STRATEGIC RESEARCH PROGRAMME INTELLIGENT MACHINES, MICROMACHINES, AND ROBOTICS INTRODUCTION Early development of robotics research in the 1960’s and 1970’s was focused on industrial robots/manipulators for the automation of industrial processes. Mechanical manipulators resemble human arms are deployed in the factories for various automation tasks. In the 1980’s, robots started walking out of the manufacturing floors in the form of wheeled or legged mobile mechatronic systems and underwater autonomous vehicles. The roles of robots are no longer limited to automated factory workers but are changing into explorers for hazardous, human-unfriendly, and extreme environments, and servants to provide surveillance, security, and cleaning tasks. Ingenious autonomous robotic systems that equipped with artificial intelligence capability resemble biological counterparts were emerging in the late 1990’s, such as Sony’s Aibo robotic dog, and Honda’s humanoid robots – from P2, P3, to Asimo. These systems not only walked out of factories and service sector but also walked into our everyday life and households. Eventually these robots are going to co-habit with humans to provide assistance and cares. The Strategic Research Program in Intelligent Machines, Micromachines and Robotics in the School of Mechanical and Production Engineering was established in 1996. The aim of the program is to establish basic robotics research infrastructure, develop fundamental and applied research capability in robotics and its related technology, and to promote international research collaboration and inter-disciplinary research exchange in robotics and mechatronics. The research effort of the program are very broad ranging from land-based wheeled and legged autonomous robots, underwater unmanned vehicles and biomimetic underwater robots, humanoid robots, exoskeleton, reconfigurable modular robots, educational robots, to mechatronics systems and control, fundamental robot kinematics, dynamics and locomotion. Targeted applications include industrial, civilian, and military usages. Currently there are more than 10 faculty members in the School of MPE involved in this research program. Members of the strategic program mostly conduct their research in the Robotics Research Center. Research collaborations are established with domestic industrial and defense research organizations, international and local private companies, and overseas universities. The members of this Strategic Research Program share the vision of establishing a premier research group with international reputation. It has established its basic research infrastructure and is in a position to capitalize on this development. OBJECTIVES The main objectives of the Strategic Research Program are: to consolidate, focus and accelerate robotics research activities within the University, to bring together researcher and faculty members, in the area of robotics, into a conducive environment equipped with state-of-the-art research facilities, to cooperate with industrial partners and government agencies in fields of strategic importance to robotics, to provide consultancy services to local industry in robotics and related areas. 1
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STRATEGIC RESEARCH PROGRAMME
INTELLIGENT MACHINES, MICROMACHINES, AND ROBOTICS INTRODUCTION Early development of robotics research in the 1960’s and 1970’s was focused on industrial robots/manipulators for the automation of industrial processes. Mechanical manipulators resemble human arms are deployed in the factories for various automation tasks. In the 1980’s, robots started walking out of the manufacturing floors in the form of wheeled or legged mobile mechatronic systems and underwater autonomous vehicles. The roles of robots are no longer limited to automated factory workers but are changing into explorers for hazardous, human-unfriendly, and extreme environments, and servants to provide surveillance, security, and cleaning tasks. Ingenious autonomous robotic systems that equipped with artificial intelligence capability resemble biological counterparts were emerging in the late 1990’s, such as Sony’s Aibo robotic dog, and Honda’s humanoid robots – from P2, P3, to Asimo. These systems not only walked out of factories and service sector but also walked into our everyday life and households. Eventually these robots are going to co-habit with humans to provide assistance and cares. The Strategic Research Program in Intelligent Machines, Micromachines and Robotics in the School of Mechanical and Production Engineering was established in 1996. The aim of the program is to establish basic robotics research infrastructure, develop fundamental and applied research capability in robotics and its related technology, and to promote international research collaboration and inter-disciplinary research exchange in robotics and mechatronics. The research effort of the program are very broad ranging from land-based wheeled and legged autonomous robots, underwater unmanned vehicles and biomimetic underwater robots, humanoid robots, exoskeleton, reconfigurable modular robots, educational robots, to mechatronics systems and control, fundamental robot kinematics, dynamics and locomotion. Targeted applications include industrial, civilian, and military usages. Currently there are more than 10 faculty members in the School of MPE involved in this research program. Members of the strategic program mostly conduct their research in the Robotics Research Center. Research collaborations are established with domestic industrial and defense research organizations, international and local private companies, and overseas universities. The members of this Strategic Research Program share the vision of establishing a premier research group with international reputation. It has established its basic research infrastructure and is in a position to capitalize on this development. OBJECTIVES The main objectives of the Strategic Research Program are: to consolidate, focus and accelerate robotics research activities within the University, to bring together researcher and faculty members, in the area of robotics, into a conducive
environment equipped with state-of-the-art research facilities, to cooperate with industrial partners and government agencies in fields of strategic
importance to robotics, to provide consultancy services to local industry in robotics and related areas.
