This book presents the proceedings of the 28th International Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region, RAAD 2019, held at the Fraunhofer Zentrum and the Technische Universitat in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on 19-21 June 2019. The conference brought together academic researchers in robotics from 20 countries, mainly affiliated to the Alpe-Adria-Danube Region and covered all major areas of robotic research, development and innovation as well as new applications and current trends. Offering a comprehensive overview of the ongoing research in the field of robotics, the book is a source of information and inspiration for researchers wanting to improve their work and gather new ideas for future developments. It also provides researchers with an innovative and up-to-date perspective on the state of the art in this area.

This book gathers the peer-reviewed papers presented at the seventh edition of the international workshop "Service Orientation in Holonic and Multi-Agent Manufacturing - SOHOMA'17", held on October 19-20, 2017 and organized by the University of Nantes, France in collaboration with the CIMR Research Centre in Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Robotics at the University Politehnica of Bucharest, Romania, the LAMIH Laboratory of Industrial and Human Automation Control, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Valenciennes and Hainaut-Cambresis, France and the CRAN Research Centre for Automatic Control, Nancy at the University of Lorraine, France. The main objective of SOHOMA'17 was to foster innovation in smart and sustainable manufacturing and logistics systems and in this context to promote concepts, methods and solutions addressing trends in service orientation of agent-based control technologies with distributed intelligence. The book is organized in eight parts, each with a number of chapters describing research in current domains of the digital transformation in manufacturing and trends in future service and computing oriented manufacturing control: Part 1: Advanced Manufacturing Control, Part 2: Big Data Management, Part 3: Cyber-Physical Production Systems, Part 4: Cloud- and Cyber-Physical Systems for Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing, Part 5: Simulation for Physical Internet and Intelligent & Sustainable Logistics Systems, Part 6: Formal Methods and Advanced Scheduling for Future Industrial Systems, Part 7: Applications and Demonstrators, Part 8: Production and Logistic Control Systems. The contributions focus on how the digital transformation, such as the one advocated by "Industry 4.0" or "Industry of the future" concepts, can improve the maintainability and the sustainability of manufacturing processes, products, and logistics. Digital transformation relates to the interaction between the physical and informational worlds and is realized by virtualization of products, processes and resources managed as services.

The Cambridge Workshops on Universal Access and Assistive Technology (CWUAAT) is one of the few gatherings where people interested in inclusive design, across different fields, including designers, computer scientists, engineers, architects, ergonomists, ethnographers, policymakers and user communities, meet, discuss, and collaborate. CWUAAT has also become an international workshop, representing diverse cultures including Portugal, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Australia, China, Norway, USA, Belgium, UK, and many more. The workshop has five main themes based on barriers identified in the developing field of design for inclusion: I Breaking Down Barriers between Disciplines II Breaking Down Barriers between Users, Designers and Developers III Removing Barriers to Usability, Accessibility and Inclusive Design IV Breaking Down Barriers between People with Impairments and Those without V Breaking Down Barriers between Research and Policy-making In the context of developing demographic changes leading to greater numbers of older people and people living with impairments, the general field of inclusive design research strives to relate the capabilities of the population to the design of products, services, and spaces. CWUAAT has always had a successful multidisciplinary focus, but if genuine transdisciplinary fields are to evolve from this, the final barriers to integrated research must be identified and characterised. Only then will benefits be realised in an inclusive society. Barriers do not arise from impairments themselves, but instead, are erected by humans, who often have not considered a greater variation in sensory, cognitive and physical user capabilities. Barriers are not only technical or architectural, but they also exist between different communities of professionals. Our continual goal with the CWUAAT workshop series is to break down barriers in technical, physical, and architectural design, as well as barriers between different professional communities.

