This thesis presents the design and fabrication of a novel magnetically levitated (maglev) device with six-degree-of-freedom motion capability at nanometer precision. The applications of this device are manufacture of nanoscale structures, assembly of microparts, vibration isolation of delicate instrumentation, and telerobotics. In this thesis, a single-moving stage is levitated by six maglev actuators. The total mass of the moving stage is 0.2126 kg. Three laser interferometers and three capacitance sensors are used to gather the position information. User interface and real-time control routines are implemented digitally on a VME PC and a digital-signal-processor (DSP) board. The underlying mechanical design and fabrication, electrical system setup, control system design, noise analysis, and test results are presented in this thesis. Test results show a quick step response in all six axes and a resolution of 2.5 nm rms in horizontal motion and 25 nm rms in vertical motion.

The external skeletons, Exoskeletons, are not a new research area in this highly developed world. They are widely used in helping the wearer to enhance human strength, endurance, and speed while walking with them. Most exoskeletons are designed for the whole body and are powered due to their applications and high performance needs. This thesis introduces a novel design of a three-degree of freedom parallel robotic structured hip exoskeleton, which is quite different from these existing exoskeletons. An exoskeleton unit for walking typically is designed as a serial mechanism which is used for the entire leg or entire body. This thesis presents a design as a partial manipulator which is only for the hip. This has better advantages when it comes to marketing the product, these include: light weight, easy to wear, and low cost. Furthermore, most exoskeletons are designed for lower body are serial manipulators, which have large workspace because of their own volume and occupied space. This design introduced in this thesis is a parallel mechanism, which is more stable, stronger and more accurate. These advantages benefit the wearers who choose this product. This thesis focused on the analysis of the structure of this design, and verifies if the design has a reasonable and reliable structure. Therefore, a series of analysis has been done to support it. The mobility analysis and inverse kinematic solution are derived, and the Jacobian matrix was derived analytically. Performance of the CAD model has been checked by the finite element analysis in Ansys, which is based on applied force and moment. The comparison of the results from tests has been illustrated clearly for stability iii and practicability of this design. At the end of this thesis, an optimization of the hip exoskeleton is provided, which offers better structure of this design. / UOIT

The goal of this thesis is to develop an efficient finite element model of a particular micro-positioning(MP) system, known as the 3RRR Mechanism. MP systems are capable of delivering accurate and controllable motion in the micro-metre to sub-micrometre range. Conventional mechanisms, which are often composed of rigid links with pinned connections are prone to friction, backlash and stiction, which are magnified at small displacements. As such MP systems utilize a new structure known as the compliant mechanism. The structure of most compliant mechanisms is based on conventional mechanisms; however they are monolithic devices which utilize flexible elements, instead of pins, to transform the input to a useful output position. One common flexible element found in compliant mechanisms is the right circular flexure hinge. The seminal work on flexure hinges was done by Paros and Weisbord(1965), the basis of which was to calculate compliance (the reciprocal of stiffness) in order to characterize the behaviour of the hinge when loaded. However they essentially modelled the flexure hinge as a 1-D beam, when it is in fact 3-D in nature. Researchers completing finite element models of MP systems and flexure hinges have extended the model to 2-D elements, still resulting in poor results when compared to experimental data. The task of completing a full 3-D finite element model of a MP system, let alone a right circular flexure hinge, is a major computational effort. For instance, a full 3-D model of the 3RRR mechanism would require over 1,000,000 degrees of freedom(DOF) dedicated to the flexure hinges alone. A 2-D model requires approximately 45,000 DOF in total; however, this number is still regarded as large. Given these facts, a new technique called the Equivalent Beam Methodology(EBM) has been developed to model the 3-D stiffness of any right circular flexure hinge with a low number of DOF. This method essentially maps the 3-D stiffness of the hinge to a number of 1-D beam elements. For comparison, the finite element model of the 3RRR mechanism which incorporates the beams of the EBM has under 300 DOF in total, and is more accurate than the 2-D model. This method is extremely accurate, easy to use, and has a very low number of DOF, which makes it suitable to many advanced finite element modelling analyses such as topographic optimization, dynamic and modal analysis.

