bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Energy consumption of three-link manipulators as a function of geometric features and trajectory parameters
Authors: Klein A. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThe method of parametric optimization is applied to the energy analysis of the motion of three-link manipulators. The quality criterion is the energy consumption along 1 m of the path. It consists of two parts: 1) The sum of the products of joint moments and relative joint velocities (an equivalent of the mechanical work); 2) a quadratic form of joint velocities (an analogue of dissipation losses). Typical spatial motions are studied: the hand of the robot moves along a straight line from an initial position to another one, and returns to the start. Several velocity function shapes (parabolic, sinusoidal, and triangular), both symmetric and non-symmetric ones, are considered. The dependence of the energy consumption on the velocity form, on the trajectory parameters and on mechanical and geometrical characteristics of links is discussed.
Precision robotics—within our grasp?—A viewpoint
Authors: Schnurr L. E. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYAfter reviewing historical developments in robotics, particularly in Europe, and the current applications in industry, The author indicates possible trends in the future as regards the expansion of industrial automation and its impact on employment. Of interest is the concept of technological consortia or ‘systems houses’ capable of understanding from a ‘system’ perspective the cost-effective implications of overall system design. The final part of the paper is concerned with the examination of goals that lead to future developments, viz. the convergence of traditionally separate technologies, new design methodologies, rational software design, harmony between different kinds of software, and a new look at education and training leading to the emergence of a new type of engineer. The author advocates a balanced emphasis on these aspects and their co-ordination.
Sequential learning of automata from input–output behaviour
Authors: Luneau P. , Richetin M. , Cayla C. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYA learning algorithm for the inference of sequential machines from input/output behaviour is developed. The construction of the models is sequentially achieved by processing input/output (i/o) sequences, and through an induction-contradiction-discrimination scheme. The various states are discriminated after the discovery of contradictory i/o sequences. The properties of the inferred machines and some reported experiments indicate the efficiency of the learning concept of contradiction for this application. Possible application in Robotics for the learning of assembling models is also mentioned.
Robots–from concept to commissioning (Company profile)
Authors: Lowe Duncan Barrie 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYTaylor Hitec Ltd are active in the field of inventive design and successful construction of unique robotic implements for remote working in nuclear power plant and associated waste processing. The company has widened its operation and expertise to provide a concept-to-commission service in consultant and applications engineering for the introduction of robots and FMS in manufacturing and process industries. In the profile presented here are some examples of the manipulators produced by the company and their technical evolution, together with an outline of the successful widening of business into the fields of industrial robotics and flexible manufacturing systems.
The integration barrier; problems in the implementation of advanced manufacturing technology
Authors: Bessant John 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThere can be little doubt that we are seeing a rapid acceleration in the pace of technological change as we approach the 1990s. In manufacturing industry this move towards automation is seen as a key element in preserving and improving competitiveness - the ‘fitter’ part of the well-known ‘leaner and fitter’ prescription for the revival of British industry.It is, however, important to remember that technology is only one term in the equation and that, for the prescription to work, consideration must be made of the social and economic implications of change. This paper explores some of these implications from both a national and a company-level perspective and concludes that the benefits of advanced automation will only be realised if a total systems approach is taken to its implementation.
Sensor control for moving objects
Authors: Yamada Yoji , Matsuda Fumio , Tsuchida Nuio , Ueda Minoru 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThis paper deals with the simulation of a control of an industrial arm using a prediction filter to track an object. It also deals with a developed range-sensing subsystem (range sensor), which, making use of trigonometric principles, can sense the two-dimensional location of the object even if it is moving. First, the hardware and the software of the 2-D range sensor are described. Next, processes to give the arm successive locations to arrive at, using the data obtained by the range sensor are illustrated. Finally some resultant simulation follows.
Declarative modeling of symbolic continous processes in a robot simulation system
Authors: Salter Richard M. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThe production system has been used extensively in Artificial Intelligence systems due, possibly, to a lack of a prior procedural orientation towards the knowledge embedded within it. As a result, this paradigm is especially useful in modeling domains in which a strong procedural correlation of data would not naturally appear. The production system is therefore an appropriate tool for designing models of systems of independent processes whose interactions can be defined in terms of system state.We are interested in modeling continuous, concurrent processes for simulating robot activities, and present a description of a system which is capable of representing such processes as symbolic expressions within a production system database. This system implements a world model which acts as a continuous function of time, and a set of rules written in a language capable of specifying time-dependent properties of the model. In addition, rules may specify new rules, thus permitting processes to be mapped out over time as sequences of events.The methodology presented in this paper is an attempt to utilize the power of symbolic programming in a design for world modeling, and a characterization of the requirements for applying such systems to problem domains which contain a continuous parameter, such as time. We believe that the technique of embedding time used here is appropriate for expressing the dynamic evolution of these models.
