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Article
Publication date: 11 January 2024

Yuepeng Zhang, Guangzhong Cao, Linglong Li and Dongfeng Diao

The purpose of this paper is to design a new trajectory error compensation method to improve the trajectory tracking performance and compliance of the knee exoskeleton in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to design a new trajectory error compensation method to improve the trajectory tracking performance and compliance of the knee exoskeleton in human–exoskeleton interaction motion.

Design/methodology/approach

A trajectory error compensation method based on admittance-extended Kalman filter (AEKF) error fusion for human–exoskeleton interaction control. The admittance controller is used to calculate the trajectory error adjustment through the feedback human–exoskeleton interaction force, and the actual trajectory error is obtained through the encoder feedback of exoskeleton and the designed trajectory. By using the fusion and prediction characteristics of EKF, the calculated trajectory error adjustment and the actual error are fused to obtain a new trajectory error compensation, which is feedback to the knee exoskeleton controller. This method is designed to be capable of improving the trajectory tracking performance of the knee exoskeleton and enhancing the compliance of knee exoskeleton interaction.

Findings

Six volunteers conducted comparative experiments on four different motion frequencies. The experimental results show that this method can effectively improve the trajectory tracking performance and compliance of the knee exoskeleton in human–exoskeleton interaction.

Originality/value

The AEKF method first uses the data fusion idea to fuse the estimated error with measurement errors, obtaining more accurate trajectory error compensation for the knee exoskeleton motion control. This work provides great benefits for the trajectory tracking performance and compliance of lower limb exoskeletons in human–exoskeleton interaction movements.

Details

Robotic Intelligence and Automation, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-6969

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2024

Kaizheng Zhang, Jian Di, Jiulong Wang, Xinghu Wang and Haibo Ji

Many existing trajectory optimization algorithms use parameters like maximum velocity or acceleration to formulate constraints. Due to the ignoring of the quadrotor actual…

Abstract

Purpose

Many existing trajectory optimization algorithms use parameters like maximum velocity or acceleration to formulate constraints. Due to the ignoring of the quadrotor actual tracking capability, the generated trajectories may not be suitable for tracking control. The purpose of this paper is to design an online adjustment algorithm to improve the overall quadrotor trajectory tracking performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors propose a reference trajectory resampling layer (RTRL) to dynamically adjust the reference signals according to the current tracking status and future tracking risks. First, the authors design a risk-aware tracking monitor that uses the Frenét tracking errors and the curvature and torsion of the reference trajectory to evaluate tracking risks. Then, the authors propose an online adjusting algorithm by using the time scaling method.

Findings

The proposed RTRL is shown to be effective in improving the quadrotor trajectory tracking accuracy by both simulation and experiment results.

Originality/value

Infeasible reference trajectories may cause serious accidents for autonomous quadrotors. The results of this paper can improve the safety of autonomous quadrotor in application.

Details

Robotic Intelligence and Automation, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-6969

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2023

Yali Han, Shunyu Liu, Jiachen Chang, Han Sun, Shenyan Li, Haitao Gao and Zhuangzhuang Jin

This paper aims to propose a novel system design and control algorithm of lower limb exoskeleton, which provides walking assistance and load sharing for the wearer.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a novel system design and control algorithm of lower limb exoskeleton, which provides walking assistance and load sharing for the wearer.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the valve-controlled asymmetrical hydraulic cylinder is selected for driving the hip and knee joint of exoskeleton. Pressure shoe is developed that purpose on detecting changes in plantar force, and a fuzzy recognition algorithm using plantar pressure is proposed. Dynamic model of the exoskeleton is established, and the sliding mode control is developed to implement the position tracking of exoskeleton. A series of prototype experiments including benchtop test, full assistance, partial assistance and loaded walking experiments are set up to verify the tracking performance and power-assisted effect of the proposed exoskeleton.

Findings

The control performance of PID control and sliding mode control are compared. The experimental data shows the tracking trajectories and tracking errors of sliding mode control and demonstrate its good robustness to nonlinearities. sEMG of the gastrocnemius muscle tends to be significantly weakened during assisted walking.

Originality/value

In this paper, a structure that the knee joint and hip joint driven by the valve-controlled asymmetrical cylinder is used to provide walking assistance for the wearer. The sliding mode control is proposed to deal with the nonlinearities during joint rotation and fluids. It shows great robustness and frequency adaptability through experiments under different motion frequencies and assistance modes. The design and control method of exoskeleton is a good attempt, which takes positive impacts on the productivity or quality of the life of wearers.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 51 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 April 2024

Yiwei Zhang, Daochun Li, Zi Kan, Zhuoer Yao and Jinwu Xiang

This paper aims to propose a novel control scheme and offer a control parameter optimizer to achieve better automatic carrier landing. Carrier landing is a challenging work…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a novel control scheme and offer a control parameter optimizer to achieve better automatic carrier landing. Carrier landing is a challenging work because of the severe sea conditions, high demand for accuracy and non-linearity and maneuvering coupling of the aircraft. Consequently, the automatic carrier landing system raises the need for a control scheme that combines high robustness, rapidity and accuracy. In addition, to exploit the capability of the proposed control scheme and alleviate the difficulty of manual parameter tuning, a control parameter optimizer is constructed.

