Reference adaptation for robots in physical interactions with unknown environments

In this paper, we propose a method of reference adaptation for robots in physical interactions with unknown environments. A cost function is constructed to describe the interaction performance, which combines trajectory tracking error and interaction force between the robot and the environment. It is minimized by the proposed reference adaptation based on trajectory parametrization and iterative learning. An adaptive impedance control is developed to make the robot be governed by the target impedance model. Simulation and experiment studies are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method

Development of a mixed reality application to perform feasibility studies on new robotic use cases

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão IndustrialManufacturing companies are trying to affirm their position in the market by introducing new concepts and processes to their production systems. For this purpose, new technologies must be employed to ensure better performance and quality of their processes. Robotics has evolved a lot in the past years, creating new hardware and software technologies to answer the increasing demands of the markets. Collaborative robots are seen as one of the emerging and most promising technologies to answer industry 4.0 necessities. However, the expertise needed to implement these robots is not often found in small and medium-sized enterprises that represent a large share of the existing manufacturing companies. At the same time, mixed reality represents a new and immersive way to test new processes without physically deploying them. To tackle this problem, a mixed reality application is developed from top to bottom, aiming to facilitate the research and feasibility studies of new robotic use cases in the pre-study implementation phase. This application serves as a proof-of-concept, and it is not developed for the end user. First, the application's requirements are set to answer the manufacturing companies’ needs, providing two testing robots, an intuitive robot placement method, a trajectory modeling and parameterization system, and a result framework. Then the development of the application’s functionalities is explained, answering the requirements previously established. A collision detection system was defined and developed to perceive self and environmental collisions. Furthermore, a novel process to configure the robot based on imitation learning was developed. In the end, a painting tool was integrated into the robot's 3D model and used for a use-case study of a painting task. Then, the results were registered, and the application was accessed according to the non-functional requirements. Finally, a qualitative analysis was made to evaluate the fields where this new concept can help manufacturing companies improve the implementation success of new robotic applications.As empresas de manufatura estão a tentar afirmar sua posição no mercado introduzindo novos conceitos e processos nos seus sistemas de produção. Para isso, novas tecnologias devem ser empregues para garantir um melhor desempenho e qualidade dos seus processos. O campo da robótica evoluiu bastante nos últimos anos, criando novas tecnologias de hardware e software para atender à crescente procura dos mercados. Neste sentido, os robots colaborativos surgem como uma das tecnologias mais promissoras para atender às necessidades da indústria 4.0. No entanto, o conhecimento necessário para implementar este tipo de robots não é frequentemente encontrado em pequenas e médias empresas que representam grande parte das empresas de manufatura existentes. Ao mesmo tempo, a realidade mista representa uma maneira nova e imersiva de testar novos processos sem implementá-los fisicamente. Para fazer face ao problema, uma aplicação de realidade mista é desenvolvida com o objetivo de facilitar a pesquisa e realização de estudos de viabilidade de novos casos de uso de robótica na fase de pré-estudo da sua implementação. A aplicação serve como prova de conceito e não é desenvolvida para o utilizador final. Primeiramente, os requisitos da aplicação são definidos de acordo com as necessidades das empresas de manufatura, sendo fornecidos dois robots de teste, um método intuitivo de posicionamento, um sistema de modelagem e parametrização de trajetórias e uma estrutura de resultados. Em seguida é apresentado o processo de desenvolvimento das funcionalidades da aplicação, tendo em conta os requisitos previamente estabelecidos. Um sistema de deteção de colisões foi pensado e desenvolvido para localizar e representar colisões do robot com a sua própria estrutura física e com o ambiente real. Além disso, foi desenvolvido um novo processo para definir a pose inicial do robot baseado na aprendizagem por imitação. No final, uma ferramenta de pintura foi desenvolvida e integrada no modelo 3D do robot com o objetivo de estudar o desempenho da aplicação numa tarefa de pintura. Em seguida, os resultados foram registados e a aplicação avaliada de acordo com os requisitos não funcionais. Por fim, foi realizada uma análise qualitativa para avaliar os campos em que este novo conceito pode ajudar as empresas de manufatura a melhorar o sucesso da implementação de novas aplicações robóticas

INTELLIGENT CONTROL AND LEARNING OF ROBOTS INTERACTING WITH ENVIRONMENTS

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Computer-Aided Geometry Modeling

Techniques in computer-aided geometry modeling and their application are addressed. Mathematical modeling, solid geometry models, management of geometric data, development of geometry standards, and interactive and graphic procedures are discussed. The applications include aeronautical and aerospace structures design, fluid flow modeling, and gas turbine design

Interpreting parametric-biomimicry design from cad тo bim software: digital modelling based on a sketch of nandi flame

