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This paper examines how we are to understand the goodness of neighbourly love, using the example of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Engaging with the philosophical discussion concerning the parable's moral significance that ensued in the wake of Peter Winch's 1987 paper ‘Who is my Neighbour?’, the paper argues that framing the goodness of the Samaritan in terms of a perceived necessity—as Winch and others do—runs the risk of simplifying and thus distorting it. The proposed alternative claims that goodness is better understood when framed in terms of what Kierkegaard describes as purity of heart. Developing this claim, it is shown that while the one who is pure of heart does good deeds without perceiving them as necessary, the notion of necessity may nonetheless be of moral significance for the one who witnesses such purity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the winch traction system of a carrier-based aircraft works under complex sea conditions, the rope and the tire forces are greatly changed compared with under simple sea conditions, and it poses a potential threat to the safety and stability of the aircraft's traction system. The accurate calculation of the rope and tire forces of a carrier-based aircraft's winch traction under complex sea conditions is an arduous problem. A novel method of dynamic analysis of the aircraft-winch-ship whole system under complex sea conditions is proposed. A multiple-frequency excitation is adopted to describe the complex sea conditions and the influences of pitching amplitude, and the rolling frequency on the traction dynamics of a carrier-based aircraft along the setting trajectory under complex sea conditions are studied. The advantages and disadvantages of a winch traction system with trajectory control and without trajectory control in complex sea conditions are analyzed. For realizing the trajectory control of the aircraft, the vector difference between the center of mass for the carrier-based aircraft and the position on the predetermined Bessel curve is calculated, so as to obtain the azimuth vector in the aircraft coordinate system. This research is innovative in the modeling of the whole system and the trajectory control of a carrier-based aircraft's winch traction system under the complicated sea condition of the multi-frequency excitation. ADAMS (Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical System) is used to verify the correctness of the theoretical calculation for the winch traction. The results show that the complex sea environment has a certain influence on the winch traction safety of the aircraft; in the range of 10–15 s for the traction, the rope force amplitude of complex sea conditions under the multi-frequency excitation is 29.5% larger than that of the single-frequency amplitude, while the vertical force amplitude of the tire is 201.1% larger than that of the single-frequency amplitude. This research has important guiding significance for the selection of rope and tire models for a carrier-borne aircraft's winch traction in complex sea conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tethered autonomous docking system, which is composed of a rope winch installed at the bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a quadrotor for autonomous docking, and a connected tether, can be widely used for unmanned delivery. Frequent ups and downs can be inevitable through the deployment/retrieval of the flexible tether. Although the tether offers several advantages compared with traditional UAV transportation, new control problems can arise as well. To solve this nonlinear, underactuated, and time-varying disturbance system, a complete control scheme, including the accurate trajectory tracking of the end quadrotor under a time-varying disturbance caused by tether and the coordinated control of the rope winch, is proposed in this paper. A complete dynamics model, including the terminal quadrotor and the rope winch, is derived. A new control scheme, combining active disturbance rejection control with finite time integral backstepping, is proposed to achieve the position tracking of the quadrotor under the unknown disturbance introduced by tether and environment. In the case of obtaining the real-time position and tether tension of the quadrotor, a position-based impedance control strategy was proposed to always keep the tether slightly tensioned. Theoretical proof and simulation are given to verify the designed control algorithm, which can provide good performance of tracking and antidisturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rope-driven robots are increasingly used to safely and efficiently clean complex glass curtain walls. However, continuous global cleaning is difficult for most robots because of their poor performance in overcoming obstacles and adapting to curved surfaces, and an inconvenient winch calibration on complex surfaces further burdens such work. This paper presents a 3-DOF rope-driven robot and a winch self-calibration method for efficient cleaning. The robot, by integrating a 5-rope parallel configuration, a self-adaptive cleaning body, and a self-compensating driving winch, is designed to perform continuous, compliant, and accurate spatial motion on curved walls with obstacles. By deducing the kinematic model, the constraint relationship related to orderly arranged winch positions, maneuverable body positions, and accessible rope lengths is established during the robot tracking 3D trajectory. Combining the established relationship, a series of regulations are formulated for easily acquiring body positions and rope lengths, and then a self-calibration method is proposed by accurately calculating winch positions without using professional