Contemporary Robotics

This book book is a collection of 18 chapters written by internationally recognized experts and well-known professionals of the field. Chapters contribute to diverse facets of contemporary robotics and autonomous systems. The volume is organized in four thematic parts according to the main subjects, regarding the recent advances in the contemporary robotics. The first thematic topics of the book are devoted to the theoretical issues. This includes development of algorithms for automatic trajectory generation using redudancy resolution scheme, intelligent algorithms for robotic grasping, modelling approach for reactive mode handling of flexible manufacturing and design of an advanced controller for robot manipulators. The second part of the book deals with different aspects of robot calibration and sensing. This includes a geometric and treshold calibration of a multiple robotic line-vision system, robot-based inline 2D/3D quality monitoring using picture-giving and laser triangulation, and a study on prospective polymer composite materials for flexible tactile sensors. The third part addresses issues of mobile robots and multi-agent systems, including SLAM of mobile robots based on fusion of odometry and visual data, configuration of a localization system by a team of mobile robots, development of generic real-time motion controller for differential mobile robots, control of fuel cells of mobile robots, modelling of omni-directional wheeled-based robots, building of hunter- hybrid tracking environment, as well as design of a cooperative control in distributed population-based multi-agent approach. The fourth part presents recent approaches and results in humanoid and bioinspirative robotics. It deals with design of adaptive control of anthropomorphic biped gait, building of dynamic-based simulation for humanoid robot walking, building controller for perceptual motor control dynamics of humans and biomimetic approach to control mechatronic structure using smart materials

Stability Control of Triple Trailer Vehicles

While vehicle stability control is a well-established technology in the passenger car realm, it is still an area of active research for commercial vehicles as indicated by the recent notice of proposed rulemaking on commercial vehicle stability by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, 2012). The reasons that commercial vehicle electronic stability control (ESC) development has lagged passenger vehicle ESC include the fact that the industry is generally slow to adopt new technologies and that commercial vehicles are far more complex requiring adaptation of existing technology. From the controller theory perspective, current commercial vehicle stability systems are generally passenger car based ESC systems that have been modified to manage additional brakes (axles). They do not monitor the entire vehicle nor do they manage the entire vehicle as a system

Great Northern Newsletter for Management Employees, 1965

A monthly newsletter for management employees of Great Northern Paper Company. This file includes all issues for the calendar year 1965 (Volume 3, No. 9 through Volume 4, No. 8.

Safety and Reliability - Safe Societies in a Changing World

The contributions cover a wide range of methodologies and application areas for safety and reliability that contribute to safe societies in a changing world. These methodologies and applications include: - foundations of risk and reliability assessment and management - mathematical methods in reliability and safety - risk assessment - risk management - system reliability - uncertainty analysis - digitalization and big data - prognostics and system health management - occupational safety - accident and incident modeling - maintenance modeling and applications - simulation for safety and reliability analysis - dynamic risk and barrier management - organizational factors and safety culture - human factors and human reliability - resilience engineering - structural reliability - natural hazards - security - economic analysis in risk managemen

Apocalypse now now

Baxter Zevcenko is your average 16-year-old-boy. If by average you mean a possible serial killer, the kingpin of a porn-peddling schoolyard syndicate and the only thing standing in the way of full-scale gang warfare between the two powerful gangs which control Westridge High School. Which may well be what counts for average these days