关键词： Mobile robots  

摘要： The Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is one of the most efficient algorithms to address the problem of Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) in the area of autonomous mobile robots. The EKF simultaneously estimates a model of the environment (map) and the position of a robot based on sensor information. The EKF for SLAM is usually implemented using floating-point data representation demanding high computational processing power, mainly when the processing is performed online during the environment exploration. In this paper, we propose a method to automatically estimate the bit-range of the EKF variables to mitigate its implementation using only fixed-point representation. In this method is presented a model to monitor the algorithm stability, a procedure to compute the bit range of each variable and a first effort to analyze the maximum acceptable system error. The proposed system can be applied to reduce the overall system cost and power consumption, specially in SLAM applications for embedded mobile robots. © 2012 The Brazilian Computer Society.

关键词： Motion planning  

摘要： This paper presents a set of novel modifications that can be applied to any grid-based path planning algorithm from the A* family used in mobile robotics. Five modifications are presented regarding the way the robot sees an obstacle and its target to plan the robot's path. The modifications make it possible for the robot to get to the target faster than traditional algorithms, as well as to avoid obstacles that move as fast as (or even faster than) the robot. Some simulations were made using a crowded and highly dynamic environment with twelve randomly moving obstacles. In these first simulations, a middle sized 5DPO robot was used. Also, real experiments were made with a small-sized version of a 5DPO robot to validate the algorithm's effectiveness. In all simulations and real robot experiments the objects are considered to be moving at a constant speed. Finally, we present an overall discussion and conclusion of this paper. © 2012 The Brazilian Computer Society.

关键词： Robotics   Prostatectomy   Partial nephrectomy   Cystectomy   Review   Urologic oncology  

摘要： Robotic technology disseminated into urological practice without robust comparative effectiveness data. To review the diffusion of robotic surgery into urological practice We performed a comprehensive literature review focusing on diffusion patterns, patient safety, learning curves, and comparative costs for robotic radical prostatectomy, partial nephrectomy, and radical cystectomy Robotic urologic surgery diffused in patterns typical of novel technology spreading among practicing surgeons. Robust evidence-based data comparing outcomes of robotic to open surgery were sparse. Although initial Level 3 evidence for robotic prostatectomy observed complication outcomes similar to open prostatectomy, subsequent population-based Level 2 evidence noted an increased prevalence of adverse patient safety events and genitourinary complications among robotic patients during the early years of diffusion. Level 2 evidence indicated comparable to improved patient safety outcomes for robotic compared to open partial nephrectomy and cystectomy. Learning curve recommendations for robotic urologic surgery have drawn exclusively on Level 4 evidence and subjective, non-validated metrics. The minimum number of cases required to achieve competency for robotic prostatectomy has increased to unrealistically high levels. Most comparative cost-analyses have demonstrated that robotic surgery is significantly more expensive than open or laparoscopic surgery. Evidence-based data are limited but suggest an increased prevalence of adverse patient safety events for robotic prostatectomy early in the national diffusion period. Learning curves for robotic urologic surgery are subjective and based on non-validated metrics. The urological community should develop rigorous, evidence-based processes by which future technological innovations may diffuse in an organized and safe manner.

关键词： Wireless Robotics   Space-time coding   Continuous phase modulation   L2-Orthogonal design   Multi-h CPM   Diversity   Decoding complexity  

