Robotics: 10th Anniversary Feature Papers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2021) | Viewed by 14973

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
Interests: robotics; embedded systems; mechatronics; advanced manufacturing; multimodal human–machine interfaces; wearable sensors and systems; sensor integration and data fusion algorithms; biomedical signal processing; e-health; medical and surgical robotics; AI applications; intelligent control and learning algorithms; cooperative robots in search and rescue; networked sensors, systems, and robots
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The year 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of Robotics. To date, Robotics has published more than 400 papers from more than 1300 authors. More than 850 reviewers have submitted at least one review report. Our sincerest thanks go to our readers, innumerable authors, anonymous peer reviewers, editors, and all the people working for the journal who have contributed their efforts for years. Without your help, we would never have achieved this milestone.

To mark this important milestone, a Special Issue entitled Robotics: 10th Anniversary Feature Papers is being launched. This Special Issue collects communications, full papers, and high-quality review papers in the intelligent robots and mechatronics fields.

Topics addressed in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • AI, neural networks, and fuzzy logic in robotics;
  • Biologically inspired robotics and biomimetics;
  • Biomedical, rehabilitation, and surgical robotics;
  • Cloud and swarm robotic systems;
  • Exoskeletons, prosthetics, and artificial organs;
  • Intelligent robotics and mechatronics;
  • Modeling, identification, and control of robotic systems;
  • Multi-sensor data fusion and SLAM;
  • Multimodal human–machine interaction;
  • Wireless sensor networks for robot navigation;
  • Service robotics, industrial robotizations, space robotics

Prof. Dr. Huosheng Hu
Prof. Dr. Marco Ceccarelli
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 submissions that pass pre-check are 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 monthly 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 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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 (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 10870 KiB  
Communication
Performance Investigation and Repeatability Assessment of a Mobile Robotic System for 3D Mapping
by Eleonora Maset, Lorenzo Scalera, Alberto Beinat, Domenico Visintini and Alessandro Gasparetto
Robotics 2022, 11(3), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics11030054 - 20 Apr 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2910
Abstract
In this paper, we present a quantitative performance investigation and repeatability assessment of a mobile robotic system for 3D mapping. With the aim of a more efficient and automatic data acquisition process with respect to well-established manual topographic operations, a 3D laser scanner [...] Read more.
In this paper, we present a quantitative performance investigation and repeatability assessment of a mobile robotic system for 3D mapping. With the aim of a more efficient and automatic data acquisition process with respect to well-established manual topographic operations, a 3D laser scanner coupled with an inertial measurement unit is installed on a mobile platform and used to perform a high-resolution mapping of the surrounding environment. Point clouds obtained with the use of a mobile robot are compared with those acquired with the device carried manually as well as with a terrestrial laser scanner survey that serves as a ground truth. Experimental results show that both mapping modes provide similar accuracy and repeatability, whereas the robotic system compares favorably with respect to the handheld modality in terms of noise level and point distribution. The outcomes demonstrate the feasibility of the mobile robotic platform as a promising technology for automatic and accurate 3D mapping. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotics: 10th Anniversary Feature Papers)
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24 pages, 3770 KiB  
Article
Identifying Personality Dimensions for Engineering Robot Personalities in Significant Quantities with Small User Groups
by Liangyi Luo, Kohei Ogawa and Hiroshi Ishiguro
Robotics 2022, 11(1), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics11010028 - 14 Feb 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3148
Abstract
Future service robots mass-produced for practical applications may benefit from having personalities. To engineer robot personalities in significant quantities for practical applications, we need first to identify the personality dimensions on which personality traits can be effectively optimised by minimising the distances between [...] Read more.
Future service robots mass-produced for practical applications may benefit from having personalities. To engineer robot personalities in significant quantities for practical applications, we need first to identify the personality dimensions on which personality traits can be effectively optimised by minimising the distances between engineering targets and the corresponding robots under construction, since not all personality dimensions are applicable and equally prominent. Whether optimisation is possible on a personality dimension depends on how specific users consider the personalities of a type of robot, especially whether they can provide effective feedback to guide the optimisation of certain traits on a personality dimension. The dimensions may vary from user group to user group since not all people consider a type of trait to be relevant to a type of robot, which our results corroborate. Therefore, we had proposed a test procedure as an engineering tool to identify, with the help of a user group, personality dimensions for engineering robot personalities out of a type of robot knowing its typical usage. It applies to robots that can imitate human behaviour and small user groups with at least eight people. We confirmed its effectiveness in limited-scope tests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotics: 10th Anniversary Feature Papers)
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12 pages, 840 KiB  
Article
Untethered Origami Worm Robot with Diverse Multi-Leg Attachments and Responsive Motions under Magnetic Actuation
by Manivannan Sivaperuman Kalairaj, Catherine Jiayi Cai, Pavitra S and Hongliang Ren
Robotics 2021, 10(4), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics10040118 - 01 Nov 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4377
Abstract
Nowadays, origami folding in combination with actuation mechanisms can offer deployable structure design, yield compliance, and have several properties of soft material. An easy complex folding pattern can yield an array of functionalities in actuated hinges or active spring elements. This paper presents [...] Read more.
Nowadays, origami folding in combination with actuation mechanisms can offer deployable structure design, yield compliance, and have several properties of soft material. An easy complex folding pattern can yield an array of functionalities in actuated hinges or active spring elements. This paper presents various cylinder origami robot designs that can be untethered magnetically actuated. The different designs are analyzed and compared to achieve the following three types of motion: Peristaltic, rolling, and turning in different environments, namely, board, sandpaper, and sand. The proposed origami robot is able translate 53 mm in peristaltic motion within 20 s and is able to roll one complete cycle in 1 s and can turn ≈180 in 1.5 s. The robot also demonstrated a peristaltic locomotion at a speed of ≈2.5 mm s1, ≈1.9 mm s1, and ≈1.3 mm s1 in board, sandpaper, and sand respectively; rolling motion at a speed of 1 cycle s1, ≈0.66 cycles s1, and ≈0.33 cycles s1 in board, sandpaper, and sand respectively; and turning motion of ≈180, ≈83, and ≈58 in board, sandpaper, and sand respectively. The evaluation of the robotic motion and actuation is discussed in detail in this paper. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotics: 10th Anniversary Feature Papers)
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15 pages, 5893 KiB  
Article
Reuleaux Triangle–Based Two Degrees of Freedom Bipedal Robot
by Jiteng Yang, Wael Saab, Yujiong Liu and Pinhas Ben-Tzvi
Robotics 2021, 10(4), 114; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics10040114 - 16 Oct 2021
Viewed by 3304
Abstract
This paper presents the design, modeling, analysis, and experimental results of a novel bipedal robotic system that utilizes two interconnected single degree-of-freedom (DOF) leg mechanisms to produce stable forward locomotion and steering. The single DOF leg is actuated via a Reuleaux triangle cam-follower [...] Read more.
This paper presents the design, modeling, analysis, and experimental results of a novel bipedal robotic system that utilizes two interconnected single degree-of-freedom (DOF) leg mechanisms to produce stable forward locomotion and steering. The single DOF leg is actuated via a Reuleaux triangle cam-follower mechanism to produce a constant body height foot trajectory. Kinematic analysis and dimension selection of the Reuleaux triangle mechanism is conducted first to generate the desired step height and step length. Leg sequencing is then designed to allow the robot to maintain a constant body height and forward walking velocity. Dynamic simulations and experiments are conducted to evaluate the walking and steering performance. The results show that the robot is able to control its body orientation, maintain a constant body height, and achieve quasi-static locomotion stability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotics: 10th Anniversary Feature Papers)
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