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INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
A robot is any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort, though it may not resemble human beings in appearance or perform functions in a humanlike manner. By extension, robotics is an engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction, and operation of robots.The modern term robot is derived from the Czech word robota (forced labour or serf). Robots are built for different purposes, like for industrial, domestic or even for scientific purposes.
1.2
SCOPE
The robot to be built in question will have six legs and will have locomotion similar to
that of an insect-an ant, this is a technique called Biomimetics.1 In order to develop this robot a model will be created which will help in the design of the robot. In constructing the robot, there are certain case studies that have taken into consideration; like considering the type of terrain the robots locomotion would move on. The rainforest has been picked as a case study because of its unusually rough terrain which consists of different soil types, like the rocky, sandy and marshy soil types. The robots movement will entirely be orchestrated with the use of twelve actuators or
An actuator is a mechanical device used for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It takes energy transported by air, electric current, or liquid.
effectors. These actuators will be driven by a PIC 18F4550 microcontroller which will be programmed to move each actuator according to a particular gait style to be employed.
1.3
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this project is to build a hexapod (six legged) robot and to make sure it
move, depending on the gait style to be used. The robot to be built in question will have six legs and will have locomotion similar to that of an insect-an ant, this is a technique called Biomimetics.2 In order to develop this robot a model will be created which will help in the design of the robot. The robots movement will entirely be orchestrated with the use of twelve actuators or effectors. These actuators will be driven by a PIC 18F4520 microcontroller which will be programmed to move each actuator according to a particular gait style to be employed.
An actuator is a mechanical device used for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It takes energy transported by air, electric current, or liquid.
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`This mathematical expression above, usually called the Griebler- Kutzback equation, can be used to determine the mobility of the hexapod robotic model. Using the equation above, each leg has 2 joints, meaning, 2 DOFs. Considering six legs the system has a total of 12 DOFs. Hence, it is necessary to know that there are twelve generators of motion (servomotors / actuators).
DOF in this context means Degree of Freedom no of axis movements on a control system.
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 HISTORY OF ROBOTICS
The word robot was coined by a Czech novelist Karel Capek in a 1920 play titled Rassums Universal Robots (RUR). Robot in Czech is a word for worker or servant. A robot is a reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks: Robot Institute of America, 1979.
2003: NASAs Mars Exploration Rovers will launch toward Mars in search of answers about the history of water on Mars
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Fig 2.1 (a) Mobile Robot (b) Fixed Robot
Isolate their body from terrain irregularities Avoid undesirable footholds Regulate their stability Achieve energy efficiency These advantages are very desirable in modern robotics, and therefore a lot of research is
being put into creating robots that can walk. The most challenging task in designing a legged robot is to create a system that can generate the proper gait.
Dynamic walking is characterized in that the robot is not always in balance. Many robots that use dynamic walking are continually falling and thus much more energy efficient. Dynamic walking requires much more complex control systems in order to not fall. Robots utilizing dynamic walking cannot use the same motions at different speeds to attain different speeds of movement, but must use entirely different motions at different speeds. However, dynamic walking can achieve many more advantages over wheeled locomotion. Dynamic walking is found very abundantly in nature. A subset of dynamic walking is called passive dynamic movement. Most dynamic walking systems use active control to move the legs to the correct orientations for walking (hence active dynamic walking). Passive dynamic walking is characterized by a system where gravity and inertia alone generate the locomotion pattern. Passive dynamic movement can be achieved with maximum efficiency, as the vehicle uses its own forward momentum to propagate its next movement. Very little energy is lost from the system. Most of the concepts of passive dynamic walking and research conducted in the field was done by aeronautical engineer Tad McGeer between 1988 and 1992.
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(b) Fig 2.2 Different gait styles (a) Wave Gait (b) Tripod Gait
Most robots using six or more legs use a variation of one of these two gait models.
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real time using Hondas i-WALK technology. This allows ASIMO to continuously change speeds and direction. The robot can walk up stairs and run up to four miles per hour.
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One of the differences between forward and inverse kinematics is that forward kinematics just involves finding the angles and coordinates of one part of the robot as against being given other parts, while is the direct opposite. They both serve the same use.
variable (pitch angle) and its time derivative. The integral actions included not only can compensate of the entire dynamics of the system which is assumed to be unknown, but also ensure that the steady state error in the regulation of pitch angle is equal to zero. In addition, the control law is easy to implement. Simulation results are presented to show that, compared with differential geometric feedback linearization control and variable structure adaptive control, the designed adaptive feedback linearization control is superior in resisting external disturbances and adapting the uncertainties of system model.
