They include high voltage drivers and a serial communication interface for a minimized number of wires.

Experimental study on direct adaptive control of a PUMA 560 industrial robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seraji, H.; Lee, T.; Delpech, M.

1990-01-01

The implementation and experimental validation of a direct adaptive control scheme on a PUMA 560 industrial robot is discussed. The design theory for direct adaptive control of manipulators is outlined and the test facility and software are described. Results are presented from the experiments on the simultaneous control of all of the six joint angles and control of the end-effector position and orientation of the robot. Also, the possible applications of the direct adaptive control scheme are considered.

Navigation of a care and welfare robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yukawa, Toshihiro; Hosoya, Osamu; Saito, Naoki; Okano, Hideharu

2005-12-01

In this paper, we propose the development of a robot that can perform nursing tasks in a hospital. In a narrow environment such as a sickroom or a hallway, the robot must be able to move freely in arbitrary directions. Therefore, the robot needs to have high controllability and the capability to make precise movements. Our robot can recognize a line by using cameras, and can be controlled in the reference directions by means of comparison with original cell map information; furthermore, it moves safely on the basis of an original center-line established permanently in the building. Correspondence between the robot and a centralized control center enables the robot's autonomous movement in the hospital. Through a navigation system using cell map information, the robot is able to perform nursing tasks smoothly by changing the camera angle.

Intrinsically motivated reinforcement learning for human-robot interaction in the real-world.

PubMed

Qureshi, Ahmed Hussain; Nakamura, Yutaka; Yoshikawa, Yuichiro; Ishiguro, Hiroshi

2018-03-26

For a natural social human-robot interaction, it is essential for a robot to learn the human-like social skills. However, learning such skills is notoriously hard due to the limited availability of direct instructions from people to teach a robot. In this paper, we propose an intrinsically motivated reinforcement learning framework in which an agent gets the intrinsic motivation-based rewards through the action-conditional predictive model. By using the proposed method, the robot learned the social skills from the human-robot interaction experiences gathered in the real uncontrolled environments. The results indicate that the robot not only acquired human-like social skills but also took more human-like decisions, on a test dataset, than a robot which received direct rewards for the task achievement. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of multilayer conducting polymer actuator for power application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikushima, Kimiya; Kudoh, Yuji; Hiraoka, Maki; Yokoyama, Kazuo; Nagamitsu, Sachio

2009-03-01

In late years many kinds of home-use robot have been developed to assist elderly care and housework. Most of these robots are designed with conventional electromagnetic motors. For safety it is desirable to replace these electromagnetic motors with artificial muscle. However, an actuator for such a robot is required to have simple structure, low driving voltage, high stress generation, high durability, and operability in the air. No polymer actuator satisfying all these requirements has been realized yet. To meet these we took following two approaches focusing on conducting polymer actuators which can output high power in the air. (Approach 1) We have newly developed an actuator by multiply laminating ionic liquid infiltrated separators and polypyrrole films. Compared with conventional actuator that is driven in a bath of ionic liquid, the new actuator can greatly increase generated stress since the total sectional area is tremendously small. In our experiment, the new actuator consists of minimum unit with thickness of 128um and has work/weight ratio of 0.92J/kg by laminating 9 units in 0.5Hz driving condition. In addition, the driving experiment has shown a stable driving characteristic even for 10,000 cycles durability test. Furthermore, from our design consideration, it has been found that the work/weight ratio can be improved up to 8J/kg (1/8 of mammalian muscle of 64J/kg) in 0.1Hz by reducing the thickness of each unit to 30um. (Approach 2) In order to realize a simplified actuator structure in the air without sealing, we propose the use of ionic liquid gel. The actuation characteristic of suggested multilayered actuator using ionic liquid gel is simulated by computer. The result shows that performance degradation due to the use of ionic liquid gel is negligible small when ionic liquid gel with the elasticity of 3kPa or less is used. From above two results it is concluded that the proposed multilayerd actuator is promising for the future robotic applications because it has advantages of high work/weight ratio and in-the-air operation, in addition to advantages of conventional polymer actuators.

Perception for Outdoor Navigation

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-12-01

are theories of human cognitive activity during driving. Van der Molen and Botticher recently reviewed several of these models [40]. The models...represent driving knowledge, how to perceive traffic situations, or how to process information to obtain actions. Van der Molen and Botticher attempted to...Conference on Robotics and Automation. IEEE, 1987. [40] van der Molen , H.H., and Botticher, A.M.T. Risk Models for Traffic Participants: A Concerted

Self-organisation and communication in groups of simulated and physical robots.

PubMed

Trianni, Vito; Dorigo, Marco

2006-09-01

In social insects, both self-organisation and communication play a crucial role for the accomplishment of many tasks at a collective level. Communication is performed with different modalities, which can be roughly classified into three classes: indirect (stigmergic) communication, direct interactions and direct communication. The use of stigmergic communication is predominant in social insects (e.g. the pheromone trails in ants), where, however, direct interactions (e.g. antennation in ants) and direct communication (e.g. the waggle dance in honey bees) can also be observed. Taking inspiration from insect societies, we present an experimental study of self-organising behaviours for a group of robots, which exploit communication to coordinate their activities. In particular, the robots are placed in an arena presenting holes and open borders, which they should avoid while moving coordinately. Artificial evolution is responsible for the synthesis in a simulated environment of the robot's neural controllers, which are subsequently tested on physical robots. We study different communication strategies among the robots: no direct communication, handcrafted signalling and a completely evolved approach. We show that the latter is the most efficient, suggesting that artificial evolution can produce behaviours that are more adaptive than those obtained with conventional design methodologies. Moreover, we show that the evolved controllers produce a self-organising system that is robust enough to be tested on physical robots, notwithstanding the huge gap between simulation and reality.

Neuromorphic meets neuromechanics, part II: the role of fusimotor drive.

PubMed

Jalaleddini, Kian; Minos Niu, Chuanxin; Chakravarthi Raja, Suraj; Joon Sohn, Won; Loeb, Gerald E; Sanger, Terence D; Valero-Cuevas, Francisco J

2017-04-01

We studied the fundamentals of muscle afferentation by building a Neuro-mechano-morphic system actuating a cadaveric finger. This system is a faithful implementation of the stretch reflex circuitry. It allowed the systematic exploration of the effects of different fusimotor drives to the muscle spindle on the closed-loop stretch reflex response. As in Part I of this work, sensory neurons conveyed proprioceptive information from muscle spindles (with static and dynamic fusimotor drive) to populations of α-motor neurons (with recruitment and rate coding properties). The motor commands were transformed into tendon forces by a Hill-type muscle model (with activation-contraction dynamics) via brushless DC motors. Two independent afferented muscles emulated the forces of flexor digitorum profundus and the extensor indicis proprius muscles, forming an antagonist pair at the metacarpophalangeal joint of a cadaveric index finger. We measured the physical response to repetitions of bi-directional ramp-and-hold rotational perturbations for 81 combinations of static and dynamic fusimotor drives, across four ramp velocities, and three levels of constant cortical drive to the α-motor neuron pool. We found that this system produced responses compatible with the physiological literature. Fusimotor and cortical drives had nonlinear effects on the reflex forces. In particular, only cortical drive affected the sensitivity of reflex forces to static fusimotor drive. In contrast, both static fusimotor and cortical drives reduced the sensitivity to dynamic fusimotor drive. Interestingly, realistic signal-dependent motor noise emerged naturally in our system without having been explicitly modeled. We demonstrate that these fundamental features of spinal afferentation sufficed to produce muscle function. As such, our Neuro-mechano-morphic system is a viable platform to study the spinal mechanisms for healthy muscle function-and its pathologies such as dystonia and spasticity. In addition, it is a working prototype of a robust biomorphic controller for compliant robotic limbs and exoskeletons.

Neuromorphic meets neuromechanics, part II: the role of fusimotor drive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jalaleddini, Kian; Minos Niu, Chuanxin; Chakravarthi Raja, Suraj; Sohn, Won Joon; Loeb, Gerald E.; Sanger, Terence D.; Valero-Cuevas, Francisco J.

2017-04-01

Objective. We studied the fundamentals of muscle afferentation by building a Neuro-mechano-morphic system actuating a cadaveric finger. This system is a faithful implementation of the stretch reflex circuitry. It allowed the systematic exploration of the effects of different fusimotor drives to the muscle spindle on the closed-loop stretch reflex response. Approach. As in Part I of this work, sensory neurons conveyed proprioceptive information from muscle spindles (with static and dynamic fusimotor drive) to populations of α-motor neurons (with recruitment and rate coding properties). The motor commands were transformed into tendon forces by a Hill-type muscle model (with activation-contraction dynamics) via brushless DC motors. Two independent afferented muscles emulated the forces of flexor digitorum profundus and the extensor indicis proprius muscles, forming an antagonist pair at the metacarpophalangeal joint of a cadaveric index finger. We measured the physical response to repetitions of bi-directional ramp-and-hold rotational perturbations for 81 combinations of static and dynamic fusimotor drives, across four ramp velocities, and three levels of constant cortical drive to the α-motor neuron pool. Main results. We found that this system produced responses compatible with the physiological literature. Fusimotor and cortical drives had nonlinear effects on the reflex forces. In particular, only cortical drive affected the sensitivity of reflex forces to static fusimotor drive. In contrast, both static fusimotor and cortical drives reduced the sensitivity to dynamic fusimotor drive. Interestingly, realistic signal-dependent motor noise emerged naturally in our system without having been explicitly modeled. Significance. We demonstrate that these fundamental features of spinal afferentation sufficed to produce muscle function. As such, our Neuro-mechano-morphic system is a viable platform to study the spinal mechanisms for healthy muscle function—and its pathologies such as dystonia and spasticity. In addition, it is a working prototype of a robust biomorphic controller for compliant robotic limbs and exoskeletons.

Reducing Extra-Terrestrial Excavation Forces with Percussion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, Robert; Schuler, Jason M.; Smith, Jonathan Drew; Nick, Andrew J.; Lippitt, Thomas

2012-01-01

High launch costs and mission requirements drive the need for low mass excavators with mobility platforms, which in turn have little traction and excavation reaction capacity in low gravity environments. This presents the need for precursor and long term future missions with low mass robotic mining technology to perform In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) tasks. This paper discusses a series of experiments that investigate the effectiveness of a percussive digging device to reduce excavation loads and thereby the mass of the excavator itself. A percussive mechanism and 30" wide pivoting bucket were attached at the end of the arm simulating a basic backhoe with a percussion direction tangent to the direction of movement. Impact energies from 13.6J to 30.5J and frequencies from 0 BPM to 700 BPM were investigated. A reduction in excavation force of as much as 50% was achieved in this experimental investigation.

Self-Adaptive Correction of Heading Direction in Stair Climbing for Tracked Mobile Robots Using Visual Servoing Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Peng; Song, Aiguo; Song, Zimo; Liu, Yuqing; Jiang, Guohua; Zhao, Guopu

2017-02-01

In this paper, we describe a heading direction correction algorithm for a tracked mobile robot. To save hardware resources as far as possible, the mobile robot’s wrist camera is used as the only sensor, which is rotated to face stairs. An ensemble heading deviation detector is proposed to help the mobile robot correct its heading direction. To improve the generalization ability, a multi-scale Gabor filter is used to process the input image previously. Final deviation result is acquired by applying the majority vote strategy on all the classifiers’ results. The experimental results show that our detector is able to enable the mobile robot to correct its heading direction adaptively while it is climbing the stairs.

Vision servo of industrial robot: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yujin

2018-04-01

Robot technology has been implemented to various areas of production and life. With the continuous development of robot applications, requirements of the robot are also getting higher and higher. In order to get better perception of the robots, vision sensors have been widely used in industrial robots. In this paper, application directions of industrial robots are reviewed. The development, classification and application of robot vision servo technology are discussed, and the development prospect of industrial robot vision servo technology is proposed.

Robotic Assistance by Impedance Compensation for Hand Movements While Manual Welding.

PubMed

Erden, Mustafa Suphi; Billard, Aude

2016-11-01

In this paper, we present a robotic assistance scheme which allows for impedance compensation with stiffness, damping, and mass parameters for hand manipulation tasks and we apply it to manual welding. The impedance compensation does not assume a preprogrammed hand trajectory. Rather, the intention of the human for the hand movement is estimated in real time using a smooth Kalman filter. The movement is restricted by compensatory virtual impedance in the directions perpendicular to the estimated direction of movement. With airbrush painting experiments, we test three sets of values for the impedance parameters as inspired from impedance measurements with manual welding. We apply the best of the tested sets for assistance in manual welding and perform welding experiments with professional and novice welders. We contrast three conditions: 1) welding with the robot's assistance; 2) with the robot when the robot is passive; and 3) welding without the robot. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the assistance through quantitative measures of both task performance and perceived user's satisfaction. The performance of both the novice and professional welders improves significantly with robotic assistance compared to welding with a passive robot. The assessment of user satisfaction shows that all novice and most professional welders appreciate the robotic assistance as it suppresses the tremors in the directions perpendicular to the movement for welding.

75 FR 38125 - Fanuc Robotics America, Inc. Including On-Site Leased Workers From Right Angle Staffing, Inc...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-01

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-70,749] Fanuc Robotics America... period, Fanuc Robotics America neither imported articles like or directly competitive with the robotic.... Furthermore, the Department surveyed Fanuc Robotics America's major declining customers regarding purchases of...

RoboSimian Exits Vehicle

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-06-09

JPL's RoboSimian exits its vehicle following a brief drive through a slalom course at the DARPA Robotics Challenge in Pomona, California. This image was taken June 6, 2015. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19324

The Design of Artificial Intelligence Robot Based on Fuzzy Logic Controller Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuhrie, M. S.; Munoto; Hariadi, E.; Muslim, S.

2018-04-01

Artificial Intelligence Robot is a wheeled robot driven by a DC motor that moves along the wall using an ultrasonic sensor as a detector of obstacles. This study uses ultrasonic sensors HC-SR04 to measure the distance between the robot with the wall based ultrasonic wave. This robot uses Fuzzy Logic Controller to adjust the speed of DC motor. When the ultrasonic sensor detects a certain distance, sensor data is processed on ATmega8 then the data goes to ATmega16. From ATmega16, sensor data is calculated based on Fuzzy rules to drive DC motor speed. The program used to adjust the speed of a DC motor is CVAVR program (Code Vision AVR). The readable distance of ultrasonic sensor is 3 cm to 250 cm with response time 0.5 s. Testing of robots on walls with a setpoint value of 9 cm to 10 cm produce an average error value of -12% on the wall of L, -8% on T walls, -8% on U wall, and -1% in square wall.

The use of robotics in surgery: a review.

PubMed

Hussain, A; Malik, A; Halim, M U; Ali, A M

2014-11-01

There is an ever-increasing drive to improve surgical patient outcomes. Given the benefits which robotics has bestowed upon a wide range of industries, from vehicle manufacturing to space exploration, robots have been highlighted by many as essential for continued improvements in surgery. The goal of this review is to outline the history of robotic surgery, and detail the key studies which have investigated its effects on surgical outcomes. Issues of cost-effectiveness and patient acceptability will also be discussed. Robotic surgery has been shown to shorten hospital stays, decrease complication rates and allow surgeons to perform finer tasks, when compared to the traditional laparoscopic and open approaches. These benefits, however, must be balanced against increased intraoperative times, vast financial costs and the increased training burden associated with robotic techniques. The outcome of such a cost-benefit analysis appears to vary depending on the procedure being conducted; indeed the strongest evidence in favour of its use comes from the fields of urology and gynaecology. It is hoped that with the large-scale, randomised, prospective clinical trials underway, and an ever-expanding research base, many of the outstanding questions surrounding robotic surgery will be answered in the near future. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Design and implementation of scalable tape archiver

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nemoto, Toshihiro; Kitsuregawa, Masaru; Takagi, Mikio

1996-01-01

In order to reduce costs, computer manufacturers try to use commodity parts as much as possible. Mainframes using proprietary processors are being replaced by high performance RISC microprocessor-based workstations, which are further being replaced by the commodity microprocessor used in personal computers. Highly reliable disks for mainframes are also being replaced by disk arrays, which are complexes of disk drives. In this paper we try to clarify the feasibility of a large scale tertiary storage system composed of 8-mm tape archivers utilizing robotics. In the near future, the 8-mm tape archiver will be widely used and become a commodity part, since recent rapid growth of multimedia applications requires much larger storage than disk drives can provide. We designed a scalable tape archiver which connects as many 8-mm tape archivers (element archivers) as possible. In the scalable archiver, robotics can exchange a cassette tape between two adjacent element archivers mechanically. Thus, we can build a large scalable archiver inexpensively. In addition, a sophisticated migration mechanism distributes frequently accessed tapes (hot tapes) evenly among all of the element archivers, which improves the throughput considerably. Even with the failures of some tape drives, the system dynamically redistributes hot tapes to the other element archivers which have live tape drives. Several kinds of specially tailored huge archivers are on the market, however, the 8-mm tape scalable archiver could replace them. To maintain high performance in spite of high access locality when a large number of archivers are attached to the scalable archiver, it is necessary to scatter frequently accessed cassettes among the element archivers and to use the tape drives efficiently. For this purpose, we introduce two cassette migration algorithms, foreground migration and background migration. Background migration transfers cassettes between element archivers to redistribute frequently accessed cassettes, thus balancing the load of each archiver. Background migration occurs the robotics are idle. Both migration algorithms are based on access frequency and space utility of each element archiver. To normalize these parameters according to the number of drives in each element archiver, it is possible to maintain high performance even if some tape drives fail. We found that the foreground migration is efficient at reducing access response time. Beside the foreground migration, the background migration makes it possible to track the transition of spatial access locality quickly.

Evolving self-assembly in autonomous homogeneous robots: experiments with two physical robots.

PubMed

Ampatzis, Christos; Tuci, Elio; Trianni, Vito; Christensen, Anders Lyhne; Dorigo, Marco

2009-01-01

This research work illustrates an approach to the design of controllers for self-assembling robots in which the self-assembly is initiated and regulated by perceptual cues that are brought forth by the physical robots through their dynamical interactions. More specifically, we present a homogeneous control system that can achieve assembly between two modules (two fully autonomous robots) of a mobile self-reconfigurable system without a priori introduced behavioral or morphological heterogeneities. The controllers are dynamic neural networks evolved in simulation that directly control all the actuators of the two robots. The neurocontrollers cause the dynamic specialization of the robots by allocating roles between them based solely on their interaction. We show that the best evolved controller proves to be successful when tested on a real hardware platform, the swarm-bot. The performance achieved is similar to the one achieved by existing modular or behavior-based approaches, also due to the effect of an emergent recovery mechanism that was neither explicitly rewarded by the fitness function, nor observed during the evolutionary simulation. Our results suggest that direct access to the orientations or intentions of the other agents is not a necessary condition for robot coordination: Our robots coordinate without direct or explicit communication, contrary to what is assumed by most research works in collective robotics. This work also contributes to strengthening the evidence that evolutionary robotics is a design methodology that can tackle real-world tasks demanding fine sensory-motor coordination.

Outcomes of infants undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty compared to open repair.

PubMed

Dangle, Pankaj P; Kearns, James; Anderson, Blake; Gundeti, Mohan S

2013-12-01

Robotic surgery has evolved from simple extirpative surgery to complex reconstructions even in infants. Data are lacking comparing surgical and direct costs to open approaches. We describe the feasibility, salient tips and outcomes of robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty compared to an open approach. We evaluated patients undergoing open pyeloplasty or robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty. Ten patients in each group met inclusion criteria. Mean patient age was 3.31 months in the open group and 7.3 months in the robotic group (p=0.02). Postoperative outcomes including length of stay (2.2 vs 2.1 days), estimated blood loss (6.5 vs 7.6 ml), days to regular diet (1 vs 1.1) and days to Foley catheter removal (1.3 vs 1.3) were similar between the open and robotic groups. Total operating time (199 vs 242 minutes) was significantly longer in the robotic group. Postoperative improvement in hydronephrosis was identical in both groups. Direct costs, excluding amortization, robotic cost, maintenance and depreciation, were $4,410 in the open group and $4,979 in the robotic group (p=0.10). In our preliminary experience robotic pyeloplasty in infants is feasible and safe. The immediate outcomes are similar to those of an open approach. The robotic technique in infants currently has the benefits of improved esthetic appearance, improved pain control and similar direct costs compared to the traditional open approach. Copyright © 2013 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Human and AutomationRobotics Integration Needs for Future Human Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marquez, Jessica J.; Adelstein, Bernard D.; Ellis, Stephen; Chang, Mai Lee; Howard, Robert

2016-01-01

NASA employs Design Reference Missions (DRMs) to define potential architectures for future human exploration missions to deep space, the Moon, and Mars. While DRMs to these destinations share some components, each mission has different needs. This paper focuses on the human and automation/robotic integration needs for these future missions, evaluating them with respect to NASA research gaps in the area of space human factors engineering. The outcomes of our assessment is a human and automation/robotic (HAR) task list for each of the four DRMs that we reviewed (i.e., Deep Space Sortie, Lunar Visit/Habitation, Deep Space Habitation, and Planetary), a list of common critical HAR factors that drive HAR design.

A telepresence robot system realized by embedded object concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallius, Tero; Röning, Juha

2006-10-01

This paper presents the Embedded Object Concept (EOC) and a telepresence robot system which is a test case for the EOC. The EOC utilizes common object-oriented methods used in software by applying them to combined Lego-like software-hardware entities. These entities represent objects in object-oriented design methods, and they are the building blocks of embedded systems. The goal of the EOC is to make the designing embedded systems faster and easier. This concept enables people without comprehensive knowledge in electronics design to create new embedded systems, and for experts it shortens the design time of new embedded systems. We present the current status of a telepresence robot created with second-generation Atomi-objects, which is the name for our implementation of the embedded objects. The telepresence robot is a relatively complex test case for the EOC. The robot has been constructed using incremental device development, which is made possible by the architecture of the EOC. The robot contains video and audio exchange capability and a controlling system for driving with two wheels. The robot is built in two versions, the first consisting of a PC device and Atomi-objects, and the second consisting of only Atomi-objects. The robot is currently incomplete, but most of it has been successfully tested.

Soft Robotics: Academic Insights and Perspectives Through Bibliometric Analysis

PubMed Central

Bao, Guanjun; Fang, Hui; Chen, Lingfeng; Xu, Fang; Yang, Qinghua; Zhang, Libin

2018-01-01

Abstract Soft robotics is of growing interest in the robot community as well as in public media, and there is an increase in the quality and quantity of publications related to this topic. To formally elaborate this growth, we have used a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the publications in the field from 1990 to 2017 based on the Science Citation Index Expanded database. We present a detailed overview and discussion based on keywords, citation, h-index, year, journal, institution, country, author, and review articles. The results show that the United States takes the leading position in this research field, followed by China and Italy. Harvard University has the most publications, high average number of citations per publication and the highest h-index. IEEE Transactions on Robotics ranks first among the top 20 academic journals publishing articles related to this field, whereas Soft Robotics holds the top position in journals categorized with “ROBOTICS.” Actuator, fabrication, control, material, sensing, simulation, bionics, stiffness, modeling, power, motion, and application are the hot topics of soft robotics. Smart materials, bionics, morphological computation, and embodiment control are expected to contribute to this field in the future. Application and commercialization appear to be the initial driving force and final goal for soft robots. PMID:29782219

Pediatric robotic urologic surgery-2014

PubMed Central

Kearns, James T.; Gundeti, Mohan S.

2014-01-01

We seek to provide a background of the current state of pediatric urologic surgery including a brief history, procedural outcomes, cost considerations, future directions, and the state of robotic surgery in India. Pediatric robotic urology has been shown to be safe and effective in cases ranging from pyeloplasty to bladder augmentation with continent urinary diversion. Complication rates are in line with other methods of performing the same procedures. The cost of robotic surgery continues to decrease, but setting up pediatric robotic urology programs can be costly in terms of both monetary investment and the training of robotic surgeons. The future directions of robot surgery include instrument and system refinements, augmented reality and haptics, and telesurgery. Given the large number of children in India, there is huge potential for growth of pediatric robotic urology in India. Pediatric robotic urologic surgery has been established as safe and effective, and it will be an important tool in the future of pediatric urologic surgery worldwide. PMID:25197187

University Research Program in Robotics - "Technologies for Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems in directed Stockpile Work (DSW) Radiation and Campaigns", Final Technical Annual Report, Project Period 9/1/06 - 8/31/07

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

James S. Tulenko; Carl D. Crane

The University Research Program in Robotics (URPR) is an integrated group of universities performing fundamental research that addresses broad-based robotics and automation needs of the NNSA Directed Stockpile Work (DSW) and Campaigns. The URPR mission is to provide improved capabilities in robotics science and engineering to meet the future needs of all weapon systems and other associated NNSA/DOE activities.

Development of a semi-autonomous service robot with telerobotic capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, J. E.; White, D. R.

1987-01-01

The importance to the United States of semi-autonomous systems for application to a large number of manufacturing and service processes is very clear. Two principal reasons emerge as the primary driving forces for development of such systems: enhanced national productivity and operation in environments whch are hazardous to humans. Completely autonomous systems may not currently be economically feasible. However, autonomous systems that operate in a limited operation domain or that are supervised by humans are within the technology capability of this decade and will likely provide reasonable return on investment. The two research and development efforts of autonomy and telerobotics are distinctly different, yet interconnected. The first addresses the communication of an intelligent electronic system with a robot while the second requires human communication and ergonomic consideration. Discussed here are work in robotic control, human/robot team implementation, expert system robot operation, and sensor development by the American Welding Institute, MTS Systems Corporation, and the Colorado School of Mines--Center for Welding Research.

A universal six-joint robot controller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bihn, D. G.; Hsia, T. C.

1987-01-01

A general purpose six-axis robotic manipulator controller was designed and implemented to serve as a research tool for the investigation of the practical and theoretical aspects of various control strategies in robotics. A 80286-based Intel System 310 running the Xenix operating servo software as well as the higher level software (e.g., kinematics and path planning) were employed. A Multibus compatible interface board was designed and constructed to handle I/O signals from the robot manipulator's joint motors. From the design point of view, the universal controller is capable of driving robot manipulators equipped with D.C. joint motors and position optical encoders. To test its functionality, the controller is connected to the joint motor D.C. power amplifier of a PUMA 560 arm bypassing completely the manufacturer-supplied Unimation controller. A controller algorithm consisting of local PD control laws was written and installed into the Xenix operating system. Additional software drivers were implemented to allow application programs access to the interface board. All software was written in the C language.

Recognition and Classification of Road Condition on the Basis of Friction Force by Using a Mobile Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Tatsuhito; Katsura, Seiichiro

A person operating a mobile robot in a remote environment receives realistic visual feedback about the condition of the road on which the robot is moving. The categorization of the road condition is necessary to evaluate the conditions for safe and comfortable driving. For this purpose, the mobile robot should be capable of recognizing and classifying the condition of the road surfaces. This paper proposes a method for recognizing the type of road surfaces on the basis of the friction between the mobile robot and the road surfaces. This friction is estimated by a disturbance observer, and a support vector machine is used to classify the surfaces. The support vector machine identifies the type of the road surface using feature vector, which is determined using the arithmetic average and variance derived from the torque values. Further, these feature vectors are mapped onto a higher dimensional space by using a kernel function. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed by experimental results.

Electroencephalography(EEG)-based instinctive brain-control of a quadruped locomotion robot.

PubMed

Jia, Wenchuan; Huang, Dandan; Luo, Xin; Pu, Huayan; Chen, Xuedong; Bai, Ou

2012-01-01

Artificial intelligence and bionic control have been applied in electroencephalography (EEG)-based robot system, to execute complex brain-control task. Nevertheless, due to technical limitations of the EEG decoding, the brain-computer interface (BCI) protocol is often complex, and the mapping between the EEG signal and the practical instructions lack of logic associated, which restrict the user's actual use. This paper presents a strategy that can be used to control a quadruped locomotion robot by user's instinctive action, based on five kinds of movement related neurophysiological signal. In actual use, the user drives or imagines the limbs/wrists action to generate EEG signal to adjust the real movement of the robot according to his/her own motor reflex of the robot locomotion. This method is easy for real use, as the user generates the brain-control signal through the instinctive reaction. By adopting the behavioral control of learning and evolution based on the proposed strategy, complex movement task may be realized by instinctive brain-control.

Bioinspired decision architectures containing host and microbiome processing units.

PubMed

Heyde, K C; Gallagher, P W; Ruder, W C

2016-09-27

Biomimetic robots have been used to explore and explain natural phenomena ranging from the coordination of ants to the locomotion of lizards. Here, we developed a series of decision architectures inspired by the information exchange between a host organism and its microbiome. We first modeled the biochemical exchanges of a population of synthetically engineered E. coli. We then built a physical, differential drive robot that contained an integrated, onboard computer vision system. A relay was established between the simulated population of cells and the robot's microcontroller. By placing the robot within a target-containing a two-dimensional arena, we explored how different aspects of the simulated cells and the robot's microcontroller could be integrated to form hybrid decision architectures. We found that distinct decision architectures allow for us to develop models of computation with specific strengths such as runtime efficiency or minimal memory allocation. Taken together, our hybrid decision architectures provide a new strategy for developing bioinspired control systems that integrate both living and nonliving components.

Remote Control and Children's Understanding of Robots

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Somanader, Mark C.; Saylor, Megan M.; Levin, Daniel T.

2011-01-01

Children use goal-directed motion to classify agents as living things from early in infancy. In the current study, we asked whether preschoolers are flexible in their application of this criterion by introducing them to robots that engaged in goal-directed motion. In one case the robot appeared to move fully autonomously, and in the other case it…

Robotic mitral valve operations by experienced surgeons are cost-neutral and durable at 1 year.

PubMed

Coyan, Garrett; Wei, Lawrence M; Althouse, Andrew; Roberts, Harold G; Schauble, Drew; Murashita, Takashi; Cook, Chris C; Rankin, J Scott; Badhwar, Vinay

2018-04-12

Robotic mitral valve surgery has potential advantages in patient satisfaction and 30-day outcome. Cost concerns and repair durability limit wider adoption of robotic technology. This study examined detailed cost differences between robotic and sternotomy techniques in relation to outcomes and durability following robotic mitral program initiation. Between April 2013 and October 2015, 30-day and 1-year outcomes of 328 consecutive patients undergoing robotic or sternotomy mitral valve repair or replacement by experienced surgeons were examined. Multivariable logistic regression informed propensity matching to derive a cohort of 182 patients. Echocardiographic follow-up was completed at 1 year in all robotic patients. Detailed activity-based cost accounting was applied to include direct, semidirect, and indirect costs with special respect to robotic depreciation, maintenance, and supplies. A quantitative analysis of all hospital costs was applied directly to each patient encounter for comparative financial analyses. Mean predicted risk of mortality was similar in both the robotic (n = 91) and sternotomy (n = 91) groups (0.9% vs 0.8%; P > .431). The total costs of robotic mitral operations were similar to those of sternotomy ($27,662 vs $28,241; P = .273). Early direct costs were higher in the robotic group. There was a marked increase in late indirect cost with the sternotomy cohort related to increased length of stay, transfusion requirements, and readmission rates. Robotic repair technique was associated with no echocardiographic recurrence greater than trace to only mild regurgitation at 1 year. Experienced mitral surgeons can initiate a robotic program in a cost-neutral manner that maintains clinical outcome integrity as well as repair durability. Copyright © 2018 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Robotically assisted ureteroscopy for kidney exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talari, Hadi F.; Monfaredi, Reza; Wilson, Emmanuel; Blum, Emily; Bayne, Christopher; Peters, Craig; Zhang, Anlin; Cleary, Kevin

2017-03-01

Ureteroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure for diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract pathology. Ergonomic and visualization challenges as well as radiation exposure are limitations to conventional ureteroscopy. Therefore, we have developed a robotic system to "power drive" a flexible ureteroscope with 3D tip tracking and pre-operative image overlay. The proposed system was evaluated using a kidney phantom registered to pre-operative MR images. Initial experiments show the potential of the device to provide additional assistance, precision, and guidance during urology procedures.

Synergy-Based Bilateral Port: A Universal Control Module for Tele-Manipulation Frameworks Using Asymmetric Master–Slave Systems

PubMed Central

Brygo, Anais; Sarakoglou, Ioannis; Grioli, Giorgio; Tsagarakis, Nikos

2017-01-01

Endowing tele-manipulation frameworks with the capability to accommodate a variety of robotic hands is key to achieving high performances through permitting to flexibly interchange the end-effector according to the task considered. This requires the development of control policies that not only cope with asymmetric master–slave systems but also whose high-level components are designed in a unified space in abstraction from the devices specifics. To address this dual challenge, a novel synergy port is developed that resolves the kinematic, sensing, and actuation asymmetries of the considered system through generating motion and force feedback references in the hardware-independent hand postural synergy space. It builds upon the concept of the Cartesian-based synergy matrix, which is introduced as a tool mapping the fingertips Cartesian space to the directions oriented along the grasp principal components. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed approach, the synergy port has been integrated into the control system of a highly asymmetric tele-manipulation framework, in which the 3-finger hand exoskeleton HEXOTRAC is used as a master device to control the SoftHand, a robotic hand whose transmission system relies on a single motor to drive all joints along a soft synergistic path. The platform is further enriched with the vision-based motion capture system Optitrack to monitor the 6D trajectory of the user’s wrist, which is used to control the robotic arm on which the SoftHand is mounted. Experiments have been conducted with the humanoid robot COMAN and the KUKA LWR robotic manipulator. Results indicate that this bilateral interface is highly intuitive and allows users with no prior experience to reach, grasp, and transport a variety of objects exhibiting very different shapes and impedances. In addition, the hardware and control solutions proved capable of accommodating users with different hand kinematics. Finally, the proposed control framework offers a universal, flexible, and intuitive interface allowing for the performance of effective tele-manipulations. PMID:28421179

Synergy-Based Bilateral Port: A Universal Control Module for Tele-Manipulation Frameworks Using Asymmetric Master-Slave Systems.

