Medical microrobots have been widely used in clinical applications, particularly the spiral type locomotion mechanism, which was recently considered one of the main self-propelling mechanisms for the next medical microrobot to perform tasks such as capsule endoscopy and drug delivery. However, limits in clinical applications still exist. The spiral action of the microrobot while being used for ...

This study compared control delays computed by HCM (using HCS software), Synchro, PASSER II, PASSER IV, and CORSIM for an urban arterial. Base and optimized conditions were studied. In the base condition, the existing signal settings and traffic volumes were modeled in HCS and Synchro under three scenarios: actuated-coordinated, actuated-uncoordinated and pre-timed traffic controller. For the b...

This paper presents two biped designs for miniature climbing robots. The designs use underactuation to satisfy space and weight constraints. In the first design, one actuator provides steering and another two propel the robot in a cartwheel style gait. The cartwheel gait is quite effective but space required for the maneuver precludes certain applications. The limitation is overcome in the seco...

A simple, under-actuated robotic winch, called the “Winch-Bot,” is developed for surface inspection of a large object. The Winch-Bot, placed over an object surface, has only one actuator for tracing a free geometric path in a vertical plane. The cable length is controlled in relation to the direction of the cable so that the inspection end-effecter hanging at the tip of the cable can follow the...

We consider a two-link biped, a three-link biped, and a five-link planar biped without feet (with “point feet”). Their ankles are not actuated. The control torques are applied to the bipeds in the inter-link joints only. Then this family of bipeds is under actuated when only one leg tip touches the ground. It is difficult to control the walking of this kind of bipeds because they are statically...

Waste tank Cleanup is a current application area for robotics in the United States. As a result of tank access restrictions, (e.g., limited number and size of manholes), designs for several current waste Cleanup manipulator systems have long links with small cross-sections and variable lengths. In addition, as a result of anticipated payload capacity, these manipulator designs are hydraulically...

Orbital stabilization of an underactuated cart-pendulum system is under study. The quasihomogeneous control synthesis is utilized to design a second order sliding mode controller that drives the actuated cart to a periodic reference orbit in finite time, while the non-actuated pendulum produces bounded oscillations. A modified Van der Pol oscillator is introduced into the synthesis as an asympt...

Truss structures are widely used for the support of structural loads in applications where minimum mass solutions are required. Their nodes are normally constructed to resist rotation to maximize their stiffness under load. A multi-link node concept has recently been proposed that permits independent rotation of tetrahedral trusses linked by such a joint. High authority shape morphing truss str...

This paper investigates the key problem of walking with both fully actuated and underactuated phases. The studied robot is planar, bipedal, and fully actuated in the sense that it has feet with revolute, actuated ankles. The desired walking motion is assumed to consist of three successive phases: a fullyactuated phase where the stance foot is flat on the ground, an underactuated phase where the...