This research represents an application of two digital modelling softwares, first digital modelling software, chosen as representative of Computer-Aided Design – CAD modelling tool was Fusion 360. The representative of Building Information Modelling (BIM) as second digital modelling software was ArchiCAD. The aim of the research was to translate the same parametric-biomimicry design methodology used in CAD process modelling into BIM environment. African species Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv, whose common name in Kenya is Nandi flame, has been selected for the purpose of this digital modelling processes. As one of the most spectacular flowering plants, Nandi flame is indigenous to the tropical dry forests in Kenya. The decorative flower of this species was the basic model, more precisely the botanical sketches of the flower. This sketches were implemented into digital modelling softwares and used for parametric modelling. The results of this processes were represented as urban models or installations (landscape-architectural elements) in open space. This approach of digitally generating conceptual solutions from nature elements has capability to boost the formulation of new creative inventions in the different fields. The unique geometric patterns found in the flower of Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv served as a good example of how we may transform these ideas into actual design installations– using CAD or BIM software tools. This research has been carried out with the aim to find the position of BIM tools in parametric biomimicry design

BIM mediated mass customization applied to engineered-to-order of building component : custom kitchens and cabinetry solutions

Orientador: Regina Coeli RuschelTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e UrbanismoResumo: Um número crescente de fabricantes tem buscado a Customização em Massa (CM). CM é uma estratégia de produção que utiliza de Tecnologia da Informação, processos flexíveis e estruturas organizacionais adequadas para fornecer produtos projetos específicamente para um cliente a um custo próximo ao da produção em massa. Quanto maior for o nível de customização, maiores serão os benefícios, mas também os custos operacionais. Portanto, o objetivo desta pesquisa é avaliar os benefícios da Modelagem da Informação da Construção (BIM) para se obter um elevado nível de CM. O foco da pesquisa está na formulação de uma solução que permita a reconfiguração das estruturas e processos de sistemas de fabricação de componentes de construção, em sistemas de produção em CM mediados por BIM. Esta solução fornecerá conhecimento sobre como determinar o nível apropriado de personalização para um determinado produto abordando os seguintes problemas: (a) O valor de um determinado nível de customização, de acordo com as especificações dos clientes; (b) a capacidade do sistema oferecer este nível de customização; e, (c) a combinação desses problemas aparentemente antagônicos. O desenvolvimento da solução proposta, está sendo realizado através de uma Design Science Research, um método de pesquisa que é um processo rigoroso de projetos de artefatos (constructos, modelos, métodos, instanciações e Design propositions) com relevância prática e contribuição teórica. Esta investigação cria artefatos que são validados por uma instanciação através de uma pesquisa-ação em um fabricante de cozinhas e móveis modulados fabricados sob encomendaAbstract: An increasing number of fabricators has pursued Mass Customization (MC). MC is a system that uses information technology, flexible processes and organizational structures suitable to provide individually designed products at a cost near that of Mass Production. The higher the customization level the more significant the benefits, but also the operational costs. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the benefits of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for achieving a higher level of MC. The research focused on the formulation of a solution that enables reconfiguration of fabricators structures and processes into BIM mediated mass-customized production system. Such solution provided knowledge on how to determine the appropriate level of customization for a specific product addressing the following issues: (a) the value placed on a level of customization by the customer's requirements, (b) the system's ability to deliver that level of customization, and (c) the combination of these apparently conflicting issues. The development of such a solution was carried out through a Design Science Research, a method that is a scientific process of designing artifacts (constructs, models, methods, instantiations, and design propositions) with practical relevance and theoretical contribution. This investigation created artifacts that were validated by an instantiation through action research at a kitchen and furniture custom cabinetry fabricatorDoutoradoArquitetura, Tecnologia e CidadeDoutor em Arquitetura, Tecnologia e Cidad

Material agency and performative dynamics in the practices of media art

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel UniversityThis dissertation identifies a strategy of artistic inquiry within contemporary media art practice. It applies the concept of material that acts in an agential capacity, generating performative acts. It argues that the emergent potentials of materials and their interconnectedness with the compositional layers of a work can facilitate modes of effecting change in the artistic system. Through the theoretical investigation of the production processes of physical structures and environments, the thesis focuses on the compositional dynamics within which materials actively perform. It examines how Lars Spuybroek’s architectural design method of Material Machines (2004), and both the tactile potential as well as tactical uses of materials as generators to the formtaking process, might describe an open and active artistic strategy for employing the experimental capacities of such materialization processes. Building on philosophical and conceptual arguments that trace concepts of agency (Bruno Latour’s Actant-Network theory) and enactment (Karen Barad’s concept of intra-acting), the thesis introduces the two installation works ANI_MATE (described as a performative pneumatic stage machine) and ON TRACK (described as a mechanic-robotic installation). These apply the introduced artistic strategies. The analyses of these two artworks traces the particular capacities of the materials involved (respectively, their elasticity or viscosity) to negotiate forces of physical movement, which effect the system to transiently or irreversibly transform. ANI_MATE is a machine that is artist-operated and that explores the relationship between liveanimation procedures and the transformability and flexibility of its material environment. In contrast, ON TRACK’s performative machine ecology removes human agency. The machines act autonomously, giving rise to chance in the artistic system and allowing agency to emerge from the dynamic interconnectivity between materials, parts, and processes, eventually producing an entropic scenario of spilling resources. The thesis concludes that, in the context of a post digital paradigm in-development, such artistic practice offers a new strategy for an emergent aesthetics within contemporary physical-digital performance