The Defence, Peace, Safety and Security (DPSS) competency area within the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has identified the need for the development of a robot that can operate in almost any land-based environment. Legged robots, especially hexapod (six-legged) robots present a wide variety of advantages that can be utilised in this environment and is identified as a feasible solution. The biggest advantage and main reason for the development of legged robots over mobile (wheeled) robots, is their ability to navigate in uneven, unstructured terrain. However, due to the complicated control algorithms needed by a legged robot, most literature only focus on navigation in even or relatively even terrains. This is seen as the main limitation with regards to the development of legged robot applications. For navigation in unstructured terrain, postural controllers of legged robots need fast and precise knowledge about the state of the robot they are regulating. The speed and accuracy of the state estimation of a legged robot is therefore very important. Even though state estimation for mobile robots has been studied thoroughly, limited research is available on state estimation with regards to legged robots. Compared to mobile robots, locomotion of legged robots make use of intermitted ground contacts. Therefore, stability is a main concern when navigating in unstructured terrain. In order to control the stability of a legged robot, six degrees of freedom information is needed about the base of the robot platform. This information needs to be estimated using measurements from the robot’s sensory system. A sensory system of a robot usually consist of multiple sensory devices on board of the robot. However, legged robots have limited payload capacities and therefore the amount of sensory devices on a legged robot platform should be kept to a minimum. Furthermore, exteroceptive sensory devices commonly used in state estimation, such as a GPS or cameras, are not suitable when navigating in unstructured and unknown terrain. The control and localisation of a legged robot should therefore only depend on proprioceptive sensors. The need for the development of a reliable state estimation framework (that only relies on proprioceptive information) for a low-cost, commonly available hexapod robot is identified. This will accelerate the process for control algorithm development. In this study this need is addressed. Common proprioceptive sensors are integrated on a commercial low-cost hexapod robot to develop the robot platform used in this study. A state estimation framework for legged robots is used to develop a state estimation methodology for the hexapod platform. A kinematic model is also derived and verified for the platform, and measurement models are derived to address possible errors and noise in sensor measurements. The state estimation methodology makes use of an Extended Kalman filter to fuse the robots kinematics with measurements from an IMU. The needed state estimation equations are also derived and implemented in Matlab®. The state estimation methodology developed is then tested with multiple experiments using the robot platform. In these experiments the robot platform captures the sensory data with a data acquisition method developed while it is being tracked with a Vicon motion capturing system. The sensor data is then used as an input to the state estimation equations in Matlab® and the results are compared to the ground-truth measurement outputs of the Vicon system. The results of these experiments show very accurate estimation of the robot and therefore validate the state estimation methodology and this study. / MIng (Computer and Electronic Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The quantity and length of optical fibers required for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy eXperiment (HETDEX) create unique fiber handling challenges. More than 33,000 optical fibers will enable the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) to collect data on at least one million galaxies that are 9 billion to 11 billion light-years away, yielding the largest map of the universe ever produced [1,2]. The design advantages made possible by optical fibers also forms challenges to prevent damage to the fragile fibers that can lead to Focal Ratio Degradation (FRD) [3]. Therefore, a life cycle test must be conducted to study fiber behavior and measure FRD as a function of time. This thesis describes the design and design methodology of an electro-mechanical test apparatus for accelerated life testing of optical fiber assemblies. The design methodology summarizes the development of functional requirements and constraints that drove the design. The test apparatus design utilizes six linear actuators to replicate the movement of the fiber system deployed on HETDEX for over 65,000 accelerated cycles, simulating five years of actual operation. The electro-mechanical test apparatus will provide insight into the effects of load history on the performance of optical fibers which published data has thus far been lacking. Performance of the electro-mechanical test apparatus will be demonstrated through simulation, modeling and calculations. The test results that will be generated from the accelerated life test will be of great interest to designers of robotic fiber handling systems for major telescopes. / text

The aim of using parallel kinematic motion systems as an alternative of conventional machine tools for precision machining has raised the demands made on the accuracy of identification of the geometric parameters that are necessary for the kinematic transformation of the motion variables. The accuracy of a parallel manipulator is not only dependent upon an accurate control of its actuators but also upon a good knowledge of its geometrical characteristics. As the platform's controller determines the length of the actuators according to the nominal model, the resulted pose of the platform is inaccurate. One way to enhance platform accuracy is by kinematic calibration, a process by which the actual kinematic parameters are identified and then implemented to modify the kinematic model used by the controller. The first and most general valuation criterion for the actual calibration approaches is the relative improvement of the motion accuracy, eclipsing the other aspects to pay for it. The calibration outlay has been underestimated or even neglected for a long time. The scientific value of the calibration procedure is not only in direct proportion to the achieved accuracy, but also to the calibration effort. These demands become particularly stringent in case of the calibration of hexapods of the so-called simple design. The objectives of the here proposed new calibration procedure are based on the deficits mentioned above under the special requirements due to the circumstances of the simple design-concept. The main goals of the procedure can be summarized in obtaining the basics for an automated kinematic calibration procedure which works efficiently, quickly, effectively and possibly low-cost, all-in-one economically applied to the parallel kinematic machines. The problem will be approached systematically and taking step by step the necessary conclu-sions and measurements through: Systematical analysis of the workspace to determine the optimal measuring procedure, measurements with automated data acquisition and evaluation, simulated measurements based on the kinematic model of the structure and identifying the kinematic parameters using efficient optimization algorithms. The presented calibration has been successfully implemented and tested on the hexapod of simple design `Felix' available at the IWM, TU Dresden. The obtained results encourage the application of the procedure to other hexapod structures.

