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Showing papers on "Kinematics published in 2009"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The goal is to combine kinetic and kinematic data to examine translational motions during microgravity adaptations to encourage fine-control motions as these reduce the risk of injury and increase controllability.
Abstract: Introduction: Astronauts soaring through space modules with the grace of birds seems counterintuitive. How do they adapt to the weightless environment? Previous spaceflights have shown that astronauts in orbit adapt their motor strategies to each change in their gravitational environment. During adaptation, performance is degraded and can lead to mission-threatening injuries. If adaptation can occur before a mission, productivity during the mission might improve, minimizing risk. The goal is to combine kinetic and kinematic data to examine translational motions during microgravity adaptations. Methods: Experiments were performed during parabolic flights aboard NASA's C-9. Five subjects used their legs to push off from a sensor, landing on a target 3.96 m (13 ft) away. The sensor quantified the kinetics during contact, while four cameras recorded kinematics during push-off. Joint torques were calculated for a subset of traverses (N = 50) using the forces, moments, and joint angles. Results: During the 149 traverses, the average peak force exerted onto the sensor was 224.6 ± 74.6 N, with peak values ranging between 65.8―461.9 N. Two types of force profiles were observed, some having single, strong peaks (N = 64) and others having multiple, weaker peaks (N = 86). Conclusions: The force data were consistent with values recorded previously in sustained microgravity aboard Mir and the Space Shuttle. A training program for astronauts might be designed to encourage fine-control motions (i.e., multiple, weaker peaks) as these reduce the risk of injury and increase controllability. Additionally, a kinematic and kinetic sensor suite was successfully demonstrated in the weightless environment onboard the C-9 aircraft.

5,639 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used 3D seismic data from the continental margin of Norway and the Levant margin of the Levant Margin to identify the headwall, translational and toe domains of a submarine mass-transport complex.

354 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An optimal design of a parallel manipulator aiming to perform pick-and-place operations at high speed and high acceleration is presented, with an articulated traveling plate, which is free of internal singularities and is able to achieve high performances.
Abstract: This paper presents an optimal design of a parallel manipulator aiming to perform pick-and-place operations at high speed and high acceleration. After reviewing existing architectures of high-speed and high-acceleration parallel manipulators, a new design of a 4-DOF parallel manipulator is presented, with an articulated traveling plate, which is free of internal singularities and is able to achieve high performances. The kinematic and simplified, but realistic, dynamic models are derived and validated on a manipulator prototype. Experimental tests show that this design is able to perform beyond the high targets, i.e., it reaches a speed of 5.5 m/s and an acceleration of 165 m/s2. The experimental prototype was further optimized on the basis of kinematic and dynamic criteria. Once the motors, gear ratio, and several link lengths are determined, a modified design of the articulated traveling plate is proposed in order to reach a better dynamic equilibrium among the four legs of the manipulator. The obtained design is the basis of a commercial product offering the shortest cycle times among all robots available in today's market.

257 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A neural-network-based adaptive controller that considers the manipulator kinematics uncertainty, does not need the ''linearity-in-parameters'' assumption for the uncertain terms in the dynamics of manipulator and actuator, and guarantees the tracking error to be as small as desired is proposed.

224 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A method for controlling a tendon-driven continuum manipulator by means of specifying the shape configuration is presented, using a linear beam configuration model that transforms beam configuration to tendon displacement by modeling internal loads of the compliant system.
Abstract: Robotic control of flexible devices can enhance and simplify many medical procedures. We present a method for controlling a tendon-driven continuum manipulator by means of specifying the shape configuration. The basis for control is a linear beam configuration model that transforms beam configuration to tendon displacement by modeling internal loads of the compliant system. An essential aspect of this model is the inclusion of both the mechanical and geometrical coupling among serial articulating sections. Important capabilities of this model are the general forward kinematics and the decoupled inverse kinematics that allow for independent control of multiple sections. Tracking results are presented for a cardiac catheter with two articulating sections.

