A dynamic parameter identification method of industrial robots considering joint elasticity

Considering the joint elasticity, a novel dynamic parameter identification method is proposed for general industrial robots only with motor encoders. Firstly, the unknown parameters of the elastic joint dynamic model are analyzed and divided into two types. The first type is the motion-independent parameter only including the joint stiffness, which can be identified by the static force/torque-deformation experiments without the dynamic model. The second type is the motion-dependent parameter composed of the rest of the parameters, which needs the dynamic excitation experiments. Therefore, these two types of parameters can be identified separately. Meanwhile, it is found that the rotor inertia parameters can be obtained from the manufacturer, which reduces the identification difficulty of other parameters. After obtaining the rotor inertia and joint stiffness, an approximate processing algorithm is proposed considering the motor friction to establish the linear identification model of other parameters. Hence, the least squares can be employed to identify the parameters, and the independence of the inertia and joint viscous friction parameters are not affected. Meanwhile, the exciting trajectories can be optimized throughout the robot workspace, which reduces the effect of measurement noise on identification accuracy. With the proposed separated identification strategy and approximate processing algorithm, the dynamic parameters can be obtained precisely without double encoders on each joint. Finally, a series of simulations are conducted to evaluate the good performance of the proposed method.

Joint Elasticity Effect on the Failure Behaviours of Rock Masses using a Discrete Element Model

It is widely accepted that the mechanical properties and failure behaviours of a rock mass are largely dependent upon the geometrical and mechanical properties of discontinuities. The effect of joint elasticity on the failure behaviours of rock masses is investigated using a discrete element model, namely, the synthetic rock mass model. Here, uniaxial compression tests of the numerical model are carried out for the rock mass model with a persistent joint to analyse the role of joint elasticity in the failure process with various joint orientations, β. A strong correlation between the joint elasticity and failure strength is found from the simulation results: a positive relationship when the joint orientation β < φ j ; a negative relationship when the joint orientation φ j < β < 90 ° ; and a very limited effect when the joint orientation β = 90 ° . Additionally, it is shown that the joint elasticity is the governing factor in the transition of failure modes, especially from the sliding failure mode along the joint to the mixed sliding-tensile failure mode.

Introduction to Force-Dependent Kinematics: Theory and Application to Mandible Modeling

Knowledge of the muscle, ligament, and joint forces is important when planning orthopedic surgeries. Since these quantities cannot be measured in vivo under normal circumstances, the best alternative is to estimate them using musculoskeletal models. These models typically assume idealized joints, which are sufficient for general investigations but insufficient if the joint in focus is far from an idealized joint. The purpose of this study was to provide the mathematical details of a novel musculoskeletal modeling approach, called force-dependent kinematics (FDK), capable of simultaneously computing muscle, ligament, and joint forces as well as internal joint displacements governed by contact surfaces and ligament structures. The method was implemented into the anybody modeling system and used to develop a subject-specific mandible model, which was compared to a point-on-plane (POP) model and validated against joint kinematics measured with a custom-built brace during unloaded emulated chewing, open and close, and protrusion movements. Generally, both joint models estimated the joint kinematics well with the POP model performing slightly better (root-mean-square-deviation (RMSD) of less than 0.75 mm for the POP model and 1.7 mm for the FDK model). However, substantial differences were observed when comparing the estimated joint forces (RMSD up to 24.7 N), demonstrating the dependency on the joint model. Although the presented mandible model still contains room for improvements, this study shows the capabilities of the FDK methodology for creating joint models that take the geometry and joint elasticity into account.

Complete Dynamic Modelling of Flexible Joint Robots

Joint flexibility is common in industrial robots that have geared joints. In order to design a precision motion controller that compensates the effects of joint elasticity, an accurate dynamic model of flexible joint robots is required. The models that are commonly used ignore the gyroscopic interactions between the motors and links. In order to evaluate the influence of the ignored gyroscopic interaction, a complete dynamic model for flexible joint robots is derived in this paper. It is shown that when to realize high accuracy for high velocity trajectory tracking, the motor inertia is non-negligible compared to link inertia, and that the neglected interaction terms must be taken into account.