NIMS-PL: A Cable-Driven Robot With Self-Calibration Capabilities

We present the Networked InfoMechanical System for Planar Translation, which is a novel two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) cable-driven robot with self-calibration and online drift-correction capabilities. This system is intended for actuated sensing applications in aquatic environments. The actuation redundancy resulting from in-plane translation driven by four cables results in an infinite set of tension distributions, thus requiring real-time computation of optimal tension distributions. To this end, we have implemented a highly efficient, iterative linear programming solver, which requires a very small number of iterations to converge to the optimal value. In addition, two novel self-calibration methods have been developed that leverage the robot's actuation redundancy. The first uses an incremental displacement, or jitter method, whereas the second uses variations in cable tensions to determine end-effector location. We also propose a novel least-squares drift-detection algorithm, which enables the robot to detect long-term drift. Combined with self-calibration capabilities, this drift-monitoring algorithm enables long-term autonomous operation. To verify the performance of our algorithms, we have performed extensive experiments in simulation and on a real system.

[1]  Satoshi Tadokoro,et al.  Attitude Stability of a Cable Driven Balloon Robot , 2006, 2006 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[2]  Hanqi Zhuang,et al.  Autonomous Calibration of Hexapod Machine Tools , 2000 .

[3]  Gaurav S. Sukhatme,et al.  Mobile Robot Sensing for Environmental Applications , 2007, FSR.

[4]  Sadao Kawamura,et al.  Development of an Ultrahigh Speed Robot FALCON Using Parallel Wire Drive Systems , 1997 .

[5]  E. Polak.  Introduction to linear and nonlinear programming , 1973 .

[6]  Wing-Kin Ma,et al.  Least squares algorithms for time-of-arrival-based mobile location , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing.

[7]  Annika Raatz,et al.  Singularity Based Calibration of 3-DOF Fully Parallel Planar Manipulators , 2007 .

[8]  Paolo Gallina,et al.  Planar Cable-Direct-Driven Robots, Part II: Dynamics and Control , 2001 .

[9]  Abdul Rauf,et al.  Fully autonomous calibration of parallel manipulators by imposing position constraint , 2001, Proceedings 2001 ICRA. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.01CH37164).

[10]  M. Hiller,et al.  Tension Distribution in Tendon-Based Stewart Platforms , 2002 .

[11]  Y. K. Yiu,et al.  Auto-calibration for a parallel manipulator with sensor redundancy , 2003, 2003 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.03CH37422).

[12]  Paolo Gallina,et al.  Planar Translational Cable-Direct-Driven Robots , 2003, J. Field Robotics.

[13]  F. Takemura,et al.  Development of the balloon-cable driven robot for information collection from sky and proposal of the search strategy at a major disaster , 2005, Proceedings, 2005 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics..

[14]  Michael A. Peshkin,et al.  Complete parameter identification of a robot from partial pose information , 1993, [1993] Proceedings IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[15]  Zexiang Li,et al.  Auto-calibration of a redundant parallel manipulator based on the projected tracking error , 2007 .

[16]  F. Bekes,et al.  Motion control of a tendon-based parallel manipulator using optimal tension distribution , 2004, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.

[17]  Stephen P. Boyd,et al.  Convex Optimization , 2004, Algorithms and Theory of Computation Handbook.

[18]  Wei-Jung Shiang,et al.  Optimal force distribution applied to a robotic crane with flexible cables , 2000, Proceedings 2000 ICRA. Millennium Conference. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Symposia Proceedings (Cat. No.00CH37065).

[19]  Manfred Hiller,et al.  A real-time capable force calculation algorithm for redundant tendon-based parallel manipulators , 2008, 2008 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[20]  Wisama Khalil,et al.  Calibration of parallel robots using two inclinometers , 1999, Proceedings 1999 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.99CH36288C).

[21]  Guilin Yang,et al.  Dynamic analysis of cable-driven parallel mechanisms , 2005, Proceedings, 2005 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics..

[22]  Amir Khajepour,et al.  Minimum-norm Solution for the Actuator Forces in Cable-based Parallel Manipulators based on Convex Optimization , 2007, Proceedings 2007 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[23]  Paolo Gallina,et al.  Planar Cable-Direct-Driven Robots, Part I: Kinematics and Statics , 2001 .

[24]  M. Stealey,et al.  High Resolution River Hydraulic and Water Quality Characterization Using Rapidly Deployable Networked Infomechanical Systems (NIMS RD) , 2007 .

[25]  Manfred Hiller,et al.  On design of a redundant wire-driven parallel robot WARP manipulator , 1999, Proceedings 1999 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.99CH36288C).

[26]  G. Dantzig,et al.  Notes on Linear Programming: Part 1. The Generalized Simplex Method for Minimizing a Linear Form under Linear Inequality Restraints , 1954 .

[27]  Margaret H. Wright,et al.  Direct search methods: Once scorned, now respectable , 1996 .

[28]  Guilin Yang,et al.  Self-calibration of a biologically-inspired cable-driven robotic arm , 2007, 2007 IEEE/ASME international conference on advanced intelligent mechatronics.

[29]  Maxim A. Batalin,et al.  NIMS RD: A Rapidly Deployable Cable Based Robot , 2007, Proceedings 2007 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[30]  Peter I. Corke,et al.  Air Vehicle Simulator: an Application for a Cable Array Robot , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[31]  Todd Graham,et al.  On the inverse kinematics, statics, and fault tolerance of cable-suspended robots , 1998, J. Field Robotics.

[32]  Wei-Jung Shiang,et al.  Dynamic analysis of the cable array robotic crane , 1999, Proceedings 1999 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.99CH36288C).

[33]  Maxim A. Batalin,et al.  Autonomous Robotic Sensing Experiments at San Joaquin River , 2007, Proceedings 2007 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.