Search results for: sliding robots
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 599

Search results for: sliding robots

449 Application of Bim Model Data to Estimate ROI for Robots and Automation in Construction Projects

Authors: Brian Romansky

Abstract:

There are many practical, commercially available robots and semi-autonomous systems that are currently available for use in a wide variety of construction tasks. Adoption of these technologies has the potential to reduce the time and cost to deliver a project, reduce variability and risk in delivery time, increase quality, and improve safety on the job site. These benefits come with a cost for equipment rental or contract fees, access to specialists to configure the system, and time needed for set-up and support of the machines while in use. Calculation of the net ROI (Return on Investment) requires detailed information about the geometry of the site, the volume of work to be done, the overall project schedule, as well as data on the capabilities and past performance of available robotic systems. Assembling the required data and comparing the ROI for several options is complex and tedious. Many project managers will only consider the use of a robot in targeted applications where the benefits are obvious, resulting in low levels of adoption of automation in the construction industry. This work demonstrates how data already resident in many BIM (Building Information Model) projects can be used to automate ROI estimation for a sample set of commercially available construction robots. Calculations account for set-up and operating time along with scheduling support tasks required while the automated technology is in use. Configuration parameters allow for prioritization of time, cost, or safety as the primary benefit of the technology. A path toward integration and use of automatic ROI calculation with a database of available robots in a BIM platform is described.

Keywords: automation, BIM, robot, ROI.

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448 Tribological Behavior of PTFE Composites Used for Guide Rings of Hydraulic Actuating Cylinders under Oil-Lubricated Condition

Authors: Trabelsi Mohamed, Kharrat Mohamed, Dammak Maher

Abstract:

Guide rings play an important role in the performance and durability of hydraulic actuating cylinders. In service, guide rings surfaces are subjected to friction and wear against steel counterface. A good mastery of these phenomena is required for the improvement of the energy safeguard and the durability of the actuating cylinder. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) polymer is extensively used in guide rings thanks to its low coefficient of friction, its good resistance to solvents as well as its high temperature stability. In this study, friction and wear behavior of two PTFE composites filled with bronze and bronze plus MoS2 were evaluated under oil-lubricated condition, aiming as guide rings for hydraulic actuating cylinder. Wear tests of the PTFE composite specimen sliding against steel ball were conducted using reciprocating linear tribometer. The wear mechanisms of the composites under the same sliding condition were discussed, based on Scanning Electron Microscopy examination of the worn composite surface and the optical micrographs of the steel counter surface. As for the results, comparative friction behaviors of the PTFE composites and lower friction coefficients were recorded under oil lubricated condition. The wear behavior was considerably improved to compare with this in dry sliding, while the oil adsorbed layer limited the transfer of the PTFE to the steel counter face during the sliding test.

Keywords: PTFE, composite, bronze, MoS2, friction, wear, oil-lubrication

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447 Limit-Cycles Method for the Navigation and Avoidance of Any Form of Obstacles for Mobile Robots in Cluttered Environment

Authors: F. Boufera, F. Debbat

Abstract:

This paper deals with an approach based on limit-cycles method for the problem of obstacle avoidance of mobile robots in unknown environments for any form of obstacles. The purpose of this approach is the improvement of limit-cycles method in order to obtain safe and flexible navigation. The proposed algorithm has been successfully tested in different configuration on simulation.

Keywords: mobile robot, navigation, avoidance of obstacles, limit-cycles method

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446 A Three-modal Authentication Method for Industrial Robots

Authors: Luo Jiaoyang, Yu Hongyang

Abstract:

In this paper, we explore a method that can be used in the working scene of intelligent industrial robots to confirm the identity information of operators to ensure that the robot executes instructions in a sufficiently safe environment. This approach uses three information modalities, namely visible light, depth, and sound. We explored a variety of fusion modes for the three modalities and finally used the joint feature learning method to improve the performance of the model in the case of noise compared with the single-modal case, making the maximum noise in the experiment. It can also maintain an accuracy rate of more than 90%.

