Present day robot systems are manufactured to perform within industry accepted tolerances. However, to use such systems for tasks requiring high precision, various methods of robot calibration are generally required. These procedures can improve the accuracy of a robot within a small volume of the robot's workspace. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the use of a single camera 3D computer vision system as a position sensor in order to perform robot calibration. A vision feedback scheme, termed Vision-guided Robot Control (VRC), is described which can improve the accuracy of a robot in an on-line iterative manner. This system demonstrates the advantage that can be achieved by a Cartesian space robot control scheme when end effector position/orientation are actually sensed instead ofcalculated from the kinematic equations. The degree of accuracy is determined by setting a tolerance level for each of the six robot Cartesian space coordinates. In general, a small tolerance level requires a large number of iterations in order to position the end effector, and a large tolerance level requires fewer iterations. The viability of using a vision system for robot calibration is demonstrated by experimentally showing that the accuracy of a robot can be drastically improved. In addition, the vision system can also be used to determine the repeatability and accuracy of a robot in a simple, efficient, and quick manner. Experimental work with an IBM Electric Drive Robot (EDR) and the proposed vision system produced a 97 and a 145 fold improvement in the position and orientation accuracy of the robot, respectively.

We describe an approach that generates a complete b-rep description of a polyhedral object from (geometric primitives derived from) dense range images taken from multiple view-points. Our approach, starting from basic face models of visible surfaces of objects in each local view, matches certain geometric features, extracts rigid-body transformations that relate the local views, and incrementally merges the face models (in local views) into a global 3-dimensional b-rep description of the object. A convenient and effective termination criterion is designed to monitor the merging process. The emphasis is on the use of geometric constraints in building a complete 3-dimensional model of the object.

We have implemented this system in C, running on a SUN Sparcstation. The system, as presented, has been tested on face models derived from several synthetic and real range images and performs successfully with realistic noise levels.

This paper addresses a method of satisfactorily controlling the grasp of objects. Emphasis is placed on achieving the desired stiffness of a grasped object as accurately as possible, especially when the fingers have redundant joints. A model describing the relation between stiffness and force is derived. Based upon this model, a hierarchical control scheme of the grasp stiffness, called decentralized object stiffness control (DOSC) is proposed. DOSC is composed of a fingertip stiffness synthesis (FSS) algorithm and orthogonal stiffness decomposition control (OSDC). Employing the proposed FSS always achieves the desired grasp stiffness by solving the constrained least square problem. The computed fingertip stiffness is achieved by OSDC. It offers a feasible way of controlling the fingertip stiffness as well as maintaining the stability of the finger configuration by modulating the joint stiffness. The developed control method is implemented on a two-fingered planar robot hand one finger of which has a redundant joint. The effectiveness of the control method is confirmed experimentally.

This paper presents a systematic approach to the time-optimal motion planning of a cooperative two robot system along a prescribed path. First, the minimum-time motion planning problem is formulated in a concise form by parameterizing the dynamics of the robot system through a single variable describing the path. The constraints imposed on the input actuator torques and the exerted forces on the object are then converted into those on that variable, which result in the so-called admissible region in the phase plane of the variable. Considering the load distribution problem that is also involved in the motion, we present a systematic method to construct the admissible region by employing the orthogonal projection technique and the theory of multiple objective optimization. Especially, the effects of viscous damping and state-dependent actuator bounds are incorporated into the problem formulation so that the case where the admissible region is not simply connected can be investigated in detail. The resultant time-optimal solution specifies not only the velocity profile, but also the force assigned to each robot at each instant. Physical interpretation on the characteristics of the optimal actuator torques is also included with computer simulation results.

A dynamic model for two three-link cooperating structurally-flexible robotic manipulators is presented in this study. The equations of motion are derived using the extended Hamilton's principle and Galerkin's method, and must satisfy certain geometric constraints due to the closed chain formed by the two manipulators and the object. The dynamic model presented here is for the purpose of designing controllers. Therefore, a low-order model which captures all the major effects is of interest. Computer simulated results are presented for the case of moving an object along an elliptical path using the two cooperating flexible manipulators.

Structural and control flexibilities affect the absolute precision of serial manipulators. A semi-flexible kinematic model is developed, to improve the absolute static precision. It expands the solid body model by incorporating a spring effect for each joint and a beam effect for each link. Simulation results confirm the adequacy of the model. The dependencies existing between the articulate posture of the manipulator, the effects of the external efforts and the gravitational load on the global structure are properly described. The identifiability of the added parameters is explored on a RR planar robot. It requires efforts and pose errors to be known in the tool frame only.

This paper deals with the first transatlantic experiment of robotic telesurgery. A robot in Milan (Italy) performed an operation on a model of a pig, and the surgeon controller was in JPL, Pasadena (USA). By means of two communication satellites and of an optical fibre network, the robot performed a biopsy and a preliminary cut for a laparoscopic mini-invasive surgery operation.

Topics relevant to modeling and control of mobile wheeled robots with a differential drive are discussed by assuming a motion that is planar and free from lateral and longitudinal slippages, and by taking into account dynamic and kinematic properties of the vehicle. Based on the concept of geometric path-tracking, a controller is designed that is a memoryless function of the lateral, heading, and velocity path-tracking offsets. If these offsets are kept small and the assigned tracking velocity is constant, then this controller may be given a linear, time-invariant and decoupled PID (Proportional + integral + derivative) structure.

This paper is focused on task scheduling in multiprocessor robot controllers. To minimize the input-output time delay our consideration is restricted to parallel architectures that include complete crossbar interconnection networks. In this paper, an efficient scheduling algorithm based on a heuristic function is considered. This function takes into account delays caused by interprocessor communication and minimizes both the execution time and the communication cost. Robot control computation based on a highly efficient customized symbolic method is decomposed into a large number of simple tasks, each involving a single floating-point operation. Starting with an empty partial schedule, each step of the search extends the current partial schedule by adding one of the tasks yet to be scheduled. The heuristic function used in the algorithm actively directs the search for a feasible schedule, i.e. it helps choose the task that extends the current partial schedule. To increase the computational rate we introduced overlapping of computations.

This paper discusses a novel design for a rotary differential NiTi shape memory alloy actuator, which incorporates a mobile heat sink. The new mechanism is described in detail, and its performance in a position control system is compared with that of the same actuator without heat sink. Experimental results are presented which show an improvement in actuator response time, as well as closed-loop bandwidth. The design of the mechanism gives enhanced performance, without the increased power consumption associated with fixed heat sinks.