Control Of Mechatronic Systems Research Articles

Pipe Organ Design Including the Passive Haptic Feedback Technology and Measurement Analysis of Key Displacement, Pressure Force and Sound Organ Pipe

In this work, an organ pipe instrument with a mechatronic control system including the Passive Haptic Feedback technology is implemented. The test bed consists of a motorized positioning stage mounted to a brace that is attached to a bridge on a platform. A simple pneumatic mechanism is designed and realized to achieve the same dynamics pressure for each measurement attempt on the keyboard. This system contain pipes, an air compressor, valves, and a piston connected to applied force pressure on the keyboard of the organ pipe. The pneumatic components, like valves and pressure regulators, mounted on the profile plate are connected to the main air supply line via flexible tubing or hoses to the air compressor and mechanical trucker. The pneumatic system has many types of valves that regulate the air speed, air flow, and power. The combination of valves and air compressor control the air flow and the mechanism of piston and pressure on the keyboard. The mechanical actuator presses the key to be tested, and a load cell detects the applied key force. A laser triangulation measurement system based on a Laser Displacement Sensor measures the displacement of the key during the key depression. The velocity of the key motion is controlled by the pneumatic actuator. A miniature-sized strain gauge load cell, which is mounted on a musical keyboard key, measures the contact force between the probe and the key. In addition, the quality of the audio signal generated by the organ instrument is estimated using the Hilbert transform.

Method of Autonomous Vehicle Control Using Simplified Reference Models and Regulators

This study contains a conceptual solution of the control method for an autonomous vehicle based on a simplified reference model and controllers. The whole issue is considered on the example of the execution phase of the lane change manoeuvre, in which the well-known 4WS (Four-Wheel-Steering) bicycle model and Kalman regulators based on the LQR (Linear-Quadratic Regulator) technique were used. The overall developed control mechatronic system was subjected to simulation studies in Matlab&Simulink. The simulation results showed correct functioning of the entire mechatronic control system and allowed us to determine further research directions. The developed control method can also find application in military vehicles.

ANALYSIS OF DYNAMICS AND OPTIMISATION OF TRANSIENT MOTION MODES OF HOISTING MECHANISMS OF OVERHEAD URBAN CRANES

The research of operating modes of hoisting mechanisms and machines, in particular, overhead and city-building cranes is carried out. Based on dynamic analysis of operating modes of mechanisms of the mentioned machines the character of load occurrence in their elastic elements (ropes) is established. The synthesis of optimum transient modes of operation (start/braking) of city-building and overhead cranes is carried out. The models of L.D. Landau and N.A. Lobov for physical and mechanical analysis of motion of the specified machines are used, on the basis of which with attraction of methods of classical calculus of variations the laws of motion of a cargo and a cargo carriage of similar cranes which optimize (minimize) inevitably arising pendulum oscillations of a cargo on a rope (as in the period of start-up of the crane, and at its braking, up to full stop) are received analytically. The evaluation of motion modes in the work is carried out by using a criterion with sub-integral functions in the form of "energy" of accelerations of higher orders (third, fourth, etc.). Exactly such criteria are used in the selection of modes of motion of lifting mechanisms of cranes of bridge/bridge-building type, which have in their composition elastic elements (ropes). The above approach makes it possible to achieve continuity of functions of velocities and accelerations of various links of the system, which leads to a significant reduction in their oscillations. The analysis of modes of motion of the system, which is described by the main coordinate of motion and elastic coordinates, allowed one to establish the regularity of using the proposed criterion to minimize the elastic vibrations of individual links (ropes) of the crane hoisting mechanism. The results of this study can be further used to clarify and improve existing engineering methods for calculating loads in flexible/elastic elements (ropes) of bridge and city-building cranes both in the design of hoisting mechanisms and in the modes of their real operation when mechatronic control systems are used in controlling the movement of the load carriage.

Distributed cooperative control of mechatronic system driving multiple electrohydraulic actuators with uncertain nonlinearity and communication delay

AbstractBeing different from many centralized mechatronic systems, the distributed transmission mechanism has the significant advantage such that realize cooperative task only based on small amount neighbour nodes with low computational complexity. In this study, a distributed cooperative control is proposed for multiple electrohydraulic system (MEHS) to guarantee the follower electrohydraulic node tracking the leader motion, based on the approach of directed spanning tree. Firstly, the MEHS model is constructed as three‐orders isomorphic nonlinear dynamics. Then, a disturbance observer is adopted to estimate uncertain nonlinearities caused by hydraulic parametric uncertainties and unknown external loads in the MEHS. To address unknown communication delays in the network topology of MEHS, a quasi‐synchronous controller is designed via Lyapunov–Krasovskii technique to guarantee that the synchronous errors asymptotically converge to a zero neighbourhood. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed distributed synchronous control is verified by simulation results under uncertain nonlinearities and different communication delays.

