www.dlr.de
Short description of the organization
DLR is Germany’s national research center for aeronautics and space. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, transportation and energy is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. Research carried out in the DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics (DLR-RM) is based on the interdisciplinary design, computer-aided optimization and simulation as well as implementation of complex mechatronic systems and man-achine interfaces. The institute is regarded as one of the worldwide leading institutions in the field of robotics.
Role in the project and main tasks
DLR will be responsible for control and operation of an outdoor
manipulation system based on a Flettner-helicopter and LWR manipulator. Significant part of the effort will be devoted to the integration of the outdoor system (WP7) as well as to preparation and conduction of flight experiments (WP8). DLR will be also responsible for development of a telemanipulation system for outdoor system and will lead the corresponding WP4.
Relevant previous experience
The institute has a high level of competence and long experience in
developing novel robotics technologies. In 1999 it remotely programmed the Japanese ETS VII robot which was the first to fly freely in the universe. In 2004 the institute has successfully tested the joints of its next lightweight robot generation on the space station and thus also demonstrated concepts of tele-presence. Together with the 4-finger artificial hands developed at the institute, the main components for the robonauts of the future also originate here. The system for load transportation with multiple autonomous helicopters was developed in the laboratory for flying robots at TU Berlin, which was completely moved to DLR in 2009. Using this system, the worldwide first successful flight experiment with three autonomous helicopters transporting a load was demonstrated in 2008 in the scope of the AWARE project. DLR has a big fleet of different helicopter platforms, which can be used in the project. DLR participated in ARCAS project and developed the first manipulation system based on a helicopter and industrial manipulator.
Key publications before the project
- AF. Huber, K. Kondak, K. Krieger, D. Sommer, M. Schwarzbach, M. Laiacker, I. Kossyk, A. Albu-Schaeffer. First Analysis and Experiments in Aerial Manipulation Using Fully Actuated Redundant Robot Arm. Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2013.
- K. Kondak, K. Krieger, A. Albu-Schaeffer, M. Schwarzbach, M. Laiacker, I. Maza, A. Rodriguez-Castano, A. Ollero. Closed-Loop Behavior of an Autonomous Helicopter Equipped with a Robotic Arm for Aerial Manipulation Tasks. International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems. Vol. 10, Nr. 145, 2013.
- K. Kondak, M. Bernard, N. Meyer, G. Hommel. Autonomously Flying VTOL-Robots: Modelling and Control. Proceedings of the IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2007.
- T. Hulin, K. Hertkorn, P. Kremer, C. Preusche, S. Schätzle, J. Artigas, M. Sagardia, F. Zacharias. The DLR Bimanual Haptic Device with Optimized Workspace. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pp. 3441-3442. ISBN 978-1-61284-380-3.
- L. Geiger, M. Popp, B. Färber, J. Artigas, P. Kremer. The Influence of Telemanipulation-Systems on Fine Motor Performance. In: Proceedings of. The Third International Conference on Advances in Computer-Human Interactions, 10-16 February 2010.