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Achieving resonance in flapping wings has been recognized as one of the most important principles to enhance power efficiency, lift generation, and flight control performance of high-frequency flapping wing micro air vehicles (MAVs). Most work on the development of such vehicles have attempted to achieve wing flapping resonance. However, the theoretical understanding of its effects on the response and energetics of flapping motion has lagged behind, leading to suboptimal design decisions and misinterpretations of experimental results. In this work, we systematically model the dynamics of flapping wing as a forced nonlinear resonant system, using both nonlinear perturbation method and linear approximation approach. We derived an analytic solution for steady-state flapping amplitude, energetics, and characteristic frequencies including natural frequency, damped natural frequency, and peak frequency. Our results showed that both aerodynamic lift and power efficiency are maximized by driving the wing at natural frequency, instead of other frequencies. Interestingly, the flapping velocity is maximized at natural frequency as well, which can lead to an easy experimental approach to identify natural frequency and validate the resonance design. Our models and analysis were validated with both simulations and experiments on ten different wings mounted a direct-motor-drive flapping wing MAV. The result can serve as a systematic design principle and guidance in the interpretations of empirical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In robotic mapping and simultaneous localization and mapping, the ability to assess the quality of estimated maps is crucial. While concepts exist for quantifying the error in the estimated trajectory of a robot, or a subset of the estimated feature locations, the difference between all current estimated and ground-truth features is rarely considered jointly. In contrast to many current methods, this paper analyzes metrics, which automatically evaluate maps based on their joint detection and description uncertainty. In the tracking literature, the optimal subpattern assignment (OSPA) metric provided a solution to the problem of assessing target tracking algorithms and has recently been applied to the assessment of robotic maps. Despite its advantages over other metrics, the OSPA metric can saturate to a limiting value irrespective of the cardinality errors and it penalizes missed detections and false alarms in an unequal manner. This paper therefore introduces the cardinalized optimal linear assignment (COLA) metric, as a complement to the OSPA metric, for feature map evaluation. Their combination is shown to provide a robust solution for the evaluation of map estimation errors in an intuitive manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a method for checking and enforcing multicontact stability based on the zero-tilting moment point (ZMP). The key to our development is the generalization of ZMP support areas to take into account: 1) frictional constraints and 2) multiple noncoplanar contacts. We introduce and investigate two kinds of ZMP support areas. First, we characterize and provide a fast geometric construction for the support area generated by valid contact forces, with no other constraint on the robot motion. We call this set the full support area. Next, we consider the control of humanoid robots by using the linear pendulum mode (LPM). We observe that the constraints stemming from the LPM induce a shrinking of the support area, even for walking on horizontal floors. We propose an algorithm to compute the new area, which we call the pendular support area. We show that, in the LPM, having the ZMP in the pendular support area is a necessary and sufficient condition for contact stability. Based on these developments, we implement a whole-body controller and generate feasible multicontact motions where an HRP-4 humanoid locomotes in challenging multicontact scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micromanipulation has received increasing attention from robotics researchers due to its wide applications in the manipulation of microobjects like biological cells and Bio-MEMS components. The demand for accurate and precise manipulation of microobjects opens up new challenges in automation of micromanipulation tasks. In this paper, we present a concurrent framework for optical manipulation of multiple groups of microobjects using robotic tweezers. The proposed framework is based on laser-stage coordination control and consists of two concurrent subschemes: 1) local coordination achieved by asynchronous manipulation of multiple groups of microobjects using laser beams and 2) global coordination achieved by manipulation of whole groups using a motorized stage. Unlike existing methods that are limited to the manipulation of a single microobject or a single group of microobjects, the proposed method considers concurrent laser-stage coordination of multiple groups of microobjects, which enhances the capability and flexibility in micromanipulation tasks. In addition, we introduce a unified social interaction function to achieve various cellular behaviors. A mathematical formulation is provided and stability analysis is presented. Using the proposed method, we are able to manipulate multiple groups of microobjects to construct time-varying microformations. Experimental results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents the 2015 author/subject index for this publication. