Sharif Digital Repository

This book provides a comprehensive presentation of issues and challenges faced by researchers and practicing engineers in motion planning and hybrid control of dynamical legged locomotion. The major features range from offline and online motion planning algorithms to generate desired feasible periodic walking and running motions and tow-level control schemes, including within-stride feedback laws, continuous time update laws and event-based update laws, to asymptotically stabilize the generated desired periodic orbits. This book describes the current state of the art and future directions across all domains of dynamical legged locomotion so that readers can extend proposed motion planning... 

This paper presents an optimal control strategy for optimal trajectory planning of mobile robots by considering nonlinear dynamic model and nonholonomic constraints of the system. The nonholonomic constraints of the system are introduced by a nonintegrable set of differential equations which represent kinematic restriction on the motion. The Lagrange's principle is employed to derive the nonlinear equations of the system. Then, the optimal path planning of the mobile robot is formulated as an optimal control problem. To set up the problem, the nonlinear equations of the system are assumed as constraints, and a minimum energy objective function is defined. To solve the problem, an indirect... 

This paper presents an effective approach for kinematic and dynamic modeling of high mobility Wheeled Mobile Robots (WMR). As an example of these robots, the method has been applied to the CEDRA rescue robot, which is a complex, multibody mechanism. The model is derived for 6-DOF motions, enabling movements in x, y and z directions, as well as for roll, pitch and yaw rotations. Forward kinematics equations are derived using the Denavit-Hartenberg method and Jacobian matrices for the wheels. Moreover, the inverse kinematics of the robot are obtained and solved for the wheel velocities and steering commands, in terms of the desired velocity, heading and measured link angles. Finally, the... 

A 3D dynamic model with 3 segments and 5 degrees of freedom (DOF) was developed to simulate the gait of a paraplegic patient while wearing a rigid orthosis. The equations of motion were formulated based on Denavit-Hartenberg notation and solved using a combined forward-inverse dynamics approach assuming locked knees, passive hips and actuated pelvis joints. Results showed that the model could take a single step in response to a sinusoidal motion applied to the pelvis joints. It was concluded that a paraplegic patient is able to walk with proper immobilization of the paralyzed joints and appropriate maneuver of the trunk, without the need to a propulsion supply from hands through crutches  

It is a great challenge for the universities to present undergraduate students the fundamental knowledge needed to develop intelligent unstable robots. Due to the inherent instability and nonholonomic constraints, the problem of two-wheeled inverted pendulum (TWIP) mobile robot is appealing and challenging case in control and dynamic systems. In this paper, an approach is presented to introduce undergraduate students of the control engineering, the principle of developing a. TWIP mobile robot. For this purpose, a. conceptual design algorithm for TWIP robots is contributed and based on the algorithm and the design criteria, a. prototype of the robot is constructed. In the construction... 

In this paper we present a novel planar structure of a snake-like robot. This structure enables passive locomotion in snake-like robots through an auxiliary link in joint and a torsional spring. Dynamic equations are derived, using Gibbs-Appell method. Kinematic model of the robot include numerous non-holonomic constraints, which can be omitted at the beginning by choosing proper coordinates to describe the model in Gibbs-Appell framework. In such a case, dynamic equations will be significantly simplified, resulting in significant reduction of simulation time. Simulation results show that, by proper selecting initial conditions, joint angles operate in a limit cycle and robot can locomote... 

In this paper a technique for autonomous navigation of mobile robots is presented. The most important advantage of this method is to ignore the physical model of the robot and that the robot model is considered as an unknown but predictable system. This approach can be executed in environments which robot navigation is done using global sensors e.g. a camera installed in the environment to sense and control the robot and also every feedback system which is able to measure the velocity of the robot can be used for this technique. In this approach, the well-known fuzzy method, Takagi-Sugeno, has been applied to estimate the dynamic model of robot. Our technique has been applied successfully in... 

This paper attempts to give a perspective on decentralized formation control of multiple car-like mobile robots using local information and formation changes in a dynamic environment having several obstacles. In addition, for every mobile robot, it takes physical dimensions, mass, moment of inertia, movement constraints, and saturation of actuators into account. This study makes use of Input/Output Feedback Linearization Method to control each robot. Hence, hierarchical leader-follower based algorithm is employed to control the group formation. To avoid collision between robots and obstacles, and of robots with each other, local artificial potential fields are addressed. The group can change... 

This paper proposes a globally and exponentially convergent predictive observer for attitude and position estimation based on landmark measurements and velocity (angular and linear) readings. It is assumed that landmark measurements are available with time-delay. The maximum value of the sensor delay under which the estimation error converges to zero is calculated. Synthesis of the observer is based on a representation of rigid-body kinematics and sensor delay, formulated via ordinary and partial differential equations (ODE-PDE). Observability condition specifies necessary and sufficient landmark configuration for convergence of attitude and position estimation error to zero. Finally, for... 