instruments. Experimental results show that the robot can perform global and precise movement on complex glass surfaces. Applying the proposed method, the maximum winch calibration error is 6.6 mm, and the maximum body tracking error is controlled within 9.6 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a new resistive force theory based granular limit surface (RFT-GLS) method to predict and guide behaviors of forceful ground robots. As a case study, we harness a small mobile robotic system - MiniRQuad (296 g) - to 'walk-burrow-tug;' it actively exploits ground anchoring by burrowing its legs to tug loads. RFT-GLS informs the selection of efficient strategies to transport sleds with varying masses. The granular limit surface (GLS), a wrench boundary that separates stationary and kinetic behavior, is computed using 3D resistive force theory (RFT) for a given body and set of motion twists. This limit surface is then used to predict the quasi-static trajectory of the robot when it fails to withstand an external load. We find that the RFT-GLS enables accurate force and motion predictions in laboratory tests. For control applications, a pre-composed state space map of the twist-wrench pairs enables computationally efficient simulations to improve robotic anchoring strategies.

To promote the comprehensive utilization of corn stover and the development of field water-saving irrigation technology, a method of returning corn stover to the field was prosed; in this method, the crop stalks were crushed, mixed with soil in different proportions of adulteration, and then extruded to form hollow round tubes. To compare the influence of the winch blade with or without a diameter change on the composite pipe molding performance, two composite pipe molding devices were theoretically designed, simulated, and analyzed using discrete element simulation software, and a composite pipe molding bench test was performed. The simulation test revealed that the composite pipe molding rate of the winch blade without the reducer molding device was 3.45 kg/s, the output power of the winch shaft was 20.7 kW, the composite pipe molding rate of the winch blade with the reducer molding device was 1.20 kg/s, and the output power of the winch shaft was 18.75 kW. By calculating the weighted average of two indices, the composite pipe forming rate and the winch shaft output power, the comprehensive performance index of the composite pipe forming device without a reducer was greater than that of the device with a reducer. The composite pipe forming bench test revealed two kinds of molding devices with an extrusion molding with an outer diameter of 100 mm and an inner diameter of 30 mm. The composite pipe density test average was greater than 1.30 g/cm3 and met the requirements of composite pipe molding; the winch blade without a reducer molding device had an average composite pipe molding rate of 3.23 kg/s, and the winch blade with an average reducer molding rate of 2.07 kg/s. The forming rate of the composite pipe without a reducer was faster. Therefore, a winch blade without a reducer composite pipe molding device is more conducive to improving the composite pipe molding performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore winches are crucial in marine engineering, particularly in marine scientific research and deep-sea exploration. The use of fibre ropes presents significant opportunities for the weight reduction of winches as a consequence of the low length–strength ratio and characteristics of corrosion resistance. Nonetheless, a challenge arises in underestimating the stress load levels in load assessments of multi-layer winch systems using synthetic fibre ropes. Traditional computational methods reliant on symmetrically rotational models fall short in accurately predicting and assessing practical applications. This paper introduces a finite element analysis model based on a non-rotationally symmetric approach with four surfaces subjected to various radial pressure on account of the deformation of the fibre ropes. In the design model, sixteen stress detection paths have been incorporated to identify and confirm non-linear stresses. The outcomes of the finite element simulations have been compared with experimental results with two synthetic fibre ropes, each with distinct deformation characteristics utilised. The findings demonstrate that the application of the model aligns well with experimental results, showcasing its relevance and practical value in real-world scenarios. Precise theoretical calculations and experimental validation are pivotal to ensuring that equipment reliability and safety are maintained alongside the pursuit of light-weighting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates the underappreciated import and potential of Peter Winch's The Idea of a Social Science and its Relation to Philosophy, a classic work published 65 years ago. Its aim is not simply to correct misunderstandings of Winch but to rehabilitate the text as indispensable for understanding past and present woes and cementing the future of sociological endeavour. I reconstruct and defend the claims put forth by Winch and then explicitly draw out their implications, which demonstrate the incoherence of the predominant disciplinary self-image that sees sociology as having a method and/or critical thinking prerogative. This problematic self-conception is jeopardizing the coherence and wider relevance of sociology and is responsible for its perennial difficulties in articulating a mode of discourse that can be seen as cogent by the public. A defensible alternative sees sociology as a second-order study of practices that is premised on a conceptually accurate relation to those practices and on answerability to the criteria and abilities of understanding, description, explanation