Representation and tactile sensing of 3-D objects by a gripper finger
Authors: Kinoshita Gen-Ichiro 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThe tactile sensor is constructed as a part of the finger of a parallel jaw hand; it is of the size of a finger and allows for a large displacement of the sensor element in response to force. The structure of the tactile sensor incorporates 20 successively and closely aligned elements, which allow for a 2.5 mm maximum displacement for each element. In the described experiments we present the capabilities of the tactile sensor. The tactile sensor has the functions of: 1) discriminating the shape of the partial surface of an object; and 2) tracing by finger on the surface along the profile of an object.
Corrugated PVDF bimorphs as tactile sensors and micro-actuators – A research note
Authors: Davis Alan F. , Nevill Gale E. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThis note describes a new class of devices, corrugated polyvinylidene fluoride bimorphs. It describes the fabrication, testing and analysis of one simple configuration and discusses the general potential of the devices. As actuators, they offer promise for applications involving relatively large amplitude displacements and small forces with ease of control. As tactile sensors, the devices offer considerable promise due to their potentially high resolution, selectable compliance, sensitivity and durability.
Planning of flexible manufacturing systems
Authors: Kusiak Andrew 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYIn this paper a new approach to planning of Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMSs) is discussed. This approach takes advantage of FMS features and is based on linking of machining and assembling operations. There are two problems embedded in the presented approach: station loading and operation scheduling. A formulation of a station loading problem for a single machining period is presented. Some of the computational results are also discussed.
Software tools for FMS and FAS preliminary design: an industrial case study
Authors: De Luca Ing. Adriano 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYA complete industrial case study is presented, including FMS machinery selection, preliminary production planning, layout and transportation design and performance evaluation, after pallets quantity and fixtures mix optimization.The case refers to an actual preliminary design performed to submit an offer for a System to a potential customer.The aim of the paper is to show the impressive help coming to FMS and FAS designers from the use of effective software tools, very easy to deal with, very quick and highly reliable in their quantitative evaluations.
Sensitivity analysis of balanced robotic manipulators
Authors: Chung W. K. , Cho H. S. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThe payload variation has been one of the principal reasons in reducing path tracking accuracy and complicating controller design. In this paper, the trajectory and input sensitivities for the payload variation are investigated for three different robot configurations which include unbalanced, inaccurately balanced and balanced configurations. Based upon the sensitivity theory, simulation studies were made to evaluate the sensitivities of these configurations with respect to payload variations. The simulation results are discussed in detail and compared for the three configurations.
Sample manipulation using robotic principles
Authors: Huddleston J. , Burgess N.R. , Walmsley A.D. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYIn research and industry, there are many situations where components or samples are moved between processes or measurement stations. Where the sample throughput is low, or the application is unique, it may not be cost-effective to custom design a system. In order to allow automation in these cases, an approach which uses a family of components to construct a manipulator has been developed. Reliability and long term availability are major requirements of the system described.
Automatic diagnosis of task faults in flexible manufacturing systems
Authors: Hardy N. W. , Barnes D. P. , Lee M. H. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThe need for fault tolerant mechanisms in flexible manufacturing systems is described and previous work on diagnosis in robotics and other areas is considered. Fundamental difficulties in the analysis of robot cell malfunctions are described and a glossary of terms useful in this area is presented. Limited observational data on the occurrence of faults in assemblies are reported. Finally a proposal for an experimental mechanism for diagnosis within a knowledge rich supervisory system is explored.
Fuzzy rule-based motion controller for an autonomous mobile robot
Authors: Ciliz M. Kemal , Isik Can 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYIntelligent control of mobile systems allows for hierarchical structures that utilize sensory data with various levels of accuracy. This paper discusses a rule-based approach for the control problem. The assumed inexactness in world description is represented by fuzzy memberships, and the state space is discretized into a linguistic vocabulary. Fuzzy motion control rules that have been experimentally derived, are then used in a fuzzy inference mechanism to give the final control command to robot actuators. Finally, the developed algorithm is tested for real-time control applications.
