ITC/USA 2013 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Ninth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 21-24, 2013 / Bally's Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV / This paper describes the sensor and actuator package for a 6-axis articulated arm which is part of a robotic vehicle entered in the Mars Rover Challenge competition. The robot is intended to perform some of the same duties as a human, but be remotely controlled. It uses an articulated arm for many of these duties. Because of the large number of degrees of freedom, it would be tedious to control each joint individually. A system was developed to measure the state of each joint, transmit this information back to a base station, and semi-autonomously control the arm.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper describes the experiences and final design of one team in a senior design competition to build a soccer-playing robot. Each robot was required to operate autonomously under the remote control of a dedicated host computer via a wireless link. Each team designed and constructed a robot and wrote its control software. Certain components were made available to all teams. These components included wireless transmitters and receivers, microcontrollers, overhead cameras, image processing boards, and desktop computers. This paper describes the team’s hardware and software designs, problems they encountered, and lessons learned.

ITC/USA 2012 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Eighth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2012 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / The paper describes the development of a robotic platform which can autonomously map terrain using a COTS infrared imaging and ranging system. The robotic system is based on an omnidirectional platform, and can navigate typical commercial indoor environments. An on-board processor performs surface reconstruction, and condenses the point clouds generated by the ranging system to mesh models which can be more easily stored and transmitted. The processor then correlates new frames with the existing world model by using sensor odomerty. The robot will autonomously determine the best areas of the environment to map, and gather complete three dimensional color models of arbitrary environments.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 21, 2002 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / This paper describes the construction of an autonomous soccer playing robot as part of a senior design project at Brigham Young University. Each participating team designed and built a robot to compete in an annual tournament. To accomplish this, each team had access to images received from a camera placed above a soccer field. The creation of image processing and artificial intelligence software were required to allow the robot to perform against other robots in a one-on-one competition. Each participating team was given resources to accomplish this project. This paper contains a summary of the experiences gained by team members and also a description of the key components created for the robot named Prometheus to compete and win the annual tournament.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In recent years, the use of airships has become popular for observation purposes since they provide a cost effective alternative to other aircraft. For this project a lateral and longitudinal flight control system are required for waypoint navigation flight of an 8m long, non-rigid airship. The airship’s actuators include a rudder, elevator and a propulsion system which can be vectored longitudinally. Two airship models are evaluated for this project. A chosen model is linearised and a modal analysis is done. The modal analysis is compared to a previous modal study done on the YEZ-2A airship and is found to compare well. Each airship mode is discussed and the linear behaviour is compared to the behaviour of the non-linear model. A fuzzy logic controller design approach was undertaken for the design of speed, heading and height controllers. These non-linear controllers were designed for the non-linear model, due to the following reasons: Fuzzy logic controllers show tolerance to model inaccuracies. Complexity of design is simple. Controllers can be adjusted intuitively. Fuzzy logic controllers can be combined with conventional control techniques. Simulation results showed adequate lateral and longitudinal performance, even when subjected to light wind conditions and disturbances. The inertial measuring unit implemented in a previous project is used and additional hardware is designed and implemented for the control of the airship’s actuators. Several improvements are made to the groundstation software to allow for activation of different controllers as well as for setting up the desired flight plan. The controller performance is tested through flight tests and shows adequate performance as well as controller potential. Although further work is still required for improving the controllers’ performance, this thesis acts as a platform for future research. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die afgelope paar jaar het die gebruik van die lugskepe gewild geword vir waarnemings doeleindes aangesien dit ’n koste effektiewe alternatief vir ander lugvaartuie bied. In hierdie projek word ’n laterale en longitudinale beheerstelsel benodig vir merker navigasie vlugte met ’n 8m lang, nierigiede lugskip. Die lugskip se aktueerders sluit in ’n rigtingroer, hoogteroer asook ’n aandrywing stelsel wat oorlangs gestuur kan word. Vir hierdie projek is twee lugskip modelle geïmplementeer. Die gekose model is gelineariseer en ’n modale analise is gedoen. Die modale analise is met ’n vorige modale studie vir die YEZ-2A lugskip vergelyk en wys soortegelyke linieêre gedrag. Die lugskip modusse is bespreek en die linieêre gedrag word met die gedrag van die nie-linieêre model vergelyk. Daar is op ’n fuzzy logiese beheerder ontwerp besluit vir die ontwerp van spoed, rigting en hoogte beheerders. Hierdie nie-linieêre beheerders is ontwerp vir die nie-linieêre model a.g.v. die volgende redes: Fuzzy logiese beheerders toon toleransie vir modellering of meetfoute. Kompleksiteit van die ontwerp is eenvoudig. Beheerders kan intuïtief aangepas word. Fuzzy logiese beheerders kan met konvensionele beheertegnieke gekombineer word. Simulasie resultate toon voldoende werkverrigtinge, selfs in die teenwoordigheid van ligte wind sowel as ander versteurings. Die inersiële metings eenheid, wat geïmplementeer is in ’n vorige projek, is gebruik en addisionele hardeware vir die beheer van die lugskip is aktueerders is ontwerp en geïmplementeer. Talle verbeterings is aangebring aan die grondstasie sagteware vir die aktiveer van die beheerders sowel as die uitleg van die gekose vlugplan. Die beheerders se werksverrigtinge is getoets gedurende vlugtoetse en toon voldoende beheer vermoë sowel as beheerder potensiaal. Alhoewel verdere werk steeds nodig is vir die verbetering van die beheerders, dien hierdie tesis as ’n platform vir toekomstige navorsing.