Keywords: multimodal, kinect, machine learning, distance image

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445 Effect of Arch-Wire Qualities and Bracket Design on the Force Systems during Sliding Mechanics

Authors: Davender Kumar

Abstract:

Aim: It is important for the orthodontist to be familiar with the sliding resistance (SR) generated by the ligation method used during the space closure phase with sliding mechanics. To determine new, experimental non-conventional (slide) ligature demonstrates less friction in vitro when compared other ligatures on the market. Methods: Experimental in vitro were carried out to test the performance of the low-friction system with regard to assess the forces released by different bracket–ligature systems with bonded in iron plate mounted on an Instron machine. Results: The outcomes of experimental testing showed that the combination of the low-friction ligatures with the super elastic nickel-titanium and SS wires produced a significantly smaller amount of binding at the bracket/arch wire/ligature unit when compared to conventional elastomeric ligatures. Conclusion: The biomechanical consequences of the use of low-friction ligatures were shorter duration of orthodontic treatment during the levelling and aligning phase, concurrent dentoalveolar expansion of the dental arch, and the possibility of using biologically adequate orthodontic forces.

Keywords: archwire, bracket, friction, ligation

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444 Humans Trust Building in Robots with the Help of Explanations

Authors: Misbah Javaid, Vladimir Estivill-Castro, Rene Hexel

Abstract:

The field of robotics is advancing rapidly to the point where robots have become an integral part of the modern society. These robots collaborate and contribute productively with humans and compensate some shortcomings from human abilities and complement them with their skills. Effective teamwork of humans and robots demands to investigate the critical issue of trust. The field of human-computer interaction (HCI) has already examined trust humans place in technical systems mostly on issues like reliability and accuracy of performance. Early work in the area of expert systems suggested that automatic generation of explanations improved trust and acceptability of these systems. In this work, we augmented a robot with the user-invoked explanation generation proficiency. To measure explanations effect on human’s level of trust, we collected subjective survey measures and behavioral data in a human-robot team task into an interactive, adversarial and partial information environment. The results showed that with the explanation capability humans not only understand and recognize robot as an expert team partner. But, it was also observed that human's learning and human-robot team performance also significantly improved because of the meaningful interaction with the robot in the human-robot team. Moreover, by observing distinctive outcomes, we expect our research outcomes will also provide insights into further improvement of human-robot trustworthy relationships.

Keywords: explanation interface, adversaries, partial observability, trust building

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443 Sliding Mode Control of a Photovoltaic Grid-Connected System with Active and Reactive Power Control

Authors: M. Doumi, K. Tahir, A. Miloudi, A. G. Aissaoui, C. Belfedal, S. Tahir

Abstract:

This paper presents a three-phase grid-connected photovoltaic generation system with unity power factor for any situation of solar radiation based on voltage-oriented control (VOC). An input voltage clamping technique is proposed to control the power between the grid and photovoltaic system, where it is intended to achieve the maximum power point operation. This method uses a Perturb and Observe (P&O) controller. The main objective of this work is to compare the energy production unit performances by the use of two types of controllers (namely, classical PI and Sliding Mode (SM) Controllers) for the grid inverter control. The proposed control has a hierarchical structure with a grid side control level to regulate the power (PQ) and the current injected to the grid and to obtain a common DC voltage constant. To show the effectiveness of both control methods performances analysis of the system are analyzed and compared by simulation and results included in this paper.

Keywords: grid connected photovoltaic, MPPT, inverter control, classical PI, sliding mode, DC voltage constant, voltage-oriented control, VOC

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442 A Robotic “Puppet Master” Application to ASD Therapeutic Support

Authors: Sophie Sakka, Rénald Gaboriau

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This paper describes a preliminary work aimed at setting a therapeutic support for autistic teenagers using three humanoid robots NAO shared by ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) subjects. The studied population had attended successfully a first year program, and were observed with a second year program using the robots. This paper focuses on the content and the effects of the second year program. The approach is based on a master puppet concept: the subjects program the robots, and use them as an extension for communication. Twenty sessions were organized, alternating ten preparatory sessions and ten robotics programming sessions. During the preparatory sessions, the subjects write a story to be played by the robots. During the robot programming sessions, the subjects program the motions to be realized to make the robot tell the story. The program was concluded by a public performance. The experiment involves five ASD teenagers aged 12-15, who had all attended the first year robotics training. As a result, a progress in voluntary and organized communication skills of the five subjects was observed, leading to improvements in social organization, focus, voluntary communication, programming, reading and writing abilities. The changes observed in the subjects general behavior took place in a short time, and could be observed from one robotics session to the next one. The approach allowed the subjects to draw the limits of their body with respect to the environment, and therefore helped them confronting the world with less anxiety.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, robot, therapeutic support, rob'autism

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441 Tribological Behavior of Pongamia Oil Based Biodiesel Blended Lubricant at Different Load