Deployment of Model-Based-Design-Adaptive Controllers for Monitoring and Control Mechatronic Devices

The modeling and control of complex, non-linear, and time-changing mechatronic systems requires complex software development. They are carried out in the prototyping phase with engineering software development tools, generating models, and control algorithms that are not always easily exportable to control hardware. The following work offers an alternative that considers Model-Based Design using graphics-based languages, which facilitates programming tasks for modeling and controlling mechatronic devices and their transition from prototype to control hardware. Model-Based Design with high abstraction programming level capabilities provides the user with a fast coding and testing environment, suitable for laboratory prototyping and subsequent transfer to commercial embedded controllers. The proposed solution combines control hardware based on an STM32H7 microcontroller and a software development environment using graphics-based languages developed for MATLAB. The result is a solution that integrates control hardware and software in a hardware-in-the-loop paradigm. This solution provides robust and energy-saving controllers and demonstrates that an advanced control algorithm can be set up in a critical safety-compliant low-cost embedded controller via a custom model-based design. Algorithms and tools are transferred to the controller without losing the advantages gained in the prototyping phase. Finally, experimental results implementing an adaptive controller in a DC motor and in a pneumatic system are shown to validate the system.

Mechatronic design of a composite vibration isolation system

Composite materials have attracted researchers in vibration and noise control applications due to their significant dynamic characteristics such as high strength and high damping level. In this paper, a Glass Fiber Reinforced Composite material (GFRC) is presented as a vibration isolation system to control vibration levels in industry. In addition, the impact of integration of a mechatronic control system to improve the machining process and increase the control of vibration nature. A prototype of an industrial cam–follower machine is motorized, and the Frequency Response Function (FRF) is recorded using a B&K data acquisition analyzer at five rotational speeds. The transmitted vibrations to the machine foundation are estimated without any isolation system. Then, two optimized GFRC plates of optimum stacking sequences are used as an isolation system to reduce the transmitted vibration. The displacement transmissibility is calculated theoretically and experimentally. The results show that the use of GFRC plates as an isolator reduces the vibration level of the system by 98.46% and 98.5% for [90/90/90/0/0]s and [90/ ± 45/ ± 35/90/ ± 35]s GFRC configurations respectively.

Mechanical Weed Control Systems: Methods and Effectiveness

This article presents a division of methods to support mechanical weeding based on mechatronic control systems and estimates their effectiveness. The subject was undertaken due to the noticeable increase in interest in machine weeding methods, which is the result of the need for farmers to meet the growing awareness of customers focusing on healthy and high-quality products and the European Union policy promoting environmental protection programs, such as the European Green Deal and supporting commission priorities like the Mission Soil as a flagship initiative of the long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas. Mechanical weeding meets the stringent conditions set by organic farming, and automation favours the development of these methods. Based on sources in the literature, it has been shown that it is possible to increase the weeding speed by at least 1.6 times by using the tool position correction system for row crops. In the case of crops requiring weeding, and in the spaces between plants in a row, the use of specialised weeding machines allows for an increase in the weeding efficiency by up to 2.57 times compared to manual weeding. Each of the analysed methods used to support weeding are subject to a certain error due to the use of sources in the literature, including manufacturers’ materials; however, it shows an upward trend in the effectiveness of using mechatronic weeding support systems, which was part of the thesis. This article presents the division of these systems and analyses the specific market solutions of machines, which is its distinguishing feature.

DYNAMIC LOADS IN ELASNIC ELEMENTS/ROPES OF CONSTRUCTION CRANES ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION

In the study, an analysis of the dynamic model of construction cranes’ load lifting mechanism, proposed by professor Loveikyn V.S. and others, was carried out. In order to determine the dynamic loads in the elastic rope, a dynamic model is used, in which all sections of the shafts are considered rigid, and only the cable is elastic. Bringing the engine rotor masses, brake pulley, gears, drum and load to the rope branchers that are wound on the drum, allows the original complex multi-mass tech-nical system to be reduced to a simplified (two-mass) crane lifting mechanism dynamic model, which is comprehensively and in detail analyzed in transition-type modes (for example, in the start-up mode). 
 An established and substantiated criterion for the movement quality of the hoisting crane load mechanism, at which rope system dynamic stresses are minimized in the starting mode, as well as the dynamic coefficient for different ways of lifting the load: 1) “from the weight”; 2) “with a pick up”/ “from the base” − typical during cranes real work in cargo lifting/lowering operations (loading and unloading). 
 Classical variational calculus methods usage (Euler-Poisson equation) allows to determine the conditions, according to which the above-mentioned criterion for the movement quality of the load lifting mechanism can be implemented.
 The movements laws of the load cargo and the drive crane mechanism are also defined, as well as law of dynamic coefficient change in time, for which there is no oscillation nature of time dependence, and the specified time functions have a mono-tonically growing character over time.
 The results obtained in the work allow (when using mechatronic control systems for the cargo lifting process) prevent overloading of the crane rope system and possible emergency situations, which lead to breaks in the elastic elements of the load lifting mechanisms (i.e. ropes), and also clarify and improve the existing engineering methods of similar complex technical systems calculations in their real operation modes.