PubMed

Brygo, Anais; Sarakoglou, Ioannis; Grioli, Giorgio; Tsagarakis, Nikos

2017-01-01

Endowing tele-manipulation frameworks with the capability to accommodate a variety of robotic hands is key to achieving high performances through permitting to flexibly interchange the end-effector according to the task considered. This requires the development of control policies that not only cope with asymmetric master-slave systems but also whose high-level components are designed in a unified space in abstraction from the devices specifics. To address this dual challenge, a novel synergy port is developed that resolves the kinematic, sensing, and actuation asymmetries of the considered system through generating motion and force feedback references in the hardware-independent hand postural synergy space. It builds upon the concept of the Cartesian-based synergy matrix, which is introduced as a tool mapping the fingertips Cartesian space to the directions oriented along the grasp principal components. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed approach, the synergy port has been integrated into the control system of a highly asymmetric tele-manipulation framework, in which the 3-finger hand exoskeleton HEXOTRAC is used as a master device to control the SoftHand, a robotic hand whose transmission system relies on a single motor to drive all joints along a soft synergistic path. The platform is further enriched with the vision-based motion capture system Optitrack to monitor the 6D trajectory of the user's wrist, which is used to control the robotic arm on which the SoftHand is mounted. Experiments have been conducted with the humanoid robot COMAN and the KUKA LWR robotic manipulator. Results indicate that this bilateral interface is highly intuitive and allows users with no prior experience to reach, grasp, and transport a variety of objects exhibiting very different shapes and impedances. In addition, the hardware and control solutions proved capable of accommodating users with different hand kinematics. Finally, the proposed control framework offers a universal, flexible, and intuitive interface allowing for the performance of effective tele-manipulations.

Embedded object concept: case balancing two-wheeled robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallius, Tero; Röning, Juha

2007-09-01

This paper presents the Embedded Object Concept (EOC) and a telepresence robot system which is a test case for the EOC. The EOC utilizes common object-oriented methods used in software by applying them to combined Lego-like software-hardware entities. These entities represent objects in object-oriented design methods, and they are the building blocks of embedded systems. The goal of the EOC is to make the designing of embedded systems faster and easier. This concept enables people without comprehensive knowledge in electronics design to create new embedded systems, and for experts it shortens the design time of new embedded systems. We present the current status of a telepresence robot created with Atomi-objects, which is the name for our implementation of the embedded objects. The telepresence robot is a relatively complex test case for the EOC. The robot has been constructed using incremental device development, which is made possible by the architecture of the EOC. The robot contains video and audio exchange capability and a controlling system for driving with two wheels. The robot consists of Atomi-objects, demonstrating the suitability of the EOC for prototyping and easy modifications, and proving the capabilities of the EOC by realizing a function that normally requires a computer. The computer counterpart is a regular PC with audio and video capabilities running with a robot control application. The robot is functional and successfully tested.

Robotic lobectomy and segmentectomy for lung cancer: results and operating technique

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is a minimally invasive approach with several advantages over open thoracotomy for the surgery of lung cancer but also some limitations like rigid instruments and suboptimal vision. Robot technology is an evolution of manual videothoracoscopy introduced to overcome these limitations maintaining the advantages related to low invasiveness. More intuitive movements, greater flexibility and high definition three-dimensional vision are advantages of the robotic approach. Different studies demonstrate that robotic lobectomy and segmentectomy are feasible and safe with long term outcome similar to that of open/VATS approaches, however no randomised comparison are available and benefits in terms of quality of life (QOL) and pain need to be demonstrated yet. Several different robotic techniques are currently employed and differ for number of robotic arms (three versus four), the use of CO2 insufflation, timing of utility incision and the port positioning. The four arms robotic approach with anterior utility incision is the technique described by the authors. Indications to perform robotic lung resections may be more extensive than those of traditional videothoracoscpic approach and includes patients with locally advanced disease after chemotherapy or those requiring anatomical segmentectomy. Learning curve of vats and robotic lung resection is similar. High capital and running costs are the most important disadvantages. Entry of competitor companies should drive down costs. PMID:25984357

Autonomous driving in urban environments: approaches, lessons and challenges.

PubMed

Campbell, Mark; Egerstedt, Magnus; How, Jonathan P; Murray, Richard M

2010-10-13

The development of autonomous vehicles for urban driving has seen rapid progress in the past 30 years. This paper provides a summary of the current state of the art in autonomous driving in urban environments, based primarily on the experiences of the authors in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge (DUC). The paper briefly summarizes the approaches that different teams used in the DUC, with the goal of describing some of the challenges that the teams faced in driving in urban environments. The paper also highlights the long-term research challenges that must be overcome in order to enable autonomous driving and points to opportunities for new technologies to be applied in improving vehicle safety, exploiting intelligent road infrastructure and enabling robotic vehicles operating in human environments.

Visual servoing in medical robotics: a survey. Part I: endoscopic and direct vision imaging - techniques and applications.

PubMed

Azizian, Mahdi; Khoshnam, Mahta; Najmaei, Nima; Patel, Rajni V

2014-09-01

Intra-operative imaging is widely used to provide visual feedback to a clinician when he/she performs a procedure. In visual servoing, surgical instruments and parts of tissue/body are tracked by processing the acquired images. This information is then used within a control loop to manoeuvre a robotic manipulator during a procedure. A comprehensive search of electronic databases was completed for the period 2000-2013 to provide a survey of the visual servoing applications in medical robotics. The focus is on medical applications where image-based tracking is used for closed-loop control of a robotic system. Detailed classification and comparative study of various contributions in visual servoing using endoscopic or direct visual images are presented and summarized in tables and diagrams. The main challenges in using visual servoing for medical robotic applications are identified and potential future directions are suggested. 'Supervised automation of medical robotics' is found to be a major trend in this field. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Information driven self-organization of complex robotic behaviors.

PubMed

Martius, Georg; Der, Ralf; Ay, Nihat

2013-01-01

Information theory is a powerful tool to express principles to drive autonomous systems because it is domain invariant and allows for an intuitive interpretation. This paper studies the use of the predictive information (PI), also called excess entropy or effective measure complexity, of the sensorimotor process as a driving force to generate behavior. We study nonlinear and nonstationary systems and introduce the time-local predicting information (TiPI) which allows us to derive exact results together with explicit update rules for the parameters of the controller in the dynamical systems framework. In this way the information principle, formulated at the level of behavior, is translated to the dynamics of the synapses. We underpin our results with a number of case studies with high-dimensional robotic systems. We show the spontaneous cooperativity in a complex physical system with decentralized control. Moreover, a jointly controlled humanoid robot develops a high behavioral variety depending on its physics and the environment it is dynamically embedded into. The behavior can be decomposed into a succession of low-dimensional modes that increasingly explore the behavior space. This is a promising way to avoid the curse of dimensionality which hinders learning systems to scale well.

A fuzzy logic controller for an autonomous mobile robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yen, John; Pfluger, Nathan

1993-01-01

The ability of a mobile robot system to plan and move intelligently in a dynamic system is needed if robots are to be useful in areas other than controlled environments. An example of a use for this system is to control an autonomous mobile robot in a space station, or other isolated area where it is hard or impossible for human life to exist for long periods of time (e.g., Mars). The system would allow the robot to be programmed to carry out the duties normally accomplished by a human being. Some of the duties that could be accomplished include operating instruments, transporting objects, and maintenance of the environment. The main focus of our early work has been on developing a fuzzy controller that takes a path and adapts it to a given environment. The robot only uses information gathered from the sensors, but retains the ability to avoid dynamically placed obstacles near and along the path. Our fuzzy logic controller is based on the following algorithm: (1) determine the desired direction of travel; (2) determine the allowed direction of travel; and (3) combine the desired and allowed directions in order to determine a direciton that is both desired and allowed. The desired direction of travel is determined by projecting ahead to a point along the path that is closer to the goal. This gives a local direction of travel for the robot and helps to avoid obstacles.

Using Voice Coils to Actuate Modular Soft Robots: Wormbot, an Example.

PubMed

Nemitz, Markus P; Mihaylov, Pavel; Barraclough, Thomas W; Ross, Dylan; Stokes, Adam A

2016-12-01

In this study, we present a modular worm-like robot, which utilizes voice coils as a new paradigm in soft robot actuation. Drive electronics are incorporated into the actuators, providing a significant improvement in self-sufficiency when compared with existing soft robot actuation modes such as pneumatics or hydraulics. The body plan of this robot is inspired by the phylum Annelida and consists of three-dimensional printed voice coil actuators, which are connected by flexible silicone membranes. Each electromagnetic actuator engages with its neighbor to compress or extend the membrane of each segment, and the sequence in which they are actuated results in an earthworm-inspired peristaltic motion. We find that a minimum of three segments is required for locomotion, but due to our modular design, robots of any length can be quickly and easily assembled. In addition to actuation, voice coils provide audio input and output capabilities. We demonstrate transmission of data between segments by high-frequency carrier waves and, using a similar mechanism, we note that the passing of power between coupled coils in neighboring modules-or from an external power source-is also possible. Voice coils are a convenient multifunctional alternative to existing soft robot actuators. Their self-contained nature and ability to communicate with each other are ideal for modular robotics, and the additional functionality of sound input/output and power transfer will become increasingly useful as soft robots begin the transition from early proof-of-concept systems toward fully functional and highly integrated robotic systems.

Swimming like algae: biomimetic soft artificial cilia

PubMed Central

Sareh, Sina; Rossiter, Jonathan; Conn, Andrew; Drescher, Knut; Goldstein, Raymond E.

2013-01-01

Cilia are used effectively in a wide variety of biological systems from fluid transport to thrust generation. Here, we present the design and implementation of artificial cilia, based on a biomimetic planar actuator using soft-smart materials. This actuator is modelled on the cilia movement of the alga Volvox, and represents the cilium as a piecewise constant-curvature robotic actuator that enables the subsequent direct translation of natural articulation into a multi-segment ionic polymer metal composite actuator. It is demonstrated how the combination of optimal segmentation pattern and biologically derived per-segment driving signals reproduce natural ciliary motion. The amenability of the artificial cilia to scaling is also demonstrated through the comparison of the Reynolds number achieved with that of natural cilia. PMID:23097503

Preprocessor with spline interpolation for converting stereolithography into cutter location source data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagata, Fusaomi; Okada, Yudai; Sakamoto, Tatsuhiko; Kusano, Takamasa; Habib, Maki K.; Watanabe, Keigo

2017-06-01

The authors have developed earlier an industrial machining robotic system for foamed polystyrene materials. The developed robotic CAM system provided a simple and effective interface without the need to use any robot language between operators and the machining robot. In this paper, a preprocessor for generating Cutter Location Source data (CLS data) from Stereolithography (STL data) is first proposed for robotic machining. The preprocessor enables to control the machining robot directly using STL data without using any commercially provided CAM system. The STL deals with a triangular representation for a curved surface geometry. The preprocessor allows machining robots to be controlled through a zigzag or spiral path directly calculated from STL data. Then, a smart spline interpolation method is proposed and implemented for smoothing coarse CLS data. The effectiveness and potential of the developed approaches are demonstrated through experiments on actual machining and interpolation.

Design Of A Low Cost Anthropomorphic Robot Hand For Industrial Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, P.; Raleigh, B.

2009-11-01

Autonomous grasping systems using anthropomorphic robotic end effectors have many applications, and the potential of such devices has inspired researchers to develop many types of grasping systems over the past 30 years. Their research has yielded significant advances in end effector dexterity and functionality. However, due to the cost and complexity associated with such devices, their role has been largely confined to that of being research tools in laboratories. Industry, by contrast, has largely opted for simple, single task, devices. This paper presents a novel low cost anthropomorphic robotic end effector, and in particular the design characteristics that make it more applicable to industrial application. The design brief was (i) to be broadly similar to the human hand in terms of size and performance (ii) be low cost (less than €5000 for the system) and (iii) to provide sufficient performance to allow use in industrial applications. Consisting of three fingers and an opposing thumb, the robotic hand developed has a total of 12 automated degrees of freedom. Another 4 degrees of freedom can be set manually. The specific design of the fingers and thumb, together with the drive arrangement utilizing synchronous belts, yields a simplified kinematics solution for the control of movement. The modular nature of the design is extended also to the palm, which can be easily modified to produce different overall work envelopes for the hand. The drive system and grasping strategies are also detailed.

The quadruped robot adaptive control in trotting gait walking on slopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Shulong; Ma, Hongxu; Yang, Yu; Wang, Jian

2017-10-01

The quadruped robot can be decomposed into a planar seven-link closed kinematic chain in the direction of supporting line and a linear inverted pendulum in normal direction of supporting line. The ground slope can be estimated by using the body attitude information and supporting legs length. The slope degree is used in feedback, to achieve the point of quadruped robot adaptive control walking on slopes. The simulation results verify that the quadruped robot can achieves steady locomotion on the slope with the control strategy proposed in this passage.

Coordinated Control of Slip Ratio for Wheeled Mobile Robots Climbing Loose Sloped Terrain

PubMed Central

Li, Zhengcai; Wang, Yang

2014-01-01

A challenging problem faced by wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) such as planetary rovers traversing loose sloped terrain is the inevitable longitudinal slip suffered by the wheels, which often leads to their deviation from the predetermined trajectory, reduced drive efficiency, and possible failures. This study investigates this problem using terramechanics analysis of the wheel-soil interaction. First, a slope-based wheel-soil interaction terramechanics model is built, and an online slip coordinated algorithm is designed based on the goal of optimal drive efficiency. An equation of state is established using the coordinated slip as the desired input and the actual slip as a state variable. To improve the robustness and adaptability of the control system, an adaptive neural network is designed. Analytical results and those of a simulation using Vortex demonstrate the significantly improved mobile performance of the WMR using the proposed control system. PMID:25276849

Coordinated control of slip ratio for wheeled mobile robots climbing loose sloped terrain.

PubMed

Li, Zhengcai; Wang, Yang

2014-01-01

A challenging problem faced by wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) such as planetary rovers traversing loose sloped terrain is the inevitable longitudinal slip suffered by the wheels, which often leads to their deviation from the predetermined trajectory, reduced drive efficiency, and possible failures. This study investigates this problem using terramechanics analysis of the wheel-soil interaction. First, a slope-based wheel-soil interaction terramechanics model is built, and an online slip coordinated algorithm is designed based on the goal of optimal drive efficiency. An equation of state is established using the coordinated slip as the desired input and the actual slip as a state variable. To improve the robustness and adaptability of the control system, an adaptive neural network is designed. Analytical results and those of a simulation using Vortex demonstrate the significantly improved mobile performance of the WMR using the proposed control system.

Precision increase in electric drive speed loop of robotic complexes and process lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tulegenov, E.; Imanova, A. A.; Platonov, V. V.

2018-05-01

The article presents the principles of synthesis of control structures for highprecision electric drives of robotic complexes and manipulators. It has been theoretically shown and experimentally confirmed that improved characteristics of speed maintenance in the zone of significant overloads are achieved in systems of series excitation. They are achieved due to the redistribution of control signals both in the zone of setting the armature current and in the excitation currents. At the same time, the characteristic of the electromagnetic torque becomes linear because the demagnetizing effect of the armature response is compensated by the setting of the excitation current. It is recommended in those cases when it is necessary to extend the range of speed control with a significant reduction in load to apply structures with two-zone speed control. The regulation of the weakening of the excitation flow is more convenient as a function of the voltage in the armature windings.

A large-strain, fast-response, and easy-to-manufacture electrothermal actuator based on laser-reduced graphene oxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Tian-Yu; Wang, Qian; Deng, Ning-Qin; Zhao, Hai-Ming; Wang, Dan-Yang; Yang, Zhen; Liu, Ying; Yang, Yi; Ren, Tian-Ling

2017-09-01

In this paper, we have developed a high-performance graphene electrothermal actuator (ETA). The fabrication method is easy, fast, environmentally friendly, and suitable for preparing both large-size and miniature graphene ETAs. When applied with the driving voltage of 65 V, the graphene ETA achieves a large bending angle of 270° with a fast response of 8 s and the recovery process costs 19 s. The large bending deformation is reversible and can be precisely controlled by the driving voltage. A simple robotic hand prepared by using a single graphene ETA can hold the object, which is more than ten times the weight of itself. By virtue of its large-strain, fast response, and easy-to-manufacture, we believe that the graphene ETA has tremendous potential in extensive applications involving biomimetic robotics, artificial muscles, switches, and microsensors in both macroscopic and microscopic fields.

Development of an ultrasonic inspection robot using an electromagnetic acoustic transducer for a Lamb wave and an SH-plate wave.

PubMed

Murayama, Riichi; Makiyama, Shunnichi; Kodama, Mitutoshi; Taniguchi, Yasutoshi

2004-04-01

For inspection of a storage tank and pipeline in service, the application of an automatic inspection system (nondestructive inspection robot) is desirable, because manual inspection is difficult to perfectly and exactly perform due to the enormous amount of inspection needed. However, an ultrasonic nondestructive inspection robot with a piezoelectric oscillator needs to touch only the material surface to be directly inspected using a coupling medium. That is, the material surface and the sensor must always be held by constant pressure in the vertical direction on the material side. Actually, it is difficult to overcome these problems; thus an ultrasonic inspection robot could not be widely applied. We then tried to develop an ultrasonic inspection robot with an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) which did not require a coupling medium to inspect the circumferential pipe parts. We developed a special EMAT that could transmit and receive alternately a Lamb wave with high sensitivity and a SH-plate wave without influence by the welded part. The method by which the inspection robot turned around the direction of the steel pipe surroundings was executed by observing the tape pasted in the direction of the steel pipe surroundings with an installed CCD camera. In this report, the basic mechanism of this inspection robot and an examination of results are described.

Application of traction drives as servo mechanisms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loewenthal, S. H.; Rohn, D. A.; Steinetz, B. M.

1985-01-01

The suitability of traction drives for a wide class of aerospace control mechanisms is examined. Potential applications include antenna or solar array drive positioners, robotic joints, control moment gyro (CMG) actuators and propeller pitch change mechanisms. In these and similar applications the zero backlash, high torsional stiffness, low hysteresis and torque ripple characteristics of traction drives are of particular interest, as is the ability to run without liquid lubrication in certain cases. Wear and fatigue considerations for wet and dry operation are examined along with the tribological performance of several promising self lubricating polymers for traction contracts. The speed regulation capabilities of variable ratio traction drives are reviewed. A torsional stiffness analysis described suggests that traction contacts are relatively stiff compared to gears and are significantly stiffer than the other structural elements in the prototype CMG traction drive analyzed. Discussion is also given of an advanced turboprop propeller pitch change mechanism that incorporates a traction drive.

Omni-Directional Scanning Localization Method of a Mobile Robot Based on Ultrasonic Sensors.

PubMed

Mu, Wei-Yi; Zhang, Guang-Peng; Huang, Yu-Mei; Yang, Xin-Gang; Liu, Hong-Yan; Yan, Wen

2016-12-20

Improved ranging accuracy is obtained by the development of a novel ultrasonic sensor ranging algorithm, unlike the conventional ranging algorithm, which considers the divergence angle and the incidence angle of the ultrasonic sensor synchronously. An ultrasonic sensor scanning method is developed based on this algorithm for the recognition of an inclined plate and to obtain the localization of the ultrasonic sensor relative to the inclined plate reference frame. The ultrasonic sensor scanning method is then leveraged for the omni-directional localization of a mobile robot, where the ultrasonic sensors are installed on a mobile robot and follow the spin of the robot, the inclined plate is recognized and the position and posture of the robot are acquired with respect to the coordinate system of the inclined plate, realizing the localization of the robot. Finally, the localization method is implemented into an omni-directional scanning localization experiment with the independently researched and developed mobile robot. Localization accuracies of up to ±3.33 mm for the front, up to ±6.21 for the lateral and up to ±0.20° for the posture are obtained, verifying the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed localization method.

Froghopper-inspired direction-changing concept for miniature jumping robots.

PubMed

Jung, Gwang-Pil; Cho, Kyu-Jin

2016-09-14

To improve the maneuverability and agility of jumping robots, several researchers have studied steerable jumping mechanisms. This steering ability enables robots to reach a particular target by controlling their jumping direction. To this end, we propose a novel direction-changing concept for miniature jumping robots. The proposed concept allows robots to be steerable while exerting minimal effects on jumping performance. The key design principles were adopted from the froghopper's power-producing hind legs and the moment cancellation accomplished by synchronized leg operation. These principles were applied via a pair of symmetrically positioned legs and conventional gears, which were modeled on the froghopper's anatomy. Each leg has its own thrusting energy, which improves jumping performance by allowing the mechanism to thrust itself with both power-producing legs. Conventional gears were utilized to simultaneously operate the legs and cancel out the moments that they induce, which minimizes body spin. A prototype to verify the concept was built and tested by varying the initial jumping posture. Three jumping postures (synchronous, asynchronous, and single-legged) were tested to investigate how synchronization and moment cancelling affect jumping performance. The results show that synchronous jumping allows the mechanism to change direction from -40° to 40°, with an improved take-off speed. The proposed concept can only be steered in a limited range of directions, but it has potential for use in miniature jumping robots that can change jumping direction with a minimal drop in jumping performance.

Generating Spatiotemporal Joint Torque Patterns from Dynamical Synchronization of Distributed Pattern Generators

PubMed Central

Pitti, Alexandre; Lungarella, Max; Kuniyoshi, Yasuo

2009-01-01

Pattern generators found in the spinal cord are no more seen as simple rhythmic oscillators for motion control. Indeed, they achieve flexible and dynamical coordination in interaction with the body and the environment dynamics giving to rise motor synergies. Discovering the mechanisms underlying the control of motor synergies constitutes an important research question not only for neuroscience but also for robotics: the motors coordination of high dimensional robotic systems is still a drawback and new control methods based on biological solutions may reduce their overall complexity. We propose to model the flexible combination of motor synergies in embodied systems via partial phase synchronization of distributed chaotic systems; for specific coupling strength, chaotic systems are able to phase synchronize their dynamics to the resonant frequencies of one external force. We take advantage of this property to explore and exploit the intrinsic dynamics of one specified embodied system. In two experiments with bipedal walkers, we show how motor synergies emerge when the controllers phase synchronize to the body's dynamics, entraining it to its intrinsic behavioral patterns. This stage is characterized by directed information flow from the sensors to the motors exhibiting the optimal situation when the body dynamics drive the controllers (mutual entrainment). Based on our results, we discuss the relevance of our findings for modeling the modular control of distributed pattern generators exhibited in the spinal cord, and for exploring the motor synergies in robots. PMID:20011216

Robot Hand Grips Cylinders Securely

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parma, George F.

1989-01-01

Jaws and linkage accommodate various sizes. Robot hand includes two pairs of parallel jaws that grasp rods, pipes, tubes, struts, and other long, heavy cylindrical objects. Hand features compact rotary drive and butterfly configuration simplifying approach and gripping maneuvers of robot. Parallelogram linkages maintain alignment of each jaw with other jaws. One bar of each linkage connected to one of two concentric, counterrotating shafts; rotation of shafts moves jaws in each pair toward or away from each other to grasp or release workpiece. Each jaw includes rigid gripping pad lined with rubber to give firm grip and to prevent damage to workpiece. Inner cylindrical surface (corner) of each jaw tapers off to flat sides. Enables jaw to grasp workpieces with diameters larger than or equal to twice the corner radius.

Fast response of mechatronics module for robotic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bukhanov, S. S.; Gryzlov, A. A.; Tsirkunenko, A. T.

2018-05-01

The synthesis technique, the mathematical model and results of experimental investigation of the control system of the robotic complex mechatronic module are presented in the article. It is shown that in most cases the dynamic system can be approximated by the serial connection of two first-order aperiodic links, while the speed in the torque control loop can reach 200-300 rad/s. The specified speed of the system was achieved due to improved specific weight and dimensions parameters of the electric drive (element of the mechatronic system) made on the basis of a contactless motor. The obtained results indicate the possibility of successful application of the proposed mechatronic module for objects of robotized systems in which the reference signal changes at a frequency not exceeding 50 Hz.

An adaptive actuator failure compensation scheme for two linked 2WD mobile robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Yajie; Al-Dujaili, Ayad; Cocquempot, Vincent; El Badaoui El Najjar, Maan

2017-01-01

This paper develops a new adaptive compensation control scheme for two linked mobile robots with actuator failurs. A configuration with two linked two-wheel drive (2WD) mobile robots is proposed, and the modelling of its kinematics and dynamics are given. An adaptive failure compensation scheme is developed to compensate actuator failures, consisting of a kinematic controller and a multi-design integration based dynamic controller. The kinematic controller is a virtual one, and based on which, multiple adaptive dynamic control signals are designed which covers all possible failure cases. By combing these dynamic control signals, the dynamic controller is designed, which ensures system stability and asymptotic tracking properties. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive failure compensation scheme.

Robotics Programs: Automation Training in Disguise.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rehg, James A.

1985-01-01

Questions and answers from the book "Guidelines for Robotics Program Development" are presented, addressing some of the major issues confronted by the person setting the direction for a robotics training program. (CT)

Hand gesture guided robot-assisted surgery based on a direct augmented reality interface.

PubMed

Wen, Rong; Tay, Wei-Liang; Nguyen, Binh P; Chng, Chin-Boon; Chui, Chee-Kong

2014-09-01

Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is a good alternative to hepatic resection for treatment of liver tumors. However, accurate needle insertion requires precise hand-eye coordination and is also affected by the difficulty of RF needle navigation. This paper proposes a cooperative surgical robot system, guided by hand gestures and supported by an augmented reality (AR)-based surgical field, for robot-assisted percutaneous treatment. It establishes a robot-assisted natural AR guidance mechanism that incorporates the advantages of the following three aspects: AR visual guidance information, surgeon's experiences and accuracy of robotic surgery. A projector-based AR environment is directly overlaid on a patient to display preoperative and intraoperative information, while a mobile surgical robot system implements specified RF needle insertion plans. Natural hand gestures are used as an intuitive and robust method to interact with both the AR system and surgical robot. The proposed system was evaluated on a mannequin model. Experimental results demonstrated that hand gesture guidance was able to effectively guide the surgical robot, and the robot-assisted implementation was found to improve the accuracy of needle insertion. This human-robot cooperative mechanism is a promising approach for precise transcutaneous ablation therapy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A robotic system for researching social integration in honeybees.

PubMed

Griparić, Karlo; Haus, Tomislav; Miklić, Damjan; Polić, Marsela; Bogdan, Stjepan

2017-01-01

In this paper, we present a novel robotic system developed for researching collective social mechanisms in a biohybrid society of robots and honeybees. The potential for distributed coordination, as observed in nature in many different animal species, has caused an increased interest in collective behaviour research in recent years because of its applicability to a broad spectrum of technical systems requiring robust multi-agent control. One of the main problems is understanding the mechanisms driving the emergence of collective behaviour of social animals. With the aim of deepening the knowledge in this field, we have designed a multi-robot system capable of interacting with honeybees within an experimental arena. The final product, stationary autonomous robot units, designed by specificaly considering the physical, sensorimotor and behavioral characteristics of the honeybees (lat. Apis mallifera), are equipped with sensing, actuating, computation, and communication capabilities that enable the measurement of relevant environmental states, such as honeybee presence, and adequate response to the measurements by generating heat, vibration and airflow. The coordination among robots in the developed system is established using distributed controllers. The cooperation between the two different types of collective systems is realized by means of a consensus algorithm, enabling the honeybees and the robots to achieve a common objective. Presented results, obtained within ASSISIbf project, show successful cooperation indicating its potential for future applications.

System of launchable mesoscale robots for distributed sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yesin, Kemal B.; Nelson, Bradley J.; Papanikolopoulos, Nikolaos P.; Voyles, Richard M.; Krantz, Donald G.

1999-08-01

A system of launchable miniature mobile robots with various sensors as payload is used for distributed sensing. The robots are projected to areas of interest either by a robot launcher or by a human operator using standard equipment. A wireless communication network is used to exchange information with the robots. Payloads such as a MEMS sensor for vibration detection, a microphone and an active video module are used mainly to detect humans. The video camera provides live images through a wireless video transmitter and a pan-tilt mechanism expands the effective field of view. There are strict restrictions on total volume and power consumption of the payloads due to the small size of the robot. Emerging technologies are used to address these restrictions. In this paper, we describe the use of microrobotic technologies to develop active vision modules for the mesoscale robot. A single chip CMOS video sensor is used along with a miniature lens that is approximately the size of a sugar cube. The device consumes 100 mW; about 5 times less than the power consumption of a comparable CCD camera. Miniature gearmotors 3 mm in diameter are used to drive the pan-tilt mechanism. A miniature video transmitter is used to transmit analog video signals from the camera.

Geometric reasoning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodbury, R. F.; Oppenheim, I. J.

1987-01-01

Cognitive robot systems are ones in which sensing and representation occur, from which task plans and tactics are determined. Such a robot system accomplishes a task after being told what to do, but determines for itself how to do it. Cognition is required when the work environment is uncontrolled, when contingencies are prevalent, or when task complexity is large; it is useful in any robotic mission. A number of distinguishing features can be associated with cognitive robotics, and one emphasized here is the role of artificial intelligence in knowledge representation and in planning. While space telerobotics may elude some of the problems driving cognitive robotics, it shares many of the same demands, and it can be assumed that capabilities developed for cognitive robotics can be employed advantageously for telerobotics in general. The top level problem is task planning, and it is appropriate to introduce a hierarchical view of control. Presented with certain mission objectives, the system must generate plans (typically) at the strategic, tactical, and reflexive levels. The structure by which knowledge is used to construct and update these plans endows the system with its cognitive attributes, and with the ability to deal with contingencies, changes, unknowns, and so on. Issues of representation and reasoning which are absolutely fundamental to robot manipulation, decisions based upon geometry, are discussed here, not AI task planning per se.

A Developmental Learning Approach of Mobile Manipulator via Playing

PubMed Central

Wu, Ruiqi; Zhou, Changle; Chao, Fei; Zhu, Zuyuan; Lin, Chih-Min; Yang, Longzhi

2017-01-01

Inspired by infant development theories, a robotic developmental model combined with game elements is proposed in this paper. This model does not require the definition of specific developmental goals for the robot, but the developmental goals are implied in the goals of a series of game tasks. The games are characterized into a sequence of game modes based on the complexity of the game tasks from simple to complex, and the task complexity is determined by the applications of developmental constraints. Given a current mode, the robot switches to play in a more complicated game mode when it cannot find any new salient stimuli in the current mode. By doing so, the robot gradually achieves it developmental goals by playing different modes of games. In the experiment, the game was instantiated into a mobile robot with the playing task of picking up toys, and the game is designed with a simple game mode and a complex game mode. A developmental algorithm, “Lift-Constraint, Act and Saturate,” is employed to drive the mobile robot move from the simple mode to the complex one. The experimental results show that the mobile manipulator is able to successfully learn the mobile grasping ability after playing simple and complex games, which is promising in developing robotic abilities to solve complex tasks using games. PMID:29046632

Deformation-Induced Precession of a Robot Moving on Curved Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shengkai; Aydin, Yasemin; Lofaro, Olivia; Rieser, Jennifer; Goldman, Daniel

Previous studies have demonstrated that passive particles rolling on a deformed surface can mimic aspects of general relativity [Ford et al, AJP, 2015]. However, these systems are dissipative. To explore steady-state dynamics, we study the movement of a self-propelled robot car on a large deformable elastic membrane: a spandex sheet stretched over a metal frame with a diameter of 2.5 m. Two wheels in the rear of the car are differentially-driven by a DC motor, and a caster in the front helps maintain directional stability; in the absence of curvature the car drives straight. A linear actuator attached below the membrane allows for controlled deformation at the center of the membrane. We find that closed elliptic orbits occur when the membrane is highly depressed ( 10 cm). However, when the center is only slightly indented, the elliptical orbits precess at a rate depending on the orbit shape and the depression. Remarkably, this dynamic is well described by the Schwarzschild metric solution, typically used to describe the effects of gravity on bodies orbiting a massive object. Experiments with multiple cars reveal complex interactions that are mediated through car-induced deformations of the membrane.

Optimal Digital Controller Design for a Servo Motor Taking Account of Intersample Behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akiyoshi, Tatsuro; Imai, Jun; Funabiki, Shigeyuki

A continuous-time plant with discretized continuous-time controller do not yield stability if the sampling rate is lower than some certain level. Thus far, high functioning electronic control has made use of high cost hardwares which are needed to implement discretized continuous-time controllers, while low cost hardwares generally do not have high enough sampling rate. This technical note presents results comparing performance indices with and without intersample behavior, and some answer to the question how a low specification device can control a plant effectively. We consider a machine simulating wafer handling robots at semiconductor factories, which is an electromechanical system driven by a direct drive motor. We illustrate controller design for the robot with and without intersample behavior, and simulations and experimental results by using these controllers. Taking intersample behavior into account proves to be effective to make control performance better and enables it to choose relatively long sampling period. By controller design via performance index with intersample behavior, we can cope with situation where short enough sampling period may not be employed, and freedom of controller design might be widened especially on choice of sampling period.