Authors: Yashvir Singh, Amneesh Singla, Swapnil Bhurat

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Around the globe, there is demand for the development of bio-based lubricant which will be biodegradable, non toxic, and environmentally-friendly. This paper outlines the friction and wear characteristics of ponagamia biodiesel contaminated bio-lubricant by using pin-on-disc tribometer. To formulate the bio-lubricants, Ponagamia oil based biodiesel were blended in the ratios 5, 10, and 20% by volume with the base lubricant SAE 20 W 40. Tribological characteristics of these blends were carried out at 2.5 m/s sliding velocity and loads applied were 50, 100, 150 N. Experimental results showed that the lubrication regime that occurred during the test was boundary lubrication while the main wear mechanisms was the adhesive wear. During testing, the lowest wear was found with the addition of 5 and 10% Ponagamia oil based biodiesel, and above this contamination, the wear rate was increased considerably. The addition of 5 and 10% Ponagamia oil based biodiesel with the base lubricant acted as a very good lubricant additive which reduced the friction and wear rate during the test. It has been concluded that the PBO 5 and PBO 10 can act as an alternative lubricant to increase the mechanical efficiency at 2.5 m/s sliding velocity and contribute in reduction of dependence on the petroleum based products.

Keywords: friction, load, pongamia oil blend, sliding velocity, wear

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440 Flocking Swarm of Robots Using Artificial Innate Immune System

Authors: Muneeb Ahmad, Ali Raza

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A computational method inspired by the immune system (IS) is presented, leveraging its shared characteristics of robustness, fault tolerance, scalability, and adaptability with swarm intelligence. This method aims to showcase flocking behaviors in a swarm of robots (SR). The innate part of the IS offers a variety of reactive and probabilistic cell functions alongside its self-regulation mechanism which have been translated to enable swarming behaviors. Although, the research is specially focused on flocking behaviors in a variety of simulated environments using e-puck robots in a physics-based simulator (CoppeliaSim); the artificial innate immune system (AIIS) can exhibit other swarm behaviors as well. The effectiveness of the immuno-inspired approach has been established with extensive experimentations, for scalability and adaptability, using standard swarm benchmarks as well as the immunological regulatory functions (i.e., Dendritic Cells’ Maturity and Inflammation). The AIIS-based approach has proved to be a scalable and adaptive solution for emulating the flocking behavior of SR.

Keywords: artificial innate immune system, flocking swarm, immune system, swarm intelligence

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439 Multi-Vehicle Detection Using Histogram of Oriented Gradients Features and Adaptive Sliding Window Technique

Authors: Saumya Srivastava, Rina Maiti

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In order to achieve a better performance of vehicle detection in a complex environment, we present an efficient approach for a multi-vehicle detection system using an adaptive sliding window technique. For a given frame, image segmentation is carried out to establish the region of interest. Gradient computation followed by thresholding, denoising, and morphological operations is performed to extract the binary search image. Near-region field and far-region field are defined to generate hypotheses using the adaptive sliding window technique on the resultant binary search image. For each vehicle candidate, features are extracted using a histogram of oriented gradients, and a pre-trained support vector machine is applied for hypothesis verification. Later, the Kalman filter is used for tracking the vanishing point. The experimental results show that the method is robust and effective on various roads and driving scenarios. The algorithm was tested on highways and urban roads in India.

Keywords: gradient, vehicle detection, histograms of oriented gradients, support vector machine

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438 Examining the Modular End of Line Control Unit Design Criteria for Vehicle Sliding Door System Slide Profile

Authors: Orhan Kurtuluş, Cüneyt Yavuz

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The end of the line controls of the finished products in the automotive industry is important. The control that has been conducted with the manual methods for the sliding doors tracks is not sufficient and faulty products cannot be identified. As a result, the customer has the faulty products. In the scope of this study, the design criteria of the PLC integrated modular end of line control unit has been examined, designed and manufactured to make the control of the 10 different track profile to 2 different vehicles with an objective to minimize the salvage costs by obtaining more sensitive, certain and accurate measurement results. In the study that started with literature and patent review, the design inputs have been specified, the technical concept has been developed, computer supported mechanic design, control system and automation design, design review and design improvement have been made. Laser analog sensors at high sensitivity, probes and modular blocks have been used in the unit. The measurement has been conducted in the system and it is observed that measurement results are more sensitive than the previous methods.

