Constraint-Based Virtual Environment for Supporting Assembly and Maintainability Tasks

Author(s):  
Terrence Fernando ◽  
Prasad Wimalaratne ◽  
Kevin Tan

Abstract This paper presents the design and implementation of a constraint-based virtual environment for supporting interactive assembly and maintenance tasks. The system architecture of the constraint-based virtual environment is based on the integration of components such as OpenGL Optimizer, Parasolid geometric kernel, a Constraint Engine and an Assembly Relationship Graph (ARG). The approach presented in this paper is based on pure geometric constraints. Techniques such as automatic constraint recognition, constraint satisfaction, constraint management and constrained motion are employed to support interactive assembly operations and realistic behaviour of assembly parts. The current system has been evaluated using two industrial case studies. This work is being carried out as a part of a research programme referred to as IPSEAM (Interactive Product Simulation Environment for Assessing Assembly and Maintainability), at the University of Salford.

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terrence Fernando ◽  
Prasad Wimalaratne ◽  
Kevin Tan ◽  
Norman Murray

Abstract This paper presents the design and implementation of an interactive product simulation environment for supporting interactive assembly and maintenance tasks. The system architecture of the constraint-based virtual environment is based on the integration of components such as OpenGL Optimizer, Parasolid geometric kernel, a Constraint Engine, an Assembly Relationship Graph (ARG) and a task model. The approach presented in this paper is based on pure geometric constraints. Techniques such as automatic constraint recognition, constraint satisfaction, constraint management and constrained motion are employed to support interactive assembly operations and realistic behaviour of assembly parts. The user inputs are handled using a task model based on Augmented Transition Networks (ATN). The current system has been evaluated using two industrial case studies.


1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Chiarelli ◽  
A. Lanciotti ◽  
M. Sacchi

The paper describes the results of a research programme, carried out at the Department of Aerospace Engineering of the University of Pisa, for the assessment of the influence of plasma cutting on the physical and mechanical properties of Fe510 D1, a low carbon steel widely used in carpentry. The activity started by observing that several industries rework plasma cut edges, particularly in the case of fatigue structures, in spite of the good quality of the plasma cut edges in a fully automatic process. Obviously, reworking is very expensive and time-consuming. Comparative fatigue tests demonstrated that the fatigue resistance of plasma cut specimens in Fe510 steel was fully comparable to that of milled specimens, as the consequence of the beneficial residual stresses which formed in the plasma cut edges. [S0094-4289(00)02201-5]


2013 ◽  
Vol 196 ◽  
pp. 169-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Słota

In the paper a trajectory generation algorithm for two robots’ coordinated motion is presented. Two instances of the algorithm, each for one robot, run in the same time and calculate trajectories’ position and orientation coordinates. Initial and end robots’ end-effectors poses are defined and values of linear and angular speeds are programmed. To minimize relative position and orientation errors an idea of corrective motion is introduced. Trajectory coordinates are calculated as the sum of programmed and corrective motion. The algorithm was implemented in a simulation environment and results of simulation are presented. Static accuracy analysis for general case and stability verification for fixed values of robots’ parameters are described. Finally, an outline of proposed procedure of building a virtual environment for reachability verification and collision checking is presented.


Author(s):  
Koichi Nishiwaki ◽  
James Kuffner ◽  
Satoshi Kagami ◽  
Masayuki Inaba ◽  
Hirochika Inoue

This paper gives an overview of the humanoid robot ‘H7’, which was developed over several years as an experimental platform for walking, autonomous behaviour and human interaction research at the University of Tokyo. H7 was designed to be a human-sized robot capable of operating autonomously in indoor environments designed for humans. The hardware is relatively simple to operate and conduct research on, particularly with respect to the hierarchical design of its control architecture. We describe the overall design goals and methodology, along with a summary of its online walking capabilities, autonomous vision-based behaviours and automatic motion planning. We show experimental results obtained by implementations running within a simulation environment as well as on the actual robot hardware.


foresight ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammadali Baradaran Ghahfarokhi ◽  
Ali Mohaghar ◽  
Fatemeh Saghafi

