• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제49권7호
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• pp.1414-1422
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• 2017

Remote response technology has advanced to the extent that a robot system, if properly designed and deployed, may greatly help respond to beyond-design-basis accidents at nuclear power plants. Particularly in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident, there is increasing interest in developing disaster robots that can be deployed in lieu of a human operator to the field to perform mitigating actions in the harsh environment caused by extreme natural hazards. The nuclear robotics team of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) is also endeavoring to construct disaster robots and, first of all, is interested in finding out to what extent safety benefits can be achieved by such a disaster robotic system. This paper discusses a new approach based on the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) technique, which can be used to quantify safety benefits associated with disaster robots, along with a case study for seismic-induced station blackout condition. The results indicate that to avoid core damage in this special case a robot system with reliability > 0.65 is needed because otherwise core damage is inevitable. Therefore, considerable efforts are needed to improve the reliability of disaster robots, because without assurance of high reliability, remote response techniques will not be practically used.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.19-25
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• 2013

For safe remote control, information on remote environment has to be delivered to operator realistically, and there have been numerous research efforts on this respect. Among them, haptic technology can significantly enhance safety and overall effectiveness of remote operation by delivering various kinds of information on virtual or real environment to operator. In this study, remote control based on haptic feedback is applied to control of mobile robot moving according to the command from operator avoiding collision with environmental obstacles and maintaining safe distance from them using ultrasonic sensors. Specifically, a remote feedback control structure for mobile robot is proposed. The controller is based on the inner feedback loop that directly utilizes information on distance to obstacles, and the outer feedback loop that the operator directly commands using the haptic device on which the computed reaction force based on the distance information is acting. Effectiveness of the proposed remote control scheme using double feedback loops is verified through a series of experiments on mobile robot.

• 한국생산제조학회지
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• 제22권3_1spc호
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• pp.600-606
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• 2013

This paper describes the development of a novel walking assistance robot for the elderly and infirm. In the case of simple walking assistance devices, the walking safety and effectiveness are somewhat low; hence, caregivers are frequently required. The walking assistance robot developed in this research is capable of securely and conveniently assisting a walking user by using electric motors and various devices without a caregiver. The main features include the following. First, the walking safety is improved by using a pelvis supporter, and the robot is able to follow the user effectively by means of ergonomic motion sensors and electric powered wheels. Second, it is possible to adjust the load applied to the lower body by adjusting the height of the pelvis supporter. Finally, it is possible to inform the approximate distance and direction of any obstacle around the robot using the sounds and vibrations for the blind and the hearing impaired. The performance of the developed walking assistance robot was successfully verified using a walking assistance test in a narrow-corridor environment.

• 한국생산제조학회지
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• 제25권6호
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• pp.511-516
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• 2016

Guaranteeing the safety of human workers around robots has become an important issue with the increasing demand for human-robot collaboration in industrial production lines. This study proposes a robot manipulator equipped with a counterbalancing mechanism that reduces the power of actuators required to drive the robot, thus keeping a human worker safer in a human-robot collaborative environment. A counterbalancing torque that exactly cancels out the gravitational torque in the proposed mechanism is generated by restoring the force of a spring in the counterbalancing mechanism. A prototype design and experimental results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.93-104
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• 2021

In this paper, we propose a method for diagnosing overload and working load of collaborative robots through performance analysis of machine learning algorithms. To this end, an experiment was conducted to perform pick & place operation while changing the payload weight of a cooperative robot with a payload capacity of 10 kg. In this experiment, motor torque, position, and speed data generated from the robot controller were collected, and as a result of t-test and f-test, different characteristics were found for each weight based on a payload of 10 kg. In addition, to predict overload and working load from the collected data, machine learning algorithms such as Neural Network, Decision Tree, Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting models were used for experiments. As a result of the experiment, the neural network with more than 99.6% of explanatory power showed the best performance in prediction and classification. The practical contribution of the proposed study is that it suggests a method to collect data required for analysis from the robot without attaching additional sensors to the collaborative robot and the usefulness of a machine learning algorithm for diagnosing robot overload and working load.