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RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT The Strategic Research Program embarks on the following R&D areas. Underwater Robotics: Technology and Application 1. Teleoperated Underwater Robotics for the Inspection and Repair of Offshore Oil &
Gas Installations The oil and gas industry has special interest in the application of Underwater Robotic Vehicles (URV) technology to the inspection and repair of underwater structures. The URV is also being used extensively in the maritime industry for ship hull inspection, maintenance and repairing of undersea cables, and to search for underwater objects in turbid water conditions. As the vehicles are remotely operated, from the surface, it is very difficult for a human operator to perform complex, dexterous and prolonged tasks. The support system for such operations is also reputed to be extremely costly. Costs in excess of USD 150,000 have been quoted for a typical offshore gas platform inspection. In this research we have developed a new generation of URV based inspection and repair systems. Our approach proposes ‘small’ and dexterous application specific systems. By being application specific we can optimize on the system specifications. The relatively small URV size allows it to physically approach closer to the work site allowing the vehicle to be fitted with smaller and shorter manipulators. The shorter reach results in the manipulator requiring smaller lower torque motors and allowing for electrical actuation. We also developed a multi-mode URV surface control with enhanced VE interface. This allows a pilot to rehearse tasks in a visually and dynamically realistic simulated environment in an offline mode and to employ the same interface for actual URV control at sea. Pre-mission rehearsals can significantly reduce overall mission time and help train the pilot to deal with unforeseen situations The VE enhanced interface provides the with a ‘fish eye view’ of the operation. This is an enhancement on the video images captured by the cameras on the URV. The system comes with pilot assisting agents for structured tasks like: pipeline tracking, obstacle avoidance and moves to absolute positions.
In a complementary program, efforts have resulted in the development of automated interpretation of ACFM NDT data and a vision based weld seam tracker. This technology has significance both onshore and offshore. The URV can also be deployed as a stereo filming platform. It carries two synchronized cameras allowing multiplexed images,
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transmitted to the surface, to produce 3-D stereo images. A concept dual-stage dexterous manipulator is being evaluated and designed. The design is being optimized for URV operations. The URV control software is developed on the QNX real-time OS, and together with the large array of onboard sensors, makes the URV an ideal platform for the development of underwater navigation strategies.
2. Biomimic Underwater Robots
Modern vessels traveling on or under the water surface use propellers for propulsion and rudders for controlling the direction of travel. The propulsion force is generated due to the pressure difference between the two sides of the rotating propeller. Such kind of propulsion system will generate significant amount of noise, thus makes the vessel lose the stealth and unfriendly to marine ecology and environment. Quite contrarily, marine mammals and microorganisms usually propel in the water through continuous change of the body. Such propulsive principle is developed by creatures naturally and extremely energy efficient. Here we will study the mechanics and control of a class of novel propeller-less biologically inspired underwater autonomous systems both theoretically and experimentally. We have developed prototypes of unmanned underwater autonomous systems based on our findings. Potential applications of our research will benefit marine and coastal engineering, and underwater leisure industry. Currently we are developing three different systems: Amoebot - This is a Metamorphic Underwater Vehicle (MUV) whose locomotion is inspired by the self-propulsion of the microorganism. The microorganism can propel itself in very low Reynolds number flow through the shape change of its body. Similarly, through the change of the body shape, the MUV can swim silently and has the capability to pass regions with obstacles under the water. RoboGlider - This is an under-actuated underwater deployment robotic platform whose locomotion is inspired by the phenomena of falling leaf or paper. A leaf or paper exhibits complex dynamical behaviors because of the lift and drag in solid-fluid interaction. As the shape parameters of the falling object can be modified, the trajectory of the object in the fluid can be controlled. The RoboGlider thus travels underwater through the change of its critical dimensions, e.g., its length, under the influence of gravity. Robo-eel - This is hyperredundant underwater robot, or multi-DOF snake like underwater robot inspired by the swimming of eels. The robots use undulatory movement to swim in the water. The objective is to study the locomotion pattern of the robotic eels. The robots are built using a set of water-proof RC servo motor gears, including water-proof RC servo, rechargeable battery boxes, RC transceiver boxes, wiring, etc designed by Prof. Francis Nickols.
