Latest Papers

ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics

  • Mechanical Characterization of Supernumerary Robotic Tails for Human Balance Augmentation
    on August 31, 2023 at 12:00 am

    AbstractHumans are intrinsically unstable in quiet stance from a rigid body system viewpoint; however, they maintain balance, thanks to neuro-muscular sensory control properties. With increasing levels of balance related incidents in industrial and ageing populations globally each year, the development of assistive mechanisms to augment human balance is paramount. This work investigates the mechanical characteristics of kinematically dissimilar one and two degrees-of-freedom (DoF) supernumerary robotic tails for balance augmentation. Through dynamic simulations and manipulability assessments, the importance of variable coupling inertia in creating a sufficient reaction torque is highlighted. It is shown that two-DoF tails with solely revolute joints are best suited to address the balance augmentation issue. Within the two-DoF options, the characteristics of open versus closed loop tails are investigated, with the ultimate design selection requiring trade-offs between environmental workspace, biomechanical factors, and manufacturing ease to be made.

Single Task Optimization-Based Planar Box Delivery Motion Simulation and Experimental Validation

Abstract

Box delivery is a complicated task and it is challenging to predict the box delivery motion associated with the box weight, delivering speed, and location. This paper presents a single task-based inverse dynamics optimization method for determining the planar symmetric optimal box delivery motion (multi-task jobs). The design variables are cubic B-spline control points of joint angle profiles. The objective function is dynamic effort, i.e., the time integral of the square of all normalized joint torques. The optimization problem includes various constraints. Joint angle profiles are validated through experimental results using root-mean-square-error (RMSE) and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. This research provides a practical guidance to prevent injury risks in joint torque space for workers who lift and deliver heavy objects in their daily jobs.
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