100 research outputs found
Augmented Reality and Robotic Systems for Assistance in Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy Procedures: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives
No full textPercutaneous nephrolithotomy is the gold standard for the treatment of renal stones larger than 20 mm in diameter. The treatment outcomes of PCNL are highly dependent on the accuracy of the puncture step, in order to achieve a suitable renal access and reach the stone with a precise and direct path. Thus, performing the puncturing to get the renal access is the most crucial and challenging step of the procedure with the steepest learning curve. Many simulation methods and systems have been developed to help trainees achieve the requested competency level to achieve a suitable renal access. Simulators include human cadavers, animal tissues and virtual reality simulators to simulate human patients. On the other hand, the availability of pre-operative information (e.g., computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging) and of intra-operative images (e.g., ultrasound images) has allowed the development of solutions involving augmented reality and robotic systems to assist the surgeon during the operation and to help a novel surgeon in strongly reducing the learning curve. In this context, the real-time awareness of the 3D position and orientation of the considered anatomical structures with reference to a common frame is fundamental. Such information must be accurately estimated by means of specific tracking systems that allow the reconstruction of the motion of the probe and of the tool. This review paper presents a survey on the leading literature on augmented reality and robotic assistance for PCNL, with a focus on existing methods for tracking the motion of the ultrasound probe and of the surgical needle
Object-oriented modeling of logic control systems for industrial applications
No full textThe paper presents the results of an application ofobject-oriented modeling techniques to design manufacturing systemslogic controllers. In particular,the semantical aspects ofspecification languages like UML and Statecharts,widely used in manySoftware Engineering methods, are analysed and discussed,with regardto their adequacy for the industrial domain and their verificationwith formal methods.The paper ends with the description of a practicalcase of study, which shows that the proposed design and verificationtechniques can be successfully adopted in a real industrial framework,given domain-specific adaptation of object-oriented modelinglanguage
A Control Barrier Function Approach for Maximizing Performance while Fulfilling to ISO/TS 15066 Regulations
No full textISO/TS 15066 is globally recognized as the guideline for designing safe collaborative robotic cells, where human and robot collaborate in order to fulfill a common job. Current approaches for implementing the ISO/TS 15066 guidelines lead to a conservative behavior (e.g. low velocity) of the robot and, consequently, to poor performance of the collaborative cell. In this letter, we propose an approach based on control barrier functions that allows to maximize the performance of a robot acting in a collaborative cell while satisfying the ISO/TS 15066 regulations. The proposed approach has been successfully validated both in simulation and through experiments
Complete and Consistent Payload Identification During Human-Robot Collaboration: A Safety-Oriented Procedure
No full textThe paper proposes a procedure to provide a complete and physically-consistent estimation of mass, center of mass and inertia tensor of the payload attached to the end-effector of an industrial manipulator equipped with a force/torque sensor. The procedure involves the generation of an artificial potential field that allows the proper excitation of the payload inertial parameters while avoiding static and dynamic obstacles, thus ensuring a safe and collaborative scenario. The adopted identification algorithm consists in the solution of a constrained non-linear optimization problem that guarantees the physical consistency of the inertial parameters. The proposed approach has been validated by simulating a typical collaborative workcell where a Franka-Emika Panda robot performs the procedure while avoiding dynamic obstacles
Fuzzy Controller for an Air Conveyor Bottling Plant
No full textThis paper describes the realization of an air transportation bottling plant controller, designed with fuzzy rules and implemented with a PLC and a PC. The plant was previously controlled by a semiautomatic system which was only able to accept pressure set-points from human operators and to maintain them constant, using pressure sensors. The setting of pressure levels was in general variable according to the shape of the bottles, but the system was not able to impose the right pressure level inside the different sections of the frame to maintain a constant velocity of the bottles along the whole production line, so there were often jamming conditions, with consequent block of the line. To avoid these situations and to completely automate the plant, a fuzzy controller has been implemented, since a physical model of the plant was not available, but operators were able to describe precise control rules to be followed