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Mobile Robots 1. Simulation of Sensor-Based Mobile Robot Navigation
Computer simulation of complex systems or processes, such as manufacturing workcells and traffic flow control, becomes an essential part of the actual implementation because the effort, time and cost needed to perform complicate hardware prototyping and testing are tremendous. This is especially true for sensor-guided autonomous systems that involve both continuous control and discrete event control to interact with the environment, for instance, intelligent manufacturing systems and vision-guided autonomous robots. Current commercial packages that can simulate such systems are costly and mostly run on expensive high-end graphical workstations. Thus, the overhead of installation hampers the widespread of simulation systems in the R & D department of small and medium sized companies and educational institutions. In this project, PC level computer simulation packages based on the widely available Windows NT operating system are developed. The software architecture is open, customizable and object-oriented so as to facilitate further development and deployment onto various autonomous platforms. Immediate applications of this simulation tool are vision-guided mobile robots, modular reconfigurable robotic workcells, and sensor-navigated manned or unmanned vehicles, which interact with the environment through sensory feedback. Potential application will be virtual manufacturing, augmented reality systems for medical operations, and possibly, virtual reality entertainment systems.
2. Walking Machines We have developed a multifunctional 4-legged walking machine for de-mining purpose – LAVA (Legged Autonomous Vehicular Agent). LAVA has been designed to possess embedded intelligence, onboard power, sensors and a secure communication system. It would be capable of being waterproof to a depth in excess of 6 m and have the ability of receiving secure coded data from a base station. This capability enables synchronization of actions, abandonment of search and/or object removal. We consider major factors influencing the design requirements include minimisation of the weight of the machine, large workspace of the legs, good energy efficiency and relatively high walking speed. The walking machine can adopt a variety of configurations such as insect, mammalian, reptile, or human like. The design is invertible and the machine using the legs as manipulators can even perform basic pick and place functions. Other areas in the legged walking machines that have been investigated are:
1) Gait implementation and control, 2) Design for better mobility and performance 3) Impact reduction of legged mechanisms by virtue of a spring-loaded joint
mechanism and a fuzzy control system.
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3. Wheeled Mobile Robots
A robot with omni-directional wheels has been designed and built. Mobility analysis and path generation was conducted.
Humanoid/Haptic Interface and Sensory Integration 1. Self-recovery Humanoid Robot
Biped robots like Humanoid robots are inherently unstable systems that require constant control. In this project, we study the self-posture recovery capability of humanoid when fall down.
2. Haptic Interface and Sensory Integration
Haptic Interface Devices are controlling interfaces that allow the movement of human to dictate the movement of the Exoskeleton. This system return to the user the sensations associated with the forces applied to the robot. The project will aim at first building a basic exoskeletal structure. This will form the basis of the underlying research platform that will allow a detailed study of implementing a variety of haptic interfaces, studying their effects and integration to achieve transparent and intuitive exoskeletal system. The work will focus mainly on sensor and force feedback integration as well as drive actuation to the exoskeletal structure. Issues that will be studied will include sensor sensitivity, motion correspondence, data noise management, software and mechanical latency and other anthropomimictry aspects. The development of such a system will offer tremendous advantages in areas of human physical performance augmentation, provide another avenue for disable persons to regain their mobility, as well as provide further research in teleoperation or telepresence work. This technology will also have direct benefits on military situations.
Reconfigurable Modular Robots/Automation In the rapid-changing and highly competitive global economy environment, fixed automation reduce the attractiveness for manufactures that are involved in high-mix, low-volume production. For manufacturers adopting the fixed automation systems, not being able to respond quickly to market changes will place them at a disadvantage. The Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology thus initiate a project aiming at improving agility and flexibility in automated manufacturing systems.
