A Screw Theory Approach to Computing the Instantaneous Rotation Centers of Indeterminate Planar Linkages

This paper presents a screw theory approach for the computation of the instantaneous rotation centers of indeterminate planar linkages. Since the end of the 19th century, the determination of the instantaneous rotation, or velocity centers of planar mechanisms has been an important topic in kinematics that has led to the well-known Aronhold–Kennedy theorem. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was found that there were planar mechanisms for which the application of the Aronhold–Kennedy theorem was unable to find all the instantaneous rotation centers (IRCs). These mechanisms were denominated complex or indeterminate. The beginning of this century saw a renewed interest in complex or indeterminate planar mechanisms. In this contribution, a new and simpler screw theory approach for the determination of indeterminate rotation centers of planar linkages is presented. The new approach provides a simpler method for setting up the equations. Furthermore, the algebraic equations to be solved are simpler than the ones published to date. The method is based on the systematic application of screw theory, isomorphic to the Lie algebra, se(3), of the Euclidean group, SE(3), and the invariant symmetric bilinear forms defined on se(3).

Formulation of Shell Elements Based on the Motion Formalism

This paper presents a finite element implementation of plates and shells for the analysis of flexible multibody systems. The developments are set within the framework of the motion formalism that (1) uses configuration and motion to describe the kinematics of flexible multibody systems, (2) couples their displacement and rotation components by recognizing that configuration and motion are members of the Special Euclidean group, and (3) resolves all tensors components in local frames. The formulation based on the motion formalism (1) provides a theoretical framework that streamlines the formulation of shell elements, (2) leads to governing equations of motion that are objective, intrinsic, and present a reduced order of nonlinearity, (3) improves the efficiency of the solution process, (4) circumvents the shear locking phenomenon that plagues shell formulations based on classical kinematic descriptions, and (5) prevents the occurrence of singularities in the treatment of finite rotation. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the advantageous features of the proposed formulation.

The Motion Formalism for Flexible Multibody Systems

This paper describes a finite element approach to the analysis of flexible multibody systems. It is based on the motion formalism that (1) uses configuration and motion to describe the kinematics of flexible multibody systems, (2) recognizes that these are members of the Special Euclidean group thereby coupling their displacement and rotation components, and (3) resolves all tensors components in local frames. The goal of this review paper is not to provide an in-depth derivation of all the elements found in typical multibody codes but rather to demonstrate how the motion formalism (1) provides a theoretical framework that unifies the formulation of all structural elements, (2) leads to governing equations of motion that are objective, intrinsic, and present a reduced order of nonlinearity, (3) improves the efficiency of the solution process, and (4) prevents the occurrence of singularities.

Dual Numbers and Invariant Theory of the Euclidean Group with Applications to Robotics

<p>In this thesis we study the special Euclidean group SE(3) from two points of view, algebraic and geometric. From the algebraic point of view we introduce a dualisation procedure for SO(3;ℝ) invariants and obtain vector invariants of the adjoint action of SE(3) acting on multiple screws. In the case of three screws there are 14 basic vector invariants related by two basic syzygies. Moreover, we prove that any invariant of the same group under the same action can be expressed as a rational function evaluated on those 14 vector invariants. From the geometric point of view, we study the Denavit-Hartenberg parameters used in robotics, and calculate formulae for link lengths and offsets in terms of vector invariants of the adjoint action of SE(3). Moreover, we obtain a geometrical duality between the offsets and the link lengths, where the geometrical dual of an offset is a link length and vice versa.</p>

Dual Numbers and Invariant Theory of the Euclidean Group with Applications to Robotics

