Design and Implementation of a Flexible Robot

This robot has low natural frequencies of vibration. Insights into the problems of designing joint and link flexibility are discussed. The robot has three flexible rotary actuators and two flexible, interchangeable links, and is controlled by three independent processors on a VMEbus. Results from experiments on the control of residual vibration for different types of robot motion are presented. Impulse prefiltering and slowly accelerating moves are compared and shown to be effective at reducing residual vibration.

Analysis and Implementation of Robust Grasping Behaviors

This thesis addresses the problem of developing automatic grasping capabilities for robotic hands. Using a 2-jointed and a 4-jointed nmodel of the hand, we establish the geometric conditions necessary for achieving form closure grasps of cylindrical objects. We then define and show how to construct the grasping pre-image for quasi-static (friction dominated) and zero-G (inertia dominated) motions for sensorless and sensor-driven grasps with and without arm motions. While the approach does not rely on detailed modeling, it is computationally inexpensive, reliable, and easy to implement. Example behaviors were successfully implemented on the Salisbury hand and on a planar 2-fingered, 4 degree-of-freedom hand.

An Assessment of the Degree of Implementation of the Lean Aerospace Initiative Principles and Practices within the US Aerospace and Defense Industry

This report is a formal documentation of the results of an assessment of the degree to which Lean Principles and Practices have been implemented in the US Aerospace and Defense Industry. An Industry Association team prepared it for the DCMA-DCAAIndustry Association “Crosstalk” Coalition in response to a “Crosstalk” meeting action request to the industry associations. The motivation of this request was provided by the many potential benefits to system product quality, affordability and industry responsiveness, which a high degree of industry Lean implementation can produce.

Implementation Workshop: High Performance Work Organizations

Since the rise of the industrial revolution, there are few challenges that compare in scale and scope with the challenge of implementing lean principles in order to achieve high performance work systems. This report summarize key insights and learning by representatives from a cross section of organizations who are on this journey. Specifically, we report on findings from the first Lean Aircraft Initiative (LAI) Implementation Workshop, which was held on February 5-6, 1997.

Implementation Workshop: High Performance Work Organizations

Since the rise of the industrial revolution, there are few challenges that compare in scale and scope with the challenge of implementing lean principles in order to achieve high performance work systems. This report summarize key insights and learning by representatives from a cross section of organizations who are on this journey. Specifically, we report on findings from the first Lean Aircraft Initiative (LAI) Implementation Workshop, which was held on February 5-6, 1997. The report is not a “cookbook” or a “how to” manual. Rather, it is a summary of the first phase in a learning process. It is designed to codify lessons learning, facilitate diffusion among people not at the session, and set the stage for further learning about implementation.