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Over the past few decades, intelligentization, supported by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, has become an important trend for industrial manufacturing, accelerating the development of smart manufacturing. In modern industries, standard AI has been endowed with additional attributes, yielding the so-called industrial artificial intelligence (IAI) that has become the technical core of smart

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Motivated by the need to incorporate human spine mechanics into the design loop of wearable spine assistive devices, this article presents a spine-equivalent beam (SEB) model for analyzing kinematics and mechanics of a human spine in sagittal standing flexion. The model is capable of handling loads resulted from the head, arms, external payload, torso weight, and back muscle effects, and it also handles

Reducing the input data of tactile sensory systems brings a large degree of freedom to real-world implementations from the perspectives of bandwidth and computational complexity. For this, in this letter, we suggest efficient active-cell formations with a high classification accuracy of tactile materials. By revealing that averaged Kullback–Leibler-divergence and common frequency component power to

This article presents a novel unknown input observer (UIO)-integrated extended finite impulse response (EFIR) estimator and its application for an effective sensor fault-tolerant control (FTC) of an electrohydraulic actuator (EHA). The proposed estimator exploits the UIO structure in the EFIR filter. Thus, it requires only a small amount of historical data ( $N$ ) while ensuring the following: 1) sensor

It confronts great difficulty to apply traditional artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to machinery prognostics and health management in manufacturing systems due to the lack of abnormal samples corresponding to different fault conditions. This article explores an unsupervised feature learning method for machinery health monitoring by proposing a generative adversarial networks (GAN) model that

Regardless of dimensions, complexity, or purpose of a mechatronic system, fault detection (FD) represents a critical element to achieve robustness and safety, while reducing risks and maintenance costs. Important requisites for an FD component include flexibility, performance, platform independence, and interpretability. To pursue these goals, this article presents a framework for the FD on electromechanical

Accurate health evaluation is crucial to reliable operation of complex degradation systems. Although traditional machine learning methods such as artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector machine (SVM) have been used widely, state assessment schemes based on a single classification model still suffer from low multiclass classification efficiency, high variance, and deviation. To solve these

Fault diagnosis for rolling elements in rotating machinery persistently receives high research interest due to the said machinery's prevalence in a broad range of applications. State-of-the-art methods in such setups focus on effective identification of faults that usually involve a single component while rejecting noise from limited sources. This article studies the data-based diagnosis of mixed faults

Although many advanced signal processing techniques and novel machine learning algorithms have been applied to the monitoring of grinding processes in the literature, most of these techniques and algorithms are only effective under specific conditions and are unusable under other grinding conditions, such as varying wheel types or workpiece materials. This article proposes a robust grinding wheel wear

Nowadays, the measurement technology of multichannel information fusion provides a solid research foundation for digital and intelligent fault diagnosis of mechatronics equipment. To implement the rapid fusion of multichannel data and intelligent diagnosis, a new fault diagnosis method for multichannel motor–rotor system via multimanifold deep extreme learning machine (MDELM) algorithm is first proposed

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In this article, a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) clustering-based method is proposed to learn the optimal threshold of the knock intensity metric, which minimizes the probability of the judgment error of the knock event. First, statistical analysis of knock intensity on an experimental database measured from a gasoline engine test bench is conducted and the results show that GMM has better fitting performance

The Tri-pyramid Robot is a 3-degree-of-freedom overconstrained parallel robot designed for the rapid flexible forming of three-dimensional thin sheets without geometry-specific dies used in conventional forming processes. In this article, a combined parametric and nonparametric calibration method for the geometric and nongeometric errors of the Tri-pyramid Robot is presented. The geometry-based inverse

This article is dedicated to achieving the best thrust performance of high thrust and low thrust ripple of permanent magnet synchronous linear motors (PMSLMs), which are used in precision positioning system. To achieve this, a novel PMSLM with double-layer reverse skewed coil (DRSC) is designed and optimized. First, the topological structure of the DRSC-PMSLM is introduced, and the effectiveness of

Robotic grinding is a promising automatic technique for free-form surface manufacturing. One important problem that restrains the application of robotic grinding is the machining quality. Existing methods considers only individual kinematic errors or joint stiffness. In this article, a systematic method of error compensation, workpiece position optimization and tool pose optimization is proposed to

Common vibrational energy harvesters are generally based on a linear mass-spring oscillator model, and these typically show narrow bandwidth and high resonant frequency at small scales. To overcome these problems, a two-degree-of-freedom nonlinear velocity-amplified energy harvester has been developed. The device comprises two masses, relatively oscillating one inside the other between four sets of

This article develops and experimentally validates a distributed predictive control algorithm for closed-loop control of inkjet 3-D printing to handle constraints, e.g., droplet volume bounds, as well as the large-scale nature of the 3-D printing problem. The large number of decision variables, i.e., droplet volumes at each grid point, in high resolution inkjet 3-D printing makes centralized methods

Creating controllers for quadrupedal robot locomotion on platforms that exhibit dynamic behaviors, which are herein termed as dynamic platforms, poses a challenging problem because of the complexity of the associated hybrid, time-varying robot dynamics. Towards tackling this challenge, this article focuses on controller design for quadrupedal robot locomotion on dynamic rigid platforms, which are floating-base

