Ernesto Gambao

Robot assembly system for computer-integrated construction

The construction industry demands a productivity increase that cannot be attained by means of traditional methods for masonry that have already reached their system limits and cannot contribute to further effectiveness. Further rationalisation can only be achieved by the reduction of labour and construction times. Therefore, a certain innovative leap is required by a system approach that combines the already existing construction technologies with new information, automation and robot technologies. An integrated automation system has been developed in the European ESPRIT III Robot Assembly System for Computer Integrated Construction (ROCCO) Project. Industrial partners and research centres from Germany, Spain and Belgium that are linked to the construction industry and robotics have formed the consortium. Block assembly tasks are performed by means of two robotics systems. One of the many challenges of these systems is related with the development of the control approach of large-range robots with hydraulic actuators. Conventional control strategies, based on PID or PD controllers and linear models, are unsuitable and prove completely inefficient for these robots. New control methods are necessary in order to achieve high performance with a reasonable time-consuming algorithm, useful in a real time control system. The most significant aspects related to the development of these robotic systems and their control systems are presented in this paper.

Robot assembly system for the construction process automation

This paper presents a robot assembly system for the construction industry based on an articulated robot placed over a mobile platform. The assembly process and the robot has been developed under the computer integrated construction concept. Its main task is the assembly of blocks for the erection of walls in industrial buildings.

Modular Multiconfigurable Architecture for Low Diameter Pipe Inspection Microrobots

The inspection of low diameter pipes is a subject of great complexity due to the small operation environment in which the tasks must be developed. Besides, the construction of microrobots for specific pipe inspection is too expensive. In this article, a modular multiconfigurable architecture is presented. The fact of being modular and multiconfigurable makes it capable of performing different tasks and to adjust to different pipes and environments. Different types of modules that can be combined to form a whole microrobot and a control and communication system are also presented.

A 2 DoF Servomotor-based Module for Pipe Inspection Modular Micro-robots

A 2 degrees of freedom module for pipe inspection modular micro-robots based on servomotors is presented in this article. A mechanical and electrical description of the module is also given, including the kinematics and the close control loop design to detect obstacles (walls). The main configurations in which it can be used are described as well: snake-like robots and chain multi-configurable modular robots. The different pipes and elbows it can move on are also shown

Offline GA-Based Optimization for Heterogeneous Modular Multiconfigurable Chained Microrobots

This paper presents a GA-based optimization procedure for bioinspired heterogeneous modular multiconfigurable chained microrobots. When constructing heterogeneous chained modular robots that are composed of several different drive modules, one must select the type and position of the modules that form the chain. One must also develop new locomotion gaits that combine the different drive modules. These are two new features of heterogeneous modular robots that they do not share with homogeneous modular robots. This paper presents an offline control system that allows the development of new configuration schemes and locomotion gaits for these heterogeneous modular multiconfigurable chained microrobots. The offline control system is based on a simulator that is specifically designed for chained modular robots and allows them to develop and learn new locomotion patterns.

Current trends in reconfigurable modular robots design

This article presents a review on trends in modular reconfigurable robots, comparing the evolution of the features of the most significant robots over the years and focusing on the latest designs. These features are reconfiguration, docking, degrees of freedom, locomotion, control, communications, size, and powering. For each feature, some of the most relevant designs are presented and the current trends in the design are discussed.

A PROPOSAL FOR A MULTI-DRIVE HETEROGENEOUS MODULAR PIPE-INSPECTION MICRO-ROBOT

This paper presents the architecture used to develop a micro-robot for narrow pipes inspection. Both the electromechanical design and the control scheme will be described. In pipe environments it is very useful to have a method to retrieve information of the state of the inner part of the pipes in order to detect damages, leaks and holes. Due to the different types of existing pipes, a modular approach with different types of modules has been chosen in order to be able to adapt to the shape of the pipe and to chose the most appropriate gait. The micro-robot has been designed for narrow pipes, a field in which there are not many prototypes. The micro-robot incorporates a camera module for visual inspection and several drive modules for locomotion and turn (helicoidal, inchworm, two degrees of freedom rotation). The control scheme is based on semi-distributed behavior control and is also described. A simulation environment is also presented for prototype testing.

User-friendly task level programming based on an online walk-through teaching approach

Purpose – This paper aims to propose a new technique for programming robotized machining tasks based on intuitive human–machine interaction. This will enable operators to create robot programs for small-batch production in a fast and easy way, reducing the required time to accomplish the programming tasks. Design/methodology/approach – This technique makes use of online walk-through path guidance using an external force/torque sensor, and simple and intuitive visual programming, by a demonstration method and symbolic task-level programming. Findings – Thanks to this technique, the operator can easily program robots without learning every robot-specific language and can design new tasks for industrial robots based on manual guidance. Originality/value – The main contribution of the paper is a new procedure to program machining tasks based on manual guidance (walk-through teaching method) and user-friendly visual programming. Up to now, the acquisition of paths and the task programming were done in separate...

Home camera-based fall detection system for the elderly

Falls are the leading cause of injury and death in elderly individuals. Unfortunately, fall detectors are typically based on wearable devices, and the elderly often forget to wear them. In addition, fall detectors based on artificial vision are not yet available on the market. In this paper, we present a new low-cost fall detector for smart homes based on artificial vision algorithms. Our detector combines several algorithms (background subtraction, Kalman filtering and optical flow) as input to a machine learning algorithm with high detection accuracy. Tests conducted on over 50 different fall videos have shown a detection ratio of greater than 96%.

Multi-drive control for in-pipe snakelike heterogeneous modular micro-robots

Heterogeneous modular robots are a subject of great complexity due to the control problems derived from the different characteristics of each of the modules and the interactions amongst them. In this article, a control structure based on behaviors for robots composed of different drive units and other purpose modules is presented. This article mainly presents an heterogeneous control layer to allow a transparent control of the robot no matter how it is configured. This development is aimed to chain-type robots and focused on pipe inspection and exploration tasks.