Nanorobots can be defined as intelligent systems with overall dimensions at or below the micrometer range that are made of assemblies of nanoscale components with individual dimensions ranging between 1 to 100 nm. These devices can now perform a wide variety of tasks at the nanoscale in a wide variety of fields including but not limited to fields such as manufacturing, medicine, supply chain, biology, and aerospace. Nanorobotics: Current Approaches and Techniques offers a comprehensive overview of this emerging interdisciplinary field with a wide ranging discussion that includes nano-manipulation and industrial nanorobotics, nanorobotic manipulation in biology and medicine, nanorobotic sensing, navigation and swarm behavior and CNT, and protein and DNA-based nanorobotics.

The idea that some day robots may have emotions has captured the imagination of many and has been dramatized by robots and androids in such famous movies as 2001: A Space Odyssey's HAL or Star Trek's Lt. Commander Data. By contrast, the editors of this book have assembled a panel of experts in neuroscience and artificial intelligence who have dared to tackle the issue of whether robots can have emotions from a purely scientific point of view. The study of the brain now usefully informs study of the social, communicative, adaptive, regulatory, and experiential aspects of emotion and offers support for the idea that we exploit our own psychological responses in order to feel others' emotions. The contributors show the many ways in which the brain can be analyzed to shed light on emotions. Fear, reward, and punishment provide structuring concepts for a number of investigations. Neurochemistry reveals the ways in which different "neuromodulators" such as serotonin, dopamine and opioids can affect the emotional balance of the brain. And studies of different regions such as the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex provide a view of the brain as a network of interacting subsystems. Related studies in artificial intelligence and robotics are discussed and new multi-level architectures are proposed that make it possible for emotions to be implanted. It is now an accepted task in robotics to build robots that perceived human expressions of emotion and can "express" simulated emotions to ease interactions with humans. Looking towards future innovations, some scientists posit roles for emotion as a powerful self-motivational tool as well as a way to work effectively in a group. But daunting questions remain as we ask what may be the nature of emotions in future generations of robots that share neither our biological heritage nor our need to share emotions with our fellow humans. All of these issues are covered in this timely and stimulating book which is written for researchers and graduate students in neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, robotics and artificial intelligence.

This book presents the most important findings from the 9th International Conference on Modelling, Identification and Control (ICMIC'17), held in Kunming, China on July 10-12, 2017. It covers most aspects of modelling, identification, instrumentation, signal processing and control, with a particular focus on the applications of research in multi-agent systems, robotic systems, autonomous systems, complex systems, and renewable energy systems. The book gathers thirty comprehensively reviewed and extended contributions, which help to promote evolutionary computation, artificial intelligence, computation intelligence and soft computing techniques to enhance the safety, flexibility and efficiency of engineering systems. Taken together, they offer an ideal reference guide for researchers and engineers in the fields of electrical/electronic engineering, mechanical engineering and communication engineering.

Air traffic controllers need advanced information and automated systems to provide a safe environment for everyone traveling by plane. One of the primary challenges in developing training for automated systems is to determine how much a trainee will need to know about the underlying technologies to use automation safely and efficiently. To ensure safety and success, task analysis techniques should be used as the basis of the design for training in automated systems in the aviation and aerospace industries. Automated Systems in the Aviation and Aerospace Industries is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the application of underlying technologies used to enforce automation safety and efficiency. While highlighting topics such as expert systems, text mining, and human-machine interface, this publication explores the concept of constructing navigation algorithms, based on the use of video information and the methods of the estimation of the availability and accuracy parameters of satellite navigation. This book is ideal for aviation professionals, researchers, and managers seeking current research on information technology used to reduce the risk involved in aviation.

