Investigation of Optimum Conformations and Structure Analysis of RL and LR Nests using Ramachandran Plot

We have surveyed polypeptides with the optimal conformations of nests which are the common anion-binding motifs comprising 8% of the amino acids which are characterized by a structural depression or a hole. Using automated bioinformatics algorithm, novel ring structure of the nest has been found. Using automated algorithm, models of polypeptides were made in-silico (computationally) and oxygen atoms are inserted along the extension of the NH groups. These sophisticated algorithms allow insertion of atoms along the NH group at the correct distance which causes extension of the group thus forming hydrogen bond. Optimal conformations of these structures are found from these customized models. This study chapter provides a demonstration of an important discovery of optimum conformations of RL and LR nests by the use of sophisticated bioinformatics automation pipeline and a unique application of automation and control in bioinformatics.

Interactive and Collaborative Virus-Evolutionary CNC Machining Optimization Environment

Research on the area of sculptured surface machining optimization is currently directed towards the implementation of artificial intelligence techniques. This chapter aims at presenting a novel approach of optimizing machining strategies applied to manufacture complex part geometries. Towards this direction a new genetic-evolutionary algorithm based on the virus theory of evolution is developed as a hosted module to a commercial and widely known CAM system. The new genetic algorithm automatically evaluates pairs of candidate solutions among machining parameters for roughing and finishing operations so as to optimize their values for obtaining optimum machining programs for sculptured parts in terms of productivity and quality. This is achieved by introducing new directions of manipulating manufacturing software tools through programming and customization. The environment was tested for its efficiency and has been proven capable of providing applicable results for the machining of sculptured surfaces.

Cooperative Robots

The interest in developing cooperative systems has increased due to the advantages they offer. Such systems can perform tasks that a single robot would be impossible to achieve. In this chapter, a summary of the cooperative robots's study, a classification of the type of grips, and path planning is presented. In addition, the properties and characteristics of the dynamic model, and the effects of torque and friction in contact tasks are shown. General considerations that should be made to analyze a cooperative system are introduced, and finally, the principle of orthogonalization, which separates the position and the force using a projection matrix which allows us to develop a control-observer scheme, is presented.

An Intuitive Teleoperation of Industrial Robots

Teleoperation of manipulator robots with RGB-D sensors is now mainly done using inverse kinematics techniques. In this chapter, we describe an intuitive way to teleoperate an industrial manipulator through vision sensors by directly controlling manipulator joints retargeting specific human motion. In this way the human operator has the full control of robot movements with practically no training, because of the intuitivity of this teleoperation method. The remapping into the robot joints is done by computing angles between vectors built from positions of human joints, tracked by the selected vision sensor. The obtained system is very modular which allows to change either the tracking sensor or the robot model with some small changes. Finally, the developed teleoperation system has been successfully tested on two real Comau robots, revealing to be fast and strongly reliable.

Strategic Role of Information and Information Technology in Shop Floor Control in Footwear Industry Sector

This chapter presents an approach to the strategic role of information and information technology in the shop floor control in footwear industry sector, pointing and tracking through the various stages of the production process. Discusses the importance of industries perform monitoring of production processes, with the goal of identifying information needs, actions and solutions that will contribute to the improvement and efficiency of the production process. The chapter also discusses the contribution of information technology to the information systems of companies, through the resources and solutions available today, such as Enterprise Resource Planning - ERP, Manufacturing Resource Planning - MRP and Shop Floor Control - SFC. The research method is the case study conducted in firm located in an industrial Brazilian footwear. This study examines the use of a solution called GradeSFC tracking and pointing of the production process.

Conceptual Process for Designing High-Technology Products

In this chapter, a systematic and practical design process and methodology is presented and applied to design a new high- technology product: a litter-collecting robot. Although considerable theoretical and practical models have been developed in product design and development, there are still limited effective models on the practical design process on a detailed level. This chapter elaborates on recent relevant research in the design methodology field and try to improve the details of product design process and apply it to a litter-collecting robot design. The detailed and practical approach demonstrated on the design of a high- tech product in this paper, can be applied effectively to the design process of industrial products.

Simulation of Manufacturing Processes via Virtual Reality

In a world in continuous evolution, the different industrial actors need to be reactive to remain competitive and to conquer new market trends. To achieve this, they are constrained to improve their way of industrial management, both at the strategic level, to adapt to technological advances and follow market trends. In this chapter, we introduce a new simulation method that makes it easy to understand the results of a given simulation. This is of crucial importance because the design stage of a manufacturing system usually implies not specialist actors. The objective of the chapter is to present the main advantages of using the virtual reality (VR) to the manufacturing processes simulation. To this end, a state of the art will compose the first part of the chapter. In the second part, we address the issue of the contribution of the VR to the industrial simulation.

Robotic Transformation and its Business Applications in Food Industry

The role of robots is becoming substantial for industrial applications and business competitiveness. The robot transformation in food industry has increased business productivity, reduced cost and enhanced customer experiences. The usage scale of robots has an increasing trend globally when industries modernize and increase the production capacities with ability in handling complex tasks. The objective of this chapter is to explore robotic transformation in literature and to investigate its business applications in food industry. There are two points raised in the discussion, would the robot technology which has been developed only capable owned by large scale food companies and the experiences gained in the restaurant which serves by robots can replace the human touch. At the end of this chapter, some solutions are given to shed light on the application of robot in food industry and deepen critical analysis for researchers, technocrats and business practitioners.

Assistive Intelligent Humanoid Robot in Human Environment

The number of robots operating in human environments is increasing every day. In order to operate in such environments, the robot must be able to navigate, interact with human, pick and place different objects. This chapter presents a mobile humanoid robot that is able to localize itself, navigate to the target location, and generates the arm motion based on the specific task. The robot utilizes the Laser Range Finder, camera and compass sensor for localization and navigation. In addition, the robot generates the arm motion satisfying multiple motion criteria, simultaneously. This chapter evolves neural controllers that generate the humanoid robot arm motion in dynamic environment optimizing three different objective functions: minimum time, distance and acceleration. In a single ran of Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm, multiple neural controllers are generate and the same neural controller can be employed to generate the robot motion for a wide range of initial and goal positions.

Mobile Robot Path Planning using Voronoi Diagram and Fast Marching

This chapter presents a new sensor-based path planner, which gives a fast local or global motion plan capable to incorporate new obstacles data. Within the first step, the safest areas in the environment are extracted by means of a Voronoi Diagram. Within the second step, the fast marching method is applied to the Voronoi extracted areas so as to get the trail. This strategy combines map-based and sensor-based designing operations to supply a reliable motion plan, whereas it operates at the frequency of the sensor. The most interesting characteristics are high speed and reliability, as the map dimensions are reduced to a virtually one-dimensional map and this map represents the safest areas within the environment.