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This paper describes a system-level design for an upper limb spasticity part-task trainer driven by clinical data stored in a cloud database. The robotic part-task trainer has been developed for pre-clinical training of medical personnel on the evaluation of upper limb spasticity based on the Modified Ashworth Scale. The cloud-based system enables continuous updating of clinical data of upper limb spasticity by rehabilitation physicians. Multiple part-task trainers can be connected to the cloud database via the internet, thus enabling the remote coaching of trainees and instant feedback of professional therapists and clinicians to the trainees. It is expected that the functionality provided by the cloud technology will benefit the pedagogy of medical education in the future.

Smart factories of the era of the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 that employ a completely new approach to production are beginning to emerge. In this context, information and communication technology driven by the Internet of Things, Data and Services play a vital role. To demystify and showcase how a smart factory works, a reference model consisting of a principle solution and a working prototype for a smart factory has been developed. The principle solution consisting of six key aspects has been specified using the specification technique CONSENS. This paper describes one of the six key aspects, namely, the active structure of a smart factory. The active structure describes a system-level concept for a smart product that records its own product identity and production history from the moment an order is placed right through to outbound logistics. In this context, the key system elements and their interdependencies in terms of information, energy and material flows are described.

Gaming systems have been proven to be able to improve physical and cognitive skills. Several studies have integrated games to be part of rehabilitation program to improve functional ability of human limbs in performing activities of daily living. This paper presents the development of an interactive electromyogram (EMG) based PONG game for foot dorsifexion and plantarflexion exercise. PONG game is selected because it is a classical game that can be easily comprehended and can be played by young and old people. Two surface EMG sensors were used in this work to acquire muscle activity of tibialis anterior muscle and gastrocnemius muscle. An experimental study was carried out to examine the viability of this sensor as input to play the game. The results were satisfactory. This study further strengthens the viability of using muscle activity as an input for gaming system and as a mean to monitor patient rehabilitation progress.

Upper limb spasticity is commonly seen in conditions of upper motor neuron pathology, of which includes traumatic brain injury, stroke, high cervical spinal cord injury and Cerebral Palsy. Trained physicians, physiotherapists and occupational therapists are needed for the rehabilitation of such patients. To obtain skills in addressing spasticity, current practice in training of students utilizes patients as primary learning subjects. Novices without the required skills put the patient safety at stake. Further, physicians and therapists evaluate spasticity using the Tardieu, Ashworth, and Modified Ashworth Scale which can vary dependent on experience. Variability in rater scores suggest that training can be improved. To tackle this issue, an upper limb part-task trainer that is capable of consistently emulating spasticity symptoms is proposed for pre-clinical training of physicians, therapists and medical students. In order to obtain clinical data for the emulation of upper limb spasticity symptoms, a non-invasive evaluation procedure has been designed deploying a goniometer and a manual muscle tester. The goniometer measures the angle of elbow joint of the patient while the manual muscle tester measures the force applied by the rehabilitation physician on the patient's forearm. The elbow joint angle and its resistance force are recorded in real time via a data acquisition interface and NI LabVIEW software. The evaluation procedure was carried out by a rehabilitation physician during a routine rehabilitation session to the patients with symptoms of upper limb spasticity.

Stroke is a major cause of long-term disability among adults in many countries. Post stroke rehabilitation consumes a huge amount of health care resources in terms of costs related to hospital and home assistance. Recently, robot-assisted rehabilitation has been introduced to support physiotherapists in providing high-intensity and repetitive rehabilitation sessions. It has been observed that robotics offers an objective and reliable tool to monitor patient's progress and to accurately assess their motor function. This paper presents a novel finger rehabilitation approach for acute paralyzed stroke survivors using a wearable device for hand motor function restoration. After analyzing four main working mechanisms for hand assistance and rehabilitation, i.e. pneumatic cylinders, artificial rubber muscles, linkage mechanism and cable-driven mechanism, a new device called Pneumatic Actuated Finger Exoskeleton (PAFEx) has been designed. The prototype development was carried out in four stages involving simulation of the assisted structure of the MCP joint and the PIP joint, algorithm development, design and fabrication of prototype as well as product function evaluation. Offering ease of use and affordability, the device has great potential to be deployed for individualized rehabilitation session for patients who have to undergo therapy in their home.

