Machines, Volume 3, Issue 3 (September 2015) – 7 articles , Pages 138-267

Evolution produces genuine novelty in morphology through the selection of competing designs as phenotypes. When applied to human creativity, the evolutionary paradigm can provide insight into the ways that our technology and its design are modified through time. The shape of European utilitarian cars in the past 60 years was analyzed in order to determine whether changes occur in a gradual fashion or through saltation, clarifying which are the more conserved and more variable parts of the designs. We also attempted to predict the future appearances of the cars within the next decade, discussing all results within the framework of relevant evolutionary-like equivalences. Here, we analyzed the modification in the shape of European utilitarian cars in the past 60 years by three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to test whether these changes occurred in a gradual or more saltatory fashion. The geometric morphometric shape analysis showed that even though car brands have always been preserving distinct shapes, all followed a gradual pattern of evolution which is now converging toward a more similar fusiform and compact asset. This process was described using Darwinian evolution as a metaphor to quantify and interpret changes over time and the societal pressures promoting them. Full article

Recently, impact dampers have been used to decrease the vibrations of objects. One specific case of a damper is a container filled with many spherical particles. Compressive forces, frictional forces, and impacts are generated between particles and the wall. Therefore, it is important to clarify the flow conditions of particles in order to investigate the appropriate damping conditions. However, it is difficult to experimentally observe and to calculate the complex behavior of particles in such a container. In this study, the behaviors of particles in a container of a particle damper were examined through experiments using piezoelectric elements and simulations performed by the discrete element method (DEM). Many spherical particles fill a container. The container is made to periodically move in a horizontal direction. The relationships between the collision of particles with the wall and the voltage value from the piezoelectric element were examined. With these calculations, particle behaviors and particle conditions can be analyzed. The behaviors of simulated particles were similar to those of experimental results. From both results it is shown that an appropriate selection of the filling ratio and of particle size will lead to the effect of particles for damping. Full article

In the German Pavilion at the EXPO 2015, two large cable-driven parallel robots are flying over the heads of the visitors representing two bees flying over Germany and displaying everyday life in Germany. Each robot consists of a mobile platform and eight cables suspended by winches and follows a desired trajectory, which needs to be computed in advance taking technical limitations, safety considerations and visual aspects into account. In this paper, a path planning software is presented, which includes the design process from developing a robot design and workspace estimation via planning complex trajectories considering technical limitations through to exporting a complete show. For a test trajectory, simulation results are given, which display the relevant trajectories and cable force distributions. Full article

Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control is the most widely used control method in industrial and academic applications due to its simplicity and efficiency. Several different control methods/algorithms have been proposed to tune the gains of PID controllers. However, the conventional tuning methods do not have sufficient performance and simplicity for practical applications, such as robotics and motion control. The performance of motion control systems may significantly deteriorate by the nonlinear plant uncertainties and unknown external disturbances, such as inertia variations, friction, external loads, etc., i.e., there may be a significant discrepancy between the simulation and experiment if the robustness is not considered in the design of PID controllers. This paper proposes a novel practical tuning method for the robust PID controller with velocity feed-back for motion control systems. The main advantages of the proposed method are the simplicity and efficiency in practical applications, i.e., a high performance robust motion control system can be easily designed by properly tuning conventional PID controllers. The validity of the proposal is verified by giving simulation and experimental results. Full article

Technology is spreading in our everyday world, and digital interaction beyond the screen, with real objects, allows taking advantage of our natural manipulative and communicative skills. Tangible gesture interaction takes advantage of these skills by bridging two popular domains in Human-Computer Interaction, tangible interaction and gestural interaction. In this paper, we present the Tangible Gesture Interaction Framework (TGIF) for classifying and guiding works in this field. We propose a classification of gestures according to three relationships with objects: move, hold and touch. Following this classification, we analyzed previous work in the literature to obtain guidelines and common practices for designing and building new tangible gesture interactive systems. We describe four interactive systems as application examples of the TGIF guidelines and we discuss the descriptive, evaluative and generative power of TGIF. Full article

Feature selection is an essential step for data classification used in fault detection and diagnosis processes. In this work, a new approach is proposed, which combines a feature selection algorithm and a neural network tool for leak detection and characterization tasks in diesel engine air paths. The Chi square classifier is used as the feature selection algorithm and the neural network based on Levenberg-Marquardt is used in system behavior modeling. The obtained neural network is used for leak detection and characterization. The model is learned and validated using data generated by xMOD. This tool is used again for testing. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated in simulation when the system operates on a low speed/load and the considered leak affecting the air path is very small. Full article

Harmonic drives are profusely used in aerospace mainly because of their compactness and large reduction ratio. However, their use in cryogenic environments is still a challenge. Lubrication and fatigue are non-trivial issues under these conditions. The objective of the Magnetic-Superconductor Cryogenic Non-contact Harmonic Drive (MAGDRIVE) project, funded by the EU Space FP7, is to design, build, and test a new concept of MAGDRIVE. Non-contact interactions among magnets, soft magnetic materials, and superconductors are efficiently used to provide a high reduction ratio gear that smoothly and naturally operates at cryogenic environments. The limiting elements of conventional harmonic drives (teeth, flexspline, and ball bearings) are substituted by contactless mechanical components (magnetic gear and superconducting magnetic bearings). The absence of contact between moving parts prevents wear, lubricants are no longer required, and the operational lifetime is greatly increased. This is the first mechanical reducer in mechanical engineering history without any contact between moving parts. In this paper, the test results of a −1:20 inverse reduction ratio MAGDRIVE prototype are reported. In these tests, successful operation at 40 K and 10⁻³ Pa was demonstrated for more than 1.5 million input cycles. A maximum torque of 3 N·m and an efficiency of 80% were demonstrated. The maximum tested input speed was 3000 rpm, six times the previous existing record for harmonic drives at cryogenic temperatures. Full article