Applied Robotics

This teaching unit covers a range of robotics themes, ranging from the micro to macro scale, including micro manipulators, cable, surgical, submarine, flying, humanoid robots and teleoperation, virtual and augmented reality as well as operational safety. The content of each theme is detailed below. Mini projects on the above-mentioned themes will be carried out to deepen the basics taught using both simulation software and real robots.

Micro-robotics: Microrobotics concerns the design, modeling and control of miniaturized robotic systems to perform manipulation tasks on objects of size between 1μm and 1mm. The fields of application include all areas that require high precision (assembly of mechanical, electronic or optical microsystems, micro-surgery, etc.). At these dimensional scales, robots cannot be made by simple homothetic miniaturization of conventional robots. New robot concepts and actuation principles are to be used. This course is an introduction to microrobotics and introduces the essential concepts of scale, microworld physics, deformable and flexible robotics and micro-actuators.

Surgical Robotics: The objective of this course is to give students an introduction to the field of surgical robotics. The aim is to be able to understand the needs expressed by clinicians and to show through a few examples the approach that has made it possible to design and build robots used for surgical procedures. Some design elements as well as some control architectures will be mentioned, insisting on the need to guarantee the safety of the patient and the medical team.

Underwater and flying robots: Mobile robotics dedicated to aerial and underwater environments is based on specificities that will be introduced in this course. Current solutions and problems that are still open will be presented. Issues related to modeling and nonlinear controls applied to under/iso/over-actuated systems will be addressed.

Humanoid robotics: This will present the advanced geometric modeling and kinematic methods for tree robotic structures such as humanoid robots. Basic notions will also be presented on the center of mass, the center of pressure, the ZMP, static stability, dynamic stability. A study on bipedal gait control will be carried out including gait models, trajectory generation and ZMP/COM control as well as dynamic stabilization of the robot. The second part of the course will focus on the kinematic control of highly redundant structures (underdetermined system of type Ax=b) by the use of methods based on optimization techniques (LP, QP) under constraints as well as on hierarchical control based on techniques of projection in zero space or task hierarchy based on hierarchies of QP or LP.

Parallel Cable Robots: This course introduces the principle of Parallel Cable Robots (CPRs) followed by a state-of-the-art including application examples, CPR demonstrators and commercial PCRs. Geometric, kinematic and dynamic models of the RPCs are then developed. Based on these templates, the different types of RPCs, several definitions of their workspace, the main concepts useful for their design as well as simple methods of ordering will finally be presented.

Virtual and augmented reality: Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) techniques consist of the interactive simulation of a 3D universe, in which the user is immersed. This simulation is generally essentially visual in nature, however it can also include other perceptual information, through several sensory modalities: spatialized sound, haptic or effort feedback, somatosensory approach, etc. This course is an introduction to the different techniques used in VR/AR systems: we will deal with the main 3D synthesis libraries (OpenGL, Vulkan), the peripherals existing on the market, the basics of physics engines as well as the techniques used to locate the user and estimate his point of view in real time.

Reliability and operational safety: This course focuses on the reliability of a robotic system, particularly in the operational phase. When a robot operates in a complex and partially unfamiliar environment, unforeseen events can occur that the system will have to react to if it wants to ensure its own safety and that of its environment. This course will introduce the basic notions of dependability, and present examples of reliability mechanisms applied to mobile robotics.

Teleoperation: This part covers a brief introduction to the history of teleoperation development, modeling of teleoperation components, and their schematics. The criteria for evaluating performance in teleoperation are defined. Performance analysis and control design methods are also introduced. The course provides the applications of teleoperation in the field of surgical robotics as well as the open questions and remaining challenges to be solved.

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This teaching unit covers a set of specialities in robotics, ranging from micro to macro scales, including micro manipulation, surgical, sub-marine, flying, humanoid and cable-driven robots passing through teleoperation, virtual and augmented reality as well as operational safety. The content of each sub-unit is detailed hereafter. Projects on the mentioned topics will be carried out to deepen the thought basics using both simulation softwares and real robots.