Keywords: control unit design, end of line, modular design, sliding door system

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437 Study of the Tribological Behavior of a Pin on Disc Type of Contact

Authors: S. Djebali, S. Larbi, A. Bilek

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The present work aims at contributing to the study of the complex phenomenon of wear of pin on disc contact in dry sliding friction between two material couples (bronze/steel and unsaturated polyester virgin and charged with graphite powder/steel). The work consists of the determination of the coefficient of friction, the study of the influence of the tribological parameters on this coefficient and the determination of the mass loss and the wear rate of the pin. This study is also widened to the highlighting of the influence of the addition of graphite powder on the tribological properties of the polymer constituting the pin. The experiments are carried out on a pin-disc type tribometer that we have designed and manufactured. Tests are conducted according to the standards DIN 50321 and DIN EN 50324. The discs are made of annealed XC48 steel and quenched and tempered XC48 steel. The main results are described here after. The increase of the normal load and the sliding speed causes the increase of the friction coefficient, whereas the increase of the percentage of graphite and the hardness of the disc surface contributes to its reduction. The mass loss also increases with the normal load. The influence of the normal load on the friction coefficient is more significant than that of the sliding speed. The effect of the sliding speed decreases for large speed values. The increase of the amount of graphite powder leads to a decrease of the coefficient of friction, the mass loss and the wear rate. The addition of graphite to the UP resin is beneficial; it plays the role of solid lubricant.

Keywords: bronze, friction coefficient, graphite, mass loss, polyester, steel, wear rate

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436 Design and Fabrication of a Smart Quadruped Robot

Authors: Shivani Verma, Amit Agrawal, Pankaj Kumar Meena, Ashish B. Deoghare

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Over the decade robotics has been a major area of interest among the researchers and scientists in reducing human efforts. The need for robots to replace human work in different dangerous fields such as underground mining, nuclear power station and war against terrorist attack has gained huge attention. Most of the robot design is based on human structure popularly known as humanoid robots. However, the problems encountered in humanoid robots includes low speed of movement, misbalancing in structure, poor load carrying capacity, etc. The simplification and adaptation of the fundamental design principles seen in animals have led to the creation of bio-inspired robots. But the major challenges observed in naturally inspired robot include complexity in structure, several degrees of freedom and energy storage problem. The present work focuses on design and fabrication of a bionic quadruped walking robot which is based on different joint of quadruped mammals like a dog, cheetah, etc. The design focuses on the structure of the robot body which consists of four legs having three degrees of freedom per leg and the electronics system involved in it. The robot is built using readily available plastics and metals. The proposed robot is simple in construction and is able to move through uneven terrain, detect and locate obstacles and take images while carrying additional loads which may include hardware and sensors. The robot will find possible application in the artificial intelligence sector.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, bionic, quadruped robot, degree of freedom

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435 Wellbore Spiraling Induced through Systematic Micro-Sliding

Authors: Christopher Viens, Bosko Gajic, Steve Krase

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Stick-Slip is a term that is often overused and commonly diagnosed from surface drilling parameters of torque and differential pressure, but the actual magnitude of the condition is rarely captured at the BHA level as the necessary measurements are seldom deployed. Deployment of an accurate stick-slip measurement downhole has led to an interesting discovery that goes against long held traditional drilling lore. A divide has been identified between stick-slip as independent bit and BHA conditions. This phenomenon in horizontal laterals is common, but few M/LWD systems have been able to capture it. Utilizing measurements of downhole RPM bore pressure, high-speed magnetometer data, bending moment, and continuous inclination, the wellbore spiraling phenomenon is able to be captured, quantified, and intimately tied back to systematic effects of BHA stalling and micro-sliding. An operator in the Permian Basin has identified that this phenomenon is contributing to increased tortuosity and drag. Utilizing downhole torque measurements the root causes of the stick-slip and spiraling phenomenon were identified and able to engineered out of the system.

Keywords: bending moment, downhole dynamics measurements, micro sliding, wellbore spiraling

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434 Guidance and Control of a Torpedo Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Authors: Soheil Arash Moghadam, Abdol R. Kashani Nia, Ali Akrami Zade

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Considering numerous applications of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles in various industries, there has been plenty of researches and studies on the motion control of such vehicles. One of the useful aspects for studying is the guidance of these vehicles. In this paper, while presenting motion equations with six degrees of freedom for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, Proportional Navigation Guidance Law and the first order sliding mode control for TAIPAN AUV was used to address its guidance for the purpose of collision with a moving target.

