This monograph is a comprehensive introduction to the field of soccer robotics. Soccer robotics has become an important research area integrating mechatronics, computer science and artificial intelligence techniques to create real-world autonomous systems. It also serves as a popular test arena in which to compare the different approaches, in diverse types of competition and with varying levels of distributed perception and collaboration. The focus of this monograph is the FIRA framework of Soccer Robotics, in particular MiroSot, which uses a central overhead camera to overview the whole soccer field and a central control of the robots. "Soccer Robotics" completely describes the different requirements to create a soccer team and details the hardware aspects, the computer vision needed, navigation, action selection, basic skills and game strategy. These aspects are described at an undergraduate level, resulting in a book not only useful as a text for courses but also indispensable for everyone who wants to participate in MiroSot robotics.

This book provides complete coverage of the slitting method. It details new results in analysis, computation, and estimation and discusses different roles of residual stresses from the fracture mechanics perspective. It provides detailed formulations and examples of compliance functions, weighted least squares fit and convergence test in stress estimation, and computer programs to facilitate the implementation of the slitting method.

This sourcebook presents the most important metal-working and shearing processes - and their related machines and tooling - in a concise form supplemented by ample illustrations, tables and flow charts. Practical examples show how to calculate forces and strain energy of the processes and the specific parameters of the machines, and exercises help readers improve understanding. Because much production today is automated using modern Computer Numerical Control engineering, the book covers automated flexible metal forming and handling systems. Carefully translated from the eighth revised German-language edition, Metal Forming Practise offers a valuable reference tool for students, engineers and technicians.

Major progress has been made in the field of driveshafts since the authors presented their first edition of this unique reference work. Correspondingly, major revisions have been done for second edition of the German Textbook (Springer 2003), which is present here in the English translation.

The presentation was adjusted, novel improvements of manufacturing and design are described, and modern aspects of production are incorporated. The design and application of Hooke 's joint driveshafts is discussed as well as constant velocity joints for the construction of agricultural engines, road and rail vehicles.

This work can be used as a textbook as well as a reference for practitioners, scientists, and students dealing with drive technology.

This book guides the reader through general and fundamental problems of pressure vessel design. The basic approach is rigorously scientific with a complete theoretical development of the topics treated. The concrete and precise calculation criteria provided can be immediately applied to actual designs. The book also comprises unique contributions on important topics like Deformed Cylinders, Flat Heads, or Flanges.

Over the past three decades turbomachines experienced a steep increase in efficiency and performance. Based on fundamental principles of turbomachinery thermo-fluid mechanics, numerous CFD based calculation methods are being developed to simulate the complex 3-dimensional, highly unsteady turbulent flow within turbine or compressor stages. The objective of this book is to present the fundamental principals of turbomachinery fluid-thermodynamic design process of turbine and compressor components, power generation and aircraft gas turbines in a unified and compact manner. The book provides senior undergraduate students, graduate students and engineers in the turbomachinery industry with a solid background of turbomachinery flow physics and performance fundamentals that are essential for understanding turbomachinery performance and flow complexes.

Machining is one of the most important manufacturing processes. Parts manufactured by other processes often require further operations before the product is ready for application. "Machining: Fundamentals and Recent Advances" is divided into two parts. Part I explains the fundamentals of machining, with special emphasis on three important aspects: mechanics of machining, tools, and work-piece integrity. Part II is dedicated to recent advances in machining, including: machining of hard materials, machining of metal matrix composites, drilling polymeric matrix composites, ecological machining (minimal quantity of lubrication), high-speed machining (sculptured surfaces), grinding technology and new grinding wheels, micro- and nano-machining, non-traditional machining processes, and intelligent machining (computational methods and optimization). Advanced students, researchers and professionals interested or involved in modern manufacturing engineering will find the book a useful reference.

This book covers the background theory of fluid power and indicates the range of concepts needed for a modern approach to condition monitoring and fault diagnosis. The theory is leavened by 15-years-worth of practical measurements by the author, working with major fluid power companies, and real industrial case studies. Heavily supported with examples drawn from real industrial plants - the methods in this book have been shown to work.