Design/methodology/approach

A novel reference model is constructed by considering the desired state and the actual state as constrained generalized relative motion, which works as a virtual terminal spring-damper system. An improved particle swarm optimization algorithm with dynamic boundary adjustment and Pareto set analysis is introduced to optimize the control parameters.

Findings

The control parameter optimizer makes it efficient and effective to obtain well-tuned control parameters. Furthermore, the proposed control scheme with the optimized parameters can achieve safe carrier landings under various severe sea conditions.

Originality/value

The proposed control scheme shows stronger robustness, accuracy and rapidity than sliding-mode control and Proportion-integration-differentiation (PID). Also, the small number and efficiency of control parameters make this paper realize the first simultaneous optimization of all control parameters in the field of flight control.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 February 2024

Ravinder Singh

This paper aims to focus on solving the path optimization problem by modifying the probabilistic roadmap (PRM) technique as it suffers from the selection of the optimal number of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on solving the path optimization problem by modifying the probabilistic roadmap (PRM) technique as it suffers from the selection of the optimal number of nodes and deploy in free space for reliable trajectory planning.

Design/methodology/approach

Traditional PRM is modified by developing a decision-making strategy for the selection of optimal nodes w.r.t. the complexity of the environment and deploying the optimal number of nodes outside the closed segment. Subsequently, the generated trajectory is made smoother by implementing the modified Bezier curve technique, which selects an optimal number of control points near the sharp turns for the reliable convergence of the trajectory that reduces the sum of the robot’s turning angles.

Findings

The proposed technique is compared with state-of-the-art techniques that show the reduction of computational load by 12.46%, the number of sharp turns by 100%, the number of collisions by 100% and increase the velocity parameter by 19.91%.

Originality/value

The proposed adaptive technique provides a better solution for autonomous navigation of unmanned ground vehicles, transportation, warehouse applications, etc.

Details

Robotic Intelligence and Automation, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-6969

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 December 2023

Zhirui Zhao, Lina Hao, Guanghong Tao, Hongjun Liu and Lihua Shen

This study discusses the tracking trajectory issue of the exoskeleton under the bounded disturbance and designs an useful tracking trajectory control method to solve it. By using…

129

Abstract

Purpose

This study discusses the tracking trajectory issue of the exoskeleton under the bounded disturbance and designs an useful tracking trajectory control method to solve it. By using the proposed control method, the tracking error can be successfully convergence to the assigned boundary. Meanwhile, the chattering effect caused by the actuators is already reduced, and the tracking performance of the pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) elbow exoskeleton is improved effectively.

Design/methodology/approach

A prescribed performance sliding mode control method was developed in this study to fulfill the joint position tracking trajectory task on the elbow exoskeleton driven by two PAMs. In terms of the control structure, a dynamic model was built by conforming to the adaptive law to compensate for the time variety and uncertainty exhibited by the system. Subsequently, a super-twisting algorithm-based second-order sliding mode control method was subjected to the exoskeleton under the boundedness of external disturbance. Moreover, the prescribed performance control method exhibits a smooth prescribed function with an error transformation function to ensure the tracking error can be finally convergent to the pre-designed requirement.

Findings

From the theoretical perspective, the stability of the control method was verified through Lyapunov synthesis. On that basis, the tracking performance of the proposed control method was confirmed through the simulation and the manikin model experiment.

Originality/value

As revealed by the results of this study, the proposed control method sufficiently applies to the PAMs elbow exoskeleton for tracking trajectory, which means it has potential application in the actual robot-assisted passive rehabilitation tasks.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 51 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2024

Min Wan, Mou Chen and Mihai Lungu

This paper aims to study a neural network-based fault-tolerant controller to improve the tracking control performance of an unmanned autonomous helicopter with system uncertainty…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study a neural network-based fault-tolerant controller to improve the tracking control performance of an unmanned autonomous helicopter with system uncertainty, external disturbances and sensor faults, using the prescribed performance method.

Design/methodology/approach

To ensure that the tracking error satisfies the prescribed performance, the authors adopt an error transformation function method. A control scheme based on the neural network and high-order disturbance observer is designed to guarantee the boundedness of the closed-loop system. A simulation is performed to prove the validity of the control scheme.

