This volume gathers the latest advances, innovations and applications in the field of cable robots, as presented by leading international researchers and engineers at the 4th International Conference on Cable-Driven Parallel Robots (CableCon 2019), held in Krakow, Poland on June 30-July 4, 2019, as part of the 5th IFToMM World Congress. It covers the theory and applications of cable-driven parallel robots, including their classification, kinematics and singularity analysis, workspace, statics and dynamics, cable modeling and technologies, control and calibration, design methodologies, hardware development, experimental evaluation and prototypes, as well as application reports and new application concepts. The contributions, which were selected through a rigorous international peer-review process, share exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster new multidisciplinary collaborations.

This book highlights numerical models as powerful tools for the optimal design of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). Most MEMS experts have a background in electronics, where circuit models or behavioral models (i.e. lumped-parameter models) of devices are preferred to field models. This is certainly convenient in terms of preliminary design, e.g. in the prototyping stage. However, design optimization should also take into account fine-sizing effects on device behavior and therefore be based on distributed-parameter models, such as finite-element models. The book shows how the combination of automated optimal design and field-based models can produce powerful design toolboxes for MEMS. It especially focuses on illustrating theoretical concepts with practical examples, fostering comprehension through a problem-solving approach. By comparing the results obtained using different methods, readers will learn to identify their respective strengths and weaknesses. In addition, special emphasis is given to evolutionary computing and nature-inspired optimization strategies, the effectiveness of which has already been amply demonstrated. Given its scope, the book provides PhD students, researchers and professionals in the area of computer-aided analysis with a comprehensive, yet concise and practice-oriented guide to MEMS design and optimization. To benefit most from the book, readers should have a basic grasp of electromagnetism, vector analysis and numerical methods.

This book presents high-quality papers from the Seventh Asia International Symposium on Mechatronics (AISM 2019). It discusses the latest technological trends and advances in electromechanical coupling and environmental adaptability design for electronic equipment, sensing and measurement, mechatronics in manufacturing and automation, micro-mechatronics, energy harvesting & storage, robotics, automation and control systems. It includes papers based on original theoretical, practical and experimental simulations, development, applications, measurements, and testing. The applications and solutions discussed here provide excellent reference material for future product developments.

This book presents state-of-the-art research in the field of mechatronics and cyber-mixmechatronics, gathering papers from almost all continents. Featuring contributions by research scholars in both government-financed institutions and in the business environment, it offers a clear picture of the innovations emerging in the field. The book is not limited to mechatronics, but also covers all the smart technical sciences, and discusses promising medical applications based on nanotechnologies. As such, it is a valuable resource for students wanting to learn from leading scholars, as well as for researchers in all areas of engineering.

This book highlights the latest advances and outlines future trends in aqueous solvation studies from the perspective of hydrogen bond transition by charge injection, which reconciles the solvation dynamics, molecular nonbond interactions, and the extraordinary functionalities of various solutes on the solution bond network and properties. Focus is given on ionic and dipolar electrostatic polarization, O:H nonbond interaction, anti-HB and super-HB repulsion, and solute-solute interactions. Its target audience includes researchers, scientists, and engineers in chemistry, physics, surface and interface science, materials science and engineering.

This book provides a comprehensive survey of the technology of flash lamp annealing (FLA) for thermal processing of semiconductors. It gives a detailed introduction to the FLA technology and its physical background. Advantages, drawbacks and process issues are addressed in detail and allow the reader to properly plan and perform their own thermal processing. Moreover, this books gives a broad overview of the applications of flash lamp annealing, including a comprehensive literature survey. Several case studies of simulated temperature profiles in real material systems give the reader the necessary insight into the underlying physics and simulations. This book is a valuable reference work for both novice and advanced users.

This book focuses on novel bismuth-containing alloys and nanostructures, covering a wide range of materials from semiconductors, topological insulators, silica optical fibers and to multiferroic materials. It provides a timely overview of bismuth alloys and nanostructures, from material synthesis and physical properties to device applications and also includes the latest research findings. Bismuth is considered to be a sustainable and environmentally friendly element, and has received increasing attention in a variety of innovative research areas in recent years. The book is intended as a reference resource and textbook for graduate students and researchers working in these fields.

This book presents the physical and technical foundation of the state of the art in applied scanning probe techniques. It constitutes a timely and comprehensive overview of SPM applications. The chapters in this volume relate to scanning probe microscopy techniques, characterization of various materials and structures and typical industrial applications, including topographic and dynamical surface studies of thin-film semiconductors, polymers, paper, ceramics, and magnetic and biological materials. The chapters are written by leading researchers and application scientists from all over the world and from various industries to provide a broader perspective.

Nanoimprint Lithography: An enabling process for nanofabrication presents a comprehensive description of nanotechnology that is one of the most promising low-cost, high-throughput technologies for manufacturing nanostructures, and an emerging lithography candidates for 22, 16 and 11 nm nodes. It provides the exciting, multidisciplinary field, offering a wide range of topics covering: principles, process, material and application. This book would be of specific interest for researchers and graduate students in the field of nanoscience, nanotechnology and nanofabrication, material, physical, chemical, electric engineering and biology. Dr. Weimin Zhou is an associate professor at Shanghai Nanotechnology Promotion Center, China.

