Abstract
Power efficiency degradation of machines often provides intrinsic indication of problems associated with their operation conditions. Inspired by this observation, in this thesis work, a simple yet effective power efficiency estimation base health monitoring and fault detection technique is proposed for modular and reconfigurable robot with joint torque sensor. The design of the Ryerson modular and reconfigurable robot system is first introduced, which aims to achieve modularity and compactness of the robot modules. Critical components, such as the joint motor, motor driver, harmonic drive, sensors, and joint brake, have been selected according to the requirement. Power efficiency coefficients of each joint module are obtained using sensor measurements and used directly for health monitoring and fault detection. The proposed method has been experimentally tested on the developed modular and reconfigurable robot with joint torque sensing and a distributed control system. Experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Highlights
As more and more robots are introduced in space, industry, and private homes, the fault in robot system has become an important issue that needs to be properly addressed
Power efficiency estimation based approach for health monitoring and fault detection is tested in the experiments under the fault tolerant control, the system can tolerate a certain degree of fault and provides proper output
The simulated mechanical degradation clearly produces a significant change in the mechanical power transmission efficiency, which can be used for fault detection, as well as the fault isolation in Modular and Reconfigurable Robot (MRR) mechanical transmission system
Summary
As more and more robots are introduced in space, industry, and private homes, the fault in robot system has become an important issue that needs to be properly addressed. The problem is often exacerbated if the fault is not dealt with in a timely manner It is, desirable to have a fault tolerant system that is capable of continued operation, possibly at degraded performance, in the event of faults in some of its parts [1]. While fault detection and diagnosis can usually be achieved by adding special purpose hardware, such as torque and current sensors, etc., at costs of increased system cost and complexity, fault accommodation may be realized by system reconfiguration, e.g., through system redundancy, soon after the fault occurs. This thesis work covers a range of work from MRR design and control, to its safe operation and health monitoring. The shortcoming of traditional robots is that they can only carry out specific tasks as they are configured. It is desirable to have a reconfigurable robot for both economic and functional purposes
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