219 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Stability analysis of priority-based kinematic control algorithms for redundant robotic systems is approached by resorting to a Lyapunov-based stability discussion for several prioritized inverse kinematics algorithms, providing sufficient conditions for the control gains and the tasks' design for the regulation problem.
Abstract: Stability analysis of priority-based kinematic control algorithms for redundant robotic systems is approached in this paper. Starting from the classical applications in position control of manipulators, the kinematic-based approaches have lately been applied to, e.g., visual servoing and quadruped or multirobot coordination control. A common approach consists in the definition of several tasks properly combined in priority. In this paper, by resorting to a Lyapunov-based stability discussion for several prioritized inverse kinematics algorithms, sufficient conditions for the control gains and the tasks' design are given for the regulation problem. Two case studies show the practical implementation of the results.

214 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
10 Oct 2009
TL;DR: This paper investigates solving the inverse kinematics problem and motion planning for dual-arm manipulation and re-grasping tasks by combining a gradient-descent approach in the robot's pre-computed reachability space with random sampling of free parameters.
Abstract: In this paper, we present efficient solutions for planning motions of dual-arm manipulation and re-grasping tasks. Motion planning for such tasks on humanoid robots with a high number of degrees of freedom (DoF) requires computationally efficient approaches to determine the robot's full joint configuration at a given grasping position, i.e. solving the Inverse Kinematics (IK) problem for one or both hands of the robot. In this context, we investigate solving the inverse kinematics problem and motion planning for dual-arm manipulation and re-grasping tasks by combining a gradient-descent approach in the robot's pre-computed reachability space with random sampling of free parameters. This strategy provides feasible IK solutions at a low computation cost without resorting to iterative methods which could be trapped by joint-limits. We apply this strategy to dual-arm motion planning tasks in which the robot is holding an object with one hand in order to generate whole-body robot configurations suitable for grasping the object with both hands. In addition, we present two probabilistically complete RRT-based motion planning algorithms (J+−RRT and IK-RRT) that interleave the search for an IK solution with the search for a collision-free trajectory and the extension of these planners to solving re-grasping problems. The capabilities of combining IK methods and planners are shown both in simulation and on the humanoid robot ARMAR-III performing dual-arm tasks in a kitchen environment.

202 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Several kinematic parameters were related to joint kinetics and ball velocity, and pitchers need to learn proper fastball mechanics at an early age to enhance performance and reduce injury risk.
Abstract: Results: Several kinematic parameters at the instant of foot contact were associated with increased upper extremity kinetics: front foot position, front foot orientation, shoulder abduction, and shoulder horizontal adduction. The timing of shoulder external rotation, pelvis rotation, and upper trunk rotation was associated with increased kinetics and decreased ball velocity. Low braking force of the lead leg and a short stride were associated with decreased ball velocity. Decreased maximum shoulder external rotation, shoulder abduction, knee extension, and trunk tilt were also associated with decreased ball velocity. As pitchers develop, kinematic values remain similar, their variability reduces, and kinetic values gradually increase. Slight kinematic variations were seen among pitch types, although the kinetics of fastballs and curveballs were relatively the same; changeup kinetics were the lowest. As pitchers fatigued, kinetic values remained constant, but increases in arm pain were reported. Conclusions: Several kinematic parameters were related to joint kinetics and ball velocity. To enhance performance and reduce injury risk, pitchers need to learn proper fastball mechanics at an early age. A changeup is recommended as a safe secondary pitch to complement the fastball; the curveball can be added after fastball and changeup mechanics are mastered. Avoiding overuse and pitching while fatigued is necessary to minimize the risk of arm injury.

198 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Dec 2009-Robotica
TL;DR: A survey of the various mathematical models and motion patterns presented for snake robots, both purely kinematic models and models including dynamics are investigated.
Abstract: Snake robots have the potential to make substantial contributions in areas such as rescue missions, firefighting, and maintenance where it may either be too narrow or too dangerous for personnel to operate. During the last 10–15 years, the published literature on snake robots has increased significantly. The purpose of this paper is to give a survey of the various mathematical models and motion patterns presented for snake robots. Both purely kinematic models and models including dynamics are investigated. Moreover, the different approaches to biologically inspired locomotion and artificially generated motion patterns for snake robots are discussed.

