Papers by Ahmad Mahmood Tahir
Revista Facultad de Ingeniería Universidad de Antioquia
Given the long traverse times and severe environmental constraints on a planet like Mars, the onl... more Given the long traverse times and severe environmental constraints on a planet like Mars, the only option feasible now is to observe and explore the planet through more sophisticated planetary rovers. To achieve increasingly ambitious mission objectives under such extreme conditions, the rovers must have autonomy. Increased autonomy, obviously, relies on the quality of estimates of rover's state i.e. its position and orientation relative to some starting frame of reference. This research presents a state estimation approach based on Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) to fuse distance from odometry and attitude from an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), thus mitigating the errors generated by the use of either system alone. To simulate a Sun-sensor based approach for absolute corrections, a magnetic compass was used to give absolute heading updates. The technique was implemented on MotherBot, a custom-designed skid steered rover. Experimental results validate the application of the prese...
• No part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at... more • No part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution. • Consulted published work of others is clearly attributed and referenced. • All main sources of joint work and efforts have been acknowledged.
2018 International Conference on Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots (ReMAR), 2018
This paper presents the design and testing of a pneumatically actuated silicone rubber gripper - ... more This paper presents the design and testing of a pneumatically actuated silicone rubber gripper - PASCAV. The gripper is based on a Soft Cubic Module (SCM), which has been designed for a variety of applications in a single-block or multi-block arrangements. For PASCAV, an internal chamber in SCM is pneumatically operated to generate a suction effect, which makes the gripper able to grasp objects. The surfaces of the chamber's soft walls enwrap and stick to the target surface, generating sufficient grip to grasp and uphold the object. The preliminary findings demonstrate its ability to grip a range of objects with flat and, uneven or curved surfaces. The approach is successful for objects that fit the size of the actuating vacuum chamber and the designed payload with respect to the size of the cube, hence making it scalable depending upon the application. We describe the development of the gripper and evaluation of its structure and behavior presenting experimental results. The actuation behavior has also been validated based on the finite element analysis (FEA). The results endorse the simple and cost-effective functional design of PASCAV gripper.
Imitating natural living beings remains a perpetual curiosity of human beings. The pursuit of rep... more Imitating natural living beings remains a perpetual curiosity of human beings. The pursuit of replicating biological systems led humans to develop contemporary machines—the robots with diverse range of shapes, sizes, capabilities and applications. Such systems may exhibit strength, control and operation sustainability; however, rigidness of the hard underlying mechanical structures is one of the major constraints in achieving compliance like that of natural organisms and species. This constraint is required to be softened to create biological duos with enhanced structural compliance. This demarcation has led to a new corridor to craft biological mockups, and has made doors opened to exploit new materials, novel design methodologies and innovative control techniques. This paper is an exclusive appraisal to bio-inspired state-of-the-art developments conferring their design specific importance. The methodical study and survey of corresponding structural designs, actuation techniques, s...
Revista Facultad De Ingenieria-universidad De Antioquia, 2014
Dados los largos tiempos de recorrido y las severas limitaciones medioambientales en un planeta c... more Dados los largos tiempos de recorrido y las severas limitaciones medioambientales en un planeta como Marte, ahora la unica opcion factible es observar y explorar el planeta a traves de vehiculos planetarios mas sofisticados. Para lograr los objetivos de misiones cada vez mas ambiciosas bajo tales condiciones extremas, los vehiculos deben tener autonomia. Una mayor autonomia, obviamente, depende de la calidad de estimaciones del estado del vehiculo, por ejemplo, su posicion y su orientacion relativa a un punto de referencia inicial. Esta investigacion presenta un metodo de estimacion de estado basado en el Filtro Extendido Kalman (EKF) para combinar la distancia de la odometria y la orientacion dada por Unidad de Medida Inercial (IMU), y atenuando asi los errores generados por el uso individual de cualquier de estos sistemas. Para simular un metodo basado en sensores solares para correcciones absolutas, se uso un compas magnetico para dar datos absolutos de las actualizaciones de di...
International Robotics & Automation Journal, 2018
The advancement in medical science and technology has revolutionized human interaction with machi... more The advancement in medical science and technology has revolutionized human interaction with machines, crafting one of the most promising state-of-the-art technological fields of today's world. This innovation has made doors opened to rehabilitation beyond patient assistance-Brain Computer Interface (BCI) has stepped forward towards life automation (brain controlled daily life actions), and entertainment (hands-free gaming). This paper reviews key techniques and sensors vital to this technological paramount, along with an appraisal to the commercially available sensors. An exclusive appraisal on state of-the-art BCI technologies has also been discussed conferring their application specific importance. The methodical study of these technologies and comparison of corresponding techniques and sensors is potentially useful to demonstrate the significance of brain machine interface.
Soft Robotics, 2016
Soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs) are versatile robotic components enabling diverse and complex sof... more Soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs) are versatile robotic components enabling diverse and complex soft robot hardware design. However, due to inherent material characteristics exhibited by their primary constitutive material, silicone rubber, they often lack robustness and repeatability in performance. In this article, we present a novel SPA-based bending module design with shell reinforcement. The bidirectional soft actuator presented here is enveloped in a Yoshimura patterned origami shell, which acts as an additional protection layer covering the SPA while providing specific bending resilience throughout the actuator's range of motion. Mechanical tests are performed to characterize several shell folding patterns and their effect on the actuator performance. Details on design decisions and experimental results using the SPA with origami shell modules and performance analysis are presented; the performance of the bending module is significantly enhanced when reinforcement is provided by the shell. With the aid of the shell, the bending module is capable of sustaining higher inflation pressures, delivering larger blocked torques, and generating the targeted motion trajectory.
2012 2nd International Conference on Applied Robotics for the Power Industry (CARPI), 2012
Use of robotics and computerized tools in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) has been identified as a hi... more Use of robotics and computerized tools in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) has been identified as a highly recommended practice by IAEA. The key rationale of robotics application has always been to avoid human exposure to hazardous environments and tasks ranging from scrutiny and general maintenance to decontamination and post accidental activities. To execute these activities, robots need to incorporate artificial intelligence, improved sensors capability, enhanced data fusion and compliant human like leg and hand structures for efficient motions. Next generation robotic systems in NPPs are expected to work in full autonomous mode in contrast to the current semi-autonomous scenarios. Far future systems could deploy humanoid robots as well. This paper presents state-of-theart of robotics developed for NPPs, associated challenges and finally comments on future directions.
The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, 2019
Robotics technology in the medical field is one of the 6 major application areas of service robot... more Robotics technology in the medical field is one of the 6 major application areas of service robotics, 1 a trend, particularly in patient health care, that has been increasing since the 1980s 2,3 and especially during the last decade. 4,5 However, despite the accessibility of high-technology tools, the use of robotics in medical processes is still limited because of the cost, safety requirements, and system complexities. 6-8 The presence of robotics technology in dental care is even scarcer. 9 Dental implants are important in various aspects of oral health. 10 Although implants might not be actively helpful in preserving the host mandible, they directly interact with the bone, 11 and their success depends on proper placement in the alveolar bone in addition to their design and composition. 12,13 Compromised alveolar bone requires clinical evaluation, as strength plays an important role in the success of an implant. 14-16 Such evaluations are generally performed through imaging technology or indentation and bending stiffness of implants after their placement. 17,18 These evaluations, along with preceding statistical data analyses of implant success rates,
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Papers by Ahmad Mahmood Tahir