SBIR PHASE II: Two Degree-of-Freedom Spherical Pointing Actuator

* 9704266班德拉 对于要求苛刻的航空电子设备和机器人应用的主动视觉商业化，特别是对于中央凹机器视觉商业化的关键技术挑战是缺乏具有高速、高精度、快速稳定时间、小尺寸、小功耗和轻重量的指向机构。 这个小企业创新研究第二阶段项目从阿默斯特系统公司。将开发一种低成本，高性能，微型两个自由度（DOF）的云台指向机构，称为球形指向致动器（SPA），满足移动的机器人主动视觉凝视的要求。 该项目还将开发一个计算机接口，实现SPA的开环和闭环控制。 传统的平移-倾斜机构耦合I-DOF电机，并且它们的运动学链施加了在小型移动的平台中不切实际的大重量（几磅）、扭矩（高达几十英尺-磅）和功率（几百瓦）有效载荷要求。 SPA通过将两个自由度集成到一个旋转致动器中，降低了运动链和有效载荷的要求。 它提供了准确，快速（1000度/秒），宽，角度偏移（90度）指向小质量（几十个格令）与小功率（10 W）和空间（一立方英寸的数量级）。 SPA由安装在四面体阻尼磁路两侧的四个线圈（每个自由度两个）组成，该磁路作用于万向节磁铁;磁铁支持视觉传感器凝视电路的开放底座。 与不使用磁路的球形指向电机设计相比，这种设计具有更宽的偏移和更简单的控制（阻尼动态，固有的定心力，不需要原位线圈）。 球形指向致动器（SPA）允许更小，更可靠的主动视觉系统用于自主安全，自动目标识别，无人驾驶地面和空中车辆，商用机器人，智能武器和智能车辆。 与中央凹成像器组合的SPA提供宽视场以改善搜索、快速帧速率以改善跟踪以及高局部敏锐度以改善识别。 低成本的传统组件和制造程序确保了商业可行性。 ***

*** 9704266 Bandera A key technical challenge to the commercialization of active vision for demanding avionics and robotics applications, and particularly to the commercialization of foveal machine vision, is the lack of a pointing mechanism featuring high speed, high accuracy, fast settling time, small size, small power consumption, and light weight. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project from Amherst Systems, Inc. will develop a low-cost, high performance, miniature two degree-of-freedom (DOF) pan-tilt pointing mechanism, called a spherical pointing actuator (SPA), that meets mobile robot active vision gazing requirements. This project will also develop a computer interface implementing open-loop and closed-loop control of the SPA. Conventional pan-tilt mechanisms couple I-DOF motors, and their kinematics chain imposes large weight (several pounds), torque (up to tens of foot-pounds), and power (several hundred watts) payload requirements that are impractical in small mobile platforms. The SPA reduces the kinematics chain and payload requirements by integrating both degrees of freedom into one rotary actuator. It provides accurate, rapid (1000 degrees/sec), wide, angle excursion (90 degrees) pointing of small mass (tens of grains) with little power (10 W) and space (on the order of one cubic inch). The SPA consists of four coils (two per DOF) mounted on the sides of a tetrahedral damped magnetic circuit that acts upon a gimbaled magnet; the magnet supports a visual sensor gazing out the circuit's open base. This design features wider excursion and simpler control (damped dynamics, inherent centering force, no home position coil required) than spherical pointing motor designs that do not use magnetic circuitry. The spherical pointing actuator (SPA) permits smaller and more reliable active vision systems for autonomous security, automatic target recognition, unmanned ground and air vehicles, commercial robots, smart weapons, and smart vehicles. An SPA combined wit h a foveal imager provides wide field-of-view to improve search, fast frame rate to improve tracking, and high localized acuity to improve recognition. Low-cost conventional components and fabrication procedures assure commercial feasibility. ***