TFG & TFM developed in HURO

Study of muscle synergies during cycling activities

Afra María Pertusa Llopis
Supervised by: Andrés Úbeda & Eduardo Iáñez
July, 2020 - Degree in Robotics Engineering

Muscle synergies are a promising assessment tool in motor rehabilitation. In this study, we propose a basic experimental framework with minimum instrumentation and experiment duration for the evaluation of muscle synergies that can be easily translated to clinical application. To that end, we analyze synergistic parameters in cycling activities under different force constraints by modifying the resistance level of a stationary bike. Results suggest that the contribution of specific motor primitives changes with resistance as a result of motor adaptation to greater physical effort. In addition, we observe changes in the contribution of the different muscular groups, particularly the muscles of the posterior chain. These are interesting findings that are likely to be altered in patients with pathological motor conditions and thus can potentially serve as clinical biomarkers.

[1]

Estudio de sinergias musculares durante actividades de pedaleo
Pertusa, A. M. (2020) Memoria TFM
[2]

Synergistic parameters of motor adaptation in variable resistance cycling activities
Pertusa, A. M.; Vujaklija, I.; Sánchez-Pérez, R. M.; Iáñez, E.; Costa, A.; Úbeda, A. (2020) International Conference on Neurorehabilitation, ICNR 2020, Vigo, Spain.

Construction and evaluation of a low cost hand myoelectric prosthesis

Pau Sánchez Carratalá
Supervised by: Andrés Úbeda & José Luis Ramón
July, 2020 - Degree in Robotics Engineering

The main goal of this project was to build a low cost transradial myoelectric prosthetic hand that can be easily reproduced by anyone using common materials. In order to find out about user needs and what was the best way to implement the prosthetic solution, an analysis on all currently available myoelectric prosthetics was performed. Once this was done, a myoelectric prosthetic hand design was proposed along with an actuation and myoelectric control system that suits this project’s objective, lowering production cost without losing functionality.

[1]

Construcción y evaluación de una prótesis mioeléctrica de mano de bajo coste
Sánchez, P. (2020) Memoria TFM

Myoelectric control for two degrees of freedom robotic prostheses

Ángela Sánchez Pérez
Supervised by: Andrés Úbeda
July, 2020 - Degree in Robotics Engineering

In this project, a bidimensional myoelectric control scheme oriented to the control of the orientation of a robotic hand prosthesis is presented. After preprocessing the EMG signal (rectification and linear envelope) obtained from four channels, four different classifiers have been applied to discriminate between flexion, extension, adduction and abduction wrist movements. Eleven participants evaluated the control scheme showing results over a 70% accuracy, most of them surpassing an 80%. Moreover, the obtained results suggest that there are no differences in gender or physical condition.

[1]

Control mioeléctrico para prótesis robóticas de dos grados de libertad
Sánchez, A. (2020) Memoria TFM
[2]

Evaluación de un esquema de control mioeléctrico bidimensional para prótesis robóticas
Sánchez-Pérez, A.; Torres, J. M.; Jara, C. A.; Pomares, J.; Garcia, G. J.; Úbeda, A. (2019) Actas de las XL Jornadas de Automática, Ferrol, Spain, pp. 107-112.

Modeling and simulation of trajectories using Coppeliasim of a multirobotic system for object manipulation

Joaquín Juan Montalvo
Supervised by: Carlos A. Jara
July, 2020 - MsC in Automation and Robotics

Currently, robotic manipulation is a topic of great importance in research. A multitude of current tools allow the development of powerful simulation and control systems for robotic manipulation research. Among them is the CoppeliaSim simulator. This powerful simulator allows you to model and plan trajectories of any robotic system in a simulated environment. Within the framework of this project, the modeling of a multirobotic system has been carried out using CoppeliaSim that allows the generation of the necessary trajectories for the manipulation of objects through the use of two robotic hands. The control of the simulations has been carried out by creating an application external to the simulator developed in Matlab language.