2.9
USING A STABLE ROBOST ADAPTIVE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR SOLVING UNKNOWN NON-LINEAR EQUATION
In order to develop a stable robust adaptive control approach for a class of unknown
nonlinear systems in the strict-feedback form with disturbances. By combining neural network technique with back-stepping method and introducing a special type of Lyapunov functions, the controller singularity problem is avoided perfectly. As the estimates of unknown neural network approximation error bound and external disturbance bound are adjusted adaptively, the robustness of the closed-loop system is improved and the application scope of nonlinear systems is extended. The overall neural network control systems can guarantee that all the signals of the closed-loop system are uniformly ultimately bounded and the tracking error converges to a small neighborhood of zero by suitably choosing the design parameters. The feasibility of the control approach is demonstrated through simulation results.
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2.10 MEASURING THE CUTTING FORCE OF A SERVOMOTOR IN THE FREQUENCY AND TIME DOMAINS
This method introduce an indirect method of measuring cutting force, in which the current signal of the servo motor is measured instead of cutting force. The relationship between the cutting force and the current signal of the servo motor is analyzed in detail. After the analysis in the frequency and the time domain, the current Eigen value of the servo motor is found with the various load torque and the mathematical models are created. Based on the current restriction, an adaptive cutting force control for numerical control machine is also proposed. Practical experiments have proved that this indirect measurement is reasonable and effective.
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Another objective of this method is to study the torque versus speed characteristics of the actuator/effectors of the robot.
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3.1
electronic parts. The mechanical aspect deals with the torque generated on each arm, the speed of the motor, the weight of the material used and the inertia generated on each arm. The electronic part consists of the circuit used and connected in such a way as to control the actuators and also programming the actuators. In order to construct the six legged robot, strategic planning must be taken. The major components that used in building the robot are listed below: PIC 18F45505 AX 12 Servomotor / actuator Power supply circuit 74HC125 (Buffer Chip) / Simple Switcher ICSP Connector
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3.2
servomotors to move each joint. Formerly, a proposition was made to use wood to build its frame but it was later knocked off due to woods fragility and its inability to stand the test of time; the initially proposed structure (made of wood) is shown in Fig 3.1 and the final design after construction is shown in Fig 3.2. In the fabrication of the robots frame, a sheet of aluminium was bought and then folded into a square shaped cylindrical prism that was be about 35mm 28mm 24mm. In the cause of building the robot so many things were brought into place, like the material used for the frame of the robot which was aluminium. The aluminium used for the frame had to be cut to size with dimensions between 35mm 24mm, after which the sides were filed, as for the joints of the robot, they were cut out and it was made sure that they were light enough for the actuators to move the arms with the right amount of torque. The torque provided by the AX-12 servomotor is about 12 kgf-cm (12N-cm)-which implies that the motor exerts approximately a force of about 12 Newton to 1cm length of the arm it will move. This implies that for every 1cm on each arm the motor can accommodate as much as 12kgf-cm of weight- which is a massive amount of torque for a servomotor.
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Fig 3.1 Diagram showing (a) Initially Proposed Robots structure; (b)Leg and joint movement of Robot to be built.
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Each leg has 2DOFs, and since the robot has six legs, there will be a total of 12 degrees of freedom (DOF). Outlined below is a brief overview of the control section and some of the components contained in it. In addition to this, the PIC is connected to a buffer chip 74HC125 which is used as a simple switcher.
withstand large external forces. It also has the 6ability to detect and act up on internal conditions such as changes in internal temperature or supply voltage. The robot being built has twelve AX12 actuators that will be programmed to suit the tripod gait style. The Ax-12 can rotate at a maximum speed of about 114rpm. Standard hobby servos use a variable duty cycle pulse train to control their shafts angular velocity and position. The duty cycle of the servo control pulse determines the servo shafts rotational position while the angular velocity of the servo shafts rotational position while the angular velocity of the servo shaft is dictated by the speed of the duty cycle modulation. Thus, the slower the duty cycle change, the slower the angular velocity. The Dynamixel robot (Ax-12) actuators dont depend on pulse widths for their position information. The Ax-12 servomotor is connected to the simple switcher which controls the actuators one at a time by maintaining all individual ports but one at a high impedance, while the other at a lower impedance. The Ax-12 receives data that indicates whether it should move or not, this data is called the instruction packet while the data sent back to the simple switcher circuit by the Ax-12 is called the status packet. The Ax-12 servos are arranged on a link on the board connected to the simple switcher circuit that in addition to carrying precision position and speed information, the digital packets can also transport robot information, the digital packets can also transport robot actuator feedback data. We already know that with the issuance of a command from a host controller, an Ax-12+ can report its angular position and/ or its angular velocity. Other robot actuator parameters such as internal temperature, input voltage, and load torque can also be queried by the host controller.
