This book describes the design concept and discusses the control issues related to the performance of a direct-drive robot, specifically, a direct-drive mechanical arm capable of carrying up to 10 kilograms, at 10 meters per second, accelerating at 5 G (a unit of acceleration equal to the acceleration of gravity). These are remarkable achievements compared to current industrial robots that move with speeds on the order of 1 meter per second.Direct-Drive Robot presents the most current research in manipulator design and control, emphasizing the high-performance direct-drive robot arm in which the shafts of articulated joints are directly coupled to the rotors of motors with high torque. It describes fundamental technologies of key components such as motors, amplifiers and sensors, arm linkage design, and control system design, and makes significant contributions in the areas of power efficiency analysis, dynamic mass balancing, and decoupling theory.The book provides a good balance between theory and practice, covering the practical design and implementation of this special robot as well as the theoretical design tools.Contents: Part I: Direct-Drive Technologies. Introduction. Components. Part II: Arm Design Theory. Power Efficiency. Arm Design for Simplified Dynamics. Actuator Relocation. Design of Decoupled Arm Structures. Part III: Development of the MIT Arm. Mechanisms. Control Systems. Part IV: Selected Papers on Direct-Drive Robot Design and Control.Haruhiko Asada is an Associate Professor, Kyoto University, and Lecturer at MIT He has built two prototypes of the direct-drive arm described here. Kamal Youcef-Toumi is an Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, System Dynamics and Controls Division at MIT. He has worked for three years with Asada on the development of the MIT high speed directdrive robot.

An introduction to the design concept and control issues of the high-performance direct-drive robot arm.

Introduction to Mobile Robot Control provides a complete and concise study of modeling, control, and navigation methods for wheeled non-holonomic and omnidirectional mobile robots and manipulators. The book begins with a study of mobile robot drives and corresponding kinematic and dynamic models, and discusses the sensors used in mobile robotics. It then examines a variety of model-based, model-free, and vision-based controllers with unified proof of their stabilization and tracking performance, also addressing the problems of path, motion, and task planning, along with localization and mapping topics. The book provides a host of experimental results, a conceptual overview of systemic and software mobile robot control architectures, and a tour of the use of wheeled mobile robots and manipulators in industry and society. Introduction to Mobile Robot Control is an essential reference, and is also a textbook suitable as a supplement for many university robotics courses. It is accessible to all and can be used as a reference for professionals and researchers in the mobile robotics field. - Clearly and authoritatively presents mobile robot concepts - Richly illustrated throughout with figures and examples - Key concepts demonstrated with a host of experimental and simulation examples - No prior knowledge of the subject is required; each chapter commences with an introduction and background

Creating Precision Robots: A Project-Based Approach to the Study of Mechatronics and Robotics shows how to use a new "Cardboard Engineering technique for the handmade construction of three precision microcomputer controlled robots that hit, throw and shoot. Throughout the book, the authors ensure that mathematical concepts and physical principles are not only rigorously described, but also go hand-in-hand with the design and constructional techniques of the working robot. Detailed theory, building plans and instructions, electric circuits and software algorithms are also included, along with the importance of tolerancing and the correct use of numbers in programming. The book is designed for students and educators who need a detailed description, mathematical analysis, design solutions, engineering drawings, electric circuits and software coding for the design and construction of real bench-top working robots. - Provides detailed instructions for the building and construction of specialized robots using line drawings - Teaches students how to make real working robots with direct meaning in the engineering academic world - Describes and explains the math and physics theory related to hitting, throwing and shooting robots

Joint flexibility from harmonic or direct drives or flexible couplings limits the performance of robots. Performance can be improved by taking into account the fast dynamics that are introduced by joint flexibility. High gain acceleration feedback from the link angles simplifies the robot dynamics, but is limited by joint flexibility. One solution is to use joint torque feedback to stabilize the fast dynamics. In light of this, drive systems that incorporate joint torque sensors are being developed. Flexible Joint Robots is the first book to consider the myriad problems and potential solutions that affect flexible joint robot design. The book covers fundamental concepts, including joint torque feedback control laws, acceleration feedback, and adaptive control laws. It presents a dynamic model of a flexible joint robot in several coordinate systems and includes an analysis of the fast dynamics.

With the science of robotics undergoing a major transformation just now, Springer’s new, authoritative handbook on the subject couldn’t have come at a better time. Having broken free from its origins in industry, robotics has been rapidly expanding into the challenging terrain of unstructured environments. Unlike other handbooks that focus on industrial applications, the Springer Handbook of Robotics incorporates these new developments. Just like all Springer Handbooks, it is utterly comprehensive, edited by internationally renowned experts, and replete with contributions from leading researchers from around the world. The handbook is an ideal resource for robotics experts but also for people new to this expanding field.

A modern and unified treatment of the mechanics, planning, and control of robots, suitable for a first course in robotics.