Keywords: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), degree of freedom (DOF), hydrodynamic, line of sight(LOS), proportional navigation guidance(PNG), sliding mode control(SMC)

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433 Mapping Context, Roles, and Relations for Adjudicating Robot Ethics

Authors: Adam J. Bowen

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Abstract— Should robots have rights or legal protections. Often debates concerning whether robots and AI should be afforded rights focus on conditions of personhood and the possibility of future advanced forms of AI satisfying particular intrinsic cognitive and moral attributes of rights-holding persons. Such discussions raise compelling questions about machine consciousness, autonomy, and value alignment with human interests. Although these are important theoretical concerns, especially from a future design perspective, they provide limited guidance for addressing the moral and legal standing of current and near-term AI that operate well below the cognitive and moral agency of human persons. Robots and AI are already being pressed into service in a wide range of roles, especially in healthcare and biomedical contexts. The design and large-scale implementation of robots in the context of core societal institutions like healthcare systems continues to rapidly develop. For example, we bring them into our homes, hospitals, and other care facilities to assist in care for the sick, disabled, elderly, children, or otherwise vulnerable persons. We enlist surgical robotic systems in precision tasks, albeit still human-in-the-loop technology controlled by surgeons. We also entrust them with social roles involving companionship and even assisting in intimate caregiving tasks (e.g., bathing, feeding, turning, medicine administration, monitoring, transporting). There have been advances to enable severely disabled persons to use robots to feed themselves or pilot robot avatars to work in service industries. As the applications for near-term AI increase and the roles of robots in restructuring our biomedical practices expand, we face pressing questions about the normative implications of human-robot interactions and collaborations in our collective worldmaking, as well as the moral and legal status of robots. This paper argues that robots operating in public and private spaces be afforded some protections as either moral patients or legal agents to establish prohibitions on robot abuse, misuse, and mistreatment. We already implement robots and embed them in our practices and institutions, which generates a host of human-to-machine and machine-to-machine relationships. As we interact with machines, whether in service contexts, medical assistance, or home health companions, these robots are first encountered in relationship to us and our respective roles in the encounter (e.g., surgeon, physical or occupational therapist, recipient of care, patient’s family, healthcare professional, stakeholder). This proposal aims to outline a framework for establishing limiting factors and determining the extent of moral or legal protections for robots. In doing so, it advocates for a relational approach that emphasizes the priority of mapping the complex contextually sensitive roles played and the relations in which humans and robots stand to guide policy determinations by relevant institutions and authorities. The relational approach must also be technically informed by the intended uses of the biomedical technologies in question, Design History Files, extensive risk assessments and hazard analyses, as well as use case social impact assessments.

Keywords: biomedical robots, robot ethics, robot laws, human-robot interaction

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432 Humans, Social Robots, and Mutual Love: An Application of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics

Authors: Ruby Jean Hornsby

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In our rapidly advancing techno-moral world, human-robot relationships are increasingly becoming a part of intimate human life. Indeed, social robots - that is, autonomous or semi-autonomous embodied artificial agents that generally possess human or animal-like qualities (such as responding to environmental stimuli, communicating, learning, performing human tasks, and making autonomous decisions) - have been designed to function as human friends. In light of such advances, immediate philosophical scrutiny is imperative in order to examine the extent to which human-robot interactions constitute genuine friendship and therefore contribute towards the good human life. Aristotle's conception of friendship is philosophically illuminating and sufficiently broad in scope to guide such analysis. On his account, it is necessary (though not sufficient) that for a friendship to exist between two agents - A and B - both agents must have a mutual love for one another. Aristotle claims that A loves B if: Condition 1: A desires those apparent good (qua pleasant, useful, or virtuous) properties attributable to B, and Condition 2: A has goodwill (wishes what is best) for B. This paper argues that human-robot interaction can (and does) successfully meet both conditions; as such, it demonstrates that robots and humans can reciprocally love one another. It will argue for this position by first justifying the claim that a human can desire apparent good features attributable to a robot (i.e., by taking them to be pleasant and/or useful) and outlining how it is that a human can wish a robot well in light of that robot's (quasi-) interests. Next, the paper will argue that a robot can (quasi-)desire certain properties that are attributable to a human before elucidating how it is possible for a robot to act in the interests of a human. Accordingly, this paper will conclude that it is already the case that humans can formulate relationships with robots that involve reciprocated love. This is significant because it suggests that social robots are candidates for human friendship and can therefore contribute toward flourishing human futures.