A game theoretic framework for incentive-based models of intrinsic motivation in artificial systems

PubMed Central

Merrick, Kathryn E.; Shafi, Kamran

2013-01-01

An emerging body of research is focusing on understanding and building artificial systems that can achieve open-ended development influenced by intrinsic motivations. In particular, research in robotics and machine learning is yielding systems and algorithms with increasing capacity for self-directed learning and autonomy. Traditional software architectures and algorithms are being augmented with intrinsic motivations to drive cumulative acquisition of knowledge and skills. Intrinsic motivations have recently been considered in reinforcement learning, active learning and supervised learning settings among others. This paper considers game theory as a novel setting for intrinsic motivation. A game theoretic framework for intrinsic motivation is formulated by introducing the concept of optimally motivating incentive as a lens through which players perceive a game. Transformations of four well-known mixed-motive games are presented to demonstrate the perceived games when players' optimally motivating incentive falls in three cases corresponding to strong power, affiliation and achievement motivation. We use agent-based simulations to demonstrate that players with different optimally motivating incentive act differently as a result of their altered perception of the game. We discuss the implications of these results both for modeling human behavior and for designing artificial agents or robots. PMID:24198797

A game theoretic framework for incentive-based models of intrinsic motivation in artificial systems.

PubMed

Merrick, Kathryn E; Shafi, Kamran

2013-01-01

An emerging body of research is focusing on understanding and building artificial systems that can achieve open-ended development influenced by intrinsic motivations. In particular, research in robotics and machine learning is yielding systems and algorithms with increasing capacity for self-directed learning and autonomy. Traditional software architectures and algorithms are being augmented with intrinsic motivations to drive cumulative acquisition of knowledge and skills. Intrinsic motivations have recently been considered in reinforcement learning, active learning and supervised learning settings among others. This paper considers game theory as a novel setting for intrinsic motivation. A game theoretic framework for intrinsic motivation is formulated by introducing the concept of optimally motivating incentive as a lens through which players perceive a game. Transformations of four well-known mixed-motive games are presented to demonstrate the perceived games when players' optimally motivating incentive falls in three cases corresponding to strong power, affiliation and achievement motivation. We use agent-based simulations to demonstrate that players with different optimally motivating incentive act differently as a result of their altered perception of the game. We discuss the implications of these results both for modeling human behavior and for designing artificial agents or robots.

Collision recognition and direction changes for small scale fish robots by acceleration sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Na, Seung Y.; Shin, Daejung; Kim, Jin Y.; Lee, Bae-Ho

2005-05-01

Typical obstacles are walls, rocks, water plants and other nearby robots for a group of small scale fish robots and submersibles that have been constructed in our lab. Sonar sensors are not employed to make the robot structure simple enough. All of circuits, sensors and processor cards are contained in a box of 9 x 7 x 4 cm dimension except motors, fins and external covers. Therefore, image processing results are applied to avoid collisions. However, it is useful only when the obstacles are located far enough to give images processing time for detecting them. Otherwise, acceleration sensors are used to detect collision immediately after it happens. Two of 2-axes acceleration sensors are employed to measure the three components of collision angles, collision magnitudes, and the angles of robot propulsion. These data are integrated to calculate the amount of propulsion direction change. The angle of a collision incident upon an obstacle is the fundamental value to obtain a direction change needed to design a following path. But there is a significant amount of noise due to a caudal fin motor. Because caudal fin provides the main propulsion for a fish robot, there is a periodic swinging noise at the head of a robot. This noise provides a random acceleration effect on the measured acceleration data at the collision. We propose an algorithm which shows that the MEMS-type accelerometers are very effective to provide information for direction changes in spite of the intrinsic noise after the small scale fish robots have made obstacle collision.

Humanoid Robot Control System Balance Dance Indonesia and Reader Filters Using Complementary Angle Values

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sholihin; Susanti, Eka

2018-02-01

The development of increasingly advanced technology, make people want to be more developed and curiosity to know more to determine the development of advanced technology. Robot is a tool that can be used as a tool for people who have several advantages. Basically humanoid robot is a robot that resembles a human being with all the driving structure. In the application of this humanoid robot manufacture researchers use MPU6050 module which is an important component of the robot because it can provide a response to the angle reference axis X and Y reference axis, the reading corner still has noise if not filtered out beforehand. On the other hand the use of Complementary filters are the answer to reduce the noise. By arranging the filter coefficients and time sampling filter that affects the signal updates corner. The angle value will be the value of the sensor to the process to the PID system which generates output values that are integrated with the servo pulses. Researchers will test to get a reading of the most stable angle for this experiment is the "a" or the value of the filter coefficient = 0.96 and "dt" or the sampling time = 10 ms.

Examples of design and achievement of vision systems for mobile robotics applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonnin, Patrick J.; Cabaret, Laurent; Raulet, Ludovic; Hugel, Vincent; Blazevic, Pierre; M'Sirdi, Nacer K.; Coiffet, Philippe

2000-10-01

Our goal is to design and to achieve a multiple purpose vision system for various robotics applications : wheeled robots (like cars for autonomous driving), legged robots (six, four (SONY's AIBO) legged robots, and humanoid), flying robots (to inspect bridges for example) in various conditions : indoor or outdoor. Considering that the constraints depend on the application, we propose an edge segmentation implemented either in software, or in hardware using CPLDs (ASICs or FPGAs could be used too). After discussing the criteria of our choice, we propose a chain of image processing operators constituting an edge segmentation. Although this chain is quite simple and very fast to perform, results appear satisfactory. We proposed a software implementation of it. Its temporal optimization is based on : its implementation under the pixel data flow programming model, the gathering of local processing when it is possible, the simplification of computations, and the use of fast access data structures. Then, we describe a first dedicated hardware implementation of the first part, which requires 9CPLS in this low cost version. It is technically possible, but more expensive, to implement these algorithms using only a signle FPGA.

Experiments in socially guided exploration: lessons learned in building robots that learn with and without human teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomaz, Andrea; Breazeal, Cynthia

2008-06-01

We present a learning system, socially guided exploration, in which a social robot learns new tasks through a combination of self-exploration and social interaction. The system's motivational drives, along with social scaffolding from a human partner, bias behaviour to create learning opportunities for a hierarchical reinforcement learning mechanism. The robot is able to learn on its own, but can flexibly take advantage of the guidance of a human teacher. We report the results of an experiment that analyses what the robot learns on its own as compared to being taught by human subjects. We also analyse the video of these interactions to understand human teaching behaviour and the social dynamics of the human-teacher/robot-learner system. With respect to learning performance, human guidance results in a task set that is significantly more focused and efficient at the tasks the human was trying to teach, whereas self-exploration results in a more diverse set. Analysis of human teaching behaviour reveals insights of social coupling between the human teacher and robot learner, different teaching styles, strong consistency in the kinds and frequency of scaffolding acts across teachers and nuances in the communicative intent behind positive and negative feedback.

What Pupils Can Learn from Working with Robotic Direct Manipulation Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slangen, Lou; van Keulen, Hanno; Gravemeijer, Koeno

2011-01-01

This study investigates what pupils aged 10-12 can learn from working with robots, assuming that understanding robotics is a sign of technological literacy. We conducted cognitive and conceptual analysis to develop a frame of reference for determining pupils' understanding of robotics. Four perspectives were distinguished with increasing…

Multidirectional Image Sensing for Microscopy Based on a Rotatable Robot.

PubMed

Shen, Yajing; Wan, Wenfeng; Zhang, Lijun; Yong, Li; Lu, Haojian; Ding, Weili

2015-12-15

Image sensing at a small scale is essentially important in many fields, including microsample observation, defect inspection, material characterization and so on. However, nowadays, multi-directional micro object imaging is still very challenging due to the limited field of view (FOV) of microscopes. This paper reports a novel approach for multi-directional image sensing in microscopes by developing a rotatable robot. First, a robot with endless rotation ability is designed and integrated with the microscope. Then, the micro object is aligned to the rotation axis of the robot automatically based on the proposed forward-backward alignment strategy. After that, multi-directional images of the sample can be obtained by rotating the robot within one revolution under the microscope. To demonstrate the versatility of this approach, we view various types of micro samples from multiple directions in both optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and panoramic images of the samples are processed as well. The proposed method paves a new way for the microscopy image sensing, and we believe it could have significant impact in many fields, especially for sample detection, manipulation and characterization at a small scale.

Autonomous intelligent cars: proof that the EPSRC Principles are future-proof

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Cock Buning, Madeleine; de Bruin, Roeland

2017-07-01

Principle 2 of the EPSRC's principles of robotics (AISB workshop on Principles of Robotics, 2016) proves to be future proof when applied to the current state of the art of law and technology surrounding autonomous intelligent cars (AICs). Humans, not AICS, are responsible agents. AICs should be designed; operated as far as is practicable to comply with existing laws and fundamental rights and freedoms, including privacy by design. It will show that some legal questions arising from autonomous intelligent driving technology can be answered by the technology itself.

Urban search mobile platform modeling in hindered access conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barankova, I. I.; Mikhailova, U. V.; Kalugina, O. B.; Barankov, V. V.

2018-05-01

The article explores the control system simulation and the design of the experimental model of the rescue robot mobile platform. The functional interface, a structural functional diagram of the mobile platform control unit, and a functional control scheme for the mobile platform of secure robot were modeled. The task of design a mobile platform for urban searching in hindered access conditions is realized through the use of a mechanical basis with a chassis and crawler drive, a warning device, human heat sensors and a microcontroller based on Arduino platforms.

A Robotic arm for optical and gamma radwaste inspection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russo, L.; Cosentino, L.; Pappalardo, A.; Piscopo, M.; Scirè, C.; Scirè, S.; Vecchio, G.; Muscato, G.; Finocchiaro, P.

2014-12-01

We propose Radibot, a simple and cheap robotic arm for remote inspection, which interacts with the radwaste environment by means of a scintillation gamma detector and a video camera representing its light (< 1 kg) payload. It moves vertically thanks to a crane, while the other three degrees of freedom are obtained by means of revolute joints. A dedicated algorithm allows to automatically choose the best kinematics in order to reach a graphically selected position, while still allowing to fully drive the arm by means of a standard videogame joypad.

Using Voice Coils to Actuate Modular Soft Robots: Wormbot, an Example

PubMed Central

Nemitz, Markus P.; Mihaylov, Pavel; Barraclough, Thomas W.; Ross, Dylan

2016-01-01

Abstract In this study, we present a modular worm-like robot, which utilizes voice coils as a new paradigm in soft robot actuation. Drive electronics are incorporated into the actuators, providing a significant improvement in self-sufficiency when compared with existing soft robot actuation modes such as pneumatics or hydraulics. The body plan of this robot is inspired by the phylum Annelida and consists of three-dimensional printed voice coil actuators, which are connected by flexible silicone membranes. Each electromagnetic actuator engages with its neighbor to compress or extend the membrane of each segment, and the sequence in which they are actuated results in an earthworm-inspired peristaltic motion. We find that a minimum of three segments is required for locomotion, but due to our modular design, robots of any length can be quickly and easily assembled. In addition to actuation, voice coils provide audio input and output capabilities. We demonstrate transmission of data between segments by high-frequency carrier waves and, using a similar mechanism, we note that the passing of power between coupled coils in neighboring modules—or from an external power source—is also possible. Voice coils are a convenient multifunctional alternative to existing soft robot actuators. Their self-contained nature and ability to communicate with each other are ideal for modular robotics, and the additional functionality of sound input/output and power transfer will become increasingly useful as soft robots begin the transition from early proof-of-concept systems toward fully functional and highly integrated robotic systems. PMID:28078195

A Meta-Analysis of Factors Affecting Trust in Human-Robot Interaction

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

directly affects the willingness of people to accept robot -produced information, follow robots ’ suggestions, and thus benefit from the advantages inherent...perceived complexity of operation). Consequently, if the perceived risk of using the robot exceeds its perceived benefit , practical operators almost...necessary presence of a human caregiver (Graf, Hans, & Schraft, 2004). Other robotic devices, such as wheelchairs (Yanco, 2001) and exoskeletons (e.g

GPS Enabled Semi-Autonomous Robot

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

equal and the goal has not yet been reached (i.e., any time the robot has reached a local minimum), and direct the robot to travel in a specific...whether the robot was turning or not. The challenge is overcome by ensuring the robot travels at its maximum speed at all times . Further research into...robot’s fixed reference frame was recalculated each time through the control loop. If the encoder data allows for the robot to appear to have travelled

Human guidance of mobile robots in complex 3D environments using smart glasses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopinsky, Ryan; Sharma, Aneesh; Gupta, Nikhil; Ordonez, Camilo; Collins, Emmanuel; Barber, Daniel

2016-05-01

In order for humans to safely work alongside robots in the field, the human-robot (HR) interface, which enables bi-directional communication between human and robot, should be able to quickly and concisely express the robot's intentions and needs. While the robot operates mostly in autonomous mode, the human should be able to intervene to effectively guide the robot in complex, risky and/or highly uncertain scenarios. Using smart glasses such as Google Glass∗, we seek to develop an HR interface that aids in reducing interaction time and distractions during interaction with the robot.

Fruit fly scale robots can hover longer with flapping wings than with spinning wings.

PubMed

Hawkes, Elliot W; Lentink, David

2016-10-01

Hovering flies generate exceptionally high lift, because their wings generate a stable leading edge vortex. Micro flying robots with a similar wing design can generate similar high lift by either flapping or spinning their wings. While it requires less power to spin a wing, the overall efficiency depends also on the actuator system driving the wing. Here, we present the first holistic analysis to calculate how long a fly-inspired micro robot can hover with flapping versus spinning wings across scales. We integrate aerodynamic data with data-driven scaling laws for actuator, electronics and mechanism performance from fruit fly to hummingbird scales. Our analysis finds that spinning wings driven by rotary actuators are superior for robots with wingspans similar to hummingbirds, yet flapping wings driven by oscillatory actuators are superior at fruit fly scale. This crossover is driven by the reduction in performance of rotary compared with oscillatory actuators at smaller scale. Our calculations emphasize that a systems-level analysis is essential for trading-off flapping versus spinning wings for micro flying robots. © 2016 The Author(s).

A robotic home telehealth platform system for treatment adherence, social assistance and companionship - an overview.

PubMed

Oddsson, Lars I E; Radomski, Mary V; White, Matthew; Nilsson, Daniel

2009-01-01

Well-known difficulties of making patients adhere to assigned treatments have made engineers and clinicians look towards technology for possible solutions. Recent studies have found that cell phone-based text messaging can help drive positive changes in patients' disease management and preventive health behavior. Furthermore, work in the area of assistive robotics indicates benefits for patients although robotic solutions tend to become expensive. However, continued improvement in sensor, computer and wireless technologies combined with decreases in cost is paving the way for development of affordable robotic systems that can help improve patient care and potentially add value to the healthcare system. This paper provides a high-level design overview of SKOTEE, the Sister Kenny hOme ThErapy systEm, an inexpensive robotic platform system designed to provide adherence support for home exercise programs, taking medication, appointment reminders and clinician communication. SKOTEE will also offer companionship as well as entertainment and social networking opportunities to the patient in their home. A video of the system is presented at the conference.

Fruit fly scale robots can hover longer with flapping wings than with spinning wings

PubMed Central

Lentink, David

2016-01-01

Hovering flies generate exceptionally high lift, because their wings generate a stable leading edge vortex. Micro flying robots with a similar wing design can generate similar high lift by either flapping or spinning their wings. While it requires less power to spin a wing, the overall efficiency depends also on the actuator system driving the wing. Here, we present the first holistic analysis to calculate how long a fly-inspired micro robot can hover with flapping versus spinning wings across scales. We integrate aerodynamic data with data-driven scaling laws for actuator, electronics and mechanism performance from fruit fly to hummingbird scales. Our analysis finds that spinning wings driven by rotary actuators are superior for robots with wingspans similar to hummingbirds, yet flapping wings driven by oscillatory actuators are superior at fruit fly scale. This crossover is driven by the reduction in performance of rotary compared with oscillatory actuators at smaller scale. Our calculations emphasize that a systems-level analysis is essential for trading-off flapping versus spinning wings for micro flying robots. PMID:27707903

Task directed sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Firby, R. James

1990-01-01

High-level robot control research must confront the limitations imposed by real sensors if robots are to be controlled effectively in the real world. In particular, sensor limitations make it impossible to maintain a complete, detailed world model of the situation surrounding the robot. To address the problems involved in planning with the resulting incomplete and uncertain world models, traditional robot control architectures must be altered significantly. Task-directed sensing and control is suggested as a way of coping with world model limitations by focusing sensing and analysis resources on only those parts of the world relevant to the robot's active goals. The RAP adaptive execution system is used as an example of a control architecture designed to deploy sensing resources in this way to accomplish both action and knowledge goals.

Direct interaction with an assistive robot for individuals with chronic stroke.

PubMed

Kmetz, Brandon; Markham, Heather; Brewer, Bambi R

2011-01-01

Many robotic systems have been developed to provide assistance to individuals with disabilities. Most of these systems require the individual to interact with the robot via a joystick or keypad, though some utilize techniques such as speech recognition or selection of objects with a laser pointer. In this paper, we describe a prototype system using a novel method of interaction with an assistive robot. A touch-sensitive skin enables the user to directly guide a robotic arm to a desired position. When the skin is released, the robot remains fixed in position. The target population for this system is individuals with hemiparesis due to chronic stroke. The system can be used as a substitute for the paretic arm and hand in bimanual tasks such as holding a jar while removing the lid. This paper describes the hardware and software of the prototype system, which includes a robotic arm, the touch-sensitive skin, a hook-style prehensor, and weight compensation and speech recognition software.

Combined effects of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation and transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation on robot-assisted gait training in patients with chronic brain stroke: A pilot, single blind, randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Picelli, Alessandro; Chemello, Elena; Castellazzi, Paola; Filippetti, Mirko; Brugnera, Annalisa; Gandolfi, Marialuisa; Waldner, Andreas; Saltuari, Leopold; Smania, Nicola

2018-01-01

Preliminary evidence showed additional effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the damaged cerebral hemisphere combined with cathodal transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation during robot-assisted gait training in chronic stroke patients. This is consistent with the neural organization of locomotion involving cortical and spinal control. The cerebellum is crucial for locomotor control, in particular for avoidance of obstacles, and adaptation to novel conditions during walking. Despite its key role in gait control, to date the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation of the cerebellum have not been investigated on brain stroke patients treated with robot-assisted gait training. To evaluate the effects of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation combined with transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation on robot-assisted gait training in patients with chronic brain stroke. After balanced randomization, 20 chronic stroke patients received ten, 20-minute robot-assisted gait training sessions (five days a week, for two consecutive weeks) combined with central nervous system stimulation. Group 1 underwent on-line cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the contralesional cerebellar hemisphere + cathodal transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation. Group 2 received on-line anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the damaged cerebral hemisphere + cathodal transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation. The primary outcome was the 6-minute walk test performed before, after, and at follow-up at 2 and 4 weeks post-treatment. The significant differences in the 6-minute walk test noted between groups at the first post-treatment evaluation (p = 0.041) were not maintained at either the 2-week (P = 0.650) or the 4-week (P = 0.545) follow-up evaluations. Our preliminary findings support the hypothesis that cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the contralesional cerebellar hemisphere in combination with cathodal transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation might be useful to boost the effects of robot-assisted gait training in chronic brain stroke patients with walking impairment.

The design, hysteresis modeling and control of a novel SMA-fishing-line actuator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Chaoqun; Yang, Hui; Sun, Zhiyong; Xue, Bangcan; Hao, Lina; Asadur Rahoman, M. D.; Davis, Steve

2017-03-01

Fishing line can be combined with shape memory alloy (SMA) to form novel artificial muscle actuators which have low cost, are lightweight and soft. They can be applied in bionic, wearable and rehabilitation robots, and can reduce system weight and cost, increase power-to-weight ratio and offer safer physical human-robot interaction. However, these actuators possess several disadvantages, for example fishing line based actuators possess low strength and are complex to drive, and SMA possesses a low percentage contraction and has high hysteresis. This paper presents a novel artificial actuator (known as an SMA-fishing-line) made of fishing line and SMA twisted then coiled together, which can be driven directly by an electrical voltage. Its output force can reach 2.65 N at 7.4 V drive voltage, and the percentage contraction at 4 V driven voltage with a 3 N load is 7.53%. An antagonistic bionic joint driven by the novel SMA-fishing-line actuators is presented, and based on an extended unparallel Prandtl-Ishlinskii (EUPI) model, its hysteresis behavior is established, and the error ratio of the EUPI model is determined to be 6.3%. A Joule heat model of the SMA-fishing-line is also presented, and the maximum error of the established model is 0.510 mm. Based on this accurate hysteresis model, a composite PID controller consisting of PID and an integral inverse (I-I) compensator is proposed and its performance is compared with a traditional PID controller through simulations and experimentation. These results show that the composite PID controller possesses higher control precision than basic PID, and is feasible for implementation in an SMA-fishing-line driven antagonistic bionic joint.

Human-directed local autonomy for motion guidance and coordination in an intelligent manufacturing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alford, W. A.; Kawamura, Kazuhiko; Wilkes, Don M.

1997-12-01

This paper discusses the problem of integrating human intelligence and skills into an intelligent manufacturing system. Our center has jointed the Holonic Manufacturing Systems (HMS) Project, an international consortium dedicated to developing holonic systems technologies. One of our contributions to this effort is in Work Package 6: flexible human integration. This paper focuses on one activity, namely, human integration into motion guidance and coordination. Much research on intelligent systems focuses on creating totally autonomous agents. At the Center for Intelligent Systems (CIS), we design robots that interact directly with a human user. We focus on using the natural intelligence of the user to simplify the design of a robotic system. The problem is finding ways for the user to interact with the robot that are efficient and comfortable for the user. Manufacturing applications impose the additional constraint that the manufacturing process should not be disturbed; that is, frequent interacting with the user could degrade real-time performance. Our research in human-robot interaction is based on a concept called human directed local autonomy (HuDL). Under this paradigm, the intelligent agent selects and executes a behavior or skill, based upon directions from a human user. The user interacts with the robot via speech, gestures, or other media. Our control software is based on the intelligent machine architecture (IMA), an object-oriented architecture which facilitates cooperation and communication among intelligent agents. In this paper we describe our research testbed, a dual-arm humanoid robot and human user, and the use of this testbed for a human directed sorting task. We also discuss some proposed experiments for evaluating the integration of the human into the robot system. At the time of this writing, the experiments have not been completed.

Driving a Semiautonomous Mobile Robotic Car Controlled by an SSVEP-Based BCI.

PubMed

Stawicki, Piotr; Gembler, Felix; Volosyak, Ivan

2016-01-01

Brain-computer interfaces represent a range of acknowledged technologies that translate brain activity into computer commands. The aim of our research is to develop and evaluate a BCI control application for certain assistive technologies that can be used for remote telepresence or remote driving. The communication channel to the target device is based on the steady-state visual evoked potentials. In order to test the control application, a mobile robotic car (MRC) was introduced and a four-class BCI graphical user interface (with live video feedback and stimulation boxes on the same screen) for piloting the MRC was designed. For the purpose of evaluating a potential real-life scenario for such assistive technology, we present a study where 61 subjects steered the MRC through a predetermined route. All 61 subjects were able to control the MRC and finish the experiment (mean time 207.08 s, SD 50.25) with a mean (SD) accuracy and ITR of 93.03% (5.73) and 14.07 bits/min (4.44), respectively. The results show that our proposed SSVEP-based BCI control application is suitable for mobile robots with a shared-control approach. We also did not observe any negative influence of the simultaneous live video feedback and SSVEP stimulation on the performance of the BCI system.

Closed Loop Control of a Tethered Magnetic Capsule Endoscope

PubMed Central

Taddese, Addisu Z.; Slawinski, Piotr R.; Obstein, Keith L.; Valdastri, Pietro

2017-01-01

Magnetic field gradients have repeatedly been shown to be the most feasible mechanism for gastrointestinal capsule endoscope actuation. An inverse quartic magnetic force variation with distance results in large force gradients induced by small movements of a driving magnet; this necessitates robotic actuation of magnets to implement stable control of the device. A typical system consists of a serial robot with a permanent magnet at its end effector that actuates a capsule with an embedded permanent magnet. We present a tethered capsule system where a capsule with an embedded magnet is closed loop controlled in 2 degree-of-freedom in position and 2 degree-of-freedom in orientation. Capitalizing on the magnetic field of the external driving permanent magnet, the capsule is localized in 6-D allowing for both position and orientation feedback to be used in a control scheme. We developed a relationship between the serial robot's joint parameters and the magnetic force and torque that is exerted onto the capsule. Our methodology was validated both in a dynamic simulation environment where a custom plug-in for magnetic interaction was written, as well as on an experimental platform. The tethered capsule was demonstrated to follow desired trajectories in both position and orientation with accuracy that is acceptable for colonoscopy. PMID:28286886

Driving a Semiautonomous Mobile Robotic Car Controlled by an SSVEP-Based BCI

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Brain-computer interfaces represent a range of acknowledged technologies that translate brain activity into computer commands. The aim of our research is to develop and evaluate a BCI control application for certain assistive technologies that can be used for remote telepresence or remote driving. The communication channel to the target device is based on the steady-state visual evoked potentials. In order to test the control application, a mobile robotic car (MRC) was introduced and a four-class BCI graphical user interface (with live video feedback and stimulation boxes on the same screen) for piloting the MRC was designed. For the purpose of evaluating a potential real-life scenario for such assistive technology, we present a study where 61 subjects steered the MRC through a predetermined route. All 61 subjects were able to control the MRC and finish the experiment (mean time 207.08 s, SD 50.25) with a mean (SD) accuracy and ITR of 93.03% (5.73) and 14.07 bits/min (4.44), respectively. The results show that our proposed SSVEP-based BCI control application is suitable for mobile robots with a shared-control approach. We also did not observe any negative influence of the simultaneous live video feedback and SSVEP stimulation on the performance of the BCI system. PMID:27528864

A thin membrane artificial muscle rotary motor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Iain A.; Hale, Thom; Gisby, Todd; Inamura, Tokushu; McKay, Thomas; O'Brien, Benjamin; Walbran, Scott; Calius, Emilio P.

2010-01-01

Desirable rotary motor attributes for robotics include the ability to develop high torque in a low mass body and to generate peak power at low rotational speeds. Electro-active polymer artificial muscles offer promise as actuator elements for robotic motors. A promising artificial muscle technology for use as a driving mechanism for rotary motion is the dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA). We present a membrane DEA motor in which phased actuation of electroded sectors of the motor membrane impart orbital motion to a central drive that turns a rotor. The motor is inherently scalable, flexible, flat, silent in operation, amenable to deposition-based manufacturing approaches, and uses relatively inexpensive materials. As a membrane it can also form part of the skin of a robot. We have investigated the torque and power of stacked membrane layers. Specific power and torque ratios when calculated using active membrane mass only were 20.8 W/kg and 4.1 Nm/kg, respectively. These numbers compare favorably with a commercially available stepper motor. Multi-membrane fabrication substantially boosts torque and power and increases the active mass of membrane relative to supporting framework. Through finite element modeling, we show the mechanisms governing the maximum torque the device can generate and how the motor can be improved.

Closed Loop Control of a Tethered Magnetic Capsule Endoscope.

PubMed

Taddese, Addisu Z; Slawinski, Piotr R; Obstein, Keith L; Valdastri, Pietro

2016-06-01

Magnetic field gradients have repeatedly been shown to be the most feasible mechanism for gastrointestinal capsule endoscope actuation. An inverse quartic magnetic force variation with distance results in large force gradients induced by small movements of a driving magnet; this necessitates robotic actuation of magnets to implement stable control of the device. A typical system consists of a serial robot with a permanent magnet at its end effector that actuates a capsule with an embedded permanent magnet. We present a tethered capsule system where a capsule with an embedded magnet is closed loop controlled in 2 degree-of-freedom in position and 2 degree-of-freedom in orientation. Capitalizing on the magnetic field of the external driving permanent magnet, the capsule is localized in 6-D allowing for both position and orientation feedback to be used in a control scheme. We developed a relationship between the serial robot's joint parameters and the magnetic force and torque that is exerted onto the capsule. Our methodology was validated both in a dynamic simulation environment where a custom plug-in for magnetic interaction was written, as well as on an experimental platform. The tethered capsule was demonstrated to follow desired trajectories in both position and orientation with accuracy that is acceptable for colonoscopy.

Bilateral Impedance Control For Telemanipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Christopher L.

1993-01-01

Telemanipulator system includes master robot manipulated by human operator, and slave robot performing tasks at remote location. Two robots electronically coupled so slave robot moves in response to commands from master robot. Teleoperation greatly enhanced if forces acting on slave robot fed back to operator, giving operator feeling he or she manipulates remote environment directly. Main advantage of bilateral impedance control: enables arbitrary specification of desired performance characteristics for telemanipulator system. Relationship between force and position modulated at both ends of system to suit requirements of task.

Harnessing bistability for directional propulsion of soft, untethered robots.

PubMed

Chen, Tian; Bilal, Osama R; Shea, Kristina; Daraio, Chiara

2018-05-29

In most macroscale robotic systems, propulsion and controls are enabled through a physical tether or complex onboard electronics and batteries. A tether simplifies the design process but limits the range of motion of the robot, while onboard controls and power supplies are heavy and complicate the design process. Here, we present a simple design principle for an untethered, soft swimming robot with preprogrammed, directional propulsion without a battery or onboard electronics. Locomotion is achieved by using actuators that harness the large displacements of bistable elements triggered by surrounding temperature changes. Powered by shape memory polymer (SMP) muscles, the bistable elements in turn actuate the robot's fins. Our robots are fabricated using a commercially available 3D printer in a single print. As a proof of concept, we show the ability to program a vessel, which can autonomously deliver a cargo and navigate back to the deployment point.

Teleautonomous guidance for mobile robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borenstein, J.; Koren, Y.

1990-01-01

Teleautonomous guidance (TG), a technique for the remote guidance of fast mobile robots, has been developed and implemented. With TG, the mobile robot follows the general direction prescribed by an operator. However, if the robot encounters an obstacle, it autonomously avoids collision with that obstacle while trying to match the prescribed direction as closely as possible. This type of shared control is completely transparent and transfers control between teleoperation and autonomous obstacle avoidance gradually. TG allows the operator to steer vehicles and robots at high speeds and in cluttered environments, even without visual contact. TG is based on the virtual force field (VFF) method, which was developed earlier for autonomous obstacle avoidance. The VFF method is especially suited to the accommodation of inaccurate sensor data (such as that produced by ultrasonic sensors) and sensor fusion, and allows the mobile robot to travel quickly without stopping for obstacles.

Development and training of a learning expert system in an autonomous mobile robot via simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spelt, P.F.; Lyness, E.; DeSaussure, G.

1989-11-01

The Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR) conducts basic research in the area of intelligent machines. Recently at CESAR a learning expert system was created to operate on board an autonomous robot working at a process control panel. The authors discuss two-computer simulation system used to create, evaluate and train this learning system. The simulation system has a graphics display of the current status of the process being simulated, and the same program which does the simulating also drives the actual control panel. Simulation results were validated on the actual robot. The speed and safety values of using amore » computerized simulator to train a learning computer, and future uses of the simulation system, are discussed.« less

Method and apparatus for hybrid position/force control of multi-arm cooperating robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayati, Samad A. (Inventor)

1989-01-01

Two or more robotic arms having end effectors rigidly attached to an object to be moved are disclosed. A hybrid position/force control system is provided for driving each of the robotic arms. The object to be moved is represented as having a total mass that consists of the actual mass of the object to be moved plus the mass of the moveable arms that are rigidly attached to the moveable object. The arms are driven in a positive way by the hybrid control system to assure that each arm shares in the position/force applied to the object. The burden of actuation is shared by each arm in a non-conflicting way as the arm independently control the position of, and force upon, a designated point on the object.

3D laptop for defense applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edmondson, Richard; Chenault, David

2012-06-01

Polaris Sensor Technologies has developed numerous 3D display systems using a US Army patented approach. These displays have been developed as prototypes for handheld controllers for robotic systems and closed hatch driving, and as part of a TALON robot upgrade for 3D vision, providing depth perception for the operator for improved manipulation and hazard avoidance. In this paper we discuss the prototype rugged 3D laptop computer and its applications to defense missions. The prototype 3D laptop combines full temporal and spatial resolution display with the rugged Amrel laptop computer. The display is viewed through protective passive polarized eyewear, and allows combined 2D and 3D content. Uses include robot tele-operation with live 3D video or synthetically rendered scenery, mission planning and rehearsal, enhanced 3D data interpretation, and simulation.

Interaction force and motion estimators facilitating impedance control of the upper limb rehabilitation robot.

