ABSTRACT. The emerging technologies that are conforming the Industry 4.0 are also impacting on health. Artificial intelligence, 3D printing, robotics, big data, Internet of Things, augmented reality, among others, are adding a layer of digitization on classical processes, allowing to increase the effectiveness and efficiency in the processes related to health and opening a new space of possibilities. In this article, some examples will show the state of art of Health 4.0 in the non-surgical field.

ABSTRACT. This works presents the impact that collaborative robotic technologies can offer for surgical applications, with emphasis on the tracking and execution steps. In particular, a new workflow for spine and trauma surgery is presented, in which a miniature mechanical tracker is attached directly to the patients' bony structure\footnote{Patent pending.}. The tracker is capable of following the patients' motion with high precision, measuring the deviation with respect to the trajectories defined in the surgical plan and providing a feedback channel to a robot which assists the surgeon holding the surgical tools in place. The clinical application of vertebral fusion has been chosen as testing scenario and preliminary results are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of this concept.

ABSTRACT. The progress of technology and robotics in industry has not yield to an equivalent development in the medical field. This paper analyses surgical procedures from the point of view of industrial processes looking for analogies in both fields so as to evaluate the possibilities of using equivalent technologies in the two fields. After analyzing surgical specialties from the mechanical point of view, as the actions to be performed, and the main requirements as precision, working conditions etc. a look at the main challenges that surgical robotics should face is presented.

ABSTRACT. Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery is a Minimally Invasive Surgery technique that is based on the insertion of one surgeon’s hand inside the ab-dominal cavity. In this scenario, a robotic assistant can properly collaborate with the surgeon, working side by side with him/her. This paper presents a ro-botic system for this kind of technique, based on a cognitive architecture that makes possible an efficient collaboration with the surgeon, thanks to a better understanding of the environment and the learning mechanisms included. This architecture includes a hand gesture recognition module and two different au-tonomous movement of the robotic arms, one for the camera motion and the other for the tool movement. All of these modules take advantage of the cogni-tive learning mechanisms of the architecture, fitting their behavior to the current user and procedure.

ABSTRACT. The use of robotic palletizing systems has been increasing in the so-called Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. However, because of the type of solutions developed, focused on high performance and efficiency, the degree of adaptability of packaging solutions from one type of product to another is extremely low. This is a relevant problem, given the change from low variety / high volume to high variety / low volume. This environment requires companies to perform the setup of their robots more frequently, which has been leading to the need to use offline programming tools that lower the required robot stop time. The AdaptPack project addresses these problems and, in this paper, is described the solution proposed for the offline development of collision free robot programs for palletizing applications.

ABSTRACT. Hand-guiding is a main functionality of collaborative robots, allowing to rapidly and intuitively interact and program a robot. Many applications require end-effector precision positioning during the teaching process. This paper presents a novel method for precision hand-guiding at the end-effector level. From the end-effector force/torque measurements the hand-guiding force/torque (HGFT) is achieved by compensating for the tool’s weight/inertia. Inspired by the motion properties of a passive mechanical system, mass subjected to coulomb/viscous friction, it was implemented a control scheme to govern the linear/angular motion of the decoupled end-effector. Experimental tests were conducted in a KUKA iiwa robot in an assembly operation.

ABSTRACT. The current state of technology permits very accurate 3D reconstructions of real scenes acquiring information through quite different sensors altogether. A high precision modelling that allows simulating any element of the environment on virtual interfaces has also been achieved. This paper illustrates a methodology to correctly model a 3D reconstructed scene, with either a camera RGB-D or a laser, and how to integrate and display it in virtual reality environments based on Unity, as well as a comparison between both results. The main interest regarding this line of research consists in the automation of all the process from the map generation to its visualisation with the VR glasses, although this first approach only managed to get results using several programs manually. The long-term objective would be indeed a real-time immersion in Unity interacting with the scene seen by the camera.

