{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/139160"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/139160","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Safe Tumbling of Heavy Objects Using a Two-Cable Crane","abstract":"In heavy industries, large, heavy objects must be tumbled to access features on their bottoms and sides for assembly and maintenance. Traditional manual operations using a single-cable crane are high-risk, and difficult for less experienced workers. Automating the tumbling process is made challenging due to the presence of kinematic and static singularities which are shown to occur when a single-cable crane loses control over the block being tumbled. Here, an autonomous method for safely tumbling a heavy block sitting on a surface using a two-cable crane is presented. Two winches controlling a pair of cables on a crane are coordinated in such a way that a) the block cannot slip on the floor, b) the block is not lifted into the air, and c) the block is under quasi-static balanced control at all times. A control algorithm for coordinating the two winches is developed for safely tumbling a block without slipping or becoming airborne as well as for eliminating the effect of singularities. A small-scale prototype is developed and the control algorithm is implemented and evaluated experimentally.","abstract_html":"In heavy industries, large, heavy objects must be tumbled to access features on their bottoms and sides for assembly and maintenance. Traditional manual operations using a single-cable crane are high-risk, and difficult for less experienced workers. Automating the tumbling process is made challenging due to the presence of kinematic and static singularities which are shown to occur when a single-cable crane loses control over the block being tumbled. Here, an autonomous method for safely tumbling a heavy block sitting on a surface using a two-cable crane is presented. Two winches controlling a pair of cables on a crane are coordinated in such a way that a) the block cannot slip on the floor, b) the block is not lifted into the air, and c) the block is under quasi-static balanced control at all times. A control algorithm for coordinating the two winches is developed for safely tumbling a block without slipping or becoming airborne as well as for eliminating the effect of singularities. A small-scale prototype is developed and the control algorithm is implemented and evaluated experimentally.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["O'Neill, Cormac"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":"Master","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Asada, Haruhiko Harry"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-06","date_published":"2021-06","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:19Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright MIT"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139160","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Asada, Haruhiko Harry"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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Traditional manual operations using a single-cable crane are high-risk, and difficult for less experienced workers. Automating the tumbling process is made challenging due to the presence of kinematic and static singularities which are shown to occur when a single-cable crane loses control over the block being tumbled. Here, an autonomous method for safely tumbling a heavy block sitting on a surface using a two-cable crane is presented. Two winches controlling a pair of cables on a crane are coordinated in such a way that a) the block cannot slip on the floor, b) the block is not lifted into the air, and c) the block is under quasi-static balanced control at all times. A control algorithm for coordinating the two winches is developed for safely tumbling a block without slipping or becoming airborne as well as for eliminating the effect of singularities. A small-scale prototype is developed and the control algorithm is implemented and evaluated experimentally."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Safe Tumbling of Heavy Objects Using a Two-Cable Crane"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Asada, Haruhiko Harry"],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:creator":["O'Neill, Cormac"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2022-01-14T14:53:42Z"],"dc:date.available":["2022-01-14T14:53:42Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2021-06"],"dc:description.abstract":["In heavy industries, large, heavy objects must be tumbled to access features on their bottoms and sides for assembly and maintenance. Traditional manual operations using a single-cable crane are high-risk, and difficult for less experienced workers. Automating the tumbling process is made challenging due to the presence of kinematic and static singularities which are shown to occur when a single-cable crane loses control over the block being tumbled. Here, an autonomous method for safely tumbling a heavy block sitting on a surface using a two-cable crane is presented. Two winches controlling a pair of cables on a crane are coordinated in such a way that a) the block cannot slip on the floor, b) the block is not lifted into the air, and c) the block is under quasi-static balanced control at all times. A control algorithm for coordinating the two winches is developed for safely tumbling a block without slipping or becoming airborne as well as for eliminating the effect of singularities. A small-scale prototype is developed and the control algorithm is implemented and evaluated experimentally."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139160"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright MIT"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"dc:title":["Safe Tumbling of Heavy Objects Using a Two-Cable Crane"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master","Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:19Z"}