coordinated selection and timing of multiple trajectories of discretely mobile robots

Abstract The paper addresses the multi-agent path planning (MPP) of mobile agents with multiple goals taking into consideration the kinematic constraints of each agent. The "Swing and Dock" (SaD) robotic system being discussed uses discrete locomotion, where agents swing around fixed pins and dock with their mounting legs to realize displacement from one point to another. The system was developed as a subsystem for mobile robotic fixture (SwarmItFix). Previous work dealt with MPP for SaD agents using the concept of extended temporal graph with Integer Linear Programming (ILP) based formulations. The approach discretized time into unit steps, whereas in reality, the agents are constrained by velocity limits. Hence, a real-time schedule is required to accurately plan the agent movement in a working scenario. We utilize the concept of simple temporal network and extend our ILP formulations to model the velocity kinematic constraints. The mathematical formulations are implemented and tested using a GUROBI solver. Computational results display the effectiveness of the approach

The SwarmItFix Pilot

Abstract The paper presents the integration and experiments with a pilot cell including a traditional machine tool and an innovative robot-swarm cooperative conformable support for aircraft body panels. The pilot was installed and tested in the premises of the aircraft manufacturer Piaggio Aerospace in Italy. An original approach to the support of the panels is realized: robots with soft heads operate from below the panel; they move upward the panel where manufacturing is performed, removing the sagging under gravity and returning it to its nominal geometry; the spindle of amilling machine performs the machining from above

towards intelligent autonomous sorting of unclassified nuclear wastes

Sorting of old and mixed nuclear waste is an essential process in nuclear decommissioning operations. The main bottleneck is manual picking and separation of the materials using remotely operated arms, which is slow and error prone especially with small items. Automation of the process is therefore desirable. In the framework of the newly funded European project ECHORD++, experiment RadioRoSo, a pilot robotic cell is being developed and validated against industrial requirements on a range of sorting tasks. Industrial robots, custom gripper, vision feedback and new manipulation skills will be developed. This paper presents application context, cell layout and sorting approach

Matteo Zoppi ArmillEye: Flexible Platform for Underwater Stereo Vision

The paper describes ArmillEye, a 3-degree of freedom (DOF

From Savonius to Bronzinus: A Comparison among Vertical Wind Turbines

AbstractIn this paper the authors propose a novel vertical wind turbine named Bronzinus and obtained by comparisons and optimisations of classical Savonius rotors. We redesigned some proposed Savonius turbines using CAD software and simulated the virtual behaviour of rotors using CFD software. A comparison among classical turbines and our Bronzinus underlines high Cp and Ct values of our proposed solution. This is a first step of a research oriented to design and develop new vertical wind turbines to solve energy problems in Lebanon. The research is proposed by an Italian company and an Italian University in collaboration with private Lebanese building Constructors

System identification modeling of rotors behaviour

The prediction of the rotor behavior in its turbo machine final housing is a crucial problem for turbo machinery manufacturers and very complex to solve using classical approaches. The authors, in other works, proposed an innovative method for the determination of a transfer function (MTF) between the rotor responses on a balancing machine (HSB) and on turbo machinery (SP). The proposed method uses a particular formula (MTF), calculated with a black/box approach and based on the application of the theory of System Identification. MTF was determined by a regression analysis of the responses in HSB and SP of 10 rotors; subsequently it was tested and validated on other 15 rotors. The results demonstrate that the proposed MTF simulates a rotor behavior in SP with a satisfactory overlapping of the measured output. In the last presented works, only some results were shown. In this paper all results on prediction and simulation of rotors behavior are presented. An analysis on all graphs allows underlining the repeatability of the proposed method