PubMed

Mancisidor, Aitziber; Zubizarreta, Asier; Cabanes, Itziar; Bengoa, Pablo; Jung, Je Hyung

2017-07-01

In order to enhance the performance of rehabilitation robots, it is imperative to know both force and motion caused by the interaction between user and robot. However, common direct measurement of both signals through force and motion sensors not only increases the complexity of the system but also impedes affordability of the system. As an alternative of the direct measurement, in this work, we present new force and motion estimators for the proper control of the upper-limb rehabilitation Universal Haptic Pantograph (UHP) robot. The estimators are based on the kinematic and dynamic model of the UHP and the use of signals measured by means of common low-cost sensors. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the estimators, several experimental tests were carried out. The force and impedance control of the UHP was implemented first by directly measuring the interaction force using accurate extra sensors and the robot performance was compared to the case where the proposed estimators replace the direct measured values. The experimental results reveal that the controller based on the estimators has similar performance to that using direct measurement (less than 1 N difference in root mean square error between two cases), indicating that the proposed force and motion estimators can facilitate implementation of interactive controller for the UHP in robotmediated rehabilitation trainings.

A novel four-wire-driven robotic catheter for radio-frequency ablation treatment.

PubMed

Yoshimitsu, Kitaro; Kato, Takahisa; Song, Sang-Eun; Hata, Nobuhiko

2014-09-01

   Robotic catheters have been proposed to increase the efficacy and safety of the radio-frequency ablation treatment. The robotized motion of current robotic catheters mimics the motion of manual ones-namely, deflection in one direction and rotation around the catheter. With the expectation that the higher dexterity may achieve further efficacy and safety of the robotically driven treatment, we prototyped a four-wire-driven robotic catheter with the ability to deflect in two- degree-of-freedom motions in addition to rotation.    A novel quad-directional structure with two wires was designed and developed to attain yaw and pitch motion in the robotic catheter. We performed a mechanical evaluation of the bendability and maneuverability of the robotic catheter and compared it with current manual catheters.    We found that the four-wire-driven robotic catheter can achieve a pitching angle of 184.7[Formula: see text] at a pulling distance of wire for 11 mm, while the yawing angle was 170.4[Formula: see text] at 11 mm. The robotic catheter could attain the simultaneous two- degree-of-freedom motions in a simulated cardiac chamber.    The results indicate that the four-wire-driven robotic catheter may offer physicians the opportunity to intuitively control a catheter and smoothly approach the focus position that they aim to ablate.

Innovative approaches to the rehabilitation of upper extremity hemiparesis using virtual environments

PubMed Central

MERIANS, A. S.; TUNIK, E.; FLUET, G. G.; QIU, Q.; ADAMOVICH, S. V.

2017-01-01

Aim Upper-extremity interventions for hemiparesis are a challenging aspect of stroke rehabilitation. Purpose of this paper is to report the feasibility of using virtual environments (VEs) in combination with robotics to assist recovery of hand-arm function and to present preliminary data demonstrating the potential of using sensory manipulations in VE to drive activation in targeted neural regions. Methods We trained 8 subjects for 8 three hour sessions using a library of complex VE’s integrated with robots, comparing training arm and hand separately to training arm and hand together. Instrumented gloves and hand exoskeleton were used for hand tracking and haptic effects. Haptic Master robotic arm was used for arm tracking and generating three-dimensional haptic VEs. To investigate the use of manipulations in VE to drive neural activations, we created a “virtual mirror” that subjects used while performing a unimanual task. Cortical activation was measured with functional MRI (fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Results Both groups showed improvement in kinematics and measures of real-world function. The group trained using their arm and hand together showed greater improvement. In a stroke subject, fMRI data suggested virtual mirror feedback could activate the sensorimotor cortex contralateral to the reflected hand (ipsilateral to the moving hand) thus recruiting the lesioned hemisphere. Conclusion Gaming simulations interfaced with robotic devices provide a training medium that can modify movement patterns. In addition to showing that our VE therapies can optimize behavioral performance, we show preliminary evidence to support the potential of using specific sensory manipulations to selectively recruit targeted neural circuits. PMID:19158659

Attitudinal Change in Elderly Citizens Toward Social Robots: The Role of Personality Traits and Beliefs About Robot Functionality

PubMed Central

Damholdt, Malene F.; Nørskov, Marco; Yamazaki, Ryuji; Hakli, Raul; Hansen, Catharina Vesterager; Vestergaard, Christina; Seibt, Johanna

2015-01-01

Attitudes toward robots influence the tendency to accept or reject robotic devices. Thus it is important to investigate whether and how attitudes toward robots can change. In this pilot study we investigate attitudinal changes in elderly citizens toward a tele-operated robot in relation to three parameters: (i) the information provided about robot functionality, (ii) the number of encounters, (iii) personality type. Fourteen elderly residents at a rehabilitation center participated. Pre-encounter attitudes toward robots, anthropomorphic thinking, and personality were assessed. Thereafter the participants interacted with a tele-operated robot (Telenoid) during their lunch (c. 30 min.) for up to 3 days. Half of the participants were informed that the robot was tele-operated (IC) whilst the other half were naïve to its functioning (UC). Post-encounter assessments of attitudes toward robots and anthropomorphic thinking were undertaken to assess change. Attitudes toward robots were assessed with a new generic 35-items questionnaire (attitudes toward social robots scale: ASOR-5), offering a differentiated conceptualization of the conditions for social interaction. There was no significant difference between the IC and UC groups in attitude change toward robots though trends were observed. Personality was correlated with some tendencies for attitude changes; Extraversion correlated with positive attitude changes to intimate-personal relatedness with the robot (r = 0.619) and to psychological relatedness (r = 0.581) whilst Neuroticism correlated negatively (r = -0.582) with mental relatedness with the robot. The results tentatively suggest that neither information about functionality nor direct repeated encounters are pivotal in changing attitudes toward robots in elderly citizens. This may reflect a cognitive congruence bias where the robot is experienced in congruence with initial attitudes, or it may support action-based explanations of cognitive dissonance reductions, given that robots, unlike computers, are not yet perceived as action targets. Specific personality traits may be indicators of attitude change relating to specific domains of social interaction. Implications and future directions are discussed. PMID:26635646

Acceptance of an assistive robot in older adults: a mixed-method study of human-robot interaction over a 1-month period in the Living Lab setting.

PubMed

Wu, Ya-Huei; Wrobel, Jérémy; Cornuet, Mélanie; Kerhervé, Hélène; Damnée, Souad; Rigaud, Anne-Sophie

2014-01-01

There is growing interest in investigating acceptance of robots, which are increasingly being proposed as one form of assistive technology to support older adults, maintain their independence, and enhance their well-being. In the present study, we aimed to observe robot-acceptance in older adults, particularly subsequent to a 1-month direct experience with a robot. Six older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and five cognitively intact healthy (CIH) older adults were recruited. Participants interacted with an assistive robot in the Living Lab once a week for 4 weeks. After being shown how to use the robot, participants performed tasks to simulate robot use in everyday life. Mixed methods, comprising a robot-acceptance questionnaire, semistructured interviews, usability-performance measures, and a focus group, were used. Both CIH and MCI subjects were able to learn how to use the robot. However, MCI subjects needed more time to perform tasks after a 1-week period of not using the robot. Both groups rated similarly on the robot-acceptance questionnaire. They showed low intention to use the robot, as well as negative attitudes toward and negative images of this device. They did not perceive it as useful in their daily life. However, they found it easy to use, amusing, and not threatening. In addition, social influence was perceived as powerful on robot adoption. Direct experience with the robot did not change the way the participants rated robots in their acceptance questionnaire. We identified several barriers to robot-acceptance, including older adults' uneasiness with technology, feeling of stigmatization, and ethical/societal issues associated with robot use. It is important to destigmatize images of assistive robots to facilitate their acceptance. Universal design aiming to increase the market for and production of products that are usable by everyone (to the greatest extent possible) might help to destigmatize assistive devices.

Acceptance of an assistive robot in older adults: a mixed-method study of human–robot interaction over a 1-month period in the Living Lab setting

PubMed Central

Wu, Ya-Huei; Wrobel, Jérémy; Cornuet, Mélanie; Kerhervé, Hélène; Damnée, Souad; Rigaud, Anne-Sophie

2014-01-01

Background There is growing interest in investigating acceptance of robots, which are increasingly being proposed as one form of assistive technology to support older adults, maintain their independence, and enhance their well-being. In the present study, we aimed to observe robot-acceptance in older adults, particularly subsequent to a 1-month direct experience with a robot. Subjects and methods Six older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and five cognitively intact healthy (CIH) older adults were recruited. Participants interacted with an assistive robot in the Living Lab once a week for 4 weeks. After being shown how to use the robot, participants performed tasks to simulate robot use in everyday life. Mixed methods, comprising a robot-acceptance questionnaire, semistructured interviews, usability-performance measures, and a focus group, were used. Results Both CIH and MCI subjects were able to learn how to use the robot. However, MCI subjects needed more time to perform tasks after a 1-week period of not using the robot. Both groups rated similarly on the robot-acceptance questionnaire. They showed low intention to use the robot, as well as negative attitudes toward and negative images of this device. They did not perceive it as useful in their daily life. However, they found it easy to use, amusing, and not threatening. In addition, social influence was perceived as powerful on robot adoption. Direct experience with the robot did not change the way the participants rated robots in their acceptance questionnaire. We identified several barriers to robot-acceptance, including older adults’ uneasiness with technology, feeling of stigmatization, and ethical/societal issues associated with robot use. Conclusion It is important to destigmatize images of assistive robots to facilitate their acceptance. Universal design aiming to increase the market for and production of products that are usable by everyone (to the greatest extent possible) might help to destigmatize assistive devices. PMID:24855349

Attitudinal Change in Elderly Citizens Toward Social Robots: The Role of Personality Traits and Beliefs About Robot Functionality.

PubMed

Damholdt, Malene F; Nørskov, Marco; Yamazaki, Ryuji; Hakli, Raul; Hansen, Catharina Vesterager; Vestergaard, Christina; Seibt, Johanna

2015-01-01

Attitudes toward robots influence the tendency to accept or reject robotic devices. Thus it is important to investigate whether and how attitudes toward robots can change. In this pilot study we investigate attitudinal changes in elderly citizens toward a tele-operated robot in relation to three parameters: (i) the information provided about robot functionality, (ii) the number of encounters, (iii) personality type. Fourteen elderly residents at a rehabilitation center participated. Pre-encounter attitudes toward robots, anthropomorphic thinking, and personality were assessed. Thereafter the participants interacted with a tele-operated robot (Telenoid) during their lunch (c. 30 min.) for up to 3 days. Half of the participants were informed that the robot was tele-operated (IC) whilst the other half were naïve to its functioning (UC). Post-encounter assessments of attitudes toward robots and anthropomorphic thinking were undertaken to assess change. Attitudes toward robots were assessed with a new generic 35-items questionnaire (attitudes toward social robots scale: ASOR-5), offering a differentiated conceptualization of the conditions for social interaction. There was no significant difference between the IC and UC groups in attitude change toward robots though trends were observed. Personality was correlated with some tendencies for attitude changes; Extraversion correlated with positive attitude changes to intimate-personal relatedness with the robot (r = 0.619) and to psychological relatedness (r = 0.581) whilst Neuroticism correlated negatively (r = -0.582) with mental relatedness with the robot. The results tentatively suggest that neither information about functionality nor direct repeated encounters are pivotal in changing attitudes toward robots in elderly citizens. This may reflect a cognitive congruence bias where the robot is experienced in congruence with initial attitudes, or it may support action-based explanations of cognitive dissonance reductions, given that robots, unlike computers, are not yet perceived as action targets. Specific personality traits may be indicators of attitude change relating to specific domains of social interaction. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Adaptive back-stepping control of the harmonic drive system with LuGre model-based friction compensation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Sen; Gang, Tieqiang

2018-03-01

Harmonic drives are widely used in aerospace and industrial robots. Flexibility, friction and parameter uncertainty will result in transmission performance degradation. In this paper, an adaptive back-stepping method with friction compensation is proposed to improve the tracking performance of the harmonic drive system. The nonlinear friction is described by LuGre model and compensated with a friction observer, and the uncertainty of model parameters is resolved by adaptive parameter estimation method. By using Lyapunov stability theory, it is proved that all the errors of the closed-loop system are uniformly ultimately bounded. Simulations illustrate the effectiveness of our friction compensation method.

The AMEDD Futures 2039 Project: Phase 2 Final Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-30

healthcare education. Tools such as virtual reality trainers, robotic trainers, simulations and artificial intelligence will cause self directed and...functions monitoring * robotic arm applies blood to lab-in-the-field chips * robotic self -sustaining energy sources *wireless transmission of...Biotechnology, and Robotics for Far Forward Diagnosis and Treatment of Casualties in Future Warfare – Dr. Cynthia Abbott

Study of Command and Control (C&C) Structures on Integrating Unmanned Autonomous Systems (UAS) into Manned Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

and traveled all the way around Lake Tahoe. The self - driving cars have logged over 140,000 miles since October 9, 2010 (Google 2010) pictured here...UNDERWATER VEHICLES (AUV) STARFISH is the name given to a small team of autonomous robotic fish - a project carried out by the Acoustic Research...www.scribd.com/doc/42245301/Manual-Mine- Clearance-Book1. Accessed July 23, 2012. Google. The Self - Driving Car Logs more Miles on New Wheels. August 7

Computer-Aided Remote Driving

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, Brian H.

1994-01-01

System for remote control of robotic land vehicle requires only small radio-communication bandwidth. Twin video cameras on vehicle create stereoscopic images. Operator views cross-polarized images on two cathode-ray tubes through correspondingly polarized spectacles. By use of cursor on frozen image, remote operator designates path. Vehicle proceeds to follow path, by use of limited degree of autonomous control to cope with unexpected conditions. System concept, called "computer-aided remote driving" (CARD), potentially useful in exploration of other planets, military surveillance, firefighting, and clean-up of hazardous materials.

Fuzzy Integral-Based Gaze Control of a Robotic Head for Human Robot Interaction.

PubMed

Yoo, Bum-Soo; Kim, Jong-Hwan

2015-09-01

During the last few decades, as a part of effort to enhance natural human robot interaction (HRI), considerable research has been carried out to develop human-like gaze control. However, most studies did not consider hardware implementation, real-time processing, and the real environment, factors that should be taken into account to achieve natural HRI. This paper proposes a fuzzy integral-based gaze control algorithm, operating in real-time and the real environment, for a robotic head. We formulate the gaze control as a multicriteria decision making problem and devise seven human gaze-inspired criteria. Partial evaluations of all candidate gaze directions are carried out with respect to the seven criteria defined from perceived visual, auditory, and internal inputs, and fuzzy measures are assigned to a power set of the criteria to reflect the user defined preference. A fuzzy integral of the partial evaluations with respect to the fuzzy measures is employed to make global evaluations of all candidate gaze directions. The global evaluation values are adjusted by applying inhibition of return and are compared with the global evaluation values of the previous gaze directions to decide the final gaze direction. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated with a robotic head, developed in the Robot Intelligence Technology Laboratory at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, through three interaction scenarios and three comparison scenarios with another algorithm.

Toward perception-based navigation using EgoSphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawamura, Kazuhiko; Peters, R. Alan; Wilkes, Don M.; Koku, Ahmet B.; Sekman, Ali

2002-02-01

A method for perception-based egocentric navigation of mobile robots is described. Each robot has a local short-term memory structure called the Sensory EgoSphere (SES), which is indexed by azimuth, elevation, and time. Directional sensory processing modules write information on the SES at the location corresponding to the source direction. Each robot has a partial map of its operational area that it has received a priori. The map is populated with landmarks and is not necessarily metrically accurate. Each robot is given a goal location and a route plan. The route plan is a set of via-points that are not used directly. Instead, a robot uses each point to construct a Landmark EgoSphere (LES) a circular projection of the landmarks from the map onto an EgoSphere centered at the via-point. Under normal circumstances, the LES will be mostly unaffected by slight variations in the via-point location. Thus, the route plan is transformed into a set of via-regions each described by an LES. A robot navigates by comparing the next LES in its route plan to the current contents of its SES. It heads toward the indicated landmarks until its SES matches the LES sufficiently to indicate that the robot is near the suggested via-point. The proposed method is particularly useful for enabling the exchange of robust route informa-tion between robots under low data rate communications constraints. An example of such an exchange is given.

Mobile robotics research at Sandia National Laboratories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morse, W.D.

Sandia is a National Security Laboratory providing scientific and engineering solutions to meet national needs for both government and industry. As part of this mission, the Intelligent Systems and Robotics Center conducts research and development in robotics and intelligent machine technologies. An overview of Sandia`s mobile robotics research is provided. Recent achievements and future directions in the areas of coordinated mobile manipulation, small smart machines, world modeling, and special application robots are presented.

Object recognition for autonomous robot utilizing distributed knowledge database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takatori, Jiro; Suzuki, Kenji; Hartono, Pitoyo; Hashimoto, Shuji

2003-10-01

In this paper we present a novel method of object recognition utilizing a remote knowledge database for an autonomous robot. The developed robot has three robot arms with different sensors; two CCD cameras and haptic sensors. It can see, touch and move the target object from different directions. Referring to remote knowledge database of geometry and material, the robot observes and handles the objects to understand them including their physical characteristics.

Robotic surgery.

PubMed

Stoianovici, D

2000-09-01

The industrial revolution demonstrated the capability of robotic systems to facilitate and improve manufacturing. As a result, robotics extended to various other domains, including the delivery of health care. Hence, robots have been developed to assist hospital staff, to facilitate laboratory analyses, to augment patient rehabilitation, and even to advance surgical performance. As robotics lead usefulness and gain wider acceptance among the surgical community, the urologist should become familiar with this new interdisciplinary field and its "URobotics" subset: robotics applied to urology. This article reviews the current applications and experience, issues and debates in surgical robotics, and highlights future directions in the field.

A neurorobotic platform for locomotor prosthetic development in rats and mice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Zitzewitz, Joachim; Asboth, Leonie; Fumeaux, Nicolas; Hasse, Alexander; Baud, Laetitia; Vallery, Heike; Courtine, Grégoire

2016-04-01

Objectives. We aimed to develop a robotic interface capable of providing finely-tuned, multidirectional trunk assistance adjusted in real-time during unconstrained locomotion in rats and mice. Approach. We interfaced a large-scale robotic structure actuated in four degrees of freedom to exchangeable attachment modules exhibiting selective compliance along distinct directions. This combination allowed high-precision force and torque control in multiple directions over a large workspace. We next designed a neurorobotic platform wherein real-time kinematics and physiological signals directly adjust robotic actuation and prosthetic actions. We tested the performance of this platform in both rats and mice with spinal cord injury. Main Results. Kinematic analyses showed that the robotic interface did not impede locomotor movements of lightweight mice that walked freely along paths with changing directions and height profiles. Personalized trunk assistance instantly enabled coordinated locomotion in mice and rats with severe hindlimb motor deficits. Closed-loop control of robotic actuation based on ongoing movement features enabled real-time control of electromyographic activity in anti-gravity muscles during locomotion. Significance. This neurorobotic platform will support the study of the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of locomotor prosthetics and rehabilitation using high-resolution genetic tools in rodent models.

A neurorobotic platform for locomotor prosthetic development in rats and mice.

PubMed

von Zitzewitz, Joachim; Asboth, Leonie; Fumeaux, Nicolas; Hasse, Alexander; Baud, Laetitia; Vallery, Heike; Courtine, Grégoire

2016-04-01

We aimed to develop a robotic interface capable of providing finely-tuned, multidirectional trunk assistance adjusted in real-time during unconstrained locomotion in rats and mice. We interfaced a large-scale robotic structure actuated in four degrees of freedom to exchangeable attachment modules exhibiting selective compliance along distinct directions. This combination allowed high-precision force and torque control in multiple directions over a large workspace. We next designed a neurorobotic platform wherein real-time kinematics and physiological signals directly adjust robotic actuation and prosthetic actions. We tested the performance of this platform in both rats and mice with spinal cord injury. Kinematic analyses showed that the robotic interface did not impede locomotor movements of lightweight mice that walked freely along paths with changing directions and height profiles. Personalized trunk assistance instantly enabled coordinated locomotion in mice and rats with severe hindlimb motor deficits. Closed-loop control of robotic actuation based on ongoing movement features enabled real-time control of electromyographic activity in anti-gravity muscles during locomotion. This neurorobotic platform will support the study of the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of locomotor prosthetics and rehabilitation using high-resolution genetic tools in rodent models.

Development of anthropomorphic robotic hand driven by Pneumatic Artificial Muscles for robotic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farag, Mohannad; Zainul Azlan, Norsinnira; Hayyan Alsibai, Mohammed

2018-04-01

This paper presents the design and fabrication of a three-fingered anthropomorphic robotic hand. The fingers are driven by tendons and actuated by human muscle-like actuators known as Pneumatic Artificial Muscle (PAM). The proposed design allows the actuators to be mounted outside the hand where each finger can be driven by one PAM actuator and six indirectly interlinked tendons. With this design, the three-fingered hand has a compact size and a lightweight with a mass of 150.25 grams imitating the human being hand in terms of size and weight. The hand also successfully grasped objects with different shapes and weights up to 500 g. Even though the number of PAM actuators equals the number of Degrees of Freedom (DOF), the design guarantees driving of three joints by only one actuator reducing the number of required actuators from 3 to 1. Therefore, this hand is suitable for researches of robotic applications in terms of design, cost and ability to be equipped with several types of sensors.

Self-organized adaptation of a simple neural circuit enables complex robot behaviour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steingrube, Silke; Timme, Marc; Wörgötter, Florentin; Manoonpong, Poramate

2010-03-01

Controlling sensori-motor systems in higher animals or complex robots is a challenging combinatorial problem, because many sensory signals need to be simultaneously coordinated into a broad behavioural spectrum. To rapidly interact with the environment, this control needs to be fast and adaptive. Present robotic solutions operate with limited autonomy and are mostly restricted to few behavioural patterns. Here we introduce chaos control as a new strategy to generate complex behaviour of an autonomous robot. In the presented system, 18 sensors drive 18 motors by means of a simple neural control circuit, thereby generating 11 basic behavioural patterns (for example, orienting, taxis, self-protection and various gaits) and their combinations. The control signal quickly and reversibly adapts to new situations and also enables learning and synaptic long-term storage of behaviourally useful motor responses. Thus, such neural control provides a powerful yet simple way to self-organize versatile behaviours in autonomous agents with many degrees of freedom.

Speed control for a mobile robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolli, Kaylan C.; Mallikarjun, Sreeram; Kola, Krishnamohan; Hall, Ernest L.

1997-09-01

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) have many potential applications in manufacturing, medicine, space and defense. The purpose of this paper is to describe exploratory research on the design of a speed control for a modular autonomous mobile robot controller. The speed control of the traction motor is essential for safe operation of a mobile robot. The challenges of autonomous operation of a vehicle require safe, runaway and collision free operation. A mobile robot test-bed has been constructed using a golf cart base. The computer controlled speed control has been implemented and works with guidance provided by vision system and obstacle avoidance using ultrasonic sensors systems. A 486 computer through a 3- axis motion controller supervises the speed control. The traction motor is controlled via the computer by an EV-1 speed control. Testing of the system was done both in the lab and on an outside course with positive results. This design is a prototype and suggestions for improvements are also given. The autonomous speed controller is applicable for any computer controlled electric drive mobile vehicle.

Closed Loop Interactions between Spiking Neural Network and Robotic Simulators Based on MUSIC and ROS.

PubMed

Weidel, Philipp; Djurfeldt, Mikael; Duarte, Renato C; Morrison, Abigail

2016-01-01

In order to properly assess the function and computational properties of simulated neural systems, it is necessary to account for the nature of the stimuli that drive the system. However, providing stimuli that are rich and yet both reproducible and amenable to experimental manipulations is technically challenging, and even more so if a closed-loop scenario is required. In this work, we present a novel approach to solve this problem, connecting robotics and neural network simulators. We implement a middleware solution that bridges the Robotic Operating System (ROS) to the Multi-Simulator Coordinator (MUSIC). This enables any robotic and neural simulators that implement the corresponding interfaces to be efficiently coupled, allowing real-time performance for a wide range of configurations. This work extends the toolset available for researchers in both neurorobotics and computational neuroscience, and creates the opportunity to perform closed-loop experiments of arbitrary complexity to address questions in multiple areas, including embodiment, agency, and reinforcement learning.

Closed Loop Interactions between Spiking Neural Network and Robotic Simulators Based on MUSIC and ROS

PubMed Central

Weidel, Philipp; Djurfeldt, Mikael; Duarte, Renato C.; Morrison, Abigail

2016-01-01

In order to properly assess the function and computational properties of simulated neural systems, it is necessary to account for the nature of the stimuli that drive the system. However, providing stimuli that are rich and yet both reproducible and amenable to experimental manipulations is technically challenging, and even more so if a closed-loop scenario is required. In this work, we present a novel approach to solve this problem, connecting robotics and neural network simulators. We implement a middleware solution that bridges the Robotic Operating System (ROS) to the Multi-Simulator Coordinator (MUSIC). This enables any robotic and neural simulators that implement the corresponding interfaces to be efficiently coupled, allowing real-time performance for a wide range of configurations. This work extends the toolset available for researchers in both neurorobotics and computational neuroscience, and creates the opportunity to perform closed-loop experiments of arbitrary complexity to address questions in multiple areas, including embodiment, agency, and reinforcement learning. PMID:27536234

Preliminary results on noncollocated torque control of space robot actuators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tilley, Scott W.; Francis, Colin M.; Emerick, Ken; Hollars, Michael G.

1989-01-01

In the Space Station era, more operations will be performed robotically in space in the areas of servicing, assembly, and experiment tending among others. These robots may have various sets of requirements for accuracy, speed, and force generation, but there will be design constraints such as size, mass, and power dissipation limits. For actuation, a leading motor candidate is a dc brushless type, and there are numerous potential drive trains each with its own advantages and disadvantages. This experiment uses a harmonic drive and addresses some inherent limitations, namely its backdriveability and low frequency structural resonances. These effects are controlled and diminished by instrumenting the actuator system with a torque transducer on the output shaft. This noncollocated loop is closed to ensure that the commanded torque is accurately delivered to the manipulator link. The actuator system is modelled and its essential parameters identified. The nonlinear model for simulations will include inertias, gearing, stiction, flexibility, and the effects of output load variations. A linear model is extracted and used for designing the noncollocated torque and position feedback loops. These loops are simulated with the structural frequency encountered in the testbed system. Simulation results are given for various commands in position. The use of torque feedback is demonstrated to yield superior performance in settling time and positioning accuracy. An experimental setup being finished consists of a bench mounted motor and harmonic drive actuator system. A torque transducer and two position encoders, each with sufficient resolution and bandwidth, will provide sensory information. Parameters of the physical system are being identified and matched to analytical predictions. Initial feedback control laws will be incorporated in the bench test equipment and various experiments run to validate the designs. The status of these experiments is given.

Dynamics and control of instrumented harmonic drives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kazerooni, H.; Ellis, S. R. (Principal Investigator)

1995-01-01

Since torque in harmonic drives is transmitted by a pure couple, harmonic drives do not generate radial forces and therefore can be instrumented with torque sensors without interference from radial forces. The installation of torque sensors on the stationary component of harmonic drives (the Flexipline cup in this research work) produce backdrivability needed for robotic and telerobotic compliant maneuvers. Backdrivability of a harmonic drive, when used as torque increaser, means that the output shaft can be rotated via finite amount of torque. A high ratio harmonic drive is non-backdrivable because its output shaft cannot be turned by applying a torque on it. This article first develops the dynamic behavior of a harmonic drive, in particular the non-backdrivability, in terms of a sensitivity transfer function. The instrumentation of the harmonic drive with torque sensor is then described. This leads to a description of the control architecture which allows modulation of the sensitivity transfer function within the limits established by the closed-loop stability. A set of experiments on an active hand controller, powered by a DC motor coupled to an instrumented harmonic drive, is given to exhibit this method's limitations.

Three-dimensional construction and omni-directional rolling analysis of a novel frame-like lattice modular robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Wan; Wu, Jianxu; Yao, Yan'an

2015-07-01

Lattice modular robots possess diversity actuation methods, such as electric telescopic rod, gear rack, magnet, robot arm, etc. The researches on lattice modular robots mainly focus on their hardware descriptions and reconfiguration algorithms. Meanwhile, their design architectures and actuation methods perform slow telescopic and moving speeds, relative low actuation force verse weight ratio, and without internal space to carry objects. To improve the mechanical performance and reveal the locomotion and reconfiguration binary essences of the lattice modular robots, a novel cube-shaped, frame-like, pneumatic-based reconfigurable robot module called pneumatic expandable cube(PE-Cube) is proposed. The three-dimensional(3D) expanding construction and omni-directional rolling analysis of the constructed robots are the main focuses. The PE-Cube with three degrees of freedom(DoFs) is assembled by replacing the twelve edges of a cube with pneumatic cylinders. The proposed symmetric construction condition makes the constructed robots possess the same properties in each supporting state, and a binary control strategy cooperated with binary actuator(pneumatic cylinder) is directly adopted to control the PE-Cube. Taking an eight PE-Cube modules' construction as example, its dynamic rolling simulation, static rolling condition, and turning gait are illustrated and discussed. To testify telescopic synchronization, respond speed, locomotion feasibility, and repeatability and reliability of hardware system, an experimental pneumatic-based robotic system is built and the rolling and turning experiments of the eight PE-Cube modules' construction are carried out. As an extension, the locomotion feasibility of a thirty-two PE-Cube modules' construction is analyzed and proved, including dynamic rolling simulation, static rolling condition, and dynamic analysis in free tipping process. The proposed PE-Cube module, construction method, and locomotion analysis enrich the family of the lattice modular robot and provide the instruction to design the lattice modular robot.

The role of visual and direct force feedback in robotics-assisted mitral valve annuloplasty.

PubMed

Currie, Maria E; Talasaz, Ali; Rayman, Reiza; Chu, Michael W A; Kiaii, Bob; Peters, Terry; Trejos, Ana Luisa; Patel, Rajni

2017-09-01

The objective of this work was to determine the effect of both direct force feedback and visual force feedback on the amount of force applied to mitral valve tissue during ex vivo robotics-assisted mitral valve annuloplasty. A force feedback-enabled master-slave surgical system was developed to provide both visual and direct force feedback during robotics-assisted cardiac surgery. This system measured the amount of force applied by novice and expert surgeons to cardiac tissue during ex vivo mitral valve annuloplasty repair. The addition of visual (2.16 ± 1.67), direct (1.62 ± 0.86), or both visual and direct force feedback (2.15 ± 1.08) resulted in lower mean maximum force applied to mitral valve tissue while suturing compared with no force feedback (3.34 ± 1.93 N; P < 0.05). To achieve better control of interaction forces on cardiac tissue during robotics-assisted mitral valve annuloplasty suturing, force feedback may be required. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Manipulator control and mechanization: A telerobot subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayati, S.; Wilcox, B.

1987-01-01

The short- and long-term autonomous robot control activities in the Robotics and Teleoperators Research Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are described. This group is one of several involved in robotics and is an integral part of a new NASA robotics initiative called Telerobot program. A description of the architecture, hardware and software, and the research direction in manipulator control is given.

Self calibrating autoTRAC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Everett, Louis J.

1994-01-01

The work reported here demonstrates how to automatically compute the position and attitude of a targeting reflective alignment concept (TRAC) camera relative to the robot end effector. In the robotics literature this is known as the sensor registration problem. The registration problem is important to solve if TRAC images need to be related to robot position. Previously, when TRAC operated on the end of a robot arm, the camera had to be precisely located at the correct orientation and position. If this location is in error, then the robot may not be able to grapple an object even though the TRAC sensor indicates it should. In addition, if the camera is significantly far from the alignment it is expected to be at, TRAC may give incorrect feedback for the control of the robot. A simple example is if the robot operator thinks the camera is right side up but the camera is actually upside down, the camera feedback will tell the operator to move in an incorrect direction. The automatic calibration algorithm requires the operator to translate and rotate the robot arbitrary amounts along (about) two coordinate directions. After the motion, the algorithm determines the transformation matrix from the robot end effector to the camera image plane. This report discusses the TRAC sensor registration problem.

Single actuator wave-like robot (SAW): design, modeling, and experiments.

PubMed

Zarrouk, David; Mann, Moshe; Degani, Nir; Yehuda, Tal; Jarbi, Nissan; Hess, Amotz

2016-07-01

In this paper, we present a single actuator wave-like robot, a novel bioinspired robot which can move forward or backward by producing a continuously advancing wave. The robot has a unique minimalistic mechanical design and produces an advancing sine wave, with a large amplitude, using only a single motor but with no internal straight spine. Over horizontal surfaces, the robot does not slide relative to the surface and its direction of locomotion is determined by the direction of rotation of the motor. We developed a kinematic model of the robot that accounts for the two-dimensional mechanics of motion and yields the speed of the links relative to the motor. Based on the optimization of the kinematic model, and accounting for the mechanical constraints, we have designed and built multiple versions of the robot with different sizes and experimentally tested them (see movie). The experimental results were within a few percentages of the expectations. The larger version attained a top speed of 57 cm s(-1) over a horizontal surface and is capable of climbing vertically when placed between two walls. By optimizing the parameters, we succeeded in making the robot travel by 13% faster than its own wave speed.

Adaptive model-based assistive control for pneumatic direct driven soft rehabilitation robots.

