关键词： Anthropomorphic robots  

摘要： This paper describes Team THOR's approach to human-in-the-loop disaster response robotics for the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Finals. Under the duress of unpredictable networking and terrain, fluid operator interactions and dynamic disturbance rejection become major concerns for effective teleoperation. We present a humanoid robot designed to effectively traverse a disaster environment while allowing for a wide range of manipulation abilities. To complement the robot hardware, a hierarchical software foundation implements network strategies that provide real-time feedback to an operator under restricted bandwidth using layered user interfaces. Our strategy for humanoid locomotion includes a backward-facing knee configuration paired with specialized toe and heel lifting strategies that allow the robot to traverse difficult surfaces while rejecting external perturbations. With an upper body planner that encodes operator preferences, predictable motion plans are executed in unforeseen circumstances. These plans are critical for manipulation in unknown environments. Our approach was validated during the DRC Finals competition, where Team THOR scored three points in 18 min of operation time, and the results are presented along with an analysis of each task. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

关键词： Evaluation methodologies   Educational Robotics   Education   Interactive learning environments  

摘要： Educational Robotics (ER) is known for its effects on academic achievement and scientific concepts. Few studies have demonstrated ER effects on cognitive skills and no evidence exists on the role of ER in promoting Executive Functions, key elements in early school readiness and cognitive milestone achievements. The aim of this study was to evaluate, for the first time, the short-term effects in Preschool children of an intensive ER training on Executive Functions. A sample of 12 children (age range: 5-6 years) took part to an intensive ER-Lab for 13 sessions (6 weeks) by using a bee-shaped robot, called Bee-Bot (R). The children were tested three times (baseline, pre and post ER-Lab) with a neuropsychological battery. The main finding was a significant improvement in both visuo-spatial working memory and inhibition skills after the ER-Lab period, with a significant effect also on robot programming skills. These data provide scientific support to the hypothesis that ER is suitable in progressively improving abilities in planning and controlling complex tasks in early childhood, fostering executive functions development. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

关键词： Ubiquitous manufacturing   Cloud manufacturing   Interoperability   Cloud robotics  

摘要： Modern manufacturing industry calls for a new generation of production system with better inter operability and new business models. As a novel information technology, Cloud provides new service models and business opportunities for manufacturing industry. In this research, recent Cloud manufacturing and Cloud robotics approaches are reviewed. Function block-based integration mechanisms are developed to integrate various types of manufacturing facilities. A Cloud-based manufacturing system is developed to support ubiquitous manufacturing, which provides a service pool maintaining physical facilities in terms of manufacturing services. The proposed framework and mechanisms are evaluated by both machining and robotics applications. In practice, it is possible to establish an integrated manufacturing environment across multiple levels with the support of manufacturing Cloud and function blocks. It provides a flexible architecture as well as ubiquitous and integrated methodologies for the Cloud Manufacturing system. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

关键词： Legged locomotion   six-legged robot   hexapod robot   tripod gait   gait comparison  

摘要： The paper is focused on the kinematic, dynamic and power consumption analysis of the constructed prototype of the hexapod robot walking with tripod gait on a flat and hard ground. The movements of the robot legs are controlled by different well known oscillators working as central pattern generators (CPGs). The mentioned models, as well as those proposed in our previous paper, are employed and compared from the viewpoint of fluctuations of the robot gravity center both in vertical and movement direction, contact forces between the robot legs and the ground as well as energy demand of the whole robot during walking process. Time histories of the key kinematic and dynamic quantities describing locomotion of the robot are numerically studied and experimentally verified. Power consumption of the whole robot is experimentally investigated based on the current consumption in the applied servo motors which drive the robot legs. We show that the proposed CPG model is more efficient regarding acceleration/ deceleration of the whole robot, contact forces and overload acting on the robot legs as well the energy demand during walking of the robot. The appropriate choice of the robot leg movements, depending on the actual situation, can have a positive influence on the investigated issues, i.e. avoid unnecessary acceleration/deceleration of the robot, decrease the contact forces between the legs and the ground and reduce energy demand of the whole robot. Consequently, it also allows to improve structural stability of the robot during walking process.

关键词： Ubiquitous computing   embodiment   robot   wearable   learning   experiment   children  

摘要： Pedagogy has emphasized that physical representations and tangible interactive objects benefit learning especially for young students. There are many tangible hardware platforms for introducing computer programming to children, but there is limited comparative evaluation of them in the context of a formal classroom. In this work, we explore the benefits of learning to code for tangible computers, such as robots and wearable computers, in comparison to programming for the desktop computer. For this purpose, 36 students participated in a within-groups study that involved three types of target computer platform tangibility: (1) desktop, (2) wearable, and (3) robotic. We employed similar blocks-based visual programming environments, and we measured emotional engagement, attitudes, and computer programming performance. We found that students were more engaged by and had a higher intention of learning programming with the robotic rather than the desktop computer. Furthermore, tangible computing platforms, either robot or wearable, did not affect the students' performance in learning basic computational concepts (e.g., sequence, repeat, and decision). Our findings suggest that computer programming should be introduced through multiple target platforms (e.g., robots, smartphones, wearables) to engage children.

