Concept development for lightweight binary-actuated robotic devices, with application to space systems

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2001.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lichter, Matthew D. (Matthew Daniel), 1977-
Other Authors: Steven Dubowsky.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2005
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8546
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author Lichter, Matthew D. (Matthew Daniel), 1977-
author2 Steven Dubowsky.
author_facet Steven Dubowsky.
Lichter, Matthew D. (Matthew Daniel), 1977-
author_sort Lichter, Matthew D. (Matthew Daniel), 1977-
collection MIT
description Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2001.
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spelling mit-1721.1/85462019-04-12T13:57:24Z Concept development for lightweight binary-actuated robotic devices, with application to space systems Lichter, Matthew D. (Matthew Daniel), 1977- Steven Dubowsky. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineering. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2001. "June 2001." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-71). Exploratory space missions of the future will require robotic systems to lead the way by negotiating and mapping very rough terrain, collecting samples, performing science tasks, and constructing facilities. These robots will need to be adaptable and reconfigurable in order to achieve a wide variety of objectives. Conventional designs using gears, motors, bearings, encoders, and many discrete components will be too complex, heavy, and failure-prone to allow highly-reconfigurable systems to be feasible. This thesis develops new concepts that may potentially enable the design of self-transforming space explorers. The vision of this research is to integrate compliant bistable mechanisms with large numbers of binary-actuated embedded smart materials. Compliant mechanisms are lightweight and robust. Binary actuation is the idea of using an actuator in a discrete on/off manner rather than in a continuous manner. A binary actuator is easy to control and robust, and by using tens or hundreds of binary actuators, one can approximate a continuous system, much like a digital computer can approximate an analog system. The first part of this thesis examines the fundamental planning issues involved with systems having large numbers of binary actuators. The notion of a workspace is described and applied to the optimization of a manipulator design. Methods for solving the forward and inverse kinematics are discussed in the context of this application. These methods are extended to the trajectory and locomotion planning problems. Methods for planning systems of substantial complexity are developed in the context of exploratory space robotics. The second part of this thesis presents experimental demonstrations that examine elements of the concept. The results of several design prototypes are discussed. by Matthew D. Lichter. S.M. 2005-08-23T21:09:02Z 2005-08-23T21:09:02Z 2001 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8546 49014774 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 89 leaves 9724349 bytes 9724104 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Mechanical Engineering.
Lichter, Matthew D. (Matthew Daniel), 1977-
Concept development for lightweight binary-actuated robotic devices, with application to space systems
title Concept development for lightweight binary-actuated robotic devices, with application to space systems
title_full Concept development for lightweight binary-actuated robotic devices, with application to space systems
title_fullStr Concept development for lightweight binary-actuated robotic devices, with application to space systems
title_full_unstemmed Concept development for lightweight binary-actuated robotic devices, with application to space systems
title_short Concept development for lightweight binary-actuated robotic devices, with application to space systems
title_sort concept development for lightweight binary actuated robotic devices with application to space systems
topic Mechanical Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8546
work_keys_str_mv AT lichtermatthewdmatthewdaniel1977 conceptdevelopmentforlightweightbinaryactuatedroboticdeviceswithapplicationtospacesystems