Telerobotic Decontamination and Decommissioning with Qrobot, a PC-BASED Robot Control System

Abstract

AbstractRobotic systems are well suited for decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) tasks in hazardous environments. Advanced semi-autonomous telerobotic solutions for D&D tasks go beyond simple video-based interaction and include virtual reality (VR) interfaces and flexible sensor integration. The capability of those systems range from real-time control tasks to graphical user interface components utilizing video and VR. This article describes QRobot, a PC-based system for telerobotic D&D operations. The system integrates hardware interfacing, real-time joint level control, sensors, tool control, networking, and task-level programming as well as video- and VR-based operator interfaces. The system demonstrates that the personal computer, a cost effective and widely used computing plat-form, is well suited to the integration of real-time control tasks and advanced user interfaces. An experimental section demonstrates the system's functionality by using an example workpiece as the subject of a D&D operation.Key Words: Real-timeroboticsdisassemblyvirtual realityPC Additional informationNotes on contributorsM.S. LofflerMarkus Loffler received his diploma in electrical engineering from the Technische Universitat Miinchen (Technical University of Munich). After finishing his thesis for diploma at Clemson University, USA, he joined the Robotics and Mechatronics Group at Clemson to work on his Ph.D. degree. Besides being involved in various software projects for PC-based real-time control and sensor integration, his research focuses on new object-oriented control concepts for robot manipulators.N.P. CostescuNicolae P. Costescu received a B.Sc. in computer science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1990. He completed his M.Sc. amd Ph.D., both in computer engineering at Clemson University, USA, in 1994 and 2000, respectively. Dr. Costescu is currently President of Quality Real-Time Systems, LLC, a company specializing in real-time software for control and robotic applications.E. ZergerogluErkan Zergeroglu received his M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Middle East Technical University, Turkey, in 1996 and his Ph.D. from Clemson University, USA, in 2000, where he also served as a graduate research assistant. He is currently employed as a Control Research Engineer at Lucent Technology Sturbridge - Optical Fiber Solutions. His research interests include model-based control techniques, mobile robots, and applied robotics.D.M. DawsonDarren M. Dawson received an associate degree in mathematics from Macon Junior College in 1982 and a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1984. He then worked for Westinghouse as a control engineer from 1985 to 1987. In 1987 he returned to the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1990. During this time, he also served as a research/teaching assistant. In July 1990 he joined the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and the Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) at Clemson University, where he now holds the position of Professor. Under the CAM director's supervision, he currently leads the Robotics and Manufacturing Automation Laboratory, which is jointly operated by the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering departments. His main research interests are in the fields of nonlinear-based robust, adaptive, and learning control with application to electromechanical systems, including robot manipulators, motor drives, magnetic bearings, flexible cables, flexible beams, and high-speed transport systems.