Keywords: ancient philosophy, friendship, inter-disciplinary applied ethics, love, social robotics

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431 A Model-Reference Sliding Mode for Dual-Stage Actuator Servo Control in HDD

Authors: S. Sonkham, U. Pinsopon, W. Chatlatanagulchai

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This paper presents a method of sliding mode control (SMC) designing and developing for the servo system in a dual-stage actuator (DSA) hard disk drive. Mathematical modelling of hard disk drive actuators is obtained, extracted from measuring frequency response of the voice-coil motor (VCM) and PZT micro-actuator separately. Matlab software tools are used for mathematical model estimation and also for controller design and simulation. A model-reference approach for tracking requirement is selected as a proposed technique. The simulation results show that performance of a model-reference SMC controller design in DSA servo control can be satisfied in the tracking error, as well as keeping the positioning of the head within the boundary of +/-5% of track width under the presence of internal and external disturbance. The overall results of model-reference SMC design in DSA are met per requirement specifications and significant reduction in %off track is found when compared to the single-state actuator (SSA).

Keywords: hard disk drive, dual-stage actuator, track following, hdd servo control, sliding mode control, model-reference, tracking control

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430 A Review on Comparative Analysis of Path Planning and Collision Avoidance Algorithms

Authors: Divya Agarwal, Pushpendra S. Bharti

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Autonomous mobile robots (AMR) are expected as smart tools for operations in every automation industry. Path planning and obstacle avoidance is the backbone of AMR as robots have to reach their goal location avoiding obstacles while traversing through optimized path defined according to some criteria such as distance, time or energy. Path planning can be classified into global and local path planning where environmental information is known and unknown/partially known, respectively. A number of sensors are used for data collection. A number of algorithms such as artificial potential field (APF), rapidly exploring random trees (RRT), bidirectional RRT, Fuzzy approach, Purepursuit, A* algorithm, vector field histogram (VFH) and modified local path planning algorithm, etc. have been used in the last three decades for path planning and obstacle avoidance for AMR. This paper makes an attempt to review some of the path planning and obstacle avoidance algorithms used in the field of AMR. The review includes comparative analysis of simulation and mathematical computations of path planning and obstacle avoidance algorithms using MATLAB 2018a. From the review, it could be concluded that different algorithms may complete the same task (i.e. with a different set of instructions) in less or more time, space, effort, etc.

Keywords: path planning, obstacle avoidance, autonomous mobile robots, algorithms

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429 An Application of Path Planning Algorithms for Autonomous Inspection of Buried Pipes with Swarm Robots

Authors: Richard Molyneux, Christopher Parrott, Kirill Horoshenkov

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This paper aims to demonstrate how various algorithms can be implemented within swarms of autonomous robots to provide continuous inspection within underground pipeline networks. Current methods of fault detection within pipes are costly, time consuming and inefficient. As such, solutions tend toward a more reactive approach, repairing faults, as opposed to proactively seeking leaks and blockages. The paper presents an efficient inspection method, showing that autonomous swarm robotics is a viable way of monitoring underground infrastructure. Tailored adaptations of various Vehicle Routing Problems (VRP) and path-planning algorithms provide a customised inspection procedure for complicated networks of underground pipes. The performance of multiple algorithms is compared to determine their effectiveness and feasibility. Notable inspirations come from ant colonies and stigmergy, graph theory, the k-Chinese Postman Problem ( -CPP) and traffic theory. Unlike most swarm behaviours which rely on fast communication between agents, underground pipe networks are a highly challenging communication environment with extremely limited communication ranges. This is due to the extreme variability in the pipe conditions and relatively high attenuation of acoustic and radio waves with which robots would usually communicate. This paper illustrates how to optimise the inspection process and how to increase the frequency with which the robots pass each other, without compromising the routes they are able to take to cover the whole network.

Keywords: autonomous inspection, buried pipes, stigmergy, swarm intelligence, vehicle routing problem

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428 Object Detection Based on Plane Segmentation and Features Matching for a Service Robot

Authors: António J. R. Neves, Rui Garcia, Paulo Dias, Alina Trifan

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With the aging of the world population and the continuous growth in technology, service robots are more and more explored nowadays as alternatives to healthcare givers or personal assistants for the elderly or disabled people. Any service robot should be capable of interacting with the human companion, receive commands, navigate through the environment, either known or unknown, and recognize objects. This paper proposes an approach for object recognition based on the use of depth information and color images for a service robot. We present a study on two of the most used methods for object detection, where 3D data is used to detect the position of objects to classify that are found on horizontal surfaces. Since most of the objects of interest accessible for service robots are on these surfaces, the proposed 3D segmentation reduces the processing time and simplifies the scene for object recognition. The first approach for object recognition is based on color histograms, while the second is based on the use of the SIFT and SURF feature descriptors. We present comparative experimental results obtained with a real service robot.

