Suzana Uran

A DSP-Based Remote Control Laboratory

This paper presents a framework for rapid remote experiment implementation in the field of automatic control. The proposed solution is based on in-house developed embedded control hardware and two commercially available software packages. MATLAB/Simulink is used for rapid experiment control algorithm development, while LabVIEW is used for the user front-end and remote control. A combination of presented hardware and software solutions enables the rapid and easy creation of different interactive remote control experiments. Using this solution, a digital-signal-processor-based remote control laboratory for teaching purposes has been realized. This remote laboratory enables the remote users to easily interact with a set of physical control experiments through the Internet. In the friendly user interface, the remote user can change predefined system parameters and observe system response in textual, graphical, or video format. In addition, this remote laboratory includes a booking system, which enables remote users to book experiments in advance.

Telerobotics experiments via Internet

Many enterprises experience difficulty in training people to work with expensive equipment, which is needed for carrying out profitable work tasks (e.g., production line robots). Similar problems are found when work is of a complex and safety-critical nature (e.g., nuclear environments, explosive placement, surgery). This paper describes a method of education and training involving offline usage of virtual environments for task planning. When tasks are developed to the satisfaction of the trainee, they are exported to remote physical hardware, via the Internet, for real-world execution. Development of the system and the training experiments is discussed, along with some of the issues raised for telerobotics and solutions to the problem of detecting collisions in the virtual world. The approach has been shown to be viable and increases the education and training possibilities for key workers while maintaining a low cost of ownership. The downtime of mission-critical equipment is minimized while the gaining of valuable experience is maximized.

Virtual Laboratory for Creative Control Design Experiments

This paper proposes a two-step strategy for the computer-aided learning of control. A virtual Web-based laboratory for control design experiments (http://www.hl1.uni-mb.si), which supports a two-step strategy, is based on the MATLAB Web server (MWS) and consists of two virtual laboratories. The first virtual laboratory, called ldquoWeb sisotool,rdquo supports computer-aided control design and structured hands-on experiments. Computer-aided control design is welcome as a design tool while structured hands-on experiments are welcome for the visualization of hard-to-grasp concepts. The second virtual laboratory offers students an unstructured MATLAB-like environment, called ldquoM-file application,rdquo that allows students to create and design control design experiments by writing MATLAB M-files of their own and executing them on MWS. The presented virtual laboratory for control design experiments is cost effective and has already been successfully used for the learning of control. Student feedback is also presented.

Remote Control Laboratory with Moodle Booking System

In order to enhance learning of control design, minimise the gap between theory and practice and especially to support learning by doing we built remote control laboratory. This paper describes a Moodle based booking system for our remote laboratory. The web-based remote laboratory is presented through a RC oscillator experiment for learning of control design. In RC oscillator experiment, interactivity between the controller design parameters in Bode plot and Root Locus with real experiment has been implemented in order to support full visualisation of the controller design. An experiment for control of a mechatronic device, it is a DC motor, was implemented. Special safety measures built into the experiment are represented in the paper.

An integrated model-based diagnosis and repair architecture for ROS-based robot systems

Autonomous robots are artifacts that comprise a significant number of heterogeneous hardware and software components and interact with dynamic environments. Therefore, there is always a chance of faults at run-time that negatively affect the reliability of the system. In this paper we present a novel diagnosis and repair architecture for ROS-based robot systems. It is an extension to the existing ROS diagnostics stack and follows a model-based diagnosis and repair approach. In the paper we discuss the integrated diagnosis and repair architecture in detail. Moreover, we show its application to an example robot system and report first experimental results. The presented work provides three major contributions: a combination of diagnosis and repair, the integration of hardware and software, and the integration into ROS.

Control of a ball and beam like mechanism

Underactuated mechanisms have attracted a lot of attention because they represent a rich class of control systems from a control standpoint and because they offer robot price reduction due to robot link mass reduction and lower number of robot actuators. Our ball and beam like mechanism is an example of underactuated mechanism. The ball and beam system does not possess a nontriangular structure which allows standard integrator backstepping or forwarding methods therefore approximations of nonlinear control were up to date proposed for the control of such systems. In contrast to Hauser (1992) we proposed a cascaded computed torque controller which is in fact another approximate nonlinear controller. A desirable feature of the cascaded computed torque controller is strong resemblance with standard computed torque method in the case of design and implementation effort. In the case of cascaded computed torque controller the angle of the beam could be constrained. Simulation results for the cascaded computed torque controller were compared with the simulation results obtained for the control approach of Hauser. Experimental results for the cascaded computed torque controller are presented.

MATLAB Web Server and Web-based Control Design Learning

In order to enhance learning of control design, minimise the gap between theory and practice and especially to support learning by doing we built two Web-based laboratories. This paper presents the two Web based laboratories: a MATLAB Web server (IMWS) based virtual laboratory for learning of control design and a remote laboratory. Using MWS based virtual laboratory, students could run prepared application as well as write their own MATLAB M-files and execute them using the MATLAB Web server. The Web-based remote laboratory is presented through a RC oscillator experiment for learning of control design. In RC oscillator experiment, interactivity between the controller design parameters in Bode plot and Root Locus with real experiment has been implemented in order to support full visualisation of the controller design

Community-driven development of standard software modules for search and rescue robots

The main goal of the paper is to continuously enlarge the set of software building blocks that can be reused in the search and rescue domain.

MATLAB Web Server and M-file Application

Using of MATLAB Web server (MWS) is attractive for students as well as for universities due to reduction of costs for both parties. Standard MWS applications support structured hands-on experiments welcomed for visualization of hard to grasp concepts and as a design tool. MWS applications for Math, power electronics and control design, part of a virtual laboratory created at University of Maribor, are represented. In addition a M-file MWS application-an example of unstructured MWS environment allowing students to write the MATLAB M-files of their own and to execute them on MWS is presented in detail. Only a simple text editor and an Internet browser are needed by a student to use M-file MWS application

Sliding-mode neural network robot controller

The theoretical development of a trajectory tracking neural network controller based on the theory of sliding-mode controllers is shown in the paper. Derived equations of the neural network controller were verified on a direct drive 2-DOF SCARA mechanism model. The new neural network controller was compared with a neural network controller based on the computed torque method. At last we made an application on a real 2-DOF SCARA robot mechanism by the neural network controller based on the computed torque method and a sliding-mode neural network controller on a real single axis direct drive robotic manipulator driven by an induction motor.