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Journals2008 Journal of the Chinese Society of Mechanical Engineers, Transactions of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, Series C
Sense and Control of a Companion Robot
Fu-Cheng Wang, Hsiao-Wu Wang, Pei-Kang Chen, Hon-Ming Lin and Kuang-Chao Fan
Abstract
This paper illustrates the development of a companion robot, which is equipped with multiple tactile sensors and output devices to interact with human beings. We employ temperature and pressure sensors on the robot, and develop sensor networks to detect environmental changes. To make corresponding responses, motors and voice circuits are used to enhance the human-robot interactions. Furthermore, an embedded system is constructed to miniaturize the integrated robot system. From the results, development of the robot is deemed successful.
2008 Vehicle System Dynamics
Impact of Inerter Nonlinearities on Vehicle Suspension Control
Fu-Cheng Wang and Wei-Jiun Su
Abstract
This paper discusses the nonlinear properties of inerters and their impact on vehicle suspension control. The inerter was recently introduced as an ideal mechanical two-terminal element, which is a substitute for the mass element, where the applied force is proportional to the relative acceleration across the terminals. Until now, ideal inerters have been applied to vehicle, motorcycle and train suspension systems, in which significant performance improvement was achieved. However, due to the mechanical construction, some nonlinear properties of the existing mechanical models of inerters are noted. This paper investigates the inerter nonlinearities, including friction, backlash and the elastic effect, and their influence on vehicle suspension performance. A testing platform is also built to verify the nonlinear properties of the inerter model.
2008 Key Engineering Materials
Signal Detection and Control of an Intelligent Robot
Fu-Cheng Wang, Hong-Min Lin, Pei-Kang Chen, Fu-Yui Chang and Kuang-Chao Fan
Abstract
This paper utilizes embedded systems to control an intelligent robot implemented with seven sensor networks. The work was carried out in two phases. The first step developed scanning circuits to feedback the sensor signals to the process systems. The second step installed seven motors and a voice circuit on the robot to respond to the sensor signals. From the results, the proposed embedded system was deemed effective.
2008 Journal of Power Sources
An Application of Indirect Model Reference Adaptive Control to a Low-power Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell
Yee-Pien Yang, Zhao-Wei Liu and Fu-Cheng Wang
Abstract
Nonlinearity and the time-varying dynamics of fuel cell systems make it complex to design a controller for improving output performance. This paper introduces an application of a model reference adaptive control to a low-power proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system, which consists of three main components: a fuel cell stack, an air pump to supply air, and a solenoid valve to adjust hydrogen flow. From the system perspective, the dynamic model of the PEM fuel cell stack can be expressed as a multivariable configuration of two inputs, hydrogen and air-flow rates, and two outputs, cell voltage and current. The corresponding transfer functions can be identified off-line to describe the linearized dynamics with a finite order at a certain operating point, and are written in a discrete-time auto-regressive moving-average model for on-line estimation of parameters. This provides a strategy of regulating the voltage and current of the fuel cell by adaptively adjusting the flow rates of air and hydrogen. Experiments show that the proposed adaptive controller is robust to the variation of fuel cell system dynamics and power request. Additionally, it helps decrease fuel consumption and relieves the DC/DC converter in regulating the fluctuating cell voltage.
2008 Journal of Power Sources
Multivariable Robust Control of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System
Fu-Cheng Wang, Hsuan-Tsung Chen, Yee-Pien Yang and Jia-Yush Yen
Abstract
This paper applies multivariable robust control strategies to a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system. From the system point of view, a PEMFC can be modeled as a two-input-two-output system, where the inputs are air and hydrogen flow rates and the outputs are cell voltage and current. By fixing the output resistance, we aimed to control the cell voltage output by regulating the air and hydrogen flow rates. Due to the nonlinear characteristics of this system, multivariable robust controllers were designed to provide robust performance and to reduce the hydrogen consumption of this system. The study was carried out in three parts. Firstly, the PEMFC system was modeled as multivariable transfer function matrices using identification techniques, with the un-modeled dynamics treated as system uncertainties and disturbances. Secondly, robust control algorithms were utilized to design multivariable H-infinity controllers to deal with system uncertainty and performance requirements. Finally, the designed robust controllers were implemented to control the air and hydrogen flow rates. From the experimental results, multivariable robust control is shown to provide steady output responses and significantly reduce hydrogen consumption.
Conference
2008 Proceedings of the 47th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control
Mechatronic Suspension Design and Its Applications to Vehicle Suspension Control
Fu-Cheng Wang and Hsiang-An Chan
Abstract
This paper proposes the design of a novel mechatronic suspension strut, and investigates the performance benefits of vehicle suspension systems employing it. The proposed mechatronic suspension strut consists of a ball-screw inerter and permanent magnet electric machinery (PMEM), such that the system impedance can be realized through the combination of mechanical and electrical networks. Furthermore, we apply the mechatronic strut to vehicle suspension control, and discuss performance improvement. From the results, the proposed mechatronic suspension is deemed effective.
