This work is focused on obtaining efficient human hand models that are suitable for manipulation tasks. A 24 DoF kinematic model of the human hand is defined to realistic movements. This model is based on the human skeleton. Dynamic and static constraints have been included in order to improve the movement realism. Two simplified hand models with 9 and 6 DoF have been developed according to the constraints predefined. These simplified models involve some errors in reconstructing the hand posture. These errors are calculated with respect to the 24 DoF model and evaluated according to the hand gestures. Finally, some criteria are defined to select the hand description best suited to the features of the manipulation task.

This paper describes the experiences using remote laboratories for education and research in the field of Control Engineering. The use of remote laboratories for education in subjects of control is increasingly becoming a resorted method by the universities in order to offer a flexible service in schedules with greater and better operation of available resources. Nevertheless, for research activities, remote laboratories are not widely used. The aim of this contribution is thereby to apply the experience of remote laboratories in research applications in order to share complex equipments among different researchers. Some experiments are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of using remote laboratories in research experiments related to robotic system. The results of the implementation of remote experimentations to control a 3-DOF parallel robot by using Distance Laboratory System (SLD) are exposed. The performance of the system is evaluated by the possibilities and functionality of the proposed remote laboratory platform.

This paper presents the integration of a haptic vest in a multimodal virtual environment, which consists of video, audio and haptic feedback. Its main objective is to determine how users, who interact with the virtual environment, benefit from the tactile and thermal stimuli provided by the haptic vest. Some experiments, which use a game application of a train station after an explosion, are performed. Participants have to move inside the environment, while receiving several stimuli that check whether improvement in presence or realism in that environment is reflected on the vest. It is done by comparing similar scenarios without haptic feedback. These experiments are carried out by three groups of participants who are classified depending on their experience in haptics and virtual reality devices. Some relevant differences among the groups have been found. Such differences are related to the levels of realism and synchronization of all elements in the multimodal environment that fulfill particular expectations and maximum satisfaction level. According to end-users, there are two different levels of requirements defined by the system. These levels are specified in order to comply with the expectations for professional and conventional users.

Flexible soft exoskeletons, so-called exosuits, are robotic devices that interact with their users to assist or enhance muscle performance. Their lightweight design and lack of rigid parts allow assisting the user’s natural motion without any constraints. They are thereby valuable in carrying out daily labour tasks and performing active stances of rehabilitation. Nonetheless, the usage of these devices in long-term applications demands anatomically adaptive designs and mechanisms to tackle textile artefacts and discrepancies in the human constitution. The soft exoskeleton described in this paper is a textile-wearable design that assists shoulder and elbow flexion. The cable-driven actuation is embedded in a jacket by using several textiles and deformable parts. The inconveniences of using textile such as slipping, dampening, and pressure sores are tackled by combining textile layers with force-compliant sewing. The design also includes pieces for cable guidance, anchoring and support. These parts employ different tailoring methods so as to ease fabrication, wearing and cleaning. The motors and electronics, whose design is compatible with textiles too, are placed in a backpack. This configuration reduces forces from loads in motion and weight on the arm. Finally, the last part of the document discusses the preliminary results that have been obtained from four subjects who have worn the device.

Intelligent robotic systems are becoming essential for industries, nuclear plants and for harsh environments in general, such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) particles accelerator complex and experiments. In order to increase safety and machine availability, robots can perform repetitive, unplanned and dangerous tasks, which humans either prefer to avoid or are unable to carry out due to hazards, size constraints, or the extreme environments in which they take place. A novel robotic framework for autonomous inspections and supervised teleoperations in harsh environments is presented. The proposed framework covers all aspects of a robotic intervention, from the specification and operator training, the choice of the robot and its material in accordance with possible radiological contamination risks, to the realization of the intervention, including procedures and recovery scenarios. The robotic solution proposed in this paper is able to navigate autonomously, inspecting unknown environments in a safe way. A new real-time control system was implemented in order to guarantee a fast response to environmental changes and adaptation to different type of scenarios the robot may find in a semi-structured and hazardous environment. Components of the presented framework are: a novel bilateral master-slave control, a new robotic platform named CERNbot as well as an advanced user-friendly multimodal human-robot interface, also used for the operators’ offline training, allowing technicians not expert in robot operation to perform inspection/maintenance tasks. The proposed system has been tested and validated with real robotic interventions in the CERN hazardous particle accelerator complex.

This work focuses on obtaining realistic human hand models that are suitable for manipulation tasks. A 24 degrees of freedom (DoF) kinematic model of the human hand is defined. The model reasonably satisfies realism requirements in simulation and movement. To achieve realism, intra- and inter-finger constraints are obtained. The design of the hand model with 24 DoF is based upon a morphological, physiological and anatomical study of the human hand. The model is used to develop a gesture recognition procedure that uses principal components analysis (PCA) and discriminant functions. Two simplified hand descriptions (nine and six DoF) have been developed in accordance with the constraints obtained previously. The accuracy of the simplified models is almost 5% for the nine DoF hand description and 10% for the six DoF hand description. Finally, some criteria are defined by which to select the hand description best suited to the features of the manipulation task.