The computer simulation of primate (Macaca mulatta) spatial visual delayed response and cerebral prefrontal control function

Cerebral prefrontal function is one of the important aspects in neurobiology. Based on the experimental results of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, behavioral sciences, and the principles of cybernetics and information theory after constructed a simple model simulating prefrontal control function, this paper simulated the behavior of Macaca mulatta completing delayed tasks both before and after its cerebral prefrontal cortex being damaged. The results indicated that there is an obvious difference in the capacity of completing delayed response tasks for the normal monkeys and those of prefrontal cortex cut away. The results are agreement with experiments. The authors suggest that the factors of affecting complete delayed response tasks might be in information keeping and extracting of memory including information storing, keeping and extracting procedures rather than in information storing process.

Templates and anchors for antenna-based wall following in cockroaches and robots

The interplay between robotics and neuromechanics facilitates discoveries in both fields: nature provides roboticists with design ideas, while robotics research elucidates critical features that confer performance advantages to biological systems. Here, we explore a system particularly well suited to exploit the synergies between biology and robotics: high-speed antenna-based wall following of the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana). Our approach integrates mathematical and hardware modeling with behavioral and neurophysiological experiments. Specifically, we corroborate a prediction from a previously reported wall-following template - the simplest model that captures a behavior - that a cockroach antenna-based controller requires the rate of approach to a wall in addition to distance, e.g., in the form of a proportional-derivative (PD) controller. Neurophysiological experiments reveal that important features of the wall-following controller emerge at the earliest stages of sensory processing, namely in the antennal nerve. Furthermore, we embed the template in a robotic platform outfitted with a bio-inspired antenna. Using this system, we successfully test specific PD gains (up to a scale) fitted to the cockroach behavioral data in a "real-world" setting, lending further credence to the surprisingly simple notion that a cockroach might implement a PD controller for wall following. Finally, we embed the template in a simulated lateral-leg-spring (LLS) model using the center of pressure as the control input. Importantly, the same PD gains fitted to cockroach behavior also stabilize wall following for the LLS model. © 2008 IEEE.

Integrated high pressure microhydraulic actuation and control for surgical instruments

To reduce the surgical trauma to the patient, minimally invasive surgery is gaining considerable importance since the eighties. More recently, robot assisted minimally invasive surgery was introduced to enhance the surgeon's performance in these procedures. This resulted in an intensive research on the design, fabrication and control of surgical robots over the last decades. A new development in the field of surgical tool manipulators is presented in this article: a flexible manipulator with distributed degrees of freedom powered by microhydraulic actuators. The tool consists of successive flexible segments, each with two bending degrees of freedom. To actuate these compliant segments, dedicated fluidic actuators are incorporated, together with compact hydraulic valves which control the actuator motion. Especially the development of microvalves for this application was challenging, and are the main focus of this paper. The valves distribute the hydraulic power from one common high pressure supply to a series of artificial muscle actuators. Tests show that the angular stroke of the each segment of this medical instrument is 90°. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Developing ISO 14649-based conversational programming system for multi-channel complex machine tools

A multi-channel complex machine tool (MCCM) is a versatile machining system equipped with more than two spindles and turrets for both turning and milling operations. Despite the potential of such a tool, the value of the hardware is largely dependent on how the machine tools are effectively programmed for machining. In this paper we consider a shop-floor programming system based on ISO 14649 (called e-CAM), the international standard for the interface between computer-aided manufacture (CAM) and computer numerical control (CNC). To be deployed in practical industrial usage a great deal of research has to be carried out. In this paper we present: 1) Design consideration for an e-CAM system, 2) The architecture design of e-CAM, 3) Major algorithms to fulfill the modules defined in the architecture, and 4) Implementation details.

Design and control of a climbing robot based on hot melt adhesion

Robust climbing in unstructured environments has been one of the long-standing challenges in robotics research. Among others, the control of large adhesion forces is still an important problem that significantly restricts the locomotion performance of climbing robots. The main contribution of this paper is to propose a novel approach to autonomous robot climbing which makes use of hot melt adhesion (HMA). The HMA material is known as an economical solution to achieve large adhesion forces, which can be varied by controlling the material temperature. For locomotion on both inclined and vertical walls, this paper investigates the basic characteristics of HMA material, and proposes a design and control of a climbing robot that uses the HMA material for attaching and detaching its body to the environment. The robot is equipped with servomotors and thermal control units to actively vary the temperature of the material, and the coordination of these components enables the robot to walk against the gravitational forces even with a relatively large body weight. A real-world platform is used to demonstrate locomotion on a vertical wall, and the experimental result shows the feasibility and overall performances of this approach. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stabilization of Dynamic Systems for Multiple Omni-Directional Mobile Robots

本文考虑了由2个全方位移动机器人组成的混合动力学系统的协调拟镇定问题.利用机器人位置之间的向量与机器人目标之间向量的内积,设计了多步拟镇定律,该控制律能够在避碰后按指数速率运动到目标点,且在整个过程中两机器人之间的距离不小于避碰的安全距离.最后对2个全方位移动机器人进行了仿真,验证了所给方法的有效性。