Professor David Branson's Outputs (57)

Article Enhancing Positional Accuracy of Mechanically Modified Industrial Robots Using Laser Trackers (2025)
Journal Article
Khanesar, M. A., Karaca, A., Yan, M., Isa, M., Piano, S., & Branson, D. (2025). Article Enhancing Positional Accuracy of Mechanically Modified Industrial Robots Using Laser Trackers. Robotics, 14(4), Article 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics14040042

Highly accurate positioning of industrial robots is crucial to performing industrial operations with high quality. This paper presents a mechanical modification to an industrial robot aiming at enhancing the system actuation resolution, thereby enhan... Read More about Article Enhancing Positional Accuracy of Mechanically Modified Industrial Robots Using Laser Trackers.

A Bio-Inspired Flexible Arm for Subsea Inspection: A Water Hydraulically Actuated Continuum Manipulator (2025)
Journal Article
Guglielmino, E., Branson, D., & Silvestri, P. (2025). A Bio-Inspired Flexible Arm for Subsea Inspection: A Water Hydraulically Actuated Continuum Manipulator. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 13(4), Article 676. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13040676

This paper outlines the outcomes of a multidisciplinary initiative aimed at creating flexible arms that leverage key aspects of soft-bodied sea animal anatomy We designed and prototyped a flexible arm inspired by nature, while focusing on integrating... Read More about A Bio-Inspired Flexible Arm for Subsea Inspection: A Water Hydraulically Actuated Continuum Manipulator.

Comparison of point cloud densification from multi-view stereo and 3D Gaussian splatting in industrial photogrammetry (2024)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Yang, M. H., Isa, M. A., Thompson, A., Branson III, D. T., & Piano, S. (2024, October). Comparison of point cloud densification from multi-view stereo and 3D Gaussian splatting in industrial photogrammetry. Presented at 20th International Conference on Precision Engineering (ICPE 2024), Sendai, Japan

Photogrammetry is increasingly popular in the modern manufacturing industry, for performing non-contact fast optical measurements of manufactured components. During photogrammetry, the goal is to obtain accurate three-dimensional reconstructions of a... Read More about Comparison of point cloud densification from multi-view stereo and 3D Gaussian splatting in industrial photogrammetry.

An adaptive lumped-mass dynamic model and its control application for continuum robots (2024)
Journal Article
Zhang, X., Yang, C., Song, Z., Khanesar, M. A., Branson, D. T., Dai, J. S., & Kang, R. (2024). An adaptive lumped-mass dynamic model and its control application for continuum robots. Mechanism and Machine Theory, 201, Article 105736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2024.105736

Dynamic modeling for continuum robots remains challenging due to their large nonlinear deformation and the variation of dynamic parameters during movement. In this paper, a lumped-mass dynamic model (LMD) for a continuum robot is constructed includin... Read More about An adaptive lumped-mass dynamic model and its control application for continuum robots.

Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Control of Linear Stages in Feedback-Error-Learning Structure Using Laser Interferometer (2024)
Journal Article
Khanesar, M. A., Yan, M., Karaca, A., Isa, M., Piano, S., & Branson, D. (2024). Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Control of Linear Stages in Feedback-Error-Learning Structure Using Laser Interferometer. Energies, 17(14), Article 3434. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17143434

The output processer of interval type-2 fuzzy logic systems (IT2FLSs) is a complex operator which performs type-reduction plus defuzzification (TR+D) tasks. In this paper, a complexity-reduced yet high-performance TR+D for IT2FLSs based on Maclaurin... Read More about Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Control of Linear Stages in Feedback-Error-Learning Structure Using Laser Interferometer.

A tendon-driven actuator with cantilever initiated variable stiffness used for robotic fingers (2024)
Journal Article
Li, C., Yang, S., Branson, D. T., Song, Z., Sun, T., Dai, J. S., & Kang, R. (2024). A tendon-driven actuator with cantilever initiated variable stiffness used for robotic fingers. Mechanism and Machine Theory, 201, Article 105730. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2024.105730

Variable stiffness actuators (VSAs) have emerged as a key actuation technology known for their bionic performance and task adaptability. However, current VSAs often exhibit relatively large sizes, making them possible for use in robotic arms and legs... Read More about A tendon-driven actuator with cantilever initiated variable stiffness used for robotic fingers.