Keywords: object detection, feature, descriptors, SIFT, SURF, depth images, service robots

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427 Performance Analysis of Vision-Based Transparent Obstacle Avoidance for Construction Robots

Authors: Siwei Chang, Heng Li, Haitao Wu, Xin Fang

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Construction robots are receiving more and more attention as a promising solution to the manpower shortage issue in the construction industry. The development of intelligent control techniques that assist in controlling the robots to avoid transparency and reflected building obstacles is crucial for guaranteeing the adaptability and flexibility of mobile construction robots in complex construction environments. With the boom of computer vision techniques, a number of studies have proposed vision-based methods for transparent obstacle avoidance to improve operation accuracy. However, vision-based methods are also associated with disadvantages such as high computational costs. To provide better perception and value evaluation, this study aims to analyze the performance of vision-based techniques for avoiding transparent building obstacles. To achieve this, commonly used sensors, including a lidar, an ultrasonic sensor, and a USB camera, are equipped on the robotic platform to detect obstacles. A Raspberry Pi 3 computer board is employed to compute data collecting and control algorithms. The turtlebot3 burger is employed to test the programs. On-site experiments are carried out to observe the performance in terms of success rate and detection distance. Control variables include obstacle shapes and environmental conditions. The findings contribute to demonstrating how effectively vision-based obstacle avoidance strategies for transparent building obstacle avoidance and provide insights and informed knowledge when introducing computer vision techniques in the aforementioned domain.

Keywords: construction robot, obstacle avoidance, computer vision, transparent obstacle

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426 PYTHEIA: A Scale for Assessing Rehabilitation and Assistive Robotics

Authors: Yiannis Koumpouros, Effie Papageorgiou, Alexandra Karavasili, Foteini Koureta

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The objective of the present study was to develop a scale called PYTHEIA. The PYTHEIA is a self-reported measure for the assessment of rehabilitation and assistive robotics and other assistive technology devices. The development of PYTHEIA faced the absence of a valid instrument that can be used to evaluate the assistive robotic devices both as a whole, as well as any of their individual components or functionalities implemented. According to the results presented, PYTHEIA is a valid and reliable scale able to be applied to different target groups for the subjective evaluation of various assistive technology devices.

Keywords: rehabilitation, assistive technology, assistive robots, rehabilitation robots, scale, psychometric test, assessment, validation, user satisfaction

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425 Optimal Design of RC Pier Accompanied with Multi Sliding Friction Damping Mechanism Using Combination of SNOPT and ANN Method

Authors: Angga S. Fajar, Y. Takahashi, J. Kiyono, S. Sawada

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The structural system concept of RC pier accompanied with multi sliding friction damping mechanism was developed based on numerical analysis approach. However in the implementation, to make design for such kind of this structural system consumes a lot of effort in case high of complexity. During making design, the special behaviors of this structural system should be considered including flexible small deformation, sufficient elastic deformation capacity, sufficient lateral force resistance, and sufficient energy dissipation. The confinement distribution of friction devices has significant influence to its. Optimization and prediction with multi function regression of this structural system expected capable of providing easier and simpler design method. The confinement distribution of friction devices is optimized with SNOPT in Opensees, while some design variables of the structure are predicted using multi function regression of ANN. Based on the optimization and prediction this structural system is able to be designed easily and simply.

Keywords: RC Pier, multi sliding friction device, optimal design, flexible small deformation

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424 Hybrid Gravity Gradient Inversion-Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm for Motion Planning of Mobile Robots

Authors: Meng Wu

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Motion planning is a common task required to be fulfilled by robots. A strategy combining Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and gravity gradient inversion algorithm is proposed for motion planning of mobile robots. In this paper, in order to realize optimal motion planning strategy, the cost function in ACO is designed based on gravity gradient inversion algorithm. The obstacles around mobile robot can cause gravity gradient anomalies; the gradiometer is installed on the mobile robot to detect the gravity gradient anomalies. After obtaining the anomalies, gravity gradient inversion algorithm is employed to calculate relative distance and orientation between mobile robot and obstacles. The relative distance and orientation deduced from gravity gradient inversion algorithm is employed as cost function in ACO algorithm to realize motion planning. The proposed strategy is validated by the simulation and experiment results.

