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Robotics and advanced controls research, development, and applications form a major thrust area for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Staff in this TN have extensive capabilities in the many technical areas included in the field of robotics including:

Mobile Robotic Platforms - PNNL has developed mobile systems to remotely position video cameras, robotic manipulators, ground penetrating radar, and other tools into spaces that are typically too hazardous for human beings. The systems represent the state-of-the-art for remote vehicles and control systems. Mobile robots and surveillance systems developed at PNNL have demonstrated practical innovations in traction, climbing ability, quietness, and mission endurance. Engineers at PNNL have developed wireless telemetry systems using signal encryption, data compression, slow frame rates, and a number of other techniques to make data and control signals more secure and less detectable. Each application typically has unique requirements for size, speed, mobility, observability, and payload. The projects begin with an analysis to determine the specific needs of each application and end with the delivery of a turn-key system.

Teleoperated Worksystems - PNNL is investigating and developing telerobotic technology and capabilities to allow robots to perform work in hazardous environments. These remote worksystems characterize, take samples and clean dangerous environments. PNNL engineers have designed, built and tested systems to operate in environments with high radioactivity, confined spaces and unknown contents. For more information, see Worksystems.

Robot Autonomy and Control System Design — Researchers at PNNL are working to make robots more autonomous, operating in unstructured environments with little or no human supervision. Work on obstacle detection, path planning and exploration is performed. Not all applications desire full autonomy from the robot, and PNNL is examining ways for human operators and robots to share control. We have developed an architecture call Levels of Autonomy, which allows the operator to specify how autonomous the robot should be in the current situation.

Design and implementation of both traditional and advanced control systems is also part of PNNL's expertise. Traditional robotic controls include path planning, forward and inverse kinematics, and low-level joint control systems. Advanced controls include active oscillation damping, manipulator force/torque control, control of parallel manipulators, fuzzy logic controllers, hierarchical and distributed controls, and supervisory control systems.

Kinematic and Dynamic Analysis - Design and analysis of the kinematics and dynamics of robotic systems through the use of state-of-the-art computer modeling.

Human Emulation - Development of robotics that emulate human motion and physiological functions for testing and development of human protective and personal products.

Present and Past Robotics Activities

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