The volume contains 19 contributions by international experts in the field of multibody system dynamics, robotics and control. The book aims to bridge the gap between the modeling of mechanical systems by means of multibody dynamics formulations and robotics. In the classical approach, a multibody dynamics model contains a very high level of detail, however, the application of such models to robotics or control is usually limited. The papers aim to connect the different scientific communities in multibody dynamics, robotics and control. Main topics are flexible multibody systems, humanoid robots, elastic robots, nonlinear control, optimal path planning, and identification.

This book addresses recent technological progress that has led to an increased complexity in many natural and artificial systems. The resulting complexity research due to the emergence of new properties and spatio-temporal interactions among a large number of system elements - and between the system and its environment - is the primary focus of this text. This volume is divided into three parts: Part one focuses on societal and ecological systems, Part two deals with approaches for understanding, modeling, predicting and mastering socio-technical systems, and Part three includes real-life examples. Each chapter has its own special features; it is a self-contained contribution of distinguished experts working on different fields of science and technology relevant to the study of complex systems. Advances in Complex Systems of Contemporary Reality: Societal, Environmental and Engineered Systems will provide postgraduate students, researchers and managers with qualitative and quantitative methods for handling the many features of complex contemporary reality.

This volume introduces new approaches in intelligent control area from both the viewpoints of theory and application. It consists of eleven contributions by prominent authors from all over the world and an introductory chapter. This volume is strongly connected to another volume entitled "New Approaches in Intelligent Image Analysis" (Eds. Roumen Kountchev and Kazumi Nakamatsu). The chapters of this volume are self-contained and include summary, conclusion and future works. Some of the chapters introduce specific case studies of various intelligent control systems and others focus on intelligent theory based control techniques with applications. A remarkable specificity of this volume is that three chapters are dealing with intelligent control based on paraconsistent logics.

There isn't a facet of human life that has not been touched and influenced by robots and automation. What makes robots and machines versatile is their computational intelligence. While modern intelligent sensors and powerful hardware capabilities have given a huge fillip to the growth of intelligent machines, the progress in the development of algorithms for smart interaction, collaboration and pro-activeness will result in the next quantum jump.

This book deals with the recent advancements in design methodologies, algorithms and implementation techniques to incorporate intelligence in "robots and automation systems." Several articles deal with navigation, localization and mapping of mobile robots, a problem that engineers and researchers are grappling with all the time. Fuzzy logic, neural networks and neuro-fuzzy based techniques for real world applications have been detailed in a few articles.

This edited volume is targeted to present the latest state-of-the-art computational intelligence techniques in Robotics and Automation. It is a compilation of the extended versions of the very best papers selected from the many that were presented at the 5th International Conference on Automation, Robotics and Applications (ICARA 2011) which was held in Wellington, New Zealand from 6-8 December, 2011. Scientists and engineers who work with robots and automation systems will find this book very useful and stimulating.

The proceedings collect the latest research trends, methods and experimental results in the field of electrical and information technologies for rail transportation. The topics cover intelligent computing, information processing, communication technology, automatic control, and their applications in rail transportation etc. The proceedings can be a valuable reference work for researchers and graduate students working in rail transportation, electrical engineering and information technologies.

This book focuses on the development of three novel approaches to build up a framework for the frequency domain analysis and design of nonlinear systems. The concepts are derived from Volterra series representation of nonlinear systems which are described by nonlinear difference or differential equations. Occupying the middle ground between traditional linear approaches and more complex nonlinear system theories, the book will help readers to have a good start to analyse and exploit the nonlinearities. Analysis and Design of Nonlinear Systems in the Frequency Domain provides clear illustrations and examples at the beginning and the end of each chapter, respectively, making it of interest to both academics and practicing engineers.

This book collates past and current research on one of the most promising emerging modalities for breast cancer detection. Readers will discover how, as a standalone technology or in conjunction with another modality, microwave imaging has the potential to provide reliable, safe and comfortable breast exams at low cost. Current breast imaging modalities include X- ray, Ultrasound, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and Positron Emission Tomography. Each of these methods suffers from limitations, including poor sensitivity or specificity, high cost, patient discomfort, and exposure to potentially harmful ionising radiation. Microwave breast imaging is based on a contrast in the dielectric properties of breast tissue that exists at microwave frequencies. The book begins by considering the anatomy and dielectric properties of the breast, contrasting historical and recent studies. Next, radar-based breast imaging algorithms are discussed, encompassing both early-stage artefact removal, and data independent and adaptive beamforming algorithms. In a similar fashion, microwave tomographic reconstruction algorithms are reviewed in the following chapter, introducing the reader to both the fundamental and more advanced algorithms. Apart from imaging, the book also reviews research efforts in extracting clinically useful information from the Radar Target Signature of breast tumours, which is used to classify tumours as either benign or malignant. Finally, the book concludes by describing the current state of the art in terms of prototype microwave breast imaging systems, with a particular emphasis on those which have progressed to the clinical evaluation stage. This work is motivated by the fact that breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death amongst women in Europe and the US, and the second most common cancer in the world today. Such an important area of research will appeal to many scholars and practitioners.p>

