IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics

The balancing act of an inverted pendulum with a robotic manipulator is a classical benchmark for testing modern control strategies in conjunction with fast sensor-guided movements. From the control design perspective, it presents a challenging and difficult problem, as the system is open-loop instable and includes nonlinear effects in the actuators, such as friction, backlash, and elasticity. In ... View full abstract»

A control architecture for an autonomous mobile robot usually consists of two components: (1) intelligent control software and (2) an operating system for resource access. From the point of view of a computer scientist, it is desirable to achieve a certain level abstraction from the resource (be it sensor or effector). Here, this is achieved by introducing a client-server framework for realizing a... View full abstract»

Visual simulation using computer graphics has attracted wide attention in many fields. We propose a method of modeling and visualizing pearls to implement a pearl visual simulator. Pearls manifest a very specific optical phenomenon. To investigate this feature, we propose an optical model of blurring and pearl interference. The experimental results show that the physics-based modeling of internal ... View full abstract»

Through detailed investigation of the sophisticated functions of the mammalian cochlea, we are aiming to apply its resonator array structure to efficient and smart sensors and actuators. We outline our study on an equivalent mechanical model of the cochlea named the “fishbone structure,” which can be fabricated from a thin Si plate alone. Special emphasis is placed on applications of t... View full abstract»

A standard lead-screw-driven linear translation table was fitted with a secondary voice coil actuator, which can apply forces of ±0.5 N on the translating stage. The DC servomotor-driven lead screw is capable of positioning the table to a nominal precision of ±0.5 μm. The secondary actuator then positions the table to ±1 mm. Both actuators utilize closed-loop feedback algor... View full abstract»

This paper demonstrates that motion control of a three-link brachiation robot can be performed via final-state control for a linear parameter-varying system with error learning. Since the root joint of the brachiation robot has no drive unit, the control problem is treated as that for an open-chain manipulator possessing nondriven joints in circumstances with gravity. Also, the brachiation robot p... View full abstract»

The proliferation of electromechanical actuation promises reduced maintenance requirements and cost, improved efficiency and reliability, and more environmentally friendly operation. Within this paper, the issue of optimal component selection for actuator design is addressed. Optimality is defined as an engineering trade-off concerning power transfer to the load, efficiency, and torque demand. An ... View full abstract»

Presents a class of asymptotically stable end-point regulators for a flexible SCARA/Cartesian robot. Firstly, the closed-loop stability is proven for the original distributed parameter system; then, through explicitly solving the partial differential equations of the system, asymptotic stability is obtained for the undamped truncated system, in which the distributed flexibility of the robot link i... View full abstract»

When digital components are combined with analog systems, frequency components in the analog system which are above one-half the sampling frequency are excited by the output of digital-to-analog (D/A) converters and aliased to lower frequencies in analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. Since low-frequency components in a digital signal excite only higher frequencies during D/A conversion which are al... View full abstract»

A simultaneous design method of an online planner of a desired signal and a control system is proposed to consider the interaction between the planner and the control system. The designed planner is sufficiently simple to calculate in real time. The proposed method is applied to posture control of robot manipulators View full abstract»