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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This paper presents a connection mechanism for autonomous self-assembly in mobile robots. Using this connection mechanism, mobile robots can be autonomously connected and disconnected. The purpose of self-assembly in mobile robotics is to add a new capability to mobile robots, thus, improving their performance to best fit the terrain conditions. Construction of a reconnectable joint is of primary concern in such systems. In this paper, first the geometric conditions and force equations of a general docking mechanism are studied. Then, we discuss the design details of our connection mechanism and present some experimental results that show that the proposed mechanism overcomes significant alignment errors and is considerably power efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The control approaches based on the task function formalism, and particularly those structured as a prioritized hierarchy of tasks, enable complex behaviors with elegant properties of robustness and portability to be built. However, it is difficult to consider a straightforward integration of tasks described by unilateral constraints in such frameworks. Indeed, unilateral constraints exhibit irregularities that prevent the insertion of unilateral tasks at any priority level, other than the lowest, of a hierarchy. In this paper, we present an original method to generalize the hierarchy-based control schemes to account for unilateral constraints at any priority level. We develop our method first for task sequencing using only the kinematics description; then, we expand it to the task description, using the operational space formulation. The method applies in robotics and computer graphics animation. Its practical implementation is exemplified by realizing a real-manipulator visual servoing task and a humanoid avatar reaching task; both experiments are achieved under the unilateral constraints of joint limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This note presents a unified approach to nominal control generation and return map parameterization for yo-yo playing. The approach is based on choosing an intermediate state of the yo-yo as the parameter and formulating an optimization problem with appropriate boundary conditions that incorporate the corresponding parameter. By solving the optimization problems, both the return map and the nominal optimal control for the robot can be obtained. The return map is naturally parameterized with the intermediate state, which can be treated as a virtual control. The return map facilitates the application of standard analysis and design methods for discrete-time control systems. The approach is promising as it might be extended to control other cyclic dynamic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type synthesis of lower mobility parallel mechanisms (PMs) has attracted extensive attention in research community of robotics over the last seven years. One important trend in this area is to synthesize PMs with prespecified motion properties. This paper focuses on the type synthesis of a special family of PMs whose moving platform can undergo a bifurcation of Schoenflies motion. First, bifurcation of Schoenflies motion in PMs is interpreted in terms of displacement group theory and the basic limb bond {X(y)} {R(N, x)} is identified. Further, the geometric condition for constructing a PM with bifurcation of Schoenflies motion is presented. The kinematic equivalence between {X(y)}{R(N, x)} and {X(y)}{X(x)} is proven. Four subcategories of irreducible representation of the product {X(y)}{X(x)} are proposed and the limb chains that produce the desired limb bond are synthesized. Finally, the partitioned mobility of PMs with bifurcation of Schoenflies motion and its effect on actuation selection are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new class of thin, dexterous continuum robots, which we call active cannulas due to their potential medical applications. An active cannula is composed of telescoping, concentric, precurved superelastic tubes that can be axially translated and rotated at the base relative to one another. Active cannulas derive bending not from tendon wires or other external mechanisms but from elastic tube interaction in the backbone itself, permitting high dexterity and small size, and dexterity improves with miniaturization. They are designed to traverse narrow and winding environments without relying on "guiding" environmental reaction forces. These features seem ideal for a variety of applications where a very thin robot with tentacle-like dexterity is needed. In this paper, we apply beam mechanics to obtain a kinematic model of active cannula shape and describe design tools that result from the modeling process. After deriving general equations, we apply them to a simple three-link active cannula. Experimental results illustrate the importance of including torsional effects and the ability of our model to predict energy bifurcation and active cannula shape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One important category of parallel mechanisms is the translational parallel mechanism (TPM). This paper focuses on the structural shakiness of the nonoverconstrained TPM. Such a structural shakiness is due to the unavoidable lack of rigidity of the real bodies, which leads to uncheckable orientation changes of the moving platform of a TPM. Using algebraic properties of displacement subsets and, especially, displacement Lie subgroup theory, we show that the structural shakiness of the nonoverconstrained TPM is inherently determined by the structural type of its limb chains. A structural shakiness index (SSI) for a nonoverconstrained TPM is introduced. When the set of feasible displacements of the end body of a 5-degree-of-freedom (DOFs) limb chain contains two infinities of parallel axes of rotation, we have SSI = 2; when the displacement set of the end body of a 5-DOF limb chain contains only one infinity of parallel axes of rotation, we have SSI = 1. It is proven that nonoverconstained TPMs constructed with limb chains with SSI = 1 are much less prone to orientation changes than those constructed with limb chains with SSI = 2. Based on the SSI, we enumerate limb kinematic chains and construct 21 nonoverconstrained TPMs with less shakiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, leader-following formation control for mobile multiagent systems with limited sensor information is studied. The control algorithms developed require information available from onboard sensors only, and in particular, the measurement of the leader (neighbor) speed is not needed. Instead, an observer is designed for the estimation of this speed. With the proposed control algorithms as building blocks, many complex formations can be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we address discrete-time pursuit-evasion games in the plane where every player has identical sensing and motion ranges restricted to closed disks of given sensing and stepping radii. A single evader is initially located inside a bounded subset of the environment and does not move until detected. We propose a sweep-pursuit-capture pursuer strategy to capture the evader and apply it to two variants of the game. The first involves a single pursuer and an evader in a bounded convex environment, and the second involves multiple pursuers and