Traditionally, process design and control system design are performed sequentially. It is only recently displayed that a simultaneous approach to the design and control leads to significant economic benefits and improved dynamic performance during plant operation.

Extensive research in issues such as 'interactions of design and control', 'analysis and design of plant wide control systems', 'integrated methods for design and control' has resulted in impressive advances and significant new technologies that have enriched the variety of instruments available for the design engineer in her endeavour to design and operate new processes. The field of integrated process design and control has reached a maturity level that mingles the best from process knowledge and understanding and control theory on one side, with the best from numerical analysis and optimisation on the other. Direct implementation of integrated methods should soon become the mainstream design procedure.

Within this context 'The Integration of Process Design and Control', bringing together the developments in a variety of topics related to the integrated design and control, will be a real asset for design engineers, practitioners and researchers. Although the individual chapters reach a depth of analysis close to the frontier of current research status, the structure of the book and the autonomous nature of the chapters make the book suitable for a newcomer in the area.

The book comprises four distinct parts:
Part A: Process characterization and controllability analysis
Part B: Integrated process design and control ⊣ Methods
Part C: Plant wide interactions of design and control
Part D: Integrated process design and control ⊣ Extensions

By the end of the book, the reader will have developed a commanding comprehension of the main aspects of integrated design and control, the ability to critically assess the key characteristics and elements related to the interactions between design and control and the capacity to implement the new technology in practice.
* This book brings together the latest developments in a variety of topics related to integrated design and control.
* It is a valuable asset for design engineers, practitioners and researchers.
* The structure of the book and the nature of its chapters also make it suitable for a newcomer to the field.

Dynamic modelling is the fundamental building block for mechanism analysis, design, control and performance evaluation. One class of mechanism, legged machines, have multiple closed-chains established through intermittent ground contacts. Further, walking on natural terrain introduces nonlinear system compliance in the forms of foot sinkage and slippage. Closed-chains constrain the possible motions of a mechanism while compliances affect the redistrubution of forces throughout the system. "A General Model of Legged Locomotion on Natural Terain" develops a dynamic mechanism model that characterizes indeterminate interactions of a closed-chain robot with its environment. The approach is applicable to any closed-chain mechanism with sufficient contact compliance, although legged locomotion on natural terrain is chosen to illustrate the methodology. The modelling and solution procedures are general to all walking machine configurations, including bipeds, quadrupeds, beam-walkers and hopping machines. The book develops a functional model of legged locomotion that incorporates non-conservative foot-soil interactions in a nonlinear dynamic formulation. The model was applied to a prototype walking machine and simulations generated significant insights into walking machine performance on natural terrain. The simulations are original and essential contributions to the design, evaluation and control of these complex robot systems. While posed in the context of walking machines, the approach has wider applicability to rolling locomotors, co-operating manipulators, multi-fingered hands and prehensile agents.

This book introduces readers to the application of orbital data on space objects in the contexts of conjunction assessment and space situation analysis, including theories and methodologies. It addresses the main topics involved in space object conjunction assessment, such as: orbital error analysis of space objects; close approach analysis; the calculation, analysis and application of collision probability; and the comprehensive assessment of collision risk. In addition, selected topics on space situation analysis are also presented, including orbital anomaly and space event analysis, and so on. The book offers a valuable guide for researchers and engineers in the fields of astrodynamics, space telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C), space surveillance, space situational awareness, and space debris, as well as for graduates majoring in flight vehicle design and related fields.