PubMed

Wilkening, Andre; Ivlev, Oleg

2013-06-01

Assistive behavior and inherent compliance are assumed to be the essential properties for effective robot-assisted therapy in neurological as well as in orthopedic rehabilitation. This paper presents two adaptive model-based assistive controllers for pneumatic direct driven soft rehabilitation robots that are based on separated models of the soft-robot and the patient's extremity, in order to take into account the individual patient's behavior, effort and ability during control, what is assumed to be essential to relearn lost motor functions in neurological and facilitate muscle reconstruction in orthopedic rehabilitation. The high inherent compliance of soft-actuators allows for a general human-robot interaction and provides the base for effective and dependable assistive control. An inverse model of the soft-robot with estimated parameters is used to achieve robot transparency during treatment and inverse adaptive models of the individual patient's extremity allow the controllers to learn on-line the individual patient's behavior and effort and react in a way that assist the patient only as much as needed. The effectiveness of the controllers is evaluated with unimpaired subjects using a first prototype of a soft-robot for elbow training. Advantages and disadvantages of both controllers are analyzed and discussed.

Front and Back Movement Analysis of a Triangle-Structured Three-Wheeled Omnidirectional Mobile Robot by Varying the Angles between Two Selected Wheels

PubMed Central

Mohanraj, A. P.; Elango, A.; Reddy, Mutra Chanakya

2016-01-01

Omnidirectional robots can move in all directions without steering their wheels and it can rotate clockwise and counterclockwise with reference to their axis. In this paper, we focused only on front and back movement, to analyse the square- and triangle-structured omnidirectional robot movements. An omnidirectional mobile robot shows different performances with the different number of wheels and the omnidirectional mobile robot's chassis design. Research is going on in this field to improve the accurate movement capability of omnidirectional mobile robots. This paper presents a design of a unique device of Angle Variable Chassis (AVC) for linear movement analysis of a three-wheeled omnidirectional mobile robot (TWOMR), at various angles (θ) between the wheels. Basic mobility algorithm is developed by varying the angles between the two selected omnidirectional wheels in TWOMR. The experiment is carried out by varying the angles (θ = 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°, and 120°) between the two selected omniwheels and analysing the movement of TWOMR in forward direction and reverse direction on a smooth cement surface. Respectively, it is compared to itself for various angles (θ), to get its advantages and weaknesses. The conclusion of the paper provides effective movement of TWOMR at a particular angle (θ) and also the application of TWOMR in different situations. PMID:26981585

Front and Back Movement Analysis of a Triangle-Structured Three-Wheeled Omnidirectional Mobile Robot by Varying the Angles between Two Selected Wheels.

PubMed

Mohanraj, A P; Elango, A; Reddy, Mutra Chanakya

2016-01-01

Omnidirectional robots can move in all directions without steering their wheels and it can rotate clockwise and counterclockwise with reference to their axis. In this paper, we focused only on front and back movement, to analyse the square- and triangle-structured omnidirectional robot movements. An omnidirectional mobile robot shows different performances with the different number of wheels and the omnidirectional mobile robot's chassis design. Research is going on in this field to improve the accurate movement capability of omnidirectional mobile robots. This paper presents a design of a unique device of Angle Variable Chassis (AVC) for linear movement analysis of a three-wheeled omnidirectional mobile robot (TWOMR), at various angles (θ) between the wheels. Basic mobility algorithm is developed by varying the angles between the two selected omnidirectional wheels in TWOMR. The experiment is carried out by varying the angles (θ = 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°, and 120°) between the two selected omniwheels and analysing the movement of TWOMR in forward direction and reverse direction on a smooth cement surface. Respectively, it is compared to itself for various angles (θ), to get its advantages and weaknesses. The conclusion of the paper provides effective movement of TWOMR at a particular angle (θ) and also the application of TWOMR in different situations.

RHOBOT: Radiation hardened robotics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bennett, P.C.; Posey, L.D.

1997-10-01

A survey of robotic applications in radioactive environments has been conducted, and analysis of robotic system components and their response to the varying types and strengths of radiation has been completed. Two specific robotic systems for accident recovery and nuclear fuel movement have been analyzed in detail for radiation hardness. Finally, a general design approach for radiation-hardened robotics systems has been developed and is presented. This report completes this project which was funded under the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program.

A robotic wheelchair trainer: design overview and a feasibility study

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Experiencing independent mobility is important for children with a severe movement disability, but learning to drive a powered wheelchair can be labor intensive, requiring hand-over-hand assistance from a skilled therapist. Methods To improve accessibility to training, we developed a robotic wheelchair trainer that steers itself along a course marked by a line on the floor using computer vision, haptically guiding the driver's hand in appropriate steering motions using a force feedback joystick, as the driver tries to catch a mobile robot in a game of "robot tag". This paper provides a detailed design description of the computer vision and control system. In addition, we present data from a pilot study in which we used the chair to teach children without motor impairment aged 4-9 (n = 22) to drive the wheelchair in a single training session, in order to verify that the wheelchair could enable learning by the non-impaired motor system, and to establish normative values of learning rates. Results and Discussion Training with haptic guidance from the robotic wheelchair trainer improved the steering ability of children without motor impairment significantly more than training without guidance. We also report the results of a case study with one 8-year-old child with a severe motor impairment due to cerebral palsy, who replicated the single-session training protocol that the non-disabled children participated in. This child also improved steering ability after training with guidance from the joystick by an amount even greater than the children without motor impairment. Conclusions The system not only provided a safe, fun context for automating driver's training, but also enhanced motor learning by the non-impaired motor system, presumably by demonstrating through intuitive movement and force of the joystick itself exemplary control to follow the course. The case study indicates that a child with a motor system impaired by CP can also gain a short-term benefit from driver's training with haptic guidance. PMID:20707886

A robotic wheelchair trainer: design overview and a feasibility study.

PubMed

Marchal-Crespo, Laura; Furumasu, Jan; Reinkensmeyer, David J

2010-08-13

Experiencing independent mobility is important for children with a severe movement disability, but learning to drive a powered wheelchair can be labor intensive, requiring hand-over-hand assistance from a skilled therapist. To improve accessibility to training, we developed a robotic wheelchair trainer that steers itself along a course marked by a line on the floor using computer vision, haptically guiding the driver's hand in appropriate steering motions using a force feedback joystick, as the driver tries to catch a mobile robot in a game of "robot tag". This paper provides a detailed design description of the computer vision and control system. In addition, we present data from a pilot study in which we used the chair to teach children without motor impairment aged 4-9 (n = 22) to drive the wheelchair in a single training session, in order to verify that the wheelchair could enable learning by the non-impaired motor system, and to establish normative values of learning rates. Training with haptic guidance from the robotic wheelchair trainer improved the steering ability of children without motor impairment significantly more than training without guidance. We also report the results of a case study with one 8-year-old child with a severe motor impairment due to cerebral palsy, who replicated the single-session training protocol that the non-disabled children participated in. This child also improved steering ability after training with guidance from the joystick by an amount even greater than the children without motor impairment. The system not only provided a safe, fun context for automating driver's training, but also enhanced motor learning by the non-impaired motor system, presumably by demonstrating through intuitive movement and force of the joystick itself exemplary control to follow the course. The case study indicates that a child with a motor system impaired by CP can also gain a short-term benefit from driver's training with haptic guidance.

Direct kinematics solution architectures for industrial robot manipulators: Bit-serial versus parallel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J.; Kim, K.

A Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) architecture for robot direct kinematic computation suitable for industrial robot manipulators was investigated. The Denavit-Hartenberg transformations are reviewed to exploit a proper processing element, namely an augmented CORDIC. Specifically, two distinct implementations are elaborated on, such as the bit-serial and parallel. Performance of each scheme is analyzed with respect to the time to compute one location of the end-effector of a 6-links manipulator, and the number of transistors required.

Direct kinematics solution architectures for industrial robot manipulators: Bit-serial versus parallel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, J.; Kim, K.

1991-01-01

A Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) architecture for robot direct kinematic computation suitable for industrial robot manipulators was investigated. The Denavit-Hartenberg transformations are reviewed to exploit a proper processing element, namely an augmented CORDIC. Specifically, two distinct implementations are elaborated on, such as the bit-serial and parallel. Performance of each scheme is analyzed with respect to the time to compute one location of the end-effector of a 6-links manipulator, and the number of transistors required.

Recent trends for practical rehabilitation robotics, current challenges and the future.

PubMed

Yakub, Fitri; Md Khudzari, Ahmad Zahran; Mori, Yasuchika

2014-03-01

This paper presents and studies various selected literature primarily from conference proceedings, journals and clinical tests of the robotic, mechatronics, neurology and biomedical engineering of rehabilitation robotic systems. The present paper focuses of three main categories: types of rehabilitation robots, key technologies with current issues and future challenges. Literature on fundamental research with some examples from commercialized robots and new robot development projects related to rehabilitation are introduced. Most of the commercialized robots presented in this paper are well known especially to robotics engineers and scholars in the robotic field, but are less known to humanities scholars. The field of rehabilitation robot research is expanding; in light of this, some of the current issues and future challenges in rehabilitation robot engineering are recalled, examined and clarified with future directions. This paper is concluded with some recommendations with respect to rehabilitation robots.

Iconic Gestures for Robot Avatars, Recognition and Integration with Speech.

PubMed

Bremner, Paul; Leonards, Ute

2016-01-01

Co-verbal gestures are an important part of human communication, improving its efficiency and efficacy for information conveyance. One possible means by which such multi-modal communication might be realized remotely is through the use of a tele-operated humanoid robot avatar. Such avatars have been previously shown to enhance social presence and operator salience. We present a motion tracking based tele-operation system for the NAO robot platform that allows direct transmission of speech and gestures produced by the operator. To assess the capabilities of this system for transmitting multi-modal communication, we have conducted a user study that investigated if robot-produced iconic gestures are comprehensible, and are integrated with speech. Robot performed gesture outcomes were compared directly to those for gestures produced by a human actor, using a within participant experimental design. We show that iconic gestures produced by a tele-operated robot are understood by participants when presented alone, almost as well as when produced by a human. More importantly, we show that gestures are integrated with speech when presented as part of a multi-modal communication equally well for human and robot performances.

Crew/Robot Coordinated Planetary EVA Operations at a Lunar Base Analog Site

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diftler, M. A.; Ambrose, R. O.; Bluethmann, W. J.; Delgado, F. J.; Herrera, E.; Kosmo, J. J.; Janoiko, B. A.; Wilcox, B. H.; Townsend, J. A.; Matthews, J. B.;

Tandem Stance Avoidance Using Adaptive and Asymmetric Admittance Control for Fall Prevention.

PubMed

Nakagawa, Shotaro; Hasegawa, Yasuhisa; Fukuda, Toshio; Kondo, Izumi; Tanimoto, Masanori; Di, Pei; Huang, Jian; Huang, Qiang

2016-05-01

Fall prevention is one of the most important functions of walking assistance devices for user's safety. It is preferable that these devices prevent the user from being in the state where the risk of falling is high rather than helping them recovering from falling motion. During turning, when the user is in the tandem stance, a state where both legs form a line along walking direction, a support base that is surrounded by two legs becomes small, and a stability margin becomes small. This paper therefore aims to prevent the tandem stance by using nonwearable robot "intelligent cane" for the elderly or physically challenged person. Generally, the behavior of the lower limb follows the upper body turning. This paper therefore introduces a cane robot control method which constrains the behavior of user's upper body. By adjusting an admittance parameter of the robot according to the positions of a support leg, the robot resists to turn while a support leg is on the same side of the turning direction. A swing leg on the turning direction side therefore freely moves to the turning direction, while a swing leg on the opposite direction side of turning hardly move to the turning direction.

Understanding the Uncanny: Both Atypical Features and Category Ambiguity Provoke Aversion toward Humanlike Robots

PubMed Central

Strait, Megan K.; Floerke, Victoria A.; Ju, Wendy; Maddox, Keith; Remedios, Jessica D.; Jung, Malte F.; Urry, Heather L.

2017-01-01

Robots intended for social contexts are often designed with explicit humanlike attributes in order to facilitate their reception by (and communication with) people. However, observation of an “uncanny valley”—a phenomenon in which highly humanlike entities provoke aversion in human observers—has lead some to caution against this practice. Both of these contrasting perspectives on the anthropomorphic design of social robots find some support in empirical investigations to date. Yet, owing to outstanding empirical limitations and theoretical disputes, the uncanny valley and its implications for human-robot interaction remains poorly understood. We thus explored the relationship between human similarity and people's aversion toward humanlike robots via manipulation of the agents' appearances. To that end, we employed a picture-viewing task (Nagents = 60) to conduct an experimental test (Nparticipants = 72) of the uncanny valley's existence and the visual features that cause certain humanlike robots to be unnerving. Across the levels of human similarity, we further manipulated agent appearance on two dimensions, typicality (prototypic, atypical, and ambiguous) and agent identity (robot, person), and measured participants' aversion using both subjective and behavioral indices. Our findings were as follows: (1) Further substantiating its existence, the data show a clear and consistent uncanny valley in the current design space of humanoid robots. (2) Both category ambiguity, and more so, atypicalities provoke aversive responding, thus shedding light on the visual factors that drive people's discomfort. (3) Use of the Negative Attitudes toward Robots Scale did not reveal any significant relationships between people's pre-existing attitudes toward humanlike robots and their aversive responding—suggesting positive exposure and/or additional experience with robots is unlikely to affect the occurrence of an uncanny valley effect in humanoid robotics. This work furthers our understanding of both the uncanny valley, as well as the visual factors that contribute to an agent's uncanniness. PMID:28912736

Understanding the Uncanny: Both Atypical Features and Category Ambiguity Provoke Aversion toward Humanlike Robots.

PubMed

Strait, Megan K; Floerke, Victoria A; Ju, Wendy; Maddox, Keith; Remedios, Jessica D; Jung, Malte F; Urry, Heather L

2017-01-01

Robots intended for social contexts are often designed with explicit humanlike attributes in order to facilitate their reception by (and communication with) people. However, observation of an "uncanny valley"-a phenomenon in which highly humanlike entities provoke aversion in human observers-has lead some to caution against this practice. Both of these contrasting perspectives on the anthropomorphic design of social robots find some support in empirical investigations to date. Yet, owing to outstanding empirical limitations and theoretical disputes, the uncanny valley and its implications for human-robot interaction remains poorly understood. We thus explored the relationship between human similarity and people's aversion toward humanlike robots via manipulation of the agents' appearances. To that end, we employed a picture-viewing task ( N agents = 60) to conduct an experimental test ( N participants = 72) of the uncanny valley's existence and the visual features that cause certain humanlike robots to be unnerving. Across the levels of human similarity, we further manipulated agent appearance on two dimensions, typicality (prototypic, atypical, and ambiguous) and agent identity (robot, person), and measured participants' aversion using both subjective and behavioral indices. Our findings were as follows: (1) Further substantiating its existence, the data show a clear and consistent uncanny valley in the current design space of humanoid robots. (2) Both category ambiguity, and more so, atypicalities provoke aversive responding, thus shedding light on the visual factors that drive people's discomfort. (3) Use of the Negative Attitudes toward Robots Scale did not reveal any significant relationships between people's pre-existing attitudes toward humanlike robots and their aversive responding-suggesting positive exposure and/or additional experience with robots is unlikely to affect the occurrence of an uncanny valley effect in humanoid robotics. This work furthers our understanding of both the uncanny valley, as well as the visual factors that contribute to an agent's uncanniness.

Behavior Selection of Mobile Robot Based on Integration of Multimodal Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Bin; Kaneko, Masahide

Recently, biologically inspired robots have been developed to acquire the capacity for directing visual attention to salient stimulus generated from the audiovisual environment. On purpose to realize this behavior, a general method is to calculate saliency maps to represent how much the external information attracts the robot's visual attention, where the audiovisual information and robot's motion status should be involved. In this paper, we represent a visual attention model where three modalities, that is, audio information, visual information and robot's motor status are considered, while the previous researches have not considered all of them. Firstly, we introduce a 2-D density map, on which the value denotes how much the robot pays attention to each spatial location. Then we model the attention density using a Bayesian network where the robot's motion statuses are involved. Secondly, the information from both of audio and visual modalities is integrated with the attention density map in integrate-fire neurons. The robot can direct its attention to the locations where the integrate-fire neurons are fired. Finally, the visual attention model is applied to make the robot select the visual information from the environment, and react to the content selected. Experimental results show that it is possible for robots to acquire the visual information related to their behaviors by using the attention model considering motion statuses. The robot can select its behaviors to adapt to the dynamic environment as well as to switch to another task according to the recognition results of visual attention.

Robotics in Cardiac Surgery: Past, Present, and Future

PubMed Central

Bush, Bryan; Nifong, L. Wiley; Chitwood, W. Randolph

2013-01-01

Robotic cardiac operations evolved from minimally invasive operations and offer similar theoretical benefits, including less pain, shorter length of stay, improved cosmesis, and quicker return to preoperative level of functional activity. The additional benefits offered by robotic surgical systems include improved dexterity and degrees of freedom, tremor-free movements, ambidexterity, and the avoidance of the fulcrum effect that is intrinsic when using long-shaft endoscopic instruments. Also, optics and operative visualization are vastly improved compared with direct vision and traditional videoscopes. Robotic systems have been utilized successfully to perform complex mitral valve repairs, coronary revascularization, atrial fibrillation ablation, intracardiac tumor resections, atrial septal defect closures, and left ventricular lead implantation. The history and evolution of these procedures, as well as the present status and future directions of robotic cardiac surgery, are presented in this review. PMID:23908867

After Opportunity's First Drive in Six Weeks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its front hazard-identification camera to obtain this image at the end of a drive on the rover's 1,271st sol, or Martian day (Aug. 21, 2007).

Due to sun-obscuring dust storms limiting the rover's supply of solar energy, Opportunity had not driven since sol 1,232 (July 12, 2007). On sol 1,271, after the sky above Opportunity had been gradually clearing for more than two weeks, the rover rolled 13.38 meters (44 feet). Wheel tracks are visible in front of the rover because the drive ended with a short test of driving backwards.

Opportunity's turret of four tools at the end of the robotic arm fills the center of the image. Victoria Crater, site of the rover's next science targets, lies ahead.

Kinematic control of robot with degenerate wrist

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barker, L. K.; Moore, M. C.

1984-01-01

Kinematic resolved rate equations allow an operator with visual feedback to dynamically control a robot hand. When the robot wrist is degenerate, the computed joint angle rates exceed operational limits, and unwanted hand movements can result. The generalized matrix inverse solution can also produce unwanted responses. A method is introduced to control the robot hand in the region of the degenerate robot wrist. The method uses a coordinated movement of the first and third joints of the robot wrist to locate the second wrist joint axis for movement of the robot hand in the commanded direction. The method does not entail infinite joint angle rates.

Case studies in configuration control for redundant robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seraji, H.; Lee, T.; Colbaugh, R.; Glass, K.

1989-01-01

A simple approach to configuration control of redundant robots is presented. The redundancy is utilized to control the robot configuration directly in task space, where the task will be performed. A number of task-related kinematic functions are defined and combined with the end-effector coordinates to form a set of configuration variables. An adaptive control scheme is then utilized to ensure that the configuration variables track the desired reference trajectories as closely as possible. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the control scheme. The scheme has also been implemented for direct online control of a PUMA industrial robot, and experimental results are presented. The simulation and experimental results validate the configuration control scheme for performing various realistic tasks.

Robotics-inspired biology.

PubMed

Gravish, Nick; Lauder, George V

2018-03-29

For centuries, designers and engineers have looked to biology for inspiration. Biologically inspired robots are just one example of the application of knowledge of the natural world to engineering problems. However, recent work by biologists and interdisciplinary teams have flipped this approach, using robots and physical models to set the course for experiments on biological systems and to generate new hypotheses for biological research. We call this approach robotics-inspired biology; it involves performing experiments on robotic systems aimed at the discovery of new biological phenomena or generation of new hypotheses about how organisms function that can then be tested on living organisms. This new and exciting direction has emerged from the extensive use of physical models by biologists and is already making significant advances in the areas of biomechanics, locomotion, neuromechanics and sensorimotor control. Here, we provide an introduction and overview of robotics-inspired biology, describe two case studies and suggest several directions for the future of this exciting new research area. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

A direct methanol fuel cell system to power a humanoid robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joh, Han-Ik; Ha, Tae Jung; Hwang, Sang Youp; Kim, Jong-Ho; Chae, Seung-Hoon; Cho, Jae Hyung; Prabhuram, Joghee; Kim, Soo-Kil; Lim, Tae-Hoon; Cho, Baek-Kyu; Oh, Jun-Ho; Moon, Sang Heup; Ha, Heung Yong

In this study, a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) system, which is the first of its kind, has been developed to power a humanoid robot. The DMFC system consists of a stack, a balance of plant (BOP), a power management unit (PMU), and a back-up battery. The stack has 42 unit cells and is able to produce about 400 W at 19.3 V. The robot is 125 cm tall, weighs 56 kg, and consumes 210 W during normal operation. The robot is integrated with the DMFC system that powers the robot in a stable manner for more than 2 h. The power consumption by the robot during various motions is studied, and load sharing between the fuel cell and the back-up battery is also observed. The loss of methanol feed due to crossover and evaporation amounts to 32.0% and the efficiency of the DMFC system in terms of net electric power is 22.0%.

Optimal design of an alignment-free two-DOF rehabilitation robot for the shoulder complex.

PubMed

Galinski, Daniel; Sapin, Julien; Dehez, Bruno

2013-06-01

This paper presents the optimal design of an alignment-free exoskeleton for the rehabilitation of the shoulder complex. This robot structure is constituted of two actuated joints and is linked to the arm through passive degrees of freedom (DOFs) to drive the flexion-extension and abduction-adduction movements of the upper arm. The optimal design of this structure is performed through two steps. The first step is a multi-objective optimization process aiming to find the best parameters characterizing the robot and its position relative to the patient. The second step is a comparison process aiming to select the best solution from the optimization results on the basis of several criteria related to practical considerations. The optimal design process leads to a solution outperforming an existing solution on aspects as kinematics or ergonomics while being more simple.

Rationale and Roadmap for Moon Exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foing, B. H.; ILEWG Team

We discuss the different rationale for Moon exploration. This starts with areas of scientific investigations: clues on the formation and evolution of rocky planets, accretion and bombardment in the inner solar system, comparative planetology processes (tectonic, volcanic, impact cratering, volatile delivery), records astrobiology, survival of organics; past, present and future life. The rationale includes also the advancement of instrumentation: Remote sensing miniaturised instruments; Surface geophysical and geochemistry package; Instrument deployment and robotic arm, nano-rover, sampling, drilling; Sample finder and collector. There are technologies in robotic and human exploration that are a drive for the creativity and economical competitivity of our industries: Mecha-electronics-sensors; Tele control, telepresence, virtual reality; Regional mobility rover; Autonomy and Navigation; Artificially intelligent robots, Complex systems, Man-Machine interface and performances. Moon-Mars Exploration can inspire solutions to global Earth sustained development: In-Situ Utilisation of resources; Establishment of permanent robotic infrastructures, Environmental protection aspects; Life sciences laboratories; Support to human exploration. We also report on the IAA Cosmic Study on Next Steps In Exploring Deep Space, and ongoing IAA Cosmic Studies, ILEWG/IMEWG ongoing activities, and we finally discuss possible roadmaps for robotic and human exploration, starting with the Moon-Mars missions for the coming decade, and building effectively on joint technology developments.

Volunteers Oriented Interface Design for the Remote Navigation of Rescue Robots at Large-Scale Disaster Sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zhixiao; Ito, Kazuyuki; Saijo, Kazuhiko; Hirotsune, Kazuyuki; Gofuku, Akio; Matsuno, Fumitoshi

This paper aims at constructing an efficient interface being similar to those widely used in human daily life, to fulfill the need of many volunteer rescuers operating rescue robots at large-scale disaster sites. The developed system includes a force feedback steering wheel interface and an artificial neural network (ANN) based mouse-screen interface. The former consists of a force feedback steering control and a six monitors’ wall. It provides a manual operation like driving cars to navigate a rescue robot. The latter consists of a mouse and a camera’s view displayed in a monitor. It provides a semi-autonomous operation by mouse clicking to navigate a rescue robot. Results of experiments show that a novice volunteer can skillfully navigate a tank rescue robot through both interfaces after 20 to 30 minutes of learning their operation respectively. The steering wheel interface has high navigating speed in open areas, without restriction of terrains and surface conditions of a disaster site. The mouse-screen interface is good at exact navigation in complex structures, while bringing little tension to operators. The two interfaces are designed to switch into each other at any time to provide a combined efficient navigation method.

Compliant-linkage kinematic design for multi-degree-of-freedom mobile robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borenstein, Johann

1993-05-01

Multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) vehicles have many potential advantages over conventional (i.e., 2-DOF) vehicles. For example, MDOF vehicles can travel sideways and they can negotiate tight turns more easily. In addition, some MDOF designs provide better payload capability, better traction, and improved static and dynamic stability. However, MDOF vehicles with more than three degrees-of-freedom are difficult to control because of their overconstrained nature. These difficulties translate into severe wheel slippage or jerky motion under certain driving conditions. In the past, these problems limited the use of MDOF vehicles to applications where the vehicle would follow a guide-wire, which would correct wheel slippage and control errors. By contrast, autonomous or semi-autonomous mobile robots usually rely on dead-reckoning between periodic absolute position updates and their performance is diminished by excessive wheel slippage. This paper introduces a new concept in the kinematic design of MDOF vehicles. This concept is based on the provision of a compliant linkage between drive wheels or drive axles. Simulation results indicate that compliant linkage allows to overcome the control problems found in conventional MDOF vehicles and reduces the amount of wheel slippage to the same level (or less) than the amount of slippage found on a comparable 2-DOF vehicle.

A bio-inspired kinematic controller for obstacle avoidance during reaching tasks with real robots.

PubMed

Srinivasa, Narayan; Bhattacharyya, Rajan; Sundareswara, Rashmi; Lee, Craig; Grossberg, Stephen

2012-11-01

This paper describes a redundant robot arm that is capable of learning to reach for targets in space in a self-organized fashion while avoiding obstacles. Self-generated movement commands that activate correlated visual, spatial and motor information are used to learn forward and inverse kinematic control models while moving in obstacle-free space using the Direction-to-Rotation Transform (DIRECT). Unlike prior DIRECT models, the learning process in this work was realized using an online Fuzzy ARTMAP learning algorithm. The DIRECT-based kinematic controller is fault tolerant and can handle a wide range of perturbations such as joint locking and the use of tools despite not having experienced them during learning. The DIRECT model was extended based on a novel reactive obstacle avoidance direction (DIRECT-ROAD) model to enable redundant robots to avoid obstacles in environments with simple obstacle configurations. However, certain configurations of obstacles in the environment prevented the robot from reaching the target with purely reactive obstacle avoidance. To address this complexity, a self-organized process of mental rehearsals of movements was modeled, inspired by human and animal experiments on reaching, to generate plans for movement execution using DIRECT-ROAD in complex environments. These mental rehearsals or plans are self-generated by using the Fuzzy ARTMAP algorithm to retrieve multiple solutions for reaching each target while accounting for all the obstacles in its environment. The key aspects of the proposed novel controller were illustrated first using simple examples. Experiments were then performed on real robot platforms to demonstrate successful obstacle avoidance during reaching tasks in real-world environments. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soft Robotics: New Perspectives for Robot Bodyware and Control

PubMed Central

Laschi, Cecilia; Cianchetti, Matteo

2014-01-01

The remarkable advances of robotics in the last 50 years, which represent an incredible wealth of knowledge, are based on the fundamental assumption that robots are chains of rigid links. The use of soft materials in robotics, driven not only by new scientific paradigms (biomimetics, morphological computation, and others), but also by many applications (biomedical, service, rescue robots, and many more), is going to overcome these basic assumptions and makes the well-known theories and techniques poorly applicable, opening new perspectives for robot design and control. The current examples of soft robots represent a variety of solutions for actuation and control. Though very first steps, they have the potential for a radical technological change. Soft robotics is not just a new direction of technological development, but a novel approach to robotics, unhinging its fundamentals, with the potential to produce a new generation of robots, in the support of humans in our natural environments. PMID:25022259

Determination of erosion thresholds and aeolian dune stabilization mechanisms via robotic shear strength measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, F.; Lee, D. B.; Bodek, S.; Roberts, S.; Topping, T. T.; Robele, Y.; Koditschek, D. E.; Jerolmack, D. J.

2017-12-01

Understanding the parameters that control the spatial variation in aeolian soil erodibility is crucial to the development of sediment transport models. Currently, in-situ measurements of erodibility are time consuming and lack robustness. In an attempt to remedy this issue, we perform field and laboratory tests to determine the suitability of a novel mechanical shear strength method to assess soil erodibility. These tests can be performed quickly ( 1 minute) by a semi-autonomous robot using its direct-drive leg, while environmental controls such as soil moisture and grain size are simultaneously characterized. The robot was deployed at White Sands National Monument to delineate and understand erodibility gradients at two different scales: (1) from dry dune crest to moist interdune (distance 10s m), where we determined that shear strength increases by a factor of three with increasing soil moisture; and (2) from barren barchan dunes to vegetated and crusted parabolics downwind (distance 5 km), where we found that shear strength was enhanced by a factor of two relative to loose sand. Interestingly, shear strength varied little from carbonate-crusted dune surfaces to bio-crust covered interdunes in the downwind parabolic region, indicating that varied surface crusts contribute similarly to erosion resistance. To isolate the control of soil moisture on erodibility, we performed laboratory experiments in a sandbox. These results verify that the observed increase in soil erodibility from barchan crest to interdune at White Sands is dominated by soil moisture, and the variation in parabolic dune and barchan interdune areas results from a combination of soil moisture, bio-activity, and crust development. This study highlights that spatial variation of soil erodibility in arid environments is large enough to significantly affect sediment transport, and that probing soil erodibility with a robot has the potential to improve our understanding of this multifaceted problem.

Performance adaptive training control strategy for recovering wrist movements in stroke patients: a preliminary, feasibility study

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background In the last two decades robot training in neuromotor rehabilitation was mainly focused on shoulder-elbow movements. Few devices were designed and clinically tested for training coordinated movements of the wrist, which are crucial for achieving even the basic level of motor competence that is necessary for carrying out ADLs (activities of daily life). Moreover, most systems of robot therapy use point-to-point reaching movements which tend to emphasize the pathological tendency of stroke patients to break down goal-directed movements into a number of jerky sub-movements. For this reason we designed a wrist robot with a range of motion comparable to that of normal subjects and implemented a self-adapting training protocol for tracking smoothly moving targets in order to facilitate the emergence of smoothness in the motor control patterns and maximize the recovery of the normal RoM (range of motion) of the different DoFs (degrees of Freedom). Methods The IIT-wrist robot is a 3 DoFs light exoskeleton device, with direct-drive of each DoF and a human-like range of motion for Flexion/Extension (FE), Abduction/Adduction (AA) and Pronation/Supination (PS). Subjects were asked to track a variable-frequency oscillating target using only one wrist DoF at time, in such a way to carry out a progressive splinting therapy. The RoM of each DoF was angularly scanned in a staircase-like fashion, from the "easier" to the "more difficult" angular position. An Adaptive Controller evaluated online performance parameters and modulated both the assistance and the difficulty of the task in order to facilitate smoother and more precise motor command patterns. Results Three stroke subjects volunteered to participate in a preliminary test session aimed at verify the acceptability of the device and the feasibility of the designed protocol. All of them were able to perform the required task. The wrist active RoM of motion was evaluated for each patient at the beginning and at the end of the test therapy session and the results suggest a positive trend. Conclusion The positive outcomes of the preliminary tests motivate the planning of a clinical trial and provide experimental evidence for defining appropriate inclusion/exclusion criteria. PMID:19968873

Design of a robotic vehicle with self-contained intelligent wheels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poulson, Eric A.; Jacob, John S.; Gunderson, Robert W.; Abbott, Ben A.

1998-08-01

The Center for Intelligent Systems has developed a small robotic vehicle named the Advanced Rover Chassis 3 (ARC 3) with six identical intelligent wheel units attached to a payload via a passive linkage suspension system. All wheels are steerable, so the ARC 3 can move in any direction while rotating at any rate allowed by the terrain and motors. Each intelligent wheel unit contains a drive motor, steering motor, batteries, and computer. All wheel units are identical, so manufacturing, programing, and spare replacement are greatly simplified. The intelligent wheel concept would allow the number and placement of wheels on the vehicle to be changed with no changes to the control system, except to list the position of all the wheels relative to the vehicle center. The task of controlling the ARC 3 is distributed between one master computer and the wheel computers. Tasks such as controlling the steering motors and calculating the speed of each wheel relative to the vehicle speed in a corner are dependent on the location of a wheel relative to the vehicle center and ar processed by the wheel computers. Conflicts between the wheels are eliminated by computing the vehicle velocity control in the master computer. Various approaches to this distributed control problem, and various low level control methods, have been explored.

Inducing self-selected human engagement in robotic locomotion training.

PubMed

Collins, Steven H; Jackson, Rachel W

2013-06-01

Stroke leads to severe mobility impairments for millions of individuals each year. Functional outcomes can be improved through manual treadmill therapy, but high costs limit patient exposure and, thereby, outcomes. Robotic gait training could increase the viable duration and frequency of training sessions, but robotic approaches employed thus far have been less effective than manual therapy. These shortcomings may relate to subconscious energy-minimizing drives, which might cause patients to engage less actively in therapy when provided with corrective robotic assistance. We have devised a new method for gait rehabilitation that harnesses, rather than fights, least-effort tendencies. Therapeutic goals, such as increased use of the paretic limb, are made easier than the patient's nominal gait through selective assistance from a robotic platform. We performed a pilot test on a healthy subject (N = 1) in which altered self-selected stride length was induced using a tethered robotic ankle-foot orthosis. The subject first walked on a treadmill while wearing the orthosis with and without assistance at unaltered and voluntarily altered stride length. Voluntarily increasing stride length by 5% increased metabolic energy cost by 4%. Robotic assistance decreased energy cost at both unaltered and voluntarily increased stride lengths, by 6% and 8% respectively. We then performed a test in which the robotic system continually monitored stride length and provided more assistance if the subject's stride length approached a target increase. This adaptive assistance protocol caused the subject to slowly adjust their gait patterns towards the target, leading to a 4% increase in stride length. Metabolic energy consumption was simultaneously reduced by 5%. These results suggest that selective-assistance protocols based on targets relevant to rehabilitation might lead patients to self-select desirable gait patterns during robotic gait training sessions, possibly facilitating better adherence and outcomes.

