Purpose Accurately, positioning is a fundamental requirement for vision measurement systems. The calculation of the harvesting width can not only help farmers adjust the direction of the intelligent harvesting robot in time but also provide data support for future unmanned vehicles. Design/methodology/approach To make the length of each pixel equal, the image is restored to the aerial view in the world

Purpose One of the development trends of robots is to enable robots to have the ability of anthropomorphic manipulation. Grasping is the first step of manipulation. For mobile manipulator robots, grasping a target during the movement process is extremely challenging, which requires the robots to make rapid motion planning for arms under uncertain dynamic disturbances. However, there are many situations

Purpose For autonomous vehicles, trajectory prediction of surrounding vehicles is beneficial to improving the situational awareness of dynamic and stochastic traffic environments, which is a crucial and indispensable element to realize highly automated driving. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the overall framework consists of two parts: first, a novel driver characteristic and intention

Purpose This paper aims to present a natural human–robot teleoperation system, which capitalizes on the latest advancements of monocular human pose estimation to simplify scenario requirements on heterogeneous robot arm teleoperation. Design/methodology/approach Several optimizations in the joint extraction process are carried on to better balance the performance of the pose estimation network. To

Purpose This paper aims to provide a posture generation method of robot deposition paths based on intersection topology, which is helpful to contribute to improving the flexibility and deposition capability of the deposition system. Design/methodology/approach Via the geometry information and normal vector information of the stereolithography (STL) model, the intersecting edge information is generated

Purpose This study aims to obtained the failure probability distributions of subsystems for industrial robot and filtrate its fault data considering the complicated influencing factors of failure rate for industrial robot and numerous epistemic uncertainties. Design Methodology Approach A fault data screening method and failure rate prediction framework are proposed to investigate industrial robot

Purpose Focusing on the problem that the visual detection algorithm of navigation path line in intelligent harvester robot is susceptible to interference and low accuracy, a navigation path detection algorithm based on improved random sampling consensus is proposed. Design/methodology/approach First, inverse perspective mapping was applied to the original images of rice or wheat to restore the three-dimensional

Purpose Heterogeneous teams consisting of unmanned ground vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles are being used for different types of missions such as surveillance, tracking and exploration. Exploration missions with heterogeneous robot teams (HeRTs) should acquire a common map for understanding the surroundings better. The purpose of this paper is to provide a unique approach with cooperative use

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to accurately obtain the deformation of a hybrid robot and rapidly enable real-time compensation in friction stir welding (FSW). In this paper, a prediction algorithm based on the back-propagation neural network (BPNN) optimized by the adaptive genetic algorithm (GA) is presented. Design/methodology/approach Via the algorithm, the deformations of a five-degree-of-freedom

Purpose Existing robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) system lacks of force feedback, and it cannot provide the surgeon with interaction forces between the surgical instruments and patient’s tissues. This paper aims to restore force sensation for the RMIS system and evaluate effect of force sensing in a master-slave manner. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a four-DOF surgical

Purpose This paper aims to present a concise review on the variant state-of-the-art dynamic task allocation strategies. It presents a thorough discussion about the existing dynamic task allocation strategies mainly with respect to the problem application, constraints, objective functions and uncertainty handling methods. Design/methodology/approach This paper briefs the introduction of multi-robot

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to estimate the deformation of soft manipulators caused by obstacles accurately and the contact force and workspace can be also predicted. Design/methodology/approach The continuum deformation of the backbone of the soft manipulator under contact is regarded as two constant curvature arcs and the curvatures are different according to the fluid pressure and obstacle

Purpose The purpose of this study is to solve the key technical problems of the practical application of electric robots. The UHV multi-split transmission line power cable operation robot is an important equipment to ensure the reliable operation of high voltage lines and is a useful exploration to realize high-quality power transmission. As the robot system platform equipment mature and operation

Purpose Every geometric model corresponding to a unique feature whose errors of parameters uncorrelated, so the linearization technique can be successfully applied. The solution of a linear least square problem can be applied straightforwardly. This method has advantages especially in calibrate the redundant robot because it’s relatively small. The parameters of kinematics are unique and determined

Purpose Hand motor dysfunction has seriously reduced people’s quality of life. The purpose of this paper is to solve this problem; different soft exoskeleton robots have been developed because of their good application prospects in assistance. In this paper, a new soft hand exoskeleton is designed to help people conduct rehabilitation training. Design/methodology/approach The proposed soft exoskeleton

