Developing Basic Robotic Algorithms: Path Planning and Navigation
In Robotics Engineering, path planning and navigation algorithms are essential components that…
Methodology for System Adaptation Based on Characteristic Patterns
This paper describes the methodology for system description and application so that the system can be managed using real time system adaptation. The term system here can represent any structure regardless its size or complexity (industrial robots, mobile robot navigation, stock market, systems of production, control systems, etc.). The methodology describes the whole development process from system requirements to software tool that will be able to execute a specific system adaptation. In this work, we propose approaches relying on machine learning methods (Bishop, 2006),…
Target Point Manipulation Inside a Deformable Object
Target point manipulation inside a deformable object by a robotic system is necessary in many medical and industrial applications such as breast biopsy, drug injection, suturing, precise machining of deformable objects etc. However, this is a challenging problem because of the difficulty of imposing the motion of the internal target point by a finite number of actuation points located at the boundary of the deformable object. In addition, there exist several other important manipulative operations that deal with deformable objects such as whole body manipulation , shape changing , biomanipulation and tumor manipulation that have practical applications. The main focus of this chapter is the target point manipulation inside a deformable object. For instance, a positioning operation called linking in the manufacturing of seamless garments …
CPG Implementations for Robot Locomotion: Analysis and Design
The ability to efficiently move in a complex environment is a key property of animals. It is central to their survival, i.e. to avoid predators, to look for food, and to find mates for reproduction (Ijspeert, 2008). Nature has found different solutions for the problem of legged locomotion. For example, the vertebrate animals have a spinal column and one or two pairs of limbs that are used for walking. Arthropoda animals are characterized by a segmented body that is covered by a jointed external skeleton (exoskeleton), with paired jointed limbs on each segment and they can have a high number of limbs (Carbone & Ceccarelli,2005). The biological mechanisms underlaying locomotion have therefore been extensively studied by neurobiologists, and in recent years there has been an increase in the use of computer simulations for testing and investigating models of locomotor circuits based on neurobiological observations (Ijspeert, 2001). However, the mechanisms generating the complex motion patterns performed by animals are still not well understood (Manoonpong,2007). Animal locomotion, for instance, requires multi-dimensional coordinated rhythmic patterns that need to be correctly tuned so as to satisfy multiple constraints: the capacity to generate forward motion, with low energy, without falling over, while adapting to possibly complex terrain (uneven ground, obstacles), and while allowing the modulation of speed and direction (Ijspeert & Crespi, 2007). In vertebrate animals, an essential building block of the locomotion controller is the Central Pattern Generator (CPG) located in the spinal cord. The CPG is a neural circuit capable of producing coordinated patterns of rhythmic activity in open loop, i.e. without any rhythmic inputs from sensory feedback or from higher control centers (Delcomyn, 1980; Grillner, 1985). Interestingly, very simple input signals are sufficient to…
