Variable Structure Robot Control Software

Robot technology is not fully utilized in many NASA, military, and commercial applications because of the application-specific nature of available robot hardware and control software. The use of efficient, operationally flexible robots with multiple sensors, kinematic redundancy, and mobile bases has been limited due to the lack of a flexible means to develop robust control algorithms for positioning, interaction forces, and high level tasks. We propose to develop robot control algorithms and software that enable rapid design and implementation of high precision and high bandwidth control systems for multiple-arm, redundant robots. The Creare innovation uses descriptions of the robot hardware, payloads, and desired tasks in order to generate control algorithms and real-time software. The feasibility of the proposed concept will be established during Phase I by illustrating the methodology using computer simulation. During Phase II, the full-scale control system design software will be designed, assembled, and tested using a realistic robot test bed.