Design of Flexible Modular Manipulators for Applications involving Human Machine Interaction

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The fourth industrial revolution is expected to greatly change the future of manufacturing and lead to Smart Factories that will benefit from the main design principles of Industry 4.0: interoperability, real--time capability, and modularity. Robotics will play a key role in this revolution, with systems slowly evolving as intelligent automation tools with higher levels of dexterity and flexibility, and the ability to learn and adapt to changes in the environment. Today, most robots in use for service applications only perform specialized pre-programmed tasks not involving humans (pick/place, grind, etc) in well-structured settings. In recent years, manufacturers, such as Kinova Robotics and Kuka started developing manipulators designed specifically for deployment in human-centric environments to assist with daily tasks. These robots have different motion speeds and payload capacities in order to enable interaction with humans while minimizing the risk of collision and injury. However, these systems are not designed to be reconfigured to handle different tasks or application needs that may require a different level of dexterity. Also, another very important aspect is the underlying human safety, so that robots can be successfully and seamlessly integrated in human--centric settings and be able to conduct collaborative tasks safely and efficiently. In this research program, the applicant will build on his extensive expertise in the area of modular and reconfigurable systems to design the next generation robotic systems, with intelligent controls for applications that require close interaction and collaboration with humans, such as those in the service industry. In the proposed research program, modular and reconfigurable robots (MRR) for human machine interaction (HMI) will be developed as versatile hardware with improved dexterity compared to hardware with a fixed configuration. One objective of the proposed research is to develop intelligent algorithms to optimize the kinematic configuration of robotic arms commonly used in HMI applications, based on task requirements and subject to kinematic and dynamics constraints. The research program will also focus on developing supervisory control methods which enable adjustment of the parameters of the robot position and force/torque control loops to adapt to system reconfiguration when new tasks are introduced, while maintaining safety and precision while interacting with human(s). The proposed program will also develop dynamic algorithms to regenerate robot motion commands (trajectory and joints speeds) and update the path planning process in order to adapt to the changes in the task or the required level of support requested by the human interacting with the robot arm. Unique experimental setups in the applicant's new research lab; the RoboHub will enable effective pursuit of all the objectives of the proposed research program as well as provide a robust and unique training environment.