A computational model of human motor control for a nonlinear 2 degrees-of-freedom (DOF) robot arm to mimic humanlike behavior is developed and presented in this paper. The model is based on a simple mathematical model of a 2-segment compound pendulum which mimics the human upper arm and forearm. Using the Lagrangian and Euler-Lagrange equations, the 2-DOF dynamic equations were successfully derived and solved using Euler's method. Two types of controllers; a feedback Proportional-Derivative (PD) controller and a feedforward controller, were combined into the model. The algorithm exhibited learning of the necessary torque required in performing the desired Position Control via Specific Trajectory (PCST) rehabilitative task via feedback control and using it as the feedforward torque in subsequent trial motions. After 30 trials, the mean absolute error with respect to the desired motion of the upper arm, showed a decrease from 0.09533 to 0.005859, and the forearm motion from 0.3526 to 0.006138. This decrement trend in mean absolute errorwith increase in number of trials is consistent with the adaptive control strategy of the human arm known as the Feedback Error Learning (FEL) strategy.

A long-term goal of agricultural automation is to deploy intelligentrobots to facilitate labor-intensive tasks such as crop care or selective harvesting with minimum human supervision. To achieve this goal, the agricultural robots must be able to adapt themselves in response to various terrain conditions. The reason is that the terrain characteristics can jeopardize the performance of a robotin carrying out a taskor even causing it being trapped in the field. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of using an intelligent algorithm, i.e. support vector machine (SVM) in recognizing various terrain conditions in an agricultural field. For this purpose, asmall tracked-driven mobile robot together witha terrain test bed has been developed. The terrain test bed emulates three types of terrain conditions, i.e. sand, gravel and vegetation. The tracked-driven robot is embedded with a low power MEMS accelerometer for measuring vibration signals resulted from the track-terrain interaction. An experimental study was conducted usinga SVMtrained with three different kernel functions, i.e. linear function, polynomial function and radial basis function (RBF). The results showed that the SVM can recognize different terrain conditions effectively. This work contributes to devising a self-adaptive agricultural robot in coping with changing terrain conditions.

Smart solutions for energy generationare required for a sustainable future. Many studiesand researches are in the pipeline to forge new reliable and affordable techniques for electricity generation from natural sources, particularly in low power generation due to mass consumption of small and portable electronic devices. In this context, piezoelectric material is seen as a potential candidate for energy generation since it has an outstanding property of converting kinetic energy into electricity. In this study, a prototype termed as Vibration Energy Harvester (VEnH) is developed to assess its performance in generating electricity from a vibration source. The prototype consists of a cantilever beam with a piezoceramic attached at half-length of the cantilever beam, a DC motor for emulationof the vibration produced by human footsteps and a microcontroller. Whena continuous force is applied to the VEnH, the cantilever beam experiencesdeformations and thus induces electricity. Two tests were conducted, namely the input force magnitude variation (1 mm – 18 mm) tests and the input frequency increment (0 Hz – 10 Hz) tests. The results showed that the output voltage was consistently increased proportional to the applied input displacement until it reacheda saturationpoint. In an optimal condition, about 5.4 Volts was generated before it reached the saturation point. Nonetheless the saturation point varies according to the input excitation frequency and it is discovered that the optimal input excitation frequency is of4.2 Hz. The results have potently showed the energy generation via VEnH isreliable and consistent, and thus upholds the positive prospective for its applications to harvest energy from human activities.

[EN] Soccer robots have been frequently used to validate models of multi-agent systems, involving collaboration among the agents. For this purpose, many researchers in robotics have been developing robotic soccer teams which compete in events such as RoboCup. This paper presents a strategy model for multi-robot coordination in robotic soccer teams involving ball position, team member position and opponent position for the selection of a team tactic and the player roles. This assignation is dynamical and achieved by a virtual coach. This strategy model was validated in a RoboCup Small Size League environment using Webots robot simulator, This project is partially funded by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia under the grant number 600-RMI/ERGS 5/3 (23/2011)

The aim of this study is to develop an adequate part-task trainer occupied with varying levels of severity in spasticity symptoms focusing on the upper limb disorder for occupational therapists. Using the developed part-task trainer, the occupational therapists will have opportunities to repetitively engage in training without patient involvement. The part-task trainer is developed following the structure of human arm articulations with the ability to reproduce the spasticity stiffness. The structured interface programming is built providing three levels of spasticity: mild, moderate and severe. The programming was based on the clinical assessment of spasticity, measuring elbow joint angles and forces exerted by the patients. The recreated spasticity stiffness was evaluated by experienced occupational therapists. Therapists provided positive feedback regarding the mild and moderate level of spasticity leaving further improvement needed in order to reproduce the spasticity at the severe level.

