Conference Programme
1. G. K. Anathasuresh from IISc Bangalore will be taking a workshop on Compliant Mechanism
Brief biography
G.K. Ananthasuresh (B. Tech. IIT-Madras, 1989; MS, U. Toledo, 1991; PhD, Michigan, 1994) is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
His previous positions include post-doctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA; Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA;
and visiting professorships in University of Cambridge, UK, and Katholike Univesiteit, Leuven, Belgium. His current research interests include compliant mechanisms, kinematics, multi-disciplinary design optimization,
microsystems technology, micro and meso-scale manufacturing, protein design, micromanipulation and bio-design. He served on the editorial boards of eight journals and is a co-author of 75 journal papers and 135
conference papers as well as two edited books, one textbook, and 12 book-chapters. He has seven patents, three granted and six pending. He is a recipient of the NSF Career Award and SAE Ralph O Teeter Educational Award in the USA
and the Swarnajayanthi Fellowship and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in India as well as 10 best paper awards in international and national conferences.
Workshop on Compliant mechanisms
Compliant mechanisms reply upon elastic deformation of their constituent members for transmitting force, motion, and energy. Owing to many advantages that arise due to the absence of kinematic joints and one-piece construction,
many applications of compliant mechanisms have come up in the last two decades. Modeling and design methods that account for the geometrically nonlinear elastic deformation of compliant mechanisms are also developed. In this tutorial,
we provide an overview of the field and highlight important aspects of modeling and design methods. They include mobility, kinetoelastostatic models, energetics, non-dimensionality, and different types of synthesis methods. Design methods
will include kinetostatic loop-closure method; topology and shape optimization methods; selection-based design; building-block method; and constraint-based design. Important applications that include microsystems, consumer products, biomedical,
automotive, and aerospace will be presented. A database of compliant mechanisms will be introduced and a simple kit with which one can easily design functional compliant mechanisms will be demonstrated.
2. Javier Cuadrado from Univeridad de La Coruña, Spain will be taking a workshop on multi body dynamics
Brief biography
Javier Cuadrado is full-professor of mechanical engineering at University of La Coruña, and has been working on multi-body system dynamics for more than 25 years.
Since March 2002 he is the Head of the Laboratory of Mechanical Engineering (http://lim.ii.udc.es), an academic group devoted to research in the mentioned discipline.
Since September 2005 he chairs the IFToMM Technical Committee for Multibody Dynamics. He has been co-organizer of the ECCOMAS Thematic Conference Multibody Dynamics 2005,
held in Madrid, Spain, and organizer of the EUROMECH Colloquium 476 Real-time Simulation and Virtual Reality Applications of Multibody Dynamics, held in Ferrol, Spain, in 2006.
He is member of the editorial board of Multibody System Dynamics, Journal of Multi-body Dynamics, Mechanism and Machine Theory, and Mechanics Based Design of Structures and Machines.
Workshop on Multi-body Dynamics
A multi-body system is simply a mechanical system, formed by several bodies, which is mobile or possesses mobile parts, i.e. what has traditionally been called a machine or mechanism.
Multi-body dynamics refers then to the computer simulation of the dynamics of multi-body systems, and belongs to the general concept of virtual product development, within CAE tools.
Multi-body dynamics can therefore be defined as computational mechanics of machines and mechanisms, being based on Mechanics, Mathematical Methods and Programming. It allows to solve,
with the help of a computer, the forward dynamics (and the kinematics, and the inverse dynamics) of models of vehicles, machines and mechanisms as detailed as desired,
thus being of application to industrial sectors as automotive, aerospatial, railway, naval, energy, heavy machinery, machine-tool, robotics, biomechanics, medical, sport, entertaining, etc.
The workshop will show the main ingredients of multi-body dynamics: modelling, formulation of the equations of motion and numerical integration. Moreover, those attendees having a laptop with
Matlab installed will have the opportunity to implement an example.
3. Belkacem OULD BOUAMAMA, Head of the research group “Bond Graphs”, EcolePolytechnique de Lille, France will be conducting a workshop on bond graph modelling
Brief biography
Belkacem Ould Bouamama is full Professor and head of the research at “Ecole Polytechnique de Lille, France”. His main research areas developed at LAGIS laboratory
CNRS8219 where he leads “Bond graph group”, concern Integrated Design for Supervision of System Engineering. Their application domains are mainly nuclear, energy,
and mechatronic systems. He is at present leader of the topic group “Diagnostic of fuel cell system” in the framework of French research group “GDR Systéme PAC”.
He is the author of several international publications in this domain. He is co-author of five books in bond graph modeling and Fault Detection and Isolation area.
Research and teaching activities can be consulted at: http://www.mocis-lagis.fr/membres/belkacem-ould-bouamama/.
Workshop on Bond Graph Modeling
Bond graph is a powerful tool well known for dynamic modelling of multiphysical systems: This is the only modelling technique to generate automatically state space or
non-linear models using dedicated software tools (CAMP-G, 20-Sim, Symbols, Dymola …). Recently several fundamental theories have been developed for using a bond graph
model not only for modeling but also as a real integrated tool from conceptual ideas to optimal practical realization of mechatronic system. This workshop will discuss
a synthesis of those new theories which exploit some particular properties (such as causal, structural and behavioral) of this graphical methodology. Based on a pedagogical example,
it will be shown how from a physical system (not a transfer function or state equation) and using only one representation (Bond graph), the following results can be performed :
modeling (formal state equations generation), Control analysis (observability, controllability, Structural I/O decouplability, dynamic decoupling, …) diagnosis analysis
(automatic generation of robust fault indicators, sensor placement, structural diagnosability) and finally sizing of actuators. The presentation will be illustrated by real industrial applications:
power station, clean intelligent transport and fuel cell systems.
Keynote lecture speakers are:
1. Y. Nakamura from University of Tokyo and President, IFToMM
Brief biography
Yoshihiko Nakamura received Doctor of Engineering Degree from Kyoto University. He was Assistant Professor of Kyoto University, and then Assistant and Associate Professor of University of California, Santa Barbara.
He is currently Professor at Department of Mechano-Informatics, University of Tokyo. Humanoid robotics, cognitive robotics, neuro musculoskeletal human modeling, biomedical systems, and their computational algorithms are his current fields of research.
Dr. Nakamura is co-chairing IEEE-RAS Technical Committee on Robotics and Automation in Nuclear Facilities. He is Fellow of Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow of Robotics Society of Japan, Fellow of IEEE, and Fellow of World Academy of Arts and Science.
Dr. Nakamura currently (2012-