Direct Position Measurement Research Articles

Direct optical measurement of intramolecular distances with angstrom precision.

Optical investigations of nanometer distances between proteins, their subunits, or other biomolecules have been the exclusive prerogative of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy for decades. In this work, we show that MINFLUX fluorescence nanoscopy measures intramolecular distances down to 1 nanometer-and in planar projections down to 1 angstrom-directly, linearly, and with angstrom precision. Our method was validated by quantifying well-characterized 1- to 10-nanometer distances in polypeptides and proteins. Moreover, we visualized the orientations of immunoglobulin subunits, applied the method in human cells, and revealed specific configurations of a histidine kinase PAS domain dimer. Our results open the door for examining proximities and interactions by direct position measurements at the intramacromolecular scale.

An online error compensation strategy for hybrid robot based on grating feedback

Purpose This paper aims to enhance the machining accuracy of hybrid robots by treating the moving platform as the first joint of a serial robot for direct position measurement and integrating external grating sensors with motor encoders for real-time error compensation. Design/methodology/approach Initially, a spherical coordinate system is established using one linear and two circular grating sensors. This system enables direct acquisition of the moving platform’s position in the hybrid robot. Subsequently, during the coarse interpolation stage, the motor command for the next interpolation point is dynamically updated using error data from external grating sensors and motor encoders. Finally, fuzzy proportional integral derivative (PID) control is applied to maintain robot stability post-compensation. Findings Experiments were conducted on the TriMule-600 hybrid robot. The results indicate that the following errors of the five grating sensors are reduced by 94%, 93%, 80%, 75% and 88% respectively, after compensation. Using the fourth drive joint as an example, it was verified that fuzzy adaptive PID control performs better than traditional PID control. Practical implications The proposed online error compensation strategy significantly enhances the positional accuracy of the robot end, thereby improving the actual processing quality of the workpiece. Social implications This method presents a technique for achieving online error compensation in hybrid robots, which promotes the advancement of the manufacturing industry. Originality/value This paper proposes a cost-effective and practical method for online error compensation in hybrid robots using grating sensors, which contributes to the advancement of hybrid robot technology.

Multi-Sensor Data Fusion Approach for Kinematic Quantities

A theoretical framework to implement multi-sensor data fusion methods for kinematic quantities is proposed. All methods defined through the framework allow the combination of signals obtained from position, velocity and acceleration sensors addressing the same target, and improvement in the observation of the kinematics of the target. Differently from several alternative methods, the considered ones need no dynamic and/or error models to operate and can be implemented with low computational burden. In fact, they gain measurements by summing filtered versions of the heterogeneous kinematic quantities. In particular, in the case of position measurement, the use of filters with finite impulse responses, all characterized by finite gain throughout the bandwidth, in place of straightforward time-integrative operators, prevents the drift that is typically produced by the offset and low-frequency noise affecting velocity and acceleration data. A simulated scenario shows that the adopted method keeps the error in a position measurement, obtained indirectly from an accelerometer affected by an offset equal to 1 ppm on the full scale, within a few ppm of the full-scale position. If the digital output of the accelerometer undergoes a second-order time integration, instead, the measurement error would theoretically rise up to 12n(n+1) ppm in the full scale at the n-th discrete time instant. The class of methods offered by the proposed framework is therefore interesting in those applications in which the direct position measurements are characterized by poor accuracy and one has also to look at the velocity and acceleration data to improve the tracking of a target.