<p>In this thesis we study the special Euclidean group SE(3) from two points of view, algebraic and geometric. From the algebraic point of view we introduce a dualisation procedure for SO(3;ℝ) invariants and obtain vector invariants of the adjoint action of SE(3) acting on multiple screws. In the case of three screws there are 14 basic vector invariants related by two basic syzygies. Moreover, we prove that any invariant of the same group under the same action can be expressed as a rational function evaluated on those 14 vector invariants. From the geometric point of view, we study the Denavit-Hartenberg parameters used in robotics, and calculate formulae for link lengths and offsets in terms of vector invariants of the adjoint action of SE(3). Moreover, we obtain a geometrical duality between the offsets and the link lengths, where the geometrical dual of an offset is a link length and vice versa.</p>

Polynomial Invariants of the Euclidean Group Action on Multiple Screws

<p>In this work, we examine the polynomial invariants of the special Euclidean group in three dimensions, SE(3), in its action on multiple screw systems. We look at the problem of finding generating sets for these invariant subalgebras, and also briefly describe the invariants for the standard actions on R^n of both SE(3) and SO(3). The problem of the screw system action is then approached using SAGBI basis techniques, which are used to find invariants for the translational subaction of SE(3), including a full basis in the one and two-screw cases. These are then compared to the known invariants of the rotational subaction. In the one and two-screw cases, we successfully derive a full basis for the SE(3) invariants, while in the three-screw case, we suggest some possible lines of approach.</p>

Polynomial Invariants of the Euclidean Group Action on Multiple Screws

<p>In this work, we examine the polynomial invariants of the special Euclidean group in three dimensions, SE(3), in its action on multiple screw systems. We look at the problem of finding generating sets for these invariant subalgebras, and also briefly describe the invariants for the standard actions on R^n of both SE(3) and SO(3). The problem of the screw system action is then approached using SAGBI basis techniques, which are used to find invariants for the translational subaction of SE(3), including a full basis in the one and two-screw cases. These are then compared to the known invariants of the rotational subaction. In the one and two-screw cases, we successfully derive a full basis for the SE(3) invariants, while in the three-screw case, we suggest some possible lines of approach.</p>

Numerical Accuracy of Ladder Schemes for Parallel Transport on Manifolds

Parallel transport is a fundamental tool to perform statistics on Riemannian manifolds. Since closed formulae do not exist in general, practitioners often have to resort to numerical schemes. Ladder methods are a popular class of algorithms that rely on iterative constructions of geodesic parallelograms. And yet, the literature lacks a clear analysis of their convergence performance. In this work, we give Taylor approximations of the elementary constructions of Schild’s ladder and the pole ladder with respect to the Riemann curvature of the underlying space. We then prove that these methods can be iterated to converge with quadratic speed, even when geodesics are approximated by numerical schemes. We also contribute a new link between Schild’s ladder and the Fanning scheme which explains why the latter naturally converges only linearly. The extra computational cost of ladder methods is thus easily compensated by a drastic reduction of the number of steps needed to achieve the requested accuracy. Illustrations on the 2-sphere, the space of symmetric positive definite matrices and the special Euclidean group show that the theoretical errors we have established are measured with a high accuracy in practice. The special Euclidean group with an anisotropic left-invariant metric is of particular interest as it is a tractable example of a non-symmetric space in general, which reduces to a Riemannian symmetric space in a particular case. As a secondary contribution, we compute the covariant derivative of the curvature in this space.

Unscented Kalman Filter and Control in TSE(3) with Applications to Spacecraft Dynamics

This paper presents a novel rigid-body spacecraft navigation and control architecture within the framework of special Euclidean group SE(3) and its tangent bundle TSE(3) while considering stochastic processes in the system. The proposed framework combines the orbit-attitude motions of the spacecraft into a single, compact set. The stochastic state filter is designed based on the unscented Kalman filter which uses a special retraction function to encode the sigma points onto the manifold. The navigation system is then integrated to an almost globally asymptotically stabilizing Morse-Lyapunov-based control system with backstepping. Numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed navigation filter for the full state estimation. In addition, the navigation and control system is tested in the nonlinear gravity field of a small celestial body with an irregular shape. In particular, the performance of the closed-loop system is studied in a tracking problem of spacecraft motion near the asteroid Bennu based on the OSIRIS-REx's mission data.