Automation of Train Cab Front Cleaning with a Robot Manipulator

João Moura, William McColl, Gerard Taykaldiranian, Tetsuo Tomiyama, Mustafa Suphi Erden

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)
215 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

In this letter we present a control and trajectory tracking approach for wiping the train cab front panels, using a velocity controlled robotic manipulator and a force/torque sensor attached to its end effector, without using any surface model or vision-based surface detection. The control strategy consists in a simultaneous position and force controller, adapted from the operational space formulation, that aligns the cleaning tool with the surface normal, maintaining a set-point normal force, while simultaneously moving along the surface. The trajectory tracking strategy consists in specifying and tracking a two dimensional path that, when projected onto the train surface, corresponds to the desired pattern of motion. We first validated our approach using the Baxter robot to wipe a highly curved surface with both a spiral and a raster scan motion patterns. Finally, we implemented the same approach in a scaled robot prototype, specifically designed by ourselves to wipe a 1/8 scaled version of a train cab front, using a raster scan pattern.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3058-3065
Number of pages8
JournalIEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
Volume3
Issue number4
Early online date21 Jun 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2018

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Automation of Train Cab Front Cleaning with a Robot Manipulator'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this