Hydroelectric power stations are a major source of electricity around the world; understanding their dynamics is crucial to achieving good performance. The electrical power generated is normally controlled by individual feedback loops on each unit. The reference input to the power loop is the grid frequency deviation from its set point, thus structuring an external frequency control loop. The book discusses practical and well-documented cases of modelling and controlling hydropower stations, focused on a pumped storage scheme based in Dinorwig, North Wales. These accounts are valuable to specialist control engineers who are working in this industry. In addition, the theoretical treatment of modern and classic controllers will be useful for graduate and final year undergraduate engineering students. This book reviews SISO and MIMO models, which cover the linear and nonlinear characteristics of pumped storage hydroelectric power stations. The most important dynamic features are discussed. The verification of these models by hardware in the loop simulation is described. To show how the performance of a pumped storage hydroelectric power station can be improved, classical and modern controllers are applied to simulated models of Dinorwig power plant, that include PID, Fuzzy approximation, Feed-Forward and Model Based Predictive Control with linear and hybrid prediction models.

This book introduces recent results on output synchronization of complex dynamical networks with single and multiple weights. It discusses novel research ideas and a number of definitions in complex dynamical networks, such as H-Infinity output synchronization, adaptive coupling weights, multiple weights, the relationship between output strict passivity and output synchronization. Furthermore, it methodically edits the research results previously published in various flagship journals and presents them in a unified form. The book is of interest to university researchers and graduate students in engineering and mathematics who wish to study output synchronization of complex dynamical networks.

The book reports on the latest advances and applications of nonlinear control systems. It consists of 30 contributed chapters by subject experts who are specialized in the various topics addressed in this book. The special chapters have been brought out in the broad areas of nonlinear control systems such as robotics, nonlinear circuits, power systems, memristors, underwater vehicles, chemical processes, observer design, output regulation, backstepping control, sliding mode control, time-delayed control, variables structure control, robust adaptive control, fuzzy logic control, chaos, hyperchaos, jerk systems, hyperjerk systems, chaos control, chaos synchronization, etc. Special importance was given to chapters offering practical solutions, modeling and novel control methods for the recent research problems in nonlinear control systems. This book will serve as a reference book for graduate students and researchers with a basic knowledge of electrical and control systems engineering. The resulting design procedures on the nonlinear control systems are emphasized using MATLAB software.

Based on lecture notes on a space robotics course, this book offers a pedagogical introduction to the mechanics of space robots. After presenting an overview of the environments and conditions space robots have to work in, the author discusses a variety of manipulatory devices robots may use to perform their tasks. This is followed by a discussion of robot mobility in these environments and the various technical approaches. The last two chapters are dedicated to actuators, sensors and power systems used in space robots. This book fills a gap in the space technology literature and will be useful for students and for those who have an interest in the broad and highly interdisciplinary field of space robotics, and in particular in its mechanical aspects.

This monograph presents theoretical methods involving the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman formalism in conjunction with set-valued techniques of nonlinear analysis to solve significant problems in dynamics and control. The emphasis is on issues of reachability, feedback control synthesis under complex state constraints, hard or double bounds on controls, and performance in finite time. Guaranteed state estimation, output feedback control, and hybrid dynamics are also discussed. Although the focus is on systems with linear structure, the authors indicate how to apply each approach to nonlinear and nonconvex systems. The main theoretical results lead to computational schemes based on extensions of ellipsoidal calculus that provide complete solutions to the problems. These computational schemes in turn yield software tools that can be applied effectively to high-dimensional systems. Ellipsoidal Techniques for Problems of Dynamics and Control: Theory and Computation will interest graduate and senior undergraduate students, as well as researchers and practitioners interested in control theory, its applications, and its computational realizations.

This book addresses two fundamental issues of motor control for both humans and robots: kinematic redundancy and the posture/movement problem. It blends traditional robotic constrained-optimal approaches with neuroscientific and evidence-based principles, proposing a "Task-space Separation Principle," a novel scheme for planning both posture and movement in redundant manipulators. The proposed framework is first tested in simulation and then compared with experimental motor strategies displayed by humans during redundant pointing tasks. The book also shows how this model builds on and expands traditional formulations such as the Passive Motion Paradigm and the Equilibrium Point Theory. Lastly, breaking with the neuroscientific tradition of planar movements and linear(ized) kinematics, the theoretical formulation and experimental scenarios are set in the nonlinear space of 3D rotations which are essential for wrist motions, a somewhat neglected area despite its importance in daily tasks.

This book primarily illustrates the rationale, design and technical realization/verification for the cooperative guidance and control systems (CGCSs) of missile autonomous formation (MAF). From the seven functions to the five major compositions of CGCS, the book systematically explains the theory and modeling, analysis, synthesis and design of CGCSs for MAF, including bionics-based theories. Further, the book addresses how to create corresponding digital simulation analysis systems, as well as hardware in the loop (HIL) simulation test systems and flight test systems, to evaluate the combat effectiveness of MAF. Lastly, it provides detailed information on digital simulation analysis for a large range of wind tunnel test data, as well as test results of HIL system simulations and embedded systems testing.

