22
Low-Cost
Automatic Tool Fixturing Based on Dexterous Robotic Hand--Barrett
Technology, Inc., 625 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA
02138-4555; 617-252-9000, www.barrett.com
Dr.
William T. Townsend, Principal Investigator,
Mr.
David D. Wilkinson, Business Official,
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG02-03ER83610
Amount:
$750,000
Decommissioning
and Deactivation (D&D) involves the dangerous disassembly of heavy concrete
structures containing miles of steel pipes and other contaminated materials that
must be cut up and removed from the inside of a sealed nuclear facility.
A rover-mounted, remotely-controlled robot arm with a demolition tool
fixtured to its tool plate can free workers from this high risk environment.
Unfortunately, no one demolition tool has the versatility to adapt to the
wide range of D&D materials, conditions, and operating tasks.
Under the best circumstances the design, fabrication, integration, and
debugging of tool-holding fixtures is a notoriously time-consuming cost driver.
This project will develop a universal robotic hand specifically designed
to secure and operate common off-the-shelf power demolition tools,
semi-automatically swapping them as needed.
Advanced embedded intelligence will enable the dexterous hand to adapt to
the infinite variety of tool geometries, while rugged and fault-tolerant design
will allow it to survive harsh conditions such as impacts and radiation.
Phase I developed an initial hand prototype, along with grasping
strategies, which proved secure under extreme conditions of vibration and
reaction forces. Punishing
real-world tests were conducted on the prototype, which was mounted at the end
of a 50 kg-payload, 2 meter-reach industrial arm.
Phase II will: (1) implement
a passive-active strategy for increased mechanical ruggedness to survive
unexpected impacts and chemical exposure; (2) develop fault-tolerant,
self-healing firmware/software to overcome the harsh environmental extremes of
radiation and electromagnetic interference; (3) expand functionality and
operational control through the addition and synthesis of key vision, force,
position, aural, and acceleration sensors; and (4) evaluate the robotic hand in
realistic tasks.
Commercial
Applications and Other Benefits as
described by awardee: The
automatically reconfigurable fixture should be a key enabler for industrial
robotic installations around the globe, sharply reducing fixturing and tooling
costs while supporting a new level of robot versatility.
When not securing tools, the hand also would be available for performing
a wide variety of other tasks, such as manipulating and clearing debris.