This thesis investigates the development of an animatronic robot with the objective of showing how modern animatronic models created as special effects have roots in models created during the scientific and mechanical revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries. It is noted that animatronic models that are available today have not been described in any great detail and most are covered by industrial secrecy. This project utilises technologies developed during the latter part of the 20th century and into the beginning of the 21st century to create the design of the animatronic robot. The objective of the project is to bring effective designs for animatronic robots into the public domain. The project will investigate a large variety of different mechanisms and apply them to various functioning parts of the model, with the design and method of each of these functions discussed. From this, one main part of the project, the jaw, will receive the focus of construction. Once the construction is complete this will be evaluated against what improvements and changes could be made for future iterations, with a revised design produced based on what has been learned.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), when paired with an onboard camera, have proven to be useful tools in many applications, including aerial photography, precision agriculture, and search and rescue operations. Likewise, UAVs capable of physically interacting with the environment have shown great potential to help people perform dangerous, or time-consuming tasks more safely and efficiently than they could on their own. However, due to onboard computation and battery life limitations and complex flight dynamics, using UAVs to physically interact with the environment is still a developing area of research. Considering these limitations, the primary goals of this work are to (1) develop a new UAV platform for aerial manipulation, (2) develop modular hardware and software for the platform to enable specific tasks to be performed autonomously, and (3) develop a visual target tracking method to enable robust performance of autonomous aerial manipulation tasks in unstructured, real-world environments. To that end, the design of the Interacting-BoomCopter UAV (I-BC) is presented here as a new platform for aerial manipulation. With a simple tricopter frame, a single additional actuator for generating horizontal forces, and lightweight, modular end-effectors, the I-BC aims to balance efficiency and functionality in performing aerial manipulation tasks, and is able to perform various tasks such as mounting sensors in hard-to-reach places, and opening small doors or panels. An onboard camera, force and distance sensors, and a powerful single board computer (SBC) enable the I-BC to operate autonomously in unstructured environments, with potential applications in areas such as large-scale infrastructure inspection, industrial inspection and maintenance, and nuclear decontamination efforts.