This article introduces a new dual-drive vertical lift servo system with a slipway that can be used to help people or other intelligent equipment complete high-altitude work better on the exterior wall of the high-rise buildings. In order to improve the system motion performance, enhance the robustness against the variation of system parameters and external disturbances, and minimize position error

Precision manufacturing equipment suffer from unwanted vibrations triggered in rapid motion. Unless mitigated, these vibrations limit achievable accuracy and productivity of motion systems. This article presents a novel technique to generate reference motion trajectories that can robustly avoid triggering unwanted inertial vibrations. The reference trajectory is defined in B-spline form, and its frequency

Soft robotics has recently become a popular topic owing to its advantages over conventional rigid robotics. In this article, we introduce a soft robot that can grow with its own structure; its main components include an inflatable tube for its body and a tip with an expansion mechanism. The tube is made of conventional laminated film. It leads the robot to improved applicability. The robot can grow

As the primary effector of human, hand is dexterous, important, and biomechanically complex. How to control the robotic hand as human intends in the human-centered robotic systems is a hot topic to guarantee natural interaction between users and robots. In this article, we investigate the simultaneous and proportional estimation of human's movement intent from surface electromyography (EMG) signals

The performance achieved with traditional model-based control system design approaches typically relies heavily on accurate modeling of the motion dynamics. However, modeling the true dynamics of present-day increasingly complex systems can be an extremely challenging task; and the usually necessary practical approximations often renders the automation system to operate in a nonoptimal condition. This

This article proposes a method to suppress the torque ripple caused by misalignment of the gearbox. Misalignment is a common fault caused by the manufacturing tolerances, and generates torque ripple. Therefore, even if a constant electromagnetic torque is transmitted from the motor to the gearbox, a large torque ripple may be transmitted to the load because of misalignment. In the proposed method,

This article presents a novel guidance and control design for a parcel tethered to a drone in its delivery mission. The proposed proportional-navigation-based guidance, integrated with custom-built control, enables to achieve autonomous payload landing. The novelty of the proposed method lies in two aspects: 1) the guidance law allows for soft landing and 2) the path-following control ensures the swing-free

One of the main challenges in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided interventions is for an instrument to access and track a respiration-induced moving target inside the patient. In this article, we present a mechatronic system that demonstrates such capability for one-dimensional motion in phantom experiments. Our system consists of real-time sensing by MRI acquisition, detection, and localization

In this article, we propose a compact variable gravity compensation (CVGC) mechanism with a geometrically optimized lever shape. The CVGC mechanism can be used to generate gravity compensation torque by employing a cam and lever mechanism and can also amplify the gravity compensation torque by varying the pivot point of the lever. Among these advantages, we aimed to maximize the variable ratio of torque

Inertial sensing suites now permeate all forms of smart automation, yet a plateau exists in the real-world derivation of global orientation. Magnetic field fluctuations and inefficient sensor fusion still inhibit deployment. In this article, we introduce a new algorithm, an extended complementary filter (ECF), to derive 3-D rigid body orientation from inertial sensing suites addressing these challenges

Although there have been several proposed methods and existing prototypes demonstrating the functionality of aerial–aquatic vehicles, most are fundamentally aerial vehicles with varying degrees of operability when submerged. We aim to improve the balance of aerial–aquatic functionality by proposing a morphable vehicle structure, where the rotors can be tilted to allow thrust vectoring when underwater

Tendon-sheath actuation mechanisms can provide compact and lightweight tendon routing. However, torque control of a tendon-sheath actuation system is challenging because of variable friction with respect to the sheath configuration. Model-based feedforward friction compensation algorithms have been developed to accurately deliver desired torque, but it is difficult to apply such algorithms to multi-degrees

This article studies the design, modeling, and implementation challenges of a path-following with obstacle avoidance algorithms as guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) architecture of an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) in harbor conditions. First, an effective mathematical model is developed based on system identification, validating the USV model with field-test data. Then, a guidance system is

In this article, we propose a multi-agent robot control framework for coordinated manipulation of multiple micro-objects with Brownian perturbations. In this control approach, several micro-hands with multiple fingertips are first constructed by coordination of optically trapped particles so as to grasp the target micro-objects. The grasped micro-objects are then cooperatively manipulated through coordinative

In this article, approximation model-based control and neural networks-based adaptive control are investigated for obtaining the solution to the motion tracking of a piezoelectric nanopositioning system, respectively. In order to reduce the effect of unknown hysteresis nonlinearity, a disturbance observer is introduced to estimate it. By considering nominal parts of an unknown piezoelectric nanopositioning

Recently, programing by demonstration (PbD) received much attention for its capacity of fast programming with increasing demands in the robot manipulation area, especially in industrial applications. However, one of the biggest challenges of PbD is the recognition of demonstrator's finger high-fidelity motions especially in the environments with uncertainties, which limits the efficiency and accuracy