Guidance of robotic satellites using image-based servoing

Ignacio de Loyola Páez Ubieta
Supervised by: Jorge Pomares & Leonard Felicetti
June, 2020 - Degree in Robotic Engineering

Satellites are very expensive ships. Once created and sent to space, they are not modifiable beyond their software. That is why the concept of On-Orbit Servicing was created. Numerous agencies around the world have been developing ships that make this concept a reality. This is nothing more than having automatic mechanics in orbit that solve problems that currently cannot be solved. In this project, the approach system from one satellite to another has been developed to carry out a relocation maneuver of a non-functioning satellite making use of visual control. Projects like this must be developed with the aim of freeing space in strategic orbits so that new satellites can be launched or to eliminate the risk of a chain collision that eliminates services that today are considered basic. These artifacts can also be recovered to be able to obtain material resources from them, since this space debris is rich in valuable components or simply for the cleaning of space, which will become a global problem in a few decades.

[1]

Guiado de satélites robóticos mediante control basado en imagen
Páez, I. (2020) Memoria TFM

Multi-joint dynamic control with optimization applied to the TIAGo robot

Álvaro Belmonte Baeza
Supervised by: Jorge Pomares & Jordi Pagès
July, 2019 - Degree in Robotics Engineering

This project was carried out in collaboration with the company PAL Robotics for the optimization of the controllers used in the TIAGo robot. This robot has a 7-degree-of-freedom manipulator, as well as a vision system to capture information from its workspace, among other components.

First, a study of the current state of the art in terms of robot control has been carried out, with special emphasis on the dynamic control of robots and its different aspects, such as articular dynamic control, Cartesian, control visual and optimal control.
After this, the theoretical development and analysis of the implemented multi-joint dynamic controllers has been carried out, in order to justify their use and validate them mathematically, thus observing their main characteristics, as well as the key parameters for their good performance, which will allow give a reasoned explanation to the results obtained in the experimentation phase. Once the theoretical development was finished, the simulation of the TIA-Go robot was carried out. Specifically, a kinematic and dynamic simulation of the robot has been carried out, in order to analyze the operation of its default controllers and study the situations in which an optimal controller could improve its performance. To this end, the Gazebo simulator and the ROS Control software package have been used to implement the studied controllers and to be able to implant them in the robot.
Next, the implementation and simulation of dynamic multi-joint controllers such as PD with feedforward, PD +, Torque-Calculated control, as well as Cartesian controllers has been addressed. For each of them, the corresponding adjustment has been made and the situations in which the robot's performance improves compared to the original controllers have been contrasted. In addition, optimal controllers have been designed that try to improve both the behavior of the manipulator and the energy and effort required to follow trajectories. This energy saving can be critical as it is a mobile manipulator robot, thus extending its autonomy.
Finally, after the simulation and evaluation of the designed dynamic controllers, the implementation of the same in the real robot has been carried out. The project is co-supervised by the PAL robotics TIAGo Product Manager, which has allowed the controllers designed during the project to be developed, implemented and evaluated “in situ”, thus comparing and corroborating the improvements achieved in the real robot.

[1]

Control dinámico multiarticular con optimización aplicado al robot TIAGo
Belmonte, A. (2019) Memoria TFM
[2]

Optimal Image-Based Guidance of Mobile Manipulators using Direct Visual Servoing
Belmonte, Á.; Ramón, J.L.; Pomares, J.; García, G.J.; Jara, C.A. (2019) Electronics (Q2), vol. 8, 374.
[3]

Control dinámico de manipiladores móviles con realimentación visual
Ramón, J.L.; Belmonte, Á.; Pomares, J.; García, G.J.; Jara, C.A.; Úbeda, Á. (2019) Actas de las XL Jornadas de Automática, Ferrol, Spain, pp. 779-786.
[4]

Optimización en control visual de robots manipuladores
Belmonte, Á.; Pomares, J.; García, G.J. (2018) Actas de las XXXIX Jornadas de Automática, Badajoz, Spain, pp. 249-255

Humanoid object manipulation using position-based visual servoing

Alejandro Bascuñana Giner
Supervised by: Gabriel J. Garcia & Carlos A. Jara
July, 2019 - Degree in Robotics Engineering

The ultimate goal of this project is to manipulate objects using the NAO humanoid robot. Using the camera integrated in the NAO robot, the features of a pattern placed on the object are identified. Through this identification, the pose of the camera is estimated relative to the pattern by position-based visual servoing. Known the pose, the value of the joints is calculated using the kinematic model of the NAO robot.