On both natural and manmade terrains, the maneuverability of mobile robots has been improving. Nevertheless, stair climbing remains a challenging functionality for mobile robots. In this paper, a step-by-step stair climbing approach is proposed for a track-driven mobile robot equipped with flipper arms. The flipper arms are actuated by DC motors controlled by PID controller. Potentiometers and rotary encoders are used to provide closed loop feedbacks. Executable codes are generated using Real-Time Workshop of MATLAB/Simulink. The reference angles to be followed by the flipper arm in stair climbing are emulated and verified by real time experiments.

Recently, mechatronics as a self-contained discipline has undoubtedly shaped the development of technical systems. Mechatronics stands for the close interaction of mechanics, electronics, control engineering and software engineering. Due to the advancement of information and communication technologies, the functionality of mechatronic systems will go far beyond current standards. The increasing complexity requires a consistent comprehension of the tasks between all the developers involved. Especially during the early design phases, the communication and cooperation between the engineers is necessary to design a first overall system model. In addition, reusing of once successfully implemented solution knowledge is becoming increasingly important related to the overall context of the triangle of tension formed by time, cost and quality. In our work, we will present an approach for the identification of reusable controller strategies for the system design of advanced mechatronic systems.

Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) has been identified as an ideal candidate to actuate the finger joints of hand prosthesis due to its silent operation, small size, high force to weight ratio and operational similarity with human muscles. When current is applied to a SMA wire, the material is heated up. A phase transformation from Martensite to Austenite takes place and the wire contracts. This work evaluates the displacement and force produced from the contraction of a type of SMA wire, i.e. Nitinol (Ni-Ti). The displacement is determined by a linear potentiometer while the force is determined by a load cell. Furthermore the impacts of varying the bias force exerted on the SMA wire and the input current passed through the wire are investigated. Such insight into the characteristics of SMA can be used to realize biomimetic actuation in order to improve the dexterity of hand prosthesis.

Rehabilitation process for patients with spasticity must go through experienced physicians and therapists to avoid injuries and to maximize the rehabilitation session for the sake of the patients' improvement. To have experience and good skills, therapist trainees need to learn from the experienced clinicians. However, it becomes crucial to transfer the knowledge from the professional clinicians to the therapist trainees. Therefore it is important to be able to visualize the characteristics of spasticity quantitatively in order to support the learning process of therapist trainees. Four patients with varying spasticity levels were involved in this clinical data collection of upper limb spasticity. The clinical procedure involved repeated movements of arm extension and flexion, performed by an experienced clinician. The clinician evaluated the spasticity levels through the conventional manual methods of clinical skills and judgment. The clinical data was also collected via a digital goniometer and manual muscle tester (MMT), connected to a DAQ (product of National Instruments) and recorded using LabVIEW. The data was analyzed to investigate the pattern of each spasticity level according to the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). The result of this research will help the therapist trainees to better understand and obtain a clear image of the spasticity stiffness pattern based on the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) level.

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is a less invasive procedure compared to traditional open surgery. It usually involves laparoscopic devices and remote control manipulation instruments comprising an endoscope for indirect observation of the surgical field. Interventional radiology (IVR) is one of the MIS methodologies. The IVR procedures include diagnosis such as angiograms, and treatment. The IVR procedures use small tubes called catheters, which are inserted through the body cavity or blood vessel to the treatment area. The IVR procedures lead to the risk of X-ray exposure to surgeon since the procedures is using the digital subtraction angiography device to get clear image of the patient blood vessel. Therefore, we have developed a foolproof tele-operated system to guide the catheter. Hence, the reliability in IVR procedure is crucial. The system is based on a mechatronic design methodology characterized by a principle solution specified in CONSENS® (CONceptual design Specification technique for the ENgineering of complex Systems). This principle solution serves as a basis for the first analysis and verification on the system level. Further, the proposed concept of control system can also be re-used in the other foolproof guidance systems.

