Advances in Italian Robotics II

A special issue of Robotics (ISSN 2218-6581).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 16828

Special Issue Editors

Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
Interests: industrial robotics; robot and mechanism design and control; cable-driven robots; haptics; rehabilitation robotics; medical robotics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Interests: industrial and collaborative robotics; robot and mechanism design; performance evaluation; cable-driven robots
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, Università della Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: robotics; robot design; mechatronics; walking hexapod; design procedure; mechanics of machinery; leg–wheel
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, robotics is developing at a fast pace, both inside and outside industrial environments. Service robotics, surgical and rehabilitation robotics, assistive robotics, and other application fields are becoming increasingly significant, not only from technological and economical viewpoints but also in terms of their daily life and social implications. Even the implementation and role of robots in production lines and other traditional frames is being widely revised, since robots are rapidly changing from slave devices to cyber-physical systems in the industry 4.0 framework. These changes can be expected to speed up as a consequence of CoVid-19 as well. In this context, research on robot mechanics, modelling, design, and control is going to play an increasingly central role.

This Special Issue aims at disseminating the latest research achievements, findings, and ideas in the robotics field, paying particular attention to the Italian scenario. It is following a successul first edition with a published MDPI book with 15 valuable contributions. This Issue was originally linked to the IFToMM Italy community. However, we are also strongly encouraging the submission of additional contributions from researchers working in this field, in order to further widen the field coverage as referring to the Italian robotics community in a broad sense.

Papers are welcome on topics that are related to the theory, design, practice, and applications of robots, including but not limited to the following:

  • Robot design and kinematics;
  • Dynamics of robots and multibody systems;
  • Linkages and manipulators;
  • Control of robotic systems;
  • Trajectory planning and optimization;
  • Innovative robots and applications;
  • Industrial robotics;
  • Collaborative robotics;
  • Medical robotics (surgery, rehabilitation);
  • Assistive robotics;
  • Haptics;
  • Microrobots
  • Artificial intelligence;
  • Service robotics.

Prof. Dr. Giulio Rosati
Prof. Dr. Giovanni Boschetti
Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Carbone
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

 

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Robotics is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs), it is reduced to 350 CHF for the invited submission to this special issue. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4135 KiB  
Article
Design of PEIS: A Low-Cost Pipe Inspector Robot
by Mario Mauro Salvatore, Alessio Galloro, Leonardo Muzzi, Giovanni Pullano, Péter Odry and Giuseppe Carbone
Robotics 2021, 10(2), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics10020074 - 19 May 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4915
Abstract
This paper outlines the design of a novel mechatronic system for semi-automatic inspection and white-water in-pipe obstruction removals without the need for destructive methods or specialized manpower. The device is characterized by a lightweight structure and high transportability. It is composed by a [...] Read more.
This paper outlines the design of a novel mechatronic system for semi-automatic inspection and white-water in-pipe obstruction removals without the need for destructive methods or specialized manpower. The device is characterized by a lightweight structure and high transportability. It is composed by a front, a rear and a central module that realize the worm-like locomotion of the robot with a specifically designed driving mechanism for the straight motion of the robot along the pipeline. The proposed mechatronic system is easily adaptable to pipes of various sizes. Each module is equipped with a motor that actuates three slider-crank-based mechanisms. The central module incorporates a length-varying mechanism that allows forward and backward locomotion. The device is equipped with specific low-cost sensors that allow an operator to monitor the device and locate an obstruction in real time. The movement of the device can be automatic or controlled manually by using a specific user-friendly control board and a laptop. Preliminary laboratory tests are reported to demonstrate the engineering feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed design, which is currently under patenting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Italian Robotics II)
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20 pages, 9405 KiB  
Article
Mechatronic Re-Design of a Manual Assembly Workstation into a Collaborative One for Wire Harness Assemblies
by Ilaria Palomba, Luca Gualtieri, Rafael Rojas, Erwin Rauch, Renato Vidoni and Andrea Ghedin
Robotics 2021, 10(1), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics10010043 - 05 Mar 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5484
Abstract
Nowadays, the wire harness assembly process is still manually performed due to the process complexity and product variability (e.g., wires of different kind, size and length). The Wire cobots project, in which this work was conceived, aims at improving the current state-of-art assembly [...] Read more.
Nowadays, the wire harness assembly process is still manually performed due to the process complexity and product variability (e.g., wires of different kind, size and length). The Wire cobots project, in which this work was conceived, aims at improving the current state-of-art assembly process by introducing in it collaborative robotics. A shared workstation exploiting human abilities and machine strengths was developed to assembly automotive wire harness by means of insulated tape for a real industrial case. In the new workstation, the human deals with the complex task of wire handling, while the robot performs the repetitive and strenuous taping operations. Such a task allocation together with the workstation redesign allow for an improvement of the operator’s well-being in terms of postural conditions and for an increase of the production efficiency. In this paper, the mechanical and mechatronic design, as well as the realization and validation of this new collaborative workstation are presented and discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Italian Robotics II)
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24 pages, 3027 KiB  
Article
Globally Optimal Inverse Kinematics Method for a Redundant Robot Manipulator with Linear and Nonlinear Constraints
by Alessandro Tringali and Silvio Cocuzza
Robotics 2020, 9(3), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics9030061 - 31 Jul 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5350
Abstract
This paper presents a novel inverse kinematics global method for a redundant robot manipulator performing a tracking maneuver. The proposed method, based on the choice of appropriate initial joint trajectories that satisfy the kinematic constraints to be used as inputs for a multi-start [...] Read more.
This paper presents a novel inverse kinematics global method for a redundant robot manipulator performing a tracking maneuver. The proposed method, based on the choice of appropriate initial joint trajectories that satisfy the kinematic constraints to be used as inputs for a multi-start optimization algorithm, allows for the optimization of different integral cost functions, such as kinetic energy and joint torques norm, and can provide solutions with a variety of constraints, both linear and nonlinear. Furthermore, it is suitable for multi-objective optimization, and it is able to find multiple optima with minimal input from the user, and to solve cyclic trajectories. Problems with a high number of parameters have been addressed providing a sequential version of the method based on successive stages of interpolation. The results of simulations with a three-Degrees-of-Freedom (DOF) redundant manipulator have been compared with a solution available in the literature based on the calculus of variations, thus leading to the validation of the method. Moreover, the effectiveness of the presented method has been shown when used to solve problems with constraints on joint displacement, velocity, torque, and power. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Italian Robotics II)
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