The book presents research from Rob|Arch 2018, the fourth international conference on robotic fabrication in architecture, art, and design. In capturing the myriad of scientific advances in robotics fabrication that are currently underway - such as collaborative design tools, computerised materials, adaptive sensing and actuation, advanced construction, on-site and cooperative robotics, machine-learning, human-machine interaction, large-scale fabrication and networked workflows, to name but a few - this compendium reveals how robotic fabrication is becoming a driver of scientific innovation, cross-disciplinary fertilization and creative capacity of an unprecedented kind.

These proceedings present selected research papers from CISC'18, held in Wenzhou, China. The topics include Multi-Agent Systems, Networked Control Systems, Intelligent Robots, Complex System Theory and Swarm Behavior, Event-Triggered Control and Data-Driven Control, Robust and Adaptive Control, Big Data and Brain Science, Process Control, Nonlinear and Variable Structure Control, Intelligent Sensor and Detection Technology, Deep learning and Learning Control Guidance, Navigation and Control of Flight Vehicles, and so on. Engineers and researchers from academia, industry, and government can get an insight view of the solutions combining ideas from multiple disciplines in the field of intelligent systems.

This book presents various techniques to carry out the gait modeling, the gait patterns synthesis, and the control of biped robots. Some general information on the human walking, a presentation of the current experimental biped robots, and the application of walking bipeds are given. The modeling is based on the decomposition on a walking step into different sub-phases depending on the way each foot stands into contact on the ground. The robot design is dealt with according to the mass repartition and the choice of the actuators. Different ways to generate walking patterns are considered, such as?passive walking and gait synthesis performed using optimization technique. Control based on the robot modeling, neural network methods, or intuitive approaches are presented. The unilaterality of contact is dealt with using on-line adaptation of the desired motion.

This book focuses on the design, implementation and applications of embedded systems and advanced industrial controls with microcontrollers. It combines classical and modern control theories as well as practical control programming codes to help readers learn control techniques easily and effectively. The book covers both linear and nonlinear control techniques to help readers understand modern control strategies. The author provides a detailed description of the practical considerations and applications in linear and nonlinear control systems. They concentrate on the ARM (R) Cortex (R)-M4 MCU system built by Texas Instruments (TM) called TM4C123GXL, in which two ARM (R) Cortex (R)-M4 MCUs, TM4C123GH6PM, are utilized. In order to help the reader develop and build application control software for a specified microcontroller unit. Readers can quickly develop and build their applications by using sample project codes provided in the book to access specified peripherals. The book enables readers to transfer from one interfacing protocol to another, even if they only have basic and fundamental understanding and basic knowledge of one interfacing function. Classical and Modern Controls with Microcontrollers is a powerful source of information for control and systems engineers looking to expand their programming knowledge of C, and of applications of embedded systems with microcontrollers. The book is a textbook for college students majored in CE, EE and ISE to learn and study classical and modern control technologies. The book can also be adopted as a reference book for professional programmers working in modern control fields or related to intelligent controls and embedded computing and applications. Advances in Industrial Control reports and encourages the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.

This book presents the most important tools, techniques, strategy and diagnostic methods used in industrial engineering. The current widely accepted methods of diagnosis and their properties are discussed. Also, the possible fruitful areas for further research in the field are identified.

Spacecraft Dynamics and Control: The Embedded Model Control Approach provides a uniform and systematic way of approaching space engineering control problems from the standpoint of model-based control, using state-space equations as the key paradigm for simulation, design and implementation. The book introduces the Embedded Model Control methodology for the design and implementation of attitude and orbit control systems. The logic architecture is organized around the embedded model of the spacecraft and its surrounding environment. The model is compelled to include disturbance dynamics as a repository of the uncertainty that the control law must reject to meet attitude and orbit requirements within the uncertainty class. The source of the real-time uncertainty estimation/prediction is the model error signal, as it encodes the residual discrepancies between spacecraft measurements and model output. The embedded model and the uncertainty estimation feedback (noise estimator in the book) constitute the state predictor feeding the control law. Asymptotic pole placement (exploiting the asymptotes of closed-loop transfer functions) is the way to design and tune feedback loops around the embedded model (state predictor, control law, reference generator). The design versus the uncertainty class is driven by analytic stability and performance inequalities. The method is applied to several attitude and orbit control problems.

