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Robotics, Volume 2, Issue 4 (December 2013) – 4 articles , Pages 187-230

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608 KiB  
Article
Design and Simulation of Two Robotic Systems for Automatic Artichoke Harvesting
by Domenico Longo and Giovanni Muscato
Robotics 2013, 2(4), 217-230; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics2040217 - 02 Dec 2013
Cited by 45 | Viewed by 8452
Abstract
The target of this research project was a feasibility study for the development of a robot for automatic or semi-automatic artichoke harvesting. During this project, different solutions for the mechanical parts of the machine, its control system and the harvesting tools were investigated. [...] Read more.
The target of this research project was a feasibility study for the development of a robot for automatic or semi-automatic artichoke harvesting. During this project, different solutions for the mechanical parts of the machine, its control system and the harvesting tools were investigated. Moreover, in cooperation with the department DISPA of University of Catania, different field structures with different kinds of artichoke cultivars were studied and tested. The results of this research could improve artichoke production for preserves industries. As a first step, an investigation on existing machines has been done. From this research, it has been shown that very few machines exist for this purpose. Based also on previous experiences, some proposals for different robotic systems have been done, while the mobile platform itself was developed within another research project. At the current stage, several different configurations of machines and harvesting end-effectors have been designed and simulated using a 3D CAD environment interfaced with Matlab®. Moreover, as support for one of the proposed machines, an artificial vision algorithm has been developed in order to locate the artichokes on the plant, with respect to the robot, using images taken with a standard webcam. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Robots)
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435 KiB  
Article
A Test Platform for Planned Field Operations Using LEGO Mindstorms NXT
by Gareth Edwards, Martin P. Christiansen, Dionysis D. Bochtis and Claus G. Sørensen
Robotics 2013, 2(4), 203-216; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics2040203 - 27 Nov 2013
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 8106
Abstract
Testing agricultural operations and management practices associated with different machinery, systems and planning approaches can be both costly and time-consuming. Computer simulations of such systems are used for development and testing; however, to gain the experience of real-world performance, an intermediate step between [...] Read more.
Testing agricultural operations and management practices associated with different machinery, systems and planning approaches can be both costly and time-consuming. Computer simulations of such systems are used for development and testing; however, to gain the experience of real-world performance, an intermediate step between simulation and full-scale testing should be included. In this paper, a potential common framework using the LEGO Mindstorms NXT micro-tractor platform is described in terms of its hardware and software components. The performance of the platform is demonstrated and tested in terms of its capability of supporting decision making on infield operation planning. The proposed system represents the basic measures for developing a complete test platform for field operations, where route plans, mission plans, multiple-machinery cooperation strategies and machinery coordination can be executed and tested in the laboratory. Full article
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150 KiB  
Review
Robotics in Endometrial Cancer Care
by Joseph Ng
Robotics 2013, 2(4), 198-202; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics2040198 - 12 Nov 2013
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5401
Abstract
Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in women in most of the developed world. The majority of these women with endometrial cancer will be unaffected by their disease. The challenge therefore is for surgical treatment not to be worse than the [...] Read more.
Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in women in most of the developed world. The majority of these women with endometrial cancer will be unaffected by their disease. The challenge therefore is for surgical treatment not to be worse than the disease. Robotics has changed the way that we care for women living with endometrial cancer by making low-impact surgical treatment available to more women than was previously possible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medical Robotics and Systems)
490 KiB  
Article
Robust Bio-Signal Based Control of an Intelligent Wheelchair
by Xiaodong Xu, Yi Zhang, Yuan Luo and Dongyi Chen
Robotics 2013, 2(4), 187-197; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics2040187 - 30 Sep 2013
Cited by 188 | Viewed by 7272
Abstract
In this paper, an adaptive human-machine interaction (HMI) method that is based on surface electromyography (sEMG) signals is proposed for the hands-free control of an intelligent wheelchair. sEMG signals generated by the facial movements are obtained by a convenient dry electrodes sensing device. [...] Read more.
In this paper, an adaptive human-machine interaction (HMI) method that is based on surface electromyography (sEMG) signals is proposed for the hands-free control of an intelligent wheelchair. sEMG signals generated by the facial movements are obtained by a convenient dry electrodes sensing device. After the signals features are extracted from the autoregressive model, control data samples are updated and trained by an incremental online learning algorithm in real-time. Experimental results show that the proposed method can significantly improve the classification accuracy and training speed. Moreover, this method can effectively reduce the influence of muscle fatigue during a long time operation of sEMG-based HMI. Full article
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