Section 2 Robotic Systems

Because of vibrations, power stability, and particularly corrosion, commercial laboratory robotic systems available today would have problems on ships. This problem provides an opportunity for research engineers to develop means to modify some sections of the ship to improve power and platform stability. Environmental constraints of a sea-based system were never factored into the design of today s laboratory robots, but the systems could be modified somewhat to reduce these problems. For now, robots would be most feasible for land-based measurements. In the future, however, robots could be important for at-sea measurements, because continuous or repeated measurements are often made over the course of many days. 

The concept of the disposable batch plant was further extended by using robotic systems, moving plant items from station to station, referred to as the table-top pipeless plant As an example of the use of this concept, an ethanol production unit was outlined consisting of a fermenter/stillpot, topped by a packed column section, and a partial reflux condenser. 

FIGURE 2.9 Robotic systems commonly use 96 well plates for crystal trial arrays. One of these is shown schematically in cross section. The drop, which may be 1 pi I or less, sits on the small shelf at the top of the chamber, while the deep well is filled with the precipitant solution. The plates are sealed with clear plastic tape. 

The traditional separation of two phases (in most cases, organic/aqueous) can be performed in a parallel manner by several methods. One possibibty is to use a robotic system with phase detection and hquid-level detection (see Section 8.3). Another method is fhe use of adsorbent packing cartridges to adsorb fhe aqueous phase (Na2SO4, MgSOr, alumina, EXtrelut ). Furthermore, a hydrophobic membrane or frit (PTFE) in a polypropylene cartridge can be used to separate a dichloromethane or chloroform phase from an aqueous phase (Fig. 1). The dichloromethane or chloroform phase can pass fhrough the frit, while the aqueous phase remains on top of fhe filter. 

As an example of modeling IPMC-based robotic systems, in this section we present a model for robotic fish propelled by an IPMC caudal fin. The model captures the intrinsic actuation dynamics of IPMCs, as presented in Section 4.2, and the complex hydrodynamic interactions between the IPMC, fluid, and a passive attachment for enhancing propulsion. Given... 

Multiple chain robotic systems can take many forms, some of them quite complex. Simple closed-chain mechanisms are a subset of multiple chain systems with specific structural characteristics. In this section, a model for simple closed-chain mechanisms is described, and the nature of the simulation problem for these mechanisms is discussed. 

A telesurgjcal robotic system for the transurethral resection of bladder tumors has been reported previously [48]. The slave system consists of a distal dexterous manipulator that is basically a continuum robot composed of two serially-stacked multibackbone sections. The slave is equipped with a pair of biopsy forceps, a fiberscope, and a laser cautery fiber and is deployed through a standard resectoscope. Each multibackbone section is actuated by three actuators and provides 2 DOFs that, along with a translation, provide a total of 5 DOFs at the tip. The system was evaluated in an ex vivo bovine bladder. The results demonstrated that better intra-vesicular dexterity and submiUimeter accuracy could be achieved by using the system. 

The interaction between these three components depends on the coordination strategy. However, in our model, the WSN should be active in the sense that it contributes to the intelligence of the entire system. Unlike the case of autonomous robotic systems, where intelligence is embedded in the robots, one particular goal of SURV-TRACK is to migrate the intelligence—or part of it— to the WSN to help make the correct decision and build efficient plans. This issue will be presented in detail in Section 4 and Section 5. 

In this section, we propose an embedded open control and supervisory architecture to be used in mobile robot systems. The project is described... 

This section presents the main characteristics of a mobile robotic system simulator. It is implemented from the kinematic and dynamic models of the mechanieal drive systems of the robotic axles to simulate different control techniques in the field of mobile robotics, allowing researchers to deepen the concepts of navigation systems, trajectory planning, and embedded control systems. This simulator, designed in a modular and open architecture, allows persons to directly apply concepts... 

This section shows the advantages of using the technique of RCP and HIL simulation in the rapid prototyping of mobile robotic systems. This approach to development of embedded controllers... 

Access to the interior of the enclosure is much more restricted for a total enclosure than for a partial enclosure. So-called totally closed hoods, where all contact between inside and outside is through air locks or by robot or remote control (see Section 10.4.6.4), these are not only expensive to construct and operate, they also need specialized ventilation systems to function properly. 

As noted earlier, not all open-vessel systems (viz. those that operate at atmospheric pressure) are of the focused type. A number of reported applications use a domestic multi-mode oven to process samples for analytical purposes, usually with a view to coupling the microwave treatment to some other step of the analytical process (generally the determination step). Below are described the most common on-line systems used so far, including domestic ovens (multi-mode systems) and open-vessel focused systems, which operate at atmospheric pressure and are thus much more flexible for coupling to subsequent steps of the analytical process. On the other hand, the increased flexibility of open-vessel systems has promoted the design of new microwave-assisted sample treatment units based on focused or multi-mode (domestic) ovens adapted to the particular purpose. Examples of these new units include the microwave-ultrasound combined extractor, the focused microwave-assisted Soxhlet extractor, the microwave-assisted drying system and the microwave-assisted distillation extractor, which are also dealt with in this section. Finally, the usefulness of the microwave-assisted sample treatment modules incorporated in robot stations is also commented on, albeit briefly as such devices are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 10. 

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