an evader in a boundaryless environment. In the first game, we give a sufficient condition on the ratio of sensing to stepping radius of the players that guarantees capture. In the second, we determine the minimum probability of capture, which is a function of a novel pursuer formation and independent of the initial evader location. The sweep and pursuit phases reduce both games to previously studied problems with unlimited range sensing, and capture is achieved using available strategies. We obtain novel upper bounds on the capture time and present simulation studies that address the performance of the strategies under sensing errors, different ratios of sensing to stepping radius, greater evader speed, and a different number of pursuers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stability analysis of decentralized control mechanisms for networked coordinating systems has generally focused on specific controller implementations, such as nearest-neighbor and other types of proximity graph control laws. This approach often misses the need for the addition of other control structures to improve global characteristics of the network. An example of such a situation is the use of a Gabriel graph, which is essentially a nearest-neighbor rule modified to ensure global connectivity of the network if the agents are pairwise connected through their sensor inputs. We present a method of ensuring provable stability of decentralized switching systems by employing a hysteresis rule that uses a zero-sum consensus algorithm. We demonstrate the application of this result to several special cases, including nearest-neighbor control laws, Gabriel graph rules, diffuse target tracking, and hierarchical heterogeneous systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an approach to building a map from a sparse set of noisy observations, taken from known locations by a sensor with no obvious geometric model. The basic approach is to fit an interpolant to the training data, representing the expected observation, and to assume additive sensor noise. This paper takes a Bayesian view of the problem, maintaining a posterior over interpolants rather than simply the maximum-likelihood interpolant, giving a measure of uncertainty in the map at any point. This is done using a Gaussian process (GP) framework. The approach is validated experimentally both in an indoor office environment and an outdoor urban environment, using observations from an omni-directional camera mounted on a mobile robot. A set of training data is collected from each environment and processed offline to produce a GP model. The robot then uses that model to localize while traversing each environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand for virtual reality applications in several scientific disciplines feeds new research perspectives dealing with robotics, automation, and computer science. In this context, one of the topics is the design of advanced force-feedback devices allowing not only kinesthetic interaction with virtual objects but also locomotion and navigation inside virtual worlds. This has the main advantage to stimulate human vestibular apparatus, thus increasing the overall realism of simulation. Particularly, this paper deals with mobile haptic interfaces (MHIs), built by combining standard force-feedback devices with mobile platforms. We investigated which factors may affect the transparency of this kind of devices, identifying in mobile robot dynamics a possible cause of loss of transparency. Hence, in this paper, we present a method to analyze dynamic performance of an MHI and some basic guidelines to design controller in order to meet desired specifications. Experimental validation of the theoretical results is reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The admittance of a manipulator can be used to improve robotic assembly. If properly selected, the admittance will regulate a contact force and use it to guide the parts to proper positioning. In previous work, procedures for selecting the appropriate admittance for single principal contact (PC) cases were identified. This paper extends this research for some of the two PC cases—those for which each contact occurs at a single point. The conditions obtained ensure that the motion that results from frictionless contact always instantaneously reduces part misalignment. We show that, for bounded misalignments, if an admittance satisfies the misalignment. reducing conditions at a finite number of contact configurations, then the admittance will also satisfy the conditions at all intermediate configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An annotated data set is presented meant to help researchers in developing, evaluating, and comparing various approaches in robotics for building space representations appropriate for communicating with humans. The data consist of omnidirectional images, laser range scans, sonar readings, and robot odometry. A set of base-level human spatial concepts is used to annotate the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the problem of approximating a finite-length continuous curve by a piecewise linear one whose segments are assumed to be connected by 2 DOE joints. We solve the problem under the assumption that the endpoints of the line segments lie on the continuous curve. Analytical expressions for the relative orientations of each pair of line segments as a function of a single rotational DOE are found. This angle can be chosen arbitrarily or used to optimize a secondary task. The motivating application for this paper is the control of a snake-like robot using gaits designed from shape primitives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the application of a piezoelectric stack actuator for vibration control in a large-scale robotic manipulator, called a macromanipulator, is studied. In this regard, mechanical design and mathematical modeling of the actuator are discussed. The structural flexibility of the macromanipulator includes deflection and torsional vibration modes. The vibration modes are detected using appropriate sensor attachments. Furthermore, a nominal transfer function matrix between the input signals to the actuators and the output voltages of the sensors is obtained. A closed-loop controller based on the obtained model is designed. Because of the presence of deflection and torsional vibration modes and model uncertainties resulting from manipulator motion, an H∞ robust controller is utilized. Experimental