ERI: Exploration of the Design, Dynamics and Control of Self-Decoupled, Cable-Driven Serial Robots

ERI：自解耦电缆驱动串行机器人的设计、动力学和控制探索

• 批准号: 2138903
• 负责人: Tao Shen
• 金额: $ 19.9万
• 依托单位: Kent State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-03-01 至 2025-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2138903&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ERI; Exploration; Design; Dynamics; Control

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).This Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) grant supports research that explores novel design, modeling and control methods for serial robots with fully cable-driven actuation. A serial robot is like a human arm. It consists of a series of rigid rod-like objects (analogous to human upper arm and forearm) and consecutively interconnected through joints (like an elbow). Serial robots are relatively compact in size and are easy to operate. Thus, serial robots are widely used in industrial automation, space exploration, medical services and many other applications. However, use of serial robots is quite limited in settings with restricted space to move and harsh environmental conditions. Space limitations dictate that robotic structures must be small, compact, and strong at the same time. These requirements are difficult to achieve with current robotics designs containing motors at their joints. While harsh conditions, such as heat or chemical exposure, can damage the electronic components and actuators directly installed on robotic joints. The fully cable-driven robot considered in this project will provide a potential solution to these two challenges. This design will situate electronic components and motors/actuators far away from any harsh elements and utilize cables/wires to transmit the power. However, the joints of a cable-driven serial robot are coupled by the cable transmission, and as such, the rotation of one robotic joint affects the motion of the other joints, making precise position control extremely challenging. This award supports fundamental research that will identify solutions for overcoming motion coupling issues in cable-driven serial robots, modeling the unique dynamics, and building a controller suitable for enabling this dynamic modeling. The knowledge acquired through this research will significantly enhance fundamental understanding of the control dynamics in complex coupling mechanisms and support more widespread use of cable-driven serial robots. The research team’s partnership with medical equipment industry will expand societal benefits of this work to medical robotics, thus advancing US economic prosperity and well-being. This robotics research will also help to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in research, positively impact engineering education, and prepare students with industrial workforce skills.The knowledge gained through this research will improve the understanding of cable-driven actuation in serial robots, generate a method to realize the self-decoupling of the cable transmission, and create a paradigm for modeling and controlling cable-driven serial robots. In particular, the work (1) will evaluate the hypothesis that coupling can counter coupling to realize motion decoupling, and develop an advanced self-decoupling mechanism based on this hypothesis; (2) will model the robotic dynamics and build a force-position integrated controller for high-performance control; and (3) will prototype a robot based on this research to perform evaluation analysis. This project is supported by the cross-directorate Foundational Research in Robotics program, jointly managed and funded by the Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该奖项全部或部分由2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117-2）资助。该工程研究启动（ERI）拨款支持研究，探索具有完全电缆驱动的串行机器人的新颖设计，建模和控制方法。串联机器人就像人类的手臂，由一系列刚性的杆状物体（类似于人类的上臂和前臂）组成，并通过关节（如肘部）连续互连。 串联机器人体积相对紧凑，易于操作。因此，串联机器人被广泛应用于工业自动化、太空探索、医疗服务和许多其他应用。然而，在移动空间有限和环境条件恶劣的环境中，串行机器人的使用非常有限。空间限制决定了机器人结构必须同时小型、紧凑和坚固。这些要求是难以实现与当前的机器人设计包含电机在他们的关节。而诸如高温或化学品暴露等恶劣条件可能会损坏直接安装在机器人关节上的电子元件和致动器。在这个项目中考虑的完全电缆驱动的机器人将提供一个潜在的解决方案，这两个挑战。这种设计将使电子元件和电机/致动器远离任何苛刻的元素，并利用电缆/电线来传输电力。然而，线缆驱动的串联机器人的关节通过线缆传输耦合，因此，一个机器人关节的旋转会影响其他关节的运动，使得精确的位置控制极具挑战性。 该奖项支持基础研究，将确定解决方案，以克服电缆驱动的串行机器人的运动耦合问题，建模独特的动力学，并建立一个控制器适合实现这种动态建模。通过这项研究获得的知识将显着提高复杂耦合机构的控制动力学的基本理解，并支持更广泛地使用电缆驱动的串联机器人。 研究团队与医疗设备行业的合作将扩大这项工作的社会效益，从而促进美国的经济繁荣和福祉。这项机器人研究还将有助于扩大代表性不足的群体在研究中的参与，积极影响工程教育，并为学生提供工业劳动力技能。通过这项研究获得的知识将提高对串行机器人中电缆驱动驱动的理解，产生实现电缆传输自解耦的方法，并创建一个模型和控制电缆驱动的串行机器人的范例。具体而言，（1）验证“耦合可以抵消耦合，实现运动解耦”的假设，并基于该假设开发先进的自解耦机构;（2）对机器人动力学进行建模，构建力-位置一体化控制器，实现高性能控制;（3）基于本研究制作机器人样机，进行评价分析。该项目由跨部门的机器人基础研究项目支持，该项目由工程部（ENG）和计算机与信息科学与工程部（CISE）共同管理和资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Motion decoupling for cable-driven serial robots based on a noncircular pulley

• DOI: 10.1109/aim46323.2023.10196257
• 发表时间: 2023-06
• 期刊: 2023 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM)
• 作者: Jinsai Cheng;Tao Shen