Search

Control inputs of fully constrained cable-driven parallel robots (CDPRs) are constrained by the positiveness of the cables tension, as cables merely apply tensile forces. The positive tension distribution (PTD) in CDPRs is usually guaranteed with iterative optimization techniques, utilizing the redundant actuation of the CDPR. The iterative nature of the conventional PTD limits their real-time application since the worst-case computation time of the iterative methods is not predictable. In addition, optimization methods are prone to model uncertainties. This article addresses the PTD problem in the fully constrained CDPRs with a control viewpoint. In the proposed approach, the PTD algorithm is an integral part of the controller, which explicitly generates positive values for the cables tension. To this aim, a saturation-type function is coupled with the controller, and its effect is compensated using a nonlinear disturbance observer. The stability of the proposed control scheme is also investigated in detail through Lyapunov’s second method, considering a nonsingular terminal sliding mode controller. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed methodology is compared with the conventional method for a six-degrees-of-freedom CDPR, in the presence of uncertainties. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is investigated through experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a risk-aware motion control scheme is considered for mobile robots to avoid randomly moving obstacles when the true probability distribution of uncertainty is unknown. We propose a novel model-predictive control (MPC) method for limiting the risk of unsafety even when the true distribution of the obstacles’ movements deviates, within an ambiguity set, from the empirical distribution obtained using a limited amount of sample data. By choosing the ambiguity set as a statistical ball with its radius measured by the Wasserstein metric, we achieve a probabilistic guarantee of the out-of-sample risk, evaluated using new sample data generated independently of the training data. To resolve the infinite-dimensionality issue inherent in the distributionally robust MPC problem, we reformulate it as a finite-dimensional nonlinear program using modern distributionally robust optimization techniques based on the Kantorovich duality principle. To find a globally optimal solution in the case of affine dynamics and output equations, a spatial branch-and-bound algorithm is designed using McCormick relaxation. The performance of the proposed method is demonstrated and analyzed through simulation studies using nonlinear dynamic and kinematic vehicle models and a linearized quadrotor model. The simulation results indicate that, even when the sample size is small, the proposed method can successfully avoid randomly moving obstacles with a guarantee of out-of-sample risk, while its sample average approximation counterpart fails to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]