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry PhD-turned successful business leader, regarding the commercialization and challenges of bringing technological inventions to market. The paper aims to discuss these

Purpose This paper aims to introduce the human arm movement primitive (HAMP) to express and plan the motions of anthropomorphic arms. The task planning method is established for the minimum task cost and a novel human-like motion planning method based on the HAMPs is proposed to help humans better understand and plan the motions of anthropomorphic arms. Design/methodology/approach The HAMPs are extracted

Purpose This paper aims to show how robotic technology is being used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Following a short introduction, this discusses the role of robots in the following COVID-related applications: disinfection, checking human temperature, monitoring public places, delivering food and other items, food preparation and personal interactions by telepresence

Purpose This paper aims to use different machine learning (ML) algorithms for the prediction of inverse kinematic solutions in parallel manipulators (PMs) to overcome the computational difficulties and approximations involved with the analytical methods. The results obtained from the ML algorithms and the Denavit–Hartenberg (DH) approach are compared with the experimental results to evaluate their

Purpose To ensure the safety of electric power supply, it is necessary to inspect substation equipment. With the dramatic increase in the number of substations, especially indoor substations, intelligent robot inspection has become an important development direction. This paper aims to describe the design of a trackless robot with a robotic arm, which is capable of navigating autonomously and inspecting

Purpose This paper aims to propose an automated framework for agile development and simulation of robotic palletizing cells. An automatic offline programming tool, for a variety of robot brands, is also introduced. Design/methodology/approach This framework, named AdaptPack Studio, offers a custom-built library to assemble virtual models of palletizing cells, quick connect these models by drag and

Purpose This paper aims to propose a translation library capable of generating robots proprietary code after their offline programming has been performed in a software application, named AdaptPack Studio, running over a robot simulation and offline programming software package. Design/methodology/approach The translation library, named AdaptPack Studio Translator, is capable to generate proprietary

Purpose This paper aims to present the design and experimental tests of an active circulating cooling system for the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak in-vessel inspection manipulator, which will help the current manipulator prototype to achieve a full-scale in-vessel high temperature environment compatibility. Design/methodology/approach The high-temperature effects and heat transfer conditions

Purpose Recent years have seen a technological change, Industry 4.0, in the manufacturing industry. Human–robot cooperation, a new application, is increasing and facilitating collaboration without fences, cages or any kind of separation. The purpose of the paper is to review mainstream academic publications to evaluate the current status of human–robot cooperation and identify potential areas of further

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the situation that the existing parking automated guided vehicle (AGV) has a single walking mode, a spin forward motion mode based on a dual steering wheel driven parking AGV. In this way, the AGV can complete the 180° spin of the AGV in the process of straight forward. Design/methodology/approach A spin forward kinematics model of the dual steering wheel

Purpose This paper aims to carry out the research on the influence of ground effect on the performance of robotic fish propelled by oscillating paired pectoral fins. Design/methodology/approach The two-dimensional ground effect model of the oscillating pectoral fin without considering flexible deformation is established by introducing a two-dimensional fluid ground effect model. The parameters of the

Purpose A novel fault-tolerant control (FTC) method is proposed to assure the stability of the remote-operated vehicle (ROV) by considering the thruster failure-induced model perturbations. The stability of the ROV with failures is guaranteed and optimized with the determined model perturbation set. The effectiveness of the double-boundary interval fault-tolerant control (DBIFTC) is verified through

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive and unified presentation of recent developments in skid-steer wheeled mobile robots (SSWMR) with regard to its control, guidance and navigation for the researchers who wish to study in this field. Design/methodology/approach Most of the contemporary unmanned ground robot’s locomotion is based upon the wheels. For wheeled mobile robots

Purpose Real-time implementation of sophisticated algorithms on robotic systems demands a rewarding interface between hardware and software components. Individual robot manufacturers have dedicated controllers and languages. However, robot operation would require either the knowledge of additional software or expensive add-on installations for effective communication between the robot controller and

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a new joint friction model, which can accurately model the real friction, especially in cases with sudden changes in the motion direction. The identification and sensor-less control algorithm are investigated to verify the validity of this model. Design/methodology/approach The proposed friction model is nonlinear and it considers the angular displacement