In this thesis work an intelligent controller based on a gait synthesizer for a hexapod robot used in rescue operations is developed. The gait synthesizer draws decisions from insect-inspired gait patterns to the changing needs of the terrain and that of rescue. It is composed of three modules responsible for selecting a new gait, evaluating the current gait, and modifying the recommended gait according to the internal reinforcements of past time steps. A Fuzzy Logic Controller is implemented in selecting the new gaits.

This thesis deals with new construction of hydraulic linear drive for paralell kinematics structures of robots. In the first section provides a historical development of robots with this structures. There are also described differences between each machine with this structures and compares them with machines with linear structures. In the second section is made a proposal of hydraulic actuator. Designed actuators are arranged into hexapod. There is also included a proposal of possible solutions to fixing hydraulic actuator to platform and base. This thesis include drawings of selected parts and drawing of a whole set of new designed hydraulic actuator. It is included a block diagram of the hydraulic circuit.

No description available.

The Multi-Appendage Robotic System (MARS) built for this research is a hexapod robotic platform capable of walking and performing manipulation tasks. Each of the six limbs of MARS incorporates a three-degree of freedom (DOF), kinematically spherical proximal joint, similar to a shoulder or hip joint; and a 1-DOF distal joint, similar to an elbow or knee joint. Designing walking gaits for such multi-limb robots requires a thorough understanding of the kinematics of the limbs, including their workspace. The specic abilities of a walking algorithm dictate the usable workspace for the limbs. Generally speaking, the more general the walking algorithm is, the less constricted the workspace becomes. However, the entire limb workspace cannot be used in a continuous, statically stable, alternating tripedal gait for such a robot; therefore a subset of the limb workspace is dened for walking algorithms. This thesis develops MARS limb workspaces in the knee up conguration, and analyzes its limitations for walking on planar surfaces. The workspaces range from simple 2D geometry to complex 3D volumes. While MARS is a hexapedal robot, the tasks of dening the workspace and walking agorthm for all six limbs can be abstracted to a single limb using the constraint of a tripedal, statically stable gait. Based on understanding the behavior of an individual limb, a walking algorithm was developed to allow MARS to walk on level terrain. The algorithm is adaptive in that it continously updates based on control inputs. Open Tech developed a similar algorithm, based on a 2D workspace. This simpler algorithm developed resulted in smooth gait generation, with near-instantaneous response to control input. This accomplishment demonstrated the feasibility of implementing a more sophisticated algorithm, allowing for inputs of all six DOF: x and y velocity, z velocity or walking height, yaw, pitch and roll. This latter algorithm uses a 3D workspace developed to aord near-maximum step length. The workspace analysis and walking algorithm development in this thesis can be applied to the further advancement of walking gait generation algorithms. / Master of Science

This thesis discusses walking robots issues, their classification, management and construction. There are listed the most famous motion algorithms and their graphical representation. Examples of existing walking robots are also mentioned in this thesis. There are also described modifications of hexapod robot, its hardware and software. The robot is controlled through graphical user interface, which displays data from all sensors, visualises positions of all legs and allows the creation of user defined gaits and its simulations.

Many hexapods and other robots struggle with walking in uneven terrain, this is due to their lack of sensory feedback. This is the problem aimed to be solved by introducing a sensory feedback loop that measures the current over the servos. By doing this one could know whether or not the leg is in contact with the ground. If a successful sensor can be made, this method could be implemented on any hexapod that uses servos and inverse kinematics for their locomotion to enable them to walk in uneven terrain. With the complete system in place most of what was expected from the system was achieved. HEXA can indeed walk in uneven terrain where the terrain had the maximum height difference of ±2.3 cm, as seen in the video linked in appendix B. It also can detect when a leg has contact with the ground but due to low servo quality the walking could not be tested to its full extent. / Många hexapoder och andra robotar har svårigheter att gå i ojämn terräng, detta är på grund av hur de inte har någon form av senosoråterkoppling. Detta är problemet som siktas på att lösas genom att introducera en sensor återkopplings slinga som mäter stömmen över de olika servon. Genom att implementera detta kan en få reda på om benet har kontakt med marken eller ej. Om en lyckas senor kan skapas, skulle denna metod kunna implementeras till vilken annan hexapodal robot som använder sig av servos och inverse kinematik för sin framdriving. Med det kompletta systemet integrerat uppfylls nästan allt som var förväntad. HEXA kan gå i en ojämn terräng med den maximala höjdsillnaden av ±2.3 cm, som sett i videon i appendix B. Samt kan den märka av när ett av benen är i marken, men på grund av den låga servokvaliteten kunde inte gången testas till sin fulla förmåga.

Der neu entwickelte Multiaxiale Räderprüfstand wurde für hoch dynamische Radkräfte konzipiert. Das Prüfstands-Konzept basiert auf einer Parallelkinematik im Hexapoden-Design. Die Auslegung der Kinematik und der Kräfte wurde mit Creo MDO/MDX durchgeführt. Die grundsätzliche Vorgehensweise wird anhand von Beispielen aufgezeigt. Aufgrund der hohen Dynamik ist es erforderlich das maschinendynamische Verhalten bei der Auslegung zu berücksichtigen. Dazu wurde ein Simulationsmodell des gesamten Prüfstandes in Creo Simulate erstellt und entsprechende Modal- und dynamische Frequenzanalysen durchgeführt. Der grundsätzliche Modellaufbau und Simulationsergebnisse werden vorgestellt. Auch auf die Verifizierung durch Messungen wird eingegangen. Letzter Punkt ist das Ableiten eines geeigneten Sub-Simulations-Modells, welches den Kraftfluss der Hexapoden-Architektur für weitere Untersuchungen richtig abbildet.