The objective of this book is to provide those interested in the field of flexible robotics with an overview of several scientific and technological advances in the practical field of robotic manipulation. The different chapters examine various stages that involve a number of robotic devices, particularly those designed for manipulation tasks characterized by mechanical flexibility. Chapter 1 deals with the general context surrounding the design of functionally integrated microgripping systems. Chapter 2 focuses on the dual notations of modal commandability and observability, which play a significant role in the control authority of vibratory modes that are significant for control issues. Chapter 3 presents different modeling tools that allow the simultaneous use of energy and system structuring notations. Chapter 4 discusses two sensorless methods that could be used for manipulation in confined or congested environments. Chapter 5 analyzes several appropriate approaches for responding to the specific needs required by versatile prehension tasks and dexterous manipulation. After a classification of compliant tactile sensors focusing on dexterous manipulation, Chapter 6 discusses the development of a complying triaxial force sensor based on piezoresistive technology. Chapter 7 deals with the constraints imposed by submicrometric precision in robotic manipulation. Chapter 8 presents the essential stages of the modeling, identification and analysis of control laws in the context of serial manipulator robots with flexible articulations. Chapter 9 provides an overview of models for deformable body manipulators. Finally, Chapter 10 presents a set of contributions that have been made with regard to the development of methodologies for identification and control of flexible manipulators based on experimental data.

Contents

1. Design of Integrated Flexible Structures for Micromanipulation, Mathieu Grossard, Mehdi Boukallel, Stéphane Régnier and Nicolas Chaillet.
2. Flexible Structures Representation and Notable Properties in Control, Mathieu Grossard, Arnaud Hubert, Stéphane Régnier and Nicolas Chaillet.
3. Structured Energy Approach for the Modeling of Flexible Structures, Nandish R. Calchand, Arnaud Hubert, Yann Le Gorrec and Hector Ramirez Estay.
4. Open-Loop Control Approaches to Compliant Micromanipulators, Yassine Haddab, Vincent Chalvet and Micky Rakotondrabe.
5. Mechanical Flexibility and the Design of Versatile and Dexterous Grippers, Javier Martin Amezaga and Mathieu Grossard.
6. Flexible Tactile Sensors for Multidigital Dexterous In-hand Manipulation, Mehdi Boukallel, Hanna Yousef, Christelle Godin and Caroline Coutier.
7. Flexures for High-Precision Manipulation Robots, Reymond Clavel, Simon Henein and Murielle Richard.
8. Modeling and Motion Control of Serial Robots with Flexible Joints, Maria Makarov and Mathieu Grossard.
9. Dynamic Modeling of Deformable Manipulators, Frédéric Boyer and Ayman Belkhiri.
10. Robust Control of Robotic Manipulators with Structural Flexibilities, Houssem Halalchi, Loïc Cuvillon, Guillaume Mercère and Edouard Laroche.

About the Authors

Mathieu Grossard, CEA LIST, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Nicolas Chaillet, FEMTO-ST, Besançon, France.
Stéphane Régnier, ISIR, UPMC, Paris, France.

Mathieu Grossard, CEA LIST, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

Nicolas Chaillet, FEMTO-ST, Besançon, France

Stéphane Régnier, ISIR, UPMC, Paris, France

Introduction  xiii
Mathieu GROSSARD, Stéphane RÉGNIER and Nicolas CHAILLET

Chapter 1. Design of Integrated Flexible Structures for Micromanipulation  1
Mathieu GROSSARD, Mehdi BOUKALLEL, Stéphane RÉGNIER and Nicolas CHAILLET

1.1. Design and control problems for flexible structures in micromanipulation  2

1.2. Integrated design in micromechatronics 11

1.3. Example of an optimal synthesis method for flexible piezoelectric transduction structures 25

1.4. Conclusion 31

1.5. Bibliography 32

Chapter 2. Flexible Structures Representation and Notable Properties in Control  37
Mathieu GROSSARD, Arnaud HUBERT, Stéphane RÉGNIER and Nicolas CHAILLET

2.1. State-space representation of flexible structures 38

2.2. The concepts of modal controllability and observability 47

2.3. Reduction of models  52

2.4. Contribution of modal analysis criteria to topological optimization  56

2.5. Conclusion 68

2.6. Bibliography 69

Chapter 3. Structured Energy Approach for the Modeling of Flexible Structures  73
Nandish R. CALCHAND, Arnaud HUBERT, Yann LE GORREC and Hector RAMIREZ ESTAY

3.1. Introduction 73

3.2. Finite-dimensional systems  75

3.3. Infinite-dimensional systems  95

3.4. Conclusion 111

3.5. Bibliography 112

Chapter 4. Open-Loop Control Approaches to Compliant Micromanipulators  115
Yassine HADDAB, Vincent CHALVET and Micky RAKOTONDRABE

4.1. Introduction 115

4.2. Piezoelectric microactuators  116

4.3. Thermal microactuators  128

4.4. Conclusion 142

4.5. Bibliography 142

Chapter 5. Mechanical Flexibility and the Design of Versatile and Dexterous Grippers 145
Javier MARTIN AMEZAGA and Mathieu GROSSARD

5.1. Robotic gripper systems  146

5.2. Actuation architecture and elastic elements   153

5.3. Structural flexibility 166

5.4. Conclusion 177

5.5. Bibliography 178

Chapter 6. Flexible Tactile Sensors for Multidigital Dexterous In-hand Manipulation  181
Mehdi BOUKALLEL, Hanna YOUSEF, Christelle GODIN and Caroline COUTIER

6.1. Introduction 181

6.2. Human dexterous manipulation as a basis for robotic manipulation  182

6.3. Technologies for tactile sensing  188

6.4. A comparison of sensor solutions and sensing techniques 213

6.5. The Nail sensor 214

6.6. From the Nail sensor to tactile skin 220

6.7. From tactile skin to artificial touch system 225

6.8. Applications and signal analysis  228

6.9. Summary and conclusion  233

6.10. Bibliography 235

Chapter 7. Flexures for High-Precision Manipulation Robots 243
Reymond CLAVEL, Simon HENEIN and Murielle RICHARD

7.1. High-precision industrial robots background   243

7.2. Kinematic analysis of simple flexures 248

7.3. Design method of parallel modular kinematics for flexures 260

7.4. Example of the Legolas 5 robot design 264

7.5. Bibliography 273

Chapter 8. Modeling and Motion Control of Serial Robots with Flexible Joints  275
Maria MAKAROV and Mathieu GROSSARD

8.1. Introduction 275

8.2. Modeling 276

8.3. Identification 284

8.4. Motion control 295

8.5. Conclusion 310

8.6. Bibliography 310

Chapter 9. Dynamic Modeling of Deformable Manipulators 321
Frédéric BOYER and Ayman BELKHIRI

9.1. Introduction 321

9.2. NewtonEuler model of an elastic body 324

9.3. Kinematic model of a deformable manipulator 337

9.4. Dynamic model of a deformable manipulator 340

9.5. Example 342

9.6. Conclusion 346

9.7. Bibliography 346

Chapter 10. Robust Control of Robotic Manipulators with Structural Flexibilities     349
Houssem HALALCHI, Loïc CUVILLON, Guillaume MERCÈRE and Edouard LAROCHE

10.1. Introduction 349

10.2. LTI methodology 350

10.3. Toward an LPV methodology  359

10.4. Conclusion 379

10.5. Bibliography 379

List of Authors 383

Index 385