Purpose This paper aims to improve the scene sense of a virtual scene, the welding model of a virtual reality system of riser automatic equipment was constructed using Unity3D and UG software, which mainly included a welding car, welding guide rail, welding power supply, virtual camera and other equipment and the model was rendered. Design/methodology/approach The human-computer interaction page and

Purpose Since the market penetrations of service robots are only successful to a limited types of services, the purpose of the paper is to look into the reasons why the market penetrations are lagged from both technical and nontechnical perspectives. Automatic robotic recharging services, especially robotic refueling systems, are used as the case study for the investigation. Design/methodology/approach

Purpose This paper aims to provide technical details of humanoid robot developments from the 1970s to the present day and to consider their potential applications and prospects. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction, this first identifies the motivations for developing humanoid robots. It then provides a technical review of developments conducted between the 1970s and the late 2010s

Purpose This paper aims to propose a pulsing type joint servo driver-based obstacle surmounting method for a humanoid robot according to the whole-body dynamics model, which fully takes into account the relationship between the whole-body stability margin and instantaneous torque. Design/methodology/approach First, the authors designed a new practical instantaneous large torque strategy for a pulsing

Purpose This paper aims to investigate if a Cartesian robot system for kiwifruit harvesting works more effectively and efficiently than an articulated robot system. The robot is a key component in agricultural automation. For instance, multiple robot arm system has been developed for kiwifruit harvesting recently because of the significant labor shortage issue. The industrial robots for factory automation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a visual detection approach to predict the poses of target objects placed in arbitrary positions before completing the corresponding tasks in mobile robotic manufacturing systems. Design/methodology/approach A hybrid visual detection approach that combines monocular vision and laser ranging is proposed based on an eye-in-hand vision system. The laser

Purpose This paper aims to propose a system to acquire images automatically for digital reconstruction of heritage artifacts using a six-degree of freedom industrial manipulator. Design/methodology/approach A virtual environment is created using Robot Studio® software to integrate the trajectory and differential motion of the robot manipulator and the motion of camera while acquiring images. A new

Purpose As wheeled mobile robots find increasing use in outdoor applications, it becomes more important to reduce energy consumption to perform more missions efficiently with limit energy supply. The purpose of this paper is to survey the current state-of-the-art on energy-efficient motion planning (EEMP) for wheeled mobile robots. Design/methodology/approach The use of wheeled mobile robots has been

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to enable robots to intelligently adapt their damping characteristics and motions in a reactive fashion toward human inputs and task requirements during physical human–robot interaction. Design/methodology/approach This paper exploits a combination of the dynamical system and the admittance model to create robot behaviors. The reference trajectories are generated

Purpose The following paper is a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry PhD-turned successful innovator and entrepreneur regarding the commercialization and challenges of bringing his technological inventions to market. This paper aims to discuss these

Purpose 2D laser rangefinders (LRFs) are commonly used sensors in the field of robotics, as they provide accurate range measurements with high angular resolution. These sensors can be coupled with mechanical units which, by granting an additional degree of freedom to the movement of the LRF, enable the 3D perception of a scene. To be successful, this reconstruction procedure requires to evaluate with

Purpose Active compliance control is the key technology for Tri-Co robots (coexisting–cooperative–cognitive robots) to interact with the environment and people. This study aims to make the robot arm shake hands compliantly with people; the paper proposed two closed-loop-compliant control schemes for the dynamic identification of cascade elbow joint. Design/methodology/approach The active compliance

Purpose The Industry 4.0 initiative – with its ultimate objective of revolutionizing the supply-chain – putted more emphasis on smart and autonomous systems, creating new opportunities to add flexibility and agility to automatic manufacturing systems. These systems are designed to free people from monotonous and repetitive tasks, enabling them to concentrate in knowledge-based jobs. One of these repetitive

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to implement a passive compliance training strategy for our newly designed 2-UPS/RRR parallel ankle rehabilitation robot (PARR) to enhance its rehabilitation training safety. Design/methodology/approach First, a kinematic analysis of the PARR is introduced, and the mechanism ensures that the rotation centre of the ankle joint complex (AJC) coincides with robot’s