摘要： Wireless Robotics has become an important research topic in the last two decades. The need of controlling a robot to perform tasks remotely has significantly increased with the number of applications in fields like medicine and military, among many others. Taking advantage of current standards like Bluetooth and Wifi, Wireless Robotics calls for low power consumption components, robustness and high data rate through the wireless channel. This call can be fulfilled with a reliable signaling format, satisfying the needs of low power consumption and high spectral efficiency. Besides, continuous phase modulation (CPM) has gained increasing attention due to its favorable trade-off between power and bandwidth efficiency. Multi-h CPM recently appeared as a generalization of single-h schemes so as to further decrease the need for bandwidth expansion over the wireless channel. Despite the interesting characteristics of CPM, the decoding of the received signal is particularly difficult in a multi-path wireless environment with no diversity. To provide some level of diversity, several authors have proposed to combine CPM with space-time block coding. A new family of codes for CPM, based on -orthogonality was recently introduced in Hesse et al. (IEEE Trans Commun 59(11): 3158-3166, 2011). These full rate codes achieve full diversity and a low decoding complexity. In this paper, we detail a non trivial extension of these -orthogonal space-time codes using multi-h signaling schemes. These new codes still achieve full diversity but a better spectral compactness by utilizing the available communication bandwidth more efficiently. Also, the decoding complexity is greatly decreased by using only one correlation filter bank for the detection of all transmitted signals.

关键词： Mobile robotics   Standardization   Wireless robotics  

摘要： Wireless robotics is one of the emerging fields in the world of automation. In-spite of research and standardization efforts around the world, the definition of the term "Robot" is still evolving. Robots have found application in many domains including home automation, industrial automation, health-care, surveillance, reconnaissance, planetary exploration or rescue missions. This paper addresses some of the opportunities, research challenges and standardization issues in wireless robotics with the focus on wireless and networking aspects.

关键词： Valves   Friction   Dynamics (Mechanics)   Magnetic resonance imaging   Design   Pressure   Manufacturing   Nozzles  

摘要： This paper presents the design and experimental characterization of a binary jet valve, specifically developed to control an all-polymer needle manipulator during intra-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) prostate interventions (biopsies and brachytherapies). The key feature of the MRI-compatible valve is its compact dual-stage configuration. The first stage is composed of a low-friction jet nozzle, driven by a small rotary dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA). The second stage provides sufficient air flow and stability for the binary robotic application through an independent air supply, activated by a bistable spool. A hyperelastic stress-strain model is used to optimize the geometrical dimensions of the DEA jet assembly. Fully functional valve prototypes, made with 3M's VHB 4905 films, are monitored with a high-speed camera in order to quantify the system's shifting dynamics. The impact of nozzle clearance, dielectric elastomer film viscoelasticity, mechanical friction, and actuator torque generation on overall dynamic behavior of two different valve setups is discussed. Results show an overall shifting time of 200-300 ms when the friction of the nozzle and DEA actuation stretches are minimized. Low shifting time combined with compactness, simplicity, and low cost suggest that the low friction DEA-driven jet valves have great potential for switching a large number of pneumatic circuits in an MRI environment as well as in traditional pneumatic applications.

关键词： Biochemistry   Bioengineering   Biology   Biophysic al simulations   Biotechnology   Chemistry   Computational biology   Engineering   Genomics   Macromolecular structure analysis   Mechanical engineering   Molecular conformation   Protein structure   Proteins   Research Article   Robotics   Stereochemistry   Structure prediction  

摘要： To accurately predict protein conformations in atomic detail, a computational method must be capable of sampling models sufficiently close to the native structure. All-atom sampling is difficult because of the vast number of possible conformations and extremely rugged energy landscapes. Here, we test three sampling strategies to address these difficulties: conformational diversification, intensification of torsion and omega-angle sampling and parameter annealing. We evaluate these strategies in the context of the robotics-based kinematic closure (KIC) method for local conformational sampling in Rosetta on an established benchmark set of 45 12-residue protein segments without regular secondary structure. We quantify performance as the fraction of sub-Angstrom models generated. While improvements with individual strategies are only modest, the combination of intensification and annealing strategies into a new "next-generation KIC" method yields a four-fold increase over standard KIC in the median percentage of sub-Angstrom models across the dataset. Such improvements enable progress on more difficult problems, as demonstrated on longer segments, several of which could not be accurately remodeled with previous methods. Given its improved sampling capability, next-generation KIC should allow advances in other applications such as local conformational remodeling of multiple segments simultaneously, flexible backbone sequence design, and development of more accurate energy functions.