Image-Based Motion Analysis for Self-Reconfigurable Mobile Robot With Integrated Docking

This paper presents the design integration and experimental results of target-based autonomous locomotion of a Self-Reconfigurable Mobile Robot. Uncertainties in the sensory data can accumulate the misalignments in locomotion behavior of the robot. Such misalignments can result in a poor coupling performance resulting in the failure of the overall docked system. Therefore, it is desirable for a robot to be capable of mechanically tolerating such misalignments. As a result, a Hybrid-Wheeled mobile robot, interfaced with a 2-DOF, high misalignment tolerant coupling (GHEFT) mechanism is presented in this paper. This combined assembly is used as a source of locomotion for autonomous docking in a multi-robot assembly using Image-Based Visual Servoing (IBVS). The resulting output is then implemented in a simulated environment for the autonomous locomotion of the robot. Experimental results demonstrate the feature motion and trajectory followed under the hybrid locomotion of the robot.

Powered Ankle-Foot Prostheses: A Survey on Sensing Systems and Control Strategies

People who have suffered a transtibial amputation show diminished ambulation and impaired quality of life. Powered ankle foot prostheses (AFP) are used to recover some mobility of transtibial amputees (TTAs). Powered AFP is an emerging technology that has great potential to improve the quality of life of TTAs with important avenues for research and development in different fields. This paper presents a survey on sensing systems and control strategies applied to powered AFPs. Sensing kinematic and kinetic information in powered AFPs is critical for control. Ankle angle position is commonly obtained via potentiometers and encoders directly installed on the joint, velocities can be estimated using numerical differentiators, and accelerations are normally obtained via inertial measurement units (IMUs). On the other hand, kinetic information is usually obtained via strain gauges and torque sensors. On the other hand, control strategies are classified as high- and low-level control. The high-level control sets the torque or position references based on pattern generators, user’s intent of motion recognition, or finite-state machine. The low-level control usually consists of linear controllers that drive the ankle’s joint position, velocity, or torque to follow an imposed reference signal. The most widely used control strategy is the one based on finite-state machines for the high-level control combined with a proportional-derivative torque control for low-level. Most designs have been experimentally assessed with acceptable results in terms of walking speed. However, some drawbacks related to powered AFP’s weight and autonomy remain to be overcome. Future research should be focused on reducing powered AFP size and weight, increasing energy efficiency, and improving both the high- and the low-level controllers in terms of efficiency and performance.

Modeling, Validation and Prototype Development of Electric Sail Tether Deployment Systems for CubeSats

The Electric sail concept is based on a distributed tether satellite system with tether lengths on the order of thousands-of meters. The system must deploy from stowed arrangement into a selected flight configuration in which thrust forces are transmitted through the tether to the satellite body. The system must be stable through deployment procedure and maintain stable, desired configuration during flight operations. Understanding the dynamic behavior of the satellite bodies and distributed, conductive tether are critical to long-range design and development of the Electric Sail concept. This paper’s contribution is the presentation, development and validation of a mathematical model for simulating E-Sail deployment of a prototype system for testing on the MSFC Robotic Flat Floor Facility. A massed tether model is developed using the bead and string concept with equations of motion derived from Lagrange’s Method. The model is validated using infrared motion capture data produced by controlled experiments of a representative tether portion outfitted with IR targets. Further, a prototype is presented which will be used to investigate an E-Sail deployment approach and associated control. The design of this system will allow for deployment on specially designed flat floor facilities at MSFC. The prototype will be used to: 1) gather data for validation of system dynamic model, 2) evaluate alternative deployment strategies, 3) evaluate tether reel-out and damping control strategies.

Performance Comparison of Inertial Measurement Units Fused With Odometry in Extended Kalman Filter for Dead-Reckoning Navigation

This paper aims to aid robot and autonomous vehicle designers by providing a comparison between four different inertial measurement units (IMUs) which could be used to aid in vehicle navigation in a GPS-denied or inertial-only scenario. A differential-drive ground vehicle was designed to carry the multiple different IMUs, mounted coaxially, to enable direct comparison of performance in a planar environment. The experiments focused on the growth of pose error of the ground vehicle originating from the odometry senors and the IMUs. An extended Kalman Filter was developed to fuse the odometry and inertial measurements for this comparison. The four specific IMUs evaluated were: CNS 5000, Xsens 300, Microstrain GX5-35, and Phidgets 1044 and the ground truth for experiments was provided by an Optitrack motion capture system (MCS). Finally, metrics for choosing IMUs, merging cost and performance considerations, are proposed and discussed. While the CNS 5000 has the best objective error specifications, based on these metrics the Xsens 300 exhibits the best absolute performance while the Phidgets 1044 provides the best performance-per-dollar.