and criticism they afford. This conception can support the reconfiguration of existing forms of sociological inquiry as well as the development of new ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Logging on steep terrain in our country is dangerous and low productivity. It is carried out by manual felling of the trees with a chainsaw and transportation by ropeways to a tractor or truck road. In recent years, due to the lack of manpower, the extraction and removal of wooden materials with the harvester/forwarder system, which are equipped with a traction (supporting) winch with a rope anchored to a stump or tree, has become more and more widespread. In our country, on the territory of the GS Rila Monastery, logging has been carried out using this new technology for three years. The article discusses the possible technologies and slopes at which logging can be carried out, as well as the productivity and depth of the plains of the machine chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peter Winch believed that the central task of philosophy was to investigate 'the force of the concept of reality' in human practices. This involved creative dialogue with critical metaphysics. In 'Ceasing to Exist', Winch considered what it means to judge that something unheard‐of has happened. Referring to Wittgenstein, Winch argued that judgments concerning reality must relate our observations to a shared 'flow of life'. This implies criticism of the form of epistemology associated with metaphysical realism. Just as, according to Wittgenstein, a sentence has no fixed meaning in isolation, an observation does not constitute knowledge outside shared human practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-altitude rescue is an issue that always receives great attention. Using rescue winches on the outside of structures is a popular solution. During the rescue process, when the brakes stop, it will affect the human body, causing discomfort, especially when the rescue subjects include the elderly and children. The purpose of the research is to find a reasonable brake structure solution and parameters to improve performance, allowing for increased speed while still ensuring smooth acceleration when braking and controlling shock. This article develops calculation formulas describing the braking process and develops a method for selecting design parameters to control the braking process including spring deformation, spring stiffness, braking time, etc. The study uses the orthogonal matrix, analyzing the influence of parameters on the response function, and spring stiffness. Applying numerical testing to the design to increase the speed by 300%, the result is that the acceleration when braking is reduced by 67.75% compared to the previous study, and the shock in the range is smaller than the allowable value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Works of the Faculty of Forestry University of Sarajevo is the property of Faculty of Forestry University of Sarajevo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In offshore winch drive applications, determining the required number of pistons in digital displacement motors is critical for minimizing torque ripples. Digital displacement motors have shown promise for improving energy efficiency for offshore operations, such as placing equipment on the seabed or mineral drilling. However, they are known for exhibiting significant torque ripples, which can affect load-handling precision. This paper estimates the required number of pistons for realizing a digital hydraulic winch drive based on information from a commercial winch. The proposed drive employs full-stroke displacement strategies at high speeds and partial-stroke at low speeds. By simulating steady-state operations, this study correlates torque output with position oscillations. The results show that 37 pistons are required to keep position oscillations below a benchmark threshold of 10 mm throughout the drive's operating range to avoid hindering the drive's performance. However, such a high piston count could result in high costs due to the large, expensive valves required for partial-stroke operations. Therefore, this paper suggests an alternative drive topology for future research, which could potentially reduce the number of pistons that are operated with partial strokes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TED Talks are still an unexplored genre of argumentation in which narrative arguments are often used in TED speakers' strategic maneuvering to support a standpoint. In the present study, I combine the constructs of narrative positioning (NP) and strategic maneuvering (SM) to offer a conceptualization of how narrative is used in pragmatic argumentation as well as provide an exemplary analysis of a specific case of narrative arguments that were used in Winch's (How to practice emotional first aid. https://www.ted.com/talks/guy%5fwinch%5fthe%5fcase%5ffor%5femotional%5fhygiene.2014, 2014) TED Talk. The proposed integration aims to provide a theoretical framework and empirical tools for reconstructing narrative arguments through connecting the underlying formal structure of narrative with aspects of TED speakers' strategic maneuvering. Drawing on NP and SM constructs, the critical analysis explores how Winch's narratives or "small stories" were strategically manipulated to support his stance with regard to the importance of mental health and to examine whether or not the use of narrative arguments as argumentation moves helped to enhance the dialectical reasonableness and rhetorical effectiveness of Winch's argument. The analysis shows that the macro context and the knowledge gap between TED speakers and the audience makes the use of narrative arguments extremely effective. Although narrative