The word 'rendezvous' implies a pre-arranged meeting between two entities for a specific purpose. This term is used in the study of spacecraft operations, to describe a set of maneuvers performed by two spacecraft in order to achieve a match in position and velocity. The term 'orbital rendezvous' applies to rendezvous between spacecraft in earth-centered orbits. Considering its obvious scope for application in the assembly, maintenance and retrieval of earth satellites, the importance of orbital rendezvous towards maintaining a sustained presence in space can be easily appreciated. This particular study deals with the development of a guidance scheme for an orbital rendezvous operation, wherein only one of the spacecraft, called the chaser, is assumed to be provided with a capability to maneuver, while the other spacecraft, the target, is assumed to be thrust-free or passive. There is presently a lot of interest in autonomous trajectory planning and guidance schemes for orbital rendezvous missions. Autonomy here, refers to the absence of ground supervision and control over the on-board planning and guidance process, and is expected to result in greater mission flexibility and lower operating costs. The terms trajectory planning and guidance collectively refer to the optimization process used to determine minimum-fuel trajectories, and the means employed to make the spacecraft follow them, based on navigational updates. The challenge lies mainly in making the autonomous scheme real-time implementable, and at the same time compatible with the limited computational capabilities available on-board. It is well known that a large part of the computation times and costs, when determining optimal trajectories, are taken up by (1) the prediction of spacecraft motion using numerical integration schemes, and (2) the use of iterative numerical techniques to solve the non-linear, coupled system of equations obtained as boundary conditions in the trajectory optimization problem. There exists on the other hand, a wealth of results from analytical investigations into the motion of spacecraft, that can be profitably utilized by use of suitable assumptions, to reduce computation times and costs relating to trajectory prediction. The present thesis seeks to follow this course, while trying to ensure that the assumptions made do not influence in a negative manner the accuracy of the guidance scheme. The assumptions to be described below are based on the division of the total rendezvous maneuver into sub-phases. The trajectory optimization problems for the individual sub-phases are first considered independent of one another. A method is then found to combine the two sub-phases in an optimal manner. The initial or the homing phase of the rendezvous maneuver, consists of an open-loop orbit transfer, intended to place the chaser within a 'window of proximity' spanning a few hundreds of kilometers, of the target. In order to avoid time consuming numerical integration of the non-homogeneous, non-linear central force-field equations of motion, an impulsive thrust model is assumed. A parametric optimization method is used to determine the location, orientation and magnitude of the impulses for a minimum-fuel rendezvous transfer, as it is well known that parametric optimization methods are robust compared to the more general functional optimization methods. A two-impulse transfer is selected, knowing that at least two-impulses are required for a rendezvous maneuver, and that methods are available if necessary, to obtain optimal multi-impulse trajectories from a two-impulse solution. The total characteristic velocity, a scalar cost function related to fuel-consumption, is minimized with respect to a set of independent variables. The variables chosen in this case to determine the rendezvous transfer are (1) the transfer angle θc defining an initial coast in the chaser orbit C by the chaser, (2) the transfer angle θs defining a coast by the target to the position of the second impulse in the target orbit S and (3) a parameter (say p ) that determines the shape of the transfer orbit T between the first and second impulses.

With the advent of steerable, ram air parafoil canopies, aerial payload delivery has become a viable alternative for situations involving remote or undeveloped areas, hostile environments, or otherwise inaccessible locations. Autonomously guided systems utilizing such steerable, ram air canopies are typically controlled by symmetric and asymmetric deflection of the canopy trailing edge. Although these systems have demonstrated substantial improvement in landing accuracy over similarly sized unguided systems, their low number of available control channels and limited ability to alter vehicle glide slope during flight makes them highly susceptible to atmospheric gusts and other unknown conditions near the target area. This research aims to improve landing accuracy in such adverse conditions by replacing the standard trailing edge deflection control mechanism in favor of upper surface canopy spoilers. These spoilers operate by opening several spanwise slits in the upper surface of the parafoil canopy thus forming a virtual spoiler from the stream of expelled pressurized air. In particular, estimation of steady-state vehicle flight characteristics in response to different symmetric and asymmetric spoiler openings was determined for two different small-scale test vehicles. Additionally, improvements in autonomous landing accuracy using upper surface spoilers in a combined lateral and longitudinal control scheme was investigated computationally using a high fidelity, 6-DOF dynamic model of the test vehicle and further validated in actual flight experiments with good results. Lastly, a novel in-canopy bleed air actuation system suitable for large-scale parafoil aircraft was designed, fabricated, and flight-tested. The in-canopy system consists of several small, specifically designed wireless winch actuators mounted entirely inside the parafoil canopy. Each in-canopy actuator is capable of opening one or more upper surface canopy spoilers via a unique internal rigging structure. This system demonstrates not only the applicability of bleed air spoiler control for large-scale autonomous parafoil and payload aircraft, but also provides the potential for significant savings in size, weight, and cost of the required actuation hardware for currently fielded systems.

The diploma thesis is focused on the topic of global satellite navigation of mobile robots. The paper describes the principle of currently available global satellite navigation systems. The main element of the thesis is the proposal of mobile robot navigation algorithm. An integral part is also the design of a mobile robot to verify the functionality of the navigation algorithm. The robot software program is described. At the end, everything is verified by real experiments.