There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

A translation approach to portable ontology specifications

Recent work in Artificial Intelligence is exploring the use of formal ontologies as a way of specifying content-specific agreements for the sharing and reuse of knowledge among software entities. We take an engineering perspective on the development of such ontologies. Formal ontologies are viewed as designed artifacts, formulated for specific purposes and evaluated against objective design criteria. We describe the role of ontologies in supporting knowledge sharing activities, and then present a set of criteria to guide the development of ontologies for these purposes. We show how these criteria are applied in case studies from the design of ontologies for engineering mathematics and bibliographic data. Selected design decisions are discussed, and alternative representation choices and evaluated against the design criteria.

/pdf/toward-principles-for-the-design-of-ontologies-used-for-1laaojmx6x.pdf

Toward principles for the design of ontologies used for knowledge sharing

The concept of an agent has become important in both Artificial Intelligence (AI) and mainstream computer science. Our aim in this paper is to point the reader at what we perceive to be the most important theoretical and practical issues associated with the design and construction of intelligent agents. For convenience, we divide these issues into three areas (though as the reader will see, the divisions are at times somewhat arbitrary). Agent theory is concerned with the question of what an agent is, and the use of mathematical formalisms for representing and reasoning about the properties of agents. Agent architectures can be thought of as software engineering models of agents;researchers in this area are primarily concerned with the problem of designing software or hardware systems that will satisfy the properties specified by agent theorists. Finally, agent languages are software systems for programming and experimenting with agents; these languages may embody principles proposed by theorists. The paper is not intended to serve as a tutorial introduction to all the issues mentioned; we hope instead simply to identify the most important issues, and point to work that elaborates on them. The article includes a short review of current and potential applications of agent technology.

/pdf/intelligent-agents-theory-and-practice-5dchj7p8pc.pdf

Intelligent Agents: Theory and Practice

INTRODUCTION: Brief History. Multifingered Hands and Dextrous Manipulation. Outline of the Book. Bibliography. RIGID BODY MOTION: Rigid Body Transformations. Rotational Motion in R3. Rigid Motion in R3. Velocity of a Rigid Body. Wrenches and Reciprocal Screws. MANIPULATOR KINEMATICS: Introduction. Forward Kinematics. Inverse Kinematics. The Manipulator Jacobian. Redundant and Parallel Manipulators. ROBOT DYNAMICS AND CONTROL: Introduction. Lagrange's Equations. Dynamics of Open-Chain Manipulators. Lyapunov Stability Theory. Position Control and Trajectory Tracking. Control of Constrained Manipulators. MULTIFINGERED HAND KINEMATICS: Introduction to Grasping. Grasp Statics. Force-Closure. Grasp Planning. Grasp Constraints. Rolling Contact Kinematics. HAND DYNAMICS AND CONTROL: Lagrange's Equations with Constraints. Robot Hand Dynamics. Redundant and Nonmanipulable Robot Systems. Kinematics and Statics of Tendon Actuation. Control of Robot Hands. NONHOLONOMIC BEHAVIOR IN ROBOTIC SYSTEMS: Introduction. Controllability and Frobenius' Theorem. Examples of Nonholonomic Systems. Structure of Nonholonomic Systems. NONHOLONOMIC MOTION PLANNING: Introduction. Steering Model Control Systems Using Sinusoids. General Methods for Steering. Dynamic Finger Repositioning. FUTURE PROSPECTS: Robots in Hazardous Environments. Medical Applications for Multifingered Hands. Robots on a Small Scale: Microrobotics. APPENDICES: Lie Groups and Robot Kinematics. A Mathematica Package for Screw Calculus. Bibliography. Index Each chapter also includes a Summary, Bibliography, and Exercises

http://www.cds.caltech.edu/%7Emurray/books/MLS/pdf/mls94-complete.pdf

A Mathematical Introduction to Robotic Manipulation

Dynamic tactile sensing, which is defined as sensing during motion for perception of high spatial and temporal frequencies, is presented. Applications include sensing fine surface features and textures and monitoring contact conditions for dextrous manipulation. One type of dynamic tactile sensor, the stress rate sensor, is described in detail. It uses piezoelectric polymer transducers to measure the changes in stress induced in the sensor's rubber skin as it traverses small surface features and textures. The signals are interpreted with the aid of a solid mechanics model of the contact interaction and a linear deconvolution filter. Experimental verification of the sensor's performance, including the detection of surface features only 6.5 mu m high, are presented. >

Dynamic tactile sensing: perception of fine surface features with stress rate sensing

The design of legged robots has long drawn on nature for inspiration. However, few of these robots exhibit the speed and robustness seen in even the simplest of animals. The paper presents the design and fabrication of a class of six-legged running robots based on biologically inspired functional principles. We first describe findings in biological research that motivate our robots' design, leg configuration, and control structure. We then describe an emerging layered-manufacturing technology that allows us to fabricate the robots with passive mechanical properties like those found in nature. Finally, we present preliminary tests over different terrains and conditions which show speed and robustness approaching the performance of small animals.

/pdf/biomimetic-design-and-fabrication-of-a-hexapedal-running-mdaqzgr4ys.pdf

Biomimetic design and fabrication of a hexapedal running robot

Grasping and manipulating uncooperative objects in space is an emerging challenge for robotic systems. Many traditional robotic grasping techniques used on Earth are infeasible in space. Vacuum grippers require an atmosphere, sticky attachments fail in the harsh environment of space, and handlike opposed grippers are not suited for large, smooth space debris. We present a robotic gripper that can gently grasp, manipulate, and release both flat and curved uncooperative objects as large as a meter in diameter while in microgravity. This is enabled by (i) space-qualified gecko-inspired dry adhesives that are selectively turned on and off by the application of shear forces, (ii) a load-sharing system that scales small patches of these adhesives to large areas, and (iii) a nonlinear passive wrist that is stiff during manipulation yet compliant when overloaded. We also introduce and experimentally verify a model for determining the force and moment limits of such an adhesive system. Tests in microgravity show that robotic grippers based on dry adhesion are a viable option for eliminating space debris in low Earth orbit and for enhancing missions in space.

A robotic device using gecko-inspired adhesives can grasp and manipulate large objects in microgravity

https://nmbl.stanford.edu/publications/pdf/Shull2013.pdf

Toe-in gait reduces the first peak knee adduction moment in patients with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis

olitical, economic, and technological forces are changing the landscape of engineering. As the world’s economies become more interconnected and more competitive, there is an increasing need for organizations to form joint design and manufacturing teams that collaborate for the life of a project and then disperse. For example, a new electromechanical product may involve a mechanical design group in Boston working closely with a control systems subcontractor in California and an OEM partner in Singapore. Similar challenges face defense contractors who need to respond rapidly to new requirements. The ARPA Manufacturing Automation and Design Engineering (MADE) program has been developing Internet-based tools, services, protocols, and design methodologies that will allow contractors to compose teams of specialists from different locations and organizations as project needs arise. As a practical test of what the MADE program has achieved, members of the MADE community undertook an ambitious exercise in Madefast: Collaborative Engineering over the Internet

Mark R. Cutkosky

Papers

Dynamic tactile sensing: perception of fine surface features with stress rate sensing

Biomimetic design and fabrication of a hexapedal running robot

A robotic device using gecko-inspired adhesives can grasp and manipulate large objects in microgravity

Toe-in gait reduces the first peak knee adduction moment in patients with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis

Madefast: collaborative engineering over the Internet