Human performance and body motions when submerged underwater are highly influenced by buoyancy forces. In this article, we simulate the effect of buoyancy on human motion over ground by using a cable-driven robotic system. The robotic platform was configured to apply buoyancy forces on the human torso, similar to underwater, while subjects performed reaching and assembly tasks. Previous studies have analyzed muscle activity, postural balance, and limb kinematics in aquatic enclosures. However, from these studies, it is difficult to correlate observed human physiology changes with a specific underwater feature. The goal of this article is to expand our knowledge in objectively characterizing how physical underwater features affect human performance. The results of this article could help in designing more efficient overground programs to train divers in performing submarine motor tasks. For this purpose, we investigated motion of body center of mass (COM), ground reaction forces, muscular activity with surface electromyography (sEMG), and limb coordination while participants performed reaching tasks with and without simulated underwater forces. Within the simulated underwater environment with the cable system, buoyancy force significantly displaced the COM to outside the base of support. Additionally, ground reaction forces and sEMG of back muscles were significantly reduced during this condition. The results obtained in the present study are in line with previous experiments performed underwater. The results show the potential applicability of cable-driven platforms to expand our understanding in the future about the influence of aquatics on functional tasks.

This paper presents a microdevice for the monitoring, control and management of electric loads at home. The key idea is to compact the electronic design as much as possible in order to install it inside a schuko socket. Moreover, the electronic schuko socket (electronic microdevice+schuko socket) has the feature of communicating with a central unit and with other microdevices over the existing powerlines. Using the existing power lines the proposed device can be installed in new buildings or the old ones. The main use of this device is to monitoring, control and management of electric loads to save energy and to prevent accidents produced by the different kind of devices (for instance, iron) used in domestic tasks.

A parallel robot testbed based on Stewart-Gough platform calledactive-Helideckis designed, developed and tested as a helicopter floating Helideck. The objective of this testbed is to show the advantages of helicopters that use an active Helideck upon landing on and taking off from ships or from offshore structures. Active-helideck compensates simulated movements of a ship at sea. The main goal of this study is to maintain the robotpsilas end effector (Helideck) in a quasi-static position in accordance to an absolute inertial frame. Compensation is carried out through the coordinate action of its six prismatic actuators in function of an inertial measurement unit. Moreover, the simulation of the sea movement is done by a parallel robot calledshipplatformwith three degrees of freedom. The ship platform is built with a vertical oscillation along the z axis, i.e. heave, and rotates on remaining axes, i.e. roll and pitch. Active Helideck is able to compensate simulated movements by considering the ship as an inertial frame as observed in the experiment.

This paper describes the design of a robot head, developed in the framework of the RobotCub project. This project goals consists on the design and construction of a humanoid robotic platform, the iCub, for studying human cognition. The final platform would be approximately 90 cm tall, with 23 kg and with a total number of 53 degrees of freedom. For its size, the iCub is the most complete humanoid robot currently being designed, in terms of kinematic complexity. The eyes can also move, as opposed to similarly sized humanoid platforms. Specifications are made based on biological anatomical and behavioral data, as well as tasks constraints. Different concepts for the neck design (flexible, parallel and serial solutions) are analyzed and compared with respect to the specifications. The eye structure and the proprioceptive sensors are presented, together with some discussion of preliminary work on the face design

This paper presents the design of a parallel robot that is used to play table tennis. The object of this application is to evaluate the level of integration between high-speed robotic systems and vision systems in unknown and dynamic environments. The parallel robot is based on a DELTA robot. The optimization method uses a global condition index based on the condition number of the Jacobian matrix. Firstly, we present the geometric model and kinematic analysis of the parallel robot. The optimization defines the dimensions of the manipulator. Using ADAMS/spl reg/, we obtain the maximum speed of the end-effector and the maximum torque of the motors for a set of typical trajectories of the ball in table tennis. Finally, we display the prototype of the built manipulator.

This paper presents a study of the kinematics and dynamics performance of a climbing parallel robot (CPR) to avoid nodes on structural frames. To avoid a structural node, a CPR can acquire some determined postures. A series of postures can be combined to generate the convenient movements to climb along the structural node. The postures of a CPR must be studied to detect its feasibility, because the postures can drive the robot near its singular configurations. Also, the forces originated in the actuators to evade the structural nodes are evaluated. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to show that a Stewart-Gough (S-G) parallel platform can be used as a climbing robot, because a CPR can avoid structural nodes easily and elegantly, in contrast with other types of robots. To support the simulation results presented in the first part of this paper, an experimental testbed has been developed to study the dynamic performance of the CPR prototype around a structural node. The results obtained are very interesting, and show that an industrial potential to use the parallel S-G robot as a climbing robot exists.

Proposes an application of the Stewart-Gough parallel platform as a climbing robot and its kinematics control to climb through long structures describing unknown spatial trajectories, such as palm trunks, tubes, etc. First, the description and design of the climbing parallel robot is presented. Second, the inverse and forward kinematics analysis of a mobile six-degrees-of-freedom parallel robot is described, based on spatial constraint formulation. Finally, the gait pattern and the climbing strategy of the parallel robot is described. The information from this research is being used in an actual climbing parallel robot design at Miguel Hernandez University of Elche (Alicante), Spain.

This paper presents a robot assembly system for the construction industry based on an articulated robot placed over a mobile platform. The assembly process and the robot has been developed under the computer integrated construction concept. Its main task is the assembly of blocks for the erection of walls in industrial buildings.