Studies on the steering characteristics of track-driven mobile robot have been previously performed in terms of stationary motions at a constant speed. Nevertheless, stationary motions are rather rare and almost all motions of track-driven mobile robot are non-stationary. This work presents an analysis on the steering behaviour of a track-driven paintball robot. A mathematical model of a track-driven platform that allows the study of its curvilinear motion on firm level ground has been developed. The non-linear kinematics model was simulated to predict the steerability of track-driven paintball robot under curvilinear maneuvers at varying initial velocities. The purpose of the modelling is to understand the locomotion and the behavior of the track-driven platform towards the development of an autonomous paintball robot named as the iBOT.

This paper focuses on the development of a robotic hand having fourteen degree-of-freedom (DOF) to trigger finger movement. The design combination and integration of fingers will produce a prosthetic hand which is approximately the size of a human hand. The prototype hand comprised of servo motors located at the palm to drive the pulley and belt mechanism connected to each of the finger joints enabling independent flexion finger link movement. A lightweight Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) sensor is positioned at the middle of the palm is to close around objects. The prosthetic provides three different controls of finger movement through the use of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) with computer interface, program and manually controlled and autonomous movement provided by a micro-controller of this robotic hand. The prototype hand model was developed using rapid prototype technique in order to get the best part quality and reduction in weight. The link parameter analysis to determine the end tip position of the robotic finger at certain rotation angle was computed. Experimental work has been carried out on the prototype robotic hand to ensure the entire rotation angle and movement of each link is functioning as desired.

Splats are obtained on the substrates inclined at different angles (0°, 20°, 40° and 60°) by plasma spraying process and characterized by SEM and WYKO ® optical surface profiler. Numerical model is developed using CFD software FLOW-3D ® to simulate the process of droplet impact, spreading and solidification onto the substrates. Splat characteristics such as spread factor, aspect ratio and fractional factor are defined and compared between simulation and experiment. Fair agreements are obtained. In addition, the impacting behavior including spreading and solidification are analyzed in details from the simulation results. The rates of reduction in droplet kinetic energy during impact, spreading and solidification are also compared between different inclination angles.

In path planning for mobile robot, classical Q-learning algorithm requires high iteration counts and longer time taken to achieve convergence. This is due to the beginning stage of classical Q-learning for path planning consists of mostly exploration, involving random direction decision making. This paper proposed the addition of distance aspect into direction decision making in Q-learning. This feature is used to reduce the time taken for the Q-learning to fully converge. In the meanwhile, random direction decision making is added and activated when mobile robot gets trapped in local optima. This strategy enables the mobile robot to escape from local optimal trap. The results show that the time taken for the improved Q-learning with distance guiding to converge is longer than the classical Q-learning. However, the total number of steps used is lower than the classical Q-learning.

An interconnected, data driven smart logistics management system is crucial in a smart factory in context of Industry 4.0. Applying the concept of cyber-physical systems (CPSs) and Internet of Things (IoT) will create a standardized logistics system. This system can be applied across the supply chain to enable the sharing of information in real-time which consequently optimize logistics processes. In this project, a conceptual model of a smart logistics management system between a supplier and a manufacturer using NFC smart tags technology is developed and its application is shown using prototype demonstrator. The system is equipped with functions to monitor and manage logistic related data. The interface is built using windows form application and android phone application. The developed model’s abilities and specifications in context of industry 4.0 is evaluated using the VDMA Toolbox Industry 4.0. In the end this system achieved an average of level 4 in the Industry 4.0 evaluation and this system provides a concept on applying a smart logistic management system for manufacturers as a key step in transforming into smart factories.

The aim of this work is to formulate a spasticity symptoms-oriented model, in terms of its capability to consistently emulate unidirectional and velocity-dependent spasticity symptoms, based on a Modified Tardieu Scale (MTS). Spasticity stiffness can be simulated using two dynamic equations expressing 1) muscle tone catch during passive stretching at different velocities and 2) resistance through Range Of Motion (ROM). Muscle tone is proportionate to velocity; where muscle resistance is constant until reaching a certain angular velocity. Following different Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) levels, muscle resistance can occur at varying degrees through the ROM. The simulated spasticity of MAS 1+, based on the developed model, shows a strong positive linear correlation coefficient with average r = 0.7414 for fast forearm extension. The derived model will be used to develop new principles of variable stiffness actuation in an upper limb part-task trainer that is able to emulate upper limb spasticity symptoms.

