Collaborative Robots

The next generation robots share the workspace with humans and they work with humans side by side to accomplish various tasks. Therefore, the safety becomes an essential issue. This project aims to develop intrinsically safe and highly performant cobots. This research proposed a new paradigm towards “safety by design, performance by control” for human-safe cobots. In this project, we study design, modeling, manufacturing, and control of variable stiffness robotic arms for safe physical human-robot interactions. The robotic arms demonstrate a rest-to-rest task with maximum time efficiency and inherent safety. They are controlled in a highly compliant mode at rapid motions for maximum safety and in a relatively stiff mode at slow motions for maximum performance (e.g., position control).

Related Publication

  1. Yu She, Zhaoyuan Gu, Siyang Song, Haijun Su, Junmin Wang. “A Continuously Tunable Stiffness Arm with Cable-Driven Mechanisms for Safe Human-Robot Interactions”, ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, St. Louis, MO, August 16-19, 2020. Paper, Relevant video

  2. Siyang Song, Xianpai Zeng, Yu She, Junmin Wang, and Hai-Jun Su, “Modeling and Control of Inherently Safe Robots with Variable Stiffness Links,” Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Vol. 120, 103247, 2019. Paper, Relevant video

  3. Yu She, Siyang Song, and Hai-Jun Su, and Junmin Wang. “A comparative study on the effect of mechanical compliance for safe physical human-robot interaction”, ASME Transactions Journal of Mechanical Design, 2020, DOI: 10.1115/1.4046068. Paper, Relevant video

  4. Yu She, Hai-Jun Su, Deshan Meng, and Chen Lai. “Design and modeling of a Tunable Stiffness Arm for Safe Human-Robot Interaction”, ASME Transactions Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics, 2020, 12(1): 011006. Paper

  5. Yu She, Deshan Meng, Haijun Su, Siyang Song, and Junmin Wang. Introducing mass parameters to Pseudo–Rigid–Body models for precisely predicting dynamics of compliant mechanisms. Mechanism and Machine Theory, 2018, 126: 273-294. Paper

  6. Siyang Song, Yu She, Junmin Wang, Hai-jun Su. “Barrier Lyapunov Function Based Control of a Flexible Link CoRobot with Safety Constraints”, ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, September 30–October 3, 2018, paper No: DSCC2018-9006. Best Paper Award Paper

Related Video