COORDINATED CONTROL OF MULTIPLE MANIPULATOR ARMS

THIS STUDY WILL DEVELOP A DUAL MANIPULATOR ARM SYSTEM FOR THE COORDINATED MOVEMENT OF A COMMON PAYLOAD USING INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES APPLIED RECENTLY BY THE OFFEROR TO ODEX, A MULTI-LEGGED WALKING ROBOT. THE PROPOSED SYSTEM WILL OPERATE TWO SIX-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM MANIPULATOR ARMS WITH PATH PLANNING IN A FASHION THAT ALLOWSBOTH ARMS TO PRODUCE A COORDINATED ACTION ON A COMMON PAYLOAD UNDER THE CONTROL OF AN OPERATOR USING JOYSTICK CONTROL. THE PHASE I ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE ACQUISITION OF SUITABLE LOW COST MANIPULATOR ARMS AND CONTROLLERS; THE MODIFICATION OF THE ARMS FOR SIX-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM OPERATION; THE INTERFACING OF THE ARMS AND CONTROLLERS WITH AN IBM PC; THE DEVELOPMENT, PROGRAMMING, AND CHECKOUT OF THE REQUIRED ALGORITHMS; AND THE DEMONSTRATION OF THE SYSTEM USING SUITABLE PAYLOADS. UPON COMPLETION OF PHASE I, ODETICS WILL RECOMMEND A PHASE II PROGRAM THAT APPLIES THE PHASE I TECHNIQUES TO MORE CAPABLE EQUIPMENT AND CONTINUES THE DEVELOPMENT OF COORDINATED ARM CONTROL TO MORE SOPHISTICATED TAKS, SENSORS AND CONTROL MODES.