This article presents the system architecture and the orbital demonstration results of the Int-Ball2, a free-flying camera robot developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The purpose of the Int-Ball2 project is to assist astronauts and reduce their workload in the International Space Station (ISS). This robot is an upgrade from the first Int-Ball, enhancing … [Read more...] about Int-Ball2: On-Orbit Demonstration of Autonomous Intravehicular Flight and Docking for Image Capturing and Recharging
Propulsion
Large-Scale Vine Robots for Industrial Inspection: Developing a New Framework to Overcome Limitations With Existing Inspection Methods
Industrial facilities such as chemical factories, gas terminals, and power plants can contain kilometers of piping that require meticulous inspection for leaks and defects prior to operation. This is a costly and time-consuming process that sometimes requires dismantling sections of pipe. While current internal inspection devices such as borescopes, “pipe inspection gadgets,” … [Read more...] about Large-Scale Vine Robots for Industrial Inspection: Developing a New Framework to Overcome Limitations With Existing Inspection Methods
Bionic Underwater Vehicle: A Data-Driven Disturbance Rejection Control Framework
Disturbances caused by unknown dynamics and environmental factors render the automatic control of underwater vehicles extremely challenging. These effects are complex, time varying, and difficult to model accurately, leading to possible instability in the control process. This article focuses on the disturbance rejection problem of an underactuated bionic underwater vehicle … [Read more...] about Bionic Underwater Vehicle: A Data-Driven Disturbance Rejection Control Framework
A Cable-Driven Hyperredundant Manipulator: Obstacle-Avoidance Path Planning and Tension Optimization
Manipulators with a hyperredundant and large aspect ratio are becoming more commonly used to detect complex and narrow spaces. The hyperredundant feature confers advantages for such manipulator types in comparison to traditional manipulators. However, they also introduce path-planning challenges. Due to the characteristics of hyperredundancy, there are countless inverse … [Read more...] about A Cable-Driven Hyperredundant Manipulator: Obstacle-Avoidance Path Planning and Tension Optimization
