Design of ultra-high-speed observer-based micro positioning systems

运动控制和传感是制造业、汽车、航空航天和许多其他行业自动化技术的基础。 随着时间的推移，性能要求不断提高，原子力显微镜（AFM）等微尺度应用现已成为运动控制研究的前沿课题。 我的团队特别感兴趣的是能够同时设计和优化机械布局，电磁或压电致动部件以及相关控制系统的方法。 通常，目标是最大化动态响应，同时最小化能量消耗和致动器尺寸。 为了提高系统的鲁棒性和最小化成本和尺寸，基于观测器的位置和力反馈是非常可取的，但很少在实践中实现。 在定位范围在0.0001mm和0.1mm之间的微尺度定位中，压电致动器已经成为主要的致动技术。 旨在实现视频速率扫描频率的AFM已将压电致动技术的性能范围推到其物理极限。 在最近的一项可行性研究中，我的团队确定了两种潜在的致动器技术，可以显着提高微尺度运动控制应用的速度：新型压电致动器几何形状和专用电磁致动器。 拟议的研究计划将为这些超高速微定位技术开发新的设计方法。 这些新的方法将改变从业者的方法的执行器设计的问题。 我的团队将为机械布局、驱动组件和控制系统开发一个集成设计流程。 这不仅将增加可实现的致动动态，而且无传感器力和位置反馈的集成将允许比具有专用反馈传感器的传统致动系统更经济、更鲁棒且体积更小的运动控制解决方案。 建议的实验原型集中在AFM驱动和触觉压电夹具。 然而，该技术也可以转移到其他应用，如汽车燃油喷射器，高精度加工伺服，传感器的结构健康监测，或主动AFM，旨在集成表面拓扑操纵与传统的表面拓扑映射。 将在NSERC与加拿大工业合作伙伴（如韦斯特波特创新公司、庞巴迪公司或集成探针仪器公司）的合作研究和开发赠款的帮助下，探索将拟议的工作转化为这些应用。

Motion control and sensing are the foundation for automation technologies in manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and many other industries. Over time, performance requirements have increased and microscale applications such as atomic force microscopes (AFM) are now a topic at the forefront of motion control research. Of particular interest to my group are methods enabling the simultaneous design and optimization of mechanical layouts, electromagnetic or piezoelectric actuation components, and the associated control systems. Typically, one aims to maximize the dynamic response while minimizing energy consumption and actuator size. To increase system robustness and to minimize cost and size, observer based position and force feedback is highly desirable, but rarely implemented in practice. In micro scale positioning with a positioning range between 0.0001mm and 0.1mm, piezo-electric actuators have been the predominant actuation technology. AFMs that aim to achieve video rate scanning frequencies for in vitro sampling have pushed the performance envelope of piezo-electric actuation technologies to their physical limits. In a recent feasibility study, my group identified two potential actuator technologies that can significantly increase the speed of micro scale motion control applications: Novel piezo-electric actuator geometries and specialized electromagnetic actuators. The proposed research program will develop new design methodologies for these ultra-high-speed micro positioning technologies. These new methods will change the ways practitioners approach the problem of actuator design. My team will develop an integrated design process for mechanical layouts, actuation components, and control systems. This will not only increase the achievable actuation dynamics, but the integration of sensorless force and position feedback will allow for more cost effective, more robust, and less bulky motion control solutions than traditional actuation systems with dedicated feedback sensors. The proposed experimental prototypes focus on AFM actuation and tactile piezoelectric grippers. However, the technology can also be transferred to other applications such as automotive fuel injectors, high accuracy machining servos, sensors for structural health monitoring, or active AFMs that aim to integrate surface topology manipulation with conventional surface topology mapping. The translation of the proposed work to these applications will be explored with the help of NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Grants with Canadian industrial partners such as Westport Innovations, Bombardier, or Integrated Probe Instruments.