results are presented to validate the robustness and performance of the designed controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an approach to the modeling and control of multiagent populations composed of a large number of agents. The complexity of population modeling is avoided by assuming a stochastic approach, under which the agent distribution over the state space is modeled. The dynamics of the state probability density functions is determined, and a control problem of maximizing the probability of robotic presence in a given region is introduced. The Minimum Principle for the optimal control of partial differential equations is exploited to solve this problem, and it is applied to the mission control of a simulated large robotic population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a straightforward static elastic model of a hemispherical soft fingertip undergoing large contact deformation, as occurs when robotic hands with the fingertips handle and manipulate objects, which is suitable for the analysis of soft-fingered manipulation because of the simple form of the model. We focus on formulating elastic force and potential energy equations for the deformation of the fingers which are represented as an infinite number of virtual springs standing vertically. The equations are functions of two variables: the maximum displacement of the hemispherical fingertip and the orientation angle of a contacting planar object. The elastic potential energy has a local minimum in our model. The elastic model was validated by comparison with results of a compression test of the hemispherical soft fingertip. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a device to assist persons with hemiparesis to walk by reducing or eliminating the effects of gravity. The design of the device includes the following features: 1) it is passive, i.e., it does not include motors or actuators, but is only composed of links and springs; 2) it is safe and has a simple patient-machine interface to accommodate variability in geometry and inertia of the subjects. A number of methods have been pro- posed in the literature to gravity-balance a machine. Here, we use a hybrid method to achieve gravity balancing of a human leg over its range of motion. In the hybrid method, a mechanism is used to first locate the center of mass of the human limb and the orthosis. Springs are then added so that the system is gravity-balanced in every configuration. For a quantitative evaluation of the performance of the device, electromyographic (EMG) data of the key muscles, involved in the motion of the leg, were collected and analyzed. Further experiments involving leg-raising and walking tasks were performed, where data from encoders and force-torque sensors were used to compute joint torques. These experiments were performed on five healthy subjects and a stroke patient. The results showed that the EMG activity from the rectus femoris and hamstring muscles with the device was reduced by 75%, during static hip and knee flexion, respectively. For leg-raising tasks, the average torque for static positioning was reduced by 66.8% at the hip joint and 47.3% at the knee joint; however, if we include the transient portion of the leg-raising task, the average torque at the hip was reduced by 61.3%, and at the knee was increased by 2.7% at the knee joints. In the walking experiment, there was a positive impact on the range of movement at the hip and knee joints, especially for the stroke patient: the range of movement increased by 45% at the hip joint and by 85% at the knee joint. We believe that this orthosis can be potentially used to design rehabilitation protocols for patients with stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a simple control design allowing a mobile robot equipped with a camera to track a line on the ground. The control algorithm, as well as the image-processing algorithm, are very simple. We discuss the existence and the practical stability of an equilibrium trajectory of the robot when tracking a circular reference line. We then give a complementary analysis for arbitrary reference lines with bounded curvature. Experimental results confirm the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers multiple-contact arrangements where several bodies grasp, fixture, or support an object via frictional point contacts. Within a strictly rigid-body modeling paradigm, when an external wrench (i.e., force and torque) acts on the object, the reaction forces at the contacts are typically indeterminate and span an unbounded linear space. This paper analyzes the contact reaction forces within a generalized quasi-rigid-body framework that keeps the desirable geometric properties of rigid-body modeling, while also including more realistic physical effects. We describe two basic principles that govern the contact mechanics of quasi-rigid bodies. The main result is that for any given external wrench acting on a quasi-rigid object, the statically feasible contact reaction forces lie in a bounded polyhedral set that depends on the external wrench, the grasp's geometry, and the preload forces. Moreover, the bound does not depend upon any detailed knowledge of the contact mechanics parameters. When some knowledge of the parameters is available, the bound can be sharpened. The polyhedral bound is useful for ‘robust’ grasp and fixture synthesis. Given a set of external wrenches that may act upon an object, the grasp's geometry and preload forces can be chosen such that all of these external wrenches would be automatically supported by the contacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By judiciously selecting the admittance of a manipulator, the forces of contact that occur during assembly can be used to guide the parts to proper positioning. This paper identifies conditions for selecting the appropriate spatial admittance to achieve reliable force-guided assembly of polyhedral parts for cases in which a single feature (vertex, edge, or face) of one part contacts a single feature of the other, i.e., all single principal contact cases. These conditions ensure that the motion that results from frictionless contact always instantaneously reduces part misalignment. We show that, for bounded misalignments, if an admittance satisfies the misalignment-reducing conditions at a finite number of contact configurations, then the admittance will also satisfy the conditions at all intermediate configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collision