Lucia Koukolová

The View to the Current State of Robotics

The article deal about the development in the field of robotic research. The introduction suggests and summarizes actual development in robotics, which is heavily focused on the service and humanoid field in many applications. Next section of contribution is dealed to the development and is referred to its fundamental properties, which has current industrial robots.

Proposal of Multi Robotic Cells for Production Lines

The paper is focused on the determination of the number of robots for multi robotic cells that can be part of the line, respectively as an individual, for example sub-assemblies welding of car bodies. This paper describes general process steps of the methodology of design of multi robotic systems with a more detailed description of the determination of number of robots in the workplace. Some methodological steps are illustrated by specific examples.

Manufacturing Systems Suitable for Globalized Market

The paper clarifies the reasons leading to the creation of a new class of manufacturing system from a global perspective, focusing on the market environment. It describes the needs for reconfigurable manufacturing systems, which allows coping with market requirements and changes quickly and costing effectively. The article provides the approach to the design of the reconfigurable manufacturing systems from system, machine and control level point of view.

Design of Service Robot for Rescue Operations

Rescue service robots find their application mainly in high-risk environments and situations such as fires, floods, earthquakes, rescue of humans, or in different kinds of geographic and operational disaster. Rescue service robots in the area are considered as expensive experiment. Among the most important requirements of a service robot is the mobility in heterogeneous environments. This paper describes the method of design and simulation of leg-wheel chassis for service robot.

Possibilities of Use of Virtual Reality in the Field of Manufacturing Systems

The paper presents the structure and performance of the system created by a work team at Department of Production Systems and Robotics at Technical University of Kosice. System MSEVR – „ Modular system for experimentation in virtual reality“ is universal flexible system created for teaching automated and robotic systems by means of new advanced teaching aids, including virtual reality. It has been created as a specialized website and its possibilities are varied. Particular use depends on creativity of a user. Built-in tools enable to use it adequately when teaching construction of industrial robots, to present their kinematic structure or other properties of individual machines. It also enables to work with machine aggregate. In real-life working the system has been tested for optimization of process layout where the full advantages of virtual reality were taken.

Modeling and control of two-link snake:

This article deals with using of geometric mechanics at modeling mixed mechanical locomotion systems. In introductory part, the division of locomotion systems and reduced motion equation, which create the mathematical model of the system, is analyzed. Further we devoted to example of mixed locomotion system—two-link snake. We created the mathematical model of this example, simulated this system, and represented other tools of geometric mechanics.

Conceptual design of a leg-wheel chassis for rescue operations:

The article describes the concept of a locomotive construction for a robot moving along an urbanized or unstructured natural terrain. The most suitable variant was the development of a hybrid leg-wheel chassis for a service robot. It has only been confirmed that the proposed design solution for the leg-wheel hybrid chassis can largely determine activities, requiring a high degree of mobility in different application environments and, at the same time, a high efficiency motion speed over a relatively flat terrain. The geometry for the middle robot service category was processed to verify mobility. The proposed geometry has been optimized for the obstacles defined by the rescuers’ requirements. The result of the simulation is the mobility verification and the recommendation for the prototype development of the service robot.

New Trends in the Use of Robotic Devices in Motor Rehabilitation of Upper Limbs

In the years to come, robotic systems assisting physical rehabilitation will be used mainly by elderly, disabled, as well as children and adults after accidents and disorders limiting their physical capabilities. As the population is getting older, the issue becomes more and more critical. A growing number of people requiring rehabilitation generates significant costs, of which personal expenses are a major component. Providing the human personnel with appropriate mechatronic devices or replacing at least some rehabilitation medicine specialists with robots could reduce physical and mental workload of physicians. Broader application of such devices will also require among others new solutions in mechanic, control and human-robot communication. This paper presents overall vision of the development of rehabilitation robots, with consideration of the observed trends in this area, as well as expected achievements in electronics, material’s engineering, ICT and other related fields of science and technology.

Trends in Industrial and Service Robot Application

The paper describes the state of the development, production and utilization of industrial and service robots. It shows the fields of highest deployment of robots. The year 2010 was a break-through and since that year the production of industrial robots has increased each year and the estimated number of produced robots in 2015 is 200 000. The paper also points out the increasing trend of use of service robots as well as mentions main producers and countries with high potential deployment of robots.

Variability of Workplace Structures with SCARA Robot for Palletizing and Sorting Objects

This paper describes the design of palletizing workplace on a modular basis which can be reconfigured. First part of the paper is devoted to the definition of reconfigurable manufacturing systems and its core characteristics. Second part of the paper describes the workplace for palletization on a modular basis, its parts and possibilities of reconfiguration.