Jens Hilljegerdes

Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz | DFKI

This paper presents the basic concept, mechatronic design as well as the control and navigation approaches of the hydrobatic dual-arm intervention AUV Cuttlefish. Designed for autonomous manipulation of subsea structures, the AUV was developed with some unique features: 1) the ability to take arbitrary poses in the water column to reach even diffic...

This paper presents the multi-legged robot MANTIS which is developed within the project LIMES at the DFKI RIC and the University of Bremen. In particular, we describe the mechanical design, the sensor setup, electronics, and computing hardware. Furthermore we give a short introduction to the software framework for simulation-based motion behavior g...

This paper describes the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) long distance movement simulation system that was designed and built at the DFKI RIC for the INVERITAS project. It can simulate rendezvous and capture maneuvers between a Client satellite and a Servicer satellite in Earth orbit for scenarios where the semi-autonomous Servicer repairs, refuels, or...

Currently the inspection of industrial underwater structures is performed by remotely operated vehicles or by divers. Since the number of underwater structures keeps growing, e.g. due to new oil and gas fields or offshore wind farms, the need for a constantly available method to inspect these structures arises. The FlatFish project is an initiative...

This paper describes the development and test of a mobile manipulation platform intended for a terrestrial robotic competition. While current space missions are planned to minimize complex manipulation tasks, plans for future space missions go beyond these restrictions. Infrastructure deployment, human-robot cooperative mis-sions and complex sample...

Exploration of under-ice environments has gained importance in the last decades. Reasons for this range from political (extension of the exclusive economic zone) to scientific (researching climate change, marine biology). The work in this paper had yet another key motivation: exploration of Jupiter's ice-moon Europa. Planetologists predict an ocean...

This paper describes the development of a lightweight manipulator arm with the dual use of manipulation and locomotion support for a space exploration rover. The en-tire development process from identification of the main requirements to the evaluation is presented. A method of how to design a structure which meets the requirements in a time effici...

In this article, we present SpaceClimber,1 a six-legged, bio-inspired, energy-efficient and adaptable free-climbing robot for mobility on steep gradients. The long-term stool is to provide a system for extraterrestrial surface exploration missions, paying special attention to mobility in lunar craters to retrieve or analyze scientific samples from...

The LUNARES (Lunar Crater Exploration Scenario) project emulates the retrieval of a scientific sample from within a permanently shadowed lunar crater by means of a heterogeneous robotic system. For the accomplished earth demonstration scenario, the Shakelton crater at the lunar south pole is taken as reference. In the areas of permanent darkness wi...

This paper presents the work on the design and construction of a new mapping AUV. The vehicle is specifically designed as a scientific AUV for visual mapping, incorporating high-end instrumentation and sensors to allow research in this area with the best technology can offer today. The complete process of development is described, starting with the...

In this paper, we present the SpaceClimber integration study, a six-legged, bio-inspired, energy-efficient, and adaptable free-climbing robot for mobility in steep gradients. The long-term vision is to provide a system for the purpose of extraterrestrial surface exploration missions paying special attention to mobility in lunar craters in order to...

In this paper, a new joint actuator is introduced which builds the basis for the newly developed SpaceClimber robot by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. Based on in-house developed joint actuators for ambulating robots, this complete new design combines performance, stability, and space-related components. The newly developed...

This paper describes the four-legged ARAMIES robot which was built on the experiences gained with a first integration study. It describes the revised mechanics. The new modular electronics low-level control concept is presented and the developed FPGA-based joint control is explained in detail. Furthermore an overview on the software control approac...

This paper describes the mechanical design of the ARAMIES integra- tion study, a four legged robot. It combines newly developed electronic, mechani- cal, and software components building a fully functional ambulating system. The mechanical concept aims at flexible kinematics and robustness of all components. Therefore, a modular construction kit wi...

This article describes the four-legged walking inte-gration study ARAMIES and the developed control software approach. Furthermore, we analyze a first walking experiment carried out. We explain how CPG-like rhythmic motion patterns can be produced on the basis of Bezier-splines, resulting in a very simple and flexible way to produce complex walk-in...

One of the most important features of ferrofluids is the possibility to change their physical properties, especially their viscosity, by means of moderate magnetic fields. This capability makes ferrofluids very useful in the fields of engineering, medicine and fundamental research. Rheological experimental results, as well as theoretical studies, c...

Due to the possibility to change their physical properties, especially their viscosity, under magnetic fields, ferrofluids are a challenging subject for engineering, fundamental research and medicine. Experimental and theoretical studies have shown that modifications of the microstructure of ferrofluids in the presence of a magnetic field have sign...