Structural Optimisation and Design of a Cable-Driven Hyper-Redundant Manipulator for Confined Semi-Structured Environments.

Structural optimisation of robotic manipulators is critical for any manipulator used in confined semi-structured environments, such as in agriculture. Many robotic manipulators utilised in semi-structured environments retain the same characteristics and dimensions as those used in fully-structured industrial environments, which have been proven to experience low dexterity and singularity issues in challenging environments due to their structural limitations. When implemented in environments other than fully-structured industrial environments, conventional manipulators are liable to singularity, joint limits and workspace obstacles. This makes them inapplicable in confined semi-structured environments, as they lack the flexibility to operate dexterously in such challenging environments. In this paper, structural optimisation of a hyper-redundant cable-driven manipulator is proposed to improve its performance in semi-structured and challenging confined spaces, such as in agricultural settings. The optimisation of the manipulator design is performed in terms of its manipulability and kinematics. The lengths of the links and the joint angles are optimised to minimise any error between the actual and desired position/orientation of the end-effector in a confined semi-structured task space, as well as to provide optimal flexibility for the manipulators to generate different joint configurations for obstacle avoidance in confined environments. The results of the optimisation suggest that the use of a redundant manipulator with rigid short links can result in performance with higher dexterity in confined, semi-structured environments, such as agricultural greenhouses.

An Embedded Sensor System for Real-Time Detecting 5-DOF Error Motions of Rotary Stages.

The geometric error motions of rotary stages greatly affect the accuracy of constructed machines such as machine tools, measuring instruments, and robots. In this paper, an embedded sensor system for real-time measurement of two radial and three angular error motions of a rotary stage is proposed, which makes use of a rotary encoder with multiple scanning heads to measure the rotational angle and two radial error motions and a miniature autocollimator to measure two tilt angular errors of the axis of rotation. The assembly errors of the grid disc of the encoder and the mirror for autocollimator are also evaluated and compensated. The developed measuring device can be fixed inside the rotary stage. In the experiments, radial error motions of two points on the axis (h = 5 mm and 60 mm) were measured and calibrated with LVDTs, and the data showed that the radial error motions of the axis were less than 20 µm, and the calibration residual errors were less than 2 µm. When intermittent external forces were applied to the stage, the change of the stage's error motion could also be monitored accurately.

Spike-timing-dependent construction.

Spike-timing-dependent construction (STDC) is the production of new spiking neurons and connections in a simulated neural network in response to neuron activity. Following the discovery of spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), significant effort has gone into the modeling and simulation of adaptation in spiking neural networks (SNNs). Limitations in computational power imposed by network topology, however, constrain learning capabilities through connection weight modification alone. Constructive algorithms produce new neurons and connections, allowing automatic structural responses for applications of unknown complexity and nonstationary solutions. A conceptual analogy is developed and extended to theoretical conditions for modeling synaptic plasticity as network construction. Generalizing past constructive algorithms, we propose a framework for the design of novel constructive SNNs and demonstrate its application in the development of simulations for the validation of developed theory. Potential directions of future research and applications of STDC for biological modeling and machine learning are also discussed.

Implementation and analysis of an innovative digital charge amplifier for hysteresis reduction in piezoelectric stack actuators.

Smart actuators are the key components in a variety of nanopositioning applications, such as scanning probe microscopes and atomic force microscopes. Piezoelectric actuators are the most common smart actuators due to their high resolution, low power consumption, and wide operating frequency but they suffer hysteresis which affects linearity. In this paper, an innovative digital charge amplifier is presented to reduce hysteresis in piezoelectric stack actuators. Compared to traditional analog charge drives, experimental results show that the piezoelectric stack actuator driven by the digital charge amplifier has less hysteresis. It is also shown that the voltage drop of the digital charge amplifier is significantly less than the voltage drop of conventional analog charge amplifiers.