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Gait style as mentioned above means the rate of moving or the technique used to move a system, as in the case above it implies the robots moving technique.
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Some of the specifications of the AX-12 are: 7 Resolution: 0.35o Operating Angle: 300o, Endless Turn Voltage: 7V-10V (Recommended voltage is 9.6Volts)
Since the robot to be built has six legs, the tripod gait style is one that involves three of the robots limbs moving at the same time while the others are used to balance it.
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Fig 3.4 (a) Assembling the Ax-12 Servomotor (b)Ax-12 Frames (c) Combining Two Servos together
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3.4 REAL TIME ROBOTIC NAVIGATION THROUGH THE RAIN FOREST REGION
Rainforests usually occur in regions where there is a high annual rainfall of generally more than 1,800mm, and a hot and steamy climate. The trees found in these regions are evergreen. The rain forest is generally composed of broad-leaved trees and often, but not always found in wet tropical uplands and lowlands around the equator. The rain forests are vegetation types dominated by broad-leaved trees that form a dense upper canopy, with the trees either been ever green or, in seasonally dry parts of the tropics. This study is actually to generate control algorithms and to conduct a study on the successful control of a robot in the rainforest region. Over two-thirds of central Africas forests still qualify as large tracts of low-access forest i.e. large areas are unbroken by public roads. 30
Only South Americas Amazon basin has larger areas of undisturbed tropical forest. With this in mind, it is however known that locomotion in the rainforest could prove difficult and this is one reason why this study has been selected- to find ways of moving an autonomous robot in this area successfully, The second reason why this study has been selected is because Obafemi Awolowo University-situated in Osun State is located in the rain forest. Thirdly the reason the rainforest has been picked is because forests have considerable economic importance across the region: wood, fuel accounts for the majority of national energy consumption. In other for an autonomous robot to navigate successfully in these regions, a careful study has been done on the rain forest, which lets us know that the rain forest consists of different terrains- rocky, stony, rough and sandy - which is by far the most difficult of all terrains to navigate through because of its ability to change its texture and level whether high or not. In this paper, we consider the problem of navigation in this region, since it consists of even and uneven terrains (rainforest). Since we know that low DOF robots have difficulty in navigating uneven terrains, a suitable algorithm for the gait style is being worked out to enable easy navigation in this area.
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(b) Fig 3.5 (a) Data Pin configuration of the Ax-12 Servo. (b)Wiring up more than one Ax-12 Servomotor.
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CHAPTER FOUR
TESTS AND RESULTS
During and after the building of the frame and circuit of the robot, there were tests, and research studies that were carried out on it to make sure that all was in place for the robots locomotion. This later led to what the relevance of the project was, some of which were security scanning, scouting remote areas etc. which can done through a series of tests which are Impedance control, static stability analysis, and Inverse kinematics which would treated extensively in this chapter.
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using positive and negative feedback techniques that allows the robot to maneuver around by gaining experience, and so on.
Cybernetics involves a field of science whereby artificial systems being built up or made with processes of communication and control (especially) are biologically inspired.
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mind, it is however known that locomotion in the rainforest could prove difficult, which is why these research studies have been chosen.
measuring the combined mass of both actuators on each leg which is then used to get the force exerted on each leg. It is important for the actuator or manipulator/effector as the case may be to have accurate positioning on the surface/ environment on which it is to move on, in order for it to easily move different surfaces/terrains (Sandy, Rocky, Swampy etc.) in the rainforest. We would look and study the impact of impedance control on different terrains, but first a look at the structure/ characteristics of the actuator to be used (Ax-12+). The Ax-12+ as described in the previous chapter is a super-servo, that has its own microcontroller (AVR). It is small but has a reasonable amount of torque which would enable the robot move on different terrains. This paper would exploit the use of Impedance control for the purpose of stability either in a static or dynamic position.