The goal of this thesis is to develop an efficient finite element model of a particular micro-positioning(MP) system, known as the 3RRR Mechanism. MP systems are capable of delivering accurate and controllable motion in the micro-metre to sub-micrometre range. Conventional mechanisms, which are often composed of rigid links with pinned connections are prone to friction, backlash and stiction, which are magnified at small displacements. As such MP systems utilize a new structure known as the compliant mechanism. The structure of most compliant mechanisms is based on conventional mechanisms; however they are monolithic devices which utilize flexible elements, instead of pins, to transform the input to a useful output position. One common flexible element found in compliant mechanisms is the right circular flexure hinge. The seminal work on flexure hinges was done by Paros and Weisbord(1965), the basis of which was to calculate compliance (the reciprocal of stiffness) in order to characterize the behaviour of the hinge when loaded. However they essentially modelled the flexure hinge as a 1-D beam, when it is in fact 3-D in nature. Researchers completing finite element models of MP systems and flexure hinges have extended the model to 2-D elements, still resulting in poor results when compared to experimental data. The task of completing a full 3-D finite element model of a MP system, let alone a right circular flexure hinge, is a major computational effort. For instance, a full 3-D model of the 3RRR mechanism would require over 1,000,000 degrees of freedom(DOF) dedicated to the flexure hinges alone. A 2-D model requires approximately 45,000 DOF in total; however, this number is still regarded as large. Given these facts, a new technique called the Equivalent Beam Methodology(EBM) has been developed to model the 3-D stiffness of any right circular flexure hinge with a low number of DOF. This method essentially maps the 3-D stiffness of the hinge to a number of 1-D beam elements. For comparison, the finite element model of the 3RRR mechanism which incorporates the beams of the EBM has under 300 DOF in total, and is more accurate than the 2-D model. This method is extremely accurate, easy to use, and has a very low number of DOF, which makes it suitable to many advanced finite element modelling analyses such as topographic optimization, dynamic and modal analysis.

This thesis presents the design and fabrication of a novel magnetically levitated (maglev) device with six-degree-of-freedom motion capability at nanometer precision. The applications of this device are manufacture of nanoscale structures, assembly of microparts, vibration isolation of delicate instrumentation, and telerobotics. In this thesis, a single-moving stage is levitated by six maglev actuators. The total mass of the moving stage is 0.2126 kg. Three laser interferometers and three capacitance sensors are used to gather the position information. User interface and real-time control routines are implemented digitally on a VME PC and a digital-signal-processor (DSP) board. The underlying mechanical design and fabrication, electrical system setup, control system design, noise analysis, and test results are presented in this thesis. Test results show a quick step response in all six axes and a resolution of 2.5 nm rms in horizontal motion and 25 nm rms in vertical motion.