Robotic and mechatronic systems, autonomous vehicles, electric power systems and smart grids, as well as manufacturing and industrial production systems can exhibit complex nonlinear dynamics or spatio-temporal dynamics which need to be controlled to ensure good functioning and performance. In this comprehensive reference, the authors present new and innovative control and estimation methods and techniques based on dynamical nonlinear and partial differential equation systems. Such results can be classified in five main domains for the control of complex nonlinear dynamical systems using respectively methods of approximate (local) linearization, methods of exact (global) linearization, Lyapunov stability approaches, control and estimation of distributed parameter systems and stochastic estimation and fault diagnosis methods. Control and Estimation of Dynamical Nonlinear and Partial Differential Equation Systems: Theory and applications will be of interest to electrical engineering, physics, computer science, robotics and mechatronics researchers and professionals working on control problems, condition monitoring, estimation and fault diagnosis and isolation problems. It will also be useful to skilled technical personnel working on applications in robotics, energy conversion, transportation and manufacturing.

The book describes an approach to the multi-agent systems (MAS) design for applications of robotic soccer in the MiroSot category. The described MAS is designed for dynamic, quickly changing environments, in which not only the actions of our MAS are observed, but also those of the opposing MAS. It actively tries to affect the environment to score goals faster than the opposing MAS. Multi-agent systems (MAS) are mostly applied in the environments in which they exist and act without an opposing system. The book also describes strategies based on a supervisor that makes decisions depending on behavior prediction of the opposing MAS and the ball movement in the working place. A sophisticated distribution of tasks was designed for each agent to cooperate in order score goals as fast as possible. Simultaneously, these agents try, by permitted means, to prevent the enemy agents from scoring goals. The approach described is an excellent guide to the constantly evolving abilities of mobile robotics, both for real-world applications, such as cooperation of multiple robots in life-saving activities, and for the steadily developing applications of mobile robots in various robotic competitions (e.g. Robocup, etc.). The book provides readers with high-level knowledge on how to design strategies and how to implement such systems, and the ideas presented enable them to further refine the approach utilizing the latest hardware and use it in new systems implementations of sophisticated intelligent engineering.

PID Control with Intelligent Compensation for Exoskeleton Robots explains how to use neural PD and PID controls to reduce integration gain, and provides explicit conditions on how to select linear PID gains using proof of semi-global asymptotic stability and local asymptotic stability with a velocity observer. These conditions are applied in both task and joint spaces, with PID controllers compensated by neural networks. This is a great resource on how to combine traditional PD/PID control techniques with intelligent control. Dr. Wen Yu presents several leading-edge methods for designing neural and fuzzy compensators with high-gain velocity observers for PD control using Lyapunov stability. Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control is widely used in biomedical and industrial robot manipulators. An integrator in a PID controller reduces the bandwidth of the closed-loop system, leads to less-effective transient performance and may even destroy stability. Many robotic manipulators use proportional-derivative (PD) control with gravity and friction compensations, but improved gravity and friction models are needed. The introduction of intelligent control in these systems has dramatically changed the face of biomedical and industrial control engineering.

Robots challenge humans' beliefs and expectations. Hence, regardless of whether they are the audience of a conference, the visitors of a lab, the citizens in general, some journalists, or the European Parliament, the first step in order to gain a better understanding of the field of robotics is obviously to consult the experts. Roboticists seem indeed to be in the best position to guide society in this matter, whether it is in the everyday life or within an official institution. Today however, there is a gap between the robots, as they are actually thought and built, and the intelligent and autonomous machines, as they are perceived by the society. How can we explain it? Do the words borrowed from the living organisms and used to describe robots play a role in the confusion about the status of the discipline of robotics? The texts gathered within this book focus on the problematic of wording robotics from various perspectives. They are the results of a unique interdisciplinary meeting gathering roboticists, linguists, philosophers and neuroscientists, the 4th Workshop of Anthropomorphic Motion Factory held at LAAS-CNRS in Toulouse on Nov 31st - Dec 1st 2017.

