Shake tables provide a critical tool for simulating earthquake events and testing the response of structures to seismic forces. However, existing shake tables are either expensive or proprietary. This paper presents the design and implementation of a low-cost, open-source shake table named Shakebot for earthquake engineering research and education, built using Robot Operating System (ROS) and robotic concepts. The Shakebot adapts affordable and high-accuracy components from 3D printers, particularly a closed-loop stepper motor for actuation and a toothed belt for transmission. The stepper motor enables the bed to reach a maximum horizontal acceleration of 11.8 m/s^2 (1.2 g), and velocity of 0.5 m/s, with a 2 kg specimen. The Shakebot is equipped with an accelerometer and a high frame-rate camera for bed motion estimation. The low cost and easy use make the Shakebot accessible to a wide range of users, including students, educators, and researchers in low-resource settings. An important application of the Shakebot is to examine the dynamics of precariously balanced rocks (PBRs), which are negative indicators of earthquakes in nature. Our earlier research built a virtual shake robot in simulation for the PBR study. The Shakebot provides an approach to validate the simulation through physical experiments. The ROS-based perception and motion software facilitates the code transition from our virtual shake robot to the physical Shakebot. The reuse of the control programs ensures that the implemented ground motions are consistent for both the simulation and physical experiments, which is critical to validate our simulation experiments.
翻译:摇晃台为模拟地震事件和测试地震结构对地震力量的反应提供了一个关键工具。然而,现有的摇晃台要么昂贵,要么专有。本文展示了设计和实施一个低成本、开放源的摇晃台,名为Shakebot,用于地震工程研究和教育,这是用机器人操作系统(ROS)和机器人概念建造的。摇晃机改造了3D打印机中负担得起的高精度组件,特别是用于激活的闭环继电器发动机和用于传输的牙带。继动机使床能够达到11.8 m/s=2(1.2 g)的最高水平加速度和0.5 m/s(0.2 m/s)的虚拟速度,有2公斤标本。摇晃晃机配备了动仪和高架相机,用于床动估计。由于成本低廉和易于使用,广大用户,包括学生、教育工作者和低资源环境下的研究人员都可以使用摇晃机。摇晃机的一个重要应用是检查不稳定平衡的岩石(PBR)的动态加速度加速度加速度加速度加速度加速度,这是从PBR&2的物理运动速度速度速度速度速度,这是我们先前的模拟机变变动机的模拟的模拟,通过机变变动法进行。</s>