A "constrain and move" approach to distributed object manipulation

Studying the system dynamics, this research is an attempt to understand and design the basic robot behavior, information system, and distributed cooperation strategies required by a group of cooperative behavior-based mobile robots for handling an object. A new concept to develop distributed cooperation strategies to carry a load is introduced. In this method, the task of transferring the object is divided into two independent executable subtasks: constraining and moving the load. Each subtask is assigned to a group of distributed mobile robots. Based on this idea (constrain-move concept), two distributed cooperation strategies to turn the object about a fixed point and to move it along a straight line are introduced. The constrain-move concept is generalized for lifting and lowering the object. It is noted that weight of the payload can be used by the robots as a natural constraint on the object. Utilizing this natural constraint, a distributed cooperation strategy and an information system to lift and lower the object are introduced. The coordination protocols are devised in such a way that the robots can control movements of the object using their own sensory information and some static data communicated between the team members. Simulation and experimental results are given to support the proposed approach.

[1]  Ruzena Bajcsy,et al.  Cooperative material handling by human and robotic agents: module development and system synthesis , 1995, Proceedings 1995 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Human Robot Interaction and Cooperative Robots.

[2]  Russell G. Brown,et al.  A pusher/steerer model for strongly cooperative mobile robot manipulation , 1995, Proceedings 1995 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Human Robot Interaction and Cooperative Robots.

[3]  John S. Bay,et al.  Toward the development of a material transport system using swarms of ant-like robots , 1993, [1993] Proceedings IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[4]  Lynne E. Parker,et al.  Heterogeneous multi-robot cooperation , 1994 .

[5]  Kazuhiro Kosuge,et al.  Coordinated motion control of robot arms based on the virtual internal model , 1992, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[6]  Andrew B. Kahng,et al.  Cooperative Mobile Robotics: Antecedents and Directions , 1995, Proceedings 1995 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Human Robot Interaction and Cooperative Robots.

[7]  Bruce Randall Donald,et al.  Analyzing teams of cooperating mobile robots , 1994, Proceedings of the 1994 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[8]  Masafumi Hashimoto,et al.  Trajectory generation and tracking control methods for a multiple transfer robots system , 1991, Proceedings IROS '91:IEEE/RSJ International Workshop on Intelligent Robots and Systems '91.

[9]  Kazuhiro Kosuge,et al.  Coordinated motion control of robot arm based on virtual internal model , 1989, Proceedings, 1989 International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[10]  Majid Nili Ahmadabadi,et al.  A cooperation strategy for a group of object lifting robots , 1996, Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. IROS '96.

[11]  Rodney A. Brooks,et al.  A Robust Layered Control Syste For A Mobile Robot , 2022 .

[12]  Bruce Randall Donald,et al.  Information Invariants for Distributed Manipulation , 1995, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[13]  Kazuhiro Kosuge,et al.  Decentralized control of multiple robots handling an object , 1996, Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. IROS '96.

[14]  Van-Duc Nguyen,et al.  Constructing Force- Closure Grasps , 1988, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[15]  Hikaru Inooka,et al.  Variable impedance control of a robot for cooperation with a human , 1995, Proceedings of 1995 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[16]  Eiji Nakano,et al.  Robot Behavior and Information System for Multiple Object Handling Robots , 1996 .

[17]  Jerry E. Pratt,et al.  Stiffness Isn't Everything , 1995, ISER.

[18]  Tsuneo Yoshikawa,et al.  Coordinated Dynamic Hybrid Position/Force Control for Multiple Robot Manipulators Handling One Constrained Object , 1993, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[19]  Bruce Randall Donald.  On Information Invariants in Robotics , 1995, Artif. Intell..

[20]  Masaru Uchiyama,et al.  A symmetric hybrid position/force control scheme for the coordination of two robots , 1988, Proceedings. 1988 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[21]  Lynne E. Parker,et al.  ALLIANCE: an architecture for fault tolerant multirobot cooperation , 1998, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[22]  Tsuneo Yoshikawa,et al.  Passive and active closures by constraining mechanisms , 1996, Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[23]  Majid Nili Ahmadaabaadi.  A Study on Cooperative Object Handling Task with Multiple Mobile Robots(複数移動ロボットによる対象物協調ハンドリングに関する研究) , 1997 .

[24]  Kazuhiro Kosuge,et al.  Motion control of multiple autonomous mobile robots handling a large object in coordination , 1999, Proceedings 1999 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.99CH36288C).

[25]  Majid Nili Ahmadabadi,et al.  A multiple robot system for cooperative object transportation with various requirements on task performing , 1999, Proceedings 1999 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.99CH36288C).

[26]  Kamal K. Gupta,et al.  Planning quasi-static motions for re-configuring objects with a multi-fingered robotic hand , 1997, Proceedings of International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[27]  Daniela Rus,et al.  In-Hand Dexterous Manipulation of Piecewise-Smooth 3-D Objects , 1999, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[28]  Matthew T. Mason.  Kicking the Sensing Habit , 1993, AI Mag..

[29]  Majid Nili Ahmadabadi,et al.  Task allocation and distributed cooperation strategies in a group of object transferring robots , 1997, Proceedings of the 1997 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robot and Systems. Innovative Robotics for Real-World Applications. IROS '97.

[30]  Eiichi Yoshida,et al.  Cooperating grasping of a large object by multiple mobile robots , 1995, Proceedings of 1995 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[31]  Yoshihiko Nakamura,et al.  Advanced robotics - redundancy and optimization , 1990 .

[32]  Eiji Nakano,et al.  Realizing cooperative object manipulation using multiple behaviour-based robots , 1996, Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. IROS '96.

[33]  Martin Nilsson,et al.  Cooperative multi-robot box-pushing , 1995, Proceedings 1995 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Human Robot Interaction and Cooperative Robots.

[34]  Oussama Khatib,et al.  Vehicle/arm coordination and multiple mobile manipulator decentralized cooperation , 1996, Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. IROS '96.

[35]  Tsuneo Yoshikawa,et al.  Deciding grasping positions and regrasping action by cooperating multiple mobile robots , 1996, Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. IROS '96.

[36]  Masafumi Hashimoto,et al.  Dynamic control approach for motion coordination of multiple wheeled mobile robots transporting a single object , 1993, Proceedings of 1993 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS '93).

[37]  Hajime Asama.  Trends of Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems , 1994 .