MULTIDIMENSIONAL LADAR TRACKING AND ADAPTIVE GRASPING FOR SPACEBORNE PLATFORM ASSEMBLY

THIS PROJECT IS DEVELOPING A ROBOT CONTROLLER THAT DOES NOT HAVE THE LIMITATIONS OF PREVIOUS ROBOT CONTROL APPROACHES. IT USES A RECONFIGURABLE 3-D IMAGING LASER RADAR (LADAR) IN THE LOOP CONTROL ALONG WITH A PARALLEL DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING SYSTEM. THE PARALLEL TRANSPUTER DISTRIBUTED PROCESSOR CONTROLS A RECONFIGURABLE LADAR AND A STANDARD 6 DEGREES OF FREEDOM ROBOT ARM TO PROVIDE EASILY CONTROLLABLE GRASPING IN A SPACE ENVIRONMENT. THE SYSTEM HAS THE ABILITY TO ADAPTIVELY GRASP OBJECTS SELECTED BY A HUMAN OPERATOR. THIS REQUIRES DEVELOPMENT OF ALGORITHMS WHICH TRANSLATE THE LADAR RANGE AND INTENSITY DATA INTO GRASPING COMMANDS. THE ALGORITHMIC TASK IS BROKEN INTO SUBTASKS DISTRIBUTED AMONG THE PARALLEL PROCESSORS. THE SYSTEM HAS STRONG ADAPTABILITY THROUGH A CAD REFERENCE GENERATOR WHICH PROVIDES DATA TO CORRELATION ALGORITHMS THAT DIRECT THE ROBOT. PATH PLANNING USES SCENE SEQUENCES RATHER THAN A DEFINED OBJECT PATH DEVELOPED FROM A SINGLE FRAME ANALYSIS. THIS ALLOWS HIGH SYSTEM ADAPTABILITY TO TIME-VARIABLE SITUATIONS IN THE ROBOT ENVIRONMENT. SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENTOF THIS ADAPTIVE CONTROL SYSTEM CAN HAVE SIGNIFICANT UTILITYIN COMMERCIAL ROBOTICS, MANUFACTURING, AND BIO-MEDICAL APPLICATIONS.