This article presents an innovative, motor-driven, three-finger compliant gripper for adaptive grasping of size-varied delicate objects. An optimized compliant finger design is identified numerically through a topology optimization method. A stepper motor is used to actuate three identical compliant fingers, which can operate through elastic bending deformation. Finite-element models are developed

This article presents an automatic and efficient calibration method for multiaxis gimbal systems. The calibrated kinematic parameters consist of the axis orientation, the joint encoder nonlinearity map, and the endpoint gyro bias. The calibration of these parameters is conducted simultaneously by sequentially and independently moving one gimbal joint back and forth. With such straightforward intuition

Precise intracellular delivery is essential for many biomedical applications, such as genome-editing and intracellular mechanism investigation. This article presents the development of an automated intracellular delivery approach using a robot-aided microscope system with 3-D reconstruction information. A series of optical section images is sampled by objective lens movement and restored on the computer

In robotic manufacturing, the machining vibration can easily affect the quality of the processed surfaces due to poor stiffness and variable stiffness of the robot arm. It is important to monitor the processing quality. Therefore, an online process monitor method for robotic grinding is proposed in this article. Since the surface quality is difficult to be measured directly online, a vibration-surface

For situations where accurate attitude information is needed while the position is not readily available or not necessarily required, such as the attitude heading reference system, this article proposes a velocity-aided in-motion alignment scheme for a strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) during geographic latitude uncertainty. In the coarse alignment stage, a gravitational apparent motion rebuilding

In pneumatic muscle actuators (PMAs)-driven robotic applications, there might exist unpredictable shocks which lead to the sudden change of desired trajectories and large tracking errors. This is dangerous for physical systems. In this article, we propose a novel adaptive proxy-based robust controller (APRC) for PMAs, which is effective in realizing a damped response and regulating the behaviors of

The increasing computing and sensing capabilities of modern mobile phones have spurred research interests in developing new visual–inertial odometry (VIO) techniques to turn a smartphone into a self-contained vision-aided inertial navigation system for various applications. Smartphones nowadays use cameras with optical image stabilization (OIS) technology to reduce image blurs. However, the mechanism

Retinal surgery is a bimanual operation in which surgeons operate with an instrument in their dominant hand (more capable hand) and simultaneously hold a light pipe (illuminating pipe) with their nondominant hand (less capable hand) to provide illumination inside the eye. Manually holding and adjusting the light pipe places an additional burden on the surgeon and increases the overall complexity of

Parallel batch processor scheduling with dynamic job arrival is complex and challenging in semiconductor manufacturing. In order to get its reliable and high-performance schedule in a reasonable time, this work decomposes this scheduling problem into two-stage solution strategy: a batch forming subproblem and a batch scheduling subproblem. The batch formation is made by a heuristic rule. Then, a surrogate-assisted

This article designs and tests a dominant region based strategy for a group of defenders to intercept an intruder before it enters a target area. The intruder is intelligent in the sense that it makes decisions based on the defenders’ strategies instead of following a predefined path, making the problem a differential game. When the intruder moves slower than the defenders, the optimal strategies are

Parallel mechanisms have been employed as architectures of high-precision vibration isolation systems. However, their performances in all degrees of freedom (DOFs) are nonidentical. The conventional solution to this problem is isotropic mechanism design, which is laborious and can hardly be achieved. This article proposes a novel concept; namely, isotropic control, to solve this problem. Dynamic equations

Additive manufacturing has been increasingly applied. As one of the most commonly used technologies, fused deposition modeling (FDM) still faces the challenge of instable performance. The appearance of the printed part is an important feature to assess its quality. As FDM processes usually take a long time, it is very important to timely identify the defects to avoid unnecessary waste of time and cost

A rotating air film is used in a wide range of applications, such as rotating machines, filtering systems, and computer storage devices. In this article, the pressure distribution and force characteristic curve of a rotating air film were both theoretically and experimentally analyzed. First, based on von Kármán's similarity transformation, a theoretical model of the pressure distribution and generation

For a collaborative robot that shares the workspaces with humans, physical human–robot interactions are unavoidable. Therefore, it must be capable to detect collisions. Usual collision detection algorithms are based on the robot's dynamic model that frequently suffers from complex joint frictions. The uncertainty of commonly modeled frictions could lead to low sensitivity of the collision detection

Modern engineering components generally work under aging and dynamic cumulative damage processes. To prevent failures of such components, the proportional hazards model (PHM) was proposed to integrate both processes for health prognostics. However, the existing PHMs use constant damage rate within monitoring intervals for machine health estimation and still lack consideration of dynamic operational

High-performance actuators are crucial to enable mechanical versatility of wearable robots, which are required to be lightweight, highly backdrivable, and with high bandwidth. State-of-the-art actuators, e.g., series elastic actuators, have to compromise bandwidth to improve compliance (i.e., backdrivability). In this article, we describe the design and human–robot interaction modeling of a portable

Compliant joints can provide safer physical human–robot interaction. To effectively balance the response bandwidth and output impedance, variable stiffness joints have been studied by many researchers. Leaf spring-based variable stiffness joint (LSVSJ) has the advantages of easy construction and large stiffness range. This article presents the design and validation of a novel LSVSJ with reconfigurability