Planning algorithms are impacting technical disciplines and industries around the world, including robotics, computer-aided design, manufacturing, computer graphics, aerospace applications, drug design, and protein folding. This coherent and comprehensive book unifies material from several sources, including robotics, control theory, artificial intelligence, and algorithms. The treatment is centered on robot motion planning but integrates material on planning in discrete spaces. A major part of the book is devoted to planning under uncertainty, including decision theory, Markov decision processes, and information spaces, which are the “configuration spaces” of all sensor-based planning problems. The last part of the book delves into planning under differential constraints that arise when automating the motions of virtually any mechanical system. Developed from courses taught by the author, the book is intended for students, engineers, and researchers in robotics, artificial intelligence, and control theory as well as computer graphics, algorithms, and computational biology.

Planning Algorithms: Introductory Material

Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Rigid Motions and Homogeneous Transformations. 3. Forward and Inverse Kinematics. 4. Velocity Kinematics-The Jacobian. 5. Path and Trajectory Planning. 6. Independent Joint Control. 7. Dynamics. 8. Multivariable Control. 9. Force Control. 10. Geometric Nonlinear Control. 11. Computer Vision. 12. Vision-Based Control. Appendix A: Trigonometry. Appendix B: Linear Algebra. Appendix C: Dynamical Systems. Appendix D: Lyapunov Stability. Index.

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Robot Modeling and Control

Paper: The internal model principle of control theory

Human skin is a remarkable organ. It consists of an integrated, stretchable network of sensors that relay information about tactile and thermal stimuli to the brain, allowing us to maneuver within our environment safely and effectively. Interest in large-area networks of electronic devices inspired by human skin is motivated by the promise of creating autonomous intelligent robots and biomimetic prosthetics, among other applications. The development of electronic networks comprised of flexible, stretchable, and robust devices that are compatible with large-area implementation and integrated with multiple functionalities is a testament to the progress in developing an electronic skin (e-skin) akin to human skin. E-skins are already capable of providing augmented performance over their organic counterpart, both in superior spatial resolution and thermal sensitivity. They could be further improved through the incorporation of additional functionalities (e.g., chemical and biological sensing) and desired properties (e.g., biodegradability and self-powering). Continued rapid progress in this area is promising for the development of a fully integrated e-skin in the near future.

25th Anniversary Article: The Evolution of Electronic Skin (E-Skin): A Brief History, Design Considerations, and Recent Progress

This book, written by two major figures in adaptive control, provides a wealth of material for researchers, practitioners, and students. While some researchers in adaptive control may note the absence of a particular topic, the book‘s scope represents a high-gain instrument. It can be used by designers of control systems to enhance their work through the information on many new theoretical developments, and can be used by mathematical control theory specialists to adapt their research to practical needs. The book is strongly recommended to anyone interested in adaptive control.

Adaptive Control

Trajectory control of a robot manipulator when motion is constrained by the environment represents an important class of control problems. We consider the problem of controlling the position and force of a robot manipulator during contact tasks. Based on a dynamics model developed earlier, both position and contact force are modeled as the state variables of the system. These variables are simultaneously controlled using a nonlinear feedback compensator. Using Lyapnouv's theory, a sufficient condition, which guarantees that the closed loop system remains "practically stable", is presented. The simulation of a two-link planar robot manipulator following a semi-circle surface is given to illustrate the result.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/6204/16574/00770618.pdf

A new approach to force and position control of robot manipulators

Most robust control methods of robot manipulators guarantee small tracking errors by applying sufficiently high feedback gains. Infinite gains are required for zero tracking errors. However, in practice, feedback gains could be severely limited by hardware factors. Robust control schemes using low feedback gains are desirable. In this paper, we derive a globally asymptotically stable robust control scheme by combining integral control with a robust saturation control law. The proposed robust control method takes advantage of both saturation control and integral control techniques, while the disadvantages attributed to them are remedied by each other. Globally asymptotic stability of an n-link robot system with parametric model uncertainties is achieved. As an illustration, the proposed control scheme is applied to a two degrees-of-freedom direct drive robot arm. Simulations were conducted, and the results are in accordance with the theoretical analysis. >

Asymptotically stable robust control of robot manipulators

A Mechatronics Approach for the Design of a New High Performance ElectroHydraulic Actuator

A system consisting of several flexible joint robot arms is studied in this paper. The paper addresses the motion and force control problem of such systems. A coordinating controller, consisting of a motion controller, contact force controller, and internal force controller, is designed to distribute the load between the coordinated flexible joint robot arms, and control the motion of the object, the internal force and contact force between the object and the environment, as well generate the desired joint elastic force. The system stability is analyzed based on Lyapunov stability theory. It is shown that with the proposed controller the motion and force control variables can be regulated to track asymptotically their desired trajectories. Simulation results are given to illustrate the performance of the proposed controller

An Approach to Motion and Force Control of Coordinated Robot Arms in the Presence of Joint Flexibility

Ultrasonic motors (USMs) are common actuators that can be safely used in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment. However, lack of MRI compatibility results in issues such as image distortion. This fact led researchers to shift focus from USMs to pneumatic and hydraulic actuators in development of surgical robots. The aim is to quantify and compensate the geometric distortion of MR images as generated by the presence of USMs. An ultrasonic motor was positioned in three orientations with respect to the bore axis. The induced distortions were compared across four image sequences. To reduce the distortions, three artifact reduction methods were employed. Geometric distortion is the only artifact in image slices farther from the motor. The various motor orientations lead to different distortions, with the lowest distortion for the z orientation. The maximum measured distortion of ten pixels occurred. This maximal distortion is equal to a 1-cm displacement of the displayed points relative to their actual locations and it is beyond the acceptable level for medical display standards. Bandwidth reduction reduced the distortion, with a 50% reduction for a doubled bandwidth. In conclusion, USMs can be preferred alternative because accurate targeting of pathologies can occur in free distorted images.

Andrew A. Goldenberg

Papers

A new approach to force and position control of robot manipulators

Asymptotically stable robust control of robot manipulators

A Mechatronics Approach for the Design of a New High Performance ElectroHydraulic Actuator

An Approach to Motion and Force Control of Coordinated Robot Arms in the Presence of Joint Flexibility

Ultrasonic motor-induced geometric distortions in magnetic resonance images