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Dm = the load inertia reflected to the armature is the viscous Damping at the armature and includes both the armature viscous damping in the motor. Kb = the motor constant. Ea(t)= it is the input voltage into the actuator (about 9.6Volts-)since the Ax-12 is an electromechanical device. d/dt =angular acceleration of the motor. (t)=d(t)/dt = angular speed. Ra = Resistance of the actuator Note: All parameters in the equation are in the time domain. In frequency domain Vb(s)= Kbs (s), Where Vb is the back emf of the motor in the frequency domain after taking the Laplace transform of the function Vb(t)- in the time domain. By taking the Laplace transform of the equation, we have:
Tm(s) = KtIa(s)
Tm=Torque developed by the motor. Ia=Current in the servomotor. 38
Kt=Proportionality constant. Using this approach the transfer function ((s) / Ea(s)) of the motor is found whereby Put Ia(s) = Tm(s)/Kt into (3) And Vb(s) = Kbs (s) Therefore transfer function is: (s) / Ea(s)= 1 / [Ra(s)Tm(s)/Kt + Kb s (s)] We usually ask the use of the transfer function, it relates the input to the output of a system, in the case of the Ax-12 servomotor, it relates the electrical input to the mechanical output. From the Ax-12 data sheet, it can be seen that the angular speed of rotation at 7Volts i.e. At Ea(s)=7Volts, (s)=0.2690/sec At 10Volts, (s) = 0.1960/sec And the optimum/ recommended voltage is 9.6volts All the above values are gotten from the model created by deriving the transfer function.
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(b) Fig 4.1 (a) Effect of the servo's Inertia (mass) on its motion (b)Diagram shows how the Ax-12 servo acts like an electromechanical device
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CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
The basis of this project is to develop control algorithms that would be used to test for its adaptation features in the rainforest, therefore in the cause of building this robot, care has been taken into account the necessary features like the torque-speed characteristics of the actuator and other studies (Inverse Kinematics, Impedance control and other Linearization strategies) that are still ongoing on how to make sure the robot easily adapts to the roughest of terrains in the rainforest region.
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5.2 RECOMMENDATION
Due to the fact that the system is ongoing, there are certain targets that would be met in the near future to ensure that work progresses on thus project. Therefore, to ensure that this study is a success, the algorithm to be used will be tested on the robot being built. In order to test the algorithm, a target location would be provided, and all obstacles en-route to the target must be avoided in order to reach the target successfully. Two things would be considered in focusing attention into creating algorithms for this region; they are: Communication options and Behavioral Patterns of the autonomous robot. Communication Options: With the ability of sending out a robot out into the rainforest it should be able to send back communication reports on regions that have actually being passed through. By using the algorithms initially developed and monitoring it, they can be altered to suit the terrain better, in case future researches.
Kinematics) of gripping the spoon or the door knob by positioning his limbs and torso such that the hand locates the spoon or door in order to necessary action. The robots motion which is determined by the robots gait style is relatively studied by solving the problem of Inverse Kinematics and therefore knowing the angles of all its body parts just by moving its arm. Therefore Inverse kinematics in robotics is that branch of robotics which deals with the study and application of the process of determining the parameters of a flexible object in order to achieve a desired pose. So therefore, by moving the arm of the robot with the use of actuators / effectors non-linear equations can be developed which are solved using MATLAB or any mathematically oriented software. With this at any point in time, the position of the robot can be determined. These equations would differ for different terrains in Nigeria, beginning with the hilly terrain in Ile-Ife Nigeria. Therefore, meaning that these equations would deal with the speed with which the joints move to how rough the terrain is. When non-linear equations were developed in past researches, some were solved using MATLAB and others were solved using Transformation Derivatives, but not much emphasis would be placed on the solution to these equations but how they each differ from each other depending on the terrain on which it is designed to move.
