Analytical Forward Dynamics Modeling of Linearly Actuated Heavy-Duty Parallel-Serial Manipulators

This paper presents a new geometric and recursive algorithm for analytically computing the forward dynamics of heavy-duty parallel-serial mechanisms. Our solution relies on expressing the dynamics of a class of linearly-actuated parallel mechanism to a lower dimensional dual Lie algebra to find an analytical solution for the inverse dynamics problem. Thus, by applying the articulated-body inertias method, we successfully provide analytic expressions for the total wrench in the linear-actuator reference frame, the linear acceleration of the actuator, and the total wrench exerted in the base reference frame of the closed loop. This new formulation allows to backwardly project and assemble inertia matrices and wrench bias of multiple closed-loops mechanisms. The final algorithm holds an O(n) algorithmic complexity, where $n$ is the number of degrees of freedom (DoF). We provide accuracy results to demonstrate its efficiency with 1-DoF closed-loop mechanism and 4-DoF manipulator composed by serial and parallel mechanisms. Additionally, we release a URDF multi-DoF code for this recursive algorithm.

Obstacle Avoidance Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Trajectory Planner with Robust Low-Level Control for Robotic Manipulators

In robotics, contemporary strategies are learning-based, characterized by a complex black-box nature and a lack of interpretability, which may pose challenges in ensuring stability and safety. To address these issues, we propose integrating an obstacle-free deep reinforcement learning (DRL) trajectory planner with a novel auto-tuning low- and joint-level control strategy, all while actively engaging in the learning phase through interactions with the environment. This approach circumvents the complexities associated with computations while also addressing nonrepetitive and random obstacle avoidance tasks. First, a model-free DRL agent to plan velocity-bounded and obstacle-free motion is employed for a manipulator with 'n' degrees of freedom (DoF) in task space through joint-level reasoning. This plan is then input into a robust subsystem-based adaptive controller, which produces the necessary torques, while the Cuckoo Search Optimization (CSO) algorithm enhances control gains to minimize the time required to reach, time taken to stabilize, the maximum deviation from the desired value, and persistent tracking error in the steady state. This approach guarantees that position and velocity errors exponentially converge to zero in an unfamiliar environment, despite unknown robotic manipulator modeling. Theoretical assertions are validated through the presentation of simulation outcomes.

Orchestrated Robust Controller for the Precision Control of Heavy-duty Hydraulic Manipulators

Vast industrial investment along with increased academic research on hydraulic heavy-duty manipulators has unavoidably paved the way for their automatization, necessitating the design of robust and high-precision controllers. In this study, an orchestrated robust controller is designed to address the mentioned issue. To do so, the entire robotic system is decomposed into subsystems, and a robust controller is designed at each local subsystem by considering unknown model uncertainties, unknown disturbances, and compound input constraints, thanks to virtual decomposition control (VDC). As such, radial basic function neural networks (RBFNNs) are incorporated into VDC to tackle unknown disturbances and uncertainties, resulting in novel decentralized RBFNNs. All these robust local controllers designed at each local subsystem are, then, orchestrated to accomplish high-precision control. In the end, for the first time in the context of VDC, a semi-globally uniformly ultimate boundedness is achieved under the designed controller. The validity of the theoretical results is verified by performing extensive simulations and experiments on a 6-degrees-of-freedom industrial manipulator with a nominal lifting capacity of $600\, kg$ at $5$ meters reach. Comparing the simulation result to state-of-the-art controller along with provided experimental results, demonstrates that the proposed method established all the promises and performed excellently.

Exponential Auto-Tuning Fault-Tolerant Control of N Degrees-of-Freedom Manipulators Subject to Torque Constraints

This paper presents a novel auto-tuning subsystem-based fault-tolerant control (SBFC) system designed for robot manipulator systems with n degrees of freedom. It first employs an actuator fault model to account for various faults that may occur, and second, a mathematical saturation function is incorporated to address torque constraints. Subsequently, a novel robust subsystem-based adaptive control method is proposed to direct system states to follow desired trajectories closely in the presence of input constraints, unknown modeling errors, and actuator faults, which are primary considerations of the proposed system. This ensures uniform exponential stability and sustained performance. In addition, optimal values are identified by tuning the SBFC gains and customizing the JAYA algorithm (JA), a high-performance swarm intelligence technique. Theoretical assertions are validated through the presentation of simulation outcomes.

Nonlinear Subsystem-based Adaptive Impedance Control of Physical Human-Robot-Environment Interaction in Contact-rich Tasks

Haptic upper limb exoskeletons are robots that assist human operators during task execution while having the ability to render virtual or remote environments. Therefore, the stability of such robots in physical human-robot-environment interaction must be guaranteed, in addition to performing well during task execution. Having a wide range of Z-width, which shows the region of passively renderable impedance by a haptic display, is also important to render a wide range of virtual environments. To address these issues, in this study, subsystem-based adaptive impedance control is designed for having a stable human-robot-environment interaction of 7 degrees of freedom haptic exoskeleton. The presented control decomposes the entire system into subsystems and designs the controller at the subsystem level. The stability of the controller in the presence of contact with the virtual environment and human arm force is proved by employing the virtual stability concept. Additionally, the Z-width of the 7-DoF haptic exoskeleton is drawn using experimental data and improved using varying virtual mass element for the virtual environment. Finally, experimental results are provided to demonstrate the perfect performance of the proposed controller in accomplishing the predefined task.