The book introduces possibly the most compact, simple and physically understandable tool that can describe, explain, predict and design the widest set of phenomena in time-variant and nonlinear oscillations. The phenomena described include parametric resonances, combined resonances, instability of forced oscillations, synchronization, distributed parameter oscillation and flatter, parametric oscillation control, robustness of oscillations and many others. Although the realm of nonlinear oscillations is enormous, the book relies on the concept of minimum knowledge for maximum understanding. This unique tool is the method of stationarization, or one frequency approximation of parametric resonance problem analysis in linear time-variant dynamic systems. The book shows how this can explain periodic motion stability in stationary nonlinear dynamic systems, and reveals the link between the harmonic stationarization coefficients and describing functions. As such, the book speaks the language of control: transfer functions, frequency response, Nyquist plot, stability margins, etc. An understanding of the physics of stability loss is the basis for the design of new oscillation control methods for, several of which are presented in the book. These and all the other findings are illustrated by numerical examples, which can be easily reproduced by readers equipped with a basic simulation package like MATLAB with Simulink. The book offers a simple tool for all those travelling through the world of oscillations, helping them discover its hidden beauty. Researchers can use the method to uncover unknown aspects, and as a reference to compare it with other, for example, abstract mathematical means. Further, it provides engineers with a minimalistic but powerful instrument based on physically measurable variables to analyze and design oscillatory systems.

This book mostly results from a selection of papers presented during the 11th IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Workshop on Time-Delay Systems, which took place in Grenoble, France, February 4 - 6, 2013. During this event, 37 papers were presented. Taking into account the reviewers' evaluation and the papers' presentation the best papers have been selected and collected into the present volume. The authors of 13 selected papers were invited to participate to this book and provided a more detailed and improved version of the conference paper. To enrich the book, three more chapters have been included from specialists on time-delay systems who presented their work during the 52nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, which held in December 10 - 13, 2013, at Florence, Italy. The content of the book is divided into four main parts as follows: Modeling, Stability analysis, Stabilization and control, and Input-delay systems. Focusing on various topics of time-delay systems, this book will be interesting for researchers and graduate students working on control and system theory.

This volume collects recent advances in nonlinear delay systems, with an emphasis on constructive generalized Lyapunov and predictive approaches that certify stability properties. The book is written by experts in the field and includes two chapters by Miroslav Krstic, to whom this volume is dedicated. This volume is suitable for all researchers in mathematics and engineering who deal with nonlinear delay control problems and students who would like to understand the current state of the art in the control of nonlinear delay systems.

The book reports on the author's original work to address the use of today's state-of-the-art smartphones for human physical activity recognition. By exploiting the sensing, computing and communication capabilities currently available in these devices, the author developed a novel smartphone-based activity-recognition system, which takes into consideration all aspects of online human activity recognition, from experimental data collection, to machine learning algorithms and hardware implementation. The book also discusses and describes solutions to some of the challenges that arose during the development of this approach, such as real-time operation, high accuracy, low battery consumption and unobtrusiveness. It clearly shows that it is possible to perform real-time recognition of activities with high accuracy using current smartphone technologies. As well as a detailed description of the methods, this book also provides readers with a comprehensive review of the fundamental concepts in human activity recognition. It also gives an accurate analysis of the most influential works in the field and discusses them in detail. This thesis was supervised by both the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (primary institution) and University of Genoa (secondary institution) as part of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate in Interactive and Cognitive Environments.

This book contains research contributions from leading global scholars in nature-inspired computing. It includes comprehensive coverage of each respective topic, while also highlighting recent and future trends. The contributions provides readers with a snapshot of the state of the art in the field of nature-inspired computing and its application. This book has focus on the current researches while highlighting the empirical results along with theoretical concepts to provide a comprehensive reference for students, researchers, scholars, professionals and practitioners in the field of Advanced Artificial Intelligence, Nature-Inspired Algorithms and Soft Computing.

This open access book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 9th IFIP WG 5.5 International Precision Assembly Seminar, IPAS 2020, held virtually in December 2020.The 16 revised full papers and 10 revised short papers presented together with 1 keynote paper were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers address topics such as assembly design and planning; assembly operations; assembly cells and systems; human centred assembly; and assistance methods in assembly.