7 AD-AGO 744 NAVAL SURFACE WEAPONS CENTER SILVER SPRING MD F/B 9/2

DOD RESEARCH PROGRAM IN RO8OTICS. (IW

SEP 80 J M RANISHI

UNCLASSIFIED NSWC/TR-80-325

SEET

NSWC TR 80-325

DOD RESEARCH PROGRAM IN ROBOTICS

O BY JOHN M. VRANISH

ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

10 SEPTEMBER 1980

Approved for public release. distributin unlimited . '302CLt4SW

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REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE READ INSTRUCTIONSRE R BEFORE COMPLETI'G FORMI 0 .R6mOAT m ..mi L - 2 - GOVT' ACCESSION NO., 3 RECIPIENT'S AIAOG', NMgEP

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DOD RESEARCH PROGRAM IN ROBOTICS . n

6PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER

'1." AI.T111R(4118 S . CONT RACT OR GRANT NUMBER(s)

, John M. Vranish

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Naval Surface Weapons CenterWhite Oak ,-qivpr Spring. Mary And' 2flQlf

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IS. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

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RoboticsAbtificial IntelligenceManipulations ctComputers

ABISTRACT (Continlue on rovers* saide itncesr anld Idenlt "y by blockJ(;number)

"This paper is a broad, brief overvi'ew of the 000 Research Program inRobotics. It begins with background examples on some of the needs and currentrobotic techniques being used in 000 activities. It then discusses near futurerobotic systems currently projected for funding. Next, projections are madefor the more far-term future DOD robotic systems. Finally, specific areasrequiring research are delineated and Navy research programs are identifiedwhich address these areas.

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NSWC TR 80-325

FOREWORD

This report documents the NSWC perception of the DOD ResearchProgram in Robotics. It was written in response to a request fromthe Plans and Operations Office of the Department of the Army, HarryDiamond Laboratories (HDL), Adelphi, Maryland. HDL also providedscope and content guidance. This report takes a broad view and con-siders all three services. Current applications and near-futureprojections are examined, in addition to the more far-term 6.1 efforts.In discussing these 6.1 efforts, specific research projects are listedwhich are typical of the important areas of robotics, thus providingthe reader with a clear picture of the overall direction of the DODResearch Program. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistanceof Mr. Marvin Denicoff, Office of Naval Research.

T.R. McKNIGHT

By direction

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CONTENTS

Page

WHAT IS A ROBOT .. .................. .. ............. 5HOW DO ROBOTS IMPACT DOD .......... ................... 5WHAT RESEARCH IS NEEDED ........... .................... 7WHAT RESEARCH IS BEING DONE ......... .................. 10

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure Page

1 ROBOTIC SYSTEM FOR AEROSPACE BATCH MANUFACTURING. . .. 62a ROBOTIC DERIVETER SYSTEM CONCEPTUALIZATION ...... 82b SMART TOOL HEAD CONCEPTUALIZATION ...... ........... 9

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NSWC TR 80-325

DOD RESEARCH PROGRAM IN ROBOTICS

1. WHAT IS A ROBOT

Of the several current definitions, the following is as inclusiveas any: "A machine that can duplicate human skills and flexibilitywith accuracy and precision."' Robotics technology in industry isdriven primarily by the need to achieve flexible, low cost/high pro-ductivity automation. American industry today has 3,000 robots inuse; Japanese industry utilizes 7,000. By 1995, the Society ofManufacturing Engineers predicts that 50% of automobile assembly willbe accomplished by automated machines and robots. 2

2. HOW DO ROBOTS IMPACT DOD

DOD has all of the cost/productivity/worker morale problems ofindustry plus a few special problems of its own. Not only must DODmanufacture systems, it must also support and maintain these systemsacross a far-flung theater of operations in frequently hostileoperating environments, using a largely unskilled labor force thathas a high turnover rate. Thus, the demand for intelligent, flexibleautomation (robots) is obvious.

a. PRESENT. All three DOD services are starting with the problemof productionF- the simplest starting point. The Air Force ICAM(Integrated Computer Aided Manufacture) project is the most visibleand is addressing aircraft manufacture. Figure 13 illustrates workon the F-15 fighter. The Army is also using industrial robots for:

I Industrial Robots, Vol. I/Fundamentals; Copyright 19'9 SME,Dearborn, Mich. 48148.