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The project here looks into changing the architecture of the manufacturing tools so that they can be rapidly configured and deployed based on the functional needs. The key to the concept of rapid reconfiguration and deployment lies in the "plug-and-play" component-based technology. In this project we aim to develop a rapidly reconfigurable robotic workcell. As the robots are complex elements in a manufacturing cell, kinematics, control and coordination of robotic systems are sophisticate compared to other elements/equipment in a cell. A reconfigurable robotic workcell can fairly set the benchmark on the future trend of reconfigurable manufacturing systems. In our system, workcells are made of standard interchangeable modular components, such as actuators, rigid links, end-of-arm tooling, fixtures, and sensors. These components can be rapidly assembled and configured to form robots with various structures and degrees of freedom (DOF). The robots, together with other peripheral devices, will form a complete robotic workcell to execute a specific manufacturing task or process. The corresponding intelligent control and simulation software components are then reconfigured according to the change of the workcell configuration. The maintenance and upgrade of the system are simplified by replacing the malfunctioned or outdated components. Converting a manufacturing line from one product to another can be very fast in order to keep up with the rapidly changing marketplace. The objective of this research project is to develop a set of software and hardware tools for reconfigurable manufacturing automation based on Component Technology to enhance the competitiveness of Singapore’s industry. The realization of the reconfigurable automation is through the construction of a reconfigurable robotic workcell. The following five major aspects are covered in the development of a reconfigurable robotic workcell prototype, namely:
1) Robot/Workcell hardware component design 2) Reconfigurable and “Plu-and-play” kinematics and dynamics modeling 3) Robot configuration optimization 4) Control of robot/workcell components 5) Simulation software for reconfigurable robot/workcell
Educational robots There is an aggressive component of breaking the mystique of university research findings and explaining mathematics in a practical way so as to bring these ideas to the common student expressed in simple language with no gobbledygook (flowery language). The robots
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teach students about real-time programming, parallel processing, information technology (e.g. vision processing), control of mechanical systems (including dynamics and real life problems such as non-linearities, backlash and hysteresis), electronics and problem solving. Most of the robots are made small, battery operated and tether less so they can fit on the bench top. This means they can be made at relatively low cost and produced in quantity so students can be grouped into twos or threes with a pc (for programming the robot) and a robot for each group. Today's electronics is just great and getting better, faster, smaller and cheaper all the time. As a consequence one can make robots nowadays that are bench top size but still are full of interesting and intricate high tech sensors, actuators, embedded processors and mechanical systems. The students are thus able to get first hand engineering experience and exposure to real machines without costing a lot of money. Robots developed along this philosophy include: Beetle robot, Centipede robot, Cuttlefish robot, Eel robot, Underwater legged walking robot, Underwater “Helicopter” robot, Twin Beetle robot, Spider robot, Tricycle, Baby beetle robot, and six-legged omni-directional beetle robot. These robots also have an underlying serious research pursuit which covers:-
1) Complex mechatronic systems requiring difficult mechanical problems to solve. The latest quest is to solve the control of high speed (about 5Hz) reciprocating complex power actuators.
2) The development of highly efficient algorithms for the control of multiple actuator and sensor systems.
3) The management of information flow in complex mechatronic systems
Mechatronics Systems and Control Mechatronics is an interdisciplinary subject that encompasses electronics, mechanical system, software, and control. Research along this line includes:
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1) Integrated Design and Control for Parallel Robots 2) Development of Learning Systems for Industrial Robots 3) Design and Control of A Compliant Robot 4) Wireless/Portable mechatronics systems and control
Robot Kinematics, Dynamics, and Locomotion 1. Parallel Manipulator Design
A parallel robot is a closed-loop mechanism in which the mobile platform is connected to the base by at least two serial kinematic chains (legs). Applications of this type of robots can be found in the motion platform for the pilot training simulators and the positioning device for high precision surgical tools because of the high force loading and very fine motion characteristics of the closed-loop mechanism. However, the complicate structure of the mechanism not only limits the motion of the platform but also creates complex kinematic singularity in the workspace of the mobile platform, and therefore, makes the design, trajectory planning and application development of the parallel robot difficult and tedious. To overcome this drawback, we introduce modular design concept in the development of parallel robots. A modular parallel robot system will consist of a set of independently designed modules, such as actuators, passive joints, rigid links (connectors), mobile platforms, and end-effectors, that can be rapidly assembled into a complete robot with various configurations (degree of freedom and geometry), possessing different kinematic and dynamic characteristics. In the past, modularity concept has been introduced in the design of serial-type industrial robots for flexibility, ease of maintenance, and rapid deployment. From our experience, a modularly design reconfigurable parallel robot not only possesses the above advantages but can truly shorten its development cycle, i.e., the time from design, construction, to deployment. Because modularity design reduces the complexity of the overall design problem to a manageable level.