arguments often receive criticism about their validity in providing sufficient evidence for a standpoint, their dialectical power lies in the flexibility of describing events in different fashions to draw pragmatic inferences that support the speaker's stance. The study fills an important gap in the literature as it integrates recent approaches in narrative theory in the reconstruction and evaluation of narrative arguments in TED Talks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the failure of winch shafts has garnered significant attention due to their critical role in various industrial applications. This study aims to investigate the fracture cause of a 40CrNiMoA winch shaft, which had been used for three years. A comprehensive analysis, including visual inspection, fractography and metallography, conventional mechanical property testing, CAE simulation was conducted to identify the primary factors contributing to the shaft failure. The results show that the shaft failure was a rotating bending fatigue fracture event. A combination of manufacturing defects, material properties and operating conditions led to the fracture of the winch shaft. The CAE simulation results indicate that the right-angle radius at the shaft shoulder forms a stress concentration effect, and the nominal stress at this location exceeds the fatigue strength limit, leading to the initiation of fatigue cracks. The presence of upper bainite structure in the material results in decreased mechanical properties, which to some extent promotes fatigue cracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of immanent transcendence is constitutive for Winch's philosophy of religion and his ethics. Winch's philosophy of religion insists on the 'immanent' dimension of religion. His ethics insists on the 'transcendent' dimension of ethics. In this sense, both religion and ethics embody a perspective 'beyond' this world and yet must have practical consequences in this world. Transcendence without immanence is idle, and immanence without transcendence is empty—this is the kernel of Winch's philosophy of religion and of his ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article has to grapple with the problem of creating an economically efficient and environmentally friendly technological process for a development of solid minerals in open-pit mining. In many mining countries of the world today, the depth of many open pits is already 400–600 m or more. At the same time, the cost of transporting 1 ton of rock mass when operating a quarry whose depth is 400 m is 65–70 % of the total cost of extracting 1 ton of minerals. The object of research is technical devices for transport of rock masses in the technological process of development of solid useful deposits in open pit mining. The main reasons are the need to construct transport routes for them by withdrawing the sections of the rock mass on above them, as well their lifting capacity is limited because of they all do use highly energy-intensive machines for transporting rock minerals. In article has been justified a skip cable winch supplied with a wheels moving along on a railroad way by using only a gravitational counterweight device for transporting rock mass from a place of their formation to Earth surface. There have been created a prototype of a planar skip winch with four cables for practical implement in open-pit mining. The theoretical and experimental investigations of the prototype have being confirmed its performance. The created skip winch will accomplish its performancing without using any energy machines even under adverse climate conditions. Its affected would allow to make an open-pit effectiveness to soar and environmentally do friendly because of there are all but excluded any transport vehicles whether on gasoline or diesel oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests provide multiple services, products and values and finding ways to preserve their multifunctionality is important. However, all of the currently used harvesting systems produce some degree of environmental damage, potentially affecting the provision services on the long term. Skidding operations are common in many regions of the world. Skidding may suppose three operational steps: winching, strip-road skidding and landing operations. By using cables for winching, wounds are commonly inflicted to the residual trees, while the mechanical traction of logs may cause damage to the residual trees and soil. This study was designed to check if the use of pans during winching deployed in thinning operations of coniferous forests may help lowering the environmental impact in terms of damage to residual trees and soil, while accounting for operational efficiency of such operations. Four treatments were considered and framed around the winching direction (uphill, downhill) and the use of protective devices (use, nonuse) and detailed data was collected on the residual stand damage, soil damage and time consumption. The main finding was that uphill winching by the use of a pan performed the best in terms of lowering the environmental damage. It shown the smallest wounds by their average area per tree, the lowest number of wounds per tree, the lowest rate of wounding per hectare, as well as one of the lowest rates of soil damage. By excluding delays, working with a pan did not cause additional time consumption, supporting acceptable rates of operational efficiency. Further experiments would be needed to validate and extend the results of this study, as the forests and their type of management are heterogeneous systems in terms of terrain configuration and slope, soil, species, stand density, removal intensity, operational timing and operational conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a model-based control scheme for controlling the position of a suspended cable-driven parallel robot. The robot is designed to have a fixed frame base with four cables. The cables are attached to winches on one end, driven by stepper motors, and to a moving platform at the other end. The control scheme consists of two systems: the reference model and the implemented control. The implemented control hosts the stepper motor to drive the winch based on the requirements derived from the reference model. The reference model converts the desired Cartesian trajectory into joint spaces, which are then translated into the number of required steps. The number of steps will act as a set point for the stepper motor. Three trajectories are generated to test the compliance of the controller with its position. The error compensation scheme is introduced to increase the positional accuracy of the previous controller, especially on the z-axis. This algorithm uses the nature of discrete stepper motor movement to estimate the actual cable length, which is then fed back to the control system as an error. The control simulation results indicate a significant improvement in control performance, i.e. reduced position error, was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Machine Tool & Hydraulics is the property of Guangzhou Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (GMERI) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The six-degree-of-freedom (6 DOF) motion of the mother-ship, which is caused by wave fluctuation, makes offshore operations difficult. To solve this problem, various heave compensation systems were proposed, as well as the law of wave motion. These heave compensation systems included passive heave compensation system, semi-active heave compensation system, and active heave compensation (AHC) system. However, the empirical formula of wave motion is not suitable for practical offshore operations, and rare AHC systems take the characteristic of compensation into consideration. To study the compensation characteristic of the AHC system based on electric-driven marine winch in the actual sea condition and improve the accuracy of compensation, this work uses the measured data of wave motion, and deduces the motion equations of multi-axial driving system. By substituting the above elements into the AHC system and designing the sliding mode controller (SMC), the simulation results show the ideal compensation effect of the system. By comparing with experimental results, it is concluded that the driving system operates in according with the specified states, and the compensation performance of system is effective. The overall work is conductive to the research on AHC system, as well as the exploitation of marine resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the ocean winch, the traction winch mainly plays the role of attenuating the load tension. It generally uses simple speed control. For the ship-based collection and release system, complex sea conditions make the cable tension constantly changes. The traditional control method will make the cable in the traction winch too slack or too tight. Meanwhile, it can result in the wrong rope, bite rope and slippage, and other phenomena. Eventually, it is leading to cable damage or breakage and equipment loss. Moreover, with the introduction of expensive photoelectric composite cables, there is a greater need for a good control algorithm to extend the life of the cable and ensure the safety of retrieval and release. Therefore, this paper focuses on the constant tension control of the traction winch cable. In this paper, the NARX neural network-based cable tension compensation value prediction model is established as the feedforward part based on historical ship heave displacement data and cable tension compensation data as training data. On this basis, the simulation model of cable constant tension winch based on common PID control, fuzzy PID control, and BP fuzzy neural network PID control are established. By comparing the tension of the cable with the above controller, the results show that the tension control of the cable based on the NARX neural network predicted tension compensation value plus BP fuzzy neural network PID control has high accuracy, fast dynamic response, smooth system, and no overshoot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-rise building rescue system is developed, including a personal rescue winch, a rescue basket, and a ladder set. It has shown many advantages, such as compactness, lightness, ease of use, and the ability to operate in two directions (both lifting and lowering). Because of these characteristics, the system at work can produce undesired vibrations. Furthermore, the proposed winch has a different working principle from conventional winches, and it has yet to be thoroughly studied in the dynamic aspect during operation. In this paper, based on the introduction and analysis of the operational characteristics, the group establishes the dynamic model of the winch and the whole system. Next, the kinematic parameters of the rescue basket are investigated through Matlab software, corresponding to the components that can be interchanged in the system under different conditions. Since then, their suitability and factors affecting vibration to the rescued person are evaluated. According to the obtained results, the personal rescue winch and parts in the system working by manual drive have kinematic and dynamic parameters suitable for human rescue conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The six-degree-of-freedom (6 DOF) motion of the mother ship, especially the heave motion, brings difficulties to offshore operations and even causes safety accidents. To ensure the reliability of the launch and recovery system when the active heave compensation (AHC) function works, its dynamic characteristics are analyzed. Firstly, the dynamic model of the launch and recovery system with a rigid rope is constructed, and the mathematical simulation of the launch and recovery system without the AHC function under the excitation of irregular waves is completed. Secondly, a flexible rope based on the finite element method is established, and the dynamic responses of the launch and recovery system with AHC function under different conditions are compared with those without AHC function. The simulation results demonstrate that the dynamic responses of the system are related to the load, the underwater penetration, and the sea condition. In detail, the increase of the load leads to an increase in the dynamic response of the system. In essence, the underwater penetration affects the dynamic response of the system by affecting the activity of load acceleration. Therefore, a short rope is preferred in the maritime operations. Moreover, the harsh sea condition usually causes an undesirable effect of AHC function. In summary, the overall work is conductive to the modeling of the launch and recovery system, as well as the development of AHC technology so as to improve the quality of offshore operations in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of the study is a load-lifting winch with a sectional-disc drum for single-row multi-layer laying of flexible elements, cargo cables and power cables, during their winding, electrically protected. The winch is intended for suspension and lifting and lowering of illuminated devices and equipment in closed rooms. In the process of research (constructive development, determination and analysis of parameters), the problem of creating a winch design of the specified type with a qualitatively increased overall level of functionality is solved according to the indicators: 1) electrical insulation, compactness and necessary strength of fastening of flexible elements, lifting cables and power cables on the drum; 2) controllability of the drive: in transitional periods – to ensure smooth acceleration-stopping of the suspension; in the period of constant movement – to ensure a constant speed of the suspension during raising and lowering. Electrical insulation between the power cable, the drum and other parts of the winch is created by using parts (discs) made of synthetic insulating material, for example, fiberglass, in the construction of the drum. Clamping of flexible elements between the disks in specially profiled C-shaped ring grooves, on the ends of the hub, of the disks ensures the necessary strength and compactness of the attachment. The smoothness of starting (stopping) of the drive and the constant speed of the suspension during the period of constant movement are established by adjusting the frequency converter in the drive control system according to the parameters determined by a specially developed methodology. The obtained results, constructive solutions and methods of research (estimation and analysis) of winch parameters can be used in the design of the structure and adjustment of the control system of lifting devices of this type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an integrated system of winch driving and potential energy recovery using a four-quadrant pump was proposed, aimed at the large amount of recoverable gravitational potential energy in a winch system. The proposed system changed the original open system into a closed-structure part, using a four-quadrant pump to drive the winch, and an open-structure part, using an open hydraulic pump to balance torque. The closed-structure and open-structure parts were coaxial, and connected with the engine through the transfer case, which was able to make full use of the four-quadrant pump characteristics. It was able to achieve flow regeneration when the weight was lowered, and to achieve direct use of gravitational potential energy. The AMESim model of the original and proposed systems was further established according to a working characteristics analysis of the energy consumption of the winch-driving system. The simulation results verified that the proposed system kept good controllability while recovering potential energy. An experimental prototype was built; the test results showed that, compared with the original winch system, the proposed system increased lifting speed and reduced fuel consumption significantly. Additionally, diesel consumption was reduced by 87% in the descending process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cable-Driven Parallel Robots (CDPRs) use cables arranged in a parallel fashion to manipulate an end-effector (EE). They are functionally similar to several cranes that automatically collaborate in handling a shared payload. Thus, CDPRs share several types of equipment with cranes, such as winches, hoists, and pulleys. On the other hand, since CDPRs rely on model-based automatic controllers for their operations, standard crane equipment may severely limit their performance. In particular, to achieve reasonably accurate feedback control of the EE pose during the process, the length of the cable inside the workspace of the robot should be known. Cable length is usually inferred by measuring winch angular displacement, but this operation is simple and accurate only if the winch transmission ratio is constant. This problem called for the design of novel actuation schemes for CDPRs; in this paper, we analyze the existing architectures of so-called servo-winches (i.e., servo-actuators which employ a rotational motor and have a constant transmission ratio), and we propose a novel servo-winch concept and compare the state-of-the-art architectures with our design in terms of pros and cons, design requirements, and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]