Micro-robotics: Micro-robotics concerns the design, modelling and control of miniaturized robotic systems able to perform handling tasks on objects between 1μm and 1mm in size. Application fields include all areas requiring high precision (assembly of mechanical, electronic or optical microsystems, microsurgery, etc.). At these scales, robots cannot be fabricated by simple homothetic miniaturization of conventional robots. New robot concepts and new actuating principles must be used. This course is an introduction to micro-robotics and presents the essential concepts of scale effect, physics of the micro-world, deformable and flexible robotics and micro-actuators.

Surgical robotics: The objective of this sub-unit is to give students an introduction to the field of surgical robotics. It is about being able to understand the needs expressed by clinicians and to show, through few examples, the process that allowed the development of robots used for surgical procedures. Some design elements as well as some control architectures will be discussed, emphasizing the need to ensure the safety of the patient and the medical team.

Sub-marine and flying robots: The specificities of underwater and aerial robotics will be presented. Current solutions and open issues will be exposed. The basic elements required by the control design for this type of vehicles, from modelling to nonlinear control techniques, will be addressed, according to the under/iso/over actuation property of the systems.

Humanoid robotics: This sub-unit concerns advanced kinematic and differential kinematics modelling methods for humanoid robots. Basics on the centre of mass (COM), the centre of pressure, the zero-moment point (ZMP), static stability and dynamic stability are addressed. A study on biped gait control will be carried out including gait models, trajectory generation and ZMP / COM control as well as dynamic stabilization of the robot. The second part of the sub-unit is focused on the differential kinematic control of very redundant structures (underdetermined system of type Ax = b) by the use of methods based on optimization techniques (LP, QP) under constraints as well as on the hierarchical control based on the projection in the null space or tasks hierarchy based on QP or LP hierarchies.

Cable-driven parallel robots: This sub-unit presents the basic principle of Cable-Driven Parallel Robots (CDPRs) followed by a state of the art including application examples, CDPR demonstrators and commercial CPPRs. Geometric, kinematic and dynamic models of CDPRs are then developed. Based on these models, the different types of CDPRs, several definitions of their workspace, the main concepts useful for their design as well as simple control strategies will finally be presented.

Virtual and Augmented Reality: AR and VR consist in providing the user with an interactive simulation of a 3D world, where one can simulate physics, but also enhance it with additional data visualization. This simulation is usually mostly a graphical one, but it can also include other perceptual information across multiple sensory modalities: spatialized sound, haptics, somatosensory, etc. This course is an introduction to the different techniques involved when creating an AR/VR system. We will address the current 3D technologies (OpenGL, Vulkan), the devices available, the basics of physical engines, and the localisation and vision techniques used to track the user movements in real time and compute his point of view.

Operational safety of robots: This part concerns the reliability of robotic systems, mainly in the operational phase. When a robot moves in a complex and partially unknown environment, unforeseen events can occur. The system must react to these events to ensure its own safety and that of its environment. This course will introduce the basic notions of dependability, and will present examples of safety mechanisms applied to mobile robotics.

Teleoperation: This part covers a brief introduction of the development history, the typical structures of teleoperation schemes and the modelling of teleoperation components. Based on the system modelling, the teleoperation performance evaluation criteria are defined and accordingly the performance analysis and control design methods are introduced. The course also provides the applications of teleoperation in the field of robotic surgery as well as the open issues and challenges existing in practical implementation.

• Open up to a range of current robotics topics
• Discover modeling and control techniques specific to each field of robotics
• Learn to take human safety into account during robot design and control phases
• Discover new robot concepts and actuation principles
• Learn the importance of a system's dependability to guarantee its safety and that of its environment.
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• Open up to a set of current topics in robotics
• Discover the modelling and control techniques specific to each field of robotics
• Learn to take into account human safety during the robot design and control phases
• Discover new robot concepts and new actuation principles
• Learn the importance of operational safety of a system to guarantee its safety and that of its environment

Contact Hours:

            Taught lectures: 45 hours

            Laboratory Practicals: 39 hours

CM: 45h

Practical work: 39h

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Taught lectures: 45 hours

Laboratory Practicals: 39 hours