October 2011

October 2011

These papers were presented at 20^th International Workshop RAAD 2011, Brno

Group algebra for robotic applications by means of operator overloading

Operator overloading is a powerful feature of modern object-oriented programming languages; it can be used to customize the default algebraic operators to a point where the programming syntax can accommodate new algebras acting on complex objects. The present work introduces a custom T (T, ) algebra which can be used to express kinematic transformations in chains of frames that move in threedimensional space; relevant algebraic properties of T are discussed; finally the algebra is translated into a set of algorithms that can fit into the operator-overloading capabilities of the C++ language. Topics such as templates, serialization, optimizations and examples in the field mechanical simulation are discussed; moreover a novel method for run-time and compile-time validation of the syntax is exposed, so that the order of the products is checked for kinematic consistency - hence showing the advantage of this approach also for educational purposes.

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SIMULATION TOOLS FOR THE DELTA ROBOT USING AUGMENTED REALITY

The paper focuses on simulation tools for parallel kinematics using Augmented Reality. AR is used in the design of new equipment for reasons of clarity in testing the physical model of parallel kinematics (linking real and virtual scene model). The article describes the process of the model creation and its further processing. The article focuses on other possible solutions which could be beneficial as Augmented reality simulations on multiple objects in parallel kinematics.

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FAST RANGE IMAGE SEGMENTATION FOR A DOMESTIC SERVICE ROBOT

In this paper we present a fast approach to range image segmentation. The segmentation results are intended to serve as input to the perception system of a domestic service robot. In the first step “ghost points” at depth discontinuities are identified. This is followed by extracting step and roof edges. Planar patches are detected with a focus on horizontal and vertical planar structures. Finally, the range data is labelled with the locally dominant features, which results in a label map. Our approach was tested on real range images recorded in a home-like office environment using a tilting laser range finder.

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Industrial Robots used in Forges Applications

Industrial robots are used especially in sectors where the human body is in danger or is working in extreme conditions. One of these sectors is the forges sector where the manipulating objects are hot, and the vibrations and noise are big. The problem of manipulation the hot parts implies the choosing of the right gripper mechanism in order to obtain the best cooling of it and of the robot itself. The cooling of gripper and robot is realized in the movement phase when no hot payload is present. So, the trajectory of movement is important and also the optimum position of robot with respect to the application positions. The proposed paper is dealing with the subject of moving the base of robot with respect to the application points so that an objective function representing the accumulated heat during a cycle to be minim.

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