Mark W. Noakes

Trauma Pod: a semi‐automated telerobotic surgical system

The Trauma Pod (TP) vision is to develop a rapidly deployable robotic system to perform critical acute stabilization and/or surgical procedures, autonomously or in a teleoperative mode, on wounded soldiers in the battlefield who might otherwise die before treatment in a combat hospital could be provided.

Telerobotic planning and control for DOE D&D operations

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a telerobotic system focused on addressing the complex tasks found in real-world deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) activities for the Department of Energy. Because of the large gap between the conditions and constraints required to implement robotic systems and the conditions encountered in in situ D&D work, nearly all D&D activities that are too hazardous for direct human contact are presently executed using purely teleoperated remote systems. Advances in capability and efficiency can be achieved by developing new telerobotic control methodologies that integrate tasks ideally suited for robotic control with task definitions provided by more traditional teleoperated control. The objectives are to reduce task execution time, reduce the required operator skill level, and to enable the use of tools that are not suited for purely teleoperated control.

Development of a remote trauma care assist robot

In typical teleoperated surgeries, skilled staff are still necessary in the remote surgical room to change manipulator tooling and to manage surgical supply delivery and removal. This paper describes the development of a nurse robot to provide automated support to a teleoperated surgical manipulator system in environments where the presence of skilled surgical support staff may not be practical. The tools must be inserted precisely into a compliant manipulator in a timely manner, and the supplies are diverse in nature. To support experimental investigations and evaluations, a seven degrees-of-freedom commercially available manipulator was selected. The design of novel end-effectors, tool grasping and supply holding features, and tool auto-loading systems for optimum surgical tool changing and supply delivery in minimum time is presented. A novel approach for calibration of the nurse robot among compliant and rigid subsystems and for managing forces during subsystem interaction is described and experimental results using this force management approach are presented. Overall experimental performance data for the nurse robot system during tool changing and supply delivery tasks is also presented to illustrate the feasibility of performing these functions in a remote medical or trauma care-assist cell.

Large scale multi-fingered end-effector teleoperation

Large multi-fingered end-effectors have promise to provide the added dexterity needed for manipulation while decreasing the amount of special fixturing required for tooling and object manipulation common to remote handling operations in hazardous and unstructured environments such as those in the nuclear domain. This paper presents the integration of a heavy-duty three-fingered articulated hand with a Schilling Titan hydraulic manipulator that is part of a comprehensive telerobotics test bed. Experiments demostrated that a multi-fingered end effector approach has distinct benefits and advantages.

Design of an obstacle avoidance system for AIMS

The Advanced Integrated Maintenance System (AIMS) is a remote maintenance system that uses a dual-arm teleoperator to control the Advanced Servomanipulator (ASM). Although, the ASM was designed for nuclear fuel reprocessing, it can provide a testbed for space telerobotics (space servicing and assembly). The objective of this project is to design and implement a generalized capability for automatic path-planning and obstacle avoidance during motion of the manipulator transporter (overhead crane and main manipulator shaft) from one work location in the hotcell to another. The work is to be accomplished in two phases. In the first phase, the transporter will move in a known world. In the second phase, sensor data will be used to update and verify the world model and the system will have the capability to avoid unexpected obstacles. This paper describes the design and initial development of a system for phase one. The phase one system will have three components: operator interface, navigation code, and hardware interface. The operator interface will be the most complex part of the system and will have three components: display, goal editor, and geometry editor. The display will allow the AIMS operator to view a three dimensional representation of the location of the ASM in the hotcell. The goal editor will allow the operator to define a goal for the ASM. The geometry editor will display the geometry of the hotcell and allow the operator to add or remove objects from the geometry. The navigation code will explore the geometry and define a clear path from the current position to the goal. The hardware interface will monitor the position of the ASM and send signals to the existing transporter control system and to the display.

Additive Manufacturing – A New Challenge for Automation and Robotics

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a rapidly growing technology descended from the first stereolithography systems. AM describes a variety of material deposition technologies for forming objects in a digital manner layer-by-layer under computer control. Now commonly known as 3D printing, AM quickly branched out into several key directions – material extrusion, sheet lamination, direct energy deposition, vat polymerization, powder bed fusion, binder jetting, and material jetting. The common factor in all AM branches is a foundation in robotics and automation. While most of the mechanical 3D printing structures are based on simple gantry systems, there are Gough-Stewart platforms and, more recently, six or more DoF manipulator-based systems that have been developed. Currently available commercial systems are based on open-loop control with minimum sensing capabilities; the latest systems in development are starting to take advantage of complex feedback loops and layers of advanced sensing and data logging. The Manufacturing Demonstration Facility of Oak Ridge National Laboratory is leading the efforts in applying advanced robotics in the creation of large-scale 3D printers. The recent demonstration of an additively manufactured excavator at the CONEXPO 2017 exhibition in Las Vegas showed that the use of cutting edge robotics and automation is essential for the next generation of additive systems. The future of AM will heavily rely on advanced robotics, machine learning, and the internet of things. This paper summarizes progress in AM; presents the practical aspects, challenges, and lessons learned in developing robotic-based AM systems; and outlines the needs and future directions of robotics for AM.