A three-dimensional (3D) finite element model was created to simulate the friction stir welding process of 6063-T5 aluminum alloy. The analysis studies the fundamental knowledge of FSW process with respect to temperature difference in material to be joined and to simulate the temperature distribution in the workpiece as a result of a Friction Stir Welding. The simulation uses HyperMesh and HyperView solver from Altair Hyperworks. The simulation provides better understanding for the peak temperature distribution in the friction stir process. Two cases have (i) constant traverse speed, but varying been simulated rotational speed, and (ii) constant rotational speed, but varying traverse speeds. Simulation results show the peak temperatures increased when the traverse and rotational speeds were increased.

Position angle analysis by learning algorithm on robotics is extremely important as a tool for predictive maintenance to detect faults and mechanical problems. This paper presents position angle analysis on passive joint using three rotations (3R) under-actuated robot manipulator. Experiment was conducted to predict the position angle which were applied to three joint; Active 1, Active 2 and Passive respectively. Experiment by SIMULINK software was carried out to validate the value of position angle obtained during real-time experiment. As a conclusion, the 3rd position angle of passive joint followed the position angle for Active 1 and Active 2.

This paper presents the work of investigating the used of Quantum Tunneling Composites (QTC) Pills as a tactile sensor material. The QTC Pills was tested for their resistivity characteristics to determine the sensor sensitivity, time of response and its allowable working range. The experiments were conducted base on the two parameters; the voltage, and the separation gap against the force/ load that exerted onto the QTC Pills. The results show that with a 5 V supply voltage and 0.5 mm separation gap of a side-by-side sensor construction, the usage of the QTC Pills as a tactile sensor can be optimized. Besides that the resistivity values established from the repeated experiment using QTC Pills produce the similar value and result. This makes the material suitable to be used as a tactile sensor material for the robotic hand.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a promising joining process that offers a high potential to be widely applied across industry sectors such as automotive, shipbuilding and aerospace. Nevertheless the path force can vary significantly due to the fluctuation of workpiece temperature and other process variations, thus results in inconsistency in weld microstructure. This paper describes the system integration of a FSW machine with a focus on the development of a traverse controlled table in order to produce a consistent temperature and path force along the weld path in FSW process. Aluminium alloy 6061 plate and a FSW’s tool with a flat shoulder and conical pin without thread are used. Advantages of such an approach include wormhole generation will be eliminated, a high quality of weld microstructure can be produced and the synchronization between the temperature and path force can be obtained.

Coordination strategy is a relevant topic in multi-robot systems, and robot soccer offers a suitable domain to conduct research in multi-robot coordination. Team strategy collects and uses environmental information to derive optimal team reactions, through cooperation among individual soccer robots. This paper presents a diagrammatic approach to architecting the coordination strategy of robot soccer teams by means of a principle solution. The proposed model focuses on robot soccer leagues that possess a central decision-making system, involving the dynamic selection of the roles and behaviors of the robot soccer players. The work sets out from the conceptual design phase, facilitating cross-domain development efforts, where different layers must be interconnected and coordinated to perform multiple tasks. The principle solution allows for intuitive design and the modeling of team strategies in a highly complex robot soccer environment with changing game conditions. Furthermore, such an approach enables systematic realization of collaborative behaviors among the teammates., This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under the CICYT project Mission Based Control (COBAMI): DPI2011-28507-C02-01/02. Jose G. Guarnizo was supported by a scholarship from the Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation COLCIENCIAS, Colombia.

Post stroke rehabilitation consumes a huge amount of health care resources in terms of costs related to hospital and home assistance. Recently, robot-assisted rehabilitation has been adapted to support physiotherapists in providing high-intensity and repetitive rehabilitation sessions. It has been observed that robotics offers an objective and reliable instrumented tool to monitor patient’s progress and accurately assess their motor function. Each finger is attached to an instrumented mechanism which allowing force control and a mostly linear displacement. This paper presents a novel finger rehabilitation approach for acute paralyzed stroke survivors using a wearable robotic interface for hand motor function recovery. The device designed based on biomechanics measurements, able to assist the subject in opening and closing movements. It capable to adapt with various hand shapes and finger sizes. Main features of the interface include a differential system, and a lead screw mechanism which allows independent movement of the five fingers with actuators. The device is safe, easily transportable, and offers multiple training possibilities. The prototype deployment was carried out to determine the requirements for a finger rehabilitation device, the design and characterization of the complete system. Offering ease of use and affordability, the device has great potential to be deployed for individualized rehabilitation session for patients who have to undergo therapy in their home.

