Space Robotics
 | Underactuated Robotics | A FREE-FLOATING UNDERACTUATED ROBOT WITH PASSIVE JOINTS | |
|---|
The material-arts super-star Bruce Lee played a pair of numb-chucks (three-link-sticks) which is composed of two passive joints connecting three hardwood segments together. Bruce can fast project the tip of each numb-chucks to a target, producing a tremendous impact force. Consider Bruce's arm as a actively controlled manipulator, and his numb-chucks is a linkage of passive joints. Then the total system is a combination of passive and active joints. We called such a system an "underactuated robot". Making use of the dynamic interaction between the passive joints and active joints, the robot can provide desirable motion and force dynamically. Studying such a system is of significance in controlling a robot when one or more joints fail in function, or when less power can be used for energy saving purpose, or when some joints are intentionally designed to be passive for human safety consideration. We have build a free-floating underactuated robot with three joints that can be switched to be passive or active independently, and we are currently examining the issues such as controllability, dynamic coupling index, control strategy, nonholonomic motion planning and close-chain durality.
| Key Investigators: Yangsheng Xu, Mike Loi-Wah SUN |
|  | Related contents | | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