2. Robot Locomotion
Most of the autonomous robotic systems assume wheeled- or legged- mobile robotic configurations. Here we set out to investigate non-wheeled land-based robot locomotion. Two new locomotion methods and mechanisms for sensor-based autonomous systems, namely Multi-segment robotic inchworm locomotion, and Two-dimensional surface-crawling/inchworm locomotion. The objective is two folds: one is to investigate new
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locomotion methods for autonomous systems to be deployed in different scenarios, the other is apply and extend the dynamics algorithms, sensor-based navigation and path planning algorithms developed so far for various platforms to demonstrate their wide applications.
CURRENT MEMBERS AND THEIR RESEARCH INTERESTS
Member Research Interest Associate Professor Gerald Seet Underwater Imaging. URV and applications. Multi-
robot coordination. Associate Professor Echer Low Modelling and Control of Dynamical Systems Associate Professor Michael Lau Active Vibration Control. Modelling and Control of
Underwater Robotic Vehicles. Mechatronics System Design.
Associate Professor Yap Kian Tiong Non-linear control of space robot dynamics. Signal optimization of GPS dynamics. Mechatronics design in signal processing.
Associate Professor Low Kin Huat Robotics Kinematics and Dynamics. Mechanism Design and Control. Multibody System Dynamics. Mechatronics Design. Vibrations of Beams and Plates. Structural Dynamics. Impact Dynamics.
Associate Professor Yeo Song Huat Kinematics of Modular Re-configurable Robots. Mechanics of Gripping & Grippers Design. Mechanism Design and Simulation.
Associate Professor R. S. Senanayake Robot and Machine design. Computer-aided engineering. Computational and experimental investigation of cold roll forming processes.
Associate Professor Chen I-Ming Reconfigurable Automation. Biomedical Applications of Reconfigurable Robotic Systems. Parallel Kinematics Machines (PKM). Smart Material Based Actuators
Associate Professor Francis Nickols Educational Autonomous Robots. Complex Mechatronic Systems. Ornithopter Flying Robots.
Assistant Professor Li Qing Mechatronic Systems Design, Micro/Non Prehensile Manipulation Application of Artificial Intelligence
Assistant Professor John Heng Exoskeletal Robotic system. Walking machines. Mechatronics/Mechanical System Design. Teleoperation/Telepresence Systems.
