New Architecture of a Hybrid Two-Fingered Micro–Nano Manipulator Hand: Optimization and Design

This paper presents the synthesis and design optimization of a compact and yet economical hybrid two-fingered micro–nano manipulator hand. The proposed manipulator hand consists of two series modules, i.e., an upper and lower modules. Each of them consists of a parallel kinematics chain with a glass pipette (1 mm diameter and 3–10 cm length) tapered to a very sharp end as an end-effector. It is driven by three piezo-electric actuated prismatic joints in each of the three legs of the parallel kinematics chain. Each leg of the kinematics chain has the prismatic–revolute–spherical joint structure. As the length of the glass pipette end-effector is decreased, the resolution and accuracy of the micro–nano manipulator hand is increased. For long lengths of the glass pipette end-effector, this manipulator works as a micro manipulator and for short lengths it works as a nano manipulator. A novel closed-form solution for the problem of inverse kinematics is obtained. Based on this solution, a simulation program has been developed to optimally choose the design parameters of each module so that the manipulator will have a maximum workspace volume. A computer-aided design model based on optimal parameters is built and investigated to check its workspace volume. Experimental work has been carried out for the purpose of calibration. Also, the system hardware setup of the hybrid two-fingered micro–nano manipulator hand and its practical Jacobian inverse matrices are presented.     

全局和声搜索方法及其在仿人灵巧臂逆运动学求解中的应用

仿人灵巧臂逆运动学(IK)问题可转化为等效的最小化问题,并采用数值优化方法求解.和声搜索(HS)是模拟乐师在音乐演奏中调整音调现象的一种启发式搜索方法,目前还尚未在机器人机械臂逆运动学问题中得到应用.本文提出一种基于粒子群体智能的全局和声搜索方法(GHSA),该方法在和声搜索算法中引入微粒群操作(PSO),采用粒子群策略替代常规和声搜索算法中的搜索法则创作新和声,通过粒子自身认知和群体知识更新和声变量位置信息平衡算法对解空间全局探索与局部开发间能力;同时算法还引入变异操作增强算法跳出局部最优解能力,基准函数测试表明该方法改善了全局搜索能力及求解可靠性.在此基础上以七自由度(7-DOF)冗余仿人灵巧臂为例,考虑以灵巧臂末端位姿误差和“舒适度”指标构建适应度函数并采用GHSA算法求解其逆运动学(IK)问题,数值仿真结果表明了该方法是解决仿人灵巧臂逆运动学问题的一种有效方法.     

Adaptive end-effector pose control for tomato harvesting robots

This paper investigates the development of a tomato-harvesting robot operating on a plant factory and primarily studies the reachable pose of tomatoes in the nondexterous workspace of manipulator. The end-effector can only reach the tomatoes with reachable poses when the tomatoes are within the nondexterous workspace. If the grasping pose is not reachable, it will lead to grasping failure. An adaptive end-effector pose control method based on a genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed to find a reachable pose. The inverse kinematic solution based on analysis method of the manipulator is analyzed and the objective function of whether the manipulator has a solution or not is obtained. The grasping pose is set as an individual owing to the position of the tomatoes is fixed and the grasping pose is variable. The GA is used to solve until a pose that can make the inverse kinematics have a solution is generated. This pose is the reachable grasping pose of the tomato at this position. The quintic interpolation polynomial is used to plan the trajectory to avoid damage to tomatoes owing to fast approaching speed and a distance based background filtering method is proposed. Experiments were performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The radius of the workspace of the UR3e manipulator with the end-effector increased from 550 to 800 mm and the grasping range expanded by 208%. The harvesting success rate using the adaptive end-effector pose control method and trajectory planning method was 88%. The cycle of harvesting a tomato was 20 s. The experimental results indicated that the proposed tomato-recognition and end-effector pose control method are feasible and effective.     

Cartesian path generation of robot manipulators using continuous genetic algorithms

In this paper, the authors describe a novel technique based on continuous genetic algorithms (CGAs) to solve the path generation problem for robot manipulators. We consider the following scenario: given the desired Cartesian path of the end-effector of the manipulator in a free-of-obstacles workspace, off-line smooth geometric paths in the joint space of the manipulator are obtained. The inverse kinematics problem is formulated as an optimization problem based on the concept of the minimization of the accumulative path deviation and is then solved using CGAs where smooth curves are used for representing the required geometric paths in the joint space through out the evolution process. In general, CGA uses smooth operators and avoids sharp jumps in the parameter values. This novel approach possesses several distinct advantages: first, it can be applied to any general serial manipulator with positional degrees of freedom that might not have any derived closed-form solution for its inverse kinematics. Second, to the authors’ knowledge, it is the first singularity-free path generation algorithm that can be applied at the path update rate of the manipulator. Third, extremely high accuracy can be achieved along the generated path almost similar to analytical solutions, if available. Fourth, the proposed approach can be adopted to any general serial manipulator including both nonredundant and redundant systems. Fifth, when applied on parallel computers, the real time implementation is possible due to the implicit parallel nature of genetic algorithms. The generality and efficiency of the proposed algorithm are demonstrated through simulations that include 2R and 3R planar manipulators, PUMA manipulator, and a general 6R serial manipulator.     