Focus on photonics, spectroscopy, and spectrometry

Focus on photonics, spectroscopy, and spectrometry

An Intelligent Non-Collocated Control Strategy for Ball-Screw Feed Drives with Dynamic Variations

Abstract The ball-screw feed drive has varying high-order dynamic characteristics due to flexibilities of the slender screw spindle and joints between components, and an obvious feature of non-collocated control when a direct position measurement using a linear scale is employed. The dynamic characteristics and non-collocated situation have long been the source of difficulties in motion and vibration control, and deteriorate the achieved accuracy of the axis motion. In this study, a dynamic model using a frequency-based substructure approach is established, considering the flexibilities and their variation. The position-dependent variation of the dynamic characteristics is then fully investigated. A corresponding control strategy, which is composed of a modal characteristic modifier (MCM) and an intelligent adaptive tuning algorithm (ATA), is then developed. The MCM utilizes a combination of peak filters and notch filters, thereby shaping the plant dynamics into a virtual collocated system and avoiding control spillover. An ATA using an artificial neural network (ANN) as a smooth parameter interpolator updates the parameters of the filters in real time in order to cope with the feed drive’s dynamic variation. Numerical verification of the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed strategy is shown for a real feed drive.

Consolidation and alteration of memories for stressful experiences in humans

This report describes a simple and practical method for determining electrode positions in high-density EEG studies. This method reduces the number of electrodes for which accurate three-dimensional location must be measured, thus minimizing experimental set-up time and the possibility of digitization error. For each electrode cap, a reference data set is first established by placing the cap on a reference head and digitizing the 3-D position of each channel. A set of control channels are pre-selected that should be adequately distributed over the cap. A simple choice could be the standard 19 channels of the International 10–20 system or their closest substitutes. In a real experiment, only the 3-D positions of these control channels need to be measured and the position of each of the remaining channels are calculated from the position data of the same channels in the reference data set using a local transformation determined by the nearest three or four pairs of control channels. Six BioSemi ActiveTwo caps of different size and channel numbers were used to evaluate the method. Results show that the mean prediction error is about 2 mm and is comparable with the residual uncertainty in direct position measurement using a Polhemus digitizer.

Leader-Following Formation Tracking Control of Mobile Robots Without Direct Position Measurements

Most existing formation control approaches assume that accurate global or local position measurements of the robots are directly available, without giving details about how to obtain these measurements, or only providing Kalman filter-type estimators to get them without considering effects of the estimation on the closed-loop system stability. Hence, developing formation controllers with position estimators that can guarantee overall closed-loop system stability becomes highly desirable. This technical note presents a new formation tracking controller for the nonholonomic mobile robots without using direct position measurements. To deal with the absence of accurate position measurements, feedback information from a perspective camera, the odometry and Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) sensors is used to design an observer to provide online estimates of the relative position of the follower with respect to the leader. Using Lyapunov stability analysis, we show that the combined observer-controller closed-loop system is stable, and both the formation tracking errors and the relative position estimation errors asymptotically converge to zero. The performance of the proposed scheme is illustrated through experimental results.

Embedded explicit model predictive vibration control

This article presents an embedded active vibration suppression system featuring real-time explicit model predictive control (EMPC) that is implemented on a microcontroller unit (MCU). The EMPC controller minimizes the tip deflection of an aluminum cantilever beam driven by piezoceramic actuators, gaining its feedback from direct position measurements. The output and input performance of the EMPC method is compared to an analogously tuned positive position feedback (PPF) controller. An extensive analysis is provided on the cycle timing and memory needs of the explicit predictive vibration control scheme. The results demonstrate that the EMPC controller may achieve the same vibration suppression results compared to PPF with less input effort, while inherently respecting process constraints. Furthermore, we show that EMPC task execution timing is comparable in the random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM) alternatives, suggesting that numerous current microcontrollers are suitable for EMPC-based active vibration control, in case the prediction model is kept simple.

Modelling and Compensation of Thermally Induced Positioning Errors in a High Precision Positioning Application

Abstract: Thermal scanning probe lithography (t-SPL) is a promising technology to create patterns at the nanometre scale. So far, a commercially available t-SPL tool only exists for small, centimetre scale work pieces typically used in the university research environment. Scaling this technology to work with industry standard wafers requires much larger mechanical positioning units. These are subject to thermally induced deformations and consequently positioning errors. This work suggests a model based compensation of a mechanical positioning unit in combination with a direct position measurement enabled by the t-SPL patterning tool. Based on a linear model of the positioning unit, a Kalman based filter is designed, to estimate thermal errors during the patterning process and use position measurements between patterning phases for re-calibration. The presented filter does not require additional measurement equipment for the compensation. An application of the presented algorithm on an experimental set-up shows a significant reduction of thermally induced position errors.