R&D Profile Section: R & D at the robotics laboratory of the Jožef Stefan Institute (Yugoslavia)
Authors: Lenarčič Jadran 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThis is a concise survey of the activities carried out by the Robotics Laboratory of the “J. Stefan” Institute, University of E. Kardelj, Ljubljana (Yugoslavia) on the field of robotics research and development of robots. A list of research themes is given with a brief explanation of each containing the objectives, the obtained results, the history and the future outlook. Besides, the main projects concerned with the development of industrial robots are described, as well as the equipment which enables practical work and experimentations as a major element of the laboratory research and educational activities.
Adding flexibility to the links of a rigid-link dynamic model of an articulated robot
Authors: Bodner A. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYA method was developed that takes into account flexibility of robot links in the inverse dynamics calculations. This method uses the Newton-Euler equations and is applicable for special case systems that allow for only a small degree of flexibility. Application of the method should improve the accuracy of the position of the end effector during motion of the robot.The results of this study show that the method can be based entirely on an existing rigid-link model with only minimal changes required as additions. The computational complexity of the method is discussed briefly as well and indicates an increase of computations of slightly more than a factor of two as compared to a rigid-link model for the same robot geometry.
A Distributed–Processing Approach for Robot Dynamics Tuning
Authors: Zomaya Albert Y. , Morris Alan S. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThe accurate modelling of robot dynamics is essential for the design of model-based robot controllers. However, dynamic models have very complicated features which can be attributed to several reasons. For example, the continuously-varying arm configuration, uncertain effects of load handling on the dynamic stability of the arm, and the high degree of non-linearity and coupling exhibited between the different links. Hence, the accurate modelling of these effects will play an important role in the design of robust controllers. Towards this end, an efficient and fast method for the on-line tuning of robot dynamic parameters must be devised. This work proposes to solve this problem as follows. First, a simplified dynamic model of the robot is developed. The model allows for direct and straightforward extraction and regrouping of dynamic parameters. The resulting dynamic parameters are formulated as a regression equation which is linear in the dynamic parameters. Finally, the algorithm is executed using a Transputer development system to speed up the computation and meet real-time constraints. The efficiency of the approach is demonstrated by a case study.
Fuzzy Qualitative Model of a Robot Sensor for Locating Three-dimensional Objects
Authors: Pham D.T. , Hafeez K. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYA fuzzy qualitative model of a robot sensor, presented in this paper, is for locating 3-D objects, and the location information is used to guide the movements of an industrial robot to pick up the objects. The sensor consists of a rigid platform mounted on a flexible column. Each object to be located is held rigidly with respect to the platform. The static deflections of the column and natural frequencies of vibration of the dynamic system comprising the object, platform and column are measured and processed using a mathematical model of the system to determine the location of the object. In practice, the frequency measurements have low repeatability, which leads to inconsistent location information. Also, when the orientation is in the region 80°–90° relative to a reference axis of the sensor, the mathematical model becomes ill-conditioned. In this paper, a fuzzy qualitative model of the sensor is described. The fuzzy model is designed to yield the orientation in the region where the mathematical model is unusable. Different stages for constructing the fuzzy model are described. The on-line implementation of the model is outlined and the experimental results obtained are presented.
Fuzzy Logic-based Techniques for Motion Planning of a Robot Manipulator Amongst Unknown Moving Obstacles
Authors: Bagchi Anupam , Hatwal Himanshu 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYAn algorithm for kinematic motion planning of redundant planar robots, having revolute joints, in an unknown dynamic environment is presented. Distance ranging sensors, mounted on the body of each manipulator link, are simulated here to estimate the proximity of an obstacle. The sensory data is analyzed through a fuzzy controller which estimates whether a collision is imminent, and if so, employs a geometric approach to compute the joint movements necessary to avoid the collision. Obstacles can sometimes move uncompromisingly in the environment attempting a deliberate collision. Strategies to deal with such cases are presented and recovery procedures to circumvent the obstacle from tight corners are suggested. Cases of link overlap have been avoided by considering each link as a body which is sensed as an obstacle by every other link of the same manipulator. Suitable examples are presented to demonstrate the algorithm.
Virtual Devices and Intelligent Gripper Control in Robotics
Authors: Nicholls H.R. , Rowland J.J. , Sharp K.A.I. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThis paper is concerned with the design of intelligent subsystems that interface actuators and sensors to intelligent supervisors for robot work-cells. Benefits of our approach include removal of low level computation and stringent real-time constraints from the superviser, potential for combining and interpreting information from sensor combinations, and provision of a uniform information interface for disparate devices. Our approach to the design and organisation of these subsystems is based on the concept of virtual devices. We demonstrate the applicability of the concept by describing the design and implementation of an intelligent controller for a sensory gripper.
