This paper describes and analyzes a series of experiments to develop a general evolutionary behavior acquisition technique for humanoid robots. The robot’s behavior is defined by joint controllers evolved concurrently. Each joint controller consists of a series of primitive actions defined by a chromosome. By using genetic algorithms with specifically designed genetic operators and novel repres...

One of the main practical problems on cooperative robots is the complexity of integrating a large amount of expensive velocity/force sensors. In this paper, the control of cooperative robots using only joint measurements is considered to manipulate an object firmly. Experimental results are shown. Copyright c ©2005 IFAC

In SCARA robots, which are often used in industrial applications, all joint axes are parallel, covering three degrees of freedom in translation and one degree of freedom in rotation. Therefore, conventional approaches for the handeye calibration of articulated robots cannot be used for SCARA robots. In this paper, we present a new linear method that is based on dual quaternions and extends the ...

This paper deals with the collision avoidance of the cooperative robots using the programming through imitation. Each physical robot acts fully independently, communicating with corresponding virtual prototype and imitating her behaviour. Each physical robot reproduces the motion of her virtual prototype. The estimation of the collision-free actions of the virtual cooperative robots and the tra...

In this paper, we developed two noble mechanisms for improving the motions of humanoid robots. The double spherical hip joint provides the equivalent function of waist joints without actually adding them. The backlush clutch is a new drive mechanism for knee joints of humanoid robots, which enables switching between drive and free modes. We developed a humanoid robot equipped with these two mec...

This paper describes experiments in cooperation using autonomous mobile robots to perform a cleaning task. The robots have heterogeneous capabilities and the task is designed so that cooperation is required. Each experiment increases the sophistication of the cooperation scheme to assess the effect on task performance. The experiments range from using emergent cooperation with no communication ...

The paper describes the recent design and development efforts in DLR ́s robotics lab towards the second generation of light-weight robots. The design of the lightweight mechanics, integrated sensors and electronics is outlined. The fully sensorized joint, with motor and link position sensors as well as joint torque sensors enables the implementation of effective vibration damping and advanced co...

In this paper we examine the development of modular self-reconfigurable robots. A survey of existing modular robots is given. Some limitations of homogeneous designs and connection mechanisms are discussed. Therefore, we propose a heterogeneous self-reconfigurable robot with genderless, fail-safe connecting mechanisms. We initially design three basic types (joint, power and special units) of mo...

In this paper we examine the development of modular self-recon£gurable robots. A survey of existing modular robots is given. Some limitations of homogeneous designs and connection mechanisms are discussed. Therefore, we propose a heterogeneous self-recon£gurable robot with genderless, fail-safe connecting mechanisms. We initially design three basic types (joint, power and special units) of module.

This paper presents a novel compact design for a two degrees of freedom (DOF) joint mechanism. The joint is optimized for compactness, strength and range of motion which makes it ideal for constructing spatial or three-dimensional hyper redundant robots. We also identify and classify various prior joint designs that led to the development of this new concept. Finally, we present the joint forwa...