Robotics began as a science fiction creation which has become quite real, first in assembly line operations such as automobile manufacturing, aeroplane construction etc. They have now reached such areas as the internet, ever-multiplying-medical uses and sophisticated military applications. Control of today's robots is often remote which requires even more advanced computer vision capabilities as well as sensors and interface techniques. Learning has become crucial for modern robotic systems as well. This new book presents the latest research in the field.
Through expanded intelligence, the use of robotics has fundamentally transformed a variety of fields, including manufacturing, aerospace, medical, social services, and agriculture. Providing successful techniques in robotic design allows for increased autonomous mobility, which leads to a greater productivity level. Novel Design and Applications of Robotics Technologies provides innovative insights into the state-of-the-art technologies in the design and development of robotic technologies and their real-world applications. The content within this publication represents the work of interactive learning, microrobot swarms, and service robots. It is a vital reference source for computer engineers, robotic developers, IT professionals, academicians, and researchers seeking coverage on topics centered on the application of robotics to perform tasks in various disciplines.
This book presents recent trends in the field as perceived by a global selection of researchers and experts. Subjects covered include motion planning of mobile robots in unknown environments, coordination between mobility and manipulability, computation environments for mobile robots, nonlinear control of mobile robots and environmental modeling using advanced sensing technologies. Issues ranging from progress in applications to fundamental problems are discussed.
Wearable Robotics: Systems and Applications provides a comprehensive overview of the entire field of wearable robotics, including active orthotics (exoskeleton) and active prosthetics for the upper and lower limb and full body. In its two major sections, wearable robotics systems are described from both engineering perspectives and their application in medicine and industry. Systems and applications at various levels of the development cycle are presented, including those that are still under active research and development, systems that are under preliminary or full clinical trials, and those in commercialized products. This book is a great resource for anyone working in this field, including researchers, industry professionals and those who want to use it as a teaching mechanism. Provides a comprehensive overview of the entire field, with both engineering and medical perspectives Helps readers quickly and efficiently design and develop wearable robotics for healthcare applications
This Open Access proceedings presents a good overview of the current research landscape of assembly, handling and industrial robotics. The objective of MHI Colloquium is the successful networking at both academic and management level. Thereby, the colloquium focuses an academic exchange at a high level in order to distribute the obtained research results, to determine synergy effects and trends, to connect the actors in person and in conclusion, to strengthen the research field as well as the MHI community. In addition, there is the possibility to become acquatined with the organizing institute. Primary audience is formed by members of the scientific society for assembly, handling and industrial robotics (WGMHI). The Editors Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Schüppstuhl is head of the Institute of Aircraft Production Technology (IFPT) at the Hamburg University of Technology. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kirsten Tracht is head of the Bremen Institute for Mechanical Engineering (bime) at the University of Bremen. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Annika Raatz is head of the Institute of Assembly Technology (match) at the Leibniz University Hannover.
The term “mechatronics” was coined in 1969, merging “mecha” from mechanism and “tronics” from electronics, to reflect the original idea at the basis of this discipline, that is, the integration of electrical and mechanical systems into a single device. The spread of this term, and of mechatronics itself, has been growing in the years, including new aspects and disciplines, like control engineering, computer engineering and communication/information engineering. Nowadays mechatronics has a well-defined and fundamental role, in strict relation with robotics. Drawing a sharp border between mechatronics and robotics is impossible, as they share many technologies and objectives. Advanced robots could be defined as mechatronic devices equipped with a “smart brain”, but there are also up-to-date mechatronic devices, used in tight interaction with humans, that are governed by smart architectures (for example, for safety purposes). Aim of this book is to offer a wide overview of new research trends and challenges for both mechatronics and robotics, through the contribution of researchers from different institutions, providing their view on specific subjects they consider as “hot topics” in both fields, with attention to new fields of application, new challenges to the research communities and new technologies available. The reader of this book will enjoy the various contributions, as they have been prepared with actual applications in mind, along a journey from advanced actuators and sensors to human-robot interaction, through robot control, navigation, planning and programming issues. The book presents several state-of-the-art solutions, like multiple-stage actuation to cope with conflicting specification of large motion-spans, ultra-high accuracy, model-based control for high-tech mechatronic systems, modern approaches of software systems engineering to robotics, aand humanoids for human assistance. The reader can also find new techniques in approaching the design of mechatronic systems in some possible industrial and service robotics scenarios, with a particular attention for the interaction between humans and mechanisms.
This book contains the papers of the 7th International Workshop on Medical and Service Robots (MESROB) that was planned to be held in Basel, Switzerland, in July 2020. Since the conference could not be held due to the worldwide Corona pandemic, the proceedings are published in this book and presentation of the accepted papers will be postponed to next year’s conference (MESROB 2021). The main topics of the workshop include: design of medical devices, kinematics and dynamics for medical robotics, exoskeletons and prostheses, anthropomorphic hands, therapeutic robots and rehabilitation, cognitive robots, humanoid and service robots, assistive robots and elderly assistance, surgical robots, human-robot interfaces, haptic devices, medical treatments, medical lasers, and surgical planning and navigation. The contributions, which were selected by means of a rigorous international peer-review process, highlight numerous exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaboration among different specialists, demonstrating that medical and service robotics will drive the technological and societal change in the coming decades.
ISRR, the "International Symposium on Robotics Research", is one of robotics pioneering Symposia, which has established over the past two decades some of the field's most fundamental and lasting contributions. This book presents the results of the eighteenth edition of "Robotics Research" ISRR17, offering a collection of a broad range of topics in robotics. This symposium took place in Puerto Varas, Chile from December 11th to December 14th, 2017. The content of the contributions provides a wide coverage of the current state of robotics research, the advances and challenges in its theoretical foundation and technology basis, and the developments in its traditional and new emerging areas of applications. The diversity, novelty, and span of the work unfolding in these areas reveal the field's increased maturity and expanded scope and define the state of the art of robotics and its future direction.
In recent years, the development of worm-like robots has increased significantly. These robots use peristaltic motion comprised of radial expansion and axial elongation to move leglessly through their environments. Soft worm-like robots have the advantage of conforming to their environment, making them ideal for confined spaces such as pipelines which are essential to societal infrastructure. Pipeline contamination and corrosion can be detrimental and costly and thus regular checking is vital. Some pipes are difficult to access due to size, access restrictions and harmful waste contamination (such as in nuclear power plants). This has led to an increase of research into soft worm-like robots for pipe inspection. This review will analyse the recent progress in this area to assess current robotic capabilities and where work may be further needed to ensure they are applicable to real-world applications.
This book addresses several issues related to the introduction of automaton and robotics in the construction industry in a collection of 23 chapters. The chapters are grouped in 3 main sections according to the theme or the type of technology they treat. Section I is dedicated to describe and analyse the main research challenges of Robotics and Automation in Construction (RAC). The second section consists of 12 chapters and is dedicated to the technologies and new developments employed to automate processes in the construction industry. Among these we have examples of ICT technologies used for purposes such as construction visualisation systems, added value management systems, construction materials and elements tracking using multiple IDs devices. This section also deals with Sensorial Systems and software used in the construction to improve the performances of machines such as cranes, and in improving Human-Machine Interfaces (MMI). Authors adopted Mixed and Augmented Reality in the MMI to ease the construction operations. Section III is dedicated to describe case studies of RAC and comprises 8 chapters. Among the eight chapters the section presents a robotic excavator and a semi-automated façade cleaning system. The section also presents work dedicated to enhancing the force of the workers in construction through the use of Robotic-powered exoskeletons and body joint-adapted assistive units, which allow the handling of greater loads.