Keywords: motion planning, gravity gradient inversion algorithm, ant colony optimization

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423 FPGA Based Vector Control of PM Motor Using Sliding Mode Observer

Authors: Hanan Mikhael Dawood, Afaneen Anwer Abood Al-Khazraji

Abstract:

The paper presents an investigation of field oriented control strategy of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) based on hardware in the loop simulation (HIL) over a wide speed range. A sensorless rotor position estimation using sliding mode observer for permanent magnet synchronous motor is illustrated considering the effects of magnetic saturation between the d and q axes. The cross saturation between d and q axes has been calculated by finite-element analysis. Therefore, the inductance measurement regards the saturation and cross saturation which are used to obtain the suitable id-characteristics in base and flux weakening regions. Real time matrix multiplication in Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) using floating point number system is used utilizing Quartus-II environment to develop FPGA designs and then download these designs files into development kit. dSPACE DS1103 is utilized for Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) switching and the controller. The hardware in the loop results conducted to that from the Matlab simulation. Various dynamic conditions have been investigated.

Keywords: magnetic saturation, rotor position estimation, sliding mode observer, hardware in the loop (HIL)

Procedia PDF Downloads 495
422 Fixed-Frequency Pulse Width Modulation-Based Sliding Mode Controller for Switching Multicellular Converter

Authors: Rihab Hamdi, Amel Hadri Hamida, Ouafae Bennis, Fatima Babaa, Sakina Zerouali

Abstract:

This paper features a sliding mode controller (SMC) for closed-loop voltage control of DC-DC three-cells buck converter connected in parallel, operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM), based on pulse-width modulation (PWM). To maintain the switching frequency, the approach is to incorporate a pulse-width modulation that utilizes an equivalent control, inferred by applying the SM control method, to produce a control sign to be contrasted and the fixed-frequency within the modulator. Detailed stability and transient performance analysis have been conducted using Lyapunov stability criteria to restrict the switching frequency variation facing wide variations in output load, input changes, and set-point changes. The results obtained confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme in achieving an enhanced output transient performance while faithfully realizing its control objective in the event of abrupt and uncertain parameter variations. Simulations studies in MATLAB/Simulink environment are performed to confirm the idea.

Keywords: DC-DC converter, pulse width modulation, power electronics, sliding mode control

Procedia PDF Downloads 111
421 Application of the Piloting Law Based on Adaptive Differentiators via Second Order Sliding Mode for a Fixed Wing Aircraft

Authors: Zaouche Mohammed, Amini Mohammed, Foughali Khaled, Hamissi Aicha, Aktouf Mohand Arezki, Boureghda Ilyes

Abstract:

In this paper, we present a piloting law based on the adaptive differentiators via high order sliding mode controller, by using an aircraft in virtual simulated environment. To deal with the design of an autopilot controller, we propose a framework based on Software in the Loop (SIL) methodology and we use MicrosoftTM Flight Simulator (FS-2004) as the environment for plane simulation. The aircraft dynamic model is nonlinear, Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) and tightly coupled. The nonlinearity resides in the dynamic equations and also in the aerodynamic coefficients' variability. In our case, two (02) aircrafts are used in the flight tests, the Zlin-142 and MQ-1 Predator. For both aircrafts and in a very low altitude flight, we send the piloting control inputs to the aircraft which has stalled due to a command disconnection. Then, we present the aircraft’s dynamic behavior analysis while reestablishing the command transmission. Finally, a comparative study between the two aircraft’s dynamic behaviors is presented.

Keywords: adaptive differentiators, second order sliding modes, dynamic adaptation of the gains, microsoft flight simulator, Zlin-142, MQ-1 predator

Procedia PDF Downloads 391
420 Decoupled Dynamic Control of Unicycle Robot Using Integral Linear Quadratic Regulator and Sliding Mode Controller

Authors: Shweda Mohan, J. L. Nandagopal, S. Amritha

Abstract:

This paper focuses on the dynamic modelling of unicycle robot. Two main concepts used for balancing unicycle robot are: reaction wheel pendulum and inverted pendulum. The pitch axis is modelled as inverted pendulum and roll axis is modelled as reaction wheel pendulum. The unicycle yaw dynamics is not considered which makes the derivation of dynamics relatively simple. For the roll controller, sliding-mode controller has been adopted and optimal methods are used to minimize switching-function chattering. For pitch controller, an LQR controller has been implemented to drive the unicycle robot to follow the desired velocity trajectory. The pitching and rolling balance could be achieved by two DC motors. Unicycle robot is a non-holonomic, non-linear, static unbalance system that has the minimal number of point contact to the ground, therefore, it is a perfect platform for researchers to study motion and balance control. These real-time solutions will be a viable solution for advanced robotic systems and controls.

Keywords: decoupled dynamics, linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control, Lyapunov function sliding mode control, unicycle robot, velocity and trajectory control

Procedia PDF Downloads 332