190 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An integrated approach to scale the biological fluid dynamics of a wing that flaps, spins or translates is presented, which gives fundamental insight into the physical mechanisms that explain the differences in performance among flapping, spinning and translating wings.
Abstract: Organisms that swim or fly with fins or wings physically interact with the surrounding water and air. The interactions are governed by the morphology and kinematics of the locomotory system that form boundary conditions to the Navier–Stokes (NS) equations. These equations represent Newton's law of motion for the fluid surrounding the organism. Several dimensionless numbers, such as the Reynolds number and Strouhal number, measure the influence of morphology and kinematics on the fluid dynamics of swimming and flight. There exists, however, no coherent theoretical framework that shows how such dimensionless numbers of organisms are linked to the NS equation. Here we present an integrated approach to scale the biological fluid dynamics of a wing that flaps, spins or translates. Both the morphology and kinematics of the locomotory system are coupled to the NS equation through which we find dimensionless numbers that represent rotational accelerations in the flow due to wing kinematics and morphology. The three corresponding dimensionless numbers are (1) the angular acceleration number, (2) the centripetal acceleration number, and (3) the Rossby number, which measures Coriolis acceleration. These dimensionless numbers consist of length scale ratios, which facilitate their geometric interpretation. This approach gives fundamental insight into the physical mechanisms that explain the differences in performance among flapping, spinning and translating wings. Although we derived this new framework for the special case of a model fly wing, the method is general enough to make it applicable to other organisms that fly or swim using wings or fins.

179 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Based on the analysis of the kinematics of the skid-steered mobile robot, the underlying geometric and kinematic relationships between the wheel slips and locations of the instantaneous rotation centers are revealed.
Abstract: Skid-steered mobile robots are widely used because of their simple mechanism and high reliability. Understanding the kinematics and dynamics of such a robotic platform is, however, challenging due to the complex wheel/ground interactions and kinematic constraints. In this paper, we develop a kinematic modeling scheme to analyze the skid-steered mobile robot. Based on the analysis of the kinematics of the skid-steered mobile robot, we reveal the underlying geometric and kinematic relationships between the wheel slips and locations of the instantaneous rotation centers. As an application example, we also present how to utilize the modeling and analysis for robot positioning and wheel slip estimation using only low-cost strapdown inertial measurement units. The robot positioning and wheel slip-estimation scheme is based on an extended Kalman filter (EKF) design that incorporates the kinematic constraints for accuracy enhancement. The performance of the EKF-based positioning and wheel slip-estimation scheme are also presented. The estimation methodology is tested and validated experimentally on a robotic test bed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A new general method for kinematic analysis of rigid multi body systems subject to holonomic constraints is introduced and it is shown that exact velocity and acceleration analysis can be performed by solving linear sets of equations, originating from differentiation of the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker optimality conditions.
Abstract: In this paper, we introduce a new general method for kinematic analysis of rigid multi body systems subject to holonomic constraints. The method extends the standard analysis of kinematically determinate rigid multi body systems to the over-determinate case. This is accomplished by introducing a constrained optimisation problem with the objective function given as a function of the set of system equations that are allowed to be violated while the remaining equations define the feasible set. We show that exact velocity and acceleration analysis can also be performed by solving linear sets of equations, originating from differentiation of the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker optimality conditions. The method is applied to the analysis of an 18 degrees-of-freedom gait model where the kinematical drivers are prescribed with data from a motion capture experiment. The results show that significant differences are obtained between applying standard kinematic analysis or minimising the least-square errors on the two fully equi...

