Engineering Commons^™

Path Planning Development Framework For Mobile Robots, Lauren-Ann Elizabeth Graham

Theses and Dissertations

Planetary exploration relies on methods of path planning to achieve autonomous navigation in hazardous environments. Simulating harsh terrain, real-time varying physics, and robotics applications is vital for testing control algorithms here on Earth. Robotics Operating System (ROS) is a set of software libraries and tools that allow you to build and simulate robotic applications. Utilizing ROS, Gazebo, and Blender, a rough terrain simulation framework is created to explore and compare path planning algorithms using various desired robots and maps. ROS supports multiple path planning algorithms given its open-source abilities. This research focuses on path planning implementation of Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control …

A Multi-Aerial Vehicle Platform For Testing Collaborative Mobility Formation Controllers, Matthew Snellgrove

LSU Master's Theses

Multi-agent systems have potential applications in a multitude of fields due to their ability to perform complex tasks with a high degree of robustness. Decentralized systems are multi-agent systems where sensing, control, and communication responsibilities are distributed amongst the agents giving this scheme a particularly high potential for robustness, adaptability, and complexity; however, this comes with its own list of challenges. Formation control is a topic in multi-agent systems that aims to have the agents moving as a virtual rigid body through space. In the literature, there have been successful implementation of formation control algorithms on robot agents in both …

Design And Data-Driven Identification Of A Quadruped Robot, Dakota Rufino

All Theses

The existence of nonlinearities and the lack of sufficient equations are fundamental challenges in modeling, analyzing, and controlling complex systems. However, recent developments revolutionizing the study of dynamical systems. An emerging method in nonlinear dynamical systems is the Koopman operator theory, which provides us with key advantages in performing the modeling, prediction, and control of nonlinear systems. The linear system representation allows us to leverage linear stability analysis. The first section of this thesis briefly covers the construction of a quadrupedal robot, a sufficiently complex nonlinear dynamical system, for the use of analyzing data-driven modeling techniques. The second section details …

Designs And Practical Control Methods For Soft Parallel Robots, Benjamin T. Buzzo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The use of soft robotics is becoming an increasingly researched topic, since they can provide more flexibility in movements and increase safety when working with humans. However, they are more susceptible to modeling and manufacturing errors in the design.

The objective of this thesis is two-fold, the first objective is to determine the benefits and limitations of using calibration tables that rely on the PWM signals instead of modeling as a control method. If calibration tables are not adequate to achieve a high level of precision. The second objective is to determine if using a tethered mobile robot in unison …

System Integration Of C-Arm Robotic Prototype Using Motion Capture Guidance For Accurate Repositioning, Alireza Yazdanshenas

Mechanical Engineering Theses

One of the important surgical tools in spinal surgery is the C-Arm X-ray System. The C-Arm is a large “C” shaped and manually maneuvered arm that provides surgeons and X-ray technicians the ability to take quick quality X-rays during surgery. Because of its five degrees of freedom, the C-Arm can be manually maneuvered around the patient to provide many angles and perspectives, ensuring surgical success.

This system works fine for most surgical procedures but falls short when the C-Arm must be moved out of the way for complicated surgical procedures.

The aim of this thesis is to develop an accurate …

Motor Control Systems Analysis, Design, And Optimization Strategies For A Lightweight Excavation Robot, Austin Jerold Crawford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis entails motor control system analysis, design, and optimization for the University of Arkansas NASA Robotic Mining Competition robot. The open-loop system is to be modeled and simulated in order to achieve a desired rapid, yet smooth response to a change in input. The initial goal of this work is to find a repeatable, generalized step-by-step process that can be used to tune the gains of a PID controller for multiple different operating points. Then, sensors are to be modeled onto the robot within a feedback loop to develop an error signal and to make the control system self-corrective …

Analysis And Control Of Fiber-Reinforced Elastomeric Enclosures (Frees), Soheil Habibian

Master’s Theses

While rigid robots are extensively used in various applications, they are limited in the tasks they can perform and can be unsafe in close human-robot interactions. Soft robots on the other hand surpass the capabilities of rigid robots in several ways, such as compatibility with the work environments, degrees of freedom, manufacturing costs, and safe interactions with the environment. This thesis studies the behavior of Fiber-Reinforced Elastomeric Enclosures (FREEs) as a particular type of soft pneumatic actuator that can be used in soft manipulators. A dynamic lumped-parameter model is created to simulate the motion of a single FREE under various …

Developing And Testing An Anguilliform Robot Swimming With Theoretically High Hydrodynamic Efficiency, John B. Potts Iii

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

An anguilliform swimming robot replicating an idealized motion is a complex marine vehicle necessitating both a theoretical and experimental analysis to completely understand its propulsion characteristics. The ideal anguilliform motion within is theorized to produce ``wakeless'' swimming (Vorus, 2011), a reactive swimming technique that produces thrust by accelerations of the added mass in the vicinity of the body. The net circulation for the unsteady motion is theorized to be eliminated.

The robot was designed to replicate the desired, theoretical motion by applying control theory methods. Independent joint control was used due to hardware limitations. The fluid velocity vectors in the …