Optimizing Cascaded Control of Mechatronic Systems through Constrained Residual Reinforcement Learning

Cascaded control structures are prevalent in industrial systems with many disturbances to obtain stable control but are cumbersome and challenging to tune. In this work, we propose cascaded constrained residual reinforcement learning (RL), an intuitive method that allows to improve the performance of a cascaded control structure while maintaining safe operation at all times. We draw inspiration from the constrained residual RL framework, in which a constrained reinforcement learning agent learns corrective adaptations to a base controller’s output to increase optimality. We first revisit the interplay between the residual agent and the baseline controller and subsequently extend this to the cascaded case. We analyze the differences and challenges this structure brings and derive some principle insights from this into the stability and operation of the cascaded residual architecture. Next, we propose a novel actor structure to enable efficient learning under the cascaded setting. We show that the standard algorithm is suboptimal for application to cascaded control structures and validate our method on a high-fidelity simulator of a dual motor drivetrain, resulting in a performance improvement of 14.7% on average, with only a minor decrease in performance occurring during the training phase. We study the different principles constituting the method and examine and validate their contribution to the algorithm’s performance under the considered cascaded control structure.

New Trends in the Control of Robots and Mechatronic Systems

In recent years, research into the control of robotic and mechatronic systems has led to a wide variety of advanced paradigms and techniques, which have been extensively analysed and discussed in the scientific literature [...]

Cascade Control for Two-Axis Position Mechatronic Systems

The current paper proposes an extension for two controller design procedures for a two-axis positioning mechatronic system, followed by a comparison between them. As such, the first method consists in formulating an optimization problem in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) in order to impose the location of the closed-loop poles, considering an uncertain model of such a system. The uncertain model is treated using various forms of linear differential inclusions (LDIs), namely, polytopic LDI (PLDI) and diagonal norm-bound LDI (DNLDI). Additionally, the problem regarding the command signal constraints is characterized in terms of LMIs. The imposed structure of the controller is a cascade one, with a PI controller for the position loop and a P controller for the velocity loop, having an additional feedforward term. On the other hand, the second method consists in designing a cascade controller with an inner P controller, as in the previous method, the outer controller being a fractional-order IλIDλD (FO–ID) controller. In terms of degrees of freedom, both methods present four degrees of freedom for each axis. The presented controller design procedures will be applied for a numerical example of such a positioning system, and a comparison of the obtained performance metrics will be performed.

Numerical Simulation and Control of Mechanical and Mechatronic Systems

Symmetry is presented in many mechanical systems and control design methods [...]

A novel magnetically levitated tip/tilt motion platform

This paper presents the mechatronic system design and control of a tip/tilt motion platform with a magnetically levitated mover tailored for dynamic rotational scanning operation. It employs a Lorentz force-based actuation system with five degrees of freedom and four spherical Halbach arrays on a fully passive mover. The system includes highly integrated optical proximity sensors for sensing the mover position in all degrees of freedom and a passive magnetic bearing for restraining the non-actuated degree of freedom. The actuation system enables a mechanical angular range of ±1° in both axes, with first structural modes of the 3D printed mover occurring at 1 kHz. A control system is designed for the five actively controlled degrees of freedom for obtaining a robustly stable and precise motion system. The resulting closed-loop system has a bandwidth of 200 Hz in the rotational and 100 Hz in the translational degrees of freedom and a small positioning uncertainty of 0.02% of the full motion range.

Результати експериментальних досліджень селекційно-насінницького трієра

The goal is experimental substantiation of the main parameters and modes of operation of the selection and seed trier of small-seeded crops, development of the work algorithm and software of the corresponding mechatronic system. For conducting experimental research, a laboratory selection and seed trier was developed and created. To change the rotation frequency of the cylinder and the direction of rotation, the Arduino UNO control board and the L298N DC motor driver were used. The frequency and direction of rotation of the cylinder can be controlled manually using a potentiometer and automatically using the Arduino IDE monitor port. The working body of the trier is a cylinder, which consists of plates with shells. As a result of experimental studies of the process of separation of small-seeded crops on a laboratory cylindrical shell trier, the dependences of the change in the minimum θmin and maximum θmax angles of seed exit from the cylinder shell of the trier on the mass of the seed material M0, the rotation frequency of the cylinder n and the content of impurities f0 were obtained. The resulting dependencies are fed into the mechatronic control system software, which allows the position of the seed tray to be adjusted as a result of servo control.