Autonomous Shepherding Behaviors of Multiple Target Steering Robots.

PubMed

Lee, Wonki; Kim, DaeEun

2017-11-25

This paper presents a distributed coordination methodology for multi-robot systems, based on nearest-neighbor interactions. Among many interesting tasks that may be performed using swarm robots, we propose a biologically-inspired control law for a shepherding task, whereby a group of external agents drives another group of agents to a desired location. First, we generated sheep-like robots that act like a flock. We assume that each agent is capable of measuring the relative location and velocity to each of its neighbors within a limited sensing area. Then, we designed a control strategy for shepherd-like robots that have information regarding where to go and a steering ability to control the flock, according to the robots' position relative to the flock. We define several independent behavior rules; each agent calculates to what extent it will move by summarizing each rule. The flocking sheep agents detect the steering agents and try to avoid them; this tendency leads to movement of the flock. Each steering agent only needs to focus on guiding the nearest flocking agent to the desired location. Without centralized coordination, multiple steering agents produce an arc formation to control the flock effectively. In addition, we propose a new rule for collecting behavior, whereby a scattered flock or multiple flocks are consolidated. From simulation results with multiple robots, we show that each robot performs actions for the shepherding behavior, and only a few steering agents are needed to control the whole flock. The results are displayed in maps that trace the paths of the flock and steering robots. Performance is evaluated via time cost and path accuracy to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.

Envisioning Cognitive Robots for Future Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huntsberger, Terry; Stoica, Adrian

2010-01-01

Cognitive robots in the context of space exploration are envisioned with advanced capabilities of model building, continuous planning/re-planning, self-diagnosis, as well as the ability to exhibit a level of 'understanding' of new situations. An overview of some JPL components (e.g. CASPER, CAMPOUT) and a description of the architecture CARACaS (Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing) that combines these in the context of a cognitive robotic system operating in a various scenarios are presented. Finally, two examples of typical scenarios of a multi-robot construction mission and a human-robot mission, involving direct collaboration with humans is given.

Embedded object concept with a telepresence robot system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallius, Tero; Röning, Juha

2005-10-01

This paper presents the Embedded Object Concept (EOC) and a telepresence robot system which is a test case for the EOC. The EOC utilizes common object-oriented methods used in software by applying them to combined Lego-like software-hardware entities. These entities represent objects in object-oriented design methods, and they are the building blocks of embedded systems. The goal of the EOC is to make the designing of embedded systems faster and easier. This concept enables people without comprehensive knowledge in electronics design to create new embedded systems, and for experts it shortens the design time of new embedded systems. We present the current status of the EOC, including two generations of embedded objects named Atomi objects. The first generation of the Atomi objects has been tested with different applications, and found to be functional, but not optimal. The second generation aims to correct the issues found with the first generation, and it is being tested in a relatively complex test case. The test case is a telepresence robot consisting of a two wheeled human height robot and its computer counter part. The robot has been constructed using incremental device development, which is made possible by the architecture of the EOC. The robot contains video and audio exchange capability, and a controlling and balancing system for driving with two wheels. The robot is built in two versions, the first consisting of a PDA device and Atomi objects, and the second consisting of only Atomi objects. The robot is currently incomplete, but for the most part it has been successfully tested.

Design and validation of an intelligent wheelchair towards a clinically-functional outcome.

PubMed

Boucher, Patrice; Atrash, Amin; Kelouwani, Sousso; Honoré, Wormser; Nguyen, Hai; Villemure, Julien; Routhier, François; Cohen, Paul; Demers, Louise; Forget, Robert; Pineau, Joelle

2013-06-17

Many people with mobility impairments, who require the use of powered wheelchairs, have difficulty completing basic maneuvering tasks during their activities of daily living (ADL). In order to provide assistance to this population, robotic and intelligent system technologies have been used to design an intelligent powered wheelchair (IPW). This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the design and validation of the IPW. The main contributions of this work are three-fold. First, we present a software architecture for robot navigation and control in constrained spaces. Second, we describe a decision-theoretic approach for achieving robust speech-based control of the intelligent wheelchair. Third, we present an evaluation protocol motivated by a meaningful clinical outcome, in the form of the Robotic Wheelchair Skills Test (RWST). This allows us to perform a thorough characterization of the performance and safety of the system, involving 17 test subjects (8 non-PW users, 9 regular PW users), 32 complete RWST sessions, 25 total hours of testing, and 9 kilometers of total running distance. User tests with the RWST show that the navigation architecture reduced collisions by more than 60% compared to other recent intelligent wheelchair platforms. On the tasks of the RWST, we measured an average decrease of 4% in performance score and 3% in safety score (not statistically significant), compared to the scores obtained with conventional driving model. This analysis was performed with regular users that had over 6 years of wheelchair driving experience, compared to approximately one half-hour of training with the autonomous mode. The platform tested in these experiments is among the most experimentally validated robotic wheelchairs in realistic contexts. The results establish that proficient powered wheelchair users can achieve the same level of performance with the intelligent command mode, as with the conventional command mode.

The space station tethered elevator system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Loren A.

1989-01-01

The optimized conceptual engineering design of a space station tethered elevator is presented. The elevator is an unmanned mobile structure which operates on a ten kilometer tether spanning the distance between the Space Station and a tethered platform. Elevator capabilities include providing access to residual gravity levels, remote servicing, and transportation to any point along a tether. The potential uses, parameters, and evolution of the spacecraft design are discussed. Engineering development of the tethered elevator is the result of work conducted in the following areas: structural configurations; robotics, drive mechanisms; and power generation and transmission systems. The structural configuration of the elevator is presented. The structure supports, houses, and protects all systems on board the elevator. The implementation of robotics on board the elevator is discussed. Elevator robotics allow for the deployment, retrieval, and manipulation of tethered objects. Robotic manipulators also aid in hooking the elevator on a tether. Critical to the operation of the tethered elevator is the design of its drive mechanisms, which are discussed. Two drivers, located internal to the elevator, propel the vehicle along a tether. These modular components consist of endless toothed belts, shunt-wound motors, regenerative power braking, and computer controlled linear actuators. The designs of self-sufficient power generation and transmission systems are reviewed. Thorough research indicates all components of the elevator will operate under power provided by fuel cells. The fuel cell systems will power the vehicle at seven kilowatts continuously and twelve kilowatts maximally. A set of secondary fuel cells provides redundancy in the unlikely event of a primary system failure. Power storage exists in the form of Nickel-Hydrogen batteries capable of powering the elevator under maximum loads.

Multiagent robotic systems' ambient light sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iureva, Radda A.; Maslennikov, Oleg S.; Komarov, Igor I.

2017-05-01

Swarm robotics is one of the fastest growing areas of modern technology. Being subclass of multi-agent systems it inherits the main part of scientific-methodological apparatus of construction and functioning of practically useful complexes, which consist of rather autonomous independent agents. Ambient light sensors (ALS) are widely used in robotics. But speaking about swarm robotics, the technology which has great number of specific features and is developing, we can't help mentioning that its important to use sensors on each robot not only in order to help it to get directionally oriented, but also to follow light emitted by robot-chief or to help to find the goal easier. Key words: ambient light sensor, swarm system, multiagent system, robotic system, robotic complexes, simulation modelling

Development of soft robots using dielectric elastomer actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godaba, Hareesh; Wang, Yuzhe; Cao, Jiawei; Zhu, Jian

2016-04-01

Soft robots are gaining in popularity due to their unique attributes such as low weight, compliance, flexibility and diverse range in motion types. This paper illustrates soft robots and actuators which are developed using dielectric elastomer. These developments include a jellyfish robot, a worm like robot and artificial muscle actuators for jaw movement in a robotic skull. The jellyfish robot which employs a bulged dielectric elastomer membrane has been demonstrated too generate thrust and buoyant forces and can move effectively in water. The artificial muscle for jaw movement employs a pure shear configuration and has been shown to closely mimic the jaw motion while chewing or singing a song. Thee inchworm robot, powered by dielectric elastomer actuator can demonstrate stable movement in one-direction.

Robotic instrumentation: Evolution and microsurgical applications

PubMed Central

Parekattil, Sijo J.; Moran, Michael E.

2010-01-01

This article presents a review of the history and evolution of robotic instrumentation and its applications in urology. A timeline for the evolution of robotic instrumentation is presented to better facilitate an understanding of our current-day applications. Some new directions including robotic microsurgical applications (robotic assisted denervation of the spermatic cord for chronic orchialgia and robotic assisted vasectomy reversal) are presented. There is a paucity of prospective comparative effectiveness studies for a number of robotic applications. However, right or wrong, human nature has always led to our infatuation with the concept of using tools to meet our needs. This chapter is a brief tribute to where we have come from and where we may be potentially heading in the field of robotic assisted urologic surgery. PMID:21116362

Strategies for human-driven robot comprehension of spatial descriptions by older adults in a robot fetch task.

PubMed

Carlson, Laura; Skubic, Marjorie; Miller, Jared; Huo, Zhiyu; Alexenko, Tatiana

2014-07-01

This contribution presents a corpus of spatial descriptions and describes the development of a human-driven spatial language robot system for their comprehension. The domain of application is an eldercare setting in which an assistive robot is asked to "fetch" an object for an elderly resident based on a natural language spatial description given by the resident. In Part One, we describe a corpus of naturally occurring descriptions elicited from a group of older adults within a virtual 3D home that simulates the eldercare setting. We contrast descriptions elicited when participants offered descriptions to a human versus robot avatar, and under instructions to tell the addressee how to find the target versus where the target is. We summarize the key features of the spatial descriptions, including their dynamic versus static nature and the perspective adopted by the speaker. In Part Two, we discuss critical cognitive and perceptual processing capabilities necessary for the robot to establish a common ground with the human user and perform the "fetch" task. Based on the collected corpus, we focus here on resolving the perspective ambiguity and recognizing furniture items used as landmarks in the descriptions. Taken together, the work presented here offers the key building blocks of a robust system that takes as input natural spatial language descriptions and produces commands that drive the robot to successfully fetch objects within our eldercare scenario. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Dynamic bending of bionic flexible body driven by pneumatic artificial muscles(PAMs) for spinning gait of quadruped robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Jingtao; Yu, Huangying; Wang, Tianmiao

2016-01-01

The body of quadruped robot is generally developed with the rigid structure. The mobility of quadruped robot depends on the mechanical properties of the body mechanism. It is difficult for quadruped robot with rigid structure to achieve better mobility walking or running in the unstructured environment. A kind of bionic flexible body mechanism for quadruped robot is proposed, which is composed of one bionic spine and four pneumatic artificial muscles(PAMs). This kind of body imitates the four-legged creatures' kinematical structure and physical properties, which has the characteristic of changeable stiffness, lightweight, flexible and better bionics. The kinematics of body bending is derived, and the coordinated movement between the flexible body and legs is analyzed. The relationship between the body bending angle and the PAM length is obtained. The dynamics of the body bending is derived by the floating coordinate method and Lagrangian method, and the driving force of PAM is determined. The experiment of body bending is conducted, and the dynamic bending characteristic of bionic flexible body is evaluated. Experimental results show that the bending angle of the bionic flexible body can reach 18°. An innovation body mechanism for quadruped robot is proposed, which has the characteristic of flexibility and achieve bending by changing gas pressure of PAMs. The coordinated movement of the body and legs can achieve spinning gait in order to improve the mobility of quadruped robot.

Sensor Control of Robot Arc Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sias, F. R., Jr.

1983-01-01

The potential for using computer vision as sensory feedback for robot gas-tungsten arc welding is investigated. The basic parameters that must be controlled while directing the movement of an arc welding torch are defined. The actions of a human welder are examined to aid in determining the sensory information that would permit a robot to make reproducible high strength welds. Special constraints imposed by both robot hardware and software are considered. Several sensory modalities that would potentially improve weld quality are examined. Special emphasis is directed to the use of computer vision for controlling gas-tungsten arc welding. Vendors of available automated seam tracking arc welding systems and of computer vision systems are surveyed. An assessment is made of the state of the art and the problems that must be solved in order to apply computer vision to robot controlled arc welding on the Space Shuttle Main Engine.

High Intensity Laser Power Beaming Architecture for Space and Terrestrial Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nayfeh, Taysir; Fast, Brian; Raible, Daniel; Dinca, Dragos; Tollis, Nick; Jalics, Andrew

2011-01-01

High Intensity Laser Power Beaming (HILPB) has been developed as a technique to achieve Wireless Power Transmission (WPT) for both space and terrestrial applications. In this paper, the system architecture and hardware results for a terrestrial application of HILPB are presented. These results demonstrate continuous conversion of high intensity optical energy at near-IR wavelengths directly to electrical energy at output power levels as high as 6.24 W from the single cell 0.8 cm2 aperture receiver. These results are scalable, and may be realized by implementing receiver arraying and utilizing higher power source lasers. This type of system would enable long range optical refueling of electric platforms, such as MUAV s, airships, robotic exploration missions and provide power to spacecraft platforms which may utilize it to drive electric means of propulsion.

Decentralized adaptive control of manipulators - Theory, simulation, and experimentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seraji, Homayoun

1989-01-01

The author presents a simple decentralized adaptive-control scheme for multijoint robot manipulators based on the independent joint control concept. The control objective is to achieve accurate tracking of desired joint trajectories. The proposed control scheme does not use the complex manipulator dynamic model, and each joint is controlled simply by a PID (proportional-integral-derivative) feedback controller and a position-velocity-acceleration feedforward controller, both with adjustable gains. Simulation results are given for a two-link direct-drive manipulator under adaptive independent joint control. The results illustrate trajectory tracking under coupled dynamics and varying payload. The proposed scheme is implemented on a MicroVAX II computer for motion control of the three major joints of a PUMA 560 arm. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate that trajectory tracking is achieved despite coupled nonlinear joint dynamics.

Robust Neural Sliding Mode Control of Robot Manipulators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nguyen Tran Hiep; Pham Thuong Cat

2009-03-05

This paper proposes a robust neural sliding mode control method for robot tracking problem to overcome the noises and large uncertainties in robot dynamics. The Lyapunov direct method has been used to prove the stability of the overall system. Simulation results are given to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method.

Direct manipulation of tool-like masters for controlling a master-slave surgical robotic system.

PubMed

Zhang, Linan; Zhou, Ningxin; Wang, Shuxin

2014-12-01

Robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery (MIS) can benefit both patients and surgeons. However, the learning curve for robotically assisted procedures can be long and the total system costs are high. Therefore, there is considerable interest in new methods and lower cost controllers for a surgical robotic system. In this study, a knife-master and a forceps-master, shaped similarly to a surgical knife and forceps, were developed as input devices for control of a master-slave surgical robotic system. In addition, a safety strategy was developed to eliminate the master-slave orientation difference and stabilize the surgical system. Master-slave tracking experiments and a ring-and-bar experiment showed that the safety tracking strategy could ensure that the robot system moved stably without any tremor in the tracking motion. Subjects could manipulate the surgical tool to achieve the master-slave operation with less training compared to a mechanical master. Direct manipulation of the small, light and low-cost surgical tools to control a robotic system is a possible operating mode. Surgeons can operate the robotic system in their own familiar way, without long training. The main potential safety issues can be solved by the proposed safety control strategy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Conference on Intelligent Robotics in Field, Factory, Service and Space (CIRFFSS 1994), Volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erickson, Jon D. (Editor)

1994-01-01

The AIAA/NASA Conference on Intelligent Robotics in Field, Factory, Service, and Space (CIRFFSS '94) was originally proposed because of the strong belief that America's problems of global economic competitiveness and job creation and preservations can partly be solved by the use of intelligent robotics, which are also required for human space exploration missions. Individual sessions addressed the following topics: (1) vision systems integration and architecture; (2) selective perception and human robot interaction; (3) robotic systems technology; (4) military and other field applications; (5) dual-use precommercial robotic technology; (6) building operations; (7) planetary exploration applications; (8) planning; (9) new directions in robotics; and (10) commercialization.

Financial Impact of the Robotic Approach in Liver Surgery: A Comparative Study of Clinical Outcomes and Costs Between the Robotic and Open Technique in a Single Institution.

PubMed

Daskalaki, Despoina; Gonzalez-Heredia, Raquel; Brown, Marc; Bianco, Francesco M; Tzvetanov, Ivo; Davis, Myriam; Kim, Jihun; Benedetti, Enrico; Giulianotti, Pier C

2017-04-01

One of the perceived major drawbacks of minimally invasive techniques has always been its cost. This is especially true for the robotic approach and is one of the main reasons that has prevented its wider acceptance among hospitals and surgeons. The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes and economic impact of robotic and open liver surgery in a single institution. Sixty-eight robotic and 55 open hepatectomies were performed at our institution between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2013. Demographics, perioperative data, and postoperative outcomes were collected and compared between the two groups. An independent company performed the financial analysis. The economic parameters comprised direct variable costs, direct fixed costs, and indirect costs. Mean estimated blood loss was significantly less in the robotic group (438 versus 727.8 mL; P = .038). Overall morbidity was significantly lower in the robotic group (22% versus 40%; P = .047). Clavien III/IV complications were also lower, with 4.4% in the robotic versus 16.3% in the open group (P = .043). The length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) was shorter for patients who underwent a robotic procedure (2.1 versus 3.3 days; P = .004). The average total cost, including readmissions, was $37,518 for robotic surgery and $41,948 for open technique. Robotic liver resections had less overall morbidity, ICU, and hospital stay. This translates into decreased average costs for robotic surgery. These procedures are financially comparable to open resections and do not represent a financial burden to the hospital.

Collective search by mobile robots using alpha-beta coordination

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goldsmith, S.Y.; Robinett, R. III

1998-04-01

One important application of mobile robots is searching a geographical region to locate the origin of a specific sensible phenomenon. Mapping mine fields, extraterrestrial and undersea exploration, the location of chemical and biological weapons, and the location of explosive devices are just a few potential applications. Teams of robotic bloodhounds have a simple common goal; to converge on the location of the source phenomenon, confirm its intensity, and to remain aggregated around it until directed to take some other action. In cases where human intervention through teleoperation is not possible, the robot team must be deployed in a territory withoutmore » supervision, requiring an autonomous decentralized coordination strategy. This paper presents the alpha beta coordination strategy, a family of collective search algorithms that are based on dynamic partitioning of the robotic team into two complementary social roles according to a sensor based status measure. Robots in the alpha role are risk takers, motivated to improve their status by exploring new regions of the search space. Robots in the beta role are motivated to improve but are conservative, and tend to remain aggregated and stationary until the alpha robots have identified better regions of the search space. Roles are determined dynamically by each member of the team based on the status of the individual robot relative to the current state of the collective. Partitioning the robot team into alpha and beta roles results in a balance between exploration and exploitation, and can yield collective energy savings and improved resistance to sensor noise and defectors. Alpha robots waste energy exploring new territory, and are more sensitive to the effects of ambient noise and to defectors reporting inflated status. Beta robots conserve energy by moving in a direct path to regions of confirmed high status.« less

Financial Impact of the Robotic Approach in Liver Surgery: A Comparative Study of Clinical Outcomes and Costs Between the Robotic and Open Technique in a Single Institution

PubMed Central

Daskalaki, Despoina; Brown, Marc; Bianco, Francesco M.; Tzvetanov, Ivo; Davis, Myriam; Kim, Jihun; Benedetti, Enrico; Giulianotti, Pier C.

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: One of the perceived major drawbacks of minimally invasive techniques has always been its cost. This is especially true for the robotic approach and is one of the main reasons that has prevented its wider acceptance among hospitals and surgeons. The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes and economic impact of robotic and open liver surgery in a single institution. Methods: Sixty-eight robotic and 55 open hepatectomies were performed at our institution between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2013. Demographics, perioperative data, and postoperative outcomes were collected and compared between the two groups. An independent company performed the financial analysis. The economic parameters comprised direct variable costs, direct fixed costs, and indirect costs. Results: Mean estimated blood loss was significantly less in the robotic group (438 versus 727.8 mL; P = .038). Overall morbidity was significantly lower in the robotic group (22% versus 40%; P = .047). Clavien III/IV complications were also lower, with 4.4% in the robotic versus 16.3% in the open group (P = .043). The length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) was shorter for patients who underwent a robotic procedure (2.1 versus 3.3 days; P = .004). The average total cost, including readmissions, was $37,518 for robotic surgery and $41,948 for open technique. Conclusions: Robotic liver resections had less overall morbidity, ICU, and hospital stay. This translates into decreased average costs for robotic surgery. These procedures are financially comparable to open resections and do not represent a financial burden to the hospital. PMID:28186429

The Role of Reciprocity in Verbally Persuasive Robots.

PubMed

Lee, Seungcheol Austin; Liang, Yuhua Jake

2016-08-01

The current research examines the persuasive effects of reciprocity in the context of human-robot interaction. This is an important theoretical and practical extension of persuasive robotics by testing (1) if robots can utilize verbal requests and (2) if robots can utilize persuasive mechanisms (e.g., reciprocity) to gain human compliance. Participants played a trivia game with a robot teammate. The ostensibly autonomous robot helped (or failed to help) the participants by providing the correct (vs. incorrect) trivia answers. Then, the robot directly asked participants to complete a 15-minute task for pattern recognition. Compared to no help, results showed that a robot's prior helping behavior significantly increased the likelihood of compliance (60 percent vs. 33 percent). Interestingly, participants' evaluations toward the robot (i.e., competence, warmth, and trustworthiness) did not predict compliance. These results also provided an insightful comparison showing that participants complied at similar rates with the robot and with computer agents. This result documents a clear empirically powerful potential for the role of verbal messages in persuasive robotics.

Robotic follow system and method

DOEpatents

Bruemmer, David J [Idaho Falls, ID; Anderson, Matthew O [Idaho Falls, ID

2007-05-01

Robot platforms, methods, and computer media are disclosed. The robot platform includes perceptors, locomotors, and a system controller, which executes instructions for a robot to follow a target in its environment. The method includes receiving a target bearing and sensing whether the robot is blocked front. If the robot is blocked in front, then the robot's motion is adjusted to avoid the nearest obstacle in front. If the robot is not blocked in front, then the method senses whether the robot is blocked toward the target bearing and if so, sets the rotational direction opposite from the target bearing, and adjusts the rotational velocity and translational velocity. If the robot is not blocked toward the target bearing, then the rotational velocity is adjusted proportional to an angle of the target bearing and the translational velocity is adjusted proportional to a distance to the nearest obstacle in front.

Iconic Gestures for Robot Avatars, Recognition and Integration with Speech

PubMed Central

Bremner, Paul; Leonards, Ute

2016-01-01

Co-verbal gestures are an important part of human communication, improving its efficiency and efficacy for information conveyance. One possible means by which such multi-modal communication might be realized remotely is through the use of a tele-operated humanoid robot avatar. Such avatars have been previously shown to enhance social presence and operator salience. We present a motion tracking based tele-operation system for the NAO robot platform that allows direct transmission of speech and gestures produced by the operator. To assess the capabilities of this system for transmitting multi-modal communication, we have conducted a user study that investigated if robot-produced iconic gestures are comprehensible, and are integrated with speech. Robot performed gesture outcomes were compared directly to those for gestures produced by a human actor, using a within participant experimental design. We show that iconic gestures produced by a tele-operated robot are understood by participants when presented alone, almost as well as when produced by a human. More importantly, we show that gestures are integrated with speech when presented as part of a multi-modal communication equally well for human and robot performances. PMID:26925010

Compliant Robot Wrist

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Voellmer, George

1992-01-01

Compliant element for robot wrist accepts small displacements in one direction only (to first approximation). Three such elements combined to obtain translational compliance along three orthogonal directions, without rotational compliance along any of them. Element is double-blade flexure joint in which two sheets of spring steel attached between opposing blocks, forming rectangle. Blocks moved parallel to each other in one direction only. Sheets act as double cantilever beams deforming in S-shape, keeping blocks parallel.

Propensity Score-Matched Analysis of Clinical and Financial Outcomes After Robotic and Laparoscopic Colorectal Resection.

PubMed

Al-Mazrou, Ahmed M; Baser, Onur; Kiran, Ravi P

2018-06-01

The study aims to evaluate the clinical and financial outcomes of the use of robotic when compared to laparoscopic colorectal surgery and any changes in these over time. From the Premier Perspective database, patients who underwent elective laparoscopic and robotic colorectal resections from 2012 to 2014 were included. Laparoscopic colorectal resections were propensity score matched to robotic cases for patient, disease, procedure, surgeon specialty, and hospital type and volume. The two groups were compared for conversion, hospital stay, 30-day post-discharge readmission, mortality, and complications. Direct, cumulative, and total (including 30-day post-discharge) costs were evaluated. Clinical and financial outcomes were also separately assessed for each of the included years. Of 36,701 patients, 32,783 (89.3%) had laparoscopic colorectal resection and 3918 (10.7%) had robotic colorectal resection; 4438 procedures (2219 in each group) were propensity score matched. For the entire period, conversion to open approach (4.7 vs. 3.7%, p = 0.1) and hospital stay (mean days [SD] 6 [5.3] vs. 5 [4.6], p = 0.2) were comparable between robotic and laparoscopic procedures. Surgical and medical complications were also the same for the two groups. However, the robotic approach was associated with lower readmission (6.3 vs. 4.8%, p = 0.04). Wound or abdominal infection (4.7 vs. 2.3%, p = 0.01) and respiratory complications (7.4 vs. 4.7%, p = 0.02) were significantly lower for the robotic group in the final year of inclusion, 2014. Direct, cumulative, and total (including 30-day post-discharge) costs were significantly higher for robotic surgery. The difference in costs between the two approaches reduced over time (direct cost difference: 2012, $2698 vs. 2013, $2235 vs. 2014, $1402). Robotic colorectal surgery can be performed with comparable clinical outcomes to laparoscopy. With greater use of the technology, some further recovery benefits may be evident. The robotic approach is more expensive but cost differences have been diminishing over time.

Control strategy for a dual-arm maneuverable space robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, P. K. C.

1987-01-01

A simple strategy for the attitude control and arm coordination of a maneuverable space robot with dual arms is proposed. The basic task for the robot consists of the placement of marked rigid solid objects with specified pairs of gripping points and a specified direction of approach for gripping. The strategy consists of three phases each of which involves only elementary rotational and translational collision-free maneuvers of the robot body. Control laws for these elementary maneuvers are derived by using a body-referenced dynamic model of the dual-arm robot.

[Robotics].

PubMed

Bier, J

2000-05-01

Content of this paper is the current state of the art of robots in surgery and the ongoing work on the field of surgical robotics at the Clinic for Maxillofacial Surgery at the Charité. Robots in surgery allows the surgeon to transform the accuracy of the imaging systems directly during the intervention and to plan an intervention beforehand. In this paper firstly the state of the art is described. Subsequently the scientific work at the clinic is described in detail. The paper closes with a outlook for future applications of robotics systems in maxillofacial surgery.

Research on wheelchair robot control system based on EOG

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Wang; Chen, Naijian; Han, Xiangdong; Sun, Jianbo

2018-04-01

The paper describes an intelligent wheelchair control system based on EOG. It can help disabled people improve their living ability. The system can acquire EOG signal from the user, detect the number of blink and the direction of glancing, and then send commands to the wheelchair robot via RS-232 to achieve the control of wheelchair robot. Wheelchair robot control system based on EOG is composed of processing EOG signal and human-computer interactive technology, which achieves a purpose of using conscious eye movement to control wheelchair robot.

A Smart Sensor for Defending against Clock Glitching Attacks on the I2C Protocol in Robotic Applications

PubMed Central

Jiménez-Naharro, Raúl; Gómez-Bravo, Fernando; Medina-García, Jonathan; Sánchez-Raya, Manuel; Gómez-Galán, Juan Antonio

2017-01-01

This paper presents a study about hardware attacking and clock signal vulnerability. It considers a particular type of attack on the clock signal in the I2C protocol, and proposes the design of a new sensor for detecting and defending against this type of perturbation. The analysis of the attack and the defense is validated by means of a configurable experimental platform that emulates a differential drive robot. A set of experimental results confirm the interest of the studied vulnerabilities and the efficiency of the proposed sensor in defending against this type of situation. PMID:28346337

NASA in Silicon Valley Live - Episode 02 - Self-driving Robots, Planes and Automobiles

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-01-26

NASA in Silicon Valley Live is a live show streamed on Twitch.tv that features conversations with the various researchers, scientists, engineers and all around cool people who work at NASA to push the boundaries of innovation. In this episode livestreamed on January 26, 2018, we explore autonomy, or “self-driving” technologies with Terry Fong, NASA chief roboticist, and Diana Acosta, technical lead for autonomous systems and robotics. Video credit: NASA/Ames Research Center NASA's Ames Research Center is located in California's Silicon Valley. Follow us on social media to hear about the latest developments in space, science, technology and aeronautics.

The role of assistive robotics in the lives of persons with disability.

PubMed

Brose, Steven W; Weber, Douglas J; Salatin, Ben A; Grindle, Garret G; Wang, Hongwu; Vazquez, Juan J; Cooper, Rory A

2010-06-01

Robotic assistive devices are used increasingly to improve the independence and quality of life of persons with disabilities. Devices as varied as robotic feeders, smart-powered wheelchairs, independent mobile robots, and socially assistive robots are becoming more clinically relevant. There is a growing importance for the rehabilitation professional to be aware of available systems and ongoing research efforts. The aim of this article is to describe the advances in assistive robotics that are relevant to professionals serving persons with disabilities. This review breaks down relevant advances into categories of Assistive Robotic Systems, User Interfaces and Control Systems, Sensory and Feedback Systems, and User Perspectives. An understanding of the direction that assistive robotics is taking is important for the clinician and researcher alike; this review is intended to address this need.

Prototyping a Hybrid Cooperative and Tele-robotic Surgical System for Retinal Microsurgery.

PubMed

Balicki, Marcin; Xia, Tian; Jung, Min Yang; Deguet, Anton; Vagvolgyi, Balazs; Kazanzides, Peter; Taylor, Russell

2011-06-01

This paper presents the design of a tele-robotic microsurgical platform designed for development of cooperative and tele-operative control schemes, sensor based smart instruments, user interfaces and new surgical techniques with eye surgery as the driving application. The system is built using the distributed component-based cisst libraries and the Surgical Assistant Workstation framework. It includes a cooperatively controlled EyeRobot2, a da Vinci Master manipulator, and a remote stereo visualization system. We use constrained optimization based virtual fixture control to provide Virtual Remote-Center-of-Motion (vRCM) and haptic feedback. Such system can be used in a hybrid setup, combining local cooperative control with remote tele-operation, where an experienced surgeon can provide hand-over-hand tutoring to a novice user. In another scheme, the system can provide haptic feedback based on virtual fixtures constructed from real-time force and proximity sensor information.

Prototyping a Hybrid Cooperative and Tele-robotic Surgical System for Retinal Microsurgery

PubMed Central

Balicki, Marcin; Xia, Tian; Jung, Min Yang; Deguet, Anton; Vagvolgyi, Balazs; Kazanzides, Peter; Taylor, Russell

2013-01-01

This paper presents the design of a tele-robotic microsurgical platform designed for development of cooperative and tele-operative control schemes, sensor based smart instruments, user interfaces and new surgical techniques with eye surgery as the driving application. The system is built using the distributed component-based cisst libraries and the Surgical Assistant Workstation framework. It includes a cooperatively controlled EyeRobot2, a da Vinci Master manipulator, and a remote stereo visualization system. We use constrained optimization based virtual fixture control to provide Virtual Remote-Center-of-Motion (vRCM) and haptic feedback. Such system can be used in a hybrid setup, combining local cooperative control with remote tele-operation, where an experienced surgeon can provide hand-over-hand tutoring to a novice user. In another scheme, the system can provide haptic feedback based on virtual fixtures constructed from real-time force and proximity sensor information. PMID:24398557

Six degree-of-freedom scanning supports and manipulators based on parallel robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comin, Fabio

1995-02-01

The exploitation of third generation SR sources heavily relies on accurate and stable positioning and scanning of samples and optical elements. In some cases, active feedback is also necessary. Normally, these tasks are carried out by serial addition of individual components, each of them providing a well-defined excursion path. On the contrary, the exploitation of the concept of parallel robots, structures in close cinematic chain, permits us to follow any given trajectory in the six-dimensional space with a large increase in accuracy and stiffness. At ESRF, the parallel robot architecture conceived some tens of years ago for flight simulators has been adapted to both actively align and operate optical elements of considerable weight and position small samples in ultrahigh vacuum. The performance of these devices gives results far superior to the initial specification and a variety of drive mechanisms are being developed to fit the different needs of the ESRF beamlines.

The walking robot project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, P.; Sagraniching, E.; Bennett, M.; Singh, R.

