Andrea Caffaz

The design and development of the DIST-Hand dextrous gripper

Presents the first prototype of the DIST-Hand dextrous gripper. DIST-Hand is a 4-fingered tendon driven device with 16 degrees of freedom, designed for experiments in the area of grasping control, and tele-manipulation. The current version of the gripper is lightweight and can be easily installed on the various existing robots. The paper outlines the kinematic and structural characteristics of the hand. Furthermore, some general methodological issues addressed during the design phase are discussed.

On a two-level hierarchical structure for the dynamic control of multifingered manipulation

The problem of grasping and manipulating rigid objects using a multifingered robotic system is dealt with. A hierarchical two-level closed-loop trajectory tracking control strategy is presented in order to achieve the manipulation task, together with a complimentary force control, for object grasping, which makes use of a formulation of grasping forces decomposition.

The CO3AUVs (Cooperative Cognitive Control for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) Project: overview and current progresses.

Abstract The paper describes the CO 3 AUVs - Cooperative Cognitive Control for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles - European Commission Project. This is seventh Framework Programme STREP project under the theme: Information and Communication Technologies Cognitive Systems, Interaction, Robotics. The project started in December 2008. After an overview of the project objectives and consortium composition, the paper describes the project activities.

Embedded FPGA-based control of a multifingered robotic hand

This paper describes the most significant design issues related with the development of an embedded FPGA-based control system for a human-like robotic hand. Specific features of the mechanical design of the system are discussed firstly, then a general approach to the problem of controlling the motion of the robotic device is provided. Finally a candidate distributed control architecture is presented.

FOLAGA: A VERY LOW COST AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLE FOR COASTAL OCEANOGRAPHY

Abstract The Folaga second version, a very low cost prototypal AUV for coastal oceanographic purposes, is introduced. The vehicle has the mission of collecting oceanographic data over vertical ocean section at selected geographical points. For this reason, it can navigate on the sea surface, and dive only when measurements are needed. This behaviour is similar to that of aquatic birds that swim on the water surface and dive occasionally in search of food. The paper concentrates on the vehicle communication and mission planning modules, and on the analysis of field data to test the vehicle maneuvrability.

Desing and realization of a very low cost prototypal autonomous vehicle for coastal oceanographic missions

Abstract The design and main features of a very low cost underwater vehicle for coastal oceanographic applications are illustrated. The key to a low cost but still effective design, in this case, is the limitation of the vehicle features and capabilities solely to those strictly required for the fullfillment of the mission. In terms of navigation and control capabilities, in particular, this allows for the use of GPS-driven algorithms when transiting from one sampling location to another, and the use of a robust closed-loop steering law automatically generating smooth transit trajectories.

The DIST-HAND robot

This paper presents the prototype of the DIST robotic hand developed at the Graal-Lab of the University of Genova. In the current version, the hand is formed by a palm supporting four fingers. Each finger has four rotational degrees of freedom, and is equipped with custom built position sensors using Hall-effect transducers. The actuation of each finger is done using six tendons driven by five computer controlled DC motors. A kinematic analysis has been performed using simulation tools, with the goal of building a mechanism with size and mobility similar to those of human hand.

Cooperative Cognitive Control for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (CO3AUVs): overview and progresses in the 3rd project year

Abstract The paper describes the “Cooperative Cognitive Control for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (Co 3 AUVs)” EU-project. This is a 7 th Framework Program STREP project under the theme: Information and Communication Technologies Cognitive Systems, Interaction, Robotics. The project duration is February 2009 to January 2012. The aim of Co 3 AUVs is to develop, implement and test advanced cognitive systems for coordination and cooperative control of multiple AUVs. Several aspects are investigated including 3D perception and mapping, cooperative situation awareness, deliberation and navigation as well as behavioral control strictly linked with the underwater communication challenges. This paper presents an overview of the project with a focus on results from the final 3rd project year.

Widely scalable mobile underwater sonar technology: An overview of the H2020 WiMUST project

The Widely scalable Mobile Underwater Sonar Technology (WiMUST) project is an H2020 Research and Innovation Action funded by the European Commission. The project aims at developing a system of cooperative Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for geotechnical surveying and geophysical exploration. The paper reports about the first year activities and it gives an overview of the main objectives and methods.

WAVE: A wave energy recovery module for long endurance gliders and AUVs

The WAVE (Wave-powered Autonomous Vehicle for marine Exploration) project involves the development of a novel hybrid oceanographic glider/Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) with power recharging capabilities from environmental renewable sources, aiming at enhancing the endurance of a typical marine mission. In this paper we present a brief description of the project, and the steps followed in the realization of the first version of the vehicle. The results emerged after a preliminary sea-trial of the prototype show the practical feasibility of the proposed approach.