Recent developments in model-predictive control promise remarkable opportunities for designing multi-input, multi-output control systems and improving the control of single-input, single-output systems. This volume provides a definitive survey of the latest model-predictive control methods available to engineers and scientists today. The initial set of chapters present various methods for managing uncertainty in systems, including stochastic model-predictive control. With the advent of affordable and fast computation, control engineers now need to think about using "computationally intensive controls," so the second part of this book addresses the solution of optimization problems in "real" time for model-predictive control. The theory and applications of control theory often influence each other, so the last section of Handbook of Model Predictive Control rounds out the book with representative applications to automobiles, healthcare, robotics, and finance. The chapters in this volume will be useful to working engineers, scientists, and mathematicians, as well as students and faculty interested in the progression of control theory. Future developments in MPC will no doubt build from concepts demonstrated in this book and anyone with an interest in MPC will find fruitful information and suggestions for additional reading.

Rehabilitation Robotics gives an introduction and overview of all areas of rehabilitation robotics, perfect for anyone new to the field. It also summarizes available robot technologies and their application to different pathologies for skilled researchers and clinicians. The editors have been involved in the development and application of robotic devices for neurorehabilitation for more than 15 years. This experience using several commercial devices for robotic rehabilitation has enabled them to develop the know-how and expertise necessary to guide those seeking comprehensive understanding of this topic. Each chapter is written by an expert in the respective field, pulling in perspectives from both engineers and clinicians to present a multi-disciplinary view. The book targets the implementation of efficient robot strategies to facilitate the re-acquisition of motor skills. This technology incorporates the outcomes of behavioral studies on motor learning and its neural correlates into the design, implementation and validation of robot agents that behave as 'optimal' trainers, efficiently exploiting the structure and plasticity of the human sensorimotor systems. In this context, human-robot interaction plays a paramount role, at both the physical and cognitive level, toward achieving a symbiotic interaction where the human body and the robot can benefit from each other's dynamics.

Advanced research in the field of mechatronics and robotics represents a unifying interdisciplinary and intelligent engineering science paradigm. It is a holistic, concurrent, and interdisciplinary engineering science that identifies novel possibilities of synergizing and fusing different disciplines. The Handbook of Research on Advanced Mechatronic Systems and Intelligent Robotics is a collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of knowledge in both theoretical and practical skills of intelligent robotics and mechatronics. While highlighting topics including green technology, machine learning, and virtual manufacturing, this book is ideally designed for researchers, students, engineers, and computer practitioners seeking current research on developing innovative ideas for intelligent robotics and autonomous and smart interdisciplinary mechatronic products.

Mapping and localization are two essential tasks in autonomous mobile robotics. Due to the unavoidable noise that sensors present, mapping algorithms usually rely on loop closure detection techniques, which entail the correct identification of previously seen places to reduce the uncertainty of the resulting maps. This book deals with the problem of generating topological maps of the environment using efficient appearance-based loop closure detection techniques. Since the quality of a visual loop closure detection algorithm is related to the image description method and its ability to index previously seen images, several methods for loop closure detection adopting different approaches are developed and assessed. Then, these methods are used in three novel topological mapping algorithms. The results obtained indicate that the solutions proposed attain a better performance than several state-of-the-art approaches. To conclude, given that loop closure detection is also a key component in other research areas, a multi-threaded image mosaicing algorithm is proposed. This approach makes use of one of the loop closure detection techniques previously introduced in order to find overlapping pairs between images and finally obtain seamless mosaics of different environments in a reasonable amount of time.

Flexible Multibody Dynamics comprehensively describes the numerical modelling of flexible multibody dynamics systems in space and aircraft structures, vehicles, and mechanical systems. A rigorous approach is followed to handle finite rotations in 3D, with a thorough discussion of the different alternatives for parametrization. Modelling of flexible bodies is treated following the Finite Element technique, a novel aspect in multibody systems simulation.

Moreover, this book provides extensive coverage of the formulation of a general purpose software for flexible multibody dynamics analysis, based on an exhaustive treatment of large rotations and finite element modelling, and incorporating useful reference material.

Features include different solution techniques such as:

• time integration of differential-algebraic equations

• non-linear substructuring

• continuation methods

• nonlinear bifurcation analysis.

These proceedings present selected research papers from CISC'18, held in Wenzhou, China. The topics include Multi-Agent Systems, Networked Control Systems, Intelligent Robots, Complex System Theory and Swarm Behavior, Event-Triggered Control and Data-Driven Control, Robust and Adaptive Control, Big Data and Brain Science, Process Control, Nonlinear and Variable Structure Control, Intelligent Sensor and Detection Technology, Deep learning and Learning Control Guidance, Navigation and Control of Flight Vehicles, and so on. Engineers and researchers from academia, industry, and government can get an insight view of the solutions combining ideas from multiple disciplines in the field of intelligent systems.

