Samad Hayati

An Overview of KALI: a System to Program and Control Cooperative Manipulators

A software and hardware system, called Kali, for programming and controlling cooperative manipulators is described. It has been designed at McGill University in a collaborative effort with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. A set of programming primitives which permit a programmer. human or automated, to specify cooperative tasks are first outlined. In the context of cooperative robots, trajectory generation issues are discussed and our implementation briefly described. Software engineering for system integration is also discussed. Finally, the paper describes the allocation of various computational tasks among the elements of a multi-processor computer. Target applications presently envisioned include space robotics, power line maintenance, and other resource industry applications.

A highly redundant robot system for inspection

The work on the serpentine inspection system at JPL is described. The configuration of the inspection system consists of 20 degrees of freedom in total. In particular, the design and development of the serpentine micromanipulator end-effector tool which has 12 degrees of freedom is described. The inspection system is used for application in JPLs Remote Surface Inspection project and as a research tool in redundant manipulator control.

Kali: An Environment for the Programming and Control of Cooperative Manipulators

The paper describes the design of a controller for cooperative robots designed at McGill University in a collaborative effort with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The first part of the paper discusses the background and motivation for multiple arm control. Then, a set of programming primitives, which permit a programmer to specify cooperative tasks are described. Motion primitives specify asynchronous motions, master/slave motions, and cooperative motions. In the context of cooperative robots, trajectory generation issues are discussed and our implementation briefly described. The relations between programming and control in the case of multiple robot are examined. Finally, the paper describes the allocation of various tasks among a multiprocessor computer.

Implementation of RCCL, A Robot Control C Library On A microVAX II

The robot control C library (RCCL) is a high-level robot programming system developed at Purdue University as a result of research funded by the National Science Foundation and the French CNRS. RCCL enables a programmer to employ a set of system calls to specify robot manipulator tasks. The system provides flexible geometry kinematic transforms, hybrid force and position control, updatable world representation, functionally defined motions, and portability. RCCL allows for position matrix transform operations and the generation of robot trajectories in joint or Cartesian modes. It is intended to overcome the limitations of dedicated robot controller languages. For proprietary commericial robot languages like VAL, the fact that source code is not available rules out the possibility of modifications required to develop advanced control algorithms. In contrast, RCCL offers the major advantages of modifiable source code, sensor-oriented control, transportability between manipulator configurations and host computers, and computational speed necessary to execute advanced control algorithms necessary for real-time operation. In cooperation with JPL, RCA is completing RCCL implementation on a DEC microVAX-II as a high-level controller for the PUMA 762 robot, with minor changes to JPLs Berkeley 4.2 UNIX operating system. Using the same operating system, JPL plans to implement RCCL on a micro-VAX for their PUMA 560. These installations provide essentially unlimited memory, an efficient programming language for software development, and accessible source code that makes possible the real-time capability to meet the evolving needs of robot control technology. The Robotics Laboratory at McGill University provided consultation and direct support. The Laboratory successfully implemented RCCL on a VAX 11/750 for their PUMA 260 robot.

Virtual window telepresence system for telerobotic inspection

Telerobotic inspection can be used in environments that are too hazardous, removed, or expensive for direct human inspection. Telerobotic inspection is a complex task requiring an operator to control and coordinate a robot and sensors, while monitoring and interpreting sensor data to detect flaws. A virtual window telepresence system has been developed to aid the operator in performing these inspections. While the operator is looking at a monitor displaying stereo video from cameras mounted on the robot, the system tracks operator head position and moves the robot to create the illusion that the operator is looking out a window. This interface allows the operator to naturally specify desired viewpoint and enables him to concentrate on the visual examination of the area that may contain a flaw.

Design principles of a cooperative robot controller

The paper describes the design of a controller for cooperative robots being designed at McGill University in a collaborative effort with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The first part of the paper discusses the background and motivation for multiple arm control. Then, a set of programming primitives, which are based on the RCCL system and which permit a program-mer to specify cooperative tasks are described. The first group of primitives are motion primitives which specify asynchronous motions, master/slave motions. arid cooperative motions. In the context of cooperative robots, trajectory generation issues will be discussed and our implementation described. A second set of primitives provides for the specification of spatial relationships. The relations between programming and control in the case of multiple robot are examined. Finally, the paper describes the allocation of various tasks among a set of microprocessors sharing a common bus.

Guest editorial: Robots in unstructured and radioactive environments

Robotics continues to be a very challenging multidisciplinary area of research among engineers, be it electrical, mechanical, industrial, computer, or manufacturing. The environment and environmental issues are fast becoming the single most relevant problem on our hands. Waste minimization and management have received much attention in recent years in the United States and many other areas of the industrial world. Many industries and national and international laboratories worldwide have turned to robotics and remote systems for help in managing and handling nuclear waste and other hazardous substances. The object of this issue of Journal ofRobotic Systems is to present some of the latest applications, technologies, and case studies in robots handling radioactive and other dangerous wastes now being dealt with in today’s society. Some of these articles were presented at the Third International Symposium on Robotics and Manufacturing (ISRAM), held in Burnaby, BC, Canada, in July 1990, and some were presented at the 4th Topical Meeting of the American Nuclear Society, held in Albuquerque, NM, in February 1991. All articles here have been revised and gone through two rounds of peer reviews. The articles in this special issue represent an attempt to address some of the latest research and development issues raised above. The first article, by Christensen et al., presents an experimental environment at Sandia National Laboratories that combines real-time sensor-based intelligent control methods with the kinematic and geometric models of the world. The functions of the control task are represented through graphical animation, and this article represents the first critical feature test of the scheme. The second article, by Hollen, describes a robotic system for automation of plutonium metal acid dissolutions, the aliquoting of resulting solutions to be analyzed, using several analytical methods of chemistry. The system also automates the barcode labeling of the solution containment vial providing position identification. The described system reduces personnel radiation exposure and eliminates the redundancy of each analytical area producing separate dissolved plutonium solutions, which are used in chemical analyses. Fogle and Heckendorn, in their article, describe a number of telerobotic systems of the Westinghouse Robotics Development Group for emergency response applications. They have described the past, present, and future applications of telerobotic systems and bring up a number of current applications of such systems within the United States Department of Energy. In the fourth article, Welch presents the design and implementation of a fully automated sampling system at the British Nuclear Fuels reprocessing complex at Sella-