Design and control of a compliant robotic actuator with parallel spring-damping transmission (2024)
Journal Article
Yuan, P., Liu, J., Branson, D. T., Song, Z., Wu, S., Dai, J. S., & Kang, R. (2024). Design and control of a compliant robotic actuator with parallel spring-damping transmission. Robotica, 42(4), 1113–1133. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0263574724000110

Physically compliant actuator brings significant benefits to robots in terms of environmental adaptability, human–robot interaction, and energy efficiency as the introduction of the inherent compliance. However, this inherent compliance also limits t... Read More about Design and control of a compliant robotic actuator with parallel spring-damping transmission.

Hand Gesture Interface to Teach an Industrial Robots (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Ahmadieh Khanesar, M., & Branson, D. (2023, November). Hand Gesture Interface to Teach an Industrial Robots. Paper presented at ICINCO 2023: 20th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics, Rome, Italy

The present paper proposes user gesture recognition to control industrial robots. To recognize hand gestures, MediaPipe software package and an RGB camera is used. The proposed communication approach is an easy and reliable approach to provide comman... Read More about Hand Gesture Interface to Teach an Industrial Robots.

Vision-based detection and coordinate metrology of a spatially encoded multi-sphere artefact (2023)
Journal Article
Isa, M. A., Leach, R., Branson, D., & Piano, S. (2024). Vision-based detection and coordinate metrology of a spatially encoded multi-sphere artefact. Optics and Lasers in Engineering, 172, Article 107885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optlaseng.2023.107885

New developments in vision algorithms prioritise identification and perception over accurate coordinate measurement due to the complex problem of resolving object form and pose from images. Consequently, many vision algorithms for coordinate measurem... Read More about Vision-based detection and coordinate metrology of a spatially encoded multi-sphere artefact.

Uncertainty analysis of an augmented industrial robot (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Khanesar, M. A., Piano, S., & Branson, D. (2023, September). Uncertainty analysis of an augmented industrial robot

Industrial robots are often used in additive manufacturing (AM) environments to automate the process of creating complex parts and structures. One example of an industrial robot used in AM is for wire and arc additive manufacturing. This process invo... Read More about Uncertainty analysis of an augmented industrial robot.

High-accuracy robotic metrology for precise industrial manipulation tasks (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Isa, M. A., Khanesar, M. A., Leach, R. K., Branson, D., & Piano, S. (2023, June). High-accuracy robotic metrology for precise industrial manipulation tasks. Presented at Automated Visual Inspection and Machine Vision V, Munich, Germany

The majority of industrial production processes can be divided into a series of object manipulation and handling tasks that can be adapted for robots. Through significant advances in compliant grasping, sensing and actuation technologies, robots are... Read More about High-accuracy robotic metrology for precise industrial manipulation tasks.

Precision Denavit–Hartenberg Parameter Calibration for Industrial Robots Using a Laser Tracker System and Intelligent Optimization Approaches (2023)
Journal Article
Khanesar, M. A., Yan, M., Isa, M., Piano, S., & Branson, D. T. (2023). Precision Denavit–Hartenberg Parameter Calibration for Industrial Robots Using a Laser Tracker System and Intelligent Optimization Approaches. Sensors, 23(12), Article 5368. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23125368

Precision object handling and manipulation require the accurate positioning of industrial robots. A common practice for performing end effector positioning is to read joint angles and use industrial robot forward kinematics (FKs). However, industrial... Read More about Precision Denavit–Hartenberg Parameter Calibration for Industrial Robots Using a Laser Tracker System and Intelligent Optimization Approaches.

Enhancing Positional Accuracy of the XY-Linear Stage Using Laser Tracker Feedback and IT2FLS (2023)
Journal Article
Khanesar, M. A., Yan, M., Isa, M., Piano, S., Ayoubi, M. A., & Branson, D. (2023). Enhancing Positional Accuracy of the XY-Linear Stage Using Laser Tracker Feedback and IT2FLS. Machines, 11(4), Article 497. https://doi.org/10.3390/machines11040497

This paper proposes a calibration algorithm to improve the positional accuracies of an industrial XY-linear stage. Precision positioning of these linear stages is required to maintain highly accurate object handling and manipulation. However, due to... Read More about Enhancing Positional Accuracy of the XY-Linear Stage Using Laser Tracker Feedback and IT2FLS.