One of the fundamental requirements for the success of a robot task is the capability to handle interaction between manipulator and environment. The quantity that describes the state of interaction more effectively is the contact force at the manipulator's end effector. High values of contact force are generally undesirable since they may stress both the manipulator and the manipulated object; hence the need to seek for effective force control strategies. The book provides a theoretical and experimental treatment of robot interaction control. In the framework of model-based operational space control, stiffness control and impedance control are presented as the basic strategies for indirect force control; a key feature is the coverage of six-degree-of-freedom interaction tasks and manipulator kinematic redundancy. Then, direct force control strategies are presented which are obtained from motion control schemes suitably modified by the closure of an outer force regulation feedback loop. Finally, advanced force and position control strategies are presented which include passivity-based, adaptive and output feedback control schemes. Remarkably, all control schemes are experimentally tested on a setup consisting of a seven-joint industrial robot with open control architecture and force/torque sensor. The topic of robot force control is not treated in depth in robotics textbooks, in spite of its crucial importance for practical manipulation tasks. In the few books addressing this topic, the material is often limited to single-degree-of-freedom tasks. On the other hand, several results are available in the robotics literature but no dedicated monograph exists. The book is thus aimed at filling this gap by providing a theoretical and experimental treatment of robot force control.

This book is of interest to researchers inquiring about modern topics and methods in the kinematics, control and design of robotic manipulators. It considers the full range of robotic systems, including serial, parallel and cable driven manipulators, both planar and spatial. The systems range from being less than fully mobile to kinematically redundant to overconstrained. In addition to recognized areas, this book also presents recent advances in emerging areas such as the design and control of humanoids and humanoid subsystems, and the analysis, modeling and simulation of human body motions, as well as the mobility analysis of protein molecules and the development of machines which incorporate man.

Nonlinear Control of Vehicles and Robots develops a unified approach to the dynamic modeling of robots in terrestrial, aerial and marine environments. The main classes of nonlinear systems and stability methods are summarized and basic nonlinear control methods, useful in manipulator and vehicle control, are presented. Formation control of ground robots and ships is discussed.

The book also deals with the modeling and control of robotic systems in the presence of non-smooth nonlinearities. Robust adaptive tracking control of robotic systems with unknown payload and friction in the presence of uncertainties is treated.

Theoretical and practical aspects of the control algorithms under discussion are detailed. Examples are included throughout the book allowing the reader to apply the control and modeling techniques in their own research and development work. Some of these examples demonstrate state estimation based on the use of advanced sensors as part of the control system.

Ontologically Controlled Autonomous Systems: Principles, Operations and Architecture presents the main principles, operations and architecture involved in the design of a novel type of supervisory controller called an ontological controller. An ontological controller can be used to supervise any type of controller; however its intended applications are industrial-strength complex autonomous control systems using advanced programmable controllers. An ontological controller supervises a programmable controller in order to: Detect dynamically when the programmable controller is in a problematic control situation due to a violation of ontological assumptions and thus unable to achieve a pre-specified control goal (i.e. the identification operation), and When possible, move the programmable controller into such a state from which it can regain its control and eventually achieve the pre-specified control goal in spite of the previous violation of ontological assumptions (i.e. the recovery operation). Ontologically Controlled Autonomous Systems: Principles, Operations and Architecture presents for the first time a complete formal framework and results for ontological control. All results presented in the book originate from the practical industrial experience of the author. The intended readers for Ontologically Controlled Autonomous Systems: Principles, Operations and Architecture are professionals and students working in industrial control, discrete control, discrete-event systems, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, programmable (logic) control design, robotics, real-time planning, safety-critical systems, Petri nets and PLC standards such as IEC1131.

This book presents technologies and solutions related to the test and launch control of rockets and other vehicles, and offers the first comprehensive and systematic introduction to the contributions of the Chinese Long March (Chang Zheng in Chinese, or abbreviated as CZ) rockets in this field. Moreover, it discusses the role of this technology in responsive, reliable, and economical access to space, which is essential for the competitiveness of rockets. The need for rapid development of the aerospace industry for both governmental and commercial projects is addressed. This book is a valuable reference resource for practitioners, and many examples and resources are included, not only from Chinese rockets but also from many other vehicles. It covers guidelines, technologies, and solutions on testing and launch control before rocket takeoff, covering equipment-level testing, system-level testing, simulation tests, etc.