ABSTRACT. This paper proposes a logistic planner with supplementary 3D spatial representations to enhance and interact with traditional logistic systems on the context of mobile manipulators performing internal logistics operations. By defining a hierarchical structure, the logistic world model, as the central entity synchronized between multiple system components, the reliability and accuracy of the logistic system is strengthened. The proposed approach aims at implementing a robust and intuitive solution for the setup of mobile manipulator based logistic systems. The logistic planner includes a web based interfaced for fast setup of the warehouse layout based on robot sensing, as well as the definition of missions for the fleet of robotic systems.

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ABSTRACT. Control of flexible link parallel manipulators is still an open area of research. The flexibility and deformations of the limbs make the estimation of the Tool Center Point (TCP) position a non-trivial area, being one of the main challenges on this type of robots. In the literature different approaches to estimate this deformation and determine the location of the TCP have been proposed. However, most of these approaches require the use of high computational cost integration methods or expensive measurement systems. This work presents a novel approach which can not only estimate precisely the deformation of the flexible links (less than 3% error), but also its derivatives (less than 4% error). The validity of the developed estimator is tested in a Delta Robot, resulting in less than 0.025% error in the estimation of the TCP position in comparison with the results obtained with ADAMS Multibody software.

ABSTRACT. This paper presents a method to estimate the pose of an object inside a robotic hand by only exploiting the tactile information. Once an initial visual estimation is provided, a Bootstrap Particle Filter is used to evaluate multiple hypothesis for the object pose. The function used to score the hypothesis considers the feasibility and physical meaning of the contacts between the object and the hand. The method provides a good estimation of in-hand pose for different 3D objects.

ABSTRACT. The work presented focuses in the simulations and real ex- periments of perimeter surveillance under communication constraints, performed by teams of UAVs using a Bluetooth communication frame- work. When UAVs work in a colaborative manner, communication among them is essential to perform properly their task. Moreover, energy con- sumption and weight of the devices equipped in a UAV are important to be reduced at minimum possible, particularly in micro-UAVs. A co- ordination variables strategy is implemented to perform the perimeter division.

ABSTRACT. n this paper we present an approach to connect a multi-robot system of unmanned ground and aerial vehicles inside a mobile adhoc network to exchange sensor data requiring a high bandwidth. The introduced communication layer ex- tends the messaging system of an underlying middleware (ROS) to work with non- ideal wireless links. Every connection can be configured with a user defined data rate, protocol and priority to control the overall traffic load in the network. If re- quired, messages can be bufferd during communication outages or due to low avail- able bandwidth. Moreover, the message transport system contains mechanisms for lossless and lossy data compression as well as an user interface to quickly react to different application conditions.

ABSTRACT. In the present paper we address the problem of trajectory planning for cooperative scenarios in which some robots has to exchange information with other moving robots for at least a certain time, determined by the amount of information. We are particularly focused on scenarios where a team of robots must be deployed, reaching some locations to make observations of the environment. The information gathered by all the robots must be shared with an operation center (OP), thus some robots are devoted to retransmit to the OP the data of their teammates. We develop a trajectory planning method called Time-Constrained RRT (TC-RRT). It computes trajectories to reach the assigned primary goals, but subjected to the constraint determined by the need of communicating with another robot acting as moving relay, just during the time it takes to fulfill the data exchange. Against other methods in the literature, using this method it is not needed a task allocator to assign beforehand specific meeting points or areas for communication exchange, because the planner find the best area to do it, simultaneously minimizing the time to reach the goal. Evaluation and limitations of the technique are presented for different system parameters.

ABSTRACT. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming an important tool for facilities monitoring, target tracking, surveillance, etc. In many of these contexts, a UAV needs to reach an area of interest (AOI) while streaming data to a ground station (GS) where one or more drones are controlled by an operator. In remote areas, intermediate UAVs can act as relays and form a line network to extend range. Interactive control requires a live video stream where both throughput and delay are important, which limits the number of relays and thus maximum range. However, throughput also depends on the quality of the links. It is known that in open space scenarios, where links can be considered similar, maximum throughput is achieved with equal spacing of the relays. This is not the case near large obstacles or high interference areas, in which links can be rather asymmetric. In this paper, we address this scenario and show that maximum throughput is achieved with uneven relay spacing but balanced packet delivery ratios. We propose a new distributed protocol fit to high throughput streams on line networks that tracks and balances the quality of neighboring links by moving the relay nodes accordingly. Real world experiments with multiple AR.Drone 2.0 UAVs show that variable link length in a scenario with asymmetric links generates gains in packet delivery up to 40% and throughput up to 300%.

