2,639 research outputs found
Quantifying the Evolutionary Self Structuring of Embodied Cognitive Networks
We outline a possible theoretical framework for the quantitative modeling of
networked embodied cognitive systems. We notice that: 1) information self
structuring through sensory-motor coordination does not deterministically occur
in Rn vector space, a generic multivariable space, but in SE(3), the group
structure of the possible motions of a body in space; 2) it happens in a
stochastic open ended environment. These observations may simplify, at the
price of a certain abstraction, the modeling and the design of self
organization processes based on the maximization of some informational
measures, such as mutual information. Furthermore, by providing closed form or
computationally lighter algorithms, it may significantly reduce the
computational burden of their implementation. We propose a modeling framework
which aims to give new tools for the design of networks of new artificial self
organizing, embodied and intelligent agents and the reverse engineering of
natural ones. At this point, it represents much a theoretical conjecture and it
has still to be experimentally verified whether this model will be useful in
practice.
Path planning for active tensegrity structures
This paper presents a path planning method for actuated tensegrity structures with quasi-static motion. The valid configurations for such structures lay on an equilibrium manifold, which is implicitly defined by a set of kinematic and static constraints. The exploration of this manifold is difficult with standard methods due to the lack of a global parameterization. Thus, this paper proposes the use of techniques with roots in differential geometry to define an atlas, i.e., a set of coordinated local parameterizations of the equilibrium manifold. This atlas is exploited to define a rapidly-exploring random tree, which efficiently finds valid paths between configurations. However, these paths are typically long and jerky and, therefore, this paper also introduces a procedure to reduce their control effort. A variety of test cases are presented to empirically evaluate the proposed method. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Learning morphological phenomena of Modern Greek an exploratory approach
This paper presents a computational model for the description of concatenative morphological phenomena of modern Greek (such as inflection, derivation and compounding) to allow learners, trainers and developers to explore linguistic processes through their own constructions in an interactive open‐ended multimedia environment. The proposed model introduces a new language metaphor, the ‘puzzle‐metaphor’ (similar to the existing ‘turtle‐metaphor’ for concepts from mathematics and physics), based on a visualized unification‐like mechanism for pattern matching. The computational implementation of the model can be used for creating environments for learning through design and learning by teaching
On adaptive robot systems for manufacturing applications
System adaptability is very important to current manufacturing practices due to frequent
changes in the customer needs. Two basic concepts that can be employed to achieve
system adaptability are flexible systems and modular systems. Flexible systems are fixed
integral systems with some adjustable components. Adjustable components have limited
ranges of parameter changes that can be made, thus restricting the adaptability of systems.
Modular systems are composed of a set of pre-existing modules. Usually, the parameters
of modules in modular systems are fixed, and thus increased system adaptability is
realized only by increasing the number of modules. Increasing the number of modules
could result in higher costs, poor positioning accuracy, and low system stiffness in the
context of manufacturing applications. In this thesis, a new idea was formulated: a
combination of the flexible system and modular system concepts. Systems developed
based on this new idea are called adaptive systems. This thesis is focused on adaptive
robot systems.
An adaptive robot system is such that adaptive components or adjustable parameters are
introduced upon the modular architecture of a robot system. This implies that there are
two levels to achieve system adaptability: the level where a set of modules is
appropriately assembled and the level where adjustable components or parameters are
specified. Four main contributions were developed in this thesis study.
First, a General Architecture of Modular Robots (GAMR) was developed. The starting
point was to define the architecture of adaptive robot systems to have as many
configuration variations as possible. A novel application of the Axiomatic Design
Theory (ADT) was applied to GAMR development. It was found that GAMR was the
one with the most coverage, and with a judicious definition of adjustable parameters.
Second, a system called Automatic Kinematic and Dynamic Analysis (AKDA) was
developed. This system was a foundation for synthesis of adaptive robot configurations.
In comparison with the existing approach, the proposed approach has achieved
systemization, generality, flexibility, and completeness. Third, this thesis research has
developed a finding that in modular system design, simultaneous consideration of both
kinematic and dynamic behaviors is a necessary step, owing to a strong coupling
between design variables and system behaviors. Based on this finding, a method for
simultaneous consideration of type synthesis, number synthesis, and dimension synthesis
was developed. Fourth, an adaptive modular Parallel Kinematic Machine (PKM) was
developed to demonstrate the benefits of adaptive robot systems in parallel kinematic
machines, which have found many applications in machine tool industries. In this
architecture, actuators and limbs were modularized, while the platforms were adjustable
in such a way that both the joint positions and orientations on the platforms can be
changed
Dynamic Modeling of Branched Robots using Modular Composition
This letter proposes a systematic modular procedure for the dynamic modeling
of branched robots comprising several subsystems, each of which being composed
of multiple rigid bodies. Furthermore, the proposed strategy is applicable even
if some subsystems are regarded as black boxes, requiring only the twists and
wrenches at the connection points between different subsystems. To help in the
model composition, we also propose a graph representation that encodes the
propagation of twists and wrenches between the subsystems. Numerical results
show that the proposed formalism is as accurate as a state-of-the-art library
for robotic dynamic modeling.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. Under Review for the IEEE Robotics and
Automation Letters (RA-L
Kinematic Modeling, Linearization and First-Order Error Analysis
This chapter deals with a modular method for the kinematic analysis of parallel kinematic machines (PKM) at discrete points within their workspace. Firstly, a modular approach is presented for calculating the forward kinematic transmission function of some widely used parallel kinematic machines. This includes the well-known Stewart-Gough-platforms of general geometry, the Delta-robots, and parallel machines with legs of constant length. The kinematic analysis is based on the kinetostatic method and permits to calculate the position, velocity, and acceleration transmission from the articulated joints towards the moveable platform of the machine. Furthermore, a force transmission is defined based on kinetostatic duality. By means of a simple numerical calculation schema, a comprehensive first-order sensitivity analysis is performed. Finally, it is shown how to set up the stiffness matrix for the aforementioned robots. Computational examples of the proposed algorithms are presented
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