This book provides an introduction to Swarm Robotics, which is the application of methods from swarm intelligence to robotics. It goes on to present methods that allow readers to understand how to design large-scale robot systems by going through many example scenarios on topics such as aggregation, coordinated motion (flocking), task allocation, self-assembly, collective construction, and environmental monitoring. The author explains the methodology behind building multiple, simple robots and how the complexity emerges from the multiple interactions between these robots such that they are able to solve difficult tasks. The book can be used as a short textbook for specialized courses or as an introduction to Swarm Robotics for graduate students, researchers, and professionals who want a concise introduction to the field.

Tele operation systems, in which robots are controlled remotely, are a potential solution to performing tasks in remote, small, and hazardous environments. However, there is a big disadvantage to these systems; as the direct connection between the human and the environment is lost and operators are deprived of their sense of touch. The recreation of touch feedback through haptic devices is a possible solution, however haptic devices are far from perfect and improving their design is usually a slow trial-and-error process. This book describes 7 scientific studies that try to break this slow loop by using a deductive approach. Through investigating fundamental properties of human haptic perception using psychophysical paradigms, general knowledge on haptic perception of force, position, movement and hardness was gained. The resulting information can be applied to many different haptic devices. Consequently haptic systems can be more easily designed in an intuitive, human-centered way.

This book discusses the latest advances in digital modeling systems (DMSs) and additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. It covers applications of networked technologies, ubiquitous computing, new materials and hybrid production systems, discussing how they are changing the processes of conception, modeling and production of products and systems of product. The book emphasizes ergonomic and sustainability issues, as well as timely topics such as DMSs and AM in Industry 4.0, DMSs and AM in developing countries, DMSs and AM in extreme environments, thus highlighting future trends and promising scenarios for further developing those technologies. Based on the AHFE 2019 International Conference on Additive Manufacturing, Modeling Systems and 3D Prototyping, held on July 24-28, 2019, in Washington D.C., USA, the book is intended as source of inspiration for researchers, engineers and stakeholders, and to foster interdisciplinary and international collaborations between them.

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 is a timely report on current neurotechnology research. It presents a snapshot of the state of the art in the field, discusses current challenges and identifies new directions. The book includes a selection of extended and revised contributions presented at the 2nd International Congress on Neurotechnology, Electronics and Informatics (NEUROTECHNIX 2014), held October 25-26 in Rome, Italy. The chapters are varied: some report on novel theoretical methods for studying neuronal connectivity or neural system behaviour; others report on advanced technologies developed for similar purposes; while further contributions concern new engineering methods and technological tools supporting medical diagnosis and neurorehabilitation. All in all, this book provides graduate students, researchers and practitioners dealing with different aspects of neurotechnologies with a unified view of the field, thus fostering new ideas and research collaborations among groups from different disciplines.

The book discusses new algorithms capable of searching for, tracking, mapping and providing a visualization of invisible substances. It reports on the realization of a bacterium-inspired robotic controller that can be used by an agent to search for any environmental spatial function such as temperature or pollution. Using the parameters of a mathematical model, the book shows that it is possible to control the exploration, exploitation and sensitivity of the agent. This feature sets the work apart from the usual method of applying the bacterium behavior to robotic agents. The book also discusses how a computationally tractable multi-agent robotic controller was developed and used to track as well as provide a visual map of a spatio-temporal distribution of a substance. On the one hand, this book provides biologists and ecologists with a basis to perform simulations related to how individual organisms respond to spatio-temporal factors in their environment as well as predict and analyze the behavior of organisms at a population level. On the other hand, it offers robotic engineers practical and fresh insights into the development of computationally tractable algorithms for spatial exploratory and mapping robots. It also allows a more general audience to gain an understanding of the design of computational intelligence algorithms for autonomous physical systems.

