Search results for "Casting manipulation"
showing 4 items of 4 documents
Design and control of a novel 3D casting manipulator
2010
This paper focuses on casting manipulation and presents an innovative mechanism that allows objects placed in a three-dimensional space to be reached with a relatively small robot. Casting manipulation is a technique by which a robotic end-effector is thrown and its ballistic flight is controlled through a tether cable so as to reach a target object. Previous work presented a solution that is viable only when the position of the target object is perfectly known or aligned with the throwing plane. Our work extends the technique by use of a novel mechanical design of the arm, and a suitable control scheme for the flight of the end-effector, which makes it applicable for objects placed at gene…
A Rough-Terrain Casting Robot for the ESA Lunar Robotics Challenge
2009
This paper describes the design and implementation of DAVID, a lunar vehicle developed for the European Space Agency (ESA) Lunar Robotics Challenge, presenting severe terrain negotiation and sample acquisition challenges. We discuss in some detail two of the main innovative aspects of our entry to the challenge, i.e. the locomotion system and the sample acquisition system. Motivated by the challenge specifications, a range of different locomotion systems were considered, among which we chose a simple, rugged and effective wheeled system. We provide an account of the choice of five different types of wheels, which were designed, analyzed and experimentally tested in conditions similar to the…
Visual-based Feedback Control of Casting Manipulation
2006
In this paper, we present a method to control casting manipulation by means of real-time visual feedback. Casting manipulation is a technique to deploy a robotic end-effector at large distances from the robot’s base, by throwing the end-effector and controlling its ballistic flight using forces transmitted through a light tether connected to the end-effector itself. The tether cable can also be used to retrieve the end-effector and exert forces on the robot’s environment. Previous work has shown that casting manipulation is able to catch objects at a large distance, proving it viable for applications such as sample acquisition and return, rescue, etc. In previous experiments, the position o…
Casting Robotic end-effectors to reach far objects in space and planetary missions
2006
In this paper we present work aimed at developing a compact robotic device able to reach objects at far distance.The work is based on the idea of casting manipulation, and that allows to deploy an end-effector at large distances from the robot’s base by throwing (casting) it and controlling its ballistic flightusing forces transmitted through a light tether connected to the end-effector itself.