关键词： Imitation learning   Movement primitives   Trajectory representation   Control   Robotics  

摘要： Movement Primitives are a well-established paradigm for modular movement representation and generation. They provide a data-driven representation of movements and support generalization to novel situations, temporal modulation, sequencing of primitives and controllers for executing the primitive on physical systems. However, while many MP frameworks exhibit some of these properties, there is a need for a unified framework that implements all of them in a principled way. In this paper, we show that this goal can be achieved by using a probabilistic representation. Our approach models trajectory distributions learned from stochastic movements. Probabilistic operations, such as conditioning can be used to achieve generalization to novel situations or to combine and blend movements in a principled way. We derive a stochastic feedback controller that reproduces the encoded variability of the movement and the coupling of the degrees of freedom of the robot. We evaluate and compare our approach on several simulated and real robot scenarios.

关键词： Robotics   STEM   Task taxonomy  

摘要： This study presents the case of development and evaluation of a STEM-oriented 30-h robotics course for junior high school students (n = 32). Class activities were designed according to the P3 Task Taxonomy, which included: (1) practice-basic closed-ended tasks and exercises;(2) problem solving-small-scale open-ended assignments in which the learner can choose the solution method or arrive at different answers;and (3) project-based learning-open-ended challenging tasks. The research aimed at exploring students' working patterns, achievements in learning the course, and the impact of this experience on students' motivation to learn STEM subjects. Evaluation tools included a final exam on factual, procedural and conceptual knowledge in the STEM subject learned in the course, class observations, interviews with the students, and administrating an attitude questionnaire before and after the course. Since the experimental class was quite heterogenic in regard to students' prior learning achievements and motivation to learn, some of the students completed just the basic exercises, others coped well with the problem-solving tasks, and only a few took it upon themselves to carry out a complex project. However, all students showed high motivation to learn robotics and STEM subjects. In summary, robotics provides a very rich and attractive learning environment for STEM education. Yet, the realization of this potential depends largely on careful design of the course methodology and especially the students' assignments in the class. One should recognize that often only some students are capable of learning a new subject on their own through project work, and these students also need to gain additional knowledge and skills before dealing with complex projects.

关键词： Robotics  

摘要： The article focuses on the French subsidiary Mars and XPO Logistics using automated handling systems and robotics in their supply chain management system.

关键词： Acknowledgement analysis   Funding analysis   Citation network   Emerging technology   Robotics  

摘要： Funded research has been linked to academic production and performance. While the presence of funding acknowledgements may serve as an indicator of quality to some extent, we still lack tools to evaluate whether funding agencies allocate resources to novel and innovative research rather than mature fields. We address this issue in the present study by using bibliometrics. In particular, we exploit the citation network properties of academic articles to classify specific research fields into four categories: change maker, breakthrough, incremental, and matured. We then use funding acknowledgement information to identify the sponsors involved in each research type to characterize funding agencies. We focus our analysis on the robotics field in order to reveal international trends of financial acknowledgements. We find that the incremental and matured research areas show the highest counts of funding acknowledgements. Moreover, although research funded by some agencies is mostly recognized as incremental-type research, those in other categoriesmay perform better in terms of the number of citations. Additionally, we analyze the interest of selected funding agencies in granular subject categories. The characterization of funding agencies in this study may help policymakers and funding organizations assess or adjust their strategies, benchmark with other key players, and obtain an overview of local and global acknowledgement trends.

关键词： Robotics   rehabilitation   force control   surface electromyography signals   upper limb motion  

摘要： Physical rehabilitation based on robotic systems has the potential to cover the patient's need of improvement of upper extremity functionalities. In this article, the state of the art of resistant and assistive upper limb exoskeleton robots and their control are thoroughly investigated. Afterward, a single-degree-of-freedom exoskeleton matching the elbowforearm has been advanced to grant a valid rehabilitation therapy for persons with physical disability of upper limb motion. The authors have focused on the control system based on the use of electromyography signals as an input to drive the joint movement and manage the robotics arm. The correlation analysis between surface electromyography signal and the force exerted by the subject was studied in objects' grasping tests with the purpose of validating the methodology. The authors developed an innovative surface electromyography force-based active control that adjusts the force exerted by the device during rehabilitation. The control was validated by an experimental campaign on healthy subjects simulating disease on an arm, with positive results that confirm the proposed solution and that open the way to future researches.

