We present a probabilistic architecture for solving generically the problem of extracting the task constraints through a Programming by Demonstration (PbD) framework and for generalizing the acquired knowledge to various situations. In previous work, we proposed an approach based on Gaussian Mixture Regression (GMR) to find a controller for the robot reproducing the statistical characteristics ...

Screw theory has demonstrated its wide applications in robot kinematics and statics. We aim to propose an intuitive geometrical approach to obtain the reciprocal screws for a given screw system. Compared with the traditional Plücker coordinate method, the new approach is free from algebraic manipulation and can be used to obtain the reciprocal screws just by inspecting the structure of manipula...

This paper concerns the singuIariQ of the HALF parallel manipulato,: a novel three degrees of feedom (DoFs) mechanism, with revolute actuators. The parallel manipulato,: pmposed previousb, consists of a base plate, a movable platform, and three connecting legs. It has the advantages in terms of only single-DoF joints and high rotational capability The parallef manipulator has wide application i...

In this paper, we present a tentatively comprehensive tutorial report of the most recent literature on kinematic control of redundant robot manipulators. Our goal is to lend some perspective to the most widely adopted on-line instantaneous control solutions, namely those based on the simple manipulator+s Jacobian, those based on the local optimization of objective functions in the null space of...

A kinematic singularity occurs when the Jacobian matrix associated with the forward kinematic map loses rank. At a singular connguration, the end-eeector velocities are restricted to a subspace of the task space velocities. Also, rate control schemes that require the inversion of the Jacobian matrix fail at such singulari-ties. However, even at a singular connguration, if the kinematic map is g...

This paper describes an adaptive hybrid visual servoing/force controller to realize visual servoing while the manipulator exerts contract force on a surface. The proposed controller has a hybrid structure of visual servoing control and force control. Because it has an on-line estimator for the parameters of the cameramanipulator system and the one for the parameters of the unknown constraint su...

This paper describes an implementation of a behavior-based mobile manipulator capable of autonomously transferring a sample from one drum to a second in unstruc-tured environments. A major contribution of the project was the coherent integration of the arm and base as a cohesive unit, and not just a mobile base with an arm attached. The support for smooth simultaneous operation of all joints on...

We present a control approach combining model incremental learning methods with the operational space control approach. We learn the forward kinematics model of a robot and use standard algebraic methods to extract pseudo-inverses and projectors from it. This combination endows the robot with the ability to realize hierarchically organised learned tasks in parallel, using tasks null space proje...

Recent research on mobile robots has focused on locomotion in various environments. In this paper, a gait-generation algorithm for a mobile robot that can travel from the ground to a wall and climb vertical surfaces is proposed. The algorithmwas inspired by a gecko lizard. Our gait planningwas based on inverse kinematics using the Jacobian of the whole body, where the redundancy was solved by d...

This paper introduces a new metamorphic parallel mechanism consisting of four reconfigurable rTPS limbs. Based on the reconfigurability of the reconfigurable Hooke (rT) joint, the rTPS limb has two phases while in one phase the limb has no constraint to the platform, in the other it constrains the spherical joint center to lie on a plane. This results in the mechanism to have ability of reconfi...