A brushless motor drive with sensorless control for commercial vehicle hydraulic pumps
No full textThe paper describes the electronic design of a brushless motor drive powering a hydraulic Motor-Pump-Unit (MPU) for automotive applications. The full MPU consists of a Permanent Magnet (PM) brushless motor, a three-phase MOSFET inverter with digital control and a gear pump for the hydraulic circuit. The MPU designed in this project is characterized by low voltage supply and high hydraulic output power, so that the choice of power electronic components have been particularly challenging, mainly because of conflicting requirements in terms of current rating and total cost. The experimental results obtained with a first MPU prototype demonstrate that the weak point of the complete mechatronic design is related to the volumetric efficiency of the gear pump, while the power converter and brushless motor assembly is characterized by an acceptable efficiency
Mechatronic design of a PM brushless motor-driven gear pump with sensorless control
No full textThe paper presents a review of all the design choices made during the realization of a novel hydraulic motor-pump-unit (MPU) for automotive applications, driven by a permanent magnet (PM) brushless motor with sensorless control. The MPU designed in this project is characterized by low voltage supply and high hydraulic output power, so that the choice of power electronic components have been particularly challenging, mainly because of conflicting requirements in terms of current rating and total cost. The experimental results obtained with a first MPU prototype demonstrates that the weak point of the complete mechatronic design is related to the volumetric efficiency of the gear pump, while the power converter and brushless motor assembly is characterized by a reasonable efficiency
Sviluppo di un sistema di controllo PLC-based per un robot manipolatore ad alte prestazioni
No full textIl progetto, sviluppato presso il
Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Università di Ferrara nell’ambito della collaborazione di ricerca
con CT Pack S.r.l., è finalizzato allo sviluppo di un robot manipolatore ad alte prestazioni. Tale
attività è stata svolta al fine di analizzare dal punto di vista sia teorico che realizzativo le seguenti
tematiche:
1. Cinematica e dinamica del sistema robotico oggetto di studio, per una valutazione di
fattibilità.
2. Progettazione degli algoritmi di generazione delle traiettorie necessarie alla movimentazione
del robot oggetto di studio.
3. Realizzazione degli algoritmi di generazione di traiettorie sotto forma di programmi
eseguibile da parte di un controllore industriale Allen-Bradley ControlLogix5000,
selezionato da CT Pack come possibile dispositivo di controllo del robot oggetto di studio
Improving the Feasibility of DS-based Collision Avoidance Using Non-Linear Model Predictive Control
No full textIn this paper we present a novel strategy for reactive collision-free feasible motion planning for robotic manipulators operating inside an environment populated by moving obstacles. The proposed strategy embeds the Dynamical System (DS) based obstacle avoidance algorithm into a constrained non-linear optimization problem following the Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach. The solution of the problem allows the robot to avoid undesired collision with moving obstacles ensuring at the same time that its motion is feasible and does not overcome the designed constraints on velocity and acceleration. Simulations demonstrate that the introduction of the MPC prediction horizon helps the optimization solver in finding the solution leading to obstacle avoidance in situations where a non predictive implementation of the DS-based method would fail. Finally, the proposed strategy has been validated in an experimental work-cell using a Franka-Emika Panda robot
A study of fault diagnosis and recovery techniques for manufacturing systems
No full textThis chapter describes a framework for the development of a diagnosis methodology for industrial manufacturing systems. The aim of the project is to support technicians that supervise the manufacturing plant to identify the causes of faults and failures on the machine and, in particular, to indicate a procedure for the recovery of its working condition. The chapter presents a study as the first step of a design project whose objective is to realize a supervisory system with advanced features devoted to Faults Detection and Isolation (FDI) for the manufacturing industry, with an emphasis on its integration with Human-Machine Interfaces. The requirements described in the chapter are defined giving particular care to the peculiarities of the application domain to allow the design of a powerful, but easy to use for industrial technicians, diagnostic system. An example of a manufacturing machine quite common in the packaging industry is schematized in the chapter, which is analyzed to define the fault trees for the most critical failure modes. © 2007 Copyright © 2007 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved
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