Topology Optimization of Compliant Mechanisms Based on Interpolation Meshless Method and Geometric Nonlinearity

In order to prevent mesh distortion problem arising in topology optimization of compliant mechanism with massive displacement, a meshless Galerkin method was proposed and studied in this paper. The element-free Galerkin method (EFG) is more accurate than the finite element method, and it does not need grids. However, it is difficult to impose complex boundaries. This paper presents a topology optimization method based on interpolation meshless method, which retains the advantages of the finite element method (FEM) that is easy to impose boundary conditions and high accuracy of the meshless method. At the same time, a method of gradually reducing step is proposed to solve the problem of non-linear convergence caused by low-density points in topology optimization. Numerical example shows that these techniques are valid in topology optimization of compliant mechanism considering the geometric nonlinearity, and simultaneously these techniques can also improve the convergence of nonlinearity.

A Collaborative Visual Localization Scheme for a Low-Cost Heterogeneous Robotic Team With Non-Overlapping Perspectives

This paper presents and evaluates a relative localization scheme for a heterogeneous team of low-cost mobile robots. An error-state, complementary Kalman Filter was developed to fuse analytically-derived uncertainty of stereoscopic pose measurements of an aerial robot, made by a ground robot, with the inertial/visual proprioceptive measurements of both robots. Results show that the sources of error, image quantization, asynchronous sensors, and a non-stationary bias, were sufficiently modeled to estimate the pose of the aerial robot. In both simulation and experiments, we demonstrate the proposed methodology with a heterogeneous robot team, consisting of a UAV and a UGV tasked with collaboratively localizing themselves while avoiding obstacles in an unknown environment. The team is able to identify a goal location and obstacles in the environment and plan a path for the UGV to the goal location. The results demonstrate localization accuracies of 2cm to 4cm, on average, while the robots operate at a distance from each-other between 1m and 4m.

Design of a Robotic Cannula for Robotic Lumber Discectomy

In this paper, the design of the robotic cannula for minimally invasive robotic lumbar discectomy is presented. Lumbar discectomy is the surgery to remove the herniated disc material that is pressing on a nerve root or spinal cord. Recently, a robotic approach to performing this procedure has been proposed that utilizes multiple teleoperated articulated instruments inserted into the surgical workspace using a single cannula. In this paper, we propose a new robotic cannula system to work in conjunction with this new procedure. It allows for the independent teleoperated control of the axial position and rotation of up to three surgical instruments at the same time. The mechanical design, controller design, and prototype of new system are presented in this paper demonstrating a fully functioning device for this application. A novel worm gear and rack system allow for the instrument translation while and embedded gear trains produce the rotational movement. Steady-state errors of less than 50 μm for translation and less than 2° for rotational motion are obtained.

Classification of Compliant Mechanisms and Determination of the Degrees of Freedom Using the Concepts of Compliance Number and Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model

Understanding the kinematic properties of a compliant mechanism has always proved to be a challenge. A concept of compliance number offered earlier emphasized the development of terminology that aided in its determination. A method to evaluate the elastic degrees of freedom associated with the flexible segments/links of a compliant mechanism using the pseudo-rigid-body model (PRBM) concept is provided. In this process, two distinct classes of compliant mechanisms are developed involving: (i) Active Compliance and (ii) Passive Compliance. Furthermore, these also aid in a better characterization of the kinematic behavior of a compliant mechanism. A more lucid interpretation of the significance of compliance number is provided. Applications of this method to both active and passive compliant mechanisms are exemplified. Finally, an experimental procedure that aids in visualizing the degrees of freedom as calculated is presented.

Stiffness Based Stability Enhancement in Human-Robot Collaboration

This paper presents the importance of endpoint stiffness and its role in improving the interaction stability of a human-robot collaborative task. A low effort collaborative task is simulated with the help of an admittance controlled robot. The performance of this robot for different levels of grasp stiffness are compared and a solution in the form of a Variable Stiffness Mechanism is provided. This mechanism provides an opportunity to modify the stiffness at the port of interaction based on two measures, an instability index in the frequency domain, and human muscle contraction in the time domain. Experimental results show an improvement in the performance and stability for the system with high stiffness vs low stiffness. Human muscle contraction provides a time instant at which the stiffness has to be modified and the instability index value provides information about the direction in which the stiffness has to be modified.

Designing Lightweight Tensegrity-Based Structures and Materials of Tailorable Thermal Expansion

In this work, we analyze and design structures and materials that possess custom thermal expansion. These structures and materials are composed of a base unit inspired by the tensegrity “D-bar” (or double-pyramid) topology. We derive, for the first time, analytical equations for the linearized and geometrically exact coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) of bi-material D-bar structures with arbitrary shape and complexity. Numerical results obtained using the geometrically exact CTE equations are compared with results obtained using the linearized CTE equations, showing that the latter are accurate only in cases where temperature changes are small. Further results show that D-bar structures of low complexity can produce a wide range of CTEs, including positive, zero, and negative values. These CTE values are exhibited for a range of materials that allows for easy manufacturing (materials with CTE ratios as low as 2). Thus, it is concluded that D-bar structures show promise for applications in aerospace engineering and other fields where new materials of tailorable thermal expansion are needed to decrease the substantial thermal stresses caused by large temperature changes.