1991-01-01

A walking robot was designed, analyzed, and tested as an intelligent, mobile, and a terrain adaptive system. The robot's design was an application of existing technologies. The design of the six legs modified and combines well understood mechanisms and was optimized for performance, flexibility, and simplicity. The body design incorporated two tripods for walking stability and ease of turning. The electrical hardware design used modularity and distributed processing to drive the motors. The software design used feedback to coordinate the system and simple keystrokes to give commands. The walking machine can be easily adapted to hostile environments such as high radiation zones and alien terrain. The primary goal of the leg design was to create a leg capable of supporting a robot's body and electrical hardware while walking or performing desired tasks, namely those required for planetary exploration. The leg designers intent was to study the maximum amount of flexibility and maneuverability achievable by the simplest and lightest leg design. The main constraints for the leg design were leg kinematics, ease of assembly, degrees of freedom, number of motors, overall size, and weight.

Attributing Agency to Automated Systems: Reflections on Human-Robot Collaborations and Responsibility-Loci.

PubMed

Nyholm, Sven

2017-07-18

Many ethicists writing about automated systems (e.g. self-driving cars and autonomous weapons systems) attribute agency to these systems. Not only that; they seemingly attribute an autonomous or independent form of agency to these machines. This leads some ethicists to worry about responsibility-gaps and retribution-gaps in cases where automated systems harm or kill human beings. In this paper, I consider what sorts of agency it makes sense to attribute to most current forms of automated systems, in particular automated cars and military robots. I argue that whereas it indeed makes sense to attribute different forms of fairly sophisticated agency to these machines, we ought not to regard them as acting on their own, independently of any human beings. Rather, the right way to understand the agency exercised by these machines is in terms of human-robot collaborations, where the humans involved initiate, supervise, and manage the agency of their robotic collaborators. This means, I argue, that there is much less room for justified worries about responsibility-gaps and retribution-gaps than many ethicists think.

Modeling and control of tissue compression and temperature for automation in robot-assisted surgery.

PubMed

Sinha, Utkarsh; Li, Baichun; Sankaranarayanan, Ganesh

2014-01-01

Robotic surgery is being used widely due to its various benefits that includes reduced patient trauma and increased dexterity and ergonomics for the operating surgeon. Making the whole or part of the surgical procedure autonomous increases patient safety and will enable the robotic surgery platform to be used in telesurgery. In this work, an Electrosurgery procedure that involves tissue compression and application of heat such as the coaptic vessel closure has been automated. A MIMO nonlinear model characterizing the tissue stiffness and conductance under compression was feedback linearized and tuned PID controllers were used to control the system to achieve both the displacement and temperature constraints. A reference input for both the constraints were chosen as a ramp and hold trajectory which reflect the real constraints that exist in an actual surgical procedure. Our simulations showed that the controllers successfully tracked the reference trajectories with minimal deviation and in finite time horizon. The MIMO system with controllers developed in this work can be used to drive a surgical robot autonomously and perform electrosurgical procedures such as coaptic vessel closures.

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH PROGRAM IN ROBOTICS, Final Technical Annual Report, Project Period: 9/1/04 - 8/31/05

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

James S. Tulenko; Carl D. Crane III

The University Research Program in Robotics (URPR) Implementation Plan is an integrated group of universities performing fundamental research that addresses broad-based robotics and automation needs of the NNSA Directed Stockpile Work (DSW) and Campaigns. The URPR mission is to provide improved capabilities of robotics science and engineering to meet the future needs of all weapon systems and other associated NNSA/DOE activities.

Self-localization for an autonomous mobile robot based on an omni-directional vision system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiang, Shu-Yin; Lin, Kuang-Yu; Chia, Tsorng-Lin

2013-12-01

In this study, we designed an autonomous mobile robot based on the rules of the Federation of International Robotsoccer Association (FIRA) RoboSot category, integrating the techniques of computer vision, real-time image processing, dynamic target tracking, wireless communication, self-localization, motion control, path planning, and control strategy to achieve the contest goal. The self-localization scheme of the mobile robot is based on the algorithms featured in the images from its omni-directional vision system. In previous works, we used the image colors of the field goals as reference points, combining either dual-circle or trilateration positioning of the reference points to achieve selflocalization of the autonomous mobile robot. However, because the image of the game field is easily affected by ambient light, positioning systems exclusively based on color model algorithms cause errors. To reduce environmental effects and achieve the self-localization of the robot, the proposed algorithm is applied in assessing the corners of field lines by using an omni-directional vision system. Particularly in the mid-size league of the RobotCup soccer competition, selflocalization algorithms based on extracting white lines from the soccer field have become increasingly popular. Moreover, white lines are less influenced by light than are the color model of the goals. Therefore, we propose an algorithm that transforms the omni-directional image into an unwrapped transformed image, enhancing the extraction features. The process is described as follows: First, radical scan-lines were used to process omni-directional images, reducing the computational load and improving system efficiency. The lines were radically arranged around the center of the omni-directional camera image, resulting in a shorter computational time compared with the traditional Cartesian coordinate system. However, the omni-directional image is a distorted image, which makes it difficult to recognize the position of the robot. Therefore, image transformation was required to implement self-localization. Second, we used an approach to transform the omni-directional images into panoramic images. Hence, the distortion of the white line can be fixed through the transformation. The interest points that form the corners of the landmark were then located using the features from accelerated segment test (FAST) algorithm. In this algorithm, a circle of sixteen pixels surrounding the corner candidate is considered and is a high-speed feature detector in real-time frame rate applications. Finally, the dual-circle, trilateration, and cross-ratio projection algorithms were implemented in choosing the corners obtained from the FAST algorithm and localizing the position of the robot. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is accurate, exhibiting a 2-cm position error in the soccer field measuring 600 cm2 x 400 cm2.

Integrating Mobile Robotics and Vision with Undergraduate Computer Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cielniak, G.; Bellotto, N.; Duckett, T.

2013-01-01

This paper describes the integration of robotics education into an undergraduate Computer Science curriculum. The proposed approach delivers mobile robotics as well as covering the closely related field of Computer Vision and is directly linked to the research conducted at the authors' institution. The paper describes the most relevant details of…

Control of a 2 DoF robot using a brain-machine interface.

PubMed

Hortal, Enrique; Ubeda, Andrés; Iáñez, Eduardo; Azorín, José M

2014-09-01

In this paper, a non-invasive spontaneous Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) is used to control the movement of a planar robot. To that end, two mental tasks are used to manage the visual interface that controls the robot. The robot used is a PupArm, a force-controlled planar robot designed by the nBio research group at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (Spain). Two control strategies are compared: hierarchical and directional control. The experimental test (performed by four users) consists of reaching four targets. The errors and time used during the performance of the tests are compared in both control strategies (hierarchical and directional control). The advantages and disadvantages of each method are shown after the analysis of the results. The hierarchical control allows an accurate approaching to the goals but it is slower than using the directional control which, on the contrary, is less precise. The results show both strategies are useful to control this planar robot. In the future, by adding an extra device like a gripper, this BMI could be used in assistive applications such as grasping daily objects in a realistic environment. In order to compare the behavior of the system taking into account the opinion of the users, a NASA Tasks Load Index (TLX) questionnaire is filled out after two sessions are completed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing and inducing neuroplasticity with transcranial magnetic stimulation and robotics for motor function.

PubMed

O'Malley, Marcia K; Ro, Tony; Levin, Harvey S

2006-12-01

To describe 2 new ways of assessing and inducing neuroplasticity in the human brain--transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and robotics--and to investigate and promote the recovery of motor function after brain damage. We identified recent articles and books directly bearing on TMS and robotics. Articles using these tools for purposes other than rehabilitation were excluded. From these studies, we emphasize the methodologic and technical details of these tools as applicable for assessing and inducing plasticity. Because both tools have only recently been used for rehabilitation, the majority of the articles selected for this review have been published only within the last 10 years. We used the PubMed and Compendex databases to find relevant peer-reviewed studies for this review. The studies were required to be relevant to rehabilitation and to use TMS or robotics methodologies. Guidelines were applied via independent extraction by multiple observers. Despite the limited amount of research using these procedures for assessing and inducing neuroplasticity, there is growing evidence that both TMS and robotics can be very effective, inexpensive, and convenient ways for assessing and inducing rehabilitation. Although TMS has primarily been used as an assessment tool for motor function, an increasing number of studies are using TMS as a tool to directly induce plasticity and improve motor function. Similarly, robotic devices have been used for rehabilitation because of their suitability for delivery of highly repeatable training. New directions in robotics-assisted rehabilitation are taking advantage of novel measurements that can be acquired via the devices, enabling unique methods of assessment of motor recovery. As refinements in technology and advances in our knowledge continue, TMS and robotics should play an increasing role in assessing and promoting the recovery of function. Ongoing and future studies combining TMS and robotics within the same populations may prove fruitful for a more detailed and comprehensive assessment of the central and peripheral changes in the nervous system during precisely induced recovery.

Robotic assembly and maintenance of future space stations based on the ISS mission operations experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rembala, Richard; Ower, Cameron

2009-10-01

MDA has provided 25 years of real-time engineering support to Shuttle (Canadarm) and ISS (Canadarm2) robotic operations beginning with the second shuttle flight STS-2 in 1981. In this capacity, our engineering support teams have become familiar with the evolution of mission planning and flight support practices for robotic assembly and support operations at mission control. This paper presents observations on existing practices and ideas to achieve reduced operational overhead to present programs. It also identifies areas where robotic assembly and maintenance of future space stations and space-based facilities could be accomplished more effectively and efficiently. Specifically, our experience shows that past and current space Shuttle and ISS assembly and maintenance operations have used the approach of extensive preflight mission planning and training to prepare the flight crews for the entire mission. This has been driven by the overall communication latency between the earth and remote location of the space station/vehicle as well as the lack of consistent robotic and interface standards. While the early Shuttle and ISS architectures included robotics, their eventual benefits on the overall assembly and maintenance operations could have been greater through incorporating them as a major design driver from the beginning of the system design. Lessons learned from the ISS highlight the potential benefits of real-time health monitoring systems, consistent standards for robotic interfaces and procedures and automated script-driven ground control in future space station assembly and logistics architectures. In addition, advances in computer vision systems and remote operation, supervised autonomous command and control systems offer the potential to adjust the balance between assembly and maintenance tasks performed using extra vehicular activity (EVA), extra vehicular robotics (EVR) and EVR controlled from the ground, offloading the EVA astronaut and even the robotic operator on-orbit of some of the more routine tasks. Overall these proposed approaches when used effectively offer the potential to drive down operations overhead and allow more efficient and productive robotic operations.

Multipurpose surgical robot as a laparoscope assistant.

PubMed

Nelson, Carl A; Zhang, Xiaoli; Shah, Bhavin C; Goede, Matthew R; Oleynikov, Dmitry

2010-07-01

This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a new, compact surgical robot at improving laparoscope guidance. Currently, the assistant guiding the laparoscope camera tends to be less experienced and requires physical and verbal direction from the surgeon. Human guidance has disadvantages of fatigue and shakiness leading to inconsistency in the field of view. This study investigates whether replacing the assistant with a compact robot can improve the stability of the surgeon's field of view and also reduce crowding at the operating table. A compact robot based on a bevel-geared "spherical mechanism" with 4 degrees of freedom and capable of full dexterity through a 15-mm port was designed and built. The robot was mounted on the standard railing of the operating table and used to manipulate a laparoscope through a supraumbilical port in a porcine model via a joystick controlled externally by a surgeon. The process was videotaped externally via digital video recorder and internally via laparoscope. Robot position data were also recorded within the robot's motion control software. The robot effectively manipulated the laparoscope in all directions to provide a clear and consistent view of liver, small intestine, and spleen. Its range of motion was commensurate with typical motions executed by a human assistant and was well controlled with the joystick. Qualitative analysis of the video suggested that this method of laparoscope guidance provides highly stable imaging during laparoscopic surgery, which was confirmed by robot position data. Because the robot was table-mounted and compact in design, it increased standing room around the operation table and did not interfere with the workspace of other surgical instruments. The study results also suggest that this robotic method may be combined with flexible endoscopes for highly dexterous visualization with more degrees of freedom.

Origami-based earthworm-like locomotion robots.

PubMed

Fang, Hongbin; Zhang, Yetong; Wang, K W

2017-10-16

Inspired by the morphology characteristics of the earthworms and the excellent deformability of origami structures, this research creates a novel earthworm-like locomotion robot through exploiting the origami techniques. In this innovation, appropriate actuation mechanisms are incorporated with origami ball structures into the earthworm-like robot 'body', and the earthworm's locomotion mechanism is mimicked to develop a gait generator as the robot 'centralized controller'. The origami ball, which is a periodic repetition of waterbomb units, could output significant bidirectional (axial and radial) deformations in an antagonistic way similar to the earthworm's body segment. Such bidirectional deformability can be strategically programmed by designing the number of constituent units. Experiments also indicate that the origami ball possesses two outstanding mechanical properties that are beneficial to robot development: one is the structural multistability in the axil direction that could contribute to the robot control implementation; and the other is the structural compliance in the radial direction that would increase the robot robustness and applicability. To validate the origami-based innovation, this research designs and constructs three robot segments based on different axial actuators: DC-motor, shape-memory-alloy springs, and pneumatic balloon. Performance evaluations reveal their merits and limitations, and to prove the concept, the DC-motor actuation is selected for building a six-segment robot prototype. Learning from earthworms' fundamental locomotion mechanism-retrograde peristalsis wave, seven gaits are automatically generated; controlled by which, the robot could achieve effective locomotion with qualitatively different modes and a wide range of average speeds. The outcomes of this research could lead to the development of origami locomotion robots with low fabrication costs, high customizability, light weight, good scalability, and excellent re-configurability.

Robot Faces that Follow Gaze Facilitate Attentional Engagement and Increase Their Likeability.

PubMed

Willemse, Cesco; Marchesi, Serena; Wykowska, Agnieszka

2018-01-01

Gaze behavior of humanoid robots is an efficient mechanism for cueing our spatial orienting, but less is known about the cognitive-affective consequences of robots responding to human directional cues. Here, we examined how the extent to which a humanoid robot (iCub) avatar directed its gaze to the same objects as our participants affected engagement with the robot, subsequent gaze-cueing, and subjective ratings of the robot's characteristic traits. In a gaze-contingent eyetracking task, participants were asked to indicate a preference for one of two objects with their gaze while an iCub avatar was presented between the object photographs. In one condition, the iCub then shifted its gaze toward the object chosen by a participant in 80% of the trials (joint condition) and in the other condition it looked at the opposite object 80% of the time (disjoint condition). Based on the literature in human-human social cognition, we took the speed with which the participants looked back at the robot as a measure of facilitated reorienting and robot-preference, and found these return saccade onset times to be quicker in the joint condition than in the disjoint condition. As indicated by results from a subsequent gaze-cueing tasks, the gaze-following behavior of the robot had little effect on how our participants responded to gaze cues. Nevertheless, subjective reports suggested that our participants preferred the iCub following participants' gaze to the one with a disjoint attention behavior, rated it as more human-like and as more likeable. Taken together, our findings show a preference for robots who follow our gaze. Importantly, such subtle differences in gaze behavior are sufficient to influence our perception of humanoid agents, which clearly provides hints about the design of behavioral characteristics of humanoid robots in more naturalistic settings.

Attitudinal and Intentional Acceptance of Domestic Robots by Younger and Older Adults

PubMed Central

Ezer, Neta; Fisk, Arthur D.; Rogers, Wendy A.

2014-01-01

A study was conducted to examine the expectations that younger and older individuals have about domestic robots and how these expectations relate to robot acceptance. In a questionnaire participants were asked to imagine a robot in their home and to indicate how much items representing technology, social partner, and teammate acceptance matched their robot. There were additional questions about how useful and easy to use they thought their robot would be. The dependent variables were attitudinal and intentional acceptance. The analysis of the responses of 117 older adults (aged 65–86) and 60 younger adults (aged 18–25) indicated that individuals thought of robots foremost as performance-directed machines, less so as social devices, and least as unproductive entities. The robustness of the Technology Acceptance Model to robot acceptance was supported. Technology experience accounted for the variance in robot acceptance due to age. PMID:25584365

When Should We Use Care Robots? The Nature-of-Activities Approach.

PubMed

Santoni de Sio, Filippo; van Wynsberghe, Aimee

2016-12-01

When should we use care robots? In this paper we endorse the shift from a simple normative approach to care robots ethics to a complex one: we think that one main task of a care robot ethics is that of analysing the different ways in which different care robots may affect the different values at stake in different care practices. We start filling a gap in the literature by showing how the philosophical analysis of the nature of healthcare activities can contribute to (care) robot ethics. We rely on the nature-of-activities approach recently proposed in the debate on human enhancement, and we apply it to the ethics of care robots. The nature-of-activities approach will help us to understand why certain practice-oriented activities in healthcare should arguably be left to humans, but certain (predominantly) goal-directed activities in healthcare can be fulfilled (sometimes even more ethically) with the assistance of a robot. In relation to the latter, we aim to show that even though all healthcare activities can be considered as practice-oriented, when we understand the activity in terms of different legitimate 'fine-grained' descriptions, the same activities or at least certain components of them can be seen as clearly goal-directed. Insofar as it allows us to ethically assess specific functionalities of specific robots to be deployed in well-defined circumstances, we hold the nature-of-activities approach to be particularly helpful also from a design perspective, i.e. to realize the Value Sensitive Design approach.

To Boldly Go: America's Next Era in Space. Machine Consciousness and the Exploration of Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

Dr. France Cordova, NASA's Chief Scientist, chaired this meeting, another part of the NASA Administrator's Seminar Series. She introduced Administrator Daniel S. Goldin, who welcomed the attendees, and noted that the two speakers have a running feud regarding the possibility of creating robots that can 'think'. Dr. Cordova then introduced the first speaker, Dr. Roger Penrose of the Mathematical Institute at Oxford in the U.K. His primary interests are in mathematics, physics, information systems technology, and artificial intelligence. He thinks that robots cannot be made to 'think' and that consciousness is not computable. Dr. Hans Moravec, who spoke next, has opinions and activities that are related to, but substantially different from those of Dr. Penrose. Dr. Moravec believes that he can build a robot that can act based on the deductions that it will make. To mimic human thinking capabilities, he figures that a robot ultimately will need to be able to handle ten trillion computations per second. He predicts that his goal of building a 'thinking' robot will be met in the 2030-2040 time period. He pointed out that he already has built a car that successfully drove itself from Washington, DC to San Diego, CA. He commented that a human being, was ready to take over driving the car, if necessary, but there was no need. The robots envisioned by Dr. Moravec would not only be able to 'think', but also would have human-like emotions, and ultimately would be able to reproduce. The discussion that followed raised questions about the morality of sending human-like robots into outer space. Also a concern was expressed that human-like robots might perceive humans as a threat and become dangerous to people.

Autonomous Shepherding Behaviors of Multiple Target Steering Robots

PubMed Central

Lee, Wonki; Kim, DaeEun

2017-01-01

This paper presents a distributed coordination methodology for multi-robot systems, based on nearest-neighbor interactions. Among many interesting tasks that may be performed using swarm robots, we propose a biologically-inspired control law for a shepherding task, whereby a group of external agents drives another group of agents to a desired location. First, we generated sheep-like robots that act like a flock. We assume that each agent is capable of measuring the relative location and velocity to each of its neighbors within a limited sensing area. Then, we designed a control strategy for shepherd-like robots that have information regarding where to go and a steering ability to control the flock, according to the robots’ position relative to the flock. We define several independent behavior rules; each agent calculates to what extent it will move by summarizing each rule. The flocking sheep agents detect the steering agents and try to avoid them; this tendency leads to movement of the flock. Each steering agent only needs to focus on guiding the nearest flocking agent to the desired location. Without centralized coordination, multiple steering agents produce an arc formation to control the flock effectively. In addition, we propose a new rule for collecting behavior, whereby a scattered flock or multiple flocks are consolidated. From simulation results with multiple robots, we show that each robot performs actions for the shepherding behavior, and only a few steering agents are needed to control the whole flock. The results are displayed in maps that trace the paths of the flock and steering robots. Performance is evaluated via time cost and path accuracy to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. PMID:29186836

Robots for Astrobiology!

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boston, Penelope J.

2016-01-01

The search for life and its study is known as astrobiology. Conducting that search on other planets in our Solar System is a major goal of NASA and other space agencies, and a driving passion of the community of scientists and engineers around the world. We practice for that search in many ways, from exploring and studying extreme environments on Earth, to developing robots to go to other planets and help us look for any possible life that may be there or may have been there in the past. The unique challenges of space exploration make collaborations between robots and humans essential. The products of those collaborations will be novel and driven by the features of wholly new environments. For space and planetary environments that are intolerable for humans or where humans present an unacceptable risk to possible biologically sensitive sites, autonomous robots or telepresence offer excellent choices. The search for life signs on Mars fits within this category, especially in advance of human landed missions there, but also as assistants and tools once humans reach the Red Planet. For planetary destinations where we do not envision humans ever going in person, like bitterly cold icy moons, or ocean worlds with thick ice roofs that essentially make them planetary-sized ice caves, we will rely on robots alone to visit those environments for us and enable us to explore and understand any life that we may find there. Current generation robots are not quite ready for some of the tasks that we need them to do, so there are many opportunities for roboticists of the future to advance novel types of mobility, autonomy, and bio-inspired robotic designs to help us accomplish our astrobiological goals. We see an exciting partnership between robotics and astrobiology continually strengthening as we jointly pursue the quest to find extraterrestrial life.

Anti-backlash drive systems for multi-degree freedom devices

DOEpatents

Tsai, Lung-Wen; Chang, Sun-Lai

1993-01-01

A new and innovative concept for the control of backlash in gear-coupled transmission mechanisms. The concept utilizes redundant unidirectional drives to assure positive coupling of gear meshes at all times. Based on this concept, a methodology for the enumeration of admissible redundant-drive backlash-free robotic mechanisms has been established. Some typical two- and three-DOF mechanisms are disclosed. Furthermore, actuator torques have been derived as functions of either joint torques or end-effector dynamic performance requirements. A redundantly driven gear coupled transmission mechanism manipulator has a fail-safe advantage in that, except of the loss of backlash control, it can continue to function when one of its actuators fails. A two-DOF backlash-free arm has been reduced to practice to demonstrate the principle.

Robots, multi-user virtual environments and healthcare: synergies for future directions.

PubMed

Moon, Ajung; Grajales, Francisco J; Van der Loos, H F Machiel

2011-01-01

The adoption of technology in healthcare over the last twenty years has steadily increased, particularly as it relates to medical robotics and Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) such as Second Life. Both disciplines have been shown to improve the quality of care and have evolved, for the most part, in isolation from each other. In this paper, we present four synergies between medical robotics and MUVEs that have the potential to decrease resource utilization and improve the quality of healthcare delivery. We conclude with some foreseeable barriers and future research directions for researchers in these fields.

The NIST SPIDER, A Robot Crane

PubMed Central

Albus, James; Bostelman, Roger; Dagalakis, Nicholas

1992-01-01

The Robot Systems Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology has been experimenting for several years with new concepts for robot cranes. These concepts utilize the basic idea of the Stewart Platform parallel link manipulator. The unique feature of the NIST approach is to use cables as the parallel links and to use winches as the actuators. So long as the cables are all in tension, the load is kinematically constrained, and the cables resist perturbing forces and moments with equal stiffness to both positive and negative loads. The result is that the suspended load is constrained with a mechanical stiffness determined by the elasticity of the cables, the suspended weight, and the geometry of the mechanism. Based on these concepts, a revolutionary new type of robot crane, the NIST SPIDER (Stewart Platform Instrumented Drive Environmental Robot) has been developed that can control the position, velocity, and force of tools and heavy machinery in all six degrees of freedom (x, y, z, roll, pitch, and yaw). Depending on what is suspended from its work platform, the SPIDER can perform a variety of tasks. Examples are: cutting, excavating and grading, shaping and finishing, lifting and positioning. A 6 m version of the SPIDER has been built and critical performance characteristics analyzed. PMID:28053439

The NIST SPIDER, A Robot Crane.

PubMed

Albus, James; Bostelman, Roger; Dagalakis, Nicholas

1992-01-01

The Robot Systems Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology has been experimenting for several years with new concepts for robot cranes. These concepts utilize the basic idea of the Stewart Platform parallel link manipulator. The unique feature of the NIST approach is to use cables as the parallel links and to use winches as the actuators. So long as the cables are all in tension, the load is kinematically constrained, and the cables resist perturbing forces and moments with equal stiffness to both positive and negative loads. The result is that the suspended load is constrained with a mechanical stiffness determined by the elasticity of the cables, the suspended weight, and the geometry of the mechanism. Based on these concepts, a revolutionary new type of robot crane, the NIST SPIDER (Stewart Platform Instrumented Drive Environmental Robot) has been developed that can control the position, velocity, and force of tools and heavy machinery in all six degrees of freedom ( x, y, z , roll, pitch, and yaw). Depending on what is suspended from its work platform, the SPIDER can perform a variety of tasks. Examples are: cutting, excavating and grading, shaping and finishing, lifting and positioning. A 6 m version of the SPIDER has been built and critical performance characteristics analyzed.

Inspiration for wing design: how forelimb specialization enables active flight in modern vertebrates

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Harnessing flight strategies refined by millions of years of evolution can help expedite the design of more efficient, manoeuvrable and robust flying robots. This review synthesizes recent advances and highlights remaining gaps in our understanding of how bird and bat wing adaptations enable effective flight. Included in this discussion is an evaluation of how current robotic analogues measure up to their biological sources of inspiration. Studies of vertebrate wings have revealed skeletal systems well suited for enduring the loads required during flight, but the mechanisms that drive coordinated motions between bones and connected integuments remain ill-described. Similarly, vertebrate flight muscles have adapted to sustain increased wing loading, but a lack of in vivo studies limits our understanding of specific muscular functions. Forelimb adaptations diverge at the integument level, but both bird feathers and bat membranes yield aerodynamic surfaces with a level of robustness unparalleled by engineered wings. These morphological adaptations enable a diverse range of kinematics tuned for different flight speeds and manoeuvres. By integrating vertebrate flight specializations—particularly those that enable greater robustness and adaptability—into the design and control of robotic wings, engineers can begin narrowing the wide margin that currently exists between flying robots and vertebrates. In turn, these robotic wings can help biologists create experiments that would be impossible in vivo. PMID:28592663

[Exoskeleton robot system based on real-time gait analysis for walking assist].

PubMed

Xie, Zheng; Wang, Mingjiang; Huang, Wulong; Yong, Shanshan; Wang, Xin'an

2017-04-01

This paper presents a wearable exoskeleton robot system to realize walking assist function, which oriented toward the patients or the elderly with the mild impairment of leg movement function, due to illness or natural aging. It reduces the loads of hip, knee, ankle and leg muscles during walking by way of weight support. In consideration of the characteristics of the psychological demands and the disease, unlike the weight loss system in the fixed or followed rehabilitation robot, the structure of the proposed exoskeleton robot is artistic, lightweight and portable. The exoskeleton system analyzes the user's gait real-timely by the plantar pressure sensors to divide gait phases, and present different control strategies for each gait phase. The pressure sensors in the seat of the exoskeleton system provide real-time monitoring of the support efforts. And the drive control uses proportion-integral-derivative (PID) control technology for torque control. The total weight of the robot system is about 12.5 kg. The average of the auxiliary support is about 10 kg during standing, and it is about 3 kg during walking. The system showed, in the experiments, a certain effect of weight support, and reduction of the pressure on the lower limbs to walk and stand.

Robotic-assisted surgery in gynecologic oncology.

PubMed

Sinno, Abdulrahman K; Fader, Amanda N

2014-10-01

The quest for improved patient outcomes has been a driving force for adoption of novel surgical innovations across surgical subspecialties. Gynecologic oncology is one such surgical discipline in which minimally invasive surgery has had a robust and evolving role in defining standards of care. Robotic-assisted surgery has developed during the past two decades as a more technologically advanced form of minimally invasive surgery in an effort to mitigate the limitations of conventional laparoscopy and improved patient outcomes. Robotically assisted technology offers potential advantages that include improved three-dimensional stereoscopic vision, wristed instruments that improve surgeon dexterity, and tremor canceling software that improves surgical precision. These technological advances may allow the gynecologic oncology surgeon to perform increasingly radical oncologic surgeries in complex patients. However, the platform is not without limitations, including high cost, lack of haptic feedback, and the requirement for additional training to achieve competence. This review describes the role of robotic-assisted surgery in the management of endometrial, cervical, and ovarian cancer, with an emphasis on comparison with laparotomy and conventional laparoscopy. The literature on novel robotic innovations, special patient populations, cost effectiveness, and fellowship training is also appraised critically in this regard. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Afocal optical flow sensor for reducing vertical height sensitivity in indoor robot localization and navigation.

PubMed

Yi, Dong-Hoon; Lee, Tae-Jae; Cho, Dong-Il Dan

2015-05-13

This paper introduces a novel afocal optical flow sensor (OFS) system for odometry estimation in indoor robotic navigation. The OFS used in computer optical mouse has been adopted for mobile robots because it is not affected by wheel slippage. Vertical height variance is thought to be a dominant factor in systematic error when estimating moving distances in mobile robots driving on uneven surfaces. We propose an approach to mitigate this error by using an afocal (infinite effective focal length) system. We conducted experiments in a linear guide on carpet and three other materials with varying sensor heights from 30 to 50 mm and a moving distance of 80 cm. The same experiments were repeated 10 times. For the proposed afocal OFS module, a 1 mm change in sensor height induces a 0.1% systematic error; for comparison, the error for a conventional fixed-focal-length OFS module is 14.7%. Finally, the proposed afocal OFS module was installed on a mobile robot and tested 10 times on a carpet for distances of 1 m. The average distance estimation error and standard deviation are 0.02% and 17.6%, respectively, whereas those for a conventional OFS module are 4.09% and 25.7%, respectively.

Addressing the Movement of a Freescale Robotic Car Using Neural Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horváth, Dušan; Cuninka, Peter

2016-12-01

This article deals with the management of a Freescale small robotic car along the predefined guide line. Controlling of the direction of movement of the robot is performed by neural networks, and scales (memory) of neurons are calculated by Hebbian learning from the truth tables as learning with a teacher. Reflexive infrared sensors serves as inputs. The results are experiments, which are used to compare two methods of mobile robot control - tracking lines.

System design of a hand-held mobile robot for craniotomy.

PubMed

Kane, Gavin; Eggers, Georg; Boesecke, Robert; Raczkowsky, Jörg; Wörn, Heinz; Marmulla, Rüdiger; Mühling, Joachim

2009-01-01

This contribution reports the development and initial testing of a Mobile Robot System for Surgical Craniotomy, the Craniostar. A kinematic system based on a unicycle robot is analysed to provide local positioning through two spiked wheels gripping directly onto a patients skull. A control system based on a shared control system between both the Surgeon and Robot is employed in a hand-held design that is tested initially on plastic phantom and swine skulls. Results indicate that the system has substantially lower risk than present robotically assisted craniotomies, and despite being a hand-held mobile robot, the Craniostar is still capable of sub-millimetre accuracy in tracking along a trajectory and thus achieving an accurate transfer of pre-surgical plan to the operating room procedure, without the large impact of current medical robots based on modified industrial robots.

Robotic and Multiaxial Testing for the Constitutive Characterization of Composites

Treesearch

John Michopoulos; Athanasios Iliopoulos; John Hermanson

2012-01-01

As wind energy production drives the manufacturing of wind turbine blades, the utilization of glass and carbon fiber composites as a material of choice continuousiy increases. Consequently, the needs for accurate structural design and material qualification and certification as well as the needs for aging predictions furlher underline the need for accurate constitutive...

The Robotic Hugo E. Schwarz Telescope | CTIO

Science.gov Websites

Program PIA Program GO-FAAR Program Other Opportunities Tourism Visits to Tololo Astro tourism in Chile Tourism in Chile Information for travelers Visit Tololo Media Relations News Press Release Publications of a new electronic drive system for the mount, and the second, dedicate to re-design the dome

Remembering the Ancients: Observations on Technoscience in Capek's "R.U.R."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cornell, Christine

2011-01-01

The technoscientific consequences of both the human drives for glory on the one hand and a comfortable life on the other potentially threaten human existence. "R.U.R." (Rossum's Universal Robots), a science fiction play by Karel Capek, bridges ancient writers and contemporary technoscientific endeavors, encouraging individuals to consider these…

Interdisciplinary Robotic Activity Hones Important Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Dan; Zeigler, Jodi

2011-01-01

As educators, the authors believe in guiding students towards the life skills, knowledge, and expertise they need to succeed in life and in the workforce of the 21st century. With that in mind, they have created a project in which students drive their own learning through creativity and collaborative work to develop an efficient product. Through…

Servomotors. (Latest Citations from the Aerospace Database)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

The bibliography contains citations concerning the design, testing, and application of servomotors. AC, DC, and brushless motor drives are discussed. Applications are examined, including use in hydraulic presses; teleprinters; machine tools; sewing machines; and servocontrol devices for instrumentation, robots, and aircraft control. Testing methods evaluate precision, vibration and vibration reduction, and stability of servomotors.

Feasibility study of TheraDrive: a low-cost game-based environment for the delivery of upper arm stroke therapy.