detection and avoidance are important in robotics. Compared with commonly used circular disks, elliptic disks provide a more compact shape representation for robots or other vehicles confined to move in the plane. Furthermore, elliptic disks allow a simpler analytic representation than rectangular boxes, which makes it easier to perform continuous collision detection (CCD). We shall present a fast and accurate method for CCD between two moving elliptic disks, which avoids any need to sample the time domain of the motion, thus avoiding the possibility of missing collisions between time samples. Based on some new algebraic conditions on the separation of two ellipses, we reduce collision detection for two moving ellipses to the problem of detecting real roots of a univariate equation, which is the discriminant of the characteristic polynomial of the two ellipses. Several techniques are investigated for robust and accurate processing of this univariate equation for two classes of commonly used motions: planar cycloidal motions and planar rational motions. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency, accuracy, and robustness of our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies the properties of a sinusoidally vibrating wedge billiard as a model for 2-D bounce juggling. It is shown that some periodic orbits that are unstable in the elastic fixed wedge become exponentially stable in the nonelastic vibrating wedge. These orbits are linked with certain classical juggling patterns, providing an interesting benchmark for the study of the frequency-locking properties in human rhythmic tasks. Experimental results on sensorless stabilization of juggling patterns are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parallel mechanisms frequently possess an unstable type of singularity that has no counterpart in serial mechanisms. When the mechanism is at or near this type of singularity, it loses the ability to counteract external forces in certain directions. The determination of unstable singular configurations in parallel robots is challenging, and in the past, has been tackled by exhaustive numerical searches of the mechanism workspace using an accurate analytical model of the mechanism kinematics. This paper considers the singularity-determination problem from a geometric perspective for n-legged spatial parallel mechanisms. By using the constraints on the passive joint velocities, a necessary condition for an unstable singularity is derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-precision motion of parallel manipulators depends not only on the position accuracy of each actuator, but also on the position synchronization of all actuators. This paper presents a simple synchronized control algorithm for the setpoint position control of parallel manipulators, by incorporating cross-coupling technology into a common proportional-derivative (PD) control architecture. An integrated controller is developed, consisting of a PD control and a saturated proportional-integral (S-PI) control with feedback of the differential position errors amongst actuators (defined as the synchronization errors). The controller can stabilize the motion of each actuator, and meanwhile synchronize all actuators' motionsso that both position and synchronization errors converge to zero. The control algorithm does not use the modeling parameters in the controller formulation, and thus permits easy implementation in practice. It is proved that the proposed method can guarantee global asymptotical stability of the system. Experiments conducted on a planar three-degree-of-freedom parallel manipulator demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coverage path planning determines a path that passes a robot, a detector, or some type of effector over all points in the environment. Prior work in coverage tends to fall into one of two extremes: coverage with an effector the same size of the robot, and coverage with an effector that has infinite range. In this paper, we consider coverage in the middle of this spectrum: coverage with a detector range that goes beyond the robot, and yet is still finite in range. We achieve coverage in two steps: The first step considers vast, open spaces, where the robot can use the full range of its detector; the robot covers these spaces as if it were as big as its detector range. Here we employ previous work in using Morse cell decompositions to cover unknown spaces. A cell in this decomposition can be covered via simple back-and-forth motions, and coverage of the vast space is then reduced to ensuring that the robot visits each cell in the vast space. The second step considers the narrow or cluttered spaces where obstacles lie within detector range, and thus the detector "fills" the surrounding area. In this case, the robot can cover the cluttered space by simply following the generalized Voronoi diagram (GYD) of that space. In this paper, we introduce a hierarchical decomposition that combines the Morse decompositions and the GYDs to ensure that the robot indeed visits all vast, open, as well as narrow, cluttered, spaces. We show how to construct this decomposition online with sensor data that is accumulated while the robot enters the environment for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a detailed design description and technical testing results of a device for studying motor learning and rehabilitation of human locomotion. The device makes use of linear motors and a parallel mechanism to achieve a wide dynamic force bandwidth as it interacts with the leg during treadmill stepping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a velocity field tracking-control scheme with proportional integral force feedback to transport and manipulate deformable material with a mobile manipulator. We assume that the deformable object is a damped underactuated mechanical system. The input-to-state stability properties of its zero dynamics are used to derive bounds on the admissible end-effector velocities and accelerations. It is shown both analytically and in simulation that using deformation feedback, we can avoid exciting excessive object deformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the tolerance design of a two-degree-of- freedom translational parallel robot module for high-speed pick-and-place operations. The module is an overconstrained parallel mechanism using two sets of parallelograms in each limb. A probabilistic model of the uncompensatable pose