Tactical Communications for Cooperative SAR Robot Missions
First responders’ communications (COM) have become a key concern in large crisis…
Unmanned Maritime Systems for Search and Rescue
During maritime search and rescue operations, the safety of the rescuers is…
Unmanned Ground Robots for Rescue Tasks
Ground robots have demonstrated to be a useful tool when dealing with…
Unmanned Aerial Systems
The field of the micro electro‐mechanical system (MEMS) technology enables small and…
User-Centered Design
Following the user‐centered design approach, the needs, requirements, and limitations of end…
Introduction to the Use of Robotic Tools for Search and Rescue
Recent dramatic events such as the earthquakes in Nepal and Tohoku, typhoon…
Methodology for System Adaptation Based on Characteristic Patterns
This paper describes the methodology for system description and application so that the system can be managed using real time system adaptation. The term system here can represent any structure regardless its size or complexity (industrial robots, mobile robot navigation, stock market, systems of production, control systems, etc.). The methodology describes the whole development process from system requirements to software tool that will be able to execute a specific system adaptation. In this work, we propose approaches relying on machine learning methods (Bishop, 2006),…
Gravity-Independent Locomotion: Dynamics and Position-Based Control of Robots on Asteroid Surfaces
In recent years, the scientific community has had an increased interest in exploring the asteroids of the solar system (JAXA/ISAS, 2003; JHU/APL, 1996; NASA/JPL, 2007). Technological advances have enabled mankind for the first time to take a closer look at these small solar system objects through sensors and instruments of robotic deep space probes. However, most of these space probe missions have focused on the reconnaissance of the asteroids’ surfaces and their compositional analysis from a distance. Little attention has been given to locomotion on their surfaces with a mobile robotic system, due to the challenging gravity conditions found in these small solar system bodies. In small bodies like asteroids, the gravitational fields are substantially weaker than those of Earth or Mars, therefore the likelihood of a robot’s unintentional collision with the surface while attempting a movement is substantially higher. In one of the latest missions, the Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft carried onboard a small robot named MINERVA (Yoshimitsu et al., 2001) to be deployed and used to explore the asteroid surface. The robot was designed with a single reaction wheel, located inside of it, to produce the necessary inertial reaction to move. But with this system the location of the robot when the motion is damped out is very challenging to predict or control. Subsequently, in order to maximize the scientific return from any given mission on an asteroid’s surface, future missions must have the ability to conduct stable mobility and accurate positioning on the rough terrain. In the robotics field, limbed locomotion is broadly recognized as superior in its capability to traverse terrains with irregularities such as obstacles, cliffs and slants. Exotic types of wheeled rovers (Bares et al., 1999; Wilcox & Jones, 2000) can only drive over obstacles of heights that are at best a fraction of the vehicle’s body length. Thus, some terrains are not accessible to wheeled vehicles. Conversely, legged or limbed locomotion has the possibility to provoke minimum reactions on the asteroid surface that could push the robot with sufficient force to reach escape velocity and drift into space. It also facilitates achievement of desired goal configurations that deal with new complex situations, ensuring that a robot’s behavior doesnot deviate from a stable condition.…
Robotic Systems for Radiation Therapy
Medical robotics is an exciting and relatively new field. Robotics plays an important role in medical engineering. Medical robots were initially used in the 1980s, in the field of urology. Robotic arms were developed and used for prostate resection. They can also be highly specialized and assist in diagnosing and treating patients. While there is still much more work to be done, using robots can enhance medical treatments in terms of both the quality and accessibility of care. Using robots can help reduce human error and bring highly specialized information to remote areas without requiring physicians’ direct intervention.…
Novel Assistive Robot for Self-Feeding
Assistive robots, with which users can interact directly, have attracted worldwide attention. They can assist people with disabilities and older persons in the activities of daily living. Assistive robots could be employed for improving quality of life as they can be adjusted according to demographic changes. There are several crucial issues to be considered with regard to these robots, such as customizing them according to the specific culture of the users as well as ensuring cost-effectiveness (Mann, 2005). In Korea, the official number of registered people with disabilities due to illnesses, injuries, and the natural aging process has already exceeded two million (Employment Development Institute, 2009). More than one-third of these disabled people are the elderly. Moreover, due to longer life spans and a decline in birthrate, the elderly make up over 10% of the population in Korea. As a result, effective caregiving with restricted resources is an urgent problem. In order to achieve efficient caregiving for people with disabilities and elderly persons, caregivers should physically…