Robotics not only contributes to the invention of rehabilitation devices, it can also enhance the quality of medical education. In recent years, the use of patient simulators and part-task trainers in the medical education field has brought meaningful improvements in the training of medical practitioners. Nevertheless, in the context of therapy training for upper limb disorders, trainee therapists still have to engage directly with the patients to gain experience of the rehabilitation of physical diseases. In this work, a high-fidelity part-task trainer that is able to reproduce the stiffness of spasticity and rigidity symptoms of the upper limb, such as those observed in post-stroke patients and Parkinson's disease patients, has been developed. Based on the evaluation carried out by two experienced therapists, the developed part-task trainer is able to simulate different patient cases and help trainee therapists gain pre-clinical experience in a safe and intuitive learning environment.

Stretching the elbow of patients with upper limb disorder elicits diverse muscle tone responses, for instance, in an increased, uniform or jerky manner. This work addresses the emulation of muscle tone of the symptoms of spasticity, lead-pipe rigidity and cogwheel rigidity in the upper limb. A hybrid actuation strategy capable of emulating dynamic muscle tone has been proposed. In such strategy, a Magneto-Rheological brake is used to produce the resistance for a constant stiffness, and supported by a DC servo motor to assist the time delay of the fluid particle settling rate of the magneto-rheological fluid. The outcome is a consistent replication of the motion characteristics where the resistance torque emulated at the elbow joint is in close resemblance with the simulated data of upper limb spasticity and rigidity.

[EN] Collaborative humanoid soccer robots are currently under the lime light in the rapidly advancing research area of multi-robot systems. With new functionalities of software and hardware, they are becoming more versatile, robust and agile in response to the changes in the environment under dynamic conditions. This work focuses on a new approach for strategy planning of humanoid soccer robot teams as in the RoboCup Standard Platform League. The key element of the approach is a holistic system model of the principle solution encompassing various strategies of a soccer robot team. The benefits of the model-based approach are twofold¿it enables intuitive behavioral specification of the humanoid soccer robots in line with the team strategies envisaged by the system developers, and it systematizes the realization of their collaborative behaviors based on the principle solution. The principle solution is modeled with the newly developed specification technique CONSENS for the conceptual design of mechatronic and self-optimizing systems., The specification technique CONSENS was developed in the course of the Collaborative Research Center 614 ‘‘Self-Optimizing Concepts and Structures in Mechanical Engineering’’ funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under grant number SFB 614. The first two authors are funded by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia under the grant number 600-RMI/ST/ FRGS 5/3/Fst (256/2010) and 600-RMI/ERGS 5/3 (23/2011).

This paper presents the development of a tactile sensor using single miniature sensing element based on pressure sensitive conductive rubber and outlines the resistance measurements performance. This sensor is specially designed for a robotic hand developed at UiTM Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Nevertheless, the low cost, low density and flexible material is suitable for most robotics hand designs. It exhibits piezoresistive like behavior whose resistance change with force/pressure enables its applications as tactile sensor. The operating principle and hardware architecture of the sensor is explained. It consists of an array of 16 sensing elements in rows and columns for data acquisition. The test results indicate significant drop of resistance with the increase of applied load.

