Publications

This report describes the development of a miniature mobile microrobot device and several microsystems needed to create a miniature microsensor delivery platform. This work was funded under LDRD No.10785, entitled, ''Integrated Microsensors for Autonomous Microrobots''. The approach adopted in this project was to develop a mobile platform, to which would be attached wireless RF remote control and data acquisition in addition to various microsensors. A modular approach was used to produce a versatile microrobot platform and reduce power consumption and physical size.

This paper describes the design of a moving mass trim control system for maneuvering axisymmetric reentry vehicles. The moving mass trim controller is composed of three equal masses that are independently positioned in order to deliver a desired center of mass position. For a slowly spinning reentry vehicle, the mass offset creates a trim angle-of-attack to generate modest flight path corrections. The control system must maintain the desired position of each mass in the face of large disturbances. A novel algorithm for determining the desired mass positions is developed in conjunction with a preliminary controller design. The controller design is based on classical frequency domain techniques where a bound on the disturbance magnitude is used to formulate the disturbance rejection problem. Simulation results for the controller are presented for a typical reentry vehicle.

Vehicle lateral dynamics are affected by vehicle mass, longitudinal velocity, vehicle inertia, and the cornering stiffness of the tires. All of these parameters are subject to variation, even over the course of a single trip. Therefore, a practical lateral control system must guarantee stability, and hopefully ride comfort, over a wide range of parameter changes. This paper describes a robust controller which theoretically guarantees stability over a wide range of parameter changes. The robust controller is designed using a frequency domain transfer function approach. An uncertainty band in the frequency domain is determined using simulations over the range of expected parameter variations. Based on this bound, a robust controller is designed by solving the Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation problem. The performance of the robust controller is then evaluated over the range of parameter variations through simulations.

A Sandia project currently uses an outdated Magnavox 6400 Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver as the core of its navigation system. The goal of this study was to analyze the performance of the current GPS receiver compared to newer, less expensive models and to make recommendations on how to improve the performance of the overall navigation system. This paper discusses the test methodology used to experimentally analyze the performance of different GPS receivers, the test results, and recommendations on how an upgrade should proceed. Appendices contain detailed information regarding the raw data, test hardware, and test software.

A telerobotic system demonstration was developed for the Department of Energy`s Accident Response group to highlight the applications of telerobotic vehicles to accident site inspection. The proof-of- principle system employs two mobile robots, Dixie and RAYBOT, to inspect a simulated accident site. Both robots are controlled serially from a single driving station, allowing an operator to take advantage of having multiple robots at the scene. The telerobotic system is described and some of the advantages of having more than one robot present are discussed. Future plans for the system are also presented.

A hierarchical control architecture for telerobotic vehicles intended to yield a modular, flexible, and easily expanded control system is presented. This architecture is proposed for applications where simple teleoperation is required but where additional capabilities might be quickly added without major changes to the control system. Similarities to the NASREM architecture are noted. Results are given from hardware implementation of the control system on a telerobotic vehicle, Raybot, at Sandia National Laboratories.