This book gathers original findings, both theoretical and experimental, related to various cutting-edge topics in the design and modeling of mechatronic systems, including multiphysics problems. It presents peer-reviewed papers from the first installment of the Mechatronics 4.0 workshop, which was jointly organized by the Laboratory of Mechanics, Modeling and Manufacturing (LA2MP), National School of Engineers of Sfax, Tunisia, and the QUARTZ Laboratory, Higher Institute of Mechanics of Paris, SUPMECA, France. The event follows in the tradition of the Workshop on Mechatronic Systems (JSM2014), organized by the same universities, while shifting the focus to the concept of Industry 4.0. As this new type of industry is emerging as the convergence of the virtual world, digital design, and management with real-world products and objects, the chapters gathered here highlight recent work on mechatronics systems that are expected to help shape the industry of tomorrow. Thanks to a healthy balance of theory and practical findings, the book offers a timely snapshot for the research and industrial communities alike, as well as a bridge to facilitate communication and collaboration between the two groups.

This book examines the possibility of automating pasture care by fusing conventional technologies with modern sensor technologies, including the accompanying electrification. It subsequently explores the feasibility and benefits of such a system on the basis of a prototype. The overall challenge in fodder production, and in milk and meat production, is to shift the focus away from the economic aspects and toward achieving a better balance with ecological and societal aspects. In the future, pastureland will become an increasingly valuable resource. Good pasture turf is the basis of high grazing performance and an efficient grazing farm; reduced quantity and quality of pasture forage are chiefly due to insufficient pasture care. The prototype developed and discussed here, based on a commercially available remote-controlled mulcher, performs the selective pasture maintenance needed for precision farming. The vehicle has been upgraded with a GPS system for automatic guidance, while a 2D laser scanner is used to localise relevant spots in real-time. The pasture maintenance operations include mulching of un-grazed spots and reseeding of damage done by footsteps. The book presents the results of field tests on effective spot detection and the fuel-saving benefits of selective mulching.

With Wristwatch Annual, collectors have at hand a wealth of information on the latest offerings from today’s most important watch producers, from Swiss mainstays like Rolex and Patek Philippe to the maverick independent brands springing up across Europe and the U.S. The book is arranged alphabetically by producer, and the movement, functions, case, band, price, and variations of each pictured watch are fully described. This year’s edition, like its predecessors, will feature a variety of additional articles on independent watchmaking, key personalities in the watch world, and the technical aspects of horology. An illustrated glossary and a primer on watch care help acclimate the reader to the world of fine timepieces.

This book highlights current trends and research advances in nanotechnology and its applications. It discusses the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials / nanocomposites for novel applications in environmental monitoring and sustainability, and presents new findings on wastewater treatment technologies using nanofiltration membranes.

This book focuses on 3d transition metal centered phthalocyanine molecules and their deposition on different substrates. Phthalocyanines are an ideal prototype since they can be grown flat on many surfaces. It highlights the molecule-substrate interaction and its influence on the magnetic and spectroscopic properties of the molecules as well as the influence of ligands - reviewing both experiential and theoretical data. Since experimental setups differ and approximations in theory vary and can influence the result, a substantial part is dedicated to a thorough discussion of the different experimental and computational methods from the point of view of reliability and predictive power.

This book explains the operating principles of atomic force microscopy with the aim of enabling the reader to operate a scanning probe microscope successfully and understand the data obtained with the microscope. This enhanced second edition to "Scanning Probe Microscopy" (Springer, 2015) represents a substantial extension and revision to the part on atomic force microscopy of the previous book. Covering both fundamental and important technical aspects of atomic force microscopy, this book concentrates on the principles the methods using a didactic approach in an easily digestible manner. While primarily aimed at graduate students in physics, materials science, chemistry, nanoscience and engineering, this book is also useful for professionals and newcomers in the field, and is an ideal reference book in any atomic force microscopy lab.

The inherent complex dynamics of a parametrically excited pendulum is of great interest in nonlinear dynamics, which can help one better understand the complex world. Even though the parametrically excited pendulum is one of the simplest nonlinear systems, until now, complex motions in such a parametric pendulum cannot be achieved. In this book, the bifurcation dynamics of periodic motions to chaos in a damped, parametrically excited pendulum is discussed. Complete bifurcation trees of periodic motions to chaos in the parametrically excited pendulum include: period-1 motion (static equilibriums) to chaos, and period- motions to chaos ( = 1, 2, ***, 6, 8, ***, 12). The aforesaid bifurcation trees of periodic motions to chaos coexist in the same parameter ranges, which are very difficult to determine through traditional analysis. Harmonic frequency-amplitude characteristics of such bifurcation trees are also presented to show motion complexity and nonlinearity in such a parametrically excited pendulum system. The non-travelable and travelable periodic motions on the bifurcation trees are discovered. Through the bifurcation trees of travelable and non-travelable periodic motions, the travelable and non-travelable chaos in the parametrically excited pendulum can be achieved. Based on the traditional analysis, one cannot achieve the adequate solutions presented herein for periodic motions to chaos in the parametrically excited pendulum. The results in this book may cause one rethinking how to determine motion complexity in nonlinear dynamical systems.