Guest Editorial: Learning, optimisation and control of cyber‐physical systems

Guest Editorial: Learning, optimisation and control of cyber‐physical systems

Observer-Based Adaptive Fuzzy Event-Triggered Control for Mechatronic Systems With Inaccurate Signal Transmission and Motion Constraints

This article presents an adaptive output feedback controller for a class of Euler–Lagrange (EL) mechatronic systems subject to time-delay, input hysteresis, and motion constraints; simultaneously, the event-triggered mechanism is introduced to decrease communication costs. During controller design, the proposed method <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">not only</i> relaxes additional requirements on the model structures by other methods (e.g., parameters linearly appearing in dynamics or strict triangular/cascade normal forms), <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">but also</i> estimates uncertain dynamics and approximation errors online, <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">instead of</i> utilizing “large-gain” or discontinuous terms to suppress their impacts. Regarding the inaccurate signal transmission of EL systems, this article presents a <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">modified</i> fuzzy observer with an elaborately designed auxiliary term, to recover unmeasurable variables and simultaneously deal with state time-delay. Meanwhile, the Prandtl–Ishlinskii model is employed to imitate input hysteresis, whose unknown parameters are also estimated online to improve tracking accuracy. By Lyapunov-based stability analysis, it is proven that the error signals are always limited within preset constraints and asymptotically converge to zero. As far as we know, for EL systems, this article proposes the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">first</i> controller to address such <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">comprehensive</i> effects of <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">unreliable</i> state feedback, limited workspace, and input/output nonlinearities in practice, and also eliminate tracking errors with a <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">theoretical guarantee</i> . More importantly, the utilized event-triggered mechanism further improves the practicability of this article. Finally, based on a pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM)-actuated robot manipulator, the performance of the proposed controller is validated via hardware experiments.

Optimal tracking control of mechatronic servo system using integral reinforcement learning

Recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the application of reinforcement learning (RL) to nonlinear system control. And many published studies have shown that reusing historical data can improve the learning efficiency of intelligent agents. However, reusing historical data leads to a large increase in the data to be processed. This paper proposes a novel adaptive law for the critic network in the RL framework to address this problem. The innovation of the proposed method is the introduction of an auxiliary matrix containing information about the historical estimation errors instead of the historical data itself. Moreover, the addition of the auxiliary matrix allows the persistent excitation (PE) conditions to be checked online. As a validation, the proposed approach is applied to a motor servo system containing unknown dynamics. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in the end.

Mechatronic control system for high-temperature synthesis of materials based on intelligent measuring modules

The subject of researcs: The article is devoted to the measuring complex for the experimental study of the SHS phenomenon.&#x0D; The purpose of the development was to simultaneously observe microheterogeneous processes and macrokinetics of high-temperature synthesis.&#x0D; Methods and objects of research: Embedded computing platforms with support for artificial intelligence tools are used to organize high-speed multi-zone registration of thermal imaging and spectral data.&#x0D; Results of research: Within the framework of the complex, a group of intelligent modules with autonomous data analysis in real time has been developed. The pyrometric module of the complex reveals structural phase transitions in the process of high-temperature synthesis of materials and measures characteristic temperatures. The thermal imaging module determines the position of the SHS wave front and plots the material and temperature phase distributions on the sample surface. The mechatronic module predicts the location of a new observation area, based on the measured parameters of the SHS process, and moves the optical control means there when the combustion wave leaves the current registration area. The interaction of intelligent modules of the mechatronic system is implemented through messages in a wireless network, and their synchronization via the NTP protocol has an error of about 40 s.

End-to-End Deep Fault-Tolerant Control

PUBLISHED ON IEEE/ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS, DOI: 10.1109/TMECH.2021.3100150. Ideally, accurate sensor measurements are needed to achieve a good performance in the closed-loop control of mechatronic systems. As a consequence, sensor faults will prevent the system from working correctly, unless a fault-tolerant control (FTC) architecture is adopted. As model-based FTC algorithms for nonlinear systems are often challenging to design, this paper focuses on a new method for FTC in the presence of sensor faults, based on deep learning. The considered approach replaces the phases of fault detection and isolation and controller design with a single recurrent neural network, which has the value of past sensor measurements in a given time window as input, and the current values of the control variables as output. This end-to-end deep FTC method is applied to a mechatronic system composed of a spherical inverted pendulum, whose configuration is changed via reaction wheels, in turn actuated by electric motors. The simulation and experimental results show that the proposed method can handle abrupt faults occurring in link position/velocity sensors. The provided supplementary material includes a video of real-world experiments and the software source code.

Modelling and Control of Mechatronic and Robotic Systems, Volume II

In modern times, mechatronic and robotic systems are developing at a faster pace than in the past [...]