ABSTRACT. This paper presents the mechanical design of a novel hand exoskeleton for assistance and rehabilitation therapies. As a solution for the movement transmission, the proposed device uses modular linkage that are attached to each finger by means of snap-in fixations. The linkage is kinematically and dynamically analyzed by means of simulations with AnyBody Simulation Software to obtain an estimation of the range of motion and admissible forces. In order to check the deviations of the real performance respect to the simulated results, due to uncertain variables, a first prototype is built and tested.

ABSTRACT. Recent projects highlight how motor learning and a high level of attention control can potentially improve submaximal force pro- duction during recovery after stroke. This study focuses on the assess- ment of detailed metrics of force production and position control -healthy subjects- and their correlation with submaximal force production con- trol learning during a new task consisting in maintaining the position for early rehabilitation after stroke. We used a Motorized Ankle Foot Orthosis (MAFO) with zero–torque control together with a visual paradigm interface to exert controlled torque profiles to the ankle of the subject. The subject is asked to fol- low the trajectories in the visual interface, while the robot disturbs the movement. The aim of the exercise is to improve the motor control by learning how to maintain the position to follow the trajectory, compen- sating the perturbations, in three possible training paradigms: 1) fixed torque, 2) progressive increase of torque, and 3) modulated torque based on score on the task. All training paradigms led to an improvement in the score comparing pre and post–training performances, so we concluded that this platform induces learning on healthy subjects. To sum up, we conclude that this tool is useful to induce learning in healthy subjects, and thus will keep improving the training paradigms, for the translation into a rehabilitative tool.

ABSTRACT. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) could develop precancerous lesions and invasive cancer, as it is the main cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer. There are many strains of HPV and current vaccines can only protect against some of them. This makes the detection and genotyping of HPV a research area of utmost importance. Several biomedical systems can detect HPV in DNA samples; however, most of them do not have a procedure as fast, automatic or precise as it is actually needed in this field. This manuscript presents a novel XML-based hierarchical protocol architecture for biomedical robots to describe each protocol step and execute it sequentially, along with a robust and automatic robotic system for HPV DNA detection capable of processing from 1 to 24 samples simultaneously in a fast (from 45 to 162 minutes), efficient (100% markers effectiveness) and precise (able to detect 36 different HPV genotypes) way. It includes an efficient artificial vision process as the last step of the diagnostic.

ABSTRACT. The rapid growth of e-commerce increases the need for larger warehouses and their automation, thus using robots as assistants to human workers becomes a priority. In order to operate efficiently and safely, robot assistants or the supervising system should recognize human intentions. Theory of mind (ToM) is an intuitive conception of other agents' mental state, i.e., beliefs and desires, and how they cause behavior. In this paper we present a ToM-based algorithm for human intention recognition in flexible robotized warehouses. We have placed the warehouse worker in a simulated 2D environment with three potential goals. We observe agent's actions and validate them with respect to the goal locations using a Markov decision process framework. Those observations are then processed by the proposed hidden Markov model framework which estimated agent's desires. We demonstrate that the proposed framework predicts human warehouse worker's desires in an intuitive manner and in the end we discuss the simulation results.

ABSTRACT. The new paradigms of Industry 4.0 demand the collaboration between robot and humans. They could help and collaborate each other without any additional safety unlike other manipulators. The robot should have the ability of acquire the environment and plan (or re-plan) on-the-fly the movement avoiding the obstacles and people. This paper proposes a system that acquires the environment space, based on a kinect sensor, performs the path planning of a UR5 manipulator for pick and place tasks while avoiding the objects, based on the point oud from kinect. Results allow to validate the proposed system.