Task Space Control of Robot Manipulators based on Visual SLAM

This paper aims to address the open problem of designing a globally stable vision-based controller for robot manipulators. Accordingly, based on a hybrid mechanism, this paper proposes a novel task-space control law attained by taking the gradient of a potential function in SE(3). The key idea is to employ the Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (VSLAM) algorithm to estimate a robot pose. The estimated robot pose is then used in the proposed hybrid controller as feedback information. Invoking Barbalats lemma and Lyapunov's stability theorem, it is guaranteed that the resulting closed-loop system is globally asymptotically stable, which is the main accomplishment of the proposed structure. Simulation studies are conducted on a six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) robot manipulator to demonstrate the effectiveness and validate the performance of the proposed VSLAM-based control scheme.

Physical Human-Robot Interaction Control of an Upper Limb Exoskeleton with a Decentralized Neuro-Adaptive Control Scheme

In the concept of physical human-robot interaction (pHRI), the most important criterion is the safety of a human operator interacting with a high degrees of freedom (DoF) robot. Therefore, a robust control scheme is of high demand to establish safe pHRI and stabilize nonlinear, high DoF systems. In this paper, an adaptive decentralized control strategy is designed to accomplish mentioned objectives. To do so, human upper limb model and exoskeleton model are decentralized and augmented at the subsystem level to be able to design a decentralized control action. Moreover, human exogenous force (HEF) that can resist exoskeleton motion is estimated using radial basic function neural networks (RBFNNs). Estimating both human upper limb and robot rigid body parameters along with HEF estimation makes the controller adaptable to different operators, ensuring their physical safety. The \emph{barrier Lyapunov function} (BLF), on the other hand, is employed to guarantee that the robot will work in a safe workspace while ensuring stability by adjusting the control law. Additionally, unknown actuator uncertainty and constraints are considered in this study to ensure a smooth and safe pHRI. Then, the asymptotic stability of the whole system is established by means of the \emph{virtual stability} concept and \emph{virtual power flows} (VPFs). Numerical and experimental results are provided and compared to PD controller to demonstrate the excellent performance of the proposed controller. As a result, the proposed controller accomplished all the control objectives with nearly zero error and low computed torque, ensuring physical safety in pHRI.

Decentralized Nonlinear Control of Redundant Upper Limb Exoskeleton with Natural Adaptation Law

The aim of this work is to utilize an adaptive decentralized control method called virtual decomposition control (VDC) to control the orientation and position of the end-effector of a 7 degrees of freedom (DoF) right-hand upper-limb exoskeleton. The prevailing adaptive VDC approach requires tuning of 13n adaptation gains along with 26n upper and lower parameter bounds, where n is the number of rigid bodies. Therefore, utilizing the VDC scheme to control high DoF robots like the 7-DoF upper-limb exoskeleton can be an arduous task. In this paper, a new adaptation function, so-called natural adaptation law (NAL), is employed to eliminate these burdens from VDC, which results in reducing all 13n gains to one and removing dependency on upper and lower bounds. In doing so, VDC-based dynamic equations are restructured, and inertial parameter vectors are made compatible with NAL. Then, the NAL adaptation function is exploited to design a new adaptive VDC scheme. This novel adaptive VDC approach ensures physical consistency conditions for estimated parameters with no need for upper and lower bounds. Finally, the asymptotic stability of the algorithm is proved with the virtual stability concept and the accompanying function. The experimental results are utilized to demonstrate the excellent performance of the proposed new adaptive VDC scheme.

Analytic Solutions for Wheeled Mobile Manipulator Supporting Forces

When a mobile manipulator's wheel loses contact with the ground, tipping-over may occur, causing material damage, and in the worst case, it can put human lives in danger. The tip-over stability of wheeled mobile manipulators must not be overlooked at any stage of a mobile manipulator's life, starting from the design phase, continuing through the commissioning period and extending to the operational phase. Many tip-over stability criteria formulated throughout the years do not explicitly consider the normal wheel loads, with most of them relying on prescribed stability margins in terms of overturning moments. In these formulations, it is commonly argued that overturning will occur about one of the axes connecting adjacent manipulator's contact points with the ground. This claim may not always be valid and is certainly restrictive. Explicit expressions for the manipulator supporting forces provide the best insight into relevant affecting terms which contribute to the tip-over (in)stability. They also remove the necessity for thinking about which axis the manipulator could tip over and simultaneously enable the formulation of more intuitive stability margins and on-line tip-over prevention techniques. The present study presents a general dynamics modelling approach in the Newton--Euler framework using 6D vectors and gives normal wheel load equations in a typical 4-wheeled mobile manipulator negotiating a slope. The given expressions are expected to become standard in wheeled mobile manipulators and to provide a basis for effective tip-over stability criteria and tip-over avoidance techniques. Based on the presented results, specific improvements of the state-of-the-art criteria are discussed.