Advances in Robotics & Automation

A system for cooperation of two robot system was developed to solve the problem of shortage of labor and to improve efficiency of field work. A safety model of a robot tractor was proposed for coordination and cooperation of two robots. Each robot has its own pre-determined path, and tracking the path is independent of the other robot. Thus, by controlling the velocity of each robot, the robots can keep a certain shape when working due to radio communication between the two robots. As for headland turn, the two robots turn together as long as they are in a safe condition. Computer simulation was conducted to confirm the effectiveness of this system. The results showed that it is possible for two robots to work safely together applying the developed safety model. Compared with work by a single robot, this system using two robots can improve work efficiency by at least 80 percent.

Aerospace manufacturing industry is unique in that production typically focuses on high variety and quality but extremely low volume. Manufacturing processes are also sometimes unique and not repeatable and, hence, costly. Production is getting more expensive with the introduction of industrial robots and their cells. This paper describes the development of the Flexa Cell Coordinator (FCC), a system that is providing a solution to manage resources at assembly cell level. It can control, organise and coordinate between the resources and is capable of controlling remote cells and resources because of its distributed nature. It also gives insight of a system to the higher management via its rich reporting facility and connectivity with company systems e.g., Enterprise Resource Planner (ERP). It is able to control various kinds of cells and resources (network based) which are not limited to robots and machines. It is extendable and capable of adding multiple numbers of cells inside the system. It also provides the facility of scheduling the task to avoid the deadlocking in the process. In FCC resources (e.g., tracker) can also be shared between cells.

It is well known that the inverse kinematics problem for the spherical serial manipulator has been solved in the past by diverse methods; but this problem for a generalized architecture based on the Denavit-Hartenberg parameters has not been treated. Therefore, this paper considers such treatment in a geometric analysis to derive a closed-form solution of the inverse kinematics problem, whose algorithm is validated by simulating pick and place operations. With the code implementation of a novel linear tracking algorithm introduced here, this application is accomplished in real time with the aid of a development software devoted to simulate robotic applications in real time, allowing the visualization of the performance of all possible architectures including the eight types defined in this paper; It is also shown that the Stanford arm is comprised within this classification. In order to demonstrate the great potential offered by combining the algorithms released here in simulations for industrial applications requiring a quick response, a case study is presented by taking as examples, the Stanford manipulator and a spherical manipulator with generalized architecture.

Internet of things is becoming the most growing technology in recent days. Main idea behind the IoT is to extract the various values from various sensors which are attached to various objects by connecting them to the network and automating the actions performed by the object or a system. In this review paper, a study is made to understand the importance of use of IoT in humanoid robots. In order to appreciate this growing technology, this technology should be implemented to as many objects as possible so that everything will get connected in future. Along with other hardware developments, 5G internet technology is also getting developed rapidly. Use of IoT in humanoid will make many things easier to monitor and control in many ways which is discussed further in this paper. Case studies are also involved in this study to get the brief idea about how the hardware development is being done in this area. Comparison of various hardwares available to make the system work is done considering the factors like cost, ease of development, simplicity, etc.

In industries, measuring the parameters of machines is still a tedious process which is carried out by some human personnel. This paper mainly focuses on the remedial measures made to reduce human interaction with machines by using Industrial monitoring robot. This robot is hanged over the ropes to measure the parameters of machines in aerial mode. During its travel, the robot collects the parameters from the machines and transmits to control room using ZIG-BEE protocol. The control room interface with the robot is designed using MATLAB GUI model. MATLAB GUI interface shows the parameter readings from the robot and plotted in graph. The robot mainly observes temperature, smoke, toxic gases, Light intensity, defect in manufacturing machines, security purposes using cameras. Any abnormal change in the parameters can be viewed in the graph and remedial measures can be made immediately without any delay, this prevents machine damage to a greater extent. This robot is also used to indicate hazardous conditions like fire, leakage of pipes etc. to the control room using buzzers.

Objective: To analyze our nine-year experience in the surgical management of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) with open ureteral reimplantation, robotic reimplantation, and endoscopic correction with Deflux. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients undergoing surgical intervention for primary VUR at our institution between 2001 and 2010. Treatment success was defined as complete resolution of VUR on postoperative voiding cystourethrography. Surgeries were performed by four pediatric urologists. All robotic reimplantations were performed by a single surgeon. Categorical comparisons were made using Pearson’s Chi-Square or Fisher’s Exact test, and continuous variables were compared using Mann-Whitney U. Results: One hundred eighty-three patients (287 ureters) were included. Fourteen patients underwent robotic surgery, while the open surgery and Deflux cohorts included 93 and 76 patients, respectively. Due to the significantly smaller sample size of the robotic cohort, statistical comparisons were made only between the open surgery and Deflux cohorts. Postoperative VUR resolution rate was 100% (open), 85% (robotic), and 78.4% (Deflux). Open reimplantation had a significantly higher VUR resolution rate than Deflux (p<0.001). Overall, 13.9% of patients developed contralateral reflux, with no significant differences between the open and Deflux cohorts. Conclusions: In this study, we found significantly higher success rates with open reimplantation versus Deflux. While robotic reimplantation had high success rates and short hospital stays, the smaller sample size limited statistical comparison of this modality to open surgery or Deflux. We continue to enroll patients into a prospective series of all VUR procedures at our institution, which will result in more robust comparisons.