Local trajectory planning (TP) for collision avoidance typically comprises path planning (PP) and velocity planning (VP). Various objectives must be fulfilled in a PP task, and the majority of prior works integrate all objectives into a unified cost function. To prioritize the dominant objectives of each PP stage, we propose to decouple the PP task into two separate subtasks, enabling the logical establishment of subtask-oriented segmented PP methods. First, based on risk evaluation of four vehicle vertices, an improved artificial potential field was established. Second, a novel transit point selection method was applied to decouple the PP task into two segmented subtasks. Then, the optimization problem was converted into a multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) problem and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method was utilized to obtain two optimal segmented paths. Finally, a velocity planner based on cubic polynomial, in conjunction with a support vector machine-based stability classifier, was designed. The proposed trajectory planner was then verified in six typical driving scenarios, including both simulation and real vehicle studies. Verification results demonstrate that the proposed planner effectively decouples the PP task and achieves a safe, comfortable, efficient, and trackable trajectory.

Automation of abrasive machining operations (AMO) has become a challenging aspect in the remanufacturing industry where it is required to conduct operations on a surface of which the exact dimensions are unknown. In such cases, skilled human workers have to step in to perform labor-intensive tasks with inconsistent quality. In existing research work, collaborative robots are used to partially automate such operations under human supervision. However, these methods do not perform learning and control simultaneously and are often affected by the interactions of the human operator. In this paper, a novel learning and control scheme is proposed where the robot explores an unknown surface iteratively while achieving the desired contact control performance under supervision and occasional interference from the human operator. The unknown surface is divided into sub-regions, and the learning and control parameters are updated each time the robot visits each sub-region. This method is independent of the path of the robot and thus is unaffected by the irregularities introduced by a human operator's interactions. The proposed method is applied to force control, stiffness learning, and orientation adaptation cases. The validity of this method is shown via simulations as well as experiments conducted using a Kinova Gen3 7-DOF robot.

Contact tooling operations like sanding and polishing have been high in demand for robotics and automation, as manual operations are labour-intensive with inconsistent quality. However, automating these operations remains a challenge since they are highly dependent on prior knowledge about the geometry of the workpiece. While several methods have been developed in existing research to automate the geometry learning process and adjust the contact force, human supervision is heavily required in the calibration of workpieces and the path planning of robot motion in such methods. Furthermore, the stiffness identification of the workpiece is not considered in most of these methods. This paper presents a human-robot collaboration (HRC) framework, which is able to perform surface exploration on an unknown object combining the operator's flexibility with the control precision of the robot. The operator moves the robot along the surface of the target object, and the robot recognizes the surface geometry and surface stiffness while exerting a desired contact force through control. For this purpose, a mesh iterative learning control (MILC) is developed to learn the surface stiffness, plan the exploration path, and adjust contact force through repetitive online correction based on HRC. The proof of learning convergence and the results of the simulation and experiments performed using a 7-DOF Sawyer robot demonstrate the validity of the proposed controller.

A popular path learning method is to use off-line programming by demonstration (PbD) to plan a rough path, but it is subjected to uncertainties in the environment so needs to be updated during the task execution. For this purpose, a spatial iterative learning control (sILC) is developed to learn an accurate path through intuitive online correction based on human-robot interaction (HRI). To improve the efficiency and accuracy of the path learning, a visual assistance system is added to HRI, which helps the robot to find the initial path point and complement the correction of the learning error. This method mitigates the requirement on classic ILC that the time period should be consistent in the repetitive interaction task and utilizes the complementary advantages of vision and force sensing, thus addressing the limitations of the vision-based or HRI methods. The rigorous proof of learning convergence and the results of the simulation and experiments on a 7-degree-of-freedom (DoF) Sawyer robot platform illustrate the significance and advantages of the proposed method.Note to Practitioners—The problem of accurate path learning of robotic manipulators is addressed in this paper, which is found in ample applications such as welding and laser cutting. When the required path is irregular, it is difficult to define it based on offline programming and calibration. This paper presents a new human-robot interactive learning framework, in which the interaction force and machine vision are combined with sILC to achieve online detection and correction for learning and tracking an unknown path. This framework leads to an intuitive human-robot collaboration system where the human operator can fine tune the robot’s motion through direct physical interaction, and at the same time the robot improves its tracking performance automatically based on visual servoing.

A spatial iterative learning control (sILC) method is proposed for a robot to learn a desired path in an unknown environment. When interacting with the environment, the robot initially starts with a predefined trajectory so an interaction force is generated. By assuming that the environment is subjected to fixed spatial constraints, a learning law is proposed to update the robot's reference trajectory so that a desired interaction force is achieved. Different from existing iterative learning control methods in the literature, this method does not require repeating the interaction with the environment in time, which relaxes the assumption of the environment and thus addresses the limits of the existing methods. With the rigorous convergence analysis, simulation and experimental results in two applications of surface exploration and teaching by demonstration illustrate the significance and feasibility of the proposed method.

This article investigates human-driven robots via physical interaction, which is enhanced by integrating the human partner’s motion intention. A human motor control model is employed to estimate the human partner’s motion intention. A system observer is developed to estimate the human’s control input in this model, so that force sensing is not required. A robot controller is developed to incorporate the estimated human’s motion intention, which makes the robot proactively follow the human partner’s movements. Simulations and experiments on a physical robot are carried out to demonstrate the properties of our proposed controller.

This paper presents a novel method for learning and tracking of the desired path of the human partner in physical human-robot interaction. Combining the Adam optimization algorithm with iteration learning control (ILC), a path learning method is designed to generate and update reference waypoints according to the human partner’s desired path. This method firstly uses the Adam optimization algorithm to update the robot’s reference waypoints in an online manner. Then, an ILC is developed to further modify the waypoints and reduce the difference between the robot’s actual path and the human partner’s desired path in an iterative manner. Simulations and experiments on a 7-DOF Sawyer robot are carried out to show the effectiveness of our proposed method.