This paper describes the control of an automatic overhead crane for assembly of modular building elements. The automatic system was developed using a commercial full-size crane, which was modified by adding adequate sensors, servomotors, and control strategy. The crane, which maintained its original cables, was converted to a robotic system, and is controlled via a computer-based multiaxes control board. The implemented algorithms solve two main problems of module assembly: 1) precision positioning of large and heavy modules in the order of a few centimeters, and 2) anti-swinging transportation of modules, even in difficult weather conditions (not extreme). The implementation of the anti-swinging control is achieved using the on-line two-dimensional inclinometer measurements and an on-line calculation of input impulse trains. The developed input-shaping control is divided into two phases: straight line motion and external perturbances cancellation. Experimental results of the developed algorithms which demonstrate the effectiveness of the new process are presented.

Often inspection and maintenance work involve a large number of highly dangerous manual operations, especially within industrial fields such as shipbuilding and construction. This paper deals with the autonomous climbing robot which uses the “caterpillar” concept to climb in complex 3D metallic-based structures. During its motion the robot generates in real-time the path and grasp planning in order to ensure stable self-support to avoid the environment obstacles, and to optimise the robot consumption during the inspection. The control and monitoring of the robot is achieved through an advanced Graphical User Interface to allow an effective and user friendly operation of the robot. The experiments confirm its advantages in executing the inspection operations.

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.

The robotics laboratory of the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid has developed the ROMA climbing robots, which are able to travel along 3D complex environments to carry out inspection tasks. The ROMA robots family is able to self‐support its locomotion system and moves in a similar way to a caterpillar. During this motion the robots generate in real‐time an optimal path and grasp planning in order to ensure a stable self‐support and avoid obstacles in the environment. In order to move the robots in a teleoperated or automatic way a man‐machine interface has been developed. The robots were developed primarily for use during the inspection of complex metallic structures. There are a large number of operations to be performed on metallic structures such as those encountered in bridges, oil rigs and building skeletons which represent a danger for human operators. Nevertheless, they are not limited to these structures due to fact that they are equipped with the necessary tools for new environments like concrete.