关键词： dance notation   humanoid robot   Laban   Laban Movement Analysis   motion generation  

摘要： This article raises the issue of collaboration between the field of dance and that of robotics. Dance notation systems are developed in the choreographic field as a method to describe and record human movements. Translating movements into symbols is of particular concern for computer science and robotics, which are interested in generating anthropomorphic motions in robots or animated avatars. We examine different research projects on the use of Laban notation for this purpose, and present our own attempt at generating dance movements in a humanoid robot from a Laban score. We discuss the interests and difficulties related to the use of a dance notation system in a robotic context.

关键词： Field and service robotics   search and rescue robots   humanoid robots   human-centered and life-like robotics   legged robots   mechanics   design and control   virtual reality and interfaces   simulation   interfaces and virtual reality  

摘要： In June 2015, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge (DRC) Finals were held in Pomona, California. The DRC Finals served as the third phase of the program designed to test the capabilities of semi-autonomous, remote humanoid robots to perform disaster response tasks with degraded communications. All competition teams were responsible for developing their own interaction method to control their robot. Of the 23 teams in the competition, 20 consented to participate in this study of human-robot interaction (HRI). The evaluation team observed the consenting teams during task execution in their control rooms (with the operators), and all 23 teams were observed on the field during the public event (with the robot). A variety of data were collected both before the competition and on-site. Each participating team's interaction methods were distilled into a set of characteristics pertaining to the robot, operator strategies, control methods, and sensor fusion. Each task was decomposed into subtasks that were classified according to the complexity of the mobility and/or manipulation actions being performed. Performance metrics were calculated regarding the number of task attempts, performance time, and critical incidents, which were then correlated to each team's interaction methods. The results of this analysis suggest that a combination of HRI characteristics, including balancing the capabilities of the operator with those of the robot and multiple sensor fusion instances with variable reference frames, positively impacted task performance. A set of guidelines for designing HRI with remote, semi-autonomous humanoid robots is proposed based on these results.

关键词： Power generation   Power transmission lines   Research and development   Power system reliability   Robots   Maintenance engineering  

摘要： Power systems face numerous challenges to address the growing need for sustainable energy worldwide. Several tasks directly focused on power systems operations can be either partially or completely automated by an unmanned or teleoperated robotic system. Robots can improve efficiency, reduce labor costs, and, most importantly, avoid operational risks, since power plants and transmission lines are hostile environments for humans. Although there has been some preliminary development of robotic applications in several tasks related to power systems, the technology is still undergoing research and development; it is highly dependent on the nature of the tasks to be performed, and a unified framework of applications does not yet exist. The aim of this article is to present the main contributions from the robotics field to the inspection and maintenance of power systems through the analysis of state-of-the-art and current advances, thus providing the reader with a comprehensive and insightful analysis of implemented examples and future trends.

关键词： Robotic surgery   Sinonasal   Skull base   Sinus surgery  

摘要： Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has been proven to be safe and to yield acceptable oncological and functional outcomes for surgery of the oropharynx, hypopharynx, supraglottis, and glottis. TORS has been successful at reducing morbidity, improving quality of life, and providing access to areas that previously required mandibulotomy or other more radical approaches in the past. This has changed the paradigm of management of tumors in these anatomic locations. In this article, the authors review the recent literature discussing the role of robotic surgery in managing sinonasal and skull base pathology and discuss its current advantages and limitations.

关键词： Wheeled mobile robot   Soft ground   Tire-ground model   Longitudinal velocity   Wheel slip  

摘要： The paper is concerned with the study of longitudinal motion of a lightweight wheeled mobile robot on soft ground. The study is focused on the influence of the desired longitudinal velocity of a robot on both the longitudinal slip of the wheels and the ratio of wheel-terrain contact angles. Design of the four-wheeled skid-steered robot and research environment are described. Experimental investigations were conducted on a dedicated test stand with dry sand. A dynamics model of the robot-ground system taking into account properties of soft ground is presented. The classical terramechanics models of Bekker and Janosi-Hanamoto are used. Results of simulation research of robot motion and of the analogous experimental investigations are presented. Actual motion parameters of the robot and the values of longitudinal slip ratio of the wheels are determined. The results of simulation and experimental investigations are compared and discussed. A formula to describe front-to-back wheel-terrain contact angle ratio dependency on the desired velocity is proposed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.