Actuators, Volume 14, Issue 5

This paper presents a comparison of some different configurations of electro-hydrostatic actuators (EHA). The gear pump EHA has a simpler mechanical configuration, but the electronic power command circuits and the electric motor are in high demand du...

Bearings are essential rotational components that enable mechanical equipment to operate effectively. In real-world industrial environments, bearings are subjected to high temperatures and loads, making failure prediction and health management critic...

This article discusses speed control methods for electric motor drives with elastic mechanical coupling causing torsional vibrations, which negatively affect the operation of the system. Model Predictive Control (MPC) is often presented as an effecti...

A continuously variable transmission can improve the energy efficiency of actuators with rotary output by providing an optimum transmission ratio. A continuously variable transmission based on circumferentially arranged disks (CAD CVT) is a new type...

Soft anthropomorphic robotic grippers are attractive because of their inherent compliance, allowing them to adapt to the shape of grasped objects and the overload protection needed for safe human–robot interaction or gripping delicate objects w...

Flexible pressure sensors have attracted great attention due to their extensive applications in human–computer interaction and health monitoring. So far, the development of flexible pressure sensors that balance high sensitivity and a wide meas...

This study investigates the application of proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control enhanced with an optimized particle swarm optimization (OPSO)-type neural network (NN) to improve the control performance of a pneumatic servo syste...

This study implemented an innovative system that trains a speech recognition model based on the DeepSpeech2 architecture using Python for voice control of a robot on the LabVIEW platform. First, a speech recognition model based on the DeepSpeech2 arc...

Due to their high energy density and favorable load-to-weight ratio, shape-memory alloy (SMA) materials are ideal actuation sources for soft robots. However, the relatively long cooling time of SMA wires in soft bodies limits their response speed. In...

Variable stiffness actuators (VSAs) have attracted considerable attention in wearable robotics and soft exoskeletons due to their ability to adapt to various load conditions. This study presents a modular design for VSAs that incorporates a chain mai...

This research addresses the challenge of precise trajectory tracking for cart–pendulum robotic systems affected by unknown nonlinear actuator dynamics. We introduce a novel control framework that combines neural network modeling with adaptive p...

In this paper, we study the stability of the stochastically heterogeneous traffic flow involving connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) and human-driven vehicles (HDVs). Taking the stochasticity of vehicle arrivals and behaviors into account, a gene...

The underwater unstructured environment poses new challenges for the miniaturization and flexibility of underwater vehicles. This paper proposes a method of using micrometer-scale vibrations of piezoelectric vibrators to drive macroscopic jets. Then,...

Effective fault diagnosis in rotating machinery means extracting fault features from complex samples. However, traditional data-driven methods often overly rely on labeled samples and struggle with extracting high-order complex features. To address t...

In this paper, we present the details of the actuator design for our humanoid robot, Mithra. Mithra has been designed to match an average adult human in terms of kinematic and kinetic characteristics. This poses various challenges in actuator design...

A novel brushless power feedback permanent magnet adjustable speed drive (BLPF-PMASD) is developed for the energy-saving of a large power electrical machine drive system in this paper. It can transfer the slip power between the input and output shaft...

The Risley prism system offers advantages such as compact structure and excellent dynamic performance, making it suitable for installation on static and motion platforms for target acquisition, aiming, and tracking. This paper presents a strapdown li...

In this paper, a real-time assistive torque controller based on sliding-mode control is proposed for a Series Elastic Actuator (SEA)-driven lower limb assistive exoskeleton. To address the problem of the lack of buffering properties and the uneven to...

In aerospace manufacturing, the reliability of machining equipment, particularly spindle bearings, is critical to maintaining productivity, as bearing health significantly constrains operational efficiency. Accurate prediction of the remaining useful...

In this paper, an adaptive control scheme composed of an estimated feed-forward compensation and a PD control law with three mutually independent estimators is proposed for the tracking of desired trajectories in joint space for a robotic arm. One of...

This work presents the design and experimental validation of a position-controlled rotating mechanism featuring multi-stage variable stiffness. Before designing the overall mechanism, three different compliant mechanisms, based on flexible beams, are...

A model-based control scheme for state transitions of a variable recruitment fluidic artificial muscle (FAM) bundle is developed and experimentally validated. FAMs can be bundled together in parallel to exhibit variable recruitment functionality, whi...

This paper proposes an inner–outer loop computational framework to address the morphology optimization and pursuit–evasion control problem for space modular robots. First, a morphological design space considering the functional characteri...

A critical requirement for rehabilitation robots is achieving high transparency in user interaction to minimize interference when assistance is unnecessary. Cable-driven systems are a compelling alternative to rigid-link robots due to their lighter w...

Degenerative joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis, are increasingly prevalent in aging populations, yet current treatments like stem cell injections face limitations in targeted delivery and efficacy. In this study, we proposed a biodegradable magn...

