Sharif Digital Repository

In this work we present a systematic approach to incorporating the dynamic capabilities of an aircraft via suitable cost functions while planning for terrain following-terrain avoidance trajectories. We further show that use of nondimensional parameters related to the dynamics of an aircraft within the cost function provides a better understanding of how they could affect the resulting trajectories. Different case studies for arbitrary three-dimensional flights show that the current approach provides more realistic trajectories and so helps alleviate the design process of relevant controllers as well as tracking systems over the desired terrain. We further introduce two new parameters of... 

This paper presents a new approach for trajectory planning of manipulator robots based on Virtual Potential Field (VPF) in presence of static obstacles. In this method, a series of via points between starting point and goal point is obtained by traverse end-effector of manipulator in affected by different VPF while avoiding obstacles in the Cartesian space. An optimum trajectory is generated by using pattern search algorithm which determines strength of potential fields to minimize the value of desired objective function. Cubic splines are used to generate a smooth trajectory through path points in joint space that are obtained by inverse kinematics solution of corresponding points in the... 

A new methodology has been proposed to enhance inverse dynamics applications in the process of trajectory planning and optimization in terrain following flights (TFFs). The new approach uses a least square scheme to solve a general two-dimensional (2-D) TFF in a vertical plane. In the mathematical process, Chebyshev polynomials are used to model the geographical data of the terrain in a given route in a manner suitable for the aircraft at hand. The aircraft then follows the modeled terrain with sufficient clearance. In this approach the terrain following (TF) problem is effectively converted to an optimal tracking problem. Results show that this method provides a flexible approach to solve... 

One of the most important capabilities expected from an autonomous vehicle is avoiding collision with obstacles in its path. For this purpose, autonomous vehicle must be able to perform an emergency maneuver as soon as the obstacle is detected. This paper presents a method for designing and performing an emergency maneuver in order to avoid collision with a fixed or moving obstacle in the path. A sinusoidal or exponential trajectory, which is a function of the relative distance between vehicle and obstacle, is designed as the desired trajectory for lateral motion of the vehicle. A sliding mode controller is designed in order to guarantee that the vehicle tracks that desired trajectory. The... 

The isomerization of D-glucose to D-fructose using the immobilized glucose isomerase, as a typical model system of solid-liquid enzyme reactions has been carried out in a novel type of two-impinging-jets reactor (TIJR), which is characterized by a rotating inner cylinder in a stationary one. Because of the impinging process, turbulence, and complex trajectory of the solid particles within the reactor, the fractional conversion of glucose obtained in the TIJR increased dramatically compared to that obtained by conventional reaction systems. A compartment model was considered to describe the pattern of flow [residence time distribution (RTD) of solid particles] within the TIJR. Considering... 

The motivation of this work is to synthesize a kicking pattern for a humanoid robot with consideration of various objectives such as retaining its balance even after the kick is done and reducing the undesired angular momentum using both hands and torso. This kick pattern is designed so that a desirable ball velocity is achieved. In this paper, the law of conservation of angular momentum is used to generate a less energy consuming trajectory. Effectiveness of the proposed method is verified using computer simulation and is tested on Sharif CEDRA humanoid robot. Copyright © 2006 by ASME  

In this paper, a radial basis function neural network-based (RBFNN) adaptive inverse controller for real-time position tracking control of a two phase hybrid stepper motor in microstep mode is presented and compared with a conventional fixed gain stand-alone PID controller. Also it is compared to the same neuro-controller using feed forward backpropagation neural networks (FFBP) presented by the same author showing superior performance of RBFNN to FFBP neural networks. A radial basis neural network is used as a controller in the adaptive inverse control method combining with a closed loop PID controller to ensure system's initial robustness and closed loop stability and improves the... 