ABSTRACT. Some industries have critical areas (dangerous or hazardous) where the presence of a human must be reduced or avoided. In some cases, there are areas where humans should be replaced by robots. The present work uses a robot with differential drive to scan an environment with known and unknown obstacles, defined in 3D simulation. It is important that the robot be able to make the right decisions about its way without the need of an operator. A solution to this challenge will be presented in this paper. The control application and its communication module with a simulator or a real robot are proposed. The robot can perform the scan, passing through all the waypoints arranged in a grid. The results are presented, showcasing the robot's capacity to perform a viable trajectory without human intervention.

ABSTRACT. The need for efficient automation methods has prompted the fast development in the field of Robotics. However, most robotic solutions found in industrial environments lack in both flexibility and adaptability to be applied to any generic task. A particular problem arises when robots are integrated in work cells with extra degrees of freedom, such as external axis or positioners. The specification/design of high redundancy systems, including robot selection, tool and fixture design, is a multi-variable problem with strong influence in the final performance of the work cell. This project builds on top of optimisation techniques to deal with the optimal poses reachability for high redundancy robotic systems. In this paper, it will be proposed a poses optimisation approach to be applicable within high redundancy robotic systems. The proposed methodology was validated by using real environment existent infrastructures, namely, the national CoopWeld project.

ABSTRACT. This paper presents a study about gait patterns for hexapod robots with extremities called C-legs. The study analyses several modes of gait that different animals use to move through the terrestrial environment, and another new ones that arise when looking at the limitations that present the existing ones. The whole study is reinforced with a series of simulations carried out, where the obtained results are analyzed to select the best gait pattern for a specific situation.

ABSTRACT. Developing an optimized omnidirectional walking for biped robots is a challenging task due to their complex dynamics and kinematics. This paper proposes a hierarchical walk engine structure to generate fast and stable walking. In particular, this structure provides a closed-loop CPG-based omnidirectional walking that takes into account two human-inspired push recovery strategies. In addition, this structure is fully parametric and allows using a policy search algorithm to find the optimum parameters for the walking. To show the performance of the proposed structure, a set of experiments on a simulated NAO robot has been carried out. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed structure is able to generate fast and stable omnidirectional walking. The maximum speed of forward walking that we have achieved was 59cm/s.

ABSTRACT. Due to the difficulty of building and making control tests in real robots, it is usual to first have a simulated model that provides a good approach of a real robot's behaviour. The importance of a good control system in execution of a planned trajectory inspired this work, whose purpose is to design a control system for a quadruped robot and test its performance.

ABSTRACT. Tunnel-like environments represent a challenge in terms of robot localization due to the special conditions of this type of scenarios. Traditional robot localization systems based on laser, camera or odometry sensors do not perform well due to the hostile conditions and the general lack of distinctive features. In this paper we present a discrete localization system which takes advantage of the periodicity nature of the RF signal fadings that appears inside tunnels under certain configurations. Experimental results show the feasibility of the proposed method in order to periodically correct the robot position during its displacement along the tunnel.

ABSTRACT. Sensor networks can monitor wide areas to gather information and relay alerts about concerning events. Response robotic missions in confined scenarios where such a network existed, like tunnels or mines, could take advantage of it as a backbone. This paper addresses challenges arising from the combined characteristics of nodes, typically of low power and bandwidth, and signal propagation in such scenarios, that exhibits extended range but also blind spots due to waveguide self-interference. Firstly, a measurement campaign is reported that characterized RSSI and PDR performance of XBee nodes in the Somport tunnel, enabling improved placement of nodes. Then, a teleoperation mission is demonstrated in which a mobile robot that relays rangefinder readings is commanded thought a backbone multi-hop network, within the restrictions of the extremely limited bandwidth of the 802.15.4 protocol.

ABSTRACT. In tunnel-like environments such as sewers, road tunnels and mines, a robot or team of networked mobile robots can provide monitoring services, surveillance or search and rescue. However, these scenarios pose multiple challenges from the robotics and from the communication points of view. Structurally, sewers are GPS-denied and narrow scenarios with lack of illumination and presence of sediments, and in the communication context, the multipath propagation causes strong fading phenomena, as we have previously studied. In this work we present a characterization of a sewer scenario from the communications point of view, based on a measuring campaign carried out in the sewers of the city of Barcelona, Spain, in the context of an ECHORD++ project towards future inspection with drones.