VR-Based Robot Programming and Simulation System for an Industrial Robot

Traditional robot programming such as teach by lead etc have been used for many years. These methods are considered not efficient and outdated in the current industrial and market demands. In this paper, virtual reality (VR) technology is used to improve human-robot interface - no complicated command or programming knowledge is required. The system is divided into three major parts: task teaching by demonstration in a computer generated virtual environment, a graphical robot simulator with intelligent robot command generator and last but not least, real task execution. The user is requested to complete the desired task in a virtual teaching system by wearing a data glove attached with a sensor tracker. The process path will be simulated and analyzed to obtain the optimum trajectory. Robot motions can be checked through the simulation program and robot program can be generated for the real task execution

Windstorm Resilient Rural Housing: Lessons learned in Temerloh, Malaysia

In 2019 alone, Temerloh district located in central Peninsular Malaysia has been hit by unpredictable wind storms in localised areas which damaged more than 185 rural homes.  This research set out to assess the structural vulnerabilities of damaged rural houses to severe winds in Temerloh and lessons learned from windstorm damage through field surveys of damaged homes between March 2019-August 2019 and supplemented by district-level post-windstorm reconnaissance reports prepared by Malaysia Civil Defense Force (APM) and other information gathered from local government. Results indicate poor performance of structural and non-structural building components in resisting high wind loads due to inadequate design, under-strength of failed building materials and defective construction details. The results of this study could have important implications for government agencies, NGOs, builders, and engineers in assisting rural communities in reconstructing windproof resistant homes and planning for future windstorm risk management efforts specially catered to homeowners in Temerloh.Keywords: Rural housing; Windstorm; Resilience; Malaysia eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v4i12.181

Trajectory planning for smooth motion of a surgical robot

Surgical robotics offers a number of attractive features. It can be used to filter out surgeon’s hand tremor, enhance a surgeon’s motions and perform microscale movements that are otherwise impossible for a human to perform. Because the control workstation can be located away from the surgical theatre, it enables a surgeon to manipulate an instrument during radiation or chemical treatment, via a robot, distancing the surgeon from harmful effects. Computer aided surgical simulation via virtual reality improves the process of surgical training. New surgeons could ultimately be trained entirely by computer simulation. Furthermore, the virtual environments provide an environment where there is no risk to a patient

Pick-and-place Machine Design with Vision Module

Abstract: This paper presents the design and development of a pick-and-place machine for integrated circuit (IC) packages. This paper begins with the conceptual design and its design considerations. A stress simulation has been carried out on the pickup arm. In the hardware part, several components are carefully selected or custom designed, fabricated and assembled for the electronics system, pneumatic system and mechanical system. In the software part, a graphical user interface (GUI) has been developed using MFC in C++ programming language. The performance of the machine has been tested in terms of pick-and-place speed and placement repeatability. The outcome was a pick-and-place machine that is capable to achieve speeds of up to 1500UPH using a simple design and readily available industrial components