This book presents recent research work on stochastic jump hybrid systems. Specifically, the considered stochastic jump hybrid systems include Markovian jump Ito stochastic systems, Markovian jump linear-parameter-varying (LPV) systems, Markovian jump singular systems, Markovian jump two-dimensional (2-D) systems, and Markovian jump repeated scalar nonlinear systems. Some sufficient conditions are first established respectively for the stability and performances of those kinds of stochastic jump hybrid systems in terms of solution of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Based on the derived analysis conditions, the filtering and control problems are addressed. The book presents up-to-date research developments and novel methodologies on stochastic jump hybrid systems. The contents can be divided into two parts: the first part is focused on robust filter design problem, while the second part is put the emphasis on robust control problem. These methodologies provide a framework for stability and performance analysis, robust controller design, and robust filter design for the considered systems. Solutions to the design problems are presented in terms of LMIs. The book is a timely reflection of the developing area of filtering and control theories for Markovian jump hybrid systems with various kinds of imperfect information. It is a collection of a series of latest research results and therefore serves as a useful textbook for senior and/or graduate students who are interested in knowing 1) the state-of-the-art of linear filtering and control areas, and 2) recent advances in stochastic jump hybrid systems. The readers will also benefit from some new concepts, new models and new methodologies with practical significance in control engineering and signal processing.

This volume contains the Proceedings of the First International Congress for the Advancement of Mechanism, Machine, Robotics and Mechatronics Sciences (ICAMMRMS-2017), held in Beirut, Lebanon, October 2017. The book consists of twenty papers in six different fields covering multiple angles of machine and robotics sciences: mechanical design, control, structural synthesis, vibration study, and manufacturing. This volume is of interest to mechanical as well as electrical engineers.

Consisting of 23 refereed contributions, this volume offers a broad and diverse view of current research in control and estimation of partial differential equations. Topics addressed include, but are not limited to - control and stability of hyperbolic systems related to elasticity, linear and nonlinear; - control and identification of nonlinear parabolic systems; - exact and approximate controllability, and observability; - Pontryagin's maximum principle and dynamic programming in PDE; and - numerics pertinent to optimal and suboptimal control problems. This volume is primarily geared toward control theorists seeking information on the latest developments in their area of expertise. It may also serve as a stimulating reader to any researcher who wants to gain an impression of activities at the forefront of a vigorously expanding area in applied mathematics.

Master the principles of structural dynamics with this comprehensive and self-contained textbook, with key theoretical concepts explained through real-world engineering applications. The theory of natural modes of vibration, the finite element method and the dynamic response of structures is balanced with practical applications to give students a thorough contextual understanding of the subject. Enhanced coverage of damping, rotating systems, and parametric excitation provides students with superior understanding of these essential topics. Examples and homework problems, closely linked to real-world applications, enrich and deepen student understanding. Curated mathematical appendices equip students with all the tools necessary to excel, without disrupting coverage of core topics. Containing all the material needed for a one- or two-semester course, and accompanied online by Matlab code, this authoritative textbook is the ideal introduction for graduate students in aerospace, mechanical and civil engineering.

This book proposes a complete pipeline for monocular (single camera) based 3D mapping of terrestrial and underwater environments. The aim is to provide a solution to large-scale scene modeling that is both accurate and efficient. To this end, we have developed a novel Structure from Motion algorithm that increases mapping accuracy by registering camera views directly with the maps. The camera registration uses a dual approach that adapts to the type of environment being mapped. In order to further increase the accuracy of the resulting maps, a new method is presented, allowing detection of images corresponding to the same scene region (crossovers). Crossovers then used in conjunction with global alignment methods in order to highly reduce estimation errors, especially when mapping large areas. Our method is based on Visual Bag of Words paradigm (BoW), offering a more efficient and simpler solution by eliminating the training stage, generally required by state of the art BoW algorithms. Also, towards developing methods for efficient mapping of large areas (especially with costs related to map storage, transmission and rendering in mind), an online 3D model simplification algorithm is proposed. This new algorithm presents the advantage of selecting only those vertices that are geometrically representative for the scene.

This book provides a detailed insight into Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technologies linked with AI that will help organizations implement Industry 4.0 procedures. RPA tools enhance their functionality by incorporating AI objectives, such as use of artificial neural network algorithms, text mining techniques, and natural language processing techniques for information extraction and the subsequent process of optimization and forecasting scenarios for the purpose of improving an organization's operational and business processes. The target readers of this book are researchers, professors, graduate students, scientists, policymakers, professionals, and developers working in the IT and ITeS sectors, i.e. people who are working on emerging technologies. This book also provides insights and decision support tools necessary for executives concerned with different industrial and organizational automation-centric jobs, knowledge dissemination, information, and policy development for automation in different educational, government, and non-government organizations. This book is of special interest to college and university educators who teach AI, machine learning, blockchain, business intelligence, cognitive intelligence, and brain intelligence courses in different capacities.

