We deal with the regulation problem of nonlinear systems with time-varying delays in both the states and input. A new state feedback controller with dynamic gains is developed based on matrix inequality and non-predictor methods. The proposed control scheme is analyzed using the Razumikhin theorem, and its effectiveness is demonstrated with simulation results.

This paper presents a design method of non-parallel distributed compensation (non-PDC) static output feedback controller for continuous- and discrete-time T-S fuzzy systems. The existence condition of static output feedback control law is represented in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The proposed sufficient stabilizing condition does not need any transformation matrices and equality constraints and is less conservative than the previous result of [21].

In this paper, we propose a tracking control method for a quadrotor equipped with a 2-DOF manipulator, which is based on the multiple sliding surface control (MSSC) method. To derive the model of a quadrotor equipped with a 2-DOF manipulator, we obtain the models of a quadrotor and a 2-DOF manipulator based on the Lagrange-Euler formulation separately - and include the inertia and the reactive torque generated by a manipulator when these obtained models are combined. To make a quadrotor equipped with a manipulator track the desired path, we design a double-loop controller. The desired position is converted into the desired angular position in the outer controller and the system's angle tracks the desired angular position through the inner controller based on the MSSC method. We prove that the position-tracking error asymptotically converges to zero based on the Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control system through a computer simulation.

This paper discusses a Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy controller design problem for a phugoid model-based multi-agent system. The error between the state of a phugoid model and a reference is defined to construct a multi-agent system model. A T-S fuzzy model of the multi-agent system is built by introducing a nonlinear controller. A fuzzy controller is then designed to stabilize the T-S fuzzy model, where the synthesis condition is represented in terms of linear matrix inequalities.

The piezoelectric actuating device is known for its large power density and simple structure. It can generate a larger force than a conventional actuator and has also wide bandwidth with fast response in a compact size. To control the piezoelectric actuator, we need an analog signal conditioning circuit as well as digital microcontrollers. Conventional microcontrollers are not equipped with an analog part and need digital-to-analog converters, which makes the system bulky compared with the small size of piezoelectric devices. To overcome these weaknesses, we are developing a single-chip controller that can handle analog and digital signals simultaneously using mixed-signal FPGA technology. This gives more flexibility than traditional fixed-function microcontrollers, and the control speed can be increased greatly due to the parallel processing characteristics of the FPGA. In this paper, we developed a floating-point multiplier, PWM generator, 80-kHz power control loop, and 1-kHz position feedback control loop using a single mixed-signal FPGA. It takes only 50 ns for single floating-point multiplication. The PWM generator gives two outputs to control the charging and discharging of the high-voltage output capacitor. Through experimentation and simulation, it is demonstrated that the designed control loops work properly in a real environment.

This paper proposes a method of estimating the actuator faults of a hexacopter without using encoders when one or more of six actuators do not operate normally. In the case of the hexacopter, a Pseudo-Inverse matrix is generally used to obtain the rotational speed of the actuators because the matrix that transforms the rotational speed of the actuators into the thrust and torque of the body coordinate system is not a square matrix. However, the method based on the Pseudo-Inverse matrix cannot detect the actuator faults correctly because the Pseudo-Inverse matrix is approximate. In the proposed method, the actuator faults are estimated by modifying the transform matrix using the property that the actuators of the hexacopter are symmetrical. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method when faults occur in one or more of the six actuators.

We describe the design and fabrication of a two-axis force/torque sensor with parallel-plate beams (PPBs) and single beams for measuring force and torque in hip-joint rehabilitation exercise using a lower rehabilitation robot. The two-axis force/torque sensor is composed of an Fz force sensor and a Tz torque sensor, which detect z direction force and z direction torque, respectively. The two-axis force/torque sensor was designed using the FEM (Finite Element Method) and manufactured using strain gages. The characteristics experiment of the two-axis force/torque sensor was carried out. The test results show that the interference error of the two-axis force/torque sensor was less than 0.64% and the repeatability error and the non-linearity of the two-axis force/torque sensor were less than 0.03%. It is thought that the developed two-axis force/torque sensor could be used for a lower rehabilitation robot.

In this paper, the TTSE (Target size and Triangulation-based target Size Estimator) algorithm is proposed to estimate static target size in an imaging environment. The target size information is an important factor for accurate imaging target tracking. However, the imaging sensor cannot generate distance between the missile and target to calculate the target size. To overcome the problem, we propose the TTSE algorithm, which is based on target size and triangulation. The proposed method performance is tested in a target intercept scenario. The experiment results show that the proposed algorithm has better performance than the conventional algorithm (ET-TSE) for accurate CCD target size estimation.