A Neural Network Separation Approach for the Inclusion of Static Friction in Nonlinear Static Models of Industrial Robots (2023)
Journal Article
Ahmadieh Khanesar, M., Yan, M., Syam, W. P., Piano, S., Leach, R. K., & Branson, D. (2023). A Neural Network Separation Approach for the Inclusion of Static Friction in Nonlinear Static Models of Industrial Robots. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 28(6), 3294-3304. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMECH.2023.3262644

Static friction modeling is a critical task to have the accurate robot model. In this article, a neural network separation approach to include nonlinear static friction in models of industrial robots is proposed. For this purpose, the terms correspon... Read More about A Neural Network Separation Approach for the Inclusion of Static Friction in Nonlinear Static Models of Industrial Robots.

Intelligent Static Calibration of Industrial Robots using Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Khanesar, M. A., Yan, M., Kendal, P., Isa, M., Piano, S., & Branson, D. (2023, March). Intelligent Static Calibration of Industrial Robots using Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm. Presented at Proceedings - 2023 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics, ICM 2023, Loughborough, United Kingdom

This paper proposes an industrial robot calibration methodology using an artificial bee colony algorithm. Open loop industrial robot positions are usually calculated using joint angle readings and industrial robot forward kinematics, where feedback c... Read More about Intelligent Static Calibration of Industrial Robots using Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm.

Dynamic Capture Using a Traplike Soft Gripper With Stiffness Anisotropy (2022)
Journal Article
Yang, S., Zhou, Y., Walker, I. D., Yang, C., Branson, D. T., Song, Z., Dai, J. S., & Kang, R. (2023). Dynamic Capture Using a Traplike Soft Gripper With Stiffness Anisotropy. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 28(3), 1337-1346. https://doi.org/10.1109/tmech.2022.3219108

Dynamic capture is a common skill that humans have practiced extensively but is a challenging task for robots in which sensing, planning, and actuation must be tightly coordinated to deal with targets of diverse shapes, sizes, and velocity. In partic... Read More about Dynamic Capture Using a Traplike Soft Gripper With Stiffness Anisotropy.

Trinocular vision system for pose determination (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Isa, M., Khanesar, M., Leach, R., Branson, D., & Piano, S. (2022, October). Trinocular vision system for pose determination. Presented at 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Precision Engineering, Bellevue, USA

Smart optical coordinate and surface metrology (2022)
Journal Article
Catalucci, S., Thompson, A., Eastwood, J., Zhang, Z. M., Branson, D. T., Leach, R., & Piano, S. (2022). Smart optical coordinate and surface metrology. Measurement Science and Technology, 34(1), Article 012001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6501/ac9544

Manufacturing has recently experienced increased adoption of optimised and fast solutions for checking product quality during fabrication, allowing for manufacturing times and costs to be significantly reduced. Due to the integration of machine learn... Read More about Smart optical coordinate and surface metrology.

Improving the Positional Accuracy of Industrial Robots by Forward Kinematic Calibration using Laser Tracker System (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Khanesar, M. A., Piano, S., & Branson, D. (2022, July). Improving the Positional Accuracy of Industrial Robots by Forward Kinematic Calibration using Laser Tracker System. Presented at 19th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO 2022), Lisbon, Portugal

Precision object handling and manipulation require precise positioning of industrial robots. The common practice to perform end effector positioning is to use joint angle readings and industrial robot forward kinematics. However, forward kinematics o... Read More about Improving the Positional Accuracy of Industrial Robots by Forward Kinematic Calibration using Laser Tracker System.

Frequency scanning interferometry for accurate robot position measurement (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Isa, M. A., Khanesar, M. A., Leach, R., Branson, D., & Piano, S. (2022, May). Frequency scanning interferometry for accurate robot position measurement. Presented at 22nd International Conference & Exhibition, Geneva, Switzerland

This paper presents a frequency scanning interferometry (FSI) shortwave infrared (IR) setup developed for position and orientation measurement of industrial robots. Within contemporary and future industrial frameworks, robots—in particular collaborat... Read More about Frequency scanning interferometry for accurate robot position measurement.