2008 Proceedings of the 21st International Microprocesses and Nanotechnology Conference
Vibration Control of an Electron Beam Projection Lithography System Employing Disturbance Response Decoupling Techniques
Fu-Cheng Wang, Yo-Chia Tsao and Jia-Yush Yen
Abstract
This paper applies a newly developed technique, called disturbance response decoupling (DRD) [1], to suppress vibrations of an Electron Beam Projection Lithography (EPL) system. Due to the resolution requirement, vibration control of EPL systems is increasingly important. Generally speaking, two kinds of disturbances, namely load disturbances from the machine and floor disturbances from the environment, need to be considered for an EPL system. It is noted that the controller design is complicated due to the conflicting requirements for the two disturbances [2]. Therefore, we applied DRD techniques to deal with the performance requirements independently. The work was carried out in three parts. At first, passive isolators were used to reduce the floor disturbances. Then an active component was applied to improve the system response to load disturbances. Finally, the system was integrated to verify the overall performance. From the results, the proposed control strategies are deemed effective.
2008 Proceedings of the International Symposium on Precision Mechanical Measurements
Sense and Control of a Companion Robot
Fu-Cheng Wang, Hsiao-Wu Wang, Hon-Ming Lin, Pei-Kang Chen and Kuang-Chao Fan
Abstract
This paper illustrates the development of a companion robot, which is equipped with multiple tactile sensors and output devices to interact with human beings. We employ temperature and pressure sensors on the robot, and develop sensor networks to detect environmental changes. To make corresponding responses, motors and voice circuits are used to enhance the human-robot interactions. Furthermore, an embedded system is constructed to miniaturize the integrated robot system. From the results, development of the robot is deemed successful.
2008 Proceedings of the 17th IFAC World Congress
Multivariable LQG Control of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System
Fu-Cheng Wang, Hsuan-Tsung Chen and Jia-Yush Yen
Abstract
This paper applies multivariable linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control strategies to a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system. From the system point of view, a PEMFC can be modeled as a two-input-two-output system, where the inputs are air and hydrogen flow rates and the outputs are cell voltage and current. By fixing the output resistance, we aimed to control the cell voltage output by regulating the air and hydrogen flow rates. Due to the nonlinear characteristics of this system, multivariable LQG controllers were designed to provide steady voltage output and to reduce the hydrogen consumption of this system. The study was carried out in three parts. Firstly, the PEMFC system was modelled as multivariable transfer function matrices using identification techniques. Secondly, LQG control algorithms were utilized to design a multivariable controller. Finally, the designed controller was implemented to control the air and hydrogen flow rates. From the experimental results, multivariable LQG control is deemed effective in providing steady output responses and significantly reducing hydrogen consumption.
2008 Proceedings of the 2008 American Control Conference
Inerter Nonlinearities and the Impact on Suspension Control
Fu-Cheng Wang and Wei-Jiun Su
Abstract
This paper discusses the nonlinear properties of Inerters and their impact on vehicle suspension control. The Inerter was recently introduced as an ideal mechanical two-terminal element which is a substitute for the mass element with the applied force proportional to the relative acceleration across the terminals. Until now, ideal Inerters have been applied to car, motorcycle and train suspension systems, in which significant performance improvement was achieved. However, due to the mechanical construction, some nonlinear properties of the existing mechanical Inerter models are noted. This paper investigates the Inerter nonlinearities, including friction, backlash and the elastic effect, and their influence on vehicle suspension performance. A testing platform is also built to verify the nonlinear properties of the Inerter model. It is shown from the results that the suspension performance is in general degraded by inerter nonlinearities. However, the overall suspension performance with inerters is still better than the traditional suspensions.
2008 IEEE SMC International Conference on Distributed Human-Machine Systems
Optimal Moving Tracks of the Hand-Raising and Gait
Fu-Cheng Wang, Ming-Cheng Chou and Yi-Ling Lin
Abstract
This paper investigates the optimal moving tracks of hand-raising and gait. In rehabilitation, the patients are usually guided to follow fixed patterns of motions. However, there is no clear definition on what the best motion is. Therefore, we propose a method to evaluate the influence of moving tracks on body loadings, and illustrate how a special form of physical therapy known as the Alexander Technique can effectively reduce the loads placed on the joints. Since we cannot directly measure the force and moment data within the joints, a motion analysis system is utilized to analyze information about body position which is then transmitted to ADAMS models to estimate the reaction forces and moments on the joints. Furthermore, an optimal control algorithm is introduced to quantitatively identify the optimal contours of the movements. By analyzing the reactions of the joints, this paper demonstrates that better moving tracks are beneficial for reducing body loads.
Domestic Conference
2008 Proceedings of 2008 CACS International Automatic Control Conference
The Application of Disturbance Response Decoupling to the Vibration Control of an Electron Beam Projection Lithography System
Fu-Cheng Wang, Yu-Chia Tsao and Min-Feng Hong
Abstract
This paper discusses the vibration control of an Electron Beam Projection Lithography (EPL) system employing a newly developed technique, called disturbance response decoupling (DRD). Due to the resolution requirement, vibration control of EPL systems is increasingly important. To satisfy the performance criteria, we need to consider two kinds of disturbances for an EPL system, namely load disturbances from the machine and ground disturbances from the environment. Consequently, the controller design can be very complicated by traditional approaches due to the conflicting requirements for these two disturbances. Therefore, in this paper we applied DRD techniques to deal with the performance requirements independently. The work was carried out in three parts. First, passive isolators were used to isolate the ground disturbances. Second, active components were applied to improve the system responses to load disturbances. Finally, the system was integrated to verify the overall performance. From the simulations and experiments, the proposed control strategies were deemed effective.