To enhance tracking efficiency, a target-tracking filter with a resource management algorithm is required. One of the resource management algorithms chooses or evaluates the proper sampling time using cost functions which are related to the target tracking filter. We propose a resource management algorithm for bearing only tracking environments. Since the tracking performance depends on the system observability, the bearing-only tracking is one of challenging target-tracking fields. The proposed algorithm provides the adaptive sampling time using the variation rate of the error covariance matrix from the target-tracking filter. The simulation verifies the efficiency performance of the proposed algorithm.

This paper presents the analysis and implementation of traveling surface characteristics test equipment using optical mice in connection with the velocity estimation of a mobile robot equipped with optical mice. In the traveling surface characteristics test equipment, a traveling surface sample is made to rotate toward stationary optical mice instead of a mobile robot equipped with optical mice moving over a traveling surface. First, the conceptual design and operational principle of the traveling surface characteristics test equipment is explained. Second, the velocity kinematics of the traveling surface characteristics test equipment is formulated; based on this, the parameter setting of the traveling surface characteristics test equipment is described. Third, the implementation of the traveling surface characteristics test equipment is described in detail, including the mechanical design and construction and the hardware and software development. Fourth, using the prototype of the traveling surface characteristics test equipment, the experimental results of the statistical parameter extraction for different traveling surface samples are given. Finally, some potential usages of the traveling surface characteristics test equipment are discussed.

Obstacle detection is a key feature in the safe driving control of electric wheelchairs. The suggested obstacle detection algorithm was designed to provide obstacle avoidance direction and detect the existence of cliffs. By means of this information, the wheelchair can determine where to steer and whether to stop or go. A 3D depth camera (Microsoft KINECT) is used to scan the 3D point data of the scene, extract information on obstacles, and produce a steering direction for obstacle avoidance. To be specific, ground detection is applied to extract the obstacle candidates from the scanned data and the candidates are projected onto a 2D map. The 2D map provides discretized information of the extracted obstacles to decide on the avoidance direction (left or right) of the wheelchair. As an additional function, cliff detection is developed. By defining the "cliffband," the ratio of the predefined band area and the detected area within the band area, the cliff detection algorithm can decide if a cliff is in front of the wheelchair. Vehicle tests were carried out by applying the algorithm to the electric wheelchair. Additionally, detailed functions of obstacle detection, such as providing avoidance direction and detecting the existence of cliffs, were demonstrated.

Recently, in the manufacturing process of flat panel displays, mass production methods of inline system has been emerged. In particular the next generation OLED display manufacturing process, horizontal inline evaporation process has been tried. It is important for the success of OLED inline evaporation process to develop a magnetic levitation transport system capable of transferring a carrier equipped with a mother glass with high accuracy without any physical contact along the rail under vacuum condition. In the case of existing wheel-based transfer system, it is not suitable for OLED evaporation process requiring high cleanliness. On the other hand, the magnetic levitation transport system has an advantage that it does not generate any dust and it is possible to achieve high-precision control because there are not non-linear factors such as friction force. In this paper, we introduce the high-precision magnetic levitation transport system, which is currently under development, for OLED evaporation process.

This paper proposes a navigation system with a robust localization method for an underwater unmanned vehicle. For robust localization with IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), a DVL (Doppler Velocity Log), and depth sensors, the EKF (Extended Kalman Filter) has been utilized to fuse multiple nonlinear data. Note that the GPS (Global Positioning System), which can obtain the absolute coordinates of the vehicle, cannot be used in the water. Additionally, the DVL has been used for measuring the relative velocity of the underwater vehicle. The DVL sensor measures the velocity of an object by using Doppler effects, which cause sound frequency changes from the relative velocity between a sound source and an observer. When the vehicle is moving, the motion trajectory to a target position can be recorded by the sensors attached to the vehicle. The performance of the proposed navigation system has been verified through real experiments in which an underwater unmanned vehicle reached a target position by using an IMU as a primary sensor and a DVL as the secondary sensor.

This paper proposes the design of a novel distributed message management scheme using a message-oriented management and analysis tool (MOMAT) for naval combat system (NCS) middle-ware. If a message is not guaranteed real-time of the NCS with each node, it causes the loss of data and decreases the reliability of systems. To solve these problems, improved message management schemes are proposed. Message management schemes are considering a real-time user management scheme and a real-time traffic management scheme. The proposed schemes are simulated with a developed simulation tool, data publisher, and subscriber connected through nodes in middle-ware. The simulation results show improved results in terms of message round-trip time (RTT), End-to-End delay, and throughput.