This textbook on quantum mechanics has been designed for use in two-semester undergraduate courses. It describes the basic concepts of quantum mechanics, explains the use of the mathematical formalism and provides illustrative examples of both concepts and methods. Although the aim is to enable students to master the use of quantum mechanics as a tool, the author also discusses the meaning of quantum concepts. To this end the book contains a variety of relevant examples, worked out in considerable detail, as well as a substantial number of pertinent problems and exercises. The latter will be extremely helpful, if not essential, for gaining a deep understanding and command of the subject. This book is based on the author's thirty years experience of teaching the subject.

This book explores the fabrication of soft material and biomimetic MEMS sensors, presents a review of MEMS/NEMS energy harvesters and self-powered sensors, and focuses on the recent efforts in developing flexible and wearable piezoelectric nanogenerators. It also includes a critical analysis of various energy harvesting principles, such as electromagnetic, piezoelectric, electrostatic, triboelectric, and magnetostrictive. This multidisciplinary book is appropriate for students and professionals in the fields of material science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and bioengineering.

These proceedings gather contributions presented at the 3rd International Conference of Mechatronics and Cyber-MixMechatronics/ICOMECYME, organized by the National Institute of R&D in Mechatronics and Measurement Technique in Bucharest, Romania, on September 5th-6th, 2019. Reflecting the expansion mechatronics, it discusses topics in the newer trans-disciplinary fields, such as adaptronics, integronics, and cyber-mixmechatronics. With a rich scientific tradition and attracting specialists from around the globe - including North America, South America, and Asia - ICOMECYME focuses on presenting the latest research. It is mainly directed at academics and advanced students, but also appeals to R&D experts, offering a platform for scientific exchange. These proceedings are a valuable resource for entrepreneurs who want to invest in research and who are open for collaborations.

This book provides an overview of the noteworthy developments in the field of micromachining, with a specific focus on microinjection systems used for biological micromanipulation. The author also explores the design, development, and fabrication of new mechanical designs for micromachines, with plenty of examples that elucidate their modeling and control. The design and fabrication of a piezoelectric microinjector, constant force microinjector, constant force microgripper, PDVF microforce sensor, and a piezoelectric microsyringe are presented as examples of new technology for microinjection systems. This book is appropriate for both researchers and advanced students in bioengineering.

This book introduces a variety of basic sciences and applications of the nanocomposites and heterostructures of functional oxides. The presence of a high density of interfaces and the differences in their natures are described by the authors. Both nanocomposites and heterostructures are detailed in depth by researchers from each of the research areas in order to compare their similarities and differences. A new interfacial material of heterostructure of strongly correlated electron systems is introduced.

The book deals with intelligent control of mobile robots, presenting the state-of-the-art in the field, and introducing new control algorithms developed and tested by the authors. It also discusses the use of artificial intelligent methods like neural networks and neuraldynamic programming, including globalised dual-heuristic dynamic programming, for controlling wheeled robots and robotic manipulators,and compares them to classical control methods.

This book discusses the tribological, rheological and optical properties of liquid-crystal nanomaterials as well as lubricant media. It also describes the formation of liquid-crystal materials and the application of cholesteric liquid-crystal compounds in technical friction units and in human and animal joints. Further, it shows the connection between the tribological and other physical properties of liquid-crystal cholesterol compounds and develops a lubricity conceptual model of cholesteric-nematic, liquid-crystalline nanostructures on the basis of physical and energetic interpretations. This general model is valid for all surfaces and friction pairs, including biopolymers, and could lead to applications of cholesteric liquid-crystalline nanomaterials in different friction units and tribosystems as well as in the treatment of joint diseases.

This book presents some of the recent hybrid micro-machining processes used to manufacture miniaturized products with micro level precision. The current developed technologies to manufacture the micro dimensioned products while meeting the desired precision level are described within the text. The authors especially highlight research that focuses on the development of new micro machining platforms while integrating the different technologies to manufacture the micro components in a high throughput and cost effective manner.

This book presents the topology optimization theory for laminar flows with low and moderate Reynolds numbers, based on the density method and level-set method, respectively. The density-method-based theory offers efficient convergence, while the level-set-method-based theory can provide anaccurate mathematical expression of the structural boundary. Unsteady, body-force-driven and two-phase properties are basic characteristics of the laminar flows. The book discusses these properties, which are typical of microfluidics and one of the research hotspots in the area of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), providing an efficient inverse design approach for microfluidic structures. To demonstrate the applications of this topology optimization theory in the context of microfluidics, it also investigates inverse design for the micromixer, microvalve and micropump, which are key elements in lab-on-chip devices.