Mechanics and Robust Coordinated Control of the Automated Roadway Debris Vacuum Robotic Manipulator

Abstract

This paper discusses the development of a redundant, long-reach robotic device aimed at the vacuum removal of debris from roadways and roadsides. The future Automated Roadway Debris Vacuum (ARDVAC) system will include trajectory tracking, an advanced controller combining a PID joint controller with a robust H _∞ task-space controller, and a trajectory generation method related to the coverage problem. The manipulator control is coordinated with the vehicle's speed to track task-space end-effector trajectories, exploiting redundancies to achieve the required motion. The controller is robust with respect to external disturbances, including the end-effector forces created by the vacuuming process, thus maintaining the ideal fly-height for optimal vacuum efficiency. Both the theoretical development of the controller and simulation results are presented, which show the efficacy of the approach.

Keywords:

• Highway maintenance
• Automation
• Robust control
• Robot mechanics

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Division of Research and Innovation of the California Department of Transportation, which has supported this work through the Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology AHMCT Research Center at the University of California, Davis.

Notes

Communicated by: B. Ravani