Mechatronic Systems

Mechatronics, the synergistic blend of mechanics, electronics, and computer science, has evolved over the past twenty five years, leading to a novel stage of engineering design. By integrating the best design practices with the most advanced technologies, mechatronics aims at realizing high-quality products, guaranteeing at the same time a substantial reduction of time and costs of manufacturing. Mechatronic systems are manifold and range from machine components, motion generators, and power producing machines to more complex devices, such as robotic systems and transportation vehicles. With its twenty chapters, which collect contributions from many researchers worldwide, this book provides an excellent survey of recent work in the field of mechatronics with applications in various fields, like robotics, medical and assistive technology, human-machine interaction, unmanned vehicles, manufacturing, and education. We would like to thank all the authors who have invested a great deal of time to write such interesting chapters, which we are sure will be valuable to the readers. Chapters 1 to 6 deal with applications of mechatronics for the development of robotic systems. Medical and assistive technologies and human-machine interaction systems are the topic of chapters 7 to 13.Chapters 14 and 15 concern mechatronic systems for autonomous vehicles. Chapters 16-19 deal with mechatronics in manufacturing contexts. Chapter 20 concludes the book, describing a method for the installation of mechatronics education in schools

Lateral undulation of a snake-like robot

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-121).Snake robots have been studied by many researchers but historically more on a theoretical basis. Recently, more and more robotic snakes have been realized in hardware. This thesis presents a design process for the electrical, sensing, and mechanical systems needed to build a functional robotic snake capable of tactile and force sensing. Implementing a simple scheme which allows this capability permits the robot to laterally undulate without the use of wheels. The design methodology and implementation is detailed with schematics and a summary of results obtained from the hardware. Through manipulation of the body shape, the robot was able to move in the horizontal plane by pushing off of obstacles to create propulsive forces. It was found that lateral undulation is highly dependent on the actuator torque output and environmental friction.by Amit Gupta.S.M

Design, Analysis, and Fabrication of a Snake-Inspired Robot with a Rectilinear Gait

Snake-inspired robots display promise in areas such as search, rescue and reconnaissance due to their ability to locomote through tight spaces. However, several specific issues regarding the design and analysis must be addressed in order to better design them. This thesis develops kinematic and dynamic models for a class of snake-inspired gait known as a rectilinear gait, where mechanism topology changes over the course of the gait. A model using an Eulerian framework and Coulomb friction yields torque expressions for the joints of the robot. B-spline curves are then used to generate a parametric optimization formulation for joint trajectory generation. Exact gradient computation of the torque functions is presented. A parametric model is used to describe the performance effects of changing system parameters such as mass, length, and motor speed. Finally, a snake-inspired robot is designed and fabricated in order to demonstrate both the vertical rectilinear gait and a modular, molded design aimed at reducing the cost of fabrication

Design, Analysis, and Fabrication of a Snake-Inspired Robot with a Rectilinear Gait

Snake-inspired robots display promise in areas such as search, rescue and reconnaissance due to their ability to locomote through tight spaces. However, several specific issues regarding the design and analysis must be addressed in order to better design them. This thesis develops kinematic and dynamic models for a class of snake-inspired gait known as a rectilinear gait, where mechanism topology changes over the course of the gait. A model using an Eulerian framework and Coulomb friction yields torque expressions for the joints of the robot. B-spline curves are then used to generate a parametric optimization formulation for joint trajectory generation. Exact gradient computation of the torque functions is presented. A parametric model is used to describe the performance effects of changing system parameters such as mass, length, and motor speed. Finally, a snake-inspired robot is designed and fabricated in order to demonstrate both the vertical rectilinear gait and a modular, molded design aimed at reducing the cost of fabrication

Thermal and Thermomechanical Behavior of Multi-Material Molded Modules with Embedded Electronic Components for Biologically-Inspired and Multi-Functional Structures

Recently, there has been considerable interest in creating biologically-inspired structures, such as robots, and multi-functional structures, such as morphing aircraft fins, for use in environments that are considered hazardous for electronic systems. Cases in point are serpentine robots for use in search and rescue reconnaissance missions, and morphing chevrons for jet engines. These biologically-inspired and multi-functional structures require embedding sensitive electronic components in order to provide multi-functionality, such as actuation and sensing, while providing the thermal and mechanical protection these components need during operation in extreme environments. To this end, a multi-stage molding process has been implemented to affordably mass-produce multi-material modules with embedded electronic components for biologically-inspired and multi-functional structures. However, in designing and manufacturing modules using this process, it is necessary to consider two issues: (a) the heat generated during operation the electronic components can be appropriately managed to prevent thermal failure of the components, and (b) the thermomechanical response of the module to the multi-material molding process and the operation of the embedded electronic components will not lead to mechanical failure of the module. To gain insight into the thermal and thermomechanical behavior of these modules, experiments were designed and conducted to determine three critical design characteristics of the modules: (a) the steady-state thermal conductivity across the multi-material interface in a module, (b) the transient thermal response at the core of the multi-material module at elevated temperatures, and (c) the thermomechanical strains that develop around the embedded electronic components in the multi-material module during in-mold processing and operation of the components. Based on these experiments, analytical and numerical models are developed for predicting the thermal and thermomechanical behavior of multi-material modules with embedded components that provide a foundation for designing these modules for biologically-inspired and multi-functional structures. A prototype serpentine robot designed with multi-functional modular structures is presented, and complementary thermal and mechanical testing of a new prototype multi-material module with an embedded component for this biologically-inspired structure designed for thermal and impact resistance is also presented

Robotics 2010

Without a doubt, robotics has made an incredible progress over the last decades. The vision of developing, designing and creating technical systems that help humans to achieve hard and complex tasks, has intelligently led to an incredible variety of solutions. There are barely technical fields that could exhibit more interdisciplinary interconnections like robotics. This fact is generated by highly complex challenges imposed by robotic systems, especially the requirement on intelligent and autonomous operation. This book tries to give an insight into the evolutionary process that takes place in robotics. It provides articles covering a wide range of this exciting area. The progress of technical challenges and concepts may illuminate the relationship between developments that seem to be completely different at first sight. The robotics remains an exciting scientific and engineering field. The community looks optimistically ahead and also looks forward for the future challenges and new development