QPSO算法在训练支持向量机中的应用

训练支持向量机的本质问题就是求解二次规划问题，但对大规模的训练样本来说，求解二次规划问题困难很大。遗传算法和粒子群算法等智能搜索技术可以在较少的时间开销内给出问题的近似解。量子粒子群优化（QPSO）算法是在经典的微粒群算法的基础上所提出的一种有较高收敛性和稳定性的进化算法。将操作简单而收敛快速的QPSO算法运用于训练支持向量机，优化求解二次规划问题，为解决大规模的二次规划问题开辟了一条新的途径。     

量子粒子群优化算法在训练支持向量机中的应用

训练支持向量机的本质问题就是求解二次规划问题，但对大规模的训练样本来说，求解二次规划问题困难很大。遗传算法和粒子群算法等智能搜索技术可以在较少的时间开销内给出问题的近似解。量子粒子群优化（QPSO）算法是在经典的微粒群算法的基础上所提出的一种有较高收敛性和稳定性的进化算法。将操作简单而收敛快速的QPSO算法运用于训练支持向量机，优化求解二次规划问题．为解决大规模的二次规划问题开辟了一条新的途径。     

Kinematic control of redundant free-floating robotic systems

This paper is aimed at presenting solution algorithms to the inverse kinematics of a space manipulator mounted on a free-floating spacecraft. The reaction effects of the manipulator's motion on the spacecraft are taken into account by means of the so-called generalized Jacobian. Redundancy of the system with respect to the number of task variables for spacecraft attitude and manipulator end-effector pose is considered. Also, the problem of both spacecraft attitude and end-effector orientation representation is tackled by means of a non-minimal singularity-free representation: the unit quaternion. Depending on the nature of the task for the spacecraft/manipulator system, a number of closed-loop inverse kinematics algorithms are proposed. Case studies are developed for a system of a spacecraft with a six-joint manipulator attached.     

自适应粒子群算法求冗余机械臂逆运动学解

以正向运动学方程为基础，冗余机械臂逆运动学解问题转换为等效最小值问题，提出一种自适应粒子群算法求解该问题。为了保持粒子群的活力，在算法内引入弹射操作。如果粒子满足设定自适应判别函数，粒子将按概率被从当前位置发射到较远区域。为了配合弹射操作，提出一种新的粒子优劣的判断机制，使得粒子可以被弹射飞出可行域。数值实验表明，算法具有较强的全局搜索能力和较快的搜索速度，是求解冗余机械臂逆运动学解的一种有效方法。     

基于改进天牛须算法的电力攀爬机器人运动学逆解算法

为了提高电力系统的自动化水平,减轻电力工人在检修高压输电系统时的劳动强度,同时保障电力工人人身安全,提出并设计一种可以攀爬电力铁塔的六自由度关节式机器人,针对该构型进行运动学分析和求解.为解决传统的解析法用于机械臂逆运动学求解过程中存在操作繁琐和奇异点无法逆运算等问题,提出一种基于改进天牛须算法的电力攀爬机器人运动学逆解算法.首先,对电力攀爬机器人进行DH建模,得到正运动学方程;然后,使用正运动学方程和目标位姿建立代价函数,采用改进天牛须算法对代价函数优化;最后,使用Matlab实现此算法进行仿真验证.实验结果表明,与传统的天牛须算法、改进遗传算法以及改进粒子群算法相比,所提出算法具有较好的收敛性,求解精度较高.     

Inverse kinematics and planning/control co-design method of redundant manipulator for precision operation: Design and experiments

In this paper, we proposed two novel algorithms to improve the operating accuracy and operating efficiency of the 7-DoF redundant manipulator. Firstly, an improved adaptive particle swarm optimization (APSO) algorithm is proposed to improve the solution precision and solution speed of the inverse kinematics of the 7-DoF redundant manipulator by introducing the probability transfer mechanism and the quality evaluation criterion. Meanwhile, the velocity directional manipulability measure (VDM) is introduced as an optimization index to search for the singular-free configuration with the optimal motion performance. Then, in order to further improve the execution efficiency and stability of the 7-DoF redundant manipulator, a novel planning/control co-design (PCC) algorithm is proposed based on the Dynamic Movement Primitives (DMPs-PCC), which ensures that the motion planner and actuator of the 7-DoF redundant manipulator can work synchronously, while optimizing the velocity and acceleration profiles of each joint of the manipulator in the operating process. Finally, an experimental platform is established based on the Robot Operating System (ROS), and the effectiveness and reliability of the two novel algorithms are demonstrated by the simulations and prototype experiments.     