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a novel hybrid pre-tension mechanism for continuum manipulators to prevent wire slack and improve continuum robot payload capacity, as well as to present a new method to control continuum manipulators’ shape. Design/methodology/approach This research explains the hardware design of a hybrid pre-tension mechanism device and proposes a mathematic formulation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to design and develop a new robotic device for the rehabilitation of the upper limbs. The authors are focusing on a new symmetrical robot which can be used to rehabilitate the right upper limb and the left upper limb. The robotic arm can be automatically extended or reduced depending on the measurements of the patient's arm. The main idea is to integrate electrical

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a robotic off-line programming method for freeform surface grinding based on visualization toolkit (VTK). Nowadays, manual grinding and traditional robot on-line programming are difficult to ensure the surface grinding accuracy, thus off-line programming is gradually used in grinding, however, several problems are needed to be resolved which include:

Purpose The purpose of this study is to propose a novel plane-based mapping method for legged-robot navigation in a stairway environment. Design/methodology/approach The approach implemented in this study estimates a plane for each step of a stairway using a weighted average of sensor measurements and predictions. It segments planes from point cloud data via random sample consensus (RANSAC). The prediction

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a new vision-based control method, which enables delta-type parallel robots to track and manipulate objects moving in arbitrary trajectories. This constitutes an enhanced variant of the linear camera model-camera space manipulation (LCM-CSM). Design/methodology/approach After obtaining the LCM-CSM view parameters, a moving target’s position and its velocity

Purpose This paper aims to design a deep neural network for object instance segmentation and six-dimensional (6D) pose estimation in cluttered scenes and apply the proposed method in real-world robotic autonomous grasping of household objects. Design/methodology/approach A novel deep learning method is proposed for instance segmentation and 6D pose estimation in cluttered scenes. An iterative pose

Purpose This paper aims to incorporate a hybridized advanced sine-cosine algorithm (ASCA) and advanced ant colony optimization (AACO) technique for optimal path search with control over multiple mobile robots in static and dynamic unknown environments. Design/methodology/approach The controller for ASCA and AACO is designed and implemented through MATLAB simulation coupled with real-time experiments

Purpose This study aims to report the development of a provisional robotic cell for additive manufacturing (AM) of metallic parts. To this end, the paper discusses cross-disciplinary concepts related to the development of the robotic cell and the associated command and control system such as the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) interface, the slicing software and the path planning for the robot manipulator

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into how augmented reality (AR) technologies are being applied to robotics. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction and a brief historical background to AR, this first provides examples of AR applications in robot programming. It then gives examples of recent research into AR-based robot teleoperation. Research activities involving

Purpose A robotic wheelchair system was designed to assist disabled people with disabilities to walk. Design/methodology/approach An anticipated sharing control strategy based on topological map is proposed in this paper, which is used to assist robotic wheelchairs to realize interactive navigation. Then, a robotic wheelchair navigation control system based on the brain-computer interface and topological

Purpose This paper aims to address the collision problem between robot and the external environment (including human) in an unstructured situation. A new collision detection and torque optimization control method is proposed. Design/methodology/approach Firstly, when the collision appears, a second-order Taylor observer is proposed to estimate the residual value. Secondly, the band-pass filter is used

PURPOSE The paper aims to define and describe test methods and metrics to assess industrial robot system agility in both simulation and in reality. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH The paper describes test methods and associated quantitative and qualitative metrics for assessing robot system efficiency and effectiveness which can then be used for the assessment of system agility. FINDINGS The paper describes

The Dynamic Impact Testing and Calibration Instrument (DITCI) is a simple instrument with a significant data collection and analysis capability that is used for the testing and calibration of biosimulant human tissue artifacts. These artifacts may be used to measure the severity of injuries caused in the case of a robot impact with a human. In this paper we describe the DITCI adjustable impact and

Industrial robots can perform motion with sub-millimeter repeatability when programmed using the teach-and-playback method. While effective, this method requires significant up-front time, tying up the robot and a person during the teaching phase. Off-line programming can be used to generate robot programs, but the accuracy of this method is poor unless supplemented with good calibration to remove

Teleoperated minimally invasive surgical robots can significantly enhance a surgeon's accuracy, dexterity and visualization. However, current commercially available systems do not include significant haptic (force and tactile) feedback to the operator. This paper describes experiments to characterize this problem, as well as several methods to provide haptic feedback in order to improve surgeon's performance