Proceedings ArticleDOI
22 Sep 2009
TL;DR: The evaluation of the kinematic manipulability allows verify the limits of inherent admissible operation at admissible configuration space or workspace, and to this end allows the free architecture to more applications on different engineering fields.
Abstract: The haptic device kinematics (position and its derivates) allows evaluate the virtual representation of the human operator in a virtual visualization at the same form defines the interaction with virtual objects programs across of a contact and deformation algorithm. The PHANToM OMNI haptic device, allows the kinematicinteraction with complex virtual environments, and the potentials ofapplication require of the available of its mathematical models. In this paper we present the kinematic results and the experimental proofs across of knowledge trajectories, such as the evaluation of the kinematic manipulability allows verify the limits of inherent admissible operation at admissible configuration space or workspace, and to this end allows the free architecture to more applications ondifferent engineering fields.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results showed the addition of load significantly decreased the range of motion of flexion/extension of the knee and pelvic rotation, and there were increases in adduction/abduction and rotation of the hip and pelvis tilt.
Abstract: The 3-D gait analysis of military load carriage is not well represented, if at all, within the available literature. This study collected 3-D lower limb kinematics and spatiotemporal parameters in order to assess the subsequent impact of carrying loads in a backpack of up to 32 kg. Results showed the addition of load significantly decreased the range of motion of flexion/extension of the knee and pelvic rotation. Also seen were increases in adduction/abduction and rotation of the hip and pelvis tilt. No changes to ankle kinematics were observed. Alterations to the spatiotemporal parameters of gait were also of considerable interest, namely, an increase in double support and a decrease in preferred stride length as carried load increased. Analysing kinematics during military or recreational load carriage broadens the knowledge regarding the development of exercise-related injuries, while helping to inform the human-centred design process for future load carrying systems. The importance of this study is that limited available research has investigated 3-D lower limb joint kinematics when carrying loads.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A process model of movement generation that accounts for the kinematics of goal-directed pointing movements performed with a redundant arm is proposed, and it is discovered that joint velocities contain a substantial amount of self-motion that does not move the end effector.
Abstract: Outside the laboratory, human movement typically involves redundant effector systems. How the nervous system selects among the task-equivalent solutions may provide insights into how movement is controlled. We propose a process model of movement generation that accounts for the kinematics of goal-directed pointing movements performed with a redundant arm. The key element is a neuronal dynamics that generates a virtual joint trajectory. This dynamics receives input from a neuronal timer that paces end-effector motion along its path. Within this dynamics, virtual joint velocity vectors that move the end effector are dynamically decoupled from velocity vectors that do not. Moreover, the sensed real joint configuration is coupled back into this neuronal dynamics, updating the virtual trajectory so that it yields to task-equivalent deviations from the dynamic movement plan. Experimental data from participants who perform in the same task setting as the model are compared in detail to the model predictions. We discover that joint velocities contain a substantial amount of self-motion that does not move the end effector. This is caused by the low impedance of muscle joint systems and by coupling among muscle joint systems due to multiarticulatory muscles. Back-coupling amplifies the induced control errors. We establish a link between the amount of self-motion and how curved the end-effector path is. We show that models in which an inverse dynamics cancels interaction torques predict too little self-motion and too straight end-effector paths.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Some modifications to the well-known Cartesian space control strategies of serial robotics are proposed to make them perfectly suited to parallel kinematic machines, particularly a solution using an exteroceptive measure of the end-effector pose.
Abstract: In this article, we review the dynamic control of parallel kinematic machines. It is shown that the classical control strategies from serial robotics generally used for parallel kinematic machine have to be rethought. Indeed, it is first shown that the joint space control is not relevant for these mechanisms for several reasons such as mechanical behavior or computational efficiency. Consequently, Cartesian space control should be preferred over joint space control. Nevertheless, some modifications to the well-known Cartesian space control strategies of serial robotics are proposed to make them perfectly suited to parallel kinematic machines, particularly a solution using an exteroceptive measure of the end-effector pose. The expected improvement in terms of accuracy, stability and robustness are discussed. A comparison between the main presented strategies is finally performed both in simulation and experiments.

Journal ArticleDOI
Leif Ristroph1, Gordon J. Berman1, Attila Bergou1, Z. Jane Wang1, Itai Cohen1 
TL;DR: A novel automated method is introduced that accurately extracts full, 3D body and wing kinematics from high-resolution films of free-flying insects, and this method combines visual hull reconstruction, principal components analysis, and geometric information about the insect to recover time series data of positions and orientations.
Abstract: SUMMARY Flying insects perform aerial maneuvers through slight manipulations of their wing motions. Because such manipulations in wing kinematics are subtle, a reliable method is needed to properly discern consistent kinematic strategies used by the insect from inconsistent variations and measurement error. Here, we introduce a novel automated method that accurately extracts full, 3D body and wing kinematics from high-resolution films of free-flying insects. This method combines visual hull reconstruction, principal components analysis, and geometric information about the insect to recover time series data of positions and orientations. The technique has small, well-characterized errors of under 3 pixels for positions and 5 deg. for orientations. To show its utility, we apply this motion tracking to the flight of fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster . We find that fruit flies generate sideways forces during some maneuvers and that strong lateral acceleration is associated with differences between the left and right wing angles of attack. Remarkably, this asymmetry can be induced by simply altering the relative timing of flips between the right and left wings, and we observe that fruit flies employ timing differences as high as 10% of a wing beat period while accelerating sideways at 40% g .

