Instytut Podstawowych Problemów Techniki

UMO-2019/33/B/ST8/02791

2020-01-31 / 2024-01-30

Jedyny wykonawca

NCN

OPUS

17

Extremely Modular System (EMS) is a novel approach to design of architectural & engineering forms & structures introduced by the applicant a few years ago. EMSs are multidisciplinary and gradually gain attention in various fields of research: architecture, civil & space engineering, structural mechanics & computer science. Advantages of all EMSs: economization (mass-production), robustness (modules which failed can be replaced, also if some of them fail, the system can still perform certain tasks). Disadvantages: their assembly and control are non-intuitive and difficult. That is, combining non-trivial congruent units to form meaningful structures or their kinematic actions is computationally expensive. However, due to the availability of modern computational power, the proposed approach is rational & competitive. Arm-Z is a conceptual manipulator introduced by the applicant in 2014. Arm-Z is composed of congruent modules each having one degree of freedom (1-DOF) - a relative twist. Simple changes of these twists result in emerging behavior of the entire Arm-Z allowing it to perform complex movements. The relative twists can be continuous or discrete. The shape of Arm-Z is a result of: the geometrical parameters of each module, number of modules & their relative rotation. Operational space of a discrete Arm-Z (based on polygonal modules & their dihedral relative twists) forms a point-cloud. The sizes & thicknesses of these point-clouds grow with the number of modules. Moreover, the geometrical parameters of each module influence the properties of the operational space. In general, the tip of Arm-Z can not reach all points in 3D space within its range, but can reach specific points with a certain accuracy. The investigated research questions: -- What is the most suitable mathematical description of Arm-Z? -- What are the optimal parameters of the Arm-Z modules for given criteria? -- What is the operational range of Arm-Z & how efficiently can it fill the 3D space around it? -- What is the expected accuracy of control of Arm-Z when considering discrete nature of rotations (step motors)? -- What are the criteria for Arm-Z control: simplicity of control? Minimization of wobbling of the entire Arm-Z? Maximization of "smoothness" of translation of the tip? -- Which control methods are suitable for Arm-Z (PID-based control, reinforced-learning, meta-heuristic)? -- What are the physical & mechanical limits regarding stability & strength of the "chain" of Arm-Z modules. How are they related to local internal structure of the base module? -- What are the requirements for Arm-Z module joints in order to bear expected loads? Such joints must also support quick release & assembly -- How does the system cope with vibration, stress & deformation? -- What are the potential applications of Arm-Z esp. for responsive (kinetic) architecture? Impact of the project: Arm-Z belongs to the family of EMSs and represents a novel design philosophy. The first EMS developed by the applicant was introduced in 2011. Since then a number of new EMSs have been introduced & the concept is gradually and steadily gaining attention in the research community in various disciplines: architecture, civil & space engineering, structural mechanics & computer science. Accordingly, the project is also multidisciplinary & contributes to the research in the following fields: Control theory of hyper-redundant manipulators: (i) This field of research is unexplored. Due to specific, modular nature of the problem, classic control approaches are inefficient & researchers look for alternatives: artificial intelligence (neural networks, reinforcement learning) or heuristic methods. (ii) The results will contribute to the development of new approaches in discrete-continuous control of multibody systems. New applications of artificial intelligence & heuristic optimization to control the shape transition: (iii) Since real-time operational regime is desired, novel implementations of massively parallel platforms are planned (e.g. with GPU) (iv) Application of reinforcement learning for control of Arm-Z Structural mechanics: (v) Development a framework for consistent hierarchical representation of modular structures that exploits the congruence of units (vi) Application of this framework to topological optimization of modular structures at the local level of the congruent unit Theory of design: (vii) Introduction of extremely modular kinetics for responsive architectural & engineering design.