• 로봇학회논문지
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.53-57
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• 2024

A hopping robot can move through a confined environment while overcoming obstacles. To create a small hopping robot, it must be able to generate a large amount of energy and release it at the same time. However, due to the small size of the robot, there is a limit to the size of the actuator that can be used, so it is mainly used to collect energy in an elastic element and release it at once. In this paper, we propose a small hopping robot with a simplified design by removing ancillary parts and enabling continuous hopping using only a small actuator based on a direct-drive method. In addition, repeated actuation over the rated voltage can cause thermal breakdown of the actuator. To check the safety of the actuator at high voltage, we perform modeling to predict the temperature of the actuator and verify the accuracy of the modeling through experiments.

• 로봇학회논문지
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.326-331
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• 2010

Marionette controlling robot has a problem that generates interference in rotation and intersection, therefore, the research on the independent shifter to move freely on the stage is required. Connecting omni-directional mobile robot with marionette controlling robot can solve this problem. Omni-directional mobile robot makes itself rotate and translate in 2D plane freely. Magnetic device is used to connect the moving part with the control part of the robot to minimize the intereference generated by the movement of robot. When robot moves, it can move to all directions with the suitalbe setting of banlance power. The moment of inertia is minimized by dividing the robot to the upper and lower parts in the marionette performance stage. Rotation and interference problem of independent omni-wheel Robot can be solved by using the permanent magnet. The efficiency and safety of the marionette controlling robot is proved by the experiment.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.31-39
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• 1994

In this study, image processing were performed to recognize the shape of objects and find its center coordinate and direction to grisp the objects by the robot automatically. The proposed methods could be applied to objects even if light is reflected, and to identify the insides and outsides of objects by using the photo sensor and the difference of surface conditions. Also image segmentation is performed to the objects close to each other. These image processing methods will be increased the safety of operators by the automation of dangerous and hazardous machine works.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 제어로봇시스템학회 2003년도 ICCAS
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• pp.2696-2700
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• 2003

Nuclear robots should be developed for the reduction of radiation exposure, lower man hours, shorter power outage, and also improved worker safety concerns in performing hazardous and dangerous tasks. Among the components of a nuclear robot system, a robot control system equivalent to a human brain is a crucial point because a nuclear robot does not work without a control system. Therefore, in this paper, we will explain the requirements for a robot control system for a nuclear robot from a general point of view and also review the robot control systems of nuclear robots that were developed domestically, to assist a researcher beginning with the design for the control system of nuclear robots. The explained robot control system will be useful to develop the control system for industrial robots, home robots and other robots which are needed for tele-operation and are controlled through the internet.

• 해양환경안전학회지
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• 제23권5호
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• pp.574-584
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• 2017

본 논문에서는 보행로봇의 일종인 TITAN-VIII라 불리는 로봇을 이용하여 가장 짧은 경로를 탐색하여 이동하는 방법에 관한 연구를 나타낸다. 보행로봇의 경우 바퀴구동 로봇에 비해 불규칙한 지면 위를 자유로이 이동 가능한 장점 등을 가지고 있는데 반해 이동속도는 바퀴구동 로봇에 비해 느린 편이다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 목적지에 도달하기까지 시간을 최소화하는 최적경로 탐색 제어방법을 제시하였다. 경로를 탐색하기 위해 Dijkstra's algorithm라 불리는 알고리즘을 기반으로 하여 적용하였다. 또한 로봇이 항상 정적인 자세를 유지하는 로봇의 다양한 자세에 대해서도 다루었다. 로봇의 자세제어와 알고리즘을 통하여 로봇의 관절각 결정에 필요한 여러 수학방정식을 제시하였다. 그 후 원하는 궤적으로 로봇이 이동하고 탐색하는 알고리즘을 고안하였고, 제안한 방법의 결과를 실험으로 확인하였다.