error is formulated, together with a compatibility condition to ensure the mobility of the robot. Based upon this model, optimization of the tolerances of the geometric source errors and joint clearances is conducted, subject to a set of appropriate constraints. Simulation and experimental results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contains two main results. First, we revisit the well-known visibility-based pursuit-evasion problem, and show that in contrast to deterministic strategies, a single pursuer can locate an unpredictable evader in any simply connected polygonal environment, using a randomized strategy. The evader can be arbitrarily faster than the pursuer, and it may know the position of the pursuer at all times, but it does not have prior knowledge of the random decisions made by the pursuer. Second, using the randomized algorithm, together with the solution to a problem called the "lion and man problem" as subroutines, we present a strategy for two pursuers (one of which is at least as fast as the evader) to quickly capture an evader in a simply connected polygonal environment. We show how this strategy can be extended to obtain a strategy for a polygonal room with a door, two pursuers who have only line-of-sight communication, and a single pursuer (at the expense of increased capture time). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new minimum-distance tracking algorithm is presented for moving convex bodies represented using tiled-together parametric surface patches. The algorithm is formulated by differentiating the geometric minimization problem with respect to time. This produces a hybrid dynamical system that incorporates dependence on rigid body motion, surface shape, and surface boundary interconnectedness. The minimum distance between a pair of previously identified closest features is found by feedback stabilizing the dynamical equations and numerically solving the resulting closed-loop system equations. Maintenance of the minimum distance and the associated closest points during motion is achieved through the action of a feedforward controller and a switching algorithm. The feedforward controller simultaneously accounts for surface shape and motion while the switching controller triggers updates to the extremal feature pair when extremal points on one body cross between Voronoi regions of the other body. In contrast to previously available minimum distance determination algorithms, attractive properties of the new algorithm include a means of determining the highest gain K that maintains stability under a given discretization scheme and a large and easily characterized bat of attraction of the stabilized closest points. These properties may be used to achieve higher computational efficiency. Simulation results are presented for various planar and spatial systems composed of a body and point or composed of two bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development of a novel active visual measurement technique, laterally sampled white-light interferometry (L-SWLI), which is capable of real-time visual tracking of six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) rigid body motion with near-nanometer precision. The visual tracking system is integrated with a 6-DOF motion stage to realize an ultraprecision six-axis visual servo-control system. Contrary to conventional interferometric techniques, L-SWLI obtains the complete pose of the target object from a single image frame, therefore allowing real-time tracking. Six-DOF motions are obtained from measuring the fringe pattern on multiple surfaces of the object or from a single surface with additional information gained from conventional image-processing techniques. The feasibility of the visually servoed motion scheme was demonstrated on a micro cantilever. The cantilever was maneuvered in a three-dimensional space with near-nanometer motion resolution in all three translational axes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new method is presented for motion planning in dynamic environments, that is, finding a trajectory for a robot in a scene consisting of both static and dynamic, moving obstacles. We propose a practical algorithm based on a roadmap that is created for the static part of the scene. On this roadmap, an approximately time-optimal trajectory from a start to a goal configuration is computed, such that the robot does not collide with any moving obstacle. The trajectory is found by performing a two-level search for a shortest path. On the local level, trajectories on single edges of the roadmap are found using a depth-first search on an implicit grid in state-time space. On the global level, these local trajectories are coordinated using an A*-search to find a global trajectory to the goal configuration. The approach is applicable to any robot type in configuration spaces with any dimension, and the motions of the dynamic obstacles are unconstrained, as tong as they are known beforehand. The approach has been implemented for both free-flying and articulated robots in three-dimensional workspaces, and it has been applied to multirobot motion planning, as well. Experiments show that the method achieves interac tive performance in complex environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the problem of position-tracking adaptive control for planar robotic manipulators through visual servoing under a fixed-camera configuration. The uncertain parameters enter through two separate channels: 1) through the robot dynamics in terms of constant linearly appearing Inertia values and 2) nonlinearly appearing camera calibration parameters such as the camera orientation angle and scale factor uncertainties. The associated adaptive control problem is challenged by the presence of the nonlinearly appearing uncertain camera-calibration parameters. We provide a novel solution to this problem by constructing two layers of control structures. To be specific, the inner layer is a conventional certainty-equivalence adaptive controller that stabilizes the faster robot dynamics, whereas the outer layer is a novel controller structure that is designed to handle the nonlinear parameterizations within the slower dynamics of the vision system. We prove global stability and boundedness for all of the closed-loop signals of the cascade interconnection under the relatively standard assumption of Jacobian nonsingularity. If the control objective is set-point regulation, we guarantee global asymptotic convergence for the tracking errors. On the other hand, if the desired trajectory is time-varying, we show that the closed-loop tracking errors under the action of the proposed controller converge to a residual set whose size is determined by the speed of the desired trajectory. Furthermore, we show that the size of this residual error set can be made arbitrarily small by appropriate choice of certain parameters within the controller structure. In contrast with other solutions for this problem that are documented in existing literature, we completely avoid overparameterizations and make no restrictions on the possible range of the camera orientation angle or any additional persistence of excitation requirements. The only piece of prior knowledge required for our solution is the availability of a lower bound on the camera scale factor. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is illustrated through numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The control issue of underwater robots is very challenging due to the nonlinearity, time variance, unpredictable external disturbances, such as the sea current fluctuation, and the difficulty in accurately modeling the hydrodynamic effect. Conventional linear controllers may fail in satisfying performance requirements, especially when changes in the system and environment occur during the operation since it is almost impossible to manually retune the control parameters in water. Therefore, it is highly desirable to have an underwater robot controller capable of self-adjusting control parameters when the overall performance degrades. This paper presents the theory and experimental work of the adaptive plus disturbance observer (ADOB) controller for underwater robots, which is robust with respect to external disturbance and uncertainties in the system. This control scheme consists of disturbance observer (DOB) as the inner-loop controller and a nonregressor based adaptive controller as the outer-loop con troller. The effectiveness of the ADOB was experimentally investigated by implementing three controllers: PID, PID plus DOB, and ADOB on an autonomous underwater robot, ODIN III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most studies on adaptive coordination of multi-robot systems assume exact knowledge of system kinematics and deal only with dynamic uncertainties. However, many industrial applications involve tasks in which a multirobot system interacts with geometrically unknown environments. In this paper, we consider a multi-robot system grasping a rigid object in contact with a gee. metrically unknown surface. The proposed adaptive hybrid force-motion controller guarantees asymptotic tracking of desired motion and force trajectories while ensuring exact identification of constraint Jacobian matrix without persistency of excitation condition. The control signal is smooth and does not depend on contact force derivative. The proposed adaptive controller is robustified against environmental friction and nonparametric uncertainty. in environment geometry. Simulation examples are presented to illustrate the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the enhanced stiffness modeling and analysis of robot manipulators, and a methodology for their stiffness identification and characterization. Assuming that the manipulator links are infinitely stiff, the enhanced stiffness model contains: 1) the passive and active stiffness of the joints and 2) the active stiffness created by the change in the manipulator configuration, and by external force vector acting upon the manipulator end point. The stiffness formulation not accounting for the latter is known as conventional stiffness formulation, which is obviously not complete and is valid only when: 1) the manipulator is in an unloaded quasistatic configuration and 2) the manipulator Jacobian matrix is constant throughout the workspace. The experimental system considered in this study is a Motoman SK 120 robot manipulator with a closed-chain mechanism. While the deflection of the manipulator end point under a range of external forces is provided by a high precision laser measurement system, a wrist force/torque sensor measures the external forces. Based on the experimental data and the enhanced stiffness model, the joint stiffness values are first identified. These stiffness values are then used to prove that conventional stiffness modeling is incomplete. Finally, they are employed to characterize stiffness properties of the robot manipulator. It has been found that although the component of the stiffness matrix differentiating the enhanced stiffness model from the conventional one is not always positive definite, the resulting stiffness matrix can still be positive definite. This follows that stability of the stiffness matrix is not influenced by this stiffness component. This study contributes to the previously reported work from the point of view of using the enhanced stiffness model for stiffness identification, verification and characterization, and of new experimental results proving that the conventional stiffness matrix is not complete and is valid under certain assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of a microtunneling robot to be driven along a projected line is strongly dependent on the skill of the operator. The heading control of the driving machine is the key to achieving an autonomous navigation system. This paper presents a design scheme for models to describe driving machine turning behavior of an articulated micto-tunneling robot. Two types of model are introduced based on the offline analysis of a driving data obtained at an actual construction site: a model with a head motion constraint and a model with a rear end motion constraint. Simulation results are provided, in which a Kalman filter is applied to the models to verify the online state estimation performance obtained using the driving data, and the two models are compared in terms of their estimation and prediction errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In assembly tasks performed by coordinated multiple robots, the contact force at the end-effector of each robot should be a function of the states of all the robots, and further be a function of the control inputs when subject to rigid constraints. After a discussion on the algebraic loop issue caused by using direct force cancellation, an adaptive synchronization control algorithm is proposed in this paper, which particularly addresses the dual-arm case