This book is devoted to one of the most famous examples of automation handling tasks - the "bin-picking" problem. To pick up objects, scrambled in a box is an easy task for humans, but its automation is very complex. In this book three different approaches to solve the bin-picking problem are described, showing how modern sensors can be used for efficient bin-picking as well as how classic sensor concepts can be applied for novel bin-picking techniques. 3D point clouds are firstly used as basis, employing the known Random Sample Matching algorithm paired with a very efficient depth map based collision avoidance mechanism resulting in a very robust bin-picking approach. Reducing the complexity of the sensor data, all computations are then done on depth maps. This allows the use of 2D image analysis techniques to fulfill the tasks and results in real time data analysis. Combined with force/torque and acceleration sensors, a near time optimal bin-picking system emerges. Lastly, surface normal maps are employed as a basis for pose estimation. In contrast to known approaches, the normal maps are not used for 3D data computation but directly for the object localization problem, enabling the application of a new class of sensors for bin-picking.

This book presents selected research papers from the 2015 Chinese Intelligent Systems Conference (CISC'15), held in Yangzhou, China. The topics covered include multi-agent systems, evolutionary computation, artificial intelligence, complex systems, computation intelligence and soft computing, intelligent control, advanced control technology, robotics and applications, intelligent information processing, iterative learning control, and machine learning. Engineers and researchers from academia, industry and the government can gain valuable insights into solutions combining ideas from multiple disciplines in the field of intelligent systems.

This book focuses on the topology theory of mechanisms developed by the authors and provides a systematic method for the topology design of robot mechanisms. The main original theoretical contributions of this book include: A. Three basic concepts * The "geometrical constraint type of axes" is introduced as the third element of the topological structure of a mechanism. When it is combined with the other two elements, the kinematic pair and the connection of links, the symbolic expression of the topological structure is independent of the motion positions (except for the singularity positions) and the fixed coordinate system (Chapter 2). * The position and orientation characteristic (POC) set is used to describe the POC of the relative motion between any two links. The POC set, derived from the unit vector set of the velocity of a link, is only depend on the topological structure of a mechanism. Therefore, it is also independent of the motion positions and the fixed coordinate system (Chapter 3). * The single open chain (SOC) unit is the base unit of the topological structure used to develop the four basic equations of the mechanism topology (Chapters 2, 4-6). B. The mechanism composition principle based on the SOC units This book proposes a mechanism composition principle, based on the SOC units, to establish a systematic theory for the unified modeling of the topology, kinematics, and dynamics of mechanisms based on the SOC units (Chapter 7). C. Four basic equations* The POC equation of serial mechanisms with 10 symbolic operation rules (Chapter 4). * The POC equation of parallel mechanisms with 14 symbolic operation rules (Chapter 5). * The general DOF formula for spatial mechanisms (Chapter 6).* The coupling degree formula for the Assur kinematic chain (Chapter 7). D. One systematic method for the topology design of robot mechanisms (Chapters 8-10) Based on the three basic concepts and the four basic equations addressed above, this book puts forward a systematic method for the topology design of parallel mechanisms, which is fundamentally different from all existing methods. Its main characteristics are as follows:* The design process includes two stages: the first is structure synthesis, which derives many structure types; the second involves the performance analysis, classification and optimization of structure types derived from the first stage. * The design operation is independent of the motion positions and the fixed coordinate system. Therefore, the proposed method is essentially a geometrical method, which ensures the full-cycle DOF and the generality of geometric conditions of mechanism existence. * Each individual design step follows an explicit formula or the guidelines for design criteria, making the operation simple, feasible and reproducible. In addition, the topology design of the SCARA PMs is studied in detail to demonstrate the proposed method (Chapter 10).

This volume presents the proceedings of the 12th IFToMM International Symposium on Science of Mechanisms and Machines (SYROM 2017), that was held in "Gheorghe Asachi" Technical University of Iasi, Romania, November 02-03, 2017. It contains applications of mechanisms in several modern technical fields such as mechatronics and robotics, biomechanics, machines and apparatus. The book presents original high-quality contributions on topics related to mechanisms within aspects of theory, design, practice and applications in engineering, including but not limited to: theoretical kinematics, computational kinematics, mechanism design, experimental mechanics, mechanics of robots, dynamics of machinery, dynamics of multi-body systems, control issues of mechanical systems, mechanisms for biomechanics, novel designs, mechanical transmissions, linkages and manipulators, micro-mechanisms, teaching methods, history of mechanism science, industrial and non-industrial applications. In connection with these fields, the book combines the theoretical results with experimental tests.

