Robotic Manipulation Strategies

Robots don't always need expensive, dedicated fixtures for workpart positioning; table-top manipulation is possible and the sliding that occurs can be used to advantage if it is well understood. The author offers methods of automating the design of robot manipulation strategies reliant on sliding and friction. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A modern and unified treatment of the mechanics, planning, and control of robots, suitable for a first course in robotics.

The science and engineering of robotic manipulation. "Manipulation" refers to a variety of physical changes made to the world around us. Mechanics of Robotic Manipulation addresses one form of robotic manipulation, moving objects, and the various processes involved—grasping, carrying, pushing, dropping, throwing, and so on. Unlike most books on the subject, it focuses on manipulation rather than manipulators. This attention to processes rather than devices allows a more fundamental approach, leading to results that apply to a broad range of devices, not just robotic arms. The book draws both on classical mechanics and on classical planning, which introduces the element of imperfect information. The book does not propose a specific solution to the problem of manipulation, but rather outlines a path of inquiry.

A Mathematical Introduction to Robotic Manipulation presents a mathematical formulation of the kinematics, dynamics, and control of robot manipulators. It uses an elegant set of mathematical tools that emphasizes the geometry of robot motion and allows a large class of robotic manipulation problems to be analyzed within a unified framework. The foundation of the book is a derivation of robot kinematics using the product of the exponentials formula. The authors explore the kinematics of open-chain manipulators and multifingered robot hands, present an analysis of the dynamics and control of robot systems, discuss the specification and control of internal forces and internal motions, and address the implications of the nonholonomic nature of rolling contact are addressed, as well. The wealth of information, numerous examples, and exercises make A Mathematical Introduction to Robotic Manipulation valuable as both a reference for robotics researchers and a text for students in advanced robotics courses.

Human Inspired Dexterity in Robotic Manipulation provides up-to-date research and information on how to imitate humans and realize robotic manipulation. Approaches from both software and hardware viewpoints are shown, with sections discussing, and highlighting, case studies that demonstrate how human manipulation techniques or skills can be transferred to robotic manipulation. From the hardware viewpoint, the book discusses important human hand structures that are key for robotic hand design and how they should be embedded for dexterous manipulation. This book is ideal for the research communities in robotics, mechatronics and automation. Investigates current research direction in robotic manipulation Shows how human manipulation techniques and skills can be transferred to robotic manipulation Identifies key human hand structures for robotic hand design and how they should be embedded in the robotic hand for dexterous manipulation

In order to achieve human-like performance, this book covers the four steps of reasoning a robot must provide in the concept of intelligent physical compliance: to represent, plan, execute, and interpret compliant manipulation tasks. A classification of manipulation tasks is conducted to identify the central research questions of the addressed topic. It is investigated how symbolic task descriptions can be translated into meaningful robot commands.Among others, the developed concept is applied in an actual space robotics mission, in which an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) commands the humanoid robot Rollin' Justin to maintain a Martian solar panel farm in a mock-up environment

This book is about automatic handling of non-rigid or deformable objects like cables, fabric, or foam rubber. The automation by robots in industrial environments, is especially examined. It discusses several important automation aspects, such as material modelling and simulation, planning and control strategies, collaborative systems, and industrial applications. This book collects contributions from various countries and international projects and, therefore, provides a representative overview of the state of the art in this field. It is of particular interest for scientists and practitioners in the area of robotics and automation

An industrial robot is comprised of a robot manipulator, power supply, and controllers. A robot manipulator is constructed using rigid links connected by joints with one fixed end and one free end to perform a given task (e.g., to move a box from one location to the next). The joints to this robotic manipulator are the movable components, which enables relative motion between the adjoining links. There are also two linear joints to this robotic manipulator that ensure non-rotational motion between the links, and three rotary type joints that ensure relative rotational motion between the adjacent links. Industry-specific robots perform several tasks such as picking and placing objects, movement adapted from observing how similar manual tasks are handled by a fully-functioning human arm. Such robotic arms are also known as robotic manipulators. These manipulators were originally used for applications with respect to bio-hazardous or radioactive materials or for use in inaccessible places. In industrial ergonomics a manipulator is a lift assist device used to help workers lift, maneuver and place articles in process that are too heavy, too hot, too large or otherwise too difficult for a single worker to manually handle. As opposed to simply vertical lift assists (cranes, hoists, etc.) manipulators have the ability to reach in to tight spaces and remove work pieces. A good example would be removing large stamped parts from a press and placing them in a rack or similar dunnage. Additionally, manipulator tooling gives the lift assist the ability to pitch, roll, or spin the part for appropriate placement. An example would be removing a part from a press in the horizontal and then pitching it up for vertical placement in a rack or rolling a part over for exposing the back of the part. This book, Advanced Strategies for Robot Manipulators, emphasizes on the advances in the robotic manipulation and takes a closer look at samples of robot manipulators.