Findings

The developed adaptive fault-tolerant control method makes the system with sensor fault realize tracking control. The error transformation function method can effectively handle the prescribed performance requirements. Sensor fault can be regarded as a type of system uncertainty. The uncertainty can be approximated accurately using neural networks. A high-order disturbance observer can effectively suppress compound disturbances.

Originality/value

The tracking performance requirements of unmanned autonomous helicopter system are considered in the design of sensor fault-tolerant control. The inequality constraint that the output tracking error must satisfy is transformed into an unconstrained problem by introducing an error transformation function. The fault state of the velocity sensor is considered as the system uncertainty, and a neural network is used to approach the total uncertainty. Neural network estimation errors and external disturbances are treated as compound disturbances, and a high-order disturbance observer is constructed to compensate for them.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2024

Ziyuan Ma, Huajun Gong and Xinhua Wang

The purpose of this paper is to construct an event-triggered finite-time fault-tolerant formation tracking controller, which can achieve a time-varying formation control for…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to construct an event-triggered finite-time fault-tolerant formation tracking controller, which can achieve a time-varying formation control for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during actuator failures and external perturbations.

Design/methodology/approach

First, this study developed the formation tracking protocol for each follower using UAV formation members, defining the tracking inaccuracy of the UAV followers’ location. Subsequently, this study designed the multilayer event-triggered controller based on the backstepping method framework within finite time. Then, considering the actuator failures, and added self-adaptive thought for fault-tolerant control within finite time, the event-triggered closed-loop system is subsequently shown to be a finite-time stable system. Furthermore, the Zeno behavior is analyzed to prevent infinite triggering instances within a finite time. Finally, simulations are conducted with external disturbances and actuator failure conditions to demonstrate formation tracking controller performance.

Findings

It achieves improved performance in the presence of external disturbances and system failures. Combining limited-time adaptive control and event triggering improves system stability, increase robustness to disturbances and calculation efficiency. In addition, the designed formation tracking controller can effectively control the time-varying formation of the leader and followers to complete the task, and by adding a fixed-time observer, it can effectively compensate for external disturbances and improve formation control accuracy.

Originality/value

A formation-following controller is designed, which can handle both external disturbances and internal actuator failures during formation flight, and the proposed method can be applied to a variety of formation control scenarios and does not rely on a specific type of UAV or communication network.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 October 2023

Zhizhong Guo, Fei Liu, Yuze Shang, Zhe Li and Ping Qin

This research aims to present a novel cooperative control architecture designed specifically for roads with variations in height and curvature. The primary objective is to enhance…

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to present a novel cooperative control architecture designed specifically for roads with variations in height and curvature. The primary objective is to enhance the longitudinal and lateral tracking accuracy of the vehicle.

Design/methodology/approach

In addressing the challenges posed by time-varying road information and vehicle dynamics parameters, a combination of model predictive control (MPC) and active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) is employed in this study. A coupled controller based on the authors’ model was developed by utilizing the capabilities of MPC and ADRC. Emphasis is placed on the ramifications of road undulations and changes in curvature concerning control effectiveness. Recognizing these factors as disturbances, measures are taken to offset their influences within the system. Load transfer due to variations in road parameters has been considered and integrated into the design of the authors’ synergistic architecture.

Findings

The framework's efficacy is validated through hardware-in-the-loop simulation. Experimental results show that the integrated controller is more robust than conventional MPC and PID controllers. Consequently, the integrated controller improves the vehicle's driving stability and safety.

Originality/value

The proposed coupled control strategy notably enhances vehicle stability and reduces slip concerns. A tailored model is introduced integrating a control strategy based on MPC and ADRC which takes into account vertical and longitudinal force variations and allowing it to effectively cope with complex scenarios and multifaceted constraints problems.

Article
Publication date: 20 October 2023

Yi Wu, Xiaohui Jia, Tiejun Li, Chao Xu and Jinyue Liu

This paper aims to use redundant manipulators to solve the challenge of collision avoidance in construction operations such as welding and painting.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to use redundant manipulators to solve the challenge of collision avoidance in construction operations such as welding and painting.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, a null-space-based task-priority adjustment approach is developed to avoid collisions. The method establishes the relative position of the obstacle and the robot arm by defining the “link space,” and then the priority of the collision avoidance task and the end-effector task is adjusted according to the relative position by introducing the null space task conversion factors.

Findings

Numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed method can realize collision-free maneuvers for redundant manipulators and guarantee the tracking precision of the end-effector task. The experimental results show that the method can avoid dynamic obstacles in redundant manipulator welding tasks.

Originality/value

A new formula for task priority adjustment for collision avoidance of redundant manipulators is proposed, and the original task tracking accuracy is guaranteed under the premise of safety.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 51 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

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