关键词： actuation   laminates   microfluidics   silicone bonding   soft robotics  

摘要： The lamination of mechanically stiff structures to elastic materials is prevalent in biological systems and popular in many emerging synthetic systems, such as soft robotics, microfluidics, stretchable electronics, and pop-up assemblies. The disparate mechanical and chemical properties of these materials have made it challenging to develop universal synthetic procedures capable of reliably adhering to these classes of materials together. Herein, a simple and scalable procedure is described that is capable of covalently laminating a variety of commodity ("off-the-shelf") thermoplastic sheets to silicone rubber films. When combined with laser printing, the nonbonding sites can be printed onto the thermoplastic sheets, enabling the direct fabrication of microfluidic systems for actuation and liquid handling applications. The versatility of this approach in generating thin, multifunctional laminates is demonstrated through the fabrication of milliscale soft actuators and grippers with hinged articulation and microfluidic channels with built-in optical filtering and pressure-dependent geometries. This method of fabrication offers several advantages, including technical simplicity, process scalability, design versatility, and material diversity. The concepts and strategies presented herein are broadly applicable to the soft robotics, microfluidics, and advanced and additive manufacturing communities where hybrid rubber/plastic structures are prevalent.

关键词： Multi-body dynamics   Udwadia-Kalaba equation   Modular underwater robots   Constrained dynamics   Quasi-coordinates   Re-configurable robots  

摘要： This paper investigates the problem of modelling a system of interconnected underwater robots with highly coupled dynamics. The objective is to develop a mathematical description of the system that captures its most significant dynamics. The proposed modelling method is based on active constraint enforcement by utilising the Udwadia-Kalaba Formulation for multi-body dynamics. The required description of a rigid constraint is defined, derived and implemented into a system of interconnected sub-models. An exhaustive experimental validation is conducted on a two-vehicle system, including towing tank tests on a BIueROV vehicle to determine the model parameters. The applicability of the modelling approach is assessed by comparing experimental data to simulations of an equivalent model synthesised using the proposed theory.

关键词： 软体机器人   运动学建模   动力学建模  

摘要： 软体机器人是一类新型机器人,具有结构柔软度高、环境适应性好、亲和性强、功能多样等特点。近年来,软体机器人领域发展较快,取得的进展表明,应用软体材料制作的机器人在适应性和灵活性方面超越了传统的刚性体机器人。由于其结构固有的顺应性,软体机器人可明显提高人机交互性能。文中首先介绍了软体机器人研究现状,然后详细介绍了软体机器人运动学建模常用的分段常曲率方法,阐述了应用拉格朗日方程建立软体机器人动力学模型的分析方法,最后分析了目前软体机器人建模方面的主要挑战,提出了软体机器人运动学与动力学建模的发展方向。

关键词： 教育的国际化   机器人学   双语教学   教学模式  

摘要： 随着机器人技术的快速发展,机器人课程双语教学的意义逐渐凸显。本文以机电专业开设的双语课《机器人学导论》为研究对象,对双语教学的必要性及存在的问题进行了总结,对教材选用及考核方式进行了分析,并有针对性的对教学模式进行探讨,旨在为双语教学工作的改进与推广提供参考。

关键词： 机器人竞赛   创新能力   专业教育  

摘要： 文章研究基于机器人竞赛平台的大学生的"双创"素质培养和教育融合实践。分析了机器人竞赛为"双创"素质培养提供的新途径,以及引导学生多方面的素质能力提升的作用,同时将竞赛与专业教育相融合,增强创新能力培养,在实践中获得的良好的效果。