In this paper, the problem of designing optimal conflict-free maneuvers for multiple aircraft encounters is studied. The proposed maneuvers are based on changes of heading, speed and maneuvering time. The optimality of maneuvers among the conflict-free constraint is based on minimization of a certain cost function based on kinetic energy of either aircraft involved. Some suitable priority weight factors are incorporated into the cost function so that optimal resolution maneuvers are such that aircraft with lower priorities assume more responsibility in resolving the conflicts. As for considering aircraft turning dynamics, the circular 3-arced path with constant speed are proposed for each... 

Real-time, fuzzy rule-based guidance systems for autonomous vehicles on limited-access highways are investigated. The goal of these systems is to plan trajectories that are safe, while satisfying the driver's requests based on stochastic information about the vehicle's state and the surrounding traffic. This paper presented a new method to implement an automated highway driving behaviour. The main advantage of the suggested system is its well-defined structure. To test the designed system, a simulation tool is implemented. By using the described tool, we can analyse the operation of the implemented decision making system in a simulated highway. Results show an acceptable performance of the... 

Differential Evolution (DE) and Genetic Algorithms (GA) are population based search algorithms that come under the category of evolutionary optimization techniques. In the present study, these evolutionary methods have been utilized to conduct the optimum design of a fuzzy controller for mobile robot trajectory tracking. Comparison between their performances has also been conducted. In this paper, we will present a fuzzy controller to the problem of mobile robot path tracking for a CEDRA rescue robot. After designing the fuzzy tracking controller, the membership functions will be optimized by evolutionary algorithms in order to obtain more acceptable results  

This paper deals with control of the brachiation robot. The brachiation is a type of mobile robot that moves from branch to branch like a long-armed ape. Here, as a new innovation, Pontryagin's minimum principle is used to obtain the optimal trajectories for two different problems. The first problem is "Brachiation between fixed branches with different distance and height" and the second is "Brachiating and catching the moving target branch". Theoretical results show that the control effort in the proposed method is reduced by 25% in comparison with the "Target Dynamics" method which was proposed in prior articles for this robot. The obtained optimal trajectory also minimizes the brachiation... 

A novel fault-tolerant model predictive control (MPC)-based trajectory tracking approach for an aerial vehicle is presented in this study. A generalised online sequential extreme learning machine is introduced first to identify the corresponding coefficients of actuator faults. Subsequently, a robust trajectory tracking control is developed based on MPC, where the system constraints can be effectively considered in the designed control scheme. Trajectory tracking control is achieved by controlling only the acceleration of the aerial robot in the MPC structure. This leads to less computational burden and faster closed-loop dynamics. In addition, an effective disturbance observer is employed,... 

In recent years, soft computing methods, like fuzzy logic and neural networks have been presented and developed for the purpose of mobile robot trajectory tracking. In this paper we will present a fuzzy approach to the problem of mobile robot path tracking for the CEDRA rescue robot with a complicated kinematical model. After designing the fuzzy tracking controller, the membership functions and rule weights will be optimized by genetic algorithm in order to obtain more acceptable results. Simulation results have demonstrated significant improvements in controller efficacy  

In this paper, optimal trajectories of a spacecraft traveling from Earth to Moon using impulsive maneuvers (ΔV maneuvers) are investigated. The total flight time and the summation of impulsive maneuvers ΔV are the objective functions to be minimized. The main celestial bodies influencing the motion of the spacecraft in this journey are Sun, Earth and Moon. Therefore, a three-dimensional restricted four-body problem (R4BP) model is utilized to represent the motion of the spacecraft in the gravitational field of these celestial bodies. The total ΔV of the maneuvers is minimized by eliminating the ΔV required for capturing the spacecraft by Moon. In this regard, only a mid-course impulsive... 

This research deals with developing an intelligent trajectory tracking control approach for an aircraft in the presence of internal and external disturbances. Internal disturbances including actuators faults, unmodeled dynamics, and model uncertainties as well as the external disturbances such as wind turbulence significantly affect the performance of the common trajectory tracking control approaches. There are several fault-tolerant control approaches in the literature to overcome the effects of specific actuator or sensor faults during the flight. However, trajectory tracking control of an air vehicle in the presence of unexpected faults and simultaneous presence of wind turbulence is...