In 1998 the chairman of the Russian National Committee of TMM Professor Arcady Bessonov, recommended one of authors of this book to be come a member of the IFToMM Permanent Commission on the History of Mechanisms and Machines Sciences (PC HMMS). Willy-nilly from this time the history of technique, as hobby passed on to a serious the employment in the history of engineering science. Interest history of a subject is natural for Professor, a leading a course of Theory of Mechanisms and Machines in Bauman University. This interest is supported by the fact that Bauman University is one of the oldest technical universities in Russia, and the course "Applied Mechanics" - later "Theory of Mechanisms and Machines" was the first systematic course in Russia. The second author supervises a cycle of laboratory works on TMM. Models of mechanisms are placed in laboratory in show-windows of ancient cases quite possibly coevals of the first course. He became interested in contents of these cases: firstly in models, and then in their origin. Later he occupied himself with the creation of a web-site "The Collection of mechanisms in department TMM in Bauman University." Gradually both authors had the idea of cooperation, although several years previously, we could not imagine this happening. We took an active part in the work of PC HMMS from 2000. It was promoted by of chairman of the commission Professor Marco Ceccarelli.

The DARPA Grand Challenge was a landmark in the field of robotics: a race by autonomous vehicles through 132 miles of rough Nevada terrain. It showcased exciting and unprecedented capabilities in robotic perception, navigation, and control. The event took place in October 2005 and drew teams of competitors from academia and industry, as well as many garage hobbyists. This book presents fifteen technical papers that describe each team's driverless vehicle, race strategy, and insights. As a whole, they present the state of the art in autonomous vehicle technology and offer a glimpse of future technology for tomorrow s driverless cars. "

This volume contains the proceedings of the IUTAM Symposium on Ela- ohydrodynamics and Microelastohydrodynamics held in Cardiff from 1st to 3rd September 2004. The symposium focused on theoretical, experimental and computational issues in elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) both in relation to smooth surfaces and in situations where the ?lm is of the same order or th- ner than the surface roughness (micro-EHL). The last IUTAM Symposium in this general area of contact of deformable bodies was in 1974. The emphasis in the Symposium was upon fundamental issues such as: solution methods; lubricant rheological models, thermal effects; both low and high elastic m- ulus situations; human and replacement joints; ?uid traction; dynamic effects, asperity lubrication and the failure of lubrication; surface fatigue and thermal distress under EHL conditions. Delegates were welcomed to Wales and the Cardiff School of Engine- ing by the head of the School, Professor Hywel Thomas. The opening l- ture was given jointly by Professor Duncan Dowson, FRS and Sir Gordon Higginson, the distinguished partnership which produced some of the most important numerical solutions to the fundamental EHL problem which led to the ?rst reliable ?lm thickness formula for isothermal, Newtonian conditions. Their presentation reviewed the early developments in the subject and included some fascinating details of the dif?culties overcome and the scienti?c pers- alities involved. A total of 33 presentations were given over a period of three days.

The International Section on Machine and System Safety was founded in 1975 to deal with questions on occupational risks in this ?eld at the inter- tional level. It is a member of the Special Commission on Prevention of the International Social Security Association (ISSA). The Special Commission is a body within ISSA that focuses on work-related risks. It has 11 inter- tional Sections as members. ISSA was founded in 1927 with its headquarters in Geneva. It is working worldwide in over 150 countries with nearly 370 member institutions from all ?elds of social security. TheSection on Machine and System Safety, when it was founded, had its focus on machine safety, particularly on the ma- facturing of safe machinery, on assisting developing countries to be able to buy safe used machinery, and on delivering clear operating instructions. Our members and partners are: * institutions for safety and health at work; * insurance companies dealing with work-related risks; * research institutions; and * various enterprises, e.g. manufacturers, importers and users of machines and systems/installations. We thus bring together the experiences of our members and partners. The role of the operators soon grew in importance, and their capability for ha- ling machinery became an important factor for the safety and success of enterprises. The growing importance and complexity of handling different man-machine-environment situations created new challenges and led to - larging the Section's tasks to machine and system safety.

What are the benefits of electrified propulsion for large aircraft? What technology advancements are required to realize these benefits? How can the aerospace industry transition from today's technologies to state-of-the-art electrified systems? Learn the answers with this multidisciplinary text, combining expertise from leading researchers in electrified aircraft propulsion. The book includes broad coverage of electrification technologies - spanning power systems and power electronics, materials science, superconductivity and cryogenics, thermal management, battery chemistry, system design, and system optimization - and a clear-cut road map identifying remaining gaps between the current state-of-the-art and future performance technologies. Providing expert guidance on areas for future research and investment and an ideal introduction to cutting-edge advances and outstanding challenges in large electric aircraft design, this is a perfect resource for graduate students, researchers, electrical and aeronautical engineers, policymakers, and management professionals interested in next-generation commercial flight technologies.