The problem of adaptive event-triggered control for uncertain nonlinear systems with full-state constraints was investigated. State constraints can significantly affect system performance, especially when time-varying external disturbances are presen...

Wave-based control (WBC) offers a relatively novel approach to the challenge of controlling flexible mechanisms by treating the interaction between actuator and system as the launch and absorption of mechanical waves. WBC is a robust approach but has...

Light-actuated microbots have been studied as a viable tool for interacting with micro/nano environments. Considering their applicability to a wide range of biomedical applications, novel designs, fabrication techniques, and control methodologies are...

This study presents a two-segment continuum robot with piecewise stiffness, designed to enhance the precision, adaptability, and safety of tracheal intubation procedures. The robot employs a continuum manipulator (CM) as its end-effector, featuring a...

This paper mainly introduces the problem of active lubrication. At present, the technology of active lubrication for bearings in micro-space is not mature, and it is difficult to meet the requirements of micro-space lubrication. A piezoelectric micro...

To realize the autonomous operation of unmanned excavators, this study takes the four-axis manipulator arm of an unmanned excavator as the research object, uses the five-order B-spline curve for operation trajectory planning, and proposes an improved...

The ultra-high-speed rocket sled plays an important role in the ground test by simulating altitude flight. Rocket sleds can only be lifted for a short time with thermally uninsulated superconductors moving among an eddy-current-induced copper array....

The global surge in the elderly population has increased the awareness of their needs. Supporting mobility and perception is vital to improving their quality of life. This project introduces a prototype of an active smart walker with obstacle avoidan...

Traditional multirotor UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) are inherently underactuated, with coupled position and attitude control, which limits their maneuverability in specific applications. This paper presents a fully actuated quadrotor design based...

This paper proposes a time-varying pilot control strategy, which is suitable for asymmetric thrust flight of multi-engine aircraft caused by single engine failure. To address the critical issue of lateral imbalance caused by thrust asymmetry, pilot c...

The independent metering control system is renowned for its ability to independently regulate the flow and pressure of various actuators, achieving high efficiency and energy savings in hydraulic systems. The high-speed digital valve is known for its...

High-torque-density motors are essential in humanoid, wearable, and rehabilitation robots due to their ability to minimize gear ratios, improve back-drivability, and support compact joint design. However, their inherently high back-EMF limits speed p...

A multitude of factors, including accidents, chronic illnesses, and conflicts, contribute to rising global amputation rates. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 57.7 million people lived with traumatic limb amputations in 2017, with ma...

This paper proposes a novel fault diagnosis framework that integrates the Osprey–Cauchy–Sparrow Search Algorithm (OCSSA) optimized Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD) with a Bidirectional Temporal Convolutional Network-Attention mechanis...

To improve the hydrodynamic performance of hydrofoils, this study combines the shape characteristics of flat and elliptical wings, uses parabolic function to fit the leading and trailing edges of hydrofoils, introduces the cross-section coefficient &...

In this paper, a high-speed motor system for an Electric Vehicle (EV) is designed, of which the rated DC-link voltage is 800 V and peak power can reach 200 kW with a high-efficiency Silicon Carbide Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (S...

In order to realize the problem of tracking control of the trajectory of robot manipulators under variable load conditions, this paper proposes a non-singular fast terminal sliding mode tracking control design for robot manipulators based on integrat...

Cable-driven actuators (CDAs) are extensively used in the rehabilitation field because of advantages such as low moment of inertia, fast movement response, and intrinsic flexibility. Accurate control of cable force is essential for achieving precise...

Industrial and service manipulators demand implementing time-optimal kinematic control to minimize task duration in a manner of maximizing end-effector velocity during path tracking. However, achieving this objective in the presence of harmonic noise...

Piezoelectric (PE) micropumps are distinguished by their high precision, absence of electromagnetic radiation, and straightforward construction principles, making them vital in biomedicine and drug delivery. Integrating PE micropumps with microneedle...

This work develops an improved integrated planning and control framework for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in complex environments with dense obstacles to achieve fast and accurate path planning, trajectory generation, and tracking control. Utiliz...

Industrial control systems (ICSs) are vital to critical infrastructure in energy, manufacturing, and other industries. As ICSs become increasingly interconnected, their complexity grows, making them more vulnerable to cyber attacks and system failure...

This paper proposes the design of a speed sensorless robust discontinuous controller for the trajectory tracking problem of a 5-DOF robotic manipulator under payload changes and torque disturbances in the joints. The developed observer-based controll...

The performance prediction of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) project represents one of the primary challenges faced by the system. To address the performance prediction issues of the FAST hydraulic actuator cluster s...

This paper proposes an enhanced local path planning method based on the Dynamic Window Approach (DWA), enabling a mobile robot to safely avoid obstacles and efficiently reach its destination. To overcome the limitations of the conventional DWA in han...