Modeling and control of a self-assembled robotic swimmer

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/31200

Title: Modeling and control of a self-assembled robotic swimmer
Author(s): Orduno, Carlos
Issue Date: 2012-05-22T00:35:13Z
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis): Bretl, Timothy W.
Department of Study: Mechanical Sci & Engineering
Discipline: Mechanical Engineering
Degree Granting Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name: M.S.
Degree Level: Thesis
Keyword(s): Self-Organised Robot Systems
Abstract: This thesis presents a control strategy based on model learning for a self-assembled robotic “swimmer”. The swimmer forms when a liquid suspension of ferro-magnetic micro-particles and a non-magnetic bead are exposed to an alternating magnetic field that is oriented per- pendicular to the liquid surface [1]. It can be steered by modulating the frequency of the alternating field. We model the swimmer as a unicycle and learn a mapping from frequency to forward speed and turning rate using locally-weighted projection regression. We apply iterative linear quadratic regulation with a receding horizon to track motion primitives that could be used for path following. Hardware experiments validate our approach.
Graduation Semester: 2012-05
Permalink: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/31200

Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois