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Precise luffing of payload in mobile cranes is a crucial part of material handling and safety in industrial operations. Explosive ordnance disposal uses a bomb disposal robot to safely disable explosive devices at a safe distance. This robot is a mobile jib crane type with a gripper as an end effector instead of the typical suspension cable with a hook. The common challenge of this crane type is the arm/jib movement sensitivity with respect to tip-over stability of the crane body. This is directly influenced by the payload and constrained by the degree of freedom. This paper presents a control strategy of the joint for luffing such that the back wheels remain in contact with the surface ground and avoid bucking at any given instance of weight change in the payload. Fuzzy logic was applied to control the motor torque and luffing angle of the arm in response to the load and gripper opening size to maintain the tip-over stability margin at the highest value possible. The response curves at different configurations of the two input signals were also analyzed based on the rules set to determine its precision with respect to the expected response curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constant demand for sustainable mechanisms to perform heavy and risky tasks has driven more robotics innovations to arise. Modular reconfigurable robotics system is one of these promising technologies that are continuously explored. Homogeneous types, to be specific, can accomplish similar missions at the same time as individual and heavier missions as an integrated system. This paper presents an analysis of the carrying capacity of a six-wheeled modular multi-agent system using the symbiotic model. The objective is to determine the resulting symbiotic relationship of a given configuration and module state combinations. The results show that the dominant relationship among the trials for linear traversal mission is commensalism. That means, the system neither benefits nor gets harmed from the symbiosis formed. This is true both in simulated and actual test environments although the percentage difference is about 12%. MATLAB Simulink was used for simulation while Maqueen robot in a 3D-printed chassis was used for actual testing. With this study, future configurations for several other missions such as object tracking and ramp climbing can be assessed using the same approach so that possible fault occurrence during operations can be prevented since the developed analysis method is performed prior to the deployment of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Route recommendation continues to manifest noteworthy contributions to the intelligent transportation system field of research as it evolves through time. Early related studies helped passengers and tourists experience a more convenient travel. At the same time, these helped transport planners analyze people's trip preferences and its correlation with the region-specific economic status in a more time-relevant data. Majority, however, require historical data and heavy data collection methods. For user quantified metrics such as route cost in terms of travel time and distance, the complexity and sparsity of preferences between travelers are persistent challenges. The strategic transit route recommendation proposed in this study takes into account multiple trip features (both quantitative and qualitative) desirability using logit model and the optimal travel time with respect to a given road traffic condition, headway, and passenger demand. The chosen area of study is the Western Visayas region of the Philippines specific to the public utility bus (PUB) and jeepney (PUJ) transit routes. The results of the research exhibited the feasibility of an optimal and strategic recommendation of public transportation route for passengers considering present time relevant trip conditions rather than relying on the historical data which are difficult to obtain, or worse, non-existent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]