Robotic Simulation

Computer simulation of high-cost applications, especially those involving massive amounts of robotic equipment, is much more efficient than traditional laboratory means. This new textbook presents procedures that make an important contribution to the effective use of automated manufacturing. It also uses a unique combination of computer and robot skills to achieve solutions to the problems discussed throughout the text. Methods of utilizing existing simulation software are emphasized since this enables students to create workable robot designs through a better understanding of basic simulation techniques. Robotic Simulation is designed for introductory courses in simulation. For short courses or seminars, the chapters dealing with hardware-dependent applications can easily be omitted without interfering with the continuity of the text. The book's computerized simulation approach to robotics is an indispensable supplement to the normal methods taught in a course on robots.

The field of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has now taken centre stage in modern clinical practice. With ever changing technologies in the field of MIS, such as robotics, there is now the need to train the surgeon to the next degree. Training by simulation, whether virtual, hybrid, or real, allows the surgeon to rehearse, learn, improve or maintain their skills in a safe and stress free environment. Simulation Training in Laparoscopy and Robotic Surgery gives a true insight into the latest educational and learning techniques for new technologies in surgery. Written by an international team of experts, this illustrated text provides advice on specialised team training, non technical skills and simulation. Simulation Training in Laparoscopy and Robotic Surgery is an important training aide for surgeons and residents interested in developing skills in this field.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Simulation, Modeling, and Programming for Autonomous Robots, SIMPAR 2014, held in Bergamo, Italy, in October 2014. The 49 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 62 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on simulation, modeling, programming, architectures, methods and tools, and systems and applications.

Why are the many highly capable autonomous robots that have been promised for novel applications driven by society, industry, and research not available - day despite the tremendous progress in robotics science and systems achieved during the last decades? Unfortunately, steady improvements in speci?c robot abilities and robot hardware have not been matched by corresponding robot performance in real world environments. This is mainly due to the lack of - vancements in robot software that master the development of robotic systems of ever increasing complexity. In addition, fundamental open problems are still awaiting sound answers while the development of new robotics applications s- fersfromthelackofwidelyusedtools,libraries,andalgorithmsthataredesigned in a modular and performant manner with standardized interfaces. Simulation environments are playing a major role not only in reducing development time and cost, e. g. , by systematic software- or hardware-in-the-loop testing of robot performance, but also in exploring new types of robots and applications. H- ever,their use may still be regardedwith skepticism. Seamless migrationof code using robot simulators to real-world systems is still a rare circumstance, due to the complexity of robot, world, sensor, and actuator modeling. These challenges drive the quest for the next generation of methodologies and tools for robot development. The objective of the International Conference on Simulation, Modeling, and ProgrammingforAutonomous Robots (SIMPAR) is to o?er a unique forum for these topics and to bring together researchersfrom academia and industry to identify and solve the key issues necessary to ease the development of increasingly complex robot software.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Simulation, Modeling, and Programming for Autonomous Robots, SIMPAR 2012, held in Tsukuba, Japan, in November 2012. The 33 revised full papers and presented together with 3 invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 46 submissions. Ten papers describe design of complex behaviors of autonomous robots, 9 address software layers, 8 papers refer to related modeling and learning. The papers are organized in topical sections on mobile robots, software modeling and architecture and humanoid and biped robots.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First International Conference on Simulation, Modeling, and Programming for Autonomous Robots, SIMPAR 2008, held in Venice, Italy, in November 2008. The 29 revised full papers and 21 revised poster papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 42 submissions. The papers address all current issues of robotics applications and simulation environments thereof, such as 3D robot simulation, reliability, scalability and validation of robot simulation, simulated sensors and actuators, offline simulation of robot design, online simulation with real­time constraints, simulation with software/hardware-in-the-loop, middleware for robotics, modeling framework for robots and environments, testing and validation of robot control software, standardization for robotic services, communication infrastructures in distributed robotics, interaction between sensor networks and robots, human robot interaction, and multi­robot. The papers are organized in topical sections on simulation, programming, and applications.

The human hand and its dexterity in grasping and manipulating objects are some of the hallmarks of the human species. For years, anatomic and biomechanical studies have deepened the understanding of the human hand’s functioning and, in parallel, the robotics community has been working on the design of robotic hands capable of manipulating objects with a performance similar to that of the human hand. However, although many researchers have partially studied various aspects, to date there has been no comprehensive characterization of the human hand’s function for grasping and manipulation of everyday life objects. This monograph explores the hypothesis that the confluence of both scientific fields, the biomechanical study of the human hand and the analysis of robotic manipulation of objects, would greatly benefit and advance both disciplines through simulation. Therefore, in this book, the current knowledge of robotics and biomechanics guides the design and implementation of a simulation framework focused on manipulation interactions that allows the study of the grasp through simulation. As a result, a valuable framework for the study of the grasp, with relevant applications in several fields such as robotics, biomechanics, ergonomics, rehabilitation and medicine, has been made available to these communities.

This pragmatic book is a guide for the use of simulation in surgery and surgical subspecialties, including general surgery, urology, gynecology, cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, orthopedics, ophthalmology, and otolaryngology. It offers evidence-based recommendations for the application of simulation in surgery and addresses procedural skills training, clinical decision-making and team training, and discusses the future of surgical simulation. Readers are introduced to the different simulation modalities and technologies used in surgery with a variety of learners including students, residents, practicing surgeons, and other health-related professionals.