NEXT Magazine, May/June 1980, p. 32.

3 Robotic System For Aerospace Batch Manufacturing. IR-812-8(I)First Quarterly Tech. Report, Nov. 197G by Air Force Materials Lab.Wright-Patterson Air Base, p. 3.23.

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(1) robotized benching operations4 and loading of Numerical ControlMachines For Cannon and Breach Manufacture; 5 and (2) automatedmunitions handling.0

b. NEAR TERM. The use of robots in DOD systems manufacturingwill continue to escalate in parallel with industry. Depot and in-termediate maintenance activities will begin to use robots as thetechnology matures to the point where robots can deal with the com-plications and variations associated with maintenance and repair.An example of this is the Navy Robotic Deriveter which is scheduledfor a 2-year development program commencing in F 81. This roboticsystem will use an ultra-sonic sensor and "common sense artificialintelligence" to figure out the rivet pattern, and rapidly inspect(the airframe structure around each rivet) and remo'ye the rivets.This flexible system will be able to handle several different sizesof rivets in a variety of patterns on many different ircraft types.(Deriveting in the Navy is necessary because of salt Water corrosiondamage to airframes.) Figures 2a and 2b illustrate t e RoboticDeriveter.

7

c. FAR-TERM. Robots will be developed for DOD field uses toassist combat and support forces. These field application willplace still greater requirements on robots to be more flexi le,intelligent and to have sensory capabilities. An example i theOffice of Naval Research suggestion that much of the mainten ce onboard ship can be done more efficiently by using a work cell eratedby intelligent robots to manufacture parts on a need-basis rat er thancarrying vast numbers of spares which are seldom or never used.

3. WHAT RESEARCH IS NEEDED

Clearly, research is needed that will improve: (a) the sensorycapabilities of robots (specifically artificial recognition); (b) thlthinking capability of robots (specifically artificial intelligence*)and (c) the motor and physical dexterity capabilities of robots (suchas the tendon research being done at MIT).

4 Manufacturing Methods and Technology, Program Plan CY 1979, U.S.Army Industrial Base Engineering Activity, Rock Island, Illinois,p. 68.

5 Ibid; p. 61.

6 Ibid; p. 39.

7 Vranish, J.M., "The Robotic Deriveter - Systems Concept," NSWC TR80-353, Sep 1980.

• Artificial Intelligence allows Robots to exhibit intelligent be-havior without resorting to massive computers and computationalcapabilities.

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4. WHAT RESEARCH IS BEING DONE

Many DOD 6.1 research thrusts and projects are being pursued,some of which are listed below:'

a. SENSORY CAPABILITIES OF ROBOTS AND MAN-MACHINE INTERFACES.

(i) Context Pattern Recognition - Prof. Riseman, Universityof Massachusetts. (General).

(2) Sketch Recognition (Vision) - Prof. Negroponte, MIT.

(3) Natural Language Interaction (Speech) - Prcf. Schank,Yale University.

(4) Linguistics Pattern Theory (Speech) - Prof. Freiberger,Brown University.

(5) Image Modelling Workshop (Vision) - Prof. Rosenfeld,University of Maryland.

(6) Speech/Picture Processing (Speech/Vision) -

Prof. Oppenheim, MIT.

b. THE THINKING CAPABILITY OF ROBOTS.

(1) Intelligent Automata - Prof. Winston, MIT.

(2) Evaluation Artificial Intelligence Algorithm -

Prof. Harrison, New York University.

(3) Knowledge - Based Problem Solving - Prof. Minskey, MIT.

(4) Distributed Problem Solving - Prof. Lesser, University ofMassachusetts.

(5) Automated Knowledge Acquisition - Prof. Reddy, CarnegieMellon University.

(6) Complex Textual Problem Solving - Prof. Charniak, BrownUniversity.

(7) Complex Planning and Action System - Prof. Sacerdoti,SRI International.

e Active Contracts, Office of Naval Research; Information ScienceProgram, 31 Dec 1979.

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c. THE MOTOR AND PHYSICAL DEXTERITY OF ROBOTS.

(1) Robot Tendon Research - Prof. Horn, MIT.

(2) Automated Maintenance - Prof. Feldman, University ofRochester.

(3) Distributed Robot Command and Control - Prof. Nilsson,SRI International.

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