Symbolically Automated Direct Kinematic Equations Solver for Robotic Manipulators
Authors: Ho C.Y. , Sriwattanathamma Jen 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYSolving the direct kinematic problem in a symbolic form requires a laborious process of successive multiplications of the link homogeneous transformation matrices and involves a series of algebraic and trigonometric simplifications. The manual production of such solutions is tedious and error-prone. Due to the efficiency of theProloglanguage in symbolic processing, a rule–basedPrologprogram is developed to automate the creation of the following processes: Link transformation matrices; forward kinematic solutions; and the Jacobian matrix. This paper presents the backward recursive formulation techniques, the trigonometric identity rules, and some heuristic rules for implementing the System. A verification of the System has been demonstrated in case of several industrial robots.
Two–Stages Sliding Controller for Manipulators with Time–Varying Inertia Links
Authors: Jumarie Guy 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThe author introduced the use of time–varying inertia links to increase the flexibility (or versatility) of manipulators in the sense that they can so achieve more tracking capabilities. Clearly, we then have a pair of control vectors (link inertias and external forces) instead of one control vector only (applied forces). After a careful derivation of the dynamical equations of such manipulators, one shows that their control procedure can be decomposed into two stages, each of them involving sliding control schemes via prescribed dynamics on the error term, that is to say the difference between the desired position and the actual position. This approach provides a good technique to take account of possible constraints on the magnitude of the control, and in addition, it is possible to consider the sliding conditions as an ideal mechanical constraint, therefore the use of the principle of virtual displacements.This paper is a continuation of the one entitled “Trajector control of manipulators with time–varying inertia links” (Robotica6, No. 3, 197–202, 1988). It described new techniques to circumvent difficulties arising when the values of the mechanical parameters are not exactly known and when linearization does not apply because of the important deviation. In addition this paper shows that Appel's principle of virtual displacements is more efficient than the Lagrangian parameters for the derivation of the manipulator's dynamic parameters in the presence of mechanical constraints.
Evaluation of ultrasonic inspection and imaging systems for robotics using TLM modelling
Authors: Pomeroy S. C. , Williams H. R. , Blanchfield P. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYAirborne ultrasound based sensor systems have been applied to a variety of problems in robotics and advanced manufacturing. These include slot and hole inspection, and systems suitable for workspace imaging and autonomous guided vehicle (AGV) navigation. The transmission line matrix (TLM) method of modelling wave propagation has been used in the evaluation of these systems. The model gives both graphical and numerical outputs, and allows an improved understanding of the interaction of ultrasonic waves and targets to be obtained.
Approximate Dynamic Models of Manipulation Robots
Authors: Djurović N. , Vukobratović M. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYIn this paper, the problem of real-time computation of a dynamic model of manipulator is considered. In order to decrease the number of operations for dynamic model computation, an approximate model is introduced. Also, a relative error criterion is proposed, which enables one to determine the computing periods of various parts of a dynamic model of manipulator.
Stability analysis of mechanisms having unpowered degrees of freedom
Authors: Borovac B. , Vukobratović M. , Stokić D. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThe stability analysis of active spatial mechanisms comprising both powered and unpowered joints is carried out for the first time using aggregation-decomposition method via Lyapunov vector functions. This method has already been used for analysis of mechanisms with all powered joints. To extend the application of the method to the stability analysis of mechanisms containing unpowered joints we developed modelling of special subsystem consisting of one powered and one unpowered joint. Then, we consider the stability of the complete system without neglecting any dynamic effect. The stability analysis is demonstrated by a numerical example of a particular biped system.
Using Short and Long Term Memory to induce environmental information from simple events
Authors: Gordon John L. , Williams David , Hobson Alan 
Published: March 2009

SummaryThis paper considers the use of memory models and machine intelligence, to dynamically update a computer based representation of the occupancy of a small building. The input to the model is derived from very simple, single bit, movement sensors in each room of the premises.I It will be shown that the information derived from these sensors can provide adequate data for a building control scheme.Short and Long Term memory models of man will be briefly reviewed. Working models for Short and Long Term memory will be discussed, which have evolved from the earlier work but which have been tuned to fit the machine level constraints of this type of application.A review of the performance of a working pilot installation will be given. A performance measure will be derived and initial figures using this measure will be presented.