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Biologically Inspired Robotics
6.5 Implementation
6.5.1 Experimental Setup and Motion Control of the Robotic Neck
The low-motion–noise humanoid head/neck system developed as described
in Section 6.2 is pictured in Figure 6.6. Figure 6.6a shows the overall system.
In the system, an NI USB-6215 multifunction I/O board is used to acquire the
sensor data and collect information to monitor the working status of electrical parts in the sound insulation box. An M-Audio interface, USB-based Fast
Track Pro, is used to record the acoustic information obtained by two sensitive microphones in the robot ears during the motion of the robotic head/
neck. For one of the applications, the robot body and the sound insulation box
are located in one acoustic room, and the personal computer, the NI USB-6215,
and M-Audio interface are located outside of the room to avoid inducing
other acoustic noises. Real PPEs such as helmets, masks (respirators), and
chemical-resistant suits were employed in our experiments. These PPEs were
equipped with the robotic head/neck system for our further studies on acoustic noise induced by motion between the PPEs and the robotic system.
Single and combination head motions have been implemented successfully on the developed robot system. Typical single head movements demonstrated in Figure 6.6b are: flexion, extension, bending left, bending right,
rotating left, and rotating right. And motion parameters of the developed
robotic neck system are listed in Table 6.1.
6.5.2 Motion Noise Test
An anechoic chamber at Michigan State University was used as an acoustic room to test the noise level of the robotic head/neck system during its
motion. The noise level of the system during its motions was monitored by a
sound level alert from Extech Instruments. A picture of the noise level testing experiment is shown in Figure 6.7a. The experimental results showed
that the maximum noise level of the system during different motions was no
more than 30 dB A-weighted.
To compare the different noise generation between the motions of the
robot head without and with PPE, another experiment was done in a common lab environment, where several computers and the air-conditioning
system were running. The head executed a rotating left right (like shaking)
motion for 17 seconds, and the PPE selected was a plastic jacket hood. The
steps for audio calibration and recording were as follows: (1) place speaker
1 m away from the robot ears (microphones); (2) play a 1-kHz standard tone
for 28 seconds; (3) adjust the tone volume so that when placed near each
microphone, a sound level meter measures a sound level of 60 dB; (4) without changing the microphone gain settings, start to record the acoustic data
generated by the robot’s motion without PPE; (5) record the acoustic data
Biologically Inspired Robotics
6.5 Implementation
6.5.1 Experimental Setup and Motion Control of the Robotic Neck
The low-motion–noise humanoid head/neck system developed as described
in Section 6.2 is pictured in Figure 6.6. Figure 6.6a shows the overall system.
In the system, an NI USB-6215 multifunction I/O board is used to acquire the
sensor data and collect information to monitor the working status of electrical parts in the sound insulation box. An M-Audio interface, USB-based Fast
Track Pro, is used to record the acoustic information obtained by two sensitive microphones in the robot ears during the motion of the robotic head/
neck. For one of the applications, the robot body and the sound insulation box
are located in one acoustic room, and the personal computer, the NI USB-6215,
and M-Audio interface are located outside of the room to avoid inducing
other acoustic noises. Real PPEs such as helmets, masks (respirators), and
chemical-resistant suits were employed in our experiments. These PPEs were
equipped with the robotic head/neck system for our further studies on acoustic noise induced by motion between the PPEs and the robotic system.
Single and combination head motions have been implemented successfully on the developed robot system. Typical single head movements demonstrated in Figure 6.6b are: flexion, extension, bending left, bending right,
rotating left, and rotating right. And motion parameters of the developed
robotic neck system are listed in Table 6.1.
6.5.2 Motion Noise Test
An anechoic chamber at Michigan State University was used as an acoustic room to test the noise level of the robotic head/neck system during its
motion. The noise level of the system during its motions was monitored by a
sound level alert from Extech Instruments. A picture of the noise level testing experiment is shown in Figure 6.7a. The experimental results showed
that the maximum noise level of the system during different motions was no
more than 30 dB A-weighted.
To compare the different noise generation between the motions of the
robot head without and with PPE, another experiment was done in a common lab environment, where several computers and the air-conditioning
system were running. The head executed a rotating left right (like shaking)
motion for 17 seconds, and the PPE selected was a plastic jacket hood. The
steps for audio calibration and recording were as follows: (1) place speaker
1 m away from the robot ears (microphones); (2) play a 1-kHz standard tone
for 28 seconds; (3) adjust the tone volume so that when placed near each
microphone, a sound level meter measures a sound level of 60 dB; (4) without changing the microphone gain settings, start to record the acoustic data
generated by the robot’s motion without PPE; (5) record the acoustic data