Abstract-This paper presents the concepts for a new family of holonomic wheeled platforms that feature full omnidirectionality with simultaneous and independently controlled rotational and translational motion capabilities. We first present the "orthogonal-wheels" concept and the two major wheel assemblies on which these platforms are based. We then describe how a combination of these assemblies with appropriate control can be used to generate an omnidirectional capability for mobile robot platforms. Several alternative designs are considered, and their respective characteristics with respect to rotational and translational motion control are discussed. The design and control of a prototype platform developed to test and demonstrate the proposed concepts is then described, and experimental results illustrating the full omnidirectionality of the platform with decoupled rotational and translational degrees of freedom are presented.

No abstract

No abstract

The small emplacement excavator (SEE) is a ruggedized military vehicle with backhoe and front loader used by the U.S. Army for explosive ordnance disposal. (EOD), combat engineer, and general utility excavation activities. In order to evaluate the feasibility of removing personnel from the vehicle during high risk EOD excavation tasks a development and demonstration project was initiated to evaluate performance capabilities of the SEE under telerobotic control. This feasibility study was performed at the request of the Ordnance Missile and Munitions Center and School (OMMCS) at the Redstone Arsenal to help define requirements for further joint service development activities. Development of a telerobotic SEE (TSEE) was performed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in a project funded jointly by the U.S. Army Project Manager for Ammunition Logistics (PM-AMMOLOG) and the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Development (OTD) Robotics Technology Development Program (RTDP). The TSEE features teleoperated driving, a telerobotic backhoe with four degrees-of-freedom, and a teleoperated front loader with two degrees-of-freedom on the bucket. Remote capabilities include driving (forward, reverse, brake, steering), power takeoff shifting to enable digging modes, deploying stabilizers, excavation and computer system booting. The system is operated with an intuitive hand controller at a remotely located portable, suitcase-size base station or can be operated manually using a customized electromechanical actuator package to replace the conventional mechanical levers and foot pedals. • A technology demonstration of the TSEE was conducted at McKinley Range, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, on September 13-17, 1993. The primary • objective of the demonstration was to evaluate and demonstrate the feasibility of remote EOD. During the demonstration, approximately 40 EOD specialists were instructed on telerobotic operation of the TSEE and then were asked to complete a series of simulated EOD tasks. Upon completion of the tasks, participants completed an evaluation of the system including human factors performance data. Analysis of the human factors performance data indicates that 70% of the demonstration participants found the tasks were as easy or easier to accomplish utilizing the remote system than an unmodified system. Similarly, 80% of the participants found the TSEE hand controller was as easy or easier to use than the normal manual controls. Nearly 70% of participants found that the Graphical User Interface (GUI) provided all the information they needed. Camera usage varied significantly among demonstration participants, on average, the middle TV camera, mounted on the backhoe boom, was used the most, followed closely by the GUI animated backhoe display.

We report on the low temperature processing of environmental sensors employing pulse thermal processing (PTP) technique to define a path toward flexible sensor technology on plastic, paper, and fabric substrates. Inkjet printing and pulse thermal processing technique were used to realize mask-less, additive integration of low-cost sensors on polymeric substrates with specific focus on temperature, humidity, and strain sensors. The printed metal line performance was evaluated in terms of the electrical conductivity characteristics as a function of post-deposition thermal processing conditions. The PTP processed Ag metal lines exhibited high conductivity with metal sheet resistance values below 100 m / using a pulse width as short as 250 μs. The flexible temperature and relative humidity sensors were defined on flexible polyimide substrates by direct printing of Ag metal structures. The printed resistive temperature sensor and capacitive humidity sensor were characterized for their sensitivity with focus on future smart-building applications. Strain gauges were printed on polyimide substrate to determine the mechanical properties of the silver nanoparticle films. The observed electrical properties of the printed metal lines and the sensitivity of the flexible sensors show promise for the realization of a high performance print-on-demand technology exploiting low thermal-budget PTP technique. In the past few years, additive material and device manufacturing techniques have been extensively investigated to meet the manufacturing technology demands of enhanced functionality, reduced material usages, smaller device dimensions, and higher throughput. [1][2][3][4][5][6] The emerging industry of organic, flexible, and printed electronics is bringing about new opportunities for large-scale, low-cost realization of advanced electronic devices. The range of materials which can be directly processed by additive manufacturing techniques to realize a complete electronic system is growing rapidly, and the material list includes polymer, ceramics, organic/inorganic semiconductors, biomaterials, conductive nanoparticles, dielectrics, ferromagnetic materials, and superconductors. Printed electronics by contact-free, inkjet based direct-write techniques show promise for use in a wide range of active and passive device applications, such as wearable electronics, electronic packaging, solid state lighting, photovoltaics, radio-frequency identification (RFIDs), wireless communication, biomedicine, and flexible displays. 7-15 Smart sensor systems combined with microsensor technology enable the capabilities to make units that are small, smart, and multifunctional. These advancements in sensor technology have the potential to revolutionize diverse technology platforms including building retrofits. Buildings consume up to 40% of energy produced in the US. 16,17 Advanced sensors and controls have the potential to reduce the energy consumption of the buildings by 20-40%. 18,19 Currently, installation and wiring costs for sensors are signifi...