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper addresses the issue of kinematic modeling, singularity analysis, and motion control for a generic vehicle equipped with N Swedish wheels.
Abstract: Swedish wheeled robots have received growing attention over the last few years. Their kinematic models have interesting properties in terms of mobility and possible singularities. This paper addresses the issue of kinematic modeling, singularity analysis, and motion control for a generic vehicle equipped with N Swedish wheels.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented a procedure and the results of an optimal design of the kinematic structure of a manipulator to be used for autonomous cucumber harvesting in greenhouses, which included the time needed to perform a collision-free motion from an initial position to the target position as well as a dexterity measure to allow for motion corrections in the neighborhood of the fruits.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper deals with the problem of path planning in a dynamic environment, where the workspace is cluttered with unpredictably moving objects and the concept of the virtual plane is introduced and used to create reactive kinematic-based navigation laws.
Abstract: This paper deals with the problem of path planning in a dynamic environment, where the workspace is cluttered with unpredictably moving objects. The concept of the virtual plane is introduced and used to create reactive kinematic-based navigation laws. A virtual plane is an invertible transformation equivalent to the workspace, which is constructed by using a local observer. This results in important simplifications of the collision detection process. Based on the virtual plane, it is possible to determine the intervals of the linear velocity and the paths that lead to collisions with moving obstacles and then derive a dynamic window for the velocity and the orientation to navigate the robot safely. The speed of the robot and the orientation angle are controlled independently using simple collision cones and collision windows constructed from the virtual plane. The robot's path is controlled using kinematic-based navigation laws that depend on navigation parameters. These parameters are tuned in real time to adjust the path of the robot. Simulation is used to illustrate collision detection and path planning.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A new method for the real-time reconstruction of human motion trajectories using direct marker tracking, a task-driven muscular effort minimization criterion and new human performance metrics for dynamic characterization of athletic skills are presented.
Abstract: The synthesis of human motion is a complex procedure that involves accurate reconstruction of movement sequences, modeling of musculoskeletal kinematics, dynamics and actuation, and characterization of reliable performance criteria. Many of these processes have much in common with the problems found in robotics research. Task-based methods used in robotics may be leveraged to provide novel musculoskeletal modeling methods and physiologically accurate performance predictions. In this paper, we present (i) a new method for the real-time reconstruction of human motion trajectories using direct marker tracking, (ii) a task-driven muscular effort minimization criterion and (iii) new human performance metrics for dynamic characterization of athletic skills. Dynamic motion reconstruction is achieved through the control of a simulated human model to follow the captured marker trajectories in real-time. The operational space control and real-time simulation provide human dynamics at any configuration of the performance. A new criteria of muscular effort minimization has been introduced to analyze human static postures. Extensive motion capture experiments were conducted to validate the new minimization criterion. Finally, new human performance metrics were introduced to study in details an athletic skill. These metrics include the effort expenditure and the feasible set of operational space accelerations during the performance of the skill. The dynamic characterization takes into account skeletal kinematics as well as muscle routing kinematics and force generating capacities. The developments draw upon an advanced musculoskeletal modeling platform and a task-oriented framework for the effective integration of biomechanics and robotics methods.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The proposed AFSMDC not only eliminates the chattering phenomenon in the sliding-mode control, but also copes with the system uncertainties and external disturbances and the convergence of trajectory-tracking errors is proved by the Lyapunov stability theory.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the use of inexpensive hobbyist-grade accelerometers and spreadsheet software to explore inertial navigation via numerical integration of the measured acceleration, which is not so simple.
Abstract: In most introductory physics courses, the first equations encountered are the kinematic equations. Though the emphasis at this level tends to be on cases of constant acceleration, many real-world examples of motion are not so simple. We describe the use of inexpensive hobbyist-grade accelerometers and spreadsheet software to explore inertial navigation via numerical integration of the measured acceleration.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a modeling and robust control of contouring errors for five-axis machines by considering the normal deviation of tool tip from the reference path, and by the normal deviations of the tool axis orientation from a reference orientation trajectory defined in the spherical coordinates.