At the end of the nineteenth century Lyapunov and Poincare developed the so called qualitative theory of differential equations and introduced geometric- topological considerations which have led to the concept of dynamical systems. In its present abstract form this concept goes back to G.D. Birkhoff. This is also the starting point of Chapter 1 of this book in which uncontrolled and controlled time-continuous and time-discrete systems are investigated. Controlled dynamical systems could be considered as dynamical systems in the strong sense, if the controls were incorporated into the state space. We, however, adapt the conventional treatment of controlled systems as in control theory. We are mainly interested in the question of controllability of dynamical systems into equilibrium states. In the non-autonomous time-discrete case we also consider the problem of stabilization. We conclude with chaotic behavior of autonomous time discrete systems and actual real-world applications.

This self-contained monograph describes basic set-theoretic methods for control. It provides a discussion of their links to fundamental problems in Lyapunov stability analysis and stabilization, optimal control, control under constraints, persistent disturbance rejection, and uncertain systems analysis and synthesis. The work presents several established and potentially new applications, along with numerical examples and case studies. A key theme is the trade-off between exact (but computationally intensive) and approximate (but conservative) solutions to problems. Mathematical language is kept to the minimum necessary.

This practical, student-focused text shows how to focus all of an organization's resources on continuous and simultaneous improvement of quality and productivity - thereby continually improving both performance and competitiveness. QUALITY MANAGEMENT FOR ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE: INTRODUCTION TO TOTAL QUALITY, 7/e coherently addresses all elements of quality management, including Lean, Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma, and many topics that competitive books overlook (e.g., peak performance, partnering, manufacturing networks, culture, and crucial "people" aspects of quality). Direct and straightforward, it links "big picture" theories and principles to detailed real-world strategies and techniques. Throughout, critical thinking activities, discussion assignments, and research links promote deeper thinking and further exploration. This edition adds all-new cases, plus new information on topics ranging from supervision to certification, QFD and SPC to benchmarking and JIT.

This book presents a novel decision-making support system based on paraconsistent annotated evidential logic, which directly handles imprecise, incomplete and contradictory data. The authors offer insights into areas such as engineering and biomedicine, as well as related fields. Decision analysis is useful in making choices when the consequences of actions are uncertain, like in business administration, where it assists in making investment decisions, and in health care, Decision analysis is also valuable when the possible actions may lead to conflicting consequences. A fundamental tenet of decision analysis is that even though the available information is incomplete, a decision must be made. Thus, analyses often contain assumptions about or estimates of missing data. The contribution that this method can provide to professionals and companies has significant relevance in terms of the impact of information systems on productivity and quality of the companies; the lack of training companies for proper planning and management of information systems; and the need for interdisciplinary treatment of several sectors of almost all related scientific areas. This book is a valuable resource for professionals seeking a competitive edge in their performance.

"Repetitive Motion Planning and Control of Redundant Robot Manipulators" presents four typical motion planning schemes based on optimization techniques, including the fundamental RMP scheme and its extensions. These schemes are unified as quadratic programs (QPs), which are solved by neural networks or numerical algorithms. The RMP schemes are demonstrated effectively by the simulation results based on various robotic models; the experiments applying the fundamental RMP scheme to a physical robot manipulator are also presented. As the schemes and the corresponding solvers presented in the book have solved the non-repetitive motion problems existing in redundant robot manipulators, it is of particular use in applying theoretical research based on the quadratic program for redundant robot manipulators in industrial situations. This book will be a valuable reference work for engineers, researchers, advanced undergraduate and graduate students in robotics fields.

Yunong Zhang is a professor at The School of Information Science and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; Zhijun Zhang is a research fellow working at the same institute.

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Although the use of fuzzy control methods has grown nearly to the level of classical control, the true understanding of fuzzy control lags seriously behind. Moreover, most engineers are well versed in either traditional control or in fuzzy control-rarely both. Each has applications for which it is better suited, but without a good understanding of both, engineers cannot make a sound determination of which technique to use for a given situation.