CURRENT RESEARCH MANPOWER Research Fellow – 3 PhD Students – 20 Master of Engineering Students - 11
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RESEARCH FUNDING AGENCIES Ministry of Education Agency for Science, Technology, and Research Defense Science and Technology Agency Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology British Gas Asia-Pacific Growth Venture Ptd Ltd RESEARCH COLLABORATION Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology Ministry of Defense Defense Science and Technology Agency Philips Singapore Pte Ltd British Gas Asia-Pacific Warsaw University of Technology, Poland University of Adelaide, Australia McGill University, Canada University of Saskatchewan, Canada Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China Xian Jiao Tong University, China Kyoto University, Japan FACILITY 1. Robots/Manipulators
STAUBLI RX-90 industrial robot SCORBOT ER-IX industrial robot with IGT -C540 colour imaging system ASEA IRb-6 industrial robot Direct-drive manipulator Reconfigurable robot manipulators NOMAD 200 and Dennings mobile robots FANDER mobile robot ATRV and ATRV-jr mobile robots Magellan mobile robot Mobile micro robots (HERMES and KHEPERA) Amigobot mobile robot Koala mobile robot HYTEC Sub Sea remotely operated vehicle RRC-URV research platform 2. Robot Controllers/Peripherals Eleven-axis VME-based motion controller with A V100 vision system MATROX vision systems with ITOOLS software
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SICK Laser range scanner Integrated smart motors PowerCube modules and end-effectors 3. Computing Facilities
Hardware SunSparc 20ZX, SunSparc 20 Turbo GX and UltraSparc workstations with Data Cel1200 frame grabber Industrial PC controllers Desktop PCs Network storage devices Network camera Wireless Internet Hub, PC cards
3D laser digitizer Laser imaging system SPINARM - 6-axis articulate CMM Ultrasonic scanner and sensors Dynamic spectrum analyser; Universal EPROM programmer; microprocessor-in-circuit emulators Motors and drives -AC&DC Servo, direct drive PCB mechanical etching system Microtek MICE –8051, Microtek MICE –6800 emulator Sakai mini lathe Sakai mini milling machine FUTURE PLANS We will consolidate current research efforts in underwater robot technology, reconfigurable automation, mobile robot, haptic interface design, and educational robotics. We may look into interaction between humans and robotic systems, development of large flying robot with flapping wings, and locomotion and manipulation of mobile robots. In addition to the identification of good research focus and programs, manpower and equipment are essential. The important role of support staff (i.e. research engineers and skilled technicians) is recognized and their participation should be expanded. The SRP
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recognizes that it also needs to develop its support and research manpower for any long-term sustainable research program. PUBLICATIONS (Recent) Seet, G., Tan, K.C., Low, E., Lau, M. “A Unified Pilot Training and Control System for Underwater Robotic Vehicles (URV),” Journal of Intelligent & Robotic, Vol. 32 No. 3, 2001, U.K. Asokan, T., Seet, G., and Choudhury, S. “On the design of a 7 d.o.f ybrid powered multi stage manipulator for under water applications”, Int. Conf. Computational Intelligence, Robotics and Autonomous systems, Nov. 28-30, Singapore, 2001 Asokan, T., Seet, G., and Choudhury, S. “Kinematic Analysis of a 7 d.o.f hybrid powered multi stage manipulator for under water applications”, Int. Conf. Computational Intelligence, Robotics and Autonomous systems, Nov. 28-30, Singapore, 2001 Asokan, T., Seet, G. “Design Considerations and Parameter Estimation through Kinematic/ Kinetic Performance Analysis of a 7 d.o.f underwater manipulator”, Int. Conf. Multidisciplinary Design in Engineering, Nov.21-22, Montreal, Canada, 2001.
Heng, K. H., Zielinska, T. “Development of a walking machine: Mechanical Design and Control Problems”, Mechatronics: The Science of Intelligent Machines. An International Journal. (United Kingdom), Vol. 12, No. 5, pp 737 – 754, 2002. Heng, K. H., Zielinska, T. “Four Legged Walking Machine LAVA: Consideration of Mechanical Design and Control,” Journal of Measurements, Automation and Control (Poland), Vol. PAK 1/2002, No. PAK 1/2002, pp 6 – 9, 2002. Zielinska, T., Heng, K. H. “Development of a walking machine: Mechanical Design and Control Problems,” Journal of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (Poland), No. 497, pp 01 – 18, 2001. Heng, K. H., Zielinska, T., Goh, T. “Design of Mechanical and Control System of a Walking Machine,” Journal of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (Poland), Vol. 38, No. 3, pp 709 – 725, 2000.
Wu, F. X., Zhang, W. J., Li, Q. and Ouyang P. R. "Integrated design and PD control of high speed closed-loop mechanisms", ASME Trans, J. Dynamic Systems, Measurement and Control, to appear, 2002.
He, P. R., Zhang, W. J., Li, Q. and Wu, F.X. "A new method for detection of graph isomorphism based on the quadratic form", ASME Transaction, Journal of Mechanical Design, to appear, 2002.
Chu, X. N., Tso, S. K., Zhang, W. J., and Li, Q. "Partnership Synthesis for Virtual Enterprise", J. of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, vol. 19, pp. 384-391, 2002.
Li, Q., Zhang, W. J., and Chen, L. " Design For Control - A concurrent engineering approach for mechatronic systems design", IEEE/ASME Trans on Mechatronics, vol. 6, No. 2, pp.161-169, 2001.