"Advances in Human-Robot Interaction" provides a unique collection of recent research in human-robot interaction. It covers the basic important research areas ranging from multi-modal interfaces, interpretation, interaction, learning, or motion coordination to topics such as physical interaction, systems, and architectures. The book addresses key issues of human-robot interaction concerned with perception, modelling, control, planning and cognition, covering a wide spectrum of applications. This includes interaction and communication with robots in manufacturing environments and the collaboration and co-existence with assistive robots in domestic environments. Among the presented examples are a robotic bartender, a new programming paradigm for a cleaning robot, or an approach to interactive teaching of a robot assistant in manufacturing environment. This carefully edited book reports on contributions from leading German academic institutions and industrial companies brought together within MORPHA, a 4 year project on interaction and communication between humans and anthropomorphic robot assistants.

FSR, the International Conference on Field and Service Robotics, is a robotics Symposium which has established over the past ten years the latest research and practical results towards the use of field and service robotics in the community with particular focus on proven technology. The first meeting was held in Canberra, Australia, in 1997. Since then the meeting has been held every two years in the pattern Asia, America, Europe. This books presents the results of the sixth edition of "Field and Service Robotics" FSR03, held in Chamonix, France, on 9th - 12th July 2003. The conference provided a forum for researchers, professionals and robot manufacturers to exchange up-to-date technical knowledge and experience. Field robots are non-factory robots, typically mobile, that operate in complex, and dynamic environments: on the ground (of Earth or planets), under the ground, underwater, in the air or in space. Service robots are those that work closely with humans to help them with their lives. This book offers a collection of a broad range of topics including: Underwater Robots and Systems, Autonomous Navigation for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Simultaneous Localization and Mapping, Climbing Robotics, Sensor Fusion."

Machining dynamics play an essential role in the performance of machine tools and machining processes in manufacturing. Current advances in computational modelling, sensors, diagnostic equipment and analysis tools, 3D surface metrology and manufacturing science are giving researchers and practising engineers a new perspective on the machining process.

Machining Dynamics: Fundamentals and Applications reflects the new integrated approach to studying machining dynamics by presenting state-of-the-art applications, practices and research in the field. Written by experts in each field, the first part of the book presents the basic theory, analysis and control methodology in addition to detailed modelling and diagnostic techniques for machining dynamics, while part two focuses on applying the fundamentals of machining dynamics in a variety of machining processes including turning, grinding, gear machining and non-traditional machining.

Advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying manufacturing engineering and machining technology will find Machining Dynamics: Fundamentals and Applications a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the subject while the book s thoroughness allows it to serve as a useful reference for manufacturing engineers, production supervisors, planning and application engineers and designers."

It is a well acknowledged fact that virtually all of our modern-day components and assemblies rely to some extent on machining operations in their manufacturing process. Thus, there is clearly a substantive machining requirement which will continue to be of prime importance for the foreseeable future. Cutting Tool Technology provides a comprehensive guide to the latest developments in the use of cutting tool technology. The book covers new machining and tooling topics such as high-speed and hard-part machining, near-dry and dry-machining strategies, multi-functional tooling, diamond-like and atomically-modified coatings, plus many others. Also covered are subjects important from a research perspective, such as micro-machining and artificial intelligence coupled to neural network tool condition monitoring. A practical handbook complete with troubleshooting tables for common problems, Cutting Tool Technology is an invaluable reference for researchers, manufacturers and users of cutting tools."

This book presents the most up-to-date methods of three-dimensional modeling of the fluid dymanics and the solid-fluid interaction within these machines, which are still being developed. Adding modeling to the design process makes it possible not only to predict flow patterns more accurately, and also to determine distorting effects on rotors and casing of pressure and temperature distribution within the compressor. Examples outline the scope of the applied mathematical model.

Mechatronics is the synergistic combination of precision engineering, electronics, photonics and IT engineering. The main research task for mechatronics is development and control of advanced hybrid systems covering all these fields and supported by interdisciplinary studies.