Abstract: Aerospace, die, and mold industries utilize parts with sculptured surfaces, which are machined on five-axis computer numerical controlled machine tools. Accurate path tracking for contouring is not always possible along the desired space curves due to the loss of joint coordination during the five-axis motion. This two-part paper presents modeling and robust control of contouring errors for five-axis machines. In Part I, two types of contouring errors are defined by considering the normal deviation of tool tip from the reference path, and by the normal deviation of the tool axis orientation from the reference orientation trajectory defined in the spherical coordinates. Overall contouring errors are modeled during five-axis motion that has simultaneous translation and rotary motions. The coupled kinematic configuration and the rigid body dynamics of all five drives are considered. The contouring error model is experimentally validated on a five-axis machine tool. The error model developed in this paper is then used for simultaneous, real-time robust control of all five drives in Part II.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
12 May 2009
TL;DR: In this paper, a Voronoi bias in the task space is proposed to improve the performance of randomized motion planners, while still avoiding non-trivial constraints in the configuration space.
Abstract: The reduction of the kinematics and/or dynamics of a high-DOF robotic manipulator to a low-dimension “task space” has proven to be an invaluable tool for designing feedback controllers. When obstacles or other kinodynamic constraints complicate the feedback design process, motion planning techniques can often still find feasible paths, but these techniques are typically implemented in the high-dimensional configuration (or state) space. Here we argue that providing a Voronoi bias in the task space can dramatically improve the performance of randomized motion planners, while still avoiding non-trivial constraints in the configuration (or state) space. We demonstrate the potential of task-space search by planning collision-free trajectories for a 1500 link arm through obstacles to reach a desired end-effector position.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a kinematic coupling between the rotational and translational dynamics of these points is obtained, which can be used for high-precision modeling of tight SFF, rendezvous, and docking.
Abstract: A CCURATEmodeling of the differential translation and rotation between two spacecraft is essential for cooperative distributed space systems, spacecraft formation flying (SFF), rendezvous, and docking. High-fidelity relative motion modeling, as opposed to absolute motion modeling, is particularly important for autonomous missions [1]. Point-mass models for relative spacecraft translational motion have been extensively studied over the past 50 years, since Clohessy and Wiltshire (CW) presented a rendezvous model for a circular reference orbit and a spherical Earth [2]. Following the work of Clohessy and Wiltshire, variants on the point-mass model were developed, such as generalizations to elliptic reference orbits [3–5] and an oblate Earth [6,7]. The growing interest in SFF motivated the research of relative spacecraft motion modeling, yielding more accurate and complete equations and solutions for perturbed relative motion [8–10]. However, most of the works focused on point-mass, 3 degrees-offreedom (DOF) spacecraft. Obviously, performing a space mission that consists of several cooperative space vehicles requires modeling the relative rotational motion in addition to the relative translation, that is, 6-DOF models. Models for the relative motion of 6-DOF spacecraft have gained attention in the literature only in recent years. Among the first to suggest treating the spacecraft relative angular velocity in an SFF control problem were Pan and Kapila [11], who addressed the coupled translational and rotational dynamics of two spacecraft. By defining two body-fixed reference frames, one attached to the leader and the other attached to the follower, it was proposed [11] to use a two-part relative motion model: one that accounts for the relative translational dynamics of the body-fixed coordinate frame origins, and another that captures the relative attitude dynamics of the two body-fixed frames. A similar modeling approach was used for relative motion estimation [1]. In addition, tensorial equations of motion for a formation consisting ofN spacecraft, each modeled as a rigid body, were derived [12]. However, only the absolute equations of motion were developed [12]; a relative version of these equations was not given. Moreover, a clear mathematical relationship between the developed models and the traditional nonlinear point-mass relative motion and CW models was not provided. The coupling between the translational and rotational motion in the aforementioned models [1,11] was induced by gravity torques. The kinematic coupling, which is essentially a projection of the rotational motion about the center of mass (c.m.) onto the relative translational configuration space, was neglected. It is this kinematic coupling that the current paper is concerned with. In general, rigid-body dynamics can be represented as translation of the c.m. and rotation about the c.m. [13]. Thus, spacecraft relative motion must be composed by combining the relative translational and rotational dynamics of arbitrary points on the spacecraft. Whenever one of these points does not coincide with the spacecraft’s c.m., a kinematic coupling between the rotational and translational dynamics of these points is obtained. The purpose of this