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Li, Q., Tso, S. K., and Zhang, W. J. “Improving motion tracking of closed-loop mechanisms using mass-redistribution”, Mech. Mach. Theory, vol. 35, pp.1033-1045, 2000. Li, Q., Zhang, W. J. and Tso, S. K. "Generalisation of strategies for product data modelling with special reference to instance-as-type problem", Computers in Industry, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 25-34, 2000. Low, K. H. “An Improved Model For The Frequency Estimate Of Mass- Loaded Plates By A Combined Use Of Equivalent Center Mass And Stiffness Factors,” Int Journal of Mechanical Sciences, Vol. 43, No. 2, 2001, pp. 581-594. Zhou, D. and Low, K. H. “Stability Evaluation Of Walking Robots Via Leg-End Supporting Moments,” Robotica, Vol. 19, No. 4, 2001, pp. 213-223. Low, K. H. et al., “Initial Study On The Drop-Impact Behaviour Of Mini Hi-Fi Audio Products,” Journal of Advances in Engineering Software, Vol. 32, 2001, pp. 683-693. Bai, S. and Low, K. H., “Terrain Evaluation And Its Application To Path Planning For Walking Machines, Advanced Robotics,” Japan, Vol. 15(7), 2001, pp. 36-45. Low, K. H. “Further Note On The Methods To Derive Frequency Equations Of Beams Carrying Multiple Masses,” Int Journal of Mechanical Sciences, Vol. 44, No. 2, 2002, pp. 447-449. Low, K. H. and Sin, H. P., “Use Of A Stopper For The Stress Reduction In Beam-Block Button Systems Of Audio Products,” Mathematical Engineering in Industry, Netherlands, Vol. 8(4), 2002, pp. 303-330. Yang G., Chen I-M., "Task-Based Optimization of Modular Robot Configurations - MDOF Approach," Mechanism and Machine Theory, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp517-540, 2000. Yang, G., Chen, I.-M., Lim, W. K., Yeo, S. H., "Kinematic Design of Modular Reconfigurable In-Parallel Robots," Autonomous Robots, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp83-89, 2001. Yang, G., Chen, I.-M., Lim W. K., Yeo S. H., "Self-Calibration of Three-Legged Modular Reconfigurable Parallel Robots Using Leg-End Distance Errors," Robotica, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp187-198, 2001. Chen, I.-M., " Rapid Response Manufacturing Through Reconfigurable Robotic Workcells," Journal of Robotics and Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp199-213, 2001. Chen, I.-M., Yeo, S. H., Gao, Y., “Locomotive Gait Generation for Inchworm-Like Robots Using Finite State Approach,” Robotica, Vol. 19, No.5, pp535-542, 2001.
Yang, G., Chen, I.-M., Lin, W., Angeles, J., “Singularity Analysis of Three-Legged Parallel Robots Based on Passive-Joint Velocities,” IEEE Transactions Robotics and Automation, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp413-422, 2001.
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Chen, I.-M., Tan, C. T., Yang, Guilin, Yeo, S. H., "A Local POE Model for Robot kinematic Calibration," Mechanism and Machine Theory, 36(11), pp1215-1239, 2001. Yan, X. G., Chen, I.-M., “Nonlinear Modeling and Control Analysis for a New Kind of Underwater Vehicles – RoboGlider,” International Journal of Nonlinear Sciences and Numerical Simulation, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp55-64, 2002.
CONTACT Website: http://www.ntu.edu.sg/mpe/Research/Programmes/IMR/ Strategic Research Program Director: A/P Chen I-Ming School of Mechanical and Production Engineering Nanyang Technological University 50 Nanyang Ave Singapore 639798 Tel: +65-67906203 Fax: +65-67911859 Email: [email protected] http://www.ntu.edu.sg/mpe/Research/Groups/Mod_Robotics/
Member Contact and Websites A/P Gerald Seet Email: [email protected]
URL: http://www.ntu.edu.sg/mpe/Research/Groups/Mod_Robotics/ A/P R. S. Senanayake Email: [email protected] A/P Francis Nickols Email: [email protected]
URL: http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/mfnickols Ast/P Li Qing Email: [email protected]
URL: http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/mqli Ast/P John Heng Email: [email protected]