Study of force sensory feedback using vibrotactile actuation

Andrea González Rodríguez
Supervised by: Carlos A. Jara & Andrés Úbeda
July, 2019 - MsC in Automation and Robotics

The main goal of this study is to evaluate how to optimally select the best vibrotactile pattern to be used in a closed loop control of upper limb myoelectric prostheses as a feedback of the exerted force. To that end, we have assessed both the selection of actuation patterns and the effects of the selection of frequency and amplitude parameters to discriminate between different feedback levels. A single vibrotactile actuator has been used to deliver the vibrations to subjects participating in the experiments. The results show no difference between pattern shapes in terms of feedback perception. Similarly, changes in amplitude level do not reflect significant improvement compared to changes in frequency. However, decreasing the number of feedback levels increases the accuracy of feedback perception and subject-specific variations are high for particular participants, showing that a fine tuning of the parameters is necessary in a real-time application to upper limb prosthetics. In future works, effects of training, location and number of actuators will be assessed. This optimized selection will be tested in a real-time proportional myocontrol of a prosthetic hand.

[1]

Evaluation of Optimal Vibrotactile Feedback for Force-Controlled Upper Limb Myoelectric Prostheses
Gonzalez-Rodriguez, A.; Ramon, J. L.; Morell, V.; Garcia, G. J.; Pomares, J.; Jara, C. A.; Ubeda, A. (2019) Sensors, Vol. 19, No. 23. art. 5209.

TiaGo mobile robot manipulator in a hospital environment

Pasqual Joan Ribot Lacosta
Supervised by: Jorge Pomares
June, 2019 - MsC in Automation and Robotics

Robotics in the service sector is still beginning. With few applications currently adapted, a big part of what is being done in this sector is in research. However, this situation will not last long. As actuators and sensors are advancing rapidly, new robots like TiaGo are beginning to appear, which is specifically designed for this purpose. TiaGo is a robot designed by PAL robotics, a Barcelona based company. It combines mobile robot technology with an anthropomorphic robotic arm.

This project revolves around the use of TiaGo in an hospital environment. In the paralysis rehabilitation deparment of the Hospital San Vicente del Raspeig, robotics is being introduced as a helpful tool for recovery. During this project a model of the plant has been created in Gazebo, in which the simulation takes place.

The main objective of this project is to program TiaGo in order to feed a patient. This is done controlling its base, arm, torso, hand and head through ROS (Robotics Operating System). ROS is a middleware in charge of communications between the robot’s sensors, actuators and control algorithms. Furthermore, an artificial vision application has been developed in order to detect de patient’s face. This application uses the libraries OpenCV, focused on vision, and DLib, focused on machine learning.

[1]

Robot móvil manipulador TiaGo en un entorno hospitarlario
Ribot, P. J. (2019) Memoria TFM

Augmented reality monitoring of an industrial robot

Miguel Martínez Nogueroles
Supervised by: Carlos A. Jara
June, 2019 - MsC in Automation and Robotics

The aim of this project was to develop an augmented reality interface which may be used to supervise an industrial manufacturing process using the Universal Robots UR3. For this, the development tool Unity 3D is used, together with its complement Vuforia. The final goal is to have an interface which will show the status of each joint, and some technical values which can be useful in the supervision and troubleshooting of problems in the system. To trial the correct functionality of the application, an industrial manufacturing process is simulated via the simulation software V-REP. This simulation shows a quality control system to approve or discard parts. The simulation is used to generate movements which are then sent to the real robot using Matlab, which do not only send the movements but synchronize robot system and simulation. As a conclusion, an Android application is developed with full supervision functionality and which can be used on any process using a Universal Robots UR3 collaborative Robot.