This book presents recent state of advances in mechatronics presented on the 7th International Conference Mechatronics 2007, hosted at the Faculty of Mechatronics, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. The chosen topics of the conference included: Nanotechnology, Automatic Control and Robotics, Biomedical Engineering, Design Manufacturing and Testing of MEMS, Metrology, Photonics, Mechatronic Products. The selected papers give an overview of the state-of-the-art and present new research results and prospects of the future development in this interdisciplinary field of mechatronic systems. This book will provide up-to-date and useful knowledge for researchers and engineers involved in mechatronics and related fields.

Materials for springs is basically intended for engineers related to spring materials and technologies who graduated from metallurgical or mechanical engineering courses in technical high school, or in other higher engineering schools, as well as those who are related to the purchase or sales of spring materials.

The first chapter introduces into the fundamental selection processes of spring materials including the information sources on materials database. It is followed by the basic mechanisms and theories of spring failures such as fatigue fracture, creep/stress relaxation and stress corrosion cracking of metallic materials.

The focuses of the second chapter is put on ferrous and non-ferrous metallic materials, including some materials developed in these two decades, such as high strength automobile suspension steels etc.

In the third and fourth chapters, polymer materials, FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics), ceramics and C/C composite materials are the main subject respectively.

In the fifth chapter, lists of Japanese spring material manufacturers and their material grades being produced, comparisons of spring materials in the Japanese Industrial Standards with some other foreign standards, etc, are summarized.

At the dawn of the new millennium, robotics is undergoing a major transformation in scope and dimension. From a largely dominant industrial focus, robotics is rapidly expanding into the challenges of unstructured environments. Interacting with, assi- ing, serving, and exploring with humans, the emerging robots will increasingly touch people and their lives. The goal of the Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR) series is to bring, in a timely fashion, the latest advances and developments in robotics on the basis of their significance and quality. It is our hope that the wider dissemination of research - velopments will stimulate more exchanges and collaborations among the research community and contribute to further advancement of this rapidly growing field. The European Robotics Symposium (EUROS) was launched in 2006 as an inter- tional scientific single-track event promoted by EURON, the European Robotics Network linking most of the European research teams since its inception in 2000. Since then, EUROS has found its parental home under STAR, together with the other thematic symposia devoted to excellence in robotics research: FSR, ISER, ISRR, WAFR.

The objective of this book, being the first one on magnesium injection molding, is to treat both the scientific background and the technological aspects as they are understood at present. All aspects of material development, manufacturing and engineering are covered. The book provides a single source of information covering the interdisciplinary field of net shape forming of magnesium alloys. It reflects a unique blend of science and industrial practice.

This book presents the methods of quantitative determination of solar irradiation incident amount on a surface on the Earth. It brings together information not found elsewhere in a single source, and includes an innovative exposition of expert system methodologies used in the domain of solar irradiation and energy. The book provides a background to the underlying physical principles of solar irradiation and energy, with explanations as to how these can be modelled and applied.

"Nonlinear Oscillations in Mechanical Engineering" explores the effects of nonlinearities encountered in applications in that field. Since the nonlinearities are caused, first of all, by contacts between different mechanical parts, the main part of this book is devoted to oscillations in mechanical systems with discontinuities caused by dry friction and collisions. Another important source of nonlinearity which is covered is that caused by rotating unbalanced parts common in various machines as well as variable inertias occurring in all kinds of crank mechanisms. This book is written for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students, but it may be also helpful and interesting for both theoreticians and practitioners working in the area of mechanical engineering at universities, in research labs or institutes and especially in the R and D departments within industrial firms.

This volume contains a collection of papers presented at the 3rd Interna tional Symposium on Autonomous Minirobots for Research and Edutainment (AMiRE 2005) that is held at Awara-Spa, Fukui, Japan, September 20-22, 2005. This is a biennial symposium, which started as AMiRE 2001 at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute of the University of Paderborn, Germany, in 2001, and was followed by AMiRE 2003 at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, in 2003. After these successful symposia, AMiRE 2005 is held under the sponsorship of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Fukui and under the co-sponsorship of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. It is funded by the Fukui Convention Bureau and the University of Fukui. Each full-length paper submitted to the symposium was independently reviewed by 3 referees from the world's front-line researchers, and 55 papers were accepted for oral presentation. We acknowledge generous support for those who gave excellent reviews in order to maintain the high standards of the symposium despite a very tight schedule."