Applications of robotic and wearable sensors based systems for human assistance or health monitoring have been gaining popularity in recent years. Among its diverse applications, therapeutic robotic systems have been utilized in the muscular physiotherapies for movement training, wrist and arm treatment for injuries and overexertions, and other therapies. Applications of wearable sensors for hu...

Moral competence is an increasingly recognized challenge and goal for human–robot interaction and robotic design. For autonomous robots, the question is how they can arrive at and execute the best action in a certain context. This paper explores how a computational system could best decide and act given the practical, logistical, and cultural constraints involved. We argue that in ethically cha...

5 Ostendorp, W., 1989. 'Die-back' of reeds in Europe a critical review of literature. Aquat. Bot., 35: 5-26. Reed decline phenomena have been detected in more than 35 lakes in Europe. About 110 publications and reports, which have dealt with this subject, are evaluated in this paper. The localities and the circumstances that go with the reed 'die-back' are listed. The methods of investigation a...

Model-Based Autonomous Systems for Robotic Space Exploration p. 4 Models of Computation and Simulation of Hybrid Systems p. 5 Modular Specification of Hybrid Systems in Charon p. 6 Approximate Reachability Analysis of Piecewise-Linear Dynamical Systems p. 20 Maximal Safe Set Computation for Idle Speed Control of an Automotive Engine p. 32 Optimization-Based Verification and Stability Characteri...

A robotic-aid system could be more effective if the system were intelligent enough to understand the user needs and adapt its behaviors accordingly. This paper presents our efforts to realize such a personal roboticaid system through a multi-agent robot control architecture. We will describe a framework for humanrobot interaction, two cognitive agents responsible for human-robot interaction, an...

An autonomous agent is any intelligent entity that engages in a perceive-decide-act cycle of interaction with its environment. In this paper we present a formalism using a stratified percept chain that renders an augmented interactive cycle. In particular, we identify two kinds of agents: a “lead” agent, who gains the percepts directly from the environment, and a “follow” agent, who gains its p...

The study of biological systems has inspired the development of a large number of neural network architectures and robotic implementations. Through both experimentation and simulation biological systems provides a means to understand the underlying mechanisms in living organisms while inspiring the development of robotic applications. Experimentation, in the form of data gathering (ethological ...

A robotic cell for deburring planar polygonal objects is described. The object comes from a conveyor and arrives in a random position on a parallel manipulator. Its center of mass is located through the measurements of a 6-componants force sensor, it is then grasped and a force-feedback scheme is used to fix the object on a special plate. Then a probing algorithm is used to discover the locatio...

We treat the problem of autonomous acquisition of manipulation skills where problem-solving strategies are initially available only for a narrow range of situations. We propose to extend the range of solvable situations by autonomous playing with the object. By applying previously-trained skills and behaviours, the robot learns how to prepare situations for which a successful strategy is alread...

This paper describes a robotic walker designed as an assistive device for frail elderly people with cognitive impairment. Locomotion is most often the primary form of exercise for the elderly, and devices that provide mobility assistance are critical for the health and well being of such individuals. Previous work on walkers focused primarily on safety but offered little or no assistance with n...