The goal of this project is to understand the science of dynamic collaborative load manipulation using dynamically stable mobile robots (ballbots). The research conducted under this NSF grant is enhancing the ability of multiple ballbots to cooperatively perform dynamic manipulation and transportation of heavy loads through spatially constrained, unstructured environments, while providing critical safety through redundancy. This project will enable automation of strenuous load transportation/manipulation tasks, having the potential to reduce accidents and repetitive stress injuries.
The specific research aims are (a) dynamically feasible motion plans that transition hybrid dynamical modes, (b) feedback control for hybrid dynamic manipulation. The transformative nature of this research stems from its ability to generate theoretical advances in feedback control and dynamically feasible motion planning on multiple levels.