Throughout a ground vehicle development program, it is necessary to possess the loads the vehicle will experience. Unfortunately, actual loads are only available at the conclusion of the program, when the vehicle has been built and design changes are costly. The design engineer is challenged with using predicted loads early in the design process, when changes are relatively easy and inexpensive to make. It is advantageous, therefore, to accurately predict these loads early in the program, thus improving the vehicle design and, ultimately, saving time and money. The prediction of these loads depends on the fidelity of the vehicle models and their excitation. The focus of this thesis is the development of techniques for using 3D terrain surface measurements for vehicular simulations. Contributions are made to vehicle model parameter identification, terrain filtering, and application-dependent interpolation methods for 3D terrain surfaces. Modeling and simulation are used to improve and shorten a vehicle's development cycle, thus, saving time and money. An important aspect in developing a vehicle model is to identify the parameters. Some parameters are easily measured with readily available tools; however, other parameters require dismantling the vehicle or using expensive test equipment. Initial estimates of these difficult or costly to obtain parameters are made based on similar vehicle models or standard practices. In this work, a parameter identification method is presented to obtain a better estimate of these inaccessible parameters using measured terrain excitations. By knowing the excitations to the physical vehicle, the simulated response can be compared to measured response, and then the vehicle model's parameters can be optimized such that the error between the responses is minimized. Through this process, better estimates of the vehicle's parameter are obtained, which demonstrates that measured terrain can improve vehicle development by increasing the accuracy of parameter estimates. The principal excitation to any ground vehicle is the terrain, and by obtaining more accurate representations of the terrain, vehicular simulation techniques are advanced. Many simple vehicle models use a point contact tire model, which performs poorly when short wavelength irregularities are present because the model neglects the tire's mechanical filtering properties. Therefore, a filter is used to emulate a tire's mechanical filtering mechanism and create an effective terrain profile. In this work, terrain filters are evaluated to quantify their effect on the sprung mass response of the dynamic simulation of a seven degree of freedom vehicle model. In any vehicular simulation, there is a balance between analytical expense and simulation realism. This balance often limits simulations to 2D terrain profile excitations, but as computing power increases the computational expense decreases. Thus, 3D terrain excitations for vehicular simulation are a tool for advancing simulation realism that is becoming less computationally expensive. Three dimensional terrain surfaces are measured with a non-uniform spacing in the horizontal plane; therefore, application-dependent gridding methods are developed in this work to interpolate 3D terrain surface to uniform grid spacing. The uniform grid spacing allows 3D terrain surfaces to be used more efficiently in any vehicular simulation when compared to non-uniform spacing. / Master of Science

This thesis explores the field of legged robots with reduced degree-of-freedom (DOF) leg mechanisms. Multi-legged robots have drawn interest among researchers due to their high level of adaptability on unstructured terrains. However, conventional legged robots require multiple degrees of freedom and each additional degree of freedom increases the overall weight and complexity of the system. Additionally, the complexity of the control algorithms must be increased to provide mobility, stabilization, and maneuvering. Normally, robotic legs are designed with at least three degrees of freedom resulting in complex articulated mechanisms, which limits the applicability of such robots in real-world applications. However, reduced DOF leg mechanisms come with reduced tasking capabilities, such as maintaining constant body height and velocity during locomotion. To address some of the challenges, this thesis proposes a novel bipedal robot with reduced DOF leg mechanisms. The proposed leg mechanism utilizes the Reuleaux triangle to generate the foot trajectory to achieve a constant body height during locomotion while maintaining a constant velocity. By using a differential drive, the robot is also capable of steering. In addition to the analytical results of the trajectory profile of each leg, the thesis provides a trajectory function of the Reuelaux triangle cam with respect to time such that the robot can maintain a constant velocity and constant body height during walking. An experimental prototype of the bipedal robot was integrated and experiments were conducted to evaluate the walking capability of the robot. Ongoing future work of the proposed design is also outlined in the thesis. / Master of Science / Bipedal robots are a type of legged robots that use two legs to move. Legs require multiple degrees of freedom to provide propulsion, stabilization, and maneuvering. Additional degrees of freedom of the leg result in a heavier robot, more complex control method, and more energy consumption. However, reduced degree of freedom legs result in a tradeoff between certain tasking capabilities for easier controls and lower energy consumption. As an attempt to overcome these challenges, this thesis presents a robot design with a reduced degree of freedom leg mechanism. The design of the mechanism is described in detail with its preliminary analysis. In addition, this thesis presents experimental validation with the robot which validates that the robot is capable of moving with constant body height at constant velocity while being of capable of steering. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the future work.

