This book contains mainly the selected papers of the First International Workshop on Medical and Service Robots, held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in 2012. The high quality of the scientific contributions is the result of a rigorous selection and improvement based on the participants exchange of opinions and extensive peer-review. This process has led to the publishing of the present collection of 16 independent valuable contributions and points of view and not as standard symposium or conference proceedings.

The addressed issues are: Computational Kinematics, Mechanism Design, Linkages and Manipulators, Mechanisms for Biomechanics, Mechanics of Robots, Control Issues for Mechanical Systems, Novel Designs, Teaching Methods, all of these being concentrated around robotic systems for medical and service applications.

The results are of interest to researchers and professional practitioners as well as to Ph.D. students in the field of mechanical and electrical engineering.

This volume marks the start of a subseries entitled New Trends in Medical and Service Robots within the "Machine and Mechanism Science Series," presenting recent trends, research results and new challenges in the field of medical and service robotics.

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This volume describes new frontiers in medical and service robotics in the light of recent developments in technology to advance robot design and implementation. In particular, the work looks at advances in design, development and implementation of contemporary surgical, rehabilitation and biorobots. Surgical robots allow surgeons greater access to areas under operation using more precise and less invasive methods. Rehabilitation robots facilitate and support the lives of the infirm, elderly people, or those with dysfunction of body parts affecting movement. These robots are also used for rehabilitation and related procedures, such as training and therapy. Biorobots are designed to imitate the cognition of humans and animals. The need to substitute humans working on delicate, tiresome and monotonous tasks, or working with potentially health-damaging toxic materials, requires intelligent, high-performance service robots with the ability to cooperate, advanced communication and sophisticated perception and cognitive capabilities. Progress in this field is fast and results need to be disseminated to stimulate both practical applications and further research. Thus, these papers are a valuable addition to existing literature.

This book contains mainly the selected papers of the First International Workshop on Medical and Service Robots, held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in 2012. The high quality of the scientific contributions is the result of a rigorous selection and improvement based on the participants' exchange of opinions and extensive peer-review. This process has led to the publishing of the present collection of 16 independent valuable contributions and points of view and not as standard symposium or conference proceedings. The addressed issues are: Computational Kinematics, Mechanism Design, Linkages and Manipulators, Mechanisms for Biomechanics, Mechanics of Robots, Control Issues for Mechanical Systems, Novel Designs, Teaching Methods, all of these being concentrated around robotic systems for medical and service applications. The results are of interest to researchers and professional practitioners as well as to Ph.D. students in the field of mechanical and electrical engineering. This volume marks the start of a subseries entitled "New Trends in Medical and Service Robots" within the Machine and Mechanism Science Series, presenting recent trends, research results and new challenges in the field of medical and service robotics.

Magnetlager zur ber}hrungsfreien Lagerung von Rotoren gewinnen eine zunehmende Bedeutung z.B. in der Vakuumtechnik, bei Werkzeugmaschinen und bei Turbomaschinen. Besondere Vorteile bieten die Ber}hrungsfreiheit und die regelbare Dynamik der Lagerung. Diese Eigenschaften erlauben z.B. neue Konstruktionen, einen Betrieb ohne mechanischen Verschlei und deshalb weniger Wartungsaufwand sowie hohe Drehzahlen mit der M-glichkeit zur aktiven Schwingungsd{mpfung. Demgegen}ber steht die Komplexit{t der Lagerung, deren Verst{ndnis Kenntnisse aus dem Bereich Mechanik, Elektrotechnik und Regelungstechnik erfordert. Das Buch behandelt die theoretischen Grundlagen der Rotordynamik, des elektromagnetischen Kreises und der Regelungstechnik, die zum Verst{ndnis der elektromagnetischen Lagerung notwendig sind. Beispiele von experimentellen Ausf}hrungen und praktischen Anwendungen von Magnetlagern in Labor und Industrie verkn}pfen die Theorie mit der Praxis. Ziel des Buches ist es, grundlegende Kenntnisse }ber den Aufbau und die Komponenten eines Magnetlagersystems zu vermitteln und damit die F{higkeit, ein elektromagnetisches Lager zu beurteilen, es bei einer rotordynamischen Aufgabe in der Konstruktion oder der Entwicklung einzusetzen oder im Betrieb damit umzugehen.