Cable-driven parallel robots are a new kind of lightweight manipulators with excellent scalability in terms of size, payload, and dynamics capacities. For the first time, a comprehensive compendium is presented of the field of cable-driven parallel robots. A thorough theory of cable robots is setup leading the reader from first principles to the latest results in research. The main topics covered in the book are classification, terminology, and fields of application for cable-driven parallel robots. The geometric foundation of the standard cable model is introduced followed by statics, force distribution, and stiffness. Inverse and forward kinematics are addressed by elaborating efficient algorithms. Furthermore, the workspace is introduced and different algorithms are detailed. The book contains the dynamic equations as well as simulation models with applicable parameters. Advanced cable models are described taking into account pulleys, elastic cables, and sagging cables. For practitioner, a descriptive design method is stated including methodology, parameter synthesis, construction design, component selection, and calibration. Rich examples are presented by means of simulation results from sample robots as well as experimental validation on reference demonstrators. The book contains a representative overview of reference demonstrator system. Tables with physical parameters for geometry, cable properties, and robot parameterizations support case studies and are valuable references for building custom cable robots. For scientist, the book provides the starting point to address new scientific challenges as open problems are named and a commented review of the literature on cable robot with more than 500 references are given.

This book presents selected research papers from CISC'17, held in MudanJiang, China. The topics covered include Multi-agent system, Evolutionary Computation, Artificial Intelligence, Complex systems, Computation intelligence and soft computing, Intelligent control, Advanced control technology, Robotics and applications, Intelligent information processing, Iterative learning control, Machine Learning, and etc. Engineers and researchers from academia, industry, and government can gain valuable insights into solutions combining ideas from multiple disciplines in the field of intelligent systems.

The proceedings brings together a selection of papers from the 7th International Workshop of Advanced Manufacturing and Automation (IWAMA 2017), held in Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu, China on September 11-12, 2017. Most of the topics are focusing on novel techniques for manufacturing and automation in Industry 4.0. These contributions are vital for maintaining and improving economic development and quality of life. The proceeding will assist academic researchers and industrial engineers to implement the concepts and theories of Industry 4.0 in industrial practice, in order to effectively respond to the challenges posed by the 4th industrial revolution and smart factories.

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

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

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.

The special session on Decision Economics (DECON) is a scientific forum held annually, which is focused on sharing ideas, projects, research results, models, and experiences associated with the complexity of behavioural decision processes and socio-economic phenomena. In 2018, DECON was held at Campus Tecnologico de la Fabrica de Armas, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain, as part of the 15th International Conference on Distributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence. For the third consecutive year, this book have drawn inspiration from Herbert A. Simon's interdisciplinary legacy and, in particular, is devoted to designs, models, and techniques for boundedly rational decisions, involving several fields of study and expertise. It is worth noting that the recognition of relevant decision-making takes place in a range of critical subject areas and research fields, including economics, finance, information systems, small and international business management, operations, and production. Therefore, decision-making issues are of fundamental importance in all branches of economics addressed with different methodological approaches. As a matter of fact, the study of decision-making has become the focus of intense research efforts, both theoretical and applied, forming a veritable bridge between theory and practice as well as science and business organisations, whose pillars are based on insightful cutting-edge experimental, behavioural, and computational approaches on the one hand, and celebrating the value of science as well as the close relationship between economics and complexity on the other. In this respect, the international scientific community acknowledges Herbert A. Simon's research endeavours to understand the processes involved in economic decision-making and their implications for the advancement of economic professions. Within the field of decision-making, indeed, Simon has become a mainstay of bounded rationality and satisficing. His rejection of the standard (unrealistic) decision-making models adopted by neoclassical economists inspired social scientists worldwide with the purpose to develop research programmes aimed at studying decision-making empirically, experimentally, and computationally. The main achievements concern decision-making for individuals, firms, markets, governments, institutions, and, last but not least, science and research. This book of selected papers tackles these issues that Simon broached in a professional career spanning more than sixty years. The Editors of this book dedicated it to Herb.

