Robotic

Physical separation between eddy current functions and system functions, so that the system requirements (encoders amount, trigger specifications, robot control) can be changed without influence on the eddy current modules. 

Tsai, R.Y. A versatile camera calibration technique for high-accuracy 3D machine vision meterology using off-the-shell tv cameras and lenses. IEEE. 1.Robotics Automation, Vol. RA-3(4),August 1988, pp. 323-344. 

The use of complex scaimers and scatmers "tailormade" for scanning of special components will be increasingly important in the future. The system shall therefore support all scanner types, from simple X-Y scanners to multiaxes robots and have facilities to configure and... 

The PSP-4 includes an interface for scanners, designed for use with the modular scanner concept developed at FORCE Institute. The system supports scanners ranging from simple X-Y scanners to complex scanners, and multi axes robots. 

Figure 6 AIR-1 articulated robot arm with six degrees of freedom Robot performs ultrasonic inspection of a large nozzle weld on a BWR main circulation pipe.

Robot System for Ultrasonic Examination of Complex Geometries. 

The complete advanced 3D inspection system contains three main components the Advanced Inspection Robot - AIR-1, the new generation P-scan ultrasonic data acquisition system - PS-4 and the 3D ultrasonic simulation system - UltraSIM. 

AIR-1 and PS-4 are used on-site for recording of A-scan data during the on-site inspection. UltraSIM is used for initial ultrasonic simulation, scan path generation and robot simulation (together with the ROBCAD robot simulation software), online control and monitoring of the real AIR-1 robot and finally for 3D reconstruction of ultrasonic A-scan data. 

The Advanced Inspection Robot - AIR-1 is a portable (weight approx. 25 kg.) 6-axis articulated elbow type robot manipulator with 6 degrees of freedom. It is build from standard motor and control module components from FORCE Institutes Modular Scanner System and is controlled from within the UltraSlM/UlScan graphical generic robot control application. 

In addition to the controlling computer the system contains only a small control unit - PSP-4 (weight approx. 5 kg.) which among other system components includes a motor control system integrated closely with the PS-4 ultrasonic system. For communication between the PSP-4 control unit and the robot as well as robot power supply is used a single cable less than 10 mm. in diameter. 

Before any physical movement is done in the real inspection environment, the optimal robot configuration and motion are planned and simulated in a virtual iuspection environment in the ROBCAD 3D robot simulation system. If any collisions or near-collisions are occurring or all the calculated inspection points can not be reached the robot configuration and/or robot inspection programs can be adjusted off-line accordingly without the need of the physical robot or inspection environment. This ensures that the time scheduled for the physical inspection is used actively for inspection instead of testing and configuration. 

Besides simulation of the robot motion, a full virtual inspection includes simulation of the ultrasonic sound propagation during the inspection. For this purpose the UltraSIM/UlSim simulation module is used. 

The virtual transducer can be placed in a specific location on the test object surface, it can be moved along a path (e.g. a robot scanning path generated off-line or a path resulting from a real inspection sequence) or it can be moved along the surface, dynamically updating the ultrasonic sound propagation in the material. 

Online control of the AlR-1 robot is done from within the UltraSIM/UlScan generic scanner control module. With a scanning program as input, the control application is able to calculate and perform cartesian motion for any usual robot manipulator having an inverse solution. The planned robot motion can be simulated off-line before online execution regarding joint and robot position, speed and acceleration. During robot inspection the 3D virtual inspection environment is updated real-time according to the actual robot motion. 

Optimised robot motion calculations in order to reduce inspection time further. 

Figure 2 AIR-1 robot mounted on incbned inspection nozzle...

A thematic network on climbing and walking robots including the support technologies for mobile robotic machines ... 

BE.3038 Compact wall and ceiling climbing robotic vehicle with dexterous manipulator arm for low cost remote nondestructive insoection In hazardous environments Mr Bryan Bridge Univ. South Bank London... 

Laborelec s future realisations are vibration analysis, control of inspection robots, and all types of system monitoring. LabVIEW will be used as common tool for developers for the coming years. The synergy effect of a common language for everything concerning acquisition, analysis and processing of data will be beneficial for the whole company. 

Ferroelectric—polymer composite devices have been developed for large-area transducers, active noise control, and medical imaging appHcations. North American Philips, Hewlett-Packard, and Toshiba make composite medical imaging probes for in-house use. Krautkramer Branson Co. produces the same purpose composite transducer for the open market. NTK Technical Ceramics and Mitsubishi Petrochemical market ferroelectric—polymer composite materials (108) for various device appHcations, such as a towed array hydrophone and robotic use. Whereas the composite market is growing with the invention of new devices, total unit volume and doUar amounts are small compared to the ferroelectric capacitor and ferroelectric—piezoelectric ceramic markets (see Medical imaging technology). 

A subsidiary of lEC and Toshiba Corp. called ONSI Corp. was formed for the commercial development, production, and marketing of packaged PAEC power plants of up to 1-MW capacities. ONSI is commercially manufacturing 200-kW PAEC systems for use in a PC25 power plant. The power plants are manufactured in a highly automated faciHty, using robotic techniques to assemble the repeating electrode, bipolar separator, etc, units into the fuel cell stack. 

EIAs can be used per se or with a spectrophotometer. Traditionally, EIAs have been developed in 96-weU microtiter plates which provide the immobilization support for the assay, the reaction vessel, and, when linked to a spectrophotometer-based reader, a rapid means to detect and quantify the color resulting from interaction of a substrate with the antibody—antigen—enzyme complex. Automated immunoassay analyzers targeted primarily for use in the clinical laboratory have taken automation one step further, utilizing robotics to carry out all reagent additions, washings, and final quantification including report preparation. 

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