Early detection of the crop diseases helps to prevent failure in the amount and the quality of the production. In agricultural robotics, the idea of a disease detection robot is a fresh and an innovative hot-button topic. The exclusion of the diseased parts from the strawberry plants for further analyses is one of the main tasks of a recently developed strawberry robot. To this purpose, the handling mechanism in the robot needs to achieve an accurate manipulation task to reach the target. Reaching, cutting and storing the diseased leaf are challenging and delicate processes during the procedure of the handling mechanism operation in the field. The manipulation task of the mechanism is succeeded when the inverse kinematic relations from workspace to joint space are defined properly. The inverse kinematic analysis is usually subjected to the restrictions due to the limitations in mechanical design of the mechanism, hardware components and operation environment of the robots as well as the morphology of the target. This study proposes a set of analytical algorithms to solve the inverse kinematics problem of the handling mechanism under certain constraints. First, proposed analytical approach is based on the calculation of the joint variables by solving only the 3D position information of the target since the output from image processing algorithms of vision subsystem in the ground robot is only the location of the diseased point. The position of target point is the only output from vision subsystem and this data will be given as an input to the proposed algorithms. Second, the mechanism has certain restrictions on its geometrical construction and the joint actuators' capacity. Hence, these restrictions limit the range of joint variables to be solved. Due to sudden and unpredicted nature of field conditions, the quickness of handling mechanism inverse kinematics solution's execution has a vital effect on the success of the picking task of the robot. Another essential factor is to use the battery life of the robot effectively, by minimizing energy consumption. Therefore, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is decided by comparing the developed performance indices of consumed energy and CPU time cost via numerical solution namely, a nonlinear constrained optimization method under same restrictions of inverse kinematics problem. Performance of both algorithms is observed by the simulations in MATLAB® and laboratory set-up experiments.

No description available.

No description available.

Current renewed interest in exploration of the moon, Mars, and other planetary objects is driving technology development in many fields of space system design. In particular, there is a desire to land both robotic and human missions on the moon and elsewhere. The core of a successful landing is a robust guidance, navigation, and control system (GN&C). In particular, the landing guidance system must be able to deliver the vehicle from an orbit above the planet to a desired soft landing, while meeting several constraints necessary for the safety of the vehicle. In addition, due to the performance limitations of current launch vehicles, it is desired to minimize the amount of propellant used during the landing. To make matters even more complicated, the landing site may change in real-time in order to avoid previously undetected hazards which become apparent during the landing maneuver. The Apollo program relied heavily on the eyes of the astronauts to avoid such hazards through manual control. However, for missions to the lunar polar regions, poor lighting conditions will make this much more difficult; for robotic missions, this is not an option. It is desired to find a solution to the landing problem such that the fuel used is minimized while meeting constraints on the initial state, final state, bounded thrust acceleration magnitude, and bounded pitch attitude. With the assumptions of constant gravity and negligible atmosphere, the form of the optimal steering law is found, and the equations of motion are integrated analytically, resulting in a system of five equations in five unknowns. When the pitch over constraint is ignored, it is shown that this system of equations can be reduced analytically to two equations in two unknowns. In addition, when an assumption of a constant thrust acceleration magnitude is made, this system can be reduced further to one equation in one unknown. It is shown that these unknowns can be bounded analytically. An algorithm is developed to quickly and reliably solve the resulting one-dimensional bounded search. The algorithm is used as a real-time guidance and is applied to lunar and Mars landing test cases. / text

Thesis. 1978. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND AERONAUTICS. / Includes bibliographical references. / M.S.

Thesis. 1976. M.S. cn--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND AERO. / Includes bibliographical references. / M.S.cn

This thesis presents the continued design and system integration of a prototype three Degrees-Of-Freedom (DOF) Spacecraft Simulator used in the Proximity Operations Simulator Facility, as part of the Naval Postgraduate School's Spacecraft Robotics Laboratory, to simulate autonomous guidance, navigation and control (GNC) for spacecraft proximity operations and assembly as part of the Autonomous Multi-Agent Physically Interacting Spacecraft project. Several key enhancements of the spacecraft simulator were made including the integration of onboard sensors, improved electrical distribution system, improved command and data handling system, and the design and integration of vectorable thrusters. A pair of independently controlled 360 degree vectorable thrusters is now included in the spacecraft simulator. A control system and thruster mapping algorithm were developed to incorporate the translational and rotational control authority that the vectorable thrusters provide with the rotational control authority of the previously developed Miniature Single-Gimbaled Control-Moment-Gyroscope (MSGCMG). Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the functionality of the prototype AMPHIS vehicle. The work done in developing the prototype vehicle will enable rapid fabrication of additional vehicles to provide essential hardware-inthe- loop experimentation capabilities for evolving control algorithms, sensors and mating mechanisms to be used for autonomous spacecraft assembly.

The use of fractionated spacecraft systems in on-orbit spacecraft assembly has the potential to provide benefits to both the defense and civil space community. To this end, much research must be conducted to develop and prove the requisite technologies to achieve these benefits. This thesis contributes to that effort by presenting the design and system integration, operating procedures and software development for a prototype three Degrees-Of-Freedom (DOF) Spacecraft Simulator. This simulator will be used in the Proximity Operations Simulator Facility, as part of the Naval Postgraduate School's Spacecraft Robotics Laboratory, to simulate autonomous guidance, navigation and control (GNC) for spacecraft proximity operations and assembly within the framework of the Autonomous Multi-Agent Physically Interacting Spacecraft project. The new spacecraft simulator includes several key enhancements over the previous Autonomous Docking and Spacecraft Servicing Simulator (AUDASS) developed in 2005 including a smaller and more agile structure, reduced air consumption and a Miniature Single-Gimbaled Control-Moment-Gyroscope (MSGCMG) to provide the necessary torque about the rotation axis. The MSGCMG in the simulator is a low-cost, low-mass, easily controlled momentum exchange device with a high torque to required power ratio. Furthermore, it provides the vehicle with high slew-rate capability, a key measure of performance in on orbit spacecraft assembly. Simulation and experimental results are presented for the prototype AMPHIS vehicle, demonstrating a potential slew-rate of 4.8 deg/s for a 30 degree rest-to-rest maneuver. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to provide the design specifications, combined with the necessary documentation and software development, for the prototype vehicle of the testbed for the AMPHIS project. The work conducted in fabricating the prototype vehicle will enable rapid fabrication of two additional vehicles which will provide an essential hardware-in-the-loop capability for experimentation with evolving control algorithms, sensors and mating mechanisms to be used for autonomous spacecraft assembly.

The concept of controlling optical laser beams on spacecraft for acquisition, tracking and pointing purposes is quickly becoming a reality. As a result, fine pointing of laser beams is turn out to be an increasingly important research topic. A unique testbed was constructed in order to study and develop new methods for laser beam control. This testbed, the Moving Target-Source Test Fixture (MTSTF), hosts a laser source, the Extremely Agile Relaying Laser Source (EARLS), which has the capability of automatically acquiring and directing a laser beam onto a satellite simulator while in motion. The purpose of this thesis is to make the EARLS platform operational by developing a tracking control system. The ultimate goal is to point the laser beam at the satellite simulatorâ s receiving telescope and maintain the laser within the telescopeâ s limits in the presence of structural disturbance induced by the EARLS motion.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND AERONAUTICS / Bibliography: leaves 220-228. / by Scott Pace. / M.S.