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

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。这项工程研究启动（ERI）赠款支持探索具有完全电缆驱动驱动的串行机器人的新设计，建模和控制方法。串行机器人就像人的手臂。它由一系列刚性棒状物体（类似于人类的上臂和前臂）组成，并通过关节（如肘部）连续连接。串行机器人体积相对较小，操作方便。因此，串行机器人被广泛应用于工业自动化、空间探索、医疗服务和许多其他应用。然而，在移动空间受限和恶劣环境条件下，串行机器人的使用是相当有限的。空间限制决定了机器人结构必须同时小巧、紧凑和坚固。目前的机器人设计在关节处包含电机，这些要求很难实现。而恶劣的条件，如高温或化学物质暴露，可能会损坏直接安装在机器人关节上的电子元件和执行器。在这个项目中考虑的全电缆驱动机器人将为这两个挑战提供一个潜在的解决方案。这种设计将电子元件和电机/执行器置于远离任何恶劣元素的位置，并利用电缆/电线传输电力。然而，电缆驱动的串行机器人的关节是通过电缆传输耦合的，因此，一个机器人关节的旋转会影响其他关节的运动，这使得精确的位置控制极具挑战性。该奖项支持基础研究，将确定克服电缆驱动串行机器人运动耦合问题的解决方案，建模独特的动力学，并建立适合实现这种动态建模的控制器。通过本研究获得的知识将大大提高对复杂耦合机构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行机器人。研究小组与医疗设备行业的合作将把这项工作的社会效益扩大到医疗机器人，从而促进美国经济的繁荣和福祉。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，对工程教育产生积极影响，并为学生提供工业劳动力技能。通过本研究获得的知识将提高对串联机器人缆索驱动驱动的理解，产生一种实现缆索传输自解耦的方法，并为缆索驱动的串联机器人建模和控制提供一个范例。特别是，工作(1)将评估耦合可以反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制；(2)建立机器人动力学模型，构建力-位置集成控制器，实现高性能控制；(3)将在此基础上制作机器人样机进行评价分析。该项目由跨部门机器人基础研究项目支持，由工程（ENG）和计算机与信息科学与工程（CISE）联合管理和资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.