paper is to quantify the kinematic coupling effect and to show that this effect is key for high-precision modeling of tight SFF, rendezvous, and docking. This effect is also important in vision-based relative attitude and position control, where arbitrary feature points on a target vehicle are to be tracked. Given two rigidbody spacecraft, the model presented herein is formulated in a general manner that describes the motion between any two arbitrary points on the spacecraft. The relative translational motion is then generated by both the spacecraft orbitalmotion and the rotation about the c.m. In addition, this paper provides a CW-like approximation of the relative motion that includes the kinematic coupling. This new approximation is aimed at alleviating an apparent contradiction in linearized relative motion theories: to obtain linear equations of motion, the spacecraft are assumed to operate in close proximity. However, if the spacecraft are close to each other, then they can no longer be treated as point masses, because the spacecraft shape and size affects the relative translation between off-c.m. points. This effect is accentuated as the distances between spacecraft decrease. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. First, a background on the relative position and attitude dynamics is given. Then, a new coupled relative spacecraft motion model is presented. The newly developed model is then examined in a simulation.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: These sequences show that Drosophila melanogaster do not utilize clap and fling during take-off and are able to modify their wing kinematics from one wingstroke to the next.
Abstract: The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a widely used model organism in studies of genetics, developmental biology and biomechanics. One limitation for exploiting Drosophila as a model system for behavioral neurobiology is that measuring body kinematics during behavior is labor intensive and subjective. In order to quantify flight kinematics during different types of maneuvers, we have developed a visual tracking system that estimates the posture of the fly from multiple calibrated cameras. An accurate geometric fly model is designed using unit quaternions to capture complex body and wing rotations, which are automatically fitted to the images in each time frame. Our approach works across a range of flight behaviors, while also being robust to common environmental clutter. The tracking system is used in this paper to compare wing and body motion during both voluntary and escape take-offs. Using our automated algorithms, we are able to measure stroke amplitude, geometric angle of attack and other parameters important to a mechanistic understanding of flapping flight. When compared with manual tracking methods, the algorithm estimates body position within 4.4±1.3% of the body length, while body orientation is measured within 6.5±1.9 deg. (roll), 3.2±1.3 deg. (pitch) and 3.4±1.6 deg. (yaw) on average across six videos. Similarly, stroke amplitude and deviation are estimated within 3.3 deg. and 2.1 deg., while angle of attack is typically measured within 8.8 deg. comparing against a human digitizer. Using our automated tracker, we analyzed a total of eight voluntary and two escape take-offs. These sequences show that Drosophila melanogaster do not utilize clap and fling during take-off and are able to modify their wing kinematics from one wingstroke to the next. Our approach should enable biomechanists and ethologists to process much larger datasets than possible at present and, therefore, accelerate insight into the mechanisms of free-flight maneuvers of flying insects.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
10 Oct 2009
TL;DR: This work presents a methodology to generate dynamically stable whole-body motions for a humanoid robot, which are converted from human motion capture data and proposes a simplified human model to obtain a human ZMP trajectory, which is used as a reference Z MP trajectory for the humanoid robot to imitate during the kinematic mapping.
Abstract: This work presents a methodology to generate dynamically stable whole-body motions for a humanoid robot, which are converted from human motion capture data. The methodology consists of the kinematic and dynamical mappings for human-likeness and stability, respectively. The kinematic mapping includes the scaling of human foot and Zero Moment Point (ZMP) trajectories considering the geometric differences between a humanoid robot and a human. It also provides the conversion of human upper body motions using the method in [1]. The dynamic mapping modifies the humanoid pelvis motion to ensure the movement stability of humanoid whole-body motions, which are converted from the kinematic mapping. In addition, we propose a simplified human model to obtain a human ZMP trajectory, which is used as a reference ZMP trajectory for the humanoid robot to imitate during the kinematic mapping. A human whole-body dancing motion is converted by the methodology and performed by a humanoid robot with online balancing controllers.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a nearly uncoupled XY micromanipulator designed for micro-positioning uses is presented, and the performance in terms of parasitic motion, cross-talk, lost motion, workspace and resonant frequency have been evaluated via analytical approaches.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Two-fold increases and decreases in PF ligament initial strain and linear stiffness were found to most adversely affect kinematic predictions for flexion, internal-external tilt and inferior-superior translation in both natural and implanted states.