PubMed

Johnson, Michelle J; Ramachandran, Brinda; Paranjape, Ruta P; Kosasih, Judith B

2006-01-01

Rising healthcare costs combined with an increase in the number of people living with disabilities due to stroke have created a need for affordable stroke therapy that can be administered in both home and clinical environments. Studies show that robot and computer-assisted devices are promising tools for rehabilitating persons with impairment and disabilities due to stroke. Studies also have shown that highly motivating therapy produces neuromotor relearning that aids the rehabilitative process. Combining these concepts, this paper discusses TheraDrive, a simple, but novel robotic system for more motivating stroke therapy. We conducted two feasibility studies. The paper discusses these studies. Findings demonstrate the ability of the system to grade therapy and the sensitivity of its metrics to the level of motor function in the impaired arm. In addition, findings confirm the ability of the system to administer fun therapy leading to improved motor performance on steering tasks. However, further work is needed to improve the system's ability to increase motor function in the impaired arm.

Tips on establishing a robotics program in an academic setting.

PubMed

Steers, William D

2006-02-17

Over the past 5 years, robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery has gone from being a novelty to an accepted approach for intra-abdominal and pelvic surgery. Driving this trend has been the large number of robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomies performed throughout the U.S. Nearly a quarter of the prostatectomies done for prostate cancer in the U.S. in 2006 will use robotic assistance, yet reports fail to confirm cost effectiveness. The most important predictor of a successful program is a champion at the institution. Studies have demonstrated safety and immediate benefits with regard to reduced surgical morbidity such as pain, loss of work, quality of life, and blood loss for a variety of surgeries patients. Specific to prostatectomy for cancer, long-term data on biochemical (PSA) failures and cancer cures, as well as validated secondary outcomes for continence and potency, are still unavailable. Benefits accrue for the surgeon as well with improved ergonomics and potential extension of a surgical career. Yet, enthusiasm for robotics must be tempered by this lack of data and economic limitations. However, if a thoughtful and thorough process in initiating a robotic program is undertaken, the risks to the institution can be minimized. With proper training, the risk to the patient is reduced and with due diligence with regard to market and operative resources, the risk to the surgeon can be eliminated. This report reviews the steps to assess, plan, initiate, and maintain a robotics program at an academic institution with the hope that other programs can benefit from lessons acquired by early adopters of this expensive technology.

Tips on Establishing a Robotics Program in an Academic Setting

PubMed Central

Steers, William D.

2006-01-01

Over the past 5 years, robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery has gone from being a novelty to an accepted approach for intra-abdominal and pelvic surgery. Driving this trend has been the large number of robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomies performed throughout the U.S. Nearly a quarter of the prostatectomies done for prostate cancer in the U.S. in 2006 will use robotic assistance, yet reports fail to confirm cost effectiveness. The most important predictor of a successful program is a champion at the institution. Studies have demonstrated safety and immediate benefits with regard to reduced surgical morbidity such as pain, loss of work, quality of life, and blood loss for a variety of surgeries patients. Specific to prostatectomy for cancer, long-term data on biochemical (PSA) failures and cancer cures, as well as validated secondary outcomes for continence and potency, are still unavailable. Benefits accrue for the surgeon as well with improved ergonomics and potential extension of a surgical career. Yet, enthusiasm for robotics must be tempered by this lack of data and economic limitations. However, if a thoughtful and thorough process in initiating a robotic program is undertaken, the risks to the institution can be minimized. With proper training, the risk to the patient is reduced and with due diligence with regard to market and operative resources, the risk to the surgeon can be eliminated. This report reviews the steps to assess, plan, initiate, and maintain a robotics program at an academic institution with the hope that other programs can benefit from lessons acquired by early adopters of this expensive technology. PMID:17619728

Collaboration of Miniature Multi-Modal Mobile Smart Robots over a Network

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-14

theoretical research on mathematics of failures in sensor-network-based miniature multimodal mobile robots and electromechanical systems. The views...theoretical research on mathematics of failures in sensor-network-based miniature multimodal mobile robots and electromechanical systems. The...independently evolving research directions based on physics-based models of mechanical, electromechanical and electronic devices, operational constraints

Research on modeling and motion simulation of a spherical space robot with telescopic manipulator based on virtual prototype technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Chengkun; Sun, Hanxu; Jia, Qingxuan; Zhao, Kailiang

2009-05-01

For realizing omni-directional movement and operating task of spherical space robot system, this paper describes an innovated prototype and analyzes dynamic characteristics of a spherical rolling robot with telescopic manipulator. Based on the Newton-Euler equations, the kinematics and dynamic equations of the spherical robot's motion are instructed detailedly. Then the motion simulations of the robot in different environments are developed with ADAMS. The simulation results validate the mathematics model of the system. And the dynamic model establishes theoretical basis for the latter job.

Path Planning for Robot based on Chaotic Artificial Potential Field Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Cheng

2018-03-01

Robot path planning in unknown environments is one of the hot research topics in the field of robot control. Aiming at the shortcomings of traditional artificial potential field methods, we propose a new path planning for Robot based on chaotic artificial potential field method. The path planning adopts the potential function as the objective function and introduces the robot direction of movement as the control variables, which combines the improved artificial potential field method with chaotic optimization algorithm. Simulations have been carried out and the results demonstrate that the superior practicality and high efficiency of the proposed method.

A Modular Robotic System with Applications to Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hancher, Matthew D.; Hornby, Gregory S.

2006-01-01

Modular robotic systems offer potential advantages as versatile, fault-tolerant, cost-effective platforms for space exploration, but a sufficiently mature system is not yet available. We describe the possible applications of such a system, and present prototype hardware intended as a step in the right direction. We also present elements of an automated design and optimization framework aimed at making modular robots easier to design and use, and discuss the results of applying the system to a gait optimization problem. Finally, we discuss the potential near-term applications of modular robotics to terrestrial robotics research.

Randomized, sham-controlled trial based on transcranial direct current stimulation and wrist robot-assisted integrated treatment on subacute stroke patients: Intermediate results.

PubMed

Mazzoleni, Stefano; Tran, Vi Do; Iardella, Laura; Dario, Paolo; Posteraro, Federico

2017-07-01

The main goal of this study is to analyse the effects of combined transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and wrist robot-assisted therapy in subacute stroke patients. Twenty-four patients were included in this study and randomly assigned to the experimental (EG) or control group (CG). All participants performed wrist robot-assisted training a) in conjunction with tDCS (real stimulation for patients in EG) or b) without tDCS (sham stimulation for patients in CG). Clinical scales and kinematic parameters recorded by the robot were used for the assessment. Clinical outcome measures show a significant decrease in motor impairment after the treatment in both groups. Kinematic data show several significant improvements after the integrated therapy in both groups. However, no significant differences in both clinical outcome measures and kinematic parameters was found between two groups. The potential advantages of combined tDCS and wrist robot-assisted therapy in subacute stroke patients are still unclear.

A novel sandwich-type traveling wave piezoelectric tracked mobile system.

PubMed

Wang, Liang; Shu, Chengyou; Zhang, Quan; Jin, Jiamei

2017-03-01

In this paper, a novel sandwich-type traveling wave piezoelectric tracked mobile system was proposed, designed, fabricated and experimentally investigated. The proposed system exhibits the advantages of simple structure, high mechanical integration, lack of electromagnetic interference, and lack of lubrication requirement, and hence shows potential application to robotic rovers for planetary exploration. The tracked mobile system is comprised of a sandwich actuating mechanism and a metal track. The actuating mechanism includes a sandwich piezoelectric transducer and two annular parts symmetrically placed at either end of the transducer, while the metal track is tensioned along the outer surfaces of the annular parts. Traveling waves with the same rotational direction are generated in the two annular parts, producing the microscopic elliptical motions of the surface particles on the annular parts. In this situation, if the pre-load is applied properly, the metal track can be driven by friction force to achieve bidirectional movement. At first, the finite element method was adopted to conduct the modal analysis and harmonic response analysis of the actuating mechanism, and the vibration characteristics were measured to confirm the operating principle. Then the optimal driving frequency of the system prototype, namely 35.1kHz, was measured by frequency sensitivity experiments. At last, the mechanical motion characteristics of the prototype were investigated experimentally. The results show that the average motion speeds of the prototype in dual directions were as 72mm/s and 61.5mm/s under the excitation voltage of 500V RMS , respectively. The optimal loading weights of the prototype in bi-directions were 0.32kg and 0.24kg with a maximum speed of 59.5mm/s and 61.67mm/s at the driving voltage of 300V RMS , respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A traffic priority language for collision-free navigation of autonomous mobile robots in dynamic environments.

PubMed

Bourbakis, N G

1997-01-01

This paper presents a generic traffic priority language, called KYKLOFORTA, used by autonomous robots for collision-free navigation in a dynamic unknown or known navigation space. In a previous work by X. Grossmman (1988), a set of traffic control rules was developed for the navigation of the robots on the lines of a two-dimensional (2-D) grid and a control center coordinated and synchronized their movements. In this work, the robots are considered autonomous: they are moving anywhere and in any direction inside the free space, and there is no need of a central control to coordinate and synchronize them. The requirements for each robot are i) visual perception, ii) range sensors, and iii) the ability of each robot to detect other moving objects in the same free navigation space, define the other objects perceived size, their velocity and their directions. Based on these assumptions, a traffic priority language is needed for each robot, making it able to decide during the navigation and avoid possible collision with other moving objects. The traffic priority language proposed here is based on a set of primitive traffic priority alphabet and rules which compose pattern of corridors for the application of the traffic priority rules.

Direct adaptive control of a PUMA 560 industrial robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seraji, Homayoun; Lee, Thomas; Delpech, Michel

1989-01-01

The implementation and experimental validation of a new direct adaptive control scheme on a PUMA 560 industrial robot is described. The testbed facility consists of a Unimation PUMA 560 six-jointed robot and controller, and a DEC MicroVAX II computer which hosts the Robot Control C Library software. The control algorithm is implemented on the MicroVAX which acts as a digital controller for the PUMA robot, and the Unimation controller is effectively bypassed and used merely as an I/O device to interface the MicroVAX to the joint motors. The control algorithm for each robot joint consists of an auxiliary signal generated by a constant-gain Proportional plus Integral plus Derivative (PID) controller, and an adaptive position-velocity (PD) feedback controller with adjustable gains. The adaptive independent joint controllers compensate for the inter-joint couplings and achieve accurate trajectory tracking without the need for the complex dynamic model and parameter values of the robot. Extensive experimental results on PUMA joint control are presented to confirm the feasibility of the proposed scheme, in spite of strong interactions between joint motions. Experimental results validate the capabilities of the proposed control scheme. The control scheme is extremely simple and computationally very fast for concurrent processing with high sampling rates.

An instrumented glove for grasp specification in virtual-reality-based point-and-direct telerobotics.

PubMed

Yun, M H; Cannon, D; Freivalds, A; Thomas, G

1997-10-01

Hand posture and force, which define aspects of the way an object is grasped, are features of robotic manipulation. A means for specifying these grasping "flavors" has been developed that uses an instrumented glove equipped with joint and force sensors. The new grasp specification system will be used at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in a Virtual Reality based Point-and-Direct (VR-PAD) robotics implementation. Here, an operator gives directives to a robot in the same natural way that human may direct another. Phrases such as "put that there" cause the robot to define a grasping strategy and motion strategy to complete the task on its own. In the VR-PAD concept, pointing is done using virtual tools such that an operator can appear to graphically grasp real items in live video. Rather than requiring full duplication of forces and kinesthetic movement throughout a task as is required in manual telemanipulation, hand posture and force are now specified only once. The grasp parameters then become object flavors. The robot maintains the specified force and hand posture flavors for an object throughout the task in handling the real workpiece or item of interest. In the Computer integrated Manufacturing (CIM) Laboratory at Penn State, hand posture and force data were collected for manipulating bricks and other items that require varying amounts of force at multiple pressure points. The feasibility of measuring desired grasp characteristics was demonstrated for a modified Cyberglove impregnated with Force-Sensitive Resistor (FSR) (pressure sensors in the fingertips. A joint/force model relating the parameters of finger articulation and pressure to various lifting tasks was validated for the instrumented "wired" glove. Operators using such a modified glove may ultimately be able to configure robot grasping tasks in environments involving hazardous waste remediation, flexible manufacturing, space operations and other flexible robotics applications. In each case, the VR-PAD approach will finesse the computational and delay problems of real-time multiple-degree-of-freedom force feedback telemanipulation.

Task partitioning in a robot swarm: object retrieval as a sequence of subtasks with direct object transfer.

PubMed

Pini, Giovanni; Brutschy, Arne; Scheidler, Alexander; Dorigo, Marco; Birattari, Mauro

2014-01-01

We study task partitioning in the context of swarm robotics. Task partitioning is the decomposition of a task into subtasks that can be tackled by different workers. We focus on the case in which a task is partitioned into a sequence of subtasks that must be executed in a certain order. This implies that the subtasks must interface with each other, and that the output of a subtask is used as input for the subtask that follows. A distinction can be made between task partitioning with direct transfer and with indirect transfer. We focus our study on the first case: The output of a subtask is directly transferred from an individual working on that subtask to an individual working on the subtask that follows. As a test bed for our study, we use a swarm of robots performing foraging. The robots have to harvest objects from a source, situated in an unknown location, and transport them to a home location. When a robot finds the source, it memorizes its position and uses dead reckoning to return there. Dead reckoning is appealing in robotics, since it is a cheap localization method and it does not require any additional external infrastructure. However, dead reckoning leads to errors that grow in time if not corrected periodically. We compare a foraging strategy that does not make use of task partitioning with one that does. We show that cooperation through task partitioning can be used to limit the effect of dead reckoning errors. This results in improved capability of locating the object source and in increased performance of the swarm. We use the implemented system as a test bed to study benefits and costs of task partitioning with direct transfer. We implement the system with real robots, demonstrating the feasibility of our approach in a foraging scenario.

Actuators for a space manipulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chun, W.; Brunson, P.

1987-01-01

The robotic manipulator can be decomposed into distinct subsytems. One particular area of interest of mechanical subsystems is electromechanical actuators (or drives). A drive is defined as a motor with an appropriate transmission. An overview is given of existing, as well as state-of-the-art drive systems. The scope is limited to space applications. A design philosophy and adequate requirements are the initial steps in designing a space-qualified actuator. The focus is on the d-c motor in conjunction with several types of transmissions (harmonic, tendon, traction, and gear systems). The various transmissions will be evaluated and key performance parameters will be addressed in detail. Included in the assessment is a shuttle RMS joint and a MSFC drive of the Prototype Manipulator Arm. Compound joints are also investigated. Space imposes a set of requirements for designing a high-performance drive assembly. Its inaccessibility and cryogenic conditions warrant special considerations. Some guidelines concerning these conditions are present. The goal is to gain a better understanding in designing a space actuator.

Real-World Evolution of Robot Morphologies: A Proof of Concept.

PubMed

Jelisavcic, Milan; de Carlo, Matteo; Hupkes, Elte; Eustratiadis, Panagiotis; Orlowski, Jakub; Haasdijk, Evert; Auerbach, Joshua E; Eiben, A E

2017-01-01

Evolutionary robotics using real hardware has been almost exclusively restricted to evolving robot controllers, but the technology for evolvable morphologies is advancing quickly. We discuss a proof-of-concept study to demonstrate real robots that can reproduce. Following a general system plan, we implement a robotic habitat that contains all system components in the simplest possible form. We create an initial population of two robots and run a complete life cycle, resulting in a new robot, parented by the first two. Even though the individual steps are simplified to the maximum, the whole system validates the underlying concepts and provides a generic workflow for the creation of more complex incarnations. This hands-on experience provides insights and helps us elaborate on interesting research directions for future development.

Videoexoscopic real-time intraoperative navigation for spinal neurosurgery: a novel co-adaptation of two existing technology platforms, technical note.

PubMed

Huang, Meng; Barber, Sean Michael; Steele, William James; Boghani, Zain; Desai, Viren Rajendrakumar; Britz, Gavin Wayne; West, George Alexander; Trask, Todd Wilson; Holman, Paul Joseph

2018-06-01

Image-guided approaches to spinal instrumentation and interbody fusion have been widely popularized in the last decade [1-5]. Navigated pedicle screws are significantly less likely to breach [2, 3, 5, 6]. Navigation otherwise remains a point reference tool because the projection is off-axis to the surgeon's inline loupe or microscope view. The Synaptive robotic brightmatter drive videoexoscope monitor system represents a new paradigm for off-axis high-definition (HD) surgical visualization. It has many advantages over the traditional microscope and loupes, which have already been demonstrated in a cadaveric study [7]. An auxiliary, but powerful capability of this system is projection of a second, modifiable image in a split-screen configuration. We hypothesized that integration of both Medtronic and Synaptive platforms could permit the visualization of reconstructed navigation and surgical field images simultaneously. By utilizing navigated instruments, this configuration has the ability to support live image-guided surgery or real-time navigation (RTN). Medtronic O-arm/Stealth S7 navigation, MetRx, NavLock, and SureTrak spinal systems were implemented on a prone cadaveric specimen with a stream output to the Synaptive Display. Surgical visualization was provided using a Storz Image S1 platform and camera mounted to the Synaptive robotic brightmatter drive. We were able to successfully technically co-adapt both platforms. A minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS TLIF) and an open pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO) were performed using a navigated high-speed drill under RTN. Disc Shaver and Trials under RTN were implemented on the MIS TLIF. The synergy of Synaptive HD videoexoscope robotic drive and Medtronic Stealth platforms allow for live image-guided surgery or real-time navigation (RTN). Off-axis projection also allows upright neutral cervical spine operative ergonomics for the surgeons and improved surgical team visualization and education compared to traditional means. This technique has the potential to augment existing minimally invasive and open approaches, but will require long-term outcome measurements for efficacy.

Context-Based Filtering for Assisted Brain-Actuated Wheelchair Driving

PubMed Central

Vanacker, Gerolf; Millán, José del R.; Lew, Eileen; Ferrez, Pierre W.; Moles, Ferran Galán; Philips, Johan; Van Brussel, Hendrik; Nuttin, Marnix

2007-01-01

Controlling a robotic device by using human brain signals is an interesting and challenging task. The device may be complicated to control and the nonstationary nature of the brain signals provides for a rather unstable input. With the use of intelligent processing algorithms adapted to the task at hand, however, the performance can be increased. This paper introduces a shared control system that helps the subject in driving an intelligent wheelchair with a noninvasive brain interface. The subject's steering intentions are estimated from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals and passed through to the shared control system before being sent to the wheelchair motors. Experimental results show a possibility for significant improvement in the overall driving performance when using the shared control system compared to driving without it. These results have been obtained with 2 healthy subjects during their first day of training with the brain-actuated wheelchair. PMID:18354739

Direct adaptive robust tracking control for 6 DOF industrial robot with enhanced accuracy.

PubMed

Yin, Xiuxing; Pan, Li

2018-01-01

A direct adaptive robust tracking control is proposed for trajectory tracking of 6 DOF industrial robot in the presence of parametric uncertainties, external disturbances and uncertain nonlinearities. The controller is designed based on the dynamic characteristics in the working space of the end-effector of the 6 DOF robot. The controller includes robust control term and model compensation term that is developed directly based on the input reference or desired motion trajectory. A projection-type parametric adaptation law is also designed to compensate for parametric estimation errors for the adaptive robust control. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed direct adaptive robust control law and the associated projection-type parametric adaptation law have been comparatively evaluated based on two 6 DOF industrial robots. The test results demonstrate that the proposed control can be employed to better maintain the desired trajectory tracking even in the presence of large parametric uncertainties and external disturbances as compared with PD controller and nonlinear controller. The parametric estimates also eventually converge to the real values along with the convergence of tracking errors, which further validate the effectiveness of the proposed parametric adaption law. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Graphical analysis of power systems for mobile robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raade, Justin William

The field of mobile robotics places stringent demands on the power system. Energetic autonomy, or the ability to function for a useful operation time independent of any tether, refueling, or recharging, is a driving force in a robot designed for a field application. The focus of this dissertation is the development of two graphical analysis tools, namely Ragone plots and optimal hybridization plots, for the design of human scale mobile robotic power systems. These tools contribute to the intuitive understanding of the performance of a power system and expand the toolbox of the design engineer. Ragone plots are useful for graphically comparing the merits of different power systems for a wide range of operation times. They plot the specific power versus the specific energy of a system on logarithmic scales. The driving equations in the creation of a Ragone plot are derived in terms of several important system parameters. Trends at extreme operation times (both very short and very long) are examined. Ragone plot analysis is applied to the design of several power systems for high-power human exoskeletons. Power systems examined include a monopropellant-powered free piston hydraulic pump, a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine with hydraulic actuators, and a fuel cell with electric actuators. Hybrid power systems consist of two or more distinct energy sources that are used together to meet a single load. They can often outperform non-hybrid power systems in low duty-cycle applications or those with widely varying load profiles and long operation times. Two types of energy sources are defined: engine-like and capacitive. The hybridization rules for different combinations of energy sources are derived using graphical plots of hybrid power system mass versus the primary system power. Optimal hybridization analysis is applied to several power systems for low-power human exoskeletons. Hybrid power systems examined include a fuel cell and a solar panel coupled with lithium polymer batteries. In summary, this dissertation describes the development and application of two graphical analysis tools for the intuitive design of mobile robotic power systems. Several design examples are discussed involving human exoskeleton power systems.

Learning inverse kinematics: reduced sampling through decomposition into virtual robots.

PubMed

de Angulo, Vicente Ruiz; Torras, Carme

2008-12-01

We propose a technique to speedup the learning of the inverse kinematics of a robot manipulator by decomposing it into two or more virtual robot arms. Unlike previous decomposition approaches, this one does not place any requirement on the robot architecture, and thus, it is completely general. Parametrized self-organizing maps are particularly adequate for this type of learning, and permit comparing results directly obtained and through the decomposition. Experimentation shows that time reductions of up to two orders of magnitude are easily attained.

Telerehabilitation robotics: bright lights, big future?

PubMed

Carignan, Craig R; Krebs, Hermano I

2006-01-01

The potential for remote diagnosis and treatment over the Internet using robotics is now a reality. The state of the art is exemplified by several Internet applications, and we explore the current trends in developing new systems. We review the technical challenges that lie ahead, along with some potential solutions. Some promising results for a new bilateral system involving two InMotion2 robots are presented. Finally, we discuss the future direction and commercial outlook for rehabilitation robots over the next 15 years.

Robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with simple laparoscopy for diaphragm eventration.

PubMed

Ahn, Joong Hyun; Suh, Jong Hui; Jeong, Jin Yong

2013-09-01

Robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery has been applied for general thoracic operations. Its advantages include not only those of minimally invasive surgery but also those of magnified three-dimensional vision and angulation of the robotic arm. However, there are no direct tactile sensation and force feedback, which can cause unwanted organ damage. We therefore used laparoscopy simultaneously to avoid a blind intraperitoneal area during robotic surgery for diaphragmatic eventration via transthoracic approach and describe the technique herein. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Panoramic stereo sphere vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Weijia; Zhang, Baofeng; Röning, Juha; Zong, Xiaoning; Yi, Tian

2013-01-01

Conventional stereo vision systems have a small field of view (FOV) which limits their usefulness for certain applications. While panorama vision is able to "see" in all directions of the observation space, scene depth information is missed because of the mapping from 3D reference coordinates to 2D panoramic image. In this paper, we present an innovative vision system which builds by a special combined fish-eye lenses module, and is capable of producing 3D coordinate information from the whole global observation space and acquiring no blind area 360°×360° panoramic image simultaneously just using single vision equipment with one time static shooting. It is called Panoramic Stereo Sphere Vision (PSSV). We proposed the geometric model, mathematic model and parameters calibration method in this paper. Specifically, video surveillance, robotic autonomous navigation, virtual reality, driving assistance, multiple maneuvering target tracking, automatic mapping of environments and attitude estimation are some of the applications which will benefit from PSSV.

Systems and methods for retaining and removing irradiation targets in a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Runkle, Gary A.; Matsumoto, Jack T.; Dayal, Yogeshwar; Heinold, Mark R.

2015-12-08

A retainer is placed on a conduit to control movement of objects within the conduit in access-restricted areas. Retainers can prevent or allow movement in the conduit in a discriminatory fashion. A fork with variable-spacing between prongs can be a retainer and be extended or collapsed with respect to the conduit to change the size of the conduit. Different objects of different sizes may thus react to the fork differently, some passing and some being blocked. Retainers can be installed in inaccessible areas and allow selective movement in remote portions of conduit where users cannot directly interface, including below nuclear reactors. Position detectors can monitor the movement of objects through the conduit remotely as well, permitting engagement of a desired level of restriction and object movement. Retainers are useable in a variety of nuclear power plants and with irradiation target delivery, harvesting, driving, and other remote handling or robotic systems.

Advancing the Strategic Messages Affecting Robot Trust Effect: The Dynamic of User- and Robot-Generated Content on Human-Robot Trust and Interaction Outcomes.

PubMed

Liang, Yuhua Jake; Lee, Seungcheol Austin

2016-09-01

Human-robot interaction (HRI) will soon transform and shift the communication landscape such that people exchange messages with robots. However, successful HRI requires people to trust robots, and, in turn, the trust affects the interaction. Although prior research has examined the determinants of human-robot trust (HRT) during HRI, no research has examined the messages that people received before interacting with robots and their effect on HRT. We conceptualize these messages as SMART (Strategic Messages Affecting Robot Trust). Moreover, we posit that SMART can ultimately affect actual HRI outcomes (i.e., robot evaluations, robot credibility, participant mood) by affording the persuasive influences from user-generated content (UGC) on participatory Web sites. In Study 1, participants were assigned to one of two conditions (UGC/control) in an original experiment of HRT. Compared with the control (descriptive information only), results showed that UGC moderated the correlation between HRT and interaction outcomes in a positive direction (average Δr = +0.39) for robots as media and robots as tools. In Study 2, we explored the effect of robot-generated content but did not find similar moderation effects. These findings point to an important empirical potential to employ SMART in future robot deployment.

Fast obstacle detection based on multi-sensor information fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Linli; Ying, Jie

2014-11-01

Obstacle detection is one of the key problems in areas such as driving assistance and mobile robot navigation, which cannot meet the actual demand by using a single sensor. A method is proposed to realize the real-time access to the information of the obstacle in front of the robot and calculating the real size of the obstacle area according to the mechanism of the triangle similarity in process of imaging by fusing datum from a camera and an ultrasonic sensor, which supports the local path planning decision. In the part of image analyzing, the obstacle detection region is limited according to complementary principle. We chose ultrasonic detection range as the region for obstacle detection when the obstacle is relatively near the robot, and the travelling road area in front of the robot is the region for a relatively-long-distance detection. The obstacle detection algorithm is adapted from a powerful background subtraction algorithm ViBe: Visual Background Extractor. We extracted an obstacle free region in front of the robot in the initial frame, this region provided a reference sample set of gray scale value for obstacle detection. Experiments of detecting different obstacles at different distances respectively, give the accuracy of the obstacle detection and the error percentage between the calculated size and the actual size of the detected obstacle. Experimental results show that the detection scheme can effectively detect obstacles in front of the robot and provide size of the obstacle with relatively high dimensional accuracy.

Anticipation as a Strategy: A Design Paradigm for Robotics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Mary-Anne; Gärdenfors, Peter; Johnston, Benjamin; Wightwick, Glenn

Anticipation plays a crucial role during any action, particularly in agents operating in open, complex and dynamic environments. In this paper we consider the role of anticipation as a strategy from a design perspective. Anticipation is a crucial skill in sporting games like soccer, tennis and cricket. We explore the role of anticipation in robot soccer matches in the context of reaching the RoboCup vision to develop a robot soccer team capable of defeating the FIFA World Champions in 2050. Anticipation in soccer can be planned or emergent but whether planned or emergent, anticipation can be designed. Two key obstacles stand in the way of developing more anticipatory robot systems; an impoverished understanding of the "anticipation" process/capability and a lack of know-how in the design of anticipatory systems. Several teams at RoboCup have developed remarkable preemptive behaviors. The CMU Dive and UTS Dodge are two compelling examples. In this paper we take steps towards designing robots that can adopt anticipatory behaviors by proposing an innovative model of anticipation as a strategy that specifies the key characteristics of anticipation behaviors to be developed. The model can drive the design of autonomous systems by providing a means to explore and to represent anticipation requirements. Our approach is to analyze anticipation as a strategy and then to use the insights obtained to design a reference model that can be used to specify a set of anticipatory requirements for guiding an autonomous robot soccer system.

Three degree-of-freedom force feedback control for robotic mating of umbilical lines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fullmer, R. Rees

1988-01-01

The use of robotic manipulators for the mating and demating of umbilical fuel lines to the Space Shuttle Vehicle prior to launch is investigated. Force feedback control is necessary to minimize the contact forces which develop during mating. The objective is to develop and demonstrate a working robotic force control system. Initial experimental force control tests with an ASEA IRB-90 industrial robot using the system's Adaptive Control capabilities indicated that control stability would by a primary problem. An investigation of the ASEA system showed a 0.280 second software delay between force input commands and the output of command voltages to the servo system. This computational delay was identified as the primary cause of the instability. Tests on a second path into the ASEA's control computer using the MicroVax II supervisory computer show that time delay would be comparable, offering no stability improvement. An alternative approach was developed where the digital control system of the robot was disconnected and an analog electronic force controller was used to control the robot's servosystem directly, allowing the robot to use force feedback control while in rigid contact with a moving three-degree-of-freedom target. An alternative approach was developed where the digital control system of the robot was disconnected and an analog electronic force controller was used to control the robot's servo system directly. This method allowed the robot to use force feedback control while in rigid contact with moving three degree-of-freedom target. Tests on this approach indicated adequate force feedback control even under worst case conditions. A strategy to digitally-controlled vision system was developed. This requires switching between the digital controller when using vision control and the analog controller when using force control, depending on whether or not the mating plates are in contact.

Bio-robots automatic navigation with electrical reward stimulation.

PubMed

Sun, Chao; Zhang, Xinlu; Zheng, Nenggan; Chen, Weidong; Zheng, Xiaoxiang

2012-01-01

Bio-robots that controlled by outer stimulation through brain computer interface (BCI) suffer from the dependence on realtime guidance of human operators. Current automatic navigation methods for bio-robots focus on the controlling rules to force animals to obey man-made commands, with animals' intelligence ignored. This paper proposes a new method to realize the automatic navigation for bio-robots with electrical micro-stimulation as real-time rewards. Due to the reward-seeking instinct and trial-and-error capability, bio-robot can be steered to keep walking along the right route with rewards and correct its direction spontaneously when rewards are deprived. In navigation experiments, rat-robots learn the controlling methods in short time. The results show that our method simplifies the controlling logic and realizes the automatic navigation for rat-robots successfully. Our work might have significant implication for the further development of bio-robots with hybrid intelligence.

Implementation and Assessment of a Virtual Laboratory of Parallel Robots Developed for Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gil, Arturo; Peidró, Adrián; Reinoso, Óscar; Marín, José María

2017-01-01

This paper presents a tool, LABEL, oriented to the teaching of parallel robotics. The application, organized as a set of tools developed using Easy Java Simulations, enables the study of the kinematics of parallel robotics. A set of classical parallel structures was implemented such that LABEL can solve the inverse and direct kinematic problem of…

Towards autonomous locomotion: CPG-based control of smooth 3D slithering gait transition of a snake-like robot.

PubMed

Bing, Zhenshan; Cheng, Long; Chen, Guang; Röhrbein, Florian; Huang, Kai; Knoll, Alois

2017-04-04

Snake-like robots with 3D locomotion ability have significant advantages of adaptive travelling in diverse complex terrain over traditional legged or wheeled mobile robots. Despite numerous developed gaits, these snake-like robots suffer from unsmooth gait transitions by changing the locomotion speed, direction, and body shape, which would potentially cause undesired movement and abnormal torque. Hence, there exists a knowledge gap for snake-like robots to achieve autonomous locomotion. To address this problem, this paper presents the smooth slithering gait transition control based on a lightweight central pattern generator (CPG) model for snake-like robots. First, based on the convergence behavior of the gradient system, a lightweight CPG model with fast computing time was designed and compared with other widely adopted CPG models. Then, by reshaping the body into a more stable geometry, the slithering gait was modified, and studied based on the proposed CPG model, including the gait transition of locomotion speed, moving direction, and body shape. In contrast to sinusoid-based method, extensive simulations and prototype experiments finally demonstrated that smooth slithering gait transition can be effectively achieved using the proposed CPG-based control method without generating undesired locomotion and abnormal torque.

Numerical Modelling and Simulation of Dynamic Parameters for Vibration Driven Mobile Robot: Preliminary Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baharudin, M. E.; Nor, A. M.; Saad, A. R. M.; Yusof, A. M.

2018-03-01

The motion of vibration-driven robots is based on an internal oscillating mass which can move without legs or wheels. The oscillation of the unbalanced mass by a motor is translated into vibration which in turn produces vertical and horizontal forces. Both vertical and horizontal oscillations are of the same frequency but the phases are shifted. The vertical forces will deflect the bristles which cause the robot to move forward. In this paper, the horizontal motion direction caused by the vertically vibrated bristle is numerically simulated by tuning the frequency of their oscillatory actuation. As a preliminary work, basic equations for a simple off-centered vibration location on the robot platform and simulation model for vibration excitement are introduced. It involves both static and dynamic vibration analysis of robots and analysis of different type of parameters. In addition, the orientation of the bristles and oscillators are also analysed. Results from the numerical integration seem to be in good agreement with those achieved from the literature. The presented numerical integration modeling can be used for designing the bristles and controlling the speed and direction of the robot.