Here are some pictures of the lab equipment and a description of their
capabilities.
This is one of the mobile robots we are building in the lab. It is a
fairly simple platform. There are two independently driven wheels in
the back and a caster in the front. It has a SONAR sensor on the
front, infrared sensors on three sides, a wireless communication
module, and an on-board computer. It has a rechargeable battery to
power the motors and the electronics.
This is one of the robots that has been retrofitted with a simple
manipulator for the Nonprehensile
Mobile Manipulation project. ("Nonprehensile" means
"nongrasping.") This is a "palm" manipulator --- a flat plate that
the robot can tilt and raise/lower. Although simple, this manipulator
is quite versatile: it can be used to push, lift, tilt, roll, etc.
Our goal in this research is to have several robots with these simple
manipulators cooperatively pick up objects and move them around.
This is the "tapping actuator" we are using for the Tapping Micropositioning Cell
project. The actuator is like an automated pinball plunger ---
a motor draws a shaft back which compresses a spring; when the shaft
is released, it shoots forward and taps the object.
We are building a positioning system that uses several of these
actuators to position a part. Such a system is well suited for
certain industrial assembly and manufacturing operations.