A First Course in Fuzzy and Neural Control is designed to build the foundation needed to make those decisions. It begins with an introduction to standard control theory, then makes a smooth transition to complex problems that require innovative fuzzy, neural, and fuzzy-neural techniques. For each method, the authors clearly answer the questions: What is this new control method? Why is it needed? How is it implemented? Real-world examples, exercises, and ideas for student projects reinforce the concepts presented.

Developed from lecture notes for a highly successful course titled The Fundamentals of Soft Computing, the text is written in the same reader-friendly style as the authors' popular A First Course in Fuzzy Logic text. A First Course in Fuzzy and Neural Control requires only a basic background in mathematics and engineering and does not overwhelm students with unnecessary material but serves to motivate them toward more advanced studies.

"The Human Hand as an Inspiration for Robot Hand Development" presents an edited collection of authoritative contributions in the area of robot hands. The results described in the volume are expected to lead to more robust, dependable, and inexpensive distributed systems such as those endowed with complex and advanced sensing, actuation, computation, and communication capabilities. The twenty-four chapters discuss the field of robotic grasping and manipulation viewed in light of the human hand's capabilities and push the state-of-the-art in robot hand design and control. Topics discussed include human hand biomechanics, neural control, sensory feedback and perception, and robotic grasp and manipulation. This book will be useful for researchers from diverse areas such as robotics, biomechanics, neuroscience, and anthropologists.

SYROM conferences have been organized since 1973 by the Romanian branch of the International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanisms and Machine Science IFToMM, Year by year the event grew in quality. Now in its 10th edition, international visibility and recognition among the researchers active in the mechanisms science field has been achieved.

SYROM 2009 brought together researchers and academic staff from the field of mechanisms and machine science from all over the world and served as a forum for presenting the achievements and most recent results in research and education. Topics treated include conceptual design, kinematics and dynamics, modeling and simulation, synthesis and optimization, command and control, current trends in education in this field, applications in high-tech products.

The papers presented at this conference were subjected to a peer-review process to ensure the quality of the paper, the engineering significance, the soundness of results and the originality of the paper. The accepted papers fulfill these criteria and make the proceedings unique among the publications of this type.

This book provides a decentralized approach for the identification and control of robotics systems. It also presents recent research in decentralized neural control and includes applications to robotics. Decentralized control is free from difficulties due to complexity in design, debugging, data gathering and storage requirements, making it preferable for interconnected systems. Furthermore, as opposed to the centralized approach, it can be implemented with parallel processors. This approach deals with four decentralized control schemes, which are able to identify the robot dynamics. The training of each neural network is performed on-line using an extended Kalman filter (EKF). The first indirect decentralized control scheme applies the discrete-time block control approach, to formulate a nonlinear sliding manifold. The second direct decentralized neural control scheme is based on the backstepping technique, approximated by a high order neural network.The third control scheme applies a decentralized neural inverse optimal control for stabilization. The fourth decentralized neural inverse optimal control is designed for trajectory tracking. This comprehensive work on decentralized control of robot manipulators and mobile robots is intended for professors, students and professionals wanting to understand and apply advanced knowledge in their field of work.

Mechatronics is a synergic discipline integrating precise mechanics, electrotechnics, electronics and IT technologies. The main goal of mechatronical approach to design of complex products is to achieve new quality of their utility value at reasonable price. Successful accomplishment of this task would not be possible without application of advanced software and hardware tools for simulation of design, technologies and production control and also for simulation of behavior of these products in order to provide the highest possible level of spatial and functional integration of the final product.

This book brings a review of the current state of the art in mechatronics, as presented at the 8th International Conference Mechatronics 2009, organized by the Brno Technical University, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Republic. The specific topics of the conference are Modelling and Simulation, Metrology & Diagnostics, Sensorics & Photonics, Control & Robotics, MEMS Design & Mechatronic Products, Production Machines and Biomechanics. The selected contributions provide an insight into the current development of these scientific disciplines, present the new results of research and development and indicate the trends of development in the interdisciplinary field of mechatronic systems. Therefore, the book provides the latest and helpful information both for the R&D specialists and for the designers working in mechatronics and related fields.