This paper proposes a globally and exponentially convergent predictive observer for attitude and position estimation based on landmark measurements and velocity (angular and linear) readings. It is assumed that landmark measurements are available with time-delay. The maximum value of the sensor delay under which the estimation error converges to zero is calculated. Synthesis of the observer is based on a representation of rigid-body kinematics and sensor delay, formulated via ordinary and partial differential equations (ODE-PDE). Observability condition specifies necessary and sufficient landmark configuration for convergence of attitude and position estimation error to zero. Finally, for... 

No-one likes being confined to a hospital bed. Children particularly can feel lonely, bored or frightened in these conditions. Hours feel like days, and they may not be able to fully comprehend why they are there. Among kids hospitalized because of distinct diseases, children with cancer have incomparable status and needs. They experience physical and mental problems caused by cancer and medications. Cancer treatment may cause distress which can lessen the effectiveness of the treatment. Utilizing social robots to interact with children in clinical environments has been verified to both diminish their distress level and enhance the effectiveness of the treatment process. To improve the... 

In this paper, a mobile manipulator is developed and studied in order to manipulate the complicated objects and navigate in an indoor environment. The arm consists of an actuator that makes the first linkage to move in two degrees of freedom in the first step of the task. In the next mode of the task, another actuator causes the second linkage to move in the third degree of freedom. In addition, the arm contains a gripper that grabs a variety of objects such as a screw. Therefore, the robotic arm can manipulate objects, and the mobile robot connected to the arm can detect, classify and track targets in its surrounding. Results carried out that the manufactured robot is able to manipulate and... 

This paper presents a computationally effective trajectory generation algorithm for omni-directional mobile robots. This method uses the Voronoi diagram to find a sketchy path that keeps away from obstacles and then smooths this path with a novel use of Bezier curves. This method determines velocity magnitude of a robot along the curved path to meet optimality conditions and dynamic constrains using Newton method. The proposed algorithm has been implemented on real robots, and experimental results in different environments are presented. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007  

In this paper, we introduce a new method and new motion variables to study kinematics and dynamics of a 6 d.o.f cable-driven robot. Using these new variables and Lagrange equations, we achieve new equations of motion which are different in appearance and several aspects from conventional equations usually used to study 6 d.o.f cable robots. Then, we introduce a new Jacobian matrix which expresses kinematical relations of the robot via a new approach and is basically different from the conventional Jacobian matrix. One of the important characteristics of the new method is computational efficiency in comparison with the conventional method. It is demonstrated that using the new method instead... 

Once the path of the vehicle and the desired task of the end-effector are predefined, in order to apply the optimal stability criterion, the manipulator should be redundant. In this paper, the goal is to find the position, angular velocity, and angular acceleration of the redundant link of the manipulator such that the entire system becomes optimally stable. By considering the full dynamic interaction between the manipulator and its vehicle, the stability issue becomes more complex. There are some measures of stability and one of them is the tire's upward force. This measure tries to equalize the upward forces of the tires that lead to optimal stability and better steer-ability. Optimizing... 

Wall walking robots are designed for different purposes, rescue operations, wall inspections and jobs such as painting and cleaning and fire fighting for tall buildings. These are some cases that these types of robots are extensively used. This paper describes a design of a new serial mechanism for wall climbing job. In deed we are seeking to define a minimum degree of freedom mechanism to be applied in a robot moving vertically on a surface. This mechanism has 5 links, but at any point it works with its 4 links, actually in each cycle of motion the linkage will be interchanged. Copyright © 2006 by ASME  

Vehicle localization and environment mapping are the most essential parts of the robot navigation in unknown environments. Since the problem of localization in indoor environments is directly related to the problem of online map generation, in this paper a new and efficient algorithm for simultaneous localization and map generation is proposed and novel results for real environments are achieved. This new algorithm interprets and validates the raw sonar measurements in first step, and applies them to the environment map in the next step. There are various adjustable parameters which make the algorithm flexible for different sonar types. This algorithm is efficient and is robust to sonar... 

This paper describes a nursing robot system currently under development at the Center of Excellence in Design, Robotics and Automation. Our goal was to design and fabricate of a robot specifically for paraplegic patients and the design procedure led to a plan which can be employed in any hospital environment. Through the design procedure, the team members conducted a survey on the robot client's needs and disabilities which provided a unique view on mechanical design features, in addition to, performing dynamical analysis on the designed mechanisms. Dynamical Simulation of mechanisms helped us to find the best design and solutions as well as optimization of parts has resulted in a matchless... 

This paper presents a modified sensor-based online method for mobile robot navigation generating paths in dynamic environments. The core of the navigation algorithm is based on the velocity obstacle avoidance method and the guidance-based tracking algorithm. A fuzzy decision maker is designed to combine the two mentioned algorithms intelligently. Hence the robot will be able to decide intelligently in various situations when facing the moving obstacles and moving target. A noble noise cancellation algorithm using Neural Network is designed to navigate the robot in an uncertain dynamic environment safely. The results show that the robot can track a moving target while maneuvering safely in...