Visual servoing for the guidance of a humanoid robot

Iñaki Saez Fuentes
Supervised by: Gabriel J. Garcia
June, 2019 - Degree in Robotics Engineering

In this Final Degree Project an investigation is carried out on the different methods of gait guidance control for humanoid robots that we can find today, carrying out a search and comparison of many of the control methods for the task in question. First, the state of the art of the technique has been studied, comparing all the methods to check the differences between them. After that, the operation of some own implementations based on computer vision of the gait control is described, such as the developments of see and move and of image-based visual servoing implemented in the NAO robot of the company Softbank Robotics. Finally, the performance of the methods proposed in a real environment are studied, comparing the data that we can take from our system to see the progress of the control laws that are proposed throughout the execution of these drivers.

[1]

Control visual para el guiado de marcha de un robot humanoide
Saez, I. (2019) Memoria TFM

Visually guiding of a mobile manipulator

Miguel Ángel Campos Anaya
Supervised by: Jorge Pomares
June, 2019 - Degree in Robotics Engineering

This project consists of the development of different types of visual control of the UR3 collaborative robotic arm of the Universal Robots brand. For this, important elements in the field of Robotics are used, such as computer vision or the use of embedded systems such as the Raspberry Pi 3, through the Python programming language. The elements that are part of the controller are defined and the components that make up the control law are designed step by step. Finally, an analysis of the results obtained through tests with the real robot is carried out, through different tests that are proposed in order to understand the capacity and usefulness of these control algorithms.

Teleoperation of a Kinova MICO2 robot arm through an Omni Bundle device

Alex Darwin Paredes Anchatipán
Supervised by: Gabriel J. Garcia & Andrés Úbeda
July, 2018 - MsC in Automation and Robotics

The technological advance in telecommunications has managed to break the distance gap around the world, allowing us to share information in very short times and making it possible to carry out tasks such as instant messaging, videoconferencing, remote monitoring, etc. In the field of robotics, it has opened several fields of research, such as teleoperation and telepresence, with applications ranging from domestic use to medical or even space purposes. In this work, it was proposed the remote control for everyday human environments of a Kinova MICO2 robotic arm commanded by a Phantom Omni haptic device from 3D Systems, with force feedback, thus providing the operator with sensitivity. The most effective control method was studied according to the requirements of the system, having control options in Cartesian and joint space and these in turn by position or speed. Additionally, a user interface was implemented through Visual Studio to monitor and configure the instruments used. In order to implement the application, the tools offered by the manufacturers were used, these being KINOVA SDK and OpenHaptics for the robotic arm and the haptic mechanism, respectively. As a communication protocol, it was established over UDP, being the best option in terms of speed and range.

[1]

Teleoperación de un brazo robot Kinova MICO2 a través de un dispositivo Omni Bundle
Paredes, A. D. (2018) Memoria TFM
[2]

Teleoperación de un brazo robot Kinova MICO2 a través de un dispositivo OmniBundle
Paredes, A.; Úbeda, A.; García, G.J. (2018) Actas XXXIX Jornadas de Automática, Badajoz, pp. 241-248. ISBN: 978-84-09-04460-3

Human Robotics Group - University of Alicante

HURO research lines are focused in the benefit of humans and environmental impact, developing solutions for human-robot interaction and services, for helping disabled people and for spacecraft control applications.

Contact us

  • Human Robotics
    UA Polytechnic School 3
    Physics, Systems Engineering and Signal Theory Department
    University of Alicante
    Ctra San Vicente del Raspeig s/n
    San vicente del Raspeig
    03690 Alicante, Spain.

  • (+34) 965 903 400 Ext. 1094

  • huro@ua.es

  • Week Days   : 09:00 – 18:00
    Saturday, Sunday   : Holiday