Vision-Based Tracking Control of Underactuated Water Surface Robots Without Direct Position Measurement

Over the past decade, the trajectory tracking of underactuated water surface robots (or boats, surface vessels, etc.) has been an attractive topic in the control and automation community, and numerous controllers are proposed for this challenging problem. However, most, if not all, of the existing trajectory tracking controllers of the underactuated water surface robots assume the global positions of the robots can be accurately measured. In the practical applications, the global position measurement systems are sometimes unstable or even unavailable in the working environments of the robots. To avoid the direct position measurement, this brief presents a new controller for the trajectory tracking of underactuated water surface robots using monocular visual feedback. This controller works on the basis of a novel adaptive algorithm for estimating global position of the robot online using visual feature tracking from a monocular camera, and its orientation and velocity measured by the attitude and heading reference system sensor and a velocity observer. It is proved by Lyapunov theory that the proposed adaptive visual servo controller gives rise to asymptotic tracking of a desired trajectory and convergence of the position estimation to the actual position. Experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness and robust performance of the proposed controller.

Visual Servoing Trajectory Tracking of Nonholonomic Mobile Robots Without Direct Position Measurement

Localization is one of the most difficult and costly problems in mobile robotics. To avoid this problem, this paper presents a new controller for the trajectory tracking of nonholonomic mobile robots using visual feedback without direct position measurement. This controller works on the basis of a novel adaptive algorithm for estimating the global position of the mobile robot online using natural visual features measured by a vision system and its orientation and velocity measured by odometry and Attitude and Heading Reference System (IMU&Compass) sensors. The nonholonomic motion constraint of mobile robots is fully taken into account, compared with most of the existing visual servo controllers for mobile robots. The Lyapunov theory is used to prove that the proposed adaptive visual servo controller gives rise to asymptotic tracking of a desired trajectory and convergence of the position estimation to the actual position. A graphical processing unit is adopted to implement the proposed adaptive controller in parallel to achieve real-time detection and tracking of visual features. Experiments on a mobile robot are conducted to validate the effectiveness and robust performance of the proposed controller.

A practical method for quickly determining electrode positions in high-density EEG studies

This report describes a simple and practical method for determining electrode positions in high-density EEG studies. This method reduces the number of electrodes for which accurate three-dimensional location must be measured, thus minimizing experimental set-up time and the possibility of digitization error. For each electrode cap, a reference data set is first established by placing the cap on a reference head and digitizing the 3-D position of each channel. A set of control channels are pre-selected that should be adequately distributed over the cap. A simple choice could be the standard 19 channels of the International 10–20 system or their closest substitutes. In a real experiment, only the 3-D positions of these control channels need to be measured and the position of each of the remaining channels are calculated from the position data of the same channels in the reference data set using a local transformation determined by the nearest three or four pairs of control channels. Six BioSemi ActiveTwo caps of different size and channel numbers were used to evaluate the method. Results show that the mean prediction error is about 2mm and is comparable with the residual uncertainty in direct position measurement using a Polhemus digitizer.

GEO-REFERENCING WITHOUT GROUND CONTROL

ABSTRACT A geo-reference is a global or regional geographical or geodetic coordinate system to which sensors or spatial object data are related. Hence, geo-referencing is close to the well known photogrammetric concept of exterior or absolute orientation, the common execution of which is indirect, via the use of ground control points. GPS and INS technologies have changed the situation, permitting direct measurement of position and attitude parameters and making exterior orientation feasible without ground control at all, in principle. The analysis of accuracy and reliability performance discloses, however, that especially INS does not yet meet the high demands of photogrammetry. Moreover, control of systematic errors, the problem of datum transformation, and reliability conditions make the use of some ground control points still mandatory, at least for any high performance geo-referencing.