PurposeHigher education and universities have faced unprecedented and ubiquitous changes. The University of Tehran or “UT,” as the leading university in Iran, is not immune to these changes. The purposes of this study is to investigate the current situation and future of the UT and gain insights and possible responses to changes that suit its strengths and potential to progress in an increasingly competitive, complex environment with uncertainties. It identifies deep fundamental underpinnings of the issue and highlights them for policymakers to formulate strategies and future vision of the UT.Design/methodology/approachCausal layered analysis (CLA) was applied as a framework and the data collected from different sources such as literature reviews, content analysis of rules, regulations and master plans of the university and coded interviews of four different groups of university stakeholders were analyzed. The current system of UT, as well as hidden beliefs, that maintains traditional perceptions about university was mapped. Next, by applying a new recursive process and reverse CLA order, new CLA layers extracted through an expert panel, the layers of CLA based on new metaphors to envision future of UT were backcasted.FindingsThe results from CLA layers including litany, system, worldview and metaphor about the current statue of UT show disinterest and inertia against changes, conservative, behind the times and traditional perceptions, and indicate that the UT system is mismatched to the needs of society and stakeholders in the future. The authors articulated alternative perspectives deconstructed from other worldviews so there are new narratives that reframe the issues at hand. The results show that to survive in this fast-paced revolution and competition in higher education, UT should develop scenarios and formulate new strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors had limited access to a wide range of stakeholders. As the UT is a very big university with so many faculties and departments, to access a pool of experts and top policymakers who were so busy and did not have time to interview inside and outside of university was very hard for the research team. The authors also had limitation to access the internal enactments and decisions of the trustee board of the UT and the financial balance sheets of the university.Originality/valueIn this paper, by mixing different methods of futures studies, the authors have shown how to move forward while understanding the perspectives of stakeholders about the future of UT by a new recursive process and reverse CLA order. A supplementary phase was added to improve CLA and to validate the method and results, which were ignored in previous studies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Frank Stowell

Systems and Cybernetics no longer occupies the position, in academic circles, it once did. There are many reasons why this is the case but a common reason given is the lack of research funding for the subject. The knock-on effect is that the subject has fewer 'champions' and as a consequence is less prominent then it once was. There are many factors that mitigate against research funding for the domain but the cumulative effect is that there are few (if any) new ideas generated now which in turn is having an impact upon the number of academics attracted to it. In this paper the author revisits the action research programme at the University of Lancaster. This project contributed valuable insights into organisational inquiry and the nature of Systems thinking for over 30 years. In this paper the author revisits the programme to discover if there are lessons to be learnt that may be adopted to help provide a means of re-establishing the profile of the domain.


2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 254-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Vervain ◽  
David Wiles

In this article, David Wiles and Chris Vervain stake out the ground for a substantial programme of continuing research. Chris Vervain, coming from a background in visual and performance art, is in the first instance a maker of masks. She is also now writing a thesis on the masks of classical tragedy and their possibilities in modern performance, and, in association with the University of Glasgow, working on an AHRB research programme that involves testing the effect of Greek New Comedy masks in performance. David Wiles, Professor of Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London, has published books on the masks of Greek New Comedy and on Greek performance space, and lectured on Greek masks. Most recently, his Greek Theatre Performance: an Introduction (Cambridge University Press, 2000) included an investigation of the classical mask and insights provided by the work of Lecoq. He is now planning a book on the classical Greek mask. Wiles and Vervain are both committed to the idea that the mask was the determining convention which gave Greek tragedy its identity in the ancient world, and is a valuable point of departure for modern practitioners engaging with the form. They anticipate that their research will in the near future incorporate a symposium and a further report on work-in-progress.


The paper provides an analysis of the 19th – early 20th centuries autobiographies by I. Snehyrov, N. Ustrialov, S. Soloviov, K. Bestuzhev-Riumyn, M. Maksymovych, N. Kostomarov, V. Antonovych, M. Drahomanov, V. Semevskyi, etc. Such concepts as «life events», «actors», «stories» act as key notions of the research. This research focuses on the «event» saturation at various stages and different spheres of the university life of memoirists, as well as the peculiarities of interpretation and presentation of the corresponding «events». Particular attention is paid to the analysis of «stories», which are a complete narration and give some «events» the status of «key» or «turning». In addition, the paper analyzes the circle of communication of memoirists (so-called «significant others»), which allows to talk about the relationships in the system «teacher – student», «client – patron», etc. Understanding autobiographical texts as cultural and intellectual constructs influenced by a lot of factors (cultural and historiographic tradition, life experience of a memoirist, etc.), makes it possible to understand more deeply not only the individual «life path» of the university historian, but also the phenomenon of the university as a whole. In particular, the appearance in the autobiographies of historians of the younger generation of reflections on their current system of education, attempts to understand the moral code of «university person», the emphasis on the recognition of their scientific achievements by their colleagues. This is what indicates the beginning of the formation process of a professional community and awareness of the university values.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Burns ◽  
Anne Westmacott

One of the current challenges facing many universities is how to support teachers in becoming researchers. This article discusses the experiences at a small private Chilean university of a new action research programme that was developed as a vehicle for helping teachers to become involved in research and write a research publication for peer-reviewed journals. We present findings from research into similar programmes about relevant factors for their success, describe the programme developed at the university with five English as a Foreign Language teachers in 2016, and discuss some reflections on this first year of the programme.


2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Daniel Dunkley

In this interview Professor Green explains the work of CRELLA (the Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment at the University of Bedfordshire), and its role in the improvement of language testing. The institute contributes to this effort in many ways. For example, in the field of language education they are partners in English Profile (EP: www.englishprofile.org), a collaborative research programme directed towards a graded guide to learner language at different CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) levels, based on the 50 million word Cambridge Learner Corpus. Among other things, the EP has helped to inform the development of the CEFR-J in Japan. In this interview, Professor Green also outlines his own work, especially in the areas of washback and assessment literacy.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document