Sharif Digital Repository

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, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) has been used to identify the dynamics of robots used in haptic and master slave devices in order to improve transparency. In haptic and master slave devices, transparency depends on some factors such as robot's mass and inertia, gravitational forces and friction [1]. In such systems, mass and inertia of the robot has an undesirable effect on the system outputs, which should be neutralized for improved transparency. The main purpose of this paper introducting a method to neutralize the undesirable effects of mass and inertia of the robot. A recurrent multilayer perceptron (RMLP) is used in a way that the inputs and outputs of the neural network... 

In this paper, we try to show that it is possible to deal with biped locomotion as a dynamic object manipulation problem. We show that during locomotion, a biped locomotion can be seen as manipulating of upper part of biped robot using a leg, which now plays the role of a manipulator. So the whole locomotion process can be seen as a dynamic manipulation of an object (upper part of a biped robot) using a numerous series of manipulators each of which placed in a proper place where the object tends to land, so it catches the object and throws it to the next point which another manipulator waits for catching it. The authors in the previous works have explored the problem of dynamic manipulation... 

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... 

Single wheel robots are typically those kinds of robots which contain all the necessary mechanizations, namely the stabilization and driving mechanizations, within a shell-liked housing appearing analogous to a wheel. These robots have proved to be useful in various fields of industry due to their advantages of giving high instant acceleration and maintaining high cruise speeds for considerable amount of time in addition to being compact and small. It is a sharp-edged wheel actuated by a spinning flywheel for steering and a drive motor for propulsion. The spinning flywheel acts as a gyroscope to stabilize the robot and it can be tilted to achieve steering. In this paper first the kinematics... 

This paper presents evolutionary methods for optimization in dynamic mobile robot path planning. In dynamic mobile path planning, the goal is to find an optimal feasible path from starting point to target point with various obstacles, as well as smoothness and safety in the proposed path. Pattern search (PS) algorithm, Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) are used to find an optimal path for mobile robots to reach to target point with obstacle avoidance. For showing the success of the proposed method, first they are applied to two different paths with a dynamic environment in obstacles. The first results show that the PSO algorithms are converged and minimizethe... 

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... 

In recent years the development of Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) techniques have enabled social robots to autonomously navigate in routine human workplaces. However, most common SLAM techniques are developed for mapping and localization in static worlds. In this paper, we have developed and analyzed a novel augmentation of the FastSLAM algorithm, including a person tracking module using 2D LiDAR sensor data. Utilizing this module, the SLAM algorithm is capable of filtering measurements coming from walking people who produce noises due to their intrinsic dynamic and unstableness. This augmentation was developed and then tested on our socially assistive mobile robot platform,... 

Dynamic modeling is a fundamental step in analyzing the movement of any mechanical system. Methods for dynamical modeling of constrained systems have been widely developed to improve the accuracy and minimize computational cost during simulations. The necessity to satisfy constraint equations as well as the equations of motion makes it more critical to use numerical techniques that are successful in decreasing the number of computational operations and numerical errors for complex dynamical systems. In this study, performance of a variant of Kane's method compared to six different techniques based on the Lagrange's equations is shown. To evaluate the performance of the mentioned methods,... 

Offline procedures for estimating parameters of robot dynamics are practically based on the parameterized inverse dynamic model. In this paper, we present a novel approach to parameter estimation of robot dynamics which removes the necessity of parameterization (i.e. finding the minimum number of parameters from which the dynamics can be calculated through a linear model with respect to these parameters). This offline approach is based on a simple and powerful swarm intelligence tool: the particle swarm optimization (PSO). In this paper, we discuss and validate the method through simulated experiments. In "Part Two" we analyze our method in terms of robustness and compare it to robust... 

In this paper, dynamic modeling and dynamic sensitivity analysis of an n-revolute planar serial robot are investigated. First, a dynamic modeling algorithm is proposed which is based on the concept of the so-called Natural Orthogonal Complement. The main goal of this algorithm consists in deriving the corresponding dynamic equations of a planar serial manipulator systematically. As a comparison study, 3-DOF a planar serial manipulator is modeled and the results of the proposed algorithm is compared with other methods, i.e., Newton-Euler, Lagrange-Euler, Adams software and an Open Dynamics Engine, the so-called MatODE. Then, in order to develop a dynamic sensitivity analysis scheme, Sobol's... 

This study presents a method for global estimation of joint velocities in robotic manipulators. The authors consider a non-minimal model of a robotic manipulator and design an adaptive observer capable of handling uncertainties in robot dynamics. Smoothness of the dynamics of the proposed observer allows its easy implementation in comparison with non-smooth observers. Dimension of the proposed observer is shown to be at least 3n where n stands for the manipulator's degrees of freedom. This number is less than the dimension of most existing globally convergent adaptive observers. Global asymptotic convergence of state estimates to their true values is achieved under no persistency of... 

We present a method for global estimation of joint velocities in robot manipulators. A non-minimal model of a robotic manipulator is used to design an adaptive observer capable of handling uncertainties in robot dynamics. Dimension of the proposed observer is shown to be at least 3n where n stands for the manipulator degrees of freedom. This number is less than the dimension of most of existing globally convergent adaptive observers. Global asymptotic convergence of system state estimates to their true values is achieved under no persistency of excitation condition. Smoothness of the dynamics of the proposed observer allows its easy implementation in comparison with non-smooth observers.... 

Recently, an alternative to the standard passive zero gravity emulation testbeds is developed which uses robotic technology. It is comprised of a manipulator whose end-effector rigidly grasps a satellite mock up, a six-axis force/moment (F/M) sensor placed at the interface of the satellite and the manipulator, and a control system. Despite significant advantages of the approach there exist practical problems such as the existence of uncertainty in the robot dynamic model as well as uncalibrated force/moment sensor measurements. In this paper, new adaptive methods based on the Lyapunov theory are proposed to deal with the model uncertainty and imperfect sensor measurements. Simulations which... 

In many medical applications, it is necessary to precisely control a robot to achieve exact positioning. In such cases, some components of robot which had been considered rigid should be modeled with visco-elastic elements to present more exact model of robot, and hence controllers designed under the assumption of rigidity may not accurately control them, especially when time-delay and disturbances have been appeared in the closed-loop system. In this study, we present a new control approach to force such robots to have rigid and exact motions, while they have visco-elastic components. Time-delay in the feedback path defects transient state response, while disturbances change the steady... 

Overwhelming number of control laws has been studied for control of robot manipulators with rigid links and joints. However controllers designed under this assumption may not accurately control the manipulator link due to visco-elastic properties that appear in the link behavior. In this study, a novel approach for robust control of a single-link manipulator is presented to force the link to have rigid motions, while it has visco-elastic behavior. In this regard, initially robot dynamics is extracted, followed by the design of four appropriate controllers through the loop-shaping approach. The obtained model is first represented in state space, however later converted to transfer function...