This book comprises the proceedings of the second International Conference, AsiaHaptics 2016, held in Kashiwanoha, Japan. The book treats the state of the art of the diverse haptics (touch)-related research, including scientific research of haptics perception and illusion, development of haptics devices, and applications to a wide variety of fields such as education, medicine, telecommunication, navigation, and entertainment. This work helps not only active haptic researchers, but also general readers to understand what is going on in this interdisciplinary area of science and technology.

The DARPA Robotics Challenge was a robotics competition that took place in Pomona, California USA in June 2015. The competition was the culmination of 33 months of demanding work by 23 teams and required humanoid robots to perform challenging locomotion and manipulation tasks in a mock disaster site. The challenge was conceived as a response to the Japanese Fukushima nuclear disaster of March 2011. The Fukushima disaster was seen as an ideal candidate for robotic intervention since the risk of exposure to radiation prevented human responders from accessing the site. This volume, edited by Matthew Spenko, Stephen Buerger, and Karl Iagnemma, includes commentary by the organizers, overall analysis of the results, and documentation of the technical efforts of 15 competing teams. The book provides an important record of the successes and failures involved in the DARPA Robotics Challenge and provides guidance for future needs to be addressed by policy makers, funding agencies, and the robotics research community. Many of the papers in this volume were initially published in a series of special issues of the Journal of Field Robotics. We have proudly collected versions of those papers in this STAR volume.

This book highlights electromagnetic actuation (EMA) and sensing systems for a broad range of applications including targeted drug delivery, drug-release-rate control, catheterization, intravitreal needleless injections, wireless magnetic capsule endoscopy, and micromanipulations. It also reviews the state-of-the-art magnetic actuation and sensing technologies with remotely controlled targets used in biomedicine.

This book discusses human-machine interactions, specifically focusing on making them as natural as human-human interaction. It is based on the premise that to get the right connect between human and machines, it is essential to understand not only the behavior of the person interacting with the machine, but also the limitations of the technology. Firstly, the authors review the evolution of language as a spontaneous, natural phenomenon in the overall scheme of the evolutionary development of living beings. They then go on to examine the possible approaches to understanding and representing the meaning and the common aspects of human-human and human-machine interactions, and introduce the keyconcept-keyword (also called minimal parsing) approach as a convenient and realistic way to implement usable human-machine interface (HMI) systems. For researchers looking for practical approaches, way beyond the realms of theory, this book is a must read.

Distributed robotics is an interdisciplinary and rapidly growing area, combining research in computer science, communication and control systems, and electrical and mechanical engineering. Distributed robotic systems can autonomously solve complex problems while operating in highly unstructured real-world environments. They are expected to play a major role in addressing future societal needs, for example, by improving environmental impact assessment, food supply, transportation, manufacturing, security, and emergency and rescue services. The goal of the International Symposium on Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems (DARS) is to provide a forum for scientific advances in the theory and practice of distributed autonomous robotic systems. This volume of proceedings include 47 original contributions presented at the 13th International Symposium on Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems (DARS 2016), which was held at the Natural History Museum in London, UK, from November 7th to 9th, 2016. The selected papers in this volume are authored by leading researchers from around the world, thereby providing a broad coverage and perspective of the state-of-the-art technologies, algorithms, system architectures, and applications in distributed robotic systems. The book is organized into seven parts, representative of critical long-term and emerging research thrusts in the multi-robot community: Distributed Coverage and Exploration; Multi-Robot Control; Multi-Robot Estimation; Multi-Robot Planning; Modular Robots and Smart Materials; Swarm Robotics; and Multi-Robot Systems in Applications.