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

Modelado y regulación del flujo de datos sensoriales de robots teleoperados por Internet

Entre las contribuciones se encuentra el estudio de las distribuciones de probabilidad marginal que, bajo suposiciones moderadas, constituyen una buena aproximación de la distribución real de los retardos sin necesidad del conocimiento de la dinámica del sistema que produce tales retardos. Las distribuciones propuestas han demostrado ser eficientes en su cómputo y consiguen representar aceptablemente los retardos con tan solo modificaciones menores en el software del robot. Por otra parte, se han introducido varias técnicas de medición de ajustes de bondad y algoritmos de detección de no linealidades en secuencias de retardos. Finalmente se presentan varios tipos de regulación del flujo de datos sensoriales basados en lo anterior, que han sido utilizados tanto en entornos reales como simulados; se ha podido aplicar el trabajo realizado mediante el uso de una aplicación para el control remoto de robots móviles por web desarrollada por personal del grupo MAPIR (Machine Perception and Intelligent Robotics Group).Esta tesis se centra en la problemática de teleoperar robots móviles a través de Internet de la manera más óptima posible, realizando una regulación que adapte la cantidad de datos sensoriales transmitidos desde el robot móvil hacia el teleoperador de forma automática. Los robots teleoperados por Internet se controlan remotamente a través de redes y componentes de propósito general que son altamente heterogéneos y exhiben tiempos de respuesta aleatorios. A pesar de esto, su teleoperación correcta requiere de un flujo adecuado de información desde los sensores del robot hacia estaciones remotas. Para garantizar los requisitos de tiempo de tal flujo, se necesita: (i) una buena estimación probabilística on-line de los retardos en la transmisión sensorial, lo que para muchas aplicaciones modernas debe ser altamente eficiente desde un punto de vista computacional y por tanto basarse en modelos relativamente simples, como distribuciones de probabilidad marginales —por ejemplo cuando el sistema incluye una interfaz de cliente basada en web—; (ii) un detector on-line de no linealidades en las secuencias de retardos de transmisión, como cambios de regímenes, ráfagas o valores atípicos, necesario para satisfacer la hipótesis requerida de datos iid (independientes e idénticamente distribuidos) con el fin de aplicar esas distribuciones marginales; y (iii) regular la transmisión de los datos sensoriales para, por un lado, maximizar la cantidad de datos transmitidos, y, por otro, minimizar el retardo de esas transmisiones para la teleoperación activa. Esta tesis presenta varias contribuciones en cada uno de estos problemas con el fin de satisfacer los requisitos enumerados

The suitability of the dendritic cell algorithm for robotic security applications

The implementation and running of physical security systems is costly and potentially hazardous for those employed to patrol areas of interest. From a technial perspective, the physical security problem can be seen as minimising the probability that intruders and other anomalous events will occur unobserved. A robotic solution is proposed using an artificial immune system, traditionally applied to software security, to identify threats and hazards: the dendritic cell algorithm. It is demonstrated that the migration from the software world to the hardware world is achievable for this algorithm and key properties of the resulting system are explored empirically and theoretically. It is found that the algorithm has a hitherto unknown frequency-dependent component, making it ideal for filtering out sensor noise. Weaknesses of the algorithm are also discovered, by mathematically phrasing the signal processing phase as a collection of linear classifiers. It is concluded that traditional machine learning approaches are likely to outperform the implemented system in its current form. However, it is also observed that the algorithm’s inherent filtering characteristics make modification, rather than rejection, the most beneficial course of action. Hybridising the dendritic cell algorithm with more traditional machine learning techniques, through the introduction of a training phase and using a non-linear classification phase is suggested as a possible future direction

The suitability of the dendritic cell algorithm for robotic security applications

The implementation and running of physical security systems is costly and potentially hazardous for those employed to patrol areas of interest. From a technial perspective, the physical security problem can be seen as minimising the probability that intruders and other anomalous events will occur unobserved. A robotic solution is proposed using an artificial immune system, traditionally applied to software security, to identify threats and hazards: the dendritic cell algorithm. It is demonstrated that the migration from the software world to the hardware world is achievable for this algorithm and key properties of the resulting system are explored empirically and theoretically. It is found that the algorithm has a hitherto unknown frequency-dependent component, making it ideal for filtering out sensor noise. Weaknesses of the algorithm are also discovered, by mathematically phrasing the signal processing phase as a collection of linear classifiers. It is concluded that traditional machine learning approaches are likely to outperform the implemented system in its current form. However, it is also observed that the algorithm’s inherent filtering characteristics make modification, rather than rejection, the most beneficial course of action. Hybridising the dendritic cell algorithm with more traditional machine learning techniques, through the introduction of a training phase and using a non-linear classification phase is suggested as a possible future direction

An Advanced Telereflexive Tactical Response Robot

ROBART III is intended as an advanced demonstration platform for non-lethal tactical response, extending the concepts of reflexive teleoperation into the realm of coordinated weapons control (i.e., sensor-aided control of mobility, camera, and weapon functions) in law enforcement and urban warfare scenarios. A rich mix of ultrasonic and optical proximity and range sensors facilitates remote operation in unstructured and unexplored buildings with minimal operator oversight. Supervised autonomous navigation and mapping of interior spaces is significantly enhanced by an innovative algorithm which exploits the fact that the majority of man-made structures are characterized by (but not limited to) parallel and orthogonal walls. This paper presents a brief overview of the advanced telereflexive man-machine interface and its associated "humancentered mapping" strategy