Maximising the wrench capability of mobile manipulators with experiments on a UVMS

This paper presents methods for finding optimal configurations and actuator forces/torques to maximise contact wrenches in a desired direction for underwater vehicle manipulator systems (UVMS). The wrench maximisation problem is formulated as a bi-level optimisation problem, with upper-level variabl...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wilhelm J. Marais, Oscar Pizarro, Stefan B. Williams
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Robotics and AI
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2024.1442813/full
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Summary:This paper presents methods for finding optimal configurations and actuator forces/torques to maximise contact wrenches in a desired direction for underwater vehicle manipulator systems (UVMS). The wrench maximisation problem is formulated as a bi-level optimisation problem, with upper-level variables in a low-dimensional parameterised redundancy space, and a linear lower-level problem. We additionally consider the cases of one or more manipulators with multiple contact forces, maximising the wrench capability while tracking a trajectory and generating large wrench impulses using dynamic motions. The specific cases of maximising force to lift a heavy load and maximising torque during a valve-turning operation are considered. Extensive experimental results are presented using a 6 degree of freedom (DOF) underwater robotic platform equipped with a 4DOF manipulator and show significant increases in the wrench capability compared to existing methods for mobile manipulators.
ISSN:2296-9144