subject to both flexible and rigid constraints. Extension of the result to the multiple-arm case is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a method of generating a three-dimensional (3-D) geometric model for large-scale natural environments with trees is presented. The environment mapping method, which uses range images as measurement data, consists of three main phases. First, geometric feature objects are extracted from each of the range images. Second, the relative coordinate transformations (i.e., registrations) between the sensor viewpoint locations, where the range data are measured, are computed. Third, an integrated map is formed by transforming the submap data into a common frame of reference. Tree trunks visible in the range images are modeled with cylinder segments and utilized as reference features for registration computation. The final integrated 3-D model consists of the cylinder segments representing the visible sections of the tree trunks, as well as of the ground elevation data. The constructed environment map can be utilized as, for example, a virtual task environment for outdoor robotic machines such as new-generation forest working machines or service robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a detailed look at how unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) fail in the field using information from 10 studies and 15 different models in Urban Search and Rescue or military field applications. One explores failures encountered in a limited amount of time in a real crisis (World Trade Center rescue response). Another covers regular use of 13 robots over two years. The remaining eight studies are field tests of robots performed by the Test and Evaluation Coordination Office at Fort Leonard Wood. A novel taxonomy of UGV failures is presented which categorizes failures based on the cause (physical or human), its impact, and its repairability. Important statistics are derived and illustrative examples of physical failures are examined using this taxonomy. Reliability in field environments is low, between 6 and 20 hours mean time between failures. For example, during the PANTHER study (F. Cook, 1997) 35 failures occurred in 32 days. The primary cause varies: one study showed 50% of failures caused by effectors; another study showed 54% of failures occurred in the control system. Common causes are: unstable con- trol systems, platforms designed for a narrow range of conditions, limited wireless communication range, and insufficient bandwidth for video-based feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the problem of exploring an unknown environment with a team Of robots. As in single-robot exploration the goal is to minimize the overall exploration time. The key problem to be solved in the context of multiple robots is to choose appropriate target points for the individual robots so that they simultaneously explore different regions of the environment. We present an approach for the coordination of multiple robots, which simultaneously takes into account the cost of reaching a target point and its utility. Whenever a target point is assigned to a specific robot, the utility of the unexplored area visible from this target position is reduced. In this way, different target locations arc assigned to the individual robots. We furthermore describe how our algorithm can be extended to situations in which the communication range of the robots is limited. Our technique has been implemented and tested extensively in real-world experiments and simulation runs. The results demonstrate that our technique effectively distributes the robots over the environment and allows them to quickly accomplish their mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Static collision checking amounts to testing a given configuration of objects for overlaps. In contrast, the goal of adynamic checking is to determine whether all configurations along a continuous path are collision-free. While there exist effective methods for static collision detection, dynamic checking still lacks methods that are both reliable and efficient A common approach is to sample paths at some fixed, prespecified resolution and statically test each sampled configuration. But this approach is not guaranteed to detect collision whenever one occurs, and trying to increase its reliability by refining the sampling resolution along the entire path results in slow checking. This paper introduces a new method for testing path segments in c-space or collections of such segments, that is both reliable and efficient. This method locally adjusts the sampling resolution by comparing lower bounds on distances between objects in relative motion with upper bounds on lengths of curves traced by points of these moving objects. Several additional techniques and heuristics increase the checker's efficiency in scenarios with many moving objects (e.g., articulated arms and/or multiple robots) and high geometric complexity. The new method is general, but particularly well suited for use in probabilistic roadmap (PRM) planners, where it is critical to determine as quickly as possible whether given path segments collide, or not. Extensive tests, in particular on randomly generated path segments and on multisegment paths produced by PRM planners, show that the new method compares favorably with a fixed-resolution approach at "suitable" resolution, with the enormous advantage that it never fails to detect collision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given some geometric elements such as points and lines in R³, subject to a set of pairwise distance constraints, the problem tackled in this paper is that of finding all possible configurations of these elements that satisfy the constraints. Many problems in robotics (such as the position analysis of serial and parallel manipulators) and CAD/CAM (such as the interactive placement of objects) can be formulated in this way. The strategy herein proposed consists of looking for some of the a priori unknown distances, whose derivation permits solving the problem rather trivially. Finding these distances relies on a branch-and-prune technique, which iteratively eliminates from the space of distances entire regions which cannot contain any solution. This elimination is accomplished by applying redundant necessary conditions derived from the theory of distance geometry. The experimental results qualify this approach as a promising one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]