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Mechanical Engineering Laboratory 1990 March |
| 28-1 Active Suspension for Wheeled Terrain Robot | 
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Active Suspension for Wheeled Terrain Robot There is an increasing demand for wheeled robots which are capable of operating over rough terrain such as disaster areas or forests. In this project, an active suspension system which suppresses unwanted motions of the bodies of such robots has tan developed. A four wheeled robot with independent active suspension structures has been built. Each suspension structure has a coil spring as the passive element, which operates in conjunction with an active element comprising a direct drive motor and approximate straight line link mechanism. A PID control system, deriving its input signals from an inclination sensor and a gyro via a digital filter, controls the attitude of the body. Tests over rough terrain have shown that this type of active suspension system is effective in controlling unwanted motions of the robot body. |
| 28-2 Dynamic Control of Biped Gait | 
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Dynamic Control of Biped Gait A dynamic biped gait is a biped gait where the center of gravity of the body gets outside the supporting area of the legs for part of the gait cycle. Mechanical realization of this type of gait is a very difficult problem. The dynamics of a biped can be modeled by an inverted pendulum which has a telescopic leg. In this study the leg length is controlled so that the center of gravity of the body stays on a horizontal line, and this allows realization of the virtual linear dynamics of the system, permitting analytical planning of the orbit. MELTRAN, a biped robot, has been constructed as part of this work. This robot has altogether seven degree of freedom - three for each leg, and one associated with the opening of the legs. So far, standing and stepping have been successfully achieved with this robot. |
| 29-1 Legged Locomotion | 
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Legged Locomotion Legged locomotion is a technique which has great adaptability to various different types of terrain. However, legged locomotion mechanisms, and their control, present some extremely complex problems many of which are as yet unsolved. In this project two robots have been built to investigate the characteristics of this type of motion. MELCRAB-2 is a six legged robot which has a fixed gait to simplify the control problem, and leg extension mechanisms which allow it to move over rough terrain. TURTLE-2 has only four legs, and makes use of a new link mechanism in which each leg is rigid with only three degrees of freedom. Dynamic simulation methods are used in the design and evaluation of this type of robot. |
| 29-2 High Performance Master-slave Manipulator | 
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High Performance Master-slave Manipulator In this project, a high performance master-slave manipulation system, incorporating force feedback was developed. The system is controlled by an operator who moves a master manipulator which has six degrees of freedom. The movements are transmitted to a slave manipulator, and force signals - produced when the slave interacts with the environment - are transmitted back to the operator so he has tactile sense of the conditions under which the slave is working. |
| 30-1 Tele-existence | 
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Tele-existence Tele-existence is a system where a human operator is able to control a robot operating at a remote site to do complex tasks (e.g. manipulation) with the feeling of actually being inside the robot, in the remote environment. In this project, feasibility studies of tele-existence machines are carried out using both actual hardware, and computer simulation systems. |
| 30-2 Measurement, Analysis, and Synthesis of Human Movement | 
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Measurement, Analysis, and Synthesis of Human Movement Human movement, controlled by signals from the senses, provides an excellent model for the control of complex systems such as intelligent robots. In this project, the sensing and control scheme that humans use is under investigation through the development of real time measurement technology to determine the free movement of humans, and evaluation methods for physiologically based musculoskeletal and sensory models. The results of this investigation will be used to develop new cybernetic sensing and control systems for advanced mechanical systems. |
| 31-1 Multifingered Robot Hand | 
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Multifingered Robot Hand This project is aimed at the development of a dexterous robot hand, similar to a human hand, which is capable of performing various complicated tasks. A robot hand, which has two fingers, has been developed which is capable of firmly grasping an object irrespective of external disturbance. This has been achieved through appropriate control of the compliance of each finger joint. |
| 31-2 Robot Arm with Compliant Motion Capability | 
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Robot Arm with Compliant Motion Capability Human arms are driven by muscles, and the stiffness and end-point of each arm can be changed by altering muscle lengths and stiffnesses. In this research, this principle has been used to design and construct a parallel link arm with three joints equipped with actuators. By changing the stiffnesses and positions of the actuators under computer control, the stiffness and end-point of the arm can be changed in accordance with the needs of the task in hand. |
