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Fuzzy theory based control method for an in-pipe robot to move in variable resistance environment

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Abstract

Most of the existing screw drive in-pipe robots cannot actively adjust the maximum traction capacity, which limits the adaptability to the wide range of variable environment resistance, especially in curved pipes. In order to solve this problem, a screw drive in-pipe robot based on adaptive linkage mechanism is proposed. The differential property of the adaptive linkage mechanism allows the robot to move without motion interference in the straight and varied curved pipes by adjusting inclining angles of rollers self-adaptively. The maximum traction capacity of the robot can be changed by actively adjusting the inclining angles of rollers. In order to improve the adaptability to the variable resistance, a torque control method based on the fuzzy controller is proposed. For the variable environment resistance, the proposed control method can not only ensure enough traction force, but also limit the output torque in a feasible region. In the simulations, the robot with the proposed control method is compared to the robot with fixed inclining angles of rollers. The results show that the combination of the torque control method and the proposed robot achieves the better adaptability to the variable resistance in the straight and curved pipes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Te Li, Shugen Ma, Bin Li, Minghui Wang & Yuechao Wang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Te Li

  3. Department of Robotics, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga-ken, 525-8577, Japan

    Shugen Ma

Authors
  1. Te Li
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  2. Shugen Ma
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  3. Bin Li
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  4. Minghui Wang
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  5. Yuechao Wang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Minghui Wang.

Additional information

Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No. 61273345)

LI Te, born in 1987, is currently a PhD candidate at State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. He is also at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. His research interests include intelligent robotics and robot control system.

MA Shugen, born in 1963, is currently a professor at Department of Robotics, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga-ken, Japan. He is also at State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. His research interests include the design and control theory of new types of robots and biorobotics.

LI Bin, born in 1963, is currently a professor at State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. He received his master degree from China Medical University, Shenyang, China, in 1988. His current research interests include rescue robotics and biorobotics.

WANG Minghui, born in 1980, is currently an assistant professor at State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. His current research interests include reconfigurable robots and modular robots.

WANG Yuechao, born in 1960, is currently a professor at State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. His current research interests include control theory of intelligent robotics.

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Li, T., Ma, S., Li, B. et al. Fuzzy theory based control method for an in-pipe robot to move in variable resistance environment. Chin. J. Mech. Eng. 28, 1213–1221 (2015). https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2015.0717.096

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2015.0717.096

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