USES
Inverse Kinematics finds its use in so many fields from 3D animation where software designers use inverse kinematics to determine the position of the animated characters; making sure these characters connect physically to the world, such as the feet landing firmly on top of the terrain. 43
APPENDIX
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Actuators in Use
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//Control table address #define P_MODEL_NUMBER_L #define P_MODEL_NUMBER_H #define P_VERSION #define P_ID 0x03 0x04 0x02 0x00 0x01
#define P_BAUD_RATE
#define P_CW_ANGLE_LIMIT_H 0x07 #define P_CCW_ANGLE_LIMIT_L 0x08 #define P_CCW_ANGLE_LIMIT_H 0x09 #define P_SYSTEM_DATA2 0x0A
#define P_LIMIT_TEMPERATURE 0x0B #define P_DOWN_LIMIT_VOLTAGE 0x0C #define P_UP_LIMIT_VOLTAGE #define P_MAX_TORQUE_L #define P_MAX_TORQUE_H #define P_RETURN_LEVEL #define P_ALARM_LED 0x0D 0x0E 0x0F 0x10 0x11 0x12 0x13
#define P_DOWN_CALIBRATION_L 0x14 #define P_DOWN_CALIBRATION_H 0x15 #define P_UP_CALIBRATION_L #define P_UP_CALIBRATION_H 0x16 0x17
0x18
#define P_CW_COMPLIANCE_MARGIN 0x1A #define P_CCW_COMPLIANCE_MARGIN 0x1B #define P_GOAL_POSITION_L #define P_GOAL_POSITION_H 0x1C 0x1D 50
0x1E 0x1F 0x20 0x21 0x22 0x23 0x24 0x25 0x26 0x27 0x28 0x29
#define P_PRESENT_POSITION_L #define P_PRESENT_POSITION_H #define P_PRESENT_SPEED_L #define P_PRESENT_SPEED_H #define P_PRESENT_LOAD_L #define P_PRESENT_LOAD_H #define P_PRESENT_LOAD_H #define P_PRESENT_VOLTAGE
#define P_PRESENT_TEMPERATURE 0x2B #define P_REGISTERED_INSTRUCTION 0x2C #define P_PAUSE_TIME #define P_MOVING #define P_LOCK #define P_PUNCH_L #define P_PUNCH_H 0x2C 0x2E 0x2F 0x30 0x31
//---Instruction packet--#define INST_PING #define INST_READ #define INST_WRITE 0x01 0x02 0x03 51
#define INST_DIGITAL_RESET #define INST_SYSTEM_READ #define INST_SYSTEM_WRITE #define INST_SYNC_WRITE #define INST_SYNC_WRITE
#define INST_SYNC_REG_WRITE }
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REFERENCES
J.Barreto et al, Kinematic and Dynamic Modelling of a Six legged Robot, Instituto de Sistemas c Robotica, E.S.T.G Instituto Polotecnico de Leiria, Portugal. Michael Simpson (2008), Build the Ultimate Robot. J.P.Flores Fernandes, J.C. Pimenta Claro, Fernando Ribiero, Design of a Hexapod Robotic System, Mech. Engineering Department ,University of Minho, Portugal. P.McDowell, S. Iyengar, M. Gendron, B. Bourgeois, and J. Sample (2000). Control / Learning Architecture for use in Robotics Operating in Unstructured Environments ,University of Southern Mississippi, pp1-10. Marc Raibert, Kevin Blankespoor, Gabriel Nelson, Rob Playter, and the BigDog Team, BigDog, The Rough-Terrain Quaduped Robot, Boston Dynamics, Michael Simpson (March 2007), Understanding the AX-12. Lonnie T. Parker and Ayanna M. Howard, Real-Time Robotic Surveying for Unexplored Arctic Terrain , School Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta I-Ming Chen and Gullin Yang (1998) Inverse Kinematics for Modular Reconfigurable Robots,School of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. . Encyclopdia Britannica 2009 Student and Home Edition (2009), Jaguar (Panthera onca). Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica. David Wettergreen,( 1995), Robotic Walking in Natural Terrain, In Gait planning and behavior-based control for statically-stable walking robots, The Robotics Institute-Carnegie Mellon University, Matt Zucker et al, An optimization Approach to Rough Terrain Locomotion: The Robotics Institute- Carnegie Mellon University.
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David W. Franklin et al, (2004), Impedance Control Balances Stability With Metabolic Muscle Activation ,ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories and ATR Human and Information Science Laboratory, Kyoto, Japan. Yung Zhu and Eric J.Barth (2005), Impedance Control of a Pneumatic Actuator for Contact Tasks, Department of Mechanical Engineering Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. www.destination360.com www.buzzle.com/articles www.ehow.com/pets-and-animals www.allaboutwildlife.com.com/links www.servomagazine.com www.kronosrobotics.com/projects/megabots.html www.wikipedia.com/robotkinematics.php www.webx.dk.html http://www-personal.umich.edu/~artkuo/Passive_Walk/passive_walking.html. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XsaJwKKBYo&feature=related. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_Valley http://bostondynamics.com/content/sec.php?section=BigDog 54