Interventional Radiology (IVR) is one of the Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) methodologies. The operation of the IVR procedures are guided by image guidance Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) device which transmits continuous x-rays to detect the position of catheter. Catheter is a small tube inserted in blood vessel or body cavity, used in IVR procedures for diagnosing or treatment purposes. Recently, there has been considerable interest in developing remote-control system for catheter guide to prevent the surgeons from the risk of x-rays exposure. This paper describes the mechatronic design for a fail-safe catheter guide system used in blood circulatory system for IVR procedures. Several aspects of the catheter guide system are described, i.e. requirements, functions, environment, active structure, and behavior. There are close interplay between these aspects. Such a representation forms the basis for the subsequent design concretion. The prototype development of a key module for the catheter guide system, i.e. the slave system, is exemplified.Copyright © 2010 by ASME

The development of mechatronic systems starts with conceptual design, followed by design concretization and ends with system integration. The result of the conceptual design phase is the principle solution. It describes the main physical and logical operating characteristics of the system in a domain-spanning way. On the basis of this jointly developed principle solution, further design concretizations will take place in parallel within the domains involved. Finally, during the system integration phase, the outcomes from the individual domains are integrated to form an overall system. We developed a set of semiformal specification techniques to describe the principle solution of mechatronic systems. In collaboration with UNITY AG, we extended the usefulness of the specification technique for the management of development processes and development organization in enterprises.

Self-optimizing systems are technical systems with the ability to learn, communicate with each other, and optimize their behavior autonomously in response to environmental changes. The development of such systems demands new means of communication and cooperation between the specialists from diverse disciplines, especially during the conceptual design phase. The principle solution, as the result of conceptual design, should be formulated in a domain-spanning way and yet supports domain-specific concretization. In this endeavor, this paper addresses the domain-spanning specification technique for describing the principle solution of self-optimizing systems and explains how the domain-specific controller design process can be started in an integrative way. The synergistic impacts enabled by the principle solution are described from the viewpoints of complexity management, performance enhancement, and potential cost reduction along the controller design process.

Finger prostheses are devices developed to emulate the functionality of natural human fingers. On top of their aesthetic appearance in terms of shape, size and colour, such biomimetic devices require a high level of dexterity. They must be capable of gripping an object, and even manipulating it in the hand. This paper presents a biomimetic robotic finger actuated by a hybrid mechanism and integrated with a tactile sensor. The hybrid actuation mechanism comprises a DC micromotor and a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wire. A customized test rig has been developed to measure the force and stroke produced by the SMA wire. In parallel with the actuator development, experimental investigations have been conducted on Quantum Tunnelling Composite (QTC) and Pressure Conductive Rubber (PCR) towards the development of a tactile sensor for the finger. The viability of using these materials for tactile sensing has been determined. Such a hybrid actuation approach aided with tactile sensing capability enables a finger design as an integral part of a prosthetic hand for applications up to the transradial amputation level.

The task of developing a fully collaborative humanoid robotic soccer team is a challenge. On one hand, the hardware of humanoid robots has evolved to allow fast and stable locomotion as well as precise sensing. On the other hand, the software of humanoid robots has evolved to enable highly complex operations such as object recognition and partial intelligence. Nevertheless, the cooperative play of multiple humanoid robots as a soccer team remains as an open research topic in the rapidly advancing research area of multi-robot systems. This work presents a systematic approach based on the specification of a principle solution for designing collaborative humanoid soccer robots as in the RoboCup Standard Platform League. The principle solution is specified using a newly developed specification technique for the conceptual design of mechatronic and self-optimizing systems. The presented approach enables intuitive specification of team strategies and systematic realization of collaborative behaviors of the humanoid soccer robots starting from the conceptual design phase. It facilitates cross domain development effort that requires multidisciplinary collaboration.

This paper reviews current force control techniques in friction stir welding for aluminium alloys. In the context of friction stir process, travel force control, axial force control and torque control are studied in accordance to the control technique, tool geometry and process parameters such as travel speed, tool rotational speed and tilt angle that significantly affect the welding process. Thus, this study highlights the potentials and shortcomings of this control strategy which eventually leads to better performance in friction stir process. It provides insights on ways to improve the quality of welding in terms of microstructure and consistency of weldment formation as well as the elimination of wormhole generation.

In recent years, there are significant growths of interest in wireless technology especially in the development of e-Nose sensor network. Several wireless e-Nose node sensor prototypes have been developed by some research institutions. Currently wireless e-Nose sensor networks are used in various research activities as well as industrial applications such as odour monitoring, gas monitoring, air quality monitoring, etc. The goal of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art of the wireless e-Nose sensor network technology and the future trend in wireless e-Nose sensor node development. This relatively novel technology offers promising advantage in many fields such as environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, medicine and cold chain control or traceability. Investigations and reviews pertaining to core processing, radio communication, power supply, sensing component, and dimension are presented.