This book reflects the latest developments in variable structure systems (VSS) and sliding mode control (SMC), highlighting advances in various branches of the VSS/SMC field, e.g., from conventional SMC to high-order SMC, from the continuous-time domain to the discrete-time domain, from theories to applications, etc. The book consists of three parts and 16 chapters: in the first part, new VSS/SMC algorithms are proposed and their properties are analyzed, while the second focuses on the use of VSS/SMC techniques to solve a variety of control problems; the third part examines the applications of VSS/SMC to real-time systems. The book introduces postgraduates and researchers to the state-of-the-art in VSS/SMC field, including the theory, methodology, and applications. Relative academic disciplines include Automation, Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Instrument Science and Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, Transportation Engineering, Energy and Power Engineering, etc.

Most physical systems lose or gain stability through bifurcation behavior. This book explains a series of experimentally found bifurcation phenomena by means of the methods of static bifurcation theory.

This is the proceedings of ARK 2018, the 16th International Symposium on Advances in Robot Kinematics, that was organized by the Group of Robotics, Automation and Biomechanics (GRAB) from the University of Bologna, Italy. ARK are international symposia of the highest level organized every two years since 1988. ARK provides a forum for researchers working in robot kinematics and stimulates new directions of research by forging links between robot kinematics and other areas.The main topics of the symposium of 2018 were: kinematic analysis of robots, robot modeling and simulation, kinematic design of robots, kinematics in robot control, theories and methods in kinematics, singularity analysis, kinematic problems in parallel robots, redundant robots, cable robots, over-constrained linkages, kinematics in biological systems, humanoid robots and humanoid subsystems.

The emergence of wireless robotic systems has provided new perspectives on technology. With the combination of several disciplines such as robotic systems, ad hoc networking, telecommunications and more, mobile ad hoc robots have been essential towards the future possibilities of technology. Mobile Ad Hoc Robots and Wireless Robotic Systems: Design and Implementation aims to introduce robotic theories, wireless technologies, and routing applications involved in the development of mobile ad hoc robots. This reference source brings together topics on the communication and control of network ad hoc robots, and how they working together to carry out coordinated functions.

The research book is a continuation of the authors' previous works, which are focused on recent advances in computer vision methodologies and technical solutions using conventional and intelligent paradigms. The book gathers selected contributions addressing a number of real-life applications including the identification of handwritten texts, watermarking techniques, simultaneous localization and mapping for mobile robots, motion control systems for mobile robots, analysis of indoor human activity, facial image quality assessment, android device controlling, processing medical images, clinical decision-making and foot progression angle detection. Given the tremendous interest among researchers in the development and applications of computer vision paradigms in the field of business, engineering, medicine, security and aviation, the book offers a timely guide for all PhD students, professors, researchers and software developers working in the areas of digital video processing and computer vision technologies.

This monograph presents new theories and methods for fixed-time cooperative control of multi-agent systems. Fundamental concepts of fixed-time stability and stabilization are introduced with insightful understanding. This book presents solutions for several problems of fixed-time cooperative control using systematic design methods. The book compares fixed-time cooperative control with asymptotic cooperative control, demonstrating how the former can achieve better closed-loop performance and disturbance rejection properties. It also discusses the differences from finite-time control, and shows how fixed-time cooperative control can produce the faster rate of convergence and provide an explicit estimate of the settling time independent of initial conditions. This monograph presents multiple applications of fixed-time control schemes, including to distributed optimization of multi-agent systems, making it useful to students, researchers and engineers alike.

This book reports on the latest advances in the study of motion control in biomimetic swimming robots with high speed and high manoeuvrability. It presents state-of-the-art studies on various swimming robots including robotic fish, dolphins and jellyfish in a unified framework, and discusses the potential benefits of applying biomimetic underwater propulsion to autonomous underwater vehicle design, such as: speed, energy economy, enhanced manoeuvrability, and reduced detectability. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to researchers, engineers and graduate students in robotics and ocean engineering who wish to learn about the core principles, methods, algorithms, and applications of biomimetic underwater robots.