Caihua Xiong, Donggui Han and Youlun Xiong
The purpose of this paper is to design an integrated localization system for mobile robots in underground environments for exploring and rescuing tasks after incidents and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to design an integrated localization system for mobile robots in underground environments for exploring and rescuing tasks after incidents and detection of hazard gas in tunnels before ingress.
Design/methodology/approach
An integrated localization system mainly based on a strap‐down inertial measurement unit and a digital compass is designed for exploring and rescuing task in coal mines and tunnels. After a system model was founded, a filtering algorithm combining a wavelet‐based pre‐filter with unscented Kalman filters was developed for reckoning tracks of robots and localizing it.
Findings
Based on this research, an integrated localization system for robots in underground environments can be developed to explore some regions and rescue people. Although errors of localization exist, performance of the integrated system should be improved if some sensors and landmarks or maps of tunnels are introduced.
Originality/value
What is proposed in this paper is an integrated localization system used in underground environments. In this research, property of environments has been taken into account as an important disturbance when filtering thresholds were set.
Details
Keywords
Caihua Xiong, Xianzhi Jiang, Ronglei Sun, XiaoLin Huang and Youlun Xiong
The purpose of this paper is to present the control methods of the exoskeleton robotic arm for stroke rehabilitation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the control methods of the exoskeleton robotic arm for stroke rehabilitation.
Design/methodology/approach
The robotic arm is driven by the pneumatic muscle actuators. The control system provides independent control for the robot. The joint axes of the robotic arm are arranged to mimic the natural upper limb workspace.
Findings
Findings are the classification of training modes and control methods of rehabilitation training, and the characters of both the instant spasm and the sustaining one.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is a preliminary step in the control system and the kinematical characteristics should be analyzed to achieve high precision of movement.
Originality/value
Based on a hierarchical structure, the control system allows the execution of sequence of switching control methods: position, force, force/position and impedance. Patient‐active‐robot‐passive and patient‐passive‐robot‐active (PPRA) training modes are also presented in this paper. In PPRA mode, the robotic arm can provide pre‐specified resistances on the patient's arm. Both instant and sustaining spasms are taken into account for safety.
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Xianzhi Jiang, Caihua Xiong, Ronglei Sun, Xiaolin Huang and Youlun Xiong
The purpose of this paper is to present the static and dynamic characteristics of the rehabilitation joint.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the static and dynamic characteristics of the rehabilitation joint.
Design/methodology/approach
The rehabilitation joint is driven by pneumatic muscle actuators (PMAs). Rehabilitation robot is normally composed of several rehabilitation joints. The static and dynamic characteristics of the rehabilitation joint are important for control of the rehabilitation robot. Analysis and modeling of the rehabilitation joint is based on experiments.
Findings
The static model of the PMA is obtained by the method of curve fitting and achieved better precision compared to the existing representative models. A second‐order model fits the dynamic characteristic of the rehabilitation joint better than a first order one.
Research limitations/implications
The rehabilitation joint and the patient's joint combine to make an independent system, and the unstable factors of the patient's joint make it difficult in precisely modeling the rehabilitation joint.
Originality/value
The characteristics of the rehabilitation joint are all based on the data that were recorded in a series of with experiments, the same with modeling of the rehabilitation joint.
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Keywords
Wenting Chen, Caihua Liu, Fei Xing, Guochao Peng and Xi Yang
The benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) related technologies for manufacturing firms are well recognized, however, there is a lack of industrial AI (I-AI) maturity models to…
Abstract
Purpose
The benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) related technologies for manufacturing firms are well recognized, however, there is a lack of industrial AI (I-AI) maturity models to enable companies to understand where they are and plan where they should go. The purpose of this study is to propose a comprehensive maturity model in order to help manufacturing firms assess their performance in the I-AI journey, shed lights on future improvement, and eventually realize their smart manufacturing visions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on (1) a systematic review of literature on assessing I-AI-related technologies to identify relevant measured indicators in the maturity model, and (2) semi-structured interviews with domain experts to determine maturity levels of the established model.
Findings
The I-AI maturity model developed in this study includes two main dimensions, namely “Industry” and “Artificial Intelligence”, together with 12 first-level indicators and 35 second-level indicators under these dimensions. The maturity levels are divided into five types: planning level, specification level, integration level, optimization level, and leading level.
Originality/value
The maturity model integrates indicators that can be used to assess AI-related technologies and extend the existing maturity models of smart manufacturing by adding specific technical and nontechnical capabilities of these technologies applied in the industrial context. The integration of the industry and artificial intelligence dimensions with the maturity levels shows a road map to improve the capability of applying AI-related technologies throughout the product lifecycle for achieving smart manufacturing.