For a robot to navigate in terrains of rough and uneven topographies, its drives and controllers must generate and control large mechanical power with great precision. This paper is aimed at developing an autonomous robot with active-suspensions in form of a hybrid quadrupedal-wheel drive mechanism. This involves a computational approach to optimizing the development cost without compromising the system’s performance. Using the Solidworks CAD tool, auxiliary components were designed and integrated with the bed structure to form an actively suspended robot drive mechanism. Also, using the S-Math Computing tool, the robot’s suspension system was optimized, employing a four-bar mechanism. To enhance the compatibility of this design with the intended controller, some mathematical equations and numerical validations were formulated and solved. These included the modeling of tip-over stability and skid steering, the trendline equations for computing the angular positions of the suspension servomotors, and the computation of R2– values for determining the accuracy of these trendline equations. Using finite element analysis (FEA), we simulated the structural integrity of key sub-components of the final structure. The results show that our mechanical design is appropriate for developing an actively suspended robot that can efficiently navigate in different terrestrial sites and topographies.

Abstract:One of the mayor complications during vascular surgery is the formation of blood clot. We tested an animal model and assembled a prototype device that shows the blood clot signature spectrum and its temporary growth.

For a robot to navigate in terrains of rough and uneven topographies, its drives and controllers must generate and control large mechanical power with great precision. This paper is aimed at developing an autonomous robot with active-suspensions in form of a hybrid quadrupedal-wheel drive mechanism. This involves a computational approach to optimizing the development cost without compromising the system’s performance. Using the Solidworks CAD tool, auxiliary components were designed and integrated with the bed structure to form an actively suspended robot drive mechanism. Also, using the S-Math Computing tool, the robot’s suspension system was optimized, employing a four-bar mechanism. To enhance the compatibility of this design with the intended controller, some mathematical equations and numerical validations were formulated and solved. These included the modeling of tip-over stability and skid steering, the trendline equations for computing the angular positions of the suspension servomotors, and the computation of R2– values for determining the accuracy of these trendline equations. Using finite element analysis (FEA), we simulated the structural integrity of key sub-components of the final structure. The results show that our mechanical design is appropriate for developing an actively suspended robot that can efficiently navigate in different terrestrial sites and topographies.

A recent significant progress has been made in development of intelligent mobile robots that is capable of autonomous navigation using an edge-computing system. This could sense changes in its environment to control its mechanical behavior towards accomplishing preprogrammed motions. Several algorithms were used in developing the robot's control software. These include the moving average filter, the extended Kalman filter, and the covariance algorithm. Using these algorithms, the robot could learn from its sensors to estimate and control its position, velocity, and the proximity of obstacles along its path, while autonomously navigating to a predetermined location on the earth's surface. Results show that our algorithmic approach to developing software systems for autonomous robots using edge-computing devices is viable, cost-efficient, and robust. Hence, our work is a proof of concept for the further development of edge-based intelligence and autonomous robots.

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