The simulation of surgical procedures, in the case of hard tissues such as bone or teeth milling, using a haptic milling surgery simulator requires a haptic device which can provide high stiffness and transparency. To mimic a real milling process of hard tissue, such as for example creating a narrow channel or cavity, the simulator needs to provide force/torque feedback in 5–6 degrees of freedom (DOF). As described in this thesis, research has been performed to develop and optimize a haptic device that can provide high stiffness and force/torque capabilities to facilitate haptic interaction with stiff tissues.  The main contributions of this thesis are: (i) The use of a model-based design methodology for the design of haptic devices.  The proposed methodology is applied to a case study, i.e. the design and optimization of a haptic device based on parallel kinematics. Device requirements were elicited through dialogues with a prospective user from a neurosurgery clinic. In the conceptual design phase, different parallel concepts have been investigated and analyzed based on functional qualities such number of degrees of freedom, workspace size and force/torque capabilities. This analysis led to the selection of a specific 6 DOF kinematic structure for which dimension synthesis was performed including multi-objective optimization followed by control synthesis. Finally, a device prototype was realized and its performance verified. (ii) Optimization of the device for best kinematic and dynamic performance. For optimization, performance indices such as workspace-to-footprint ratio, kinematic isotropy and inertial indices were used. To cope with the problem of non-uniform units in the components of the Jacobian matrix, various normalization techniques were investigated. A new multi-objective optimization function is introduced to define the optimization problem, which is then resolved using multi-objective genetic algorithms. A sensitivity analysis of the performance indices against each design parameter is performed, as a basis for selecting a final set of design parameter values. (iii) A control strategy is investigated to achieve high transparency and stability of the device. The control strategy is based on careful analysis of the dynamics of the haptic device, computed torque feed-forward control and force control based on current feedback. (iv) Finally, experiments both separately in the lab and by using the device in a haptic milling surgery simulator were performed. Results from a face validity study performed in collaboration with orthopedists verify that the new haptic device enables high-performance force and torque feedback for stiff interactions. / QC 20120302

The purpose of this thesis is to introduce a novel method of dry micro-object manipulation and to demonstrate predictable vision-based control. The Lift and slide conveyors presented utilize three main components: pads, lifters and a floating platform. The pads have a small planar displacement in the XY axis and lifters have a small Z axis displacement. Together they can be used to create minute displacements per cycle while carrying a floating platform that can hold the desired objects to be moved. These platforms can be handed off to other pad-lifter groups to create an unlimited planar envelope. Two degree of freedom control was established using LabView with open and closed loop routines. A model is presented that predicts the resonance frequencies with different loading and geometric characteristics to aid in design optimization for various applications. Parameters such as velocity, drift and traction are well characterized for different operating conditions.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-02-16Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:49:31Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_jl_me_ilha.pdf: 4436511 bytes, checksum: a3ef3dcb55e4a2eca8bbc6e79470f5cc (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / O principal objetivo do trabalho é explorar a técnica de controle robusto com Modos Deslizantes para a acomodação e atenuação de uma falha no sinal de controle de um helicóptero. Foram projetados dois controladores, o Controle com Estrutura Variável e Modos Deslizantes contínuo no tempo (CEV/MD), e o segundo é o Controle Discreto com Modos Deslizantes (CDMD). Foi usado um modelo matemático não linear que representa um simulador de voo (Helicóptero 3-DOF da Quanser R ), que é um equipamento útil para o ensino, aplicação e desenvolvimento de técnicas de controle robusto. Os resultados experimentais obtidos, fazem uma comparação entre o controle contínuo e o controle discreto. Para que essa comparação seja feita foi inserida uma falha no sinal de controle. Mesmo diante das diferenças na resposta do sinal de controle, entre os controladores, o sistema teve um bom desempenho quando controlado pelo CEV/MD e CDMD, mostrando assim a eficiência da técnica de controle com Modos Deslizantes / The main objective of this work is the exploration of the robust control technique with Sliding Mode (VSC-SM) for fault accommodation and attenuation in an aircraft’s propulsion system. Two controllers were designed, Variable Structure Control with Sliding Mode (VSCSM) and Discrete Control with Sliding Modes (DCSM). For that, it was used a mathematical model of a flight Simulator of a Quanser’s helicopter, named as 3-DOF Helicopter, which is an excellent module for teaching, application and development of robust control techniques. The results obtained in digital simulations show great performance of the system in fault when controlled by VSC-SM and DCSM