QPSO算法与PSO算法求解二维热传导反问题

热传导反问题在国内研究起步较晚,研究方法有很多,但通常方法很难较好地接近全局最优.在介绍经典的微粒群优化算法(PSO)的基础上,研究基于量子行为的微粒群优化算法(QPSO)的二维热传导参数优化方法,具体介绍依据目标函数如何利用上述的算法去寻找最优参数组合.为了提高算法的收敛性和稳定性,在具体应用中对算法进行了改进,并进行了大量实验,结果显示在解决热传导反问题优化问题中,基于QPSO算法的性能比经典PSO算法更加优越,证明QPSO在热传导领域具有很大的实际应用价值.     

用于丝驱动连续体机器人的实用运动学研究

针对单段及多段连续体机器人运动学问题,提出分段常曲率与粒子群算法相结合的完整正逆运动学分析方法.以双段丝驱动连续体机器人为研究对象,首先设计含平移段的机器人样机;然后利用分段常曲率方法建立驱动空间与关节空间的相互映射,根据齐次变换得到关节空间至工作空间的正映射关系;最后利用线性递减权重粒子群算法实现工作空间至关节空间的逆映射.对双段连续体机器人的运动学进行仿真及逆运动学求解耗时测试,并在研制样机上进行了实验验证.仿真结果说明了所提运动学研究方法的合理性及逆运动学求解的快速性,实验结果显示位置平均误差小于双段连续体机器人本体长度的6.22％,验证了所提运动学的有效性.     

Canonical parameterization of excess motor degrees of freedom withself-organizing maps

The problem of sensorimotor control is underdetermined due to excess (or "redundant") degrees of freedom when there are more joint variables than the minimum needed for positioning an end-effector. A method is presented for solving the nonlinear inverse kinematics problem for a redundant manipulator by learning a natural parameterization of the inverse solution manifolds with self-organizing maps. The parameterization approximates the topological structure of the joint space, which is that of a fiber bundle. The fibers represent the "self-motion manifolds" along which the manipulator can change configuration while keeping the end-effector at a fixed location. The method is demonstrated for the case of the redundant planar manipulator. Data samples along the self-motion manifolds are selected from a large set of measured input-output data. This is done by taking points in the joint space corresponding to end-effector locations near "query points", which define small neighborhoods in the end-effector work space. Self-organizing maps are used to construct an approximate parameterization of each manifold which is consistent for all of the query points. The resulting parameterization is used to augment the overall kinematics map so that it is locally invertible. Joint-angle and end-effector position data, along with the learned parameterizations, are used to train neural networks to approximate direct inverse functions.     

Dimensional optimization of 6-DOF 3-CCC type asymmetric parallel manipulator

In this paper, dimensional optimization of a six-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) 3-CCC (C: cylindrical joint) type asymmetric parallel manipulator (APM) is performed by using particle swarm optimization (PSO). The 3-CCC APM constructed by defining three angle and three distance constraints between base and moving platforms is a member of 3D3A generalized Stewart–Gough platform (GSP) type parallel manipulators. The dimensional optimization purposes to find the optimum limb lengths, lengths of line segments on the base and moving platforms, attachment points of the line segments on the base platform, the orientation angles of the moving platform, and position of the end-effector in the reachable workspace in order to maximize the translational and orientational dexterous workspaces of the 3-CCC APM, separately. The dexterous workspaces are obtained by applying condition number and minimum singular values of the Jacobian matrix. The optimization results are compared with the traditional GSP manipulator for illustrating the kinematic performance of 3-CCC APM. Optimizations show that 3-CCC APM have superior dexterous workspace characteristics than the traditional GSP manipulator.     

An analysis of the inverse kinematics for a 5-DOF manipulator

This paper proposes an analytical solution for a 5-DOF manipulator to follow a given trajectory while keeping the orientation of one axis in the end-effector frame. The forward kinematics and inverse kinematics for a 5-DOF manipulator are analyzed systemically. The singular problem is discussed after the forward kinematics is provided. For any given reachable position and orientation of the end-effector, the derived inverse kinematics will provide an accurate solution. In other words, there exists no singular problem for the 5-DOF manipulator, which has wide application areas such as welding, spraying, and painting. Experiment results verify the effectiveness of the methods developed in this paper.     

基于DTC-MOPSO算法的焊接机器人路径规划

点焊机器人在汽车白车身焊接中的应用大大提高了企业的生产效率,本文从焊接路径长度和能量两方面进行焊接机器人多目标路径规划．为了很好地解决这个问题,本文对一种新型多目标粒子群算法（三态协调搜索多目标粒子群优化算法）进行改进,得到适合于求解离散多目标优化问题的离散化三态协调搜索多目标粒子群算法（DTC-MOPSO）．通过和两个经典的优化算法比较,DTC-MOPSO算法在分散性和收敛性方面都有很好的优化性能．最后运用Matlab机器人工具箱对机器人的运动学、逆运动学以及逆动力学进行分析以求解机器人的路径长度和能耗,并将改进的算法应用于焊接机器人路径规划中,结果显示规划后的路径明显优于另外两种算法.     

Visual motor control of a 7 DOF robot manipulator using a fuzzy SOM network

A fuzzy self-organizing map (SOM) network is proposed in this paper for visual motor control of a 7 degrees of freedom (DOF) robot manipulator. The inverse kinematic map from the image plane to joint angle space of a redundant manipulator is highly nonlinear and ill-posed in the sense that a typical end-effector position is associated with several joint angle vectors. In the proposed approach, the robot workspace in image plane is discretized into a number of fuzzy regions whose center locations and fuzzy membership values are determined using a Fuzzy C-Mean (FCM) clustering algorithm. SOM network then learns the inverse kinematics by on-line by associating a local linear map for each cluster. A novel learning algorithm has been proposed to make the robot manipulator to reach a target position. Any arbitrary level of accuracy can be achieved with a number of fine movements of the manipulator tip. These fine movements depend on the error between the target position and the current manipulator position. In particular, the fuzzy model is found to be better as compared to Kohonen self-organizing map (KSOM) based learning scheme proposed for visual motor control. Like existing KSOM learning schemes, the proposed scheme leads to a unique inverse kinematic solution even for a redundant manipulator. The proposed algorithms have been successfully implemented in real-time on a 7 DOF PowerCube robot manipulator, and results are found to concur with the theoretical findings.     

自适应阶段变异量子粒子群优化算法研究

为了克服标准量子粒子群优化(SQPSO)算法易陷入局部最优的缺点,引入变异机制,基于进化阶段的概念,提出了自适应阶段变异量子粒子群优化(APMQPSO)算法。以四种不同的变异概率减小方式阶段性地对QPSO算法中的全局最优位置进行柯西变异,形成了四个不同的APMQPSO算法。用五个典型的测试函数进行仿真实验,并将四个APMQPSO算法与SQPSO算法的实验结果进行了比较。实验结果表明,对于单峰函数优化问题,基于变异概率线性变化的APMQPSO算法较为有效;而对于多峰函数优化问题,基于变异概率非线性变化的APMQPSO算法则具有很强的优化能力。     

Image vector quantization algorithm via honey bee mating optimization

The vector quantization (VQ) was a powerful technique in the applications of digital image compression. The traditionally widely used method such as the Linde–Buzo–Gray (LBG) algorithm always generated local optimal codebook. Recently, particle swarm optimization (PSO) is adapted to obtain the near-global optimal codebook of vector quantization. An alternative method, called the quantum particle swarm optimization (QPSO) had been developed to improve the results of original PSO algorithm. In this paper, we applied a new swarm algorithm, honey bee mating optimization, to construct the codebook of vector quantization. The results were compared with the other three methods that are LBG, PSO–LBG and QPSO–LBG algorithms. Experimental results showed that the proposed HBMO–LBG algorithm is more reliable and the reconstructed images get higher quality than those generated from the other three methods.     

A two-stage quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization with skipping search rule and weight to solve continuous optimization problem

Quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO) is a recently developed heuristic method by particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm based on quantum mechanics, which outperforms the search ability of original PSO. But as many other PSOs, it is easy to fall into the local optima for the complex optimization problems. Therefore, we propose a two-stage quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization with a skipping search rule and a mean attractor with weight. The first stage uses quantum mechanism, and the second stage uses the particle swarm evolution method. It is shown that the improved QPSO has better performance, because of discarding the worst particles and enhancing the diversity of the population. The proposed algorithm (called ‘TSQPSO’) is tested on several benchmark functions and some real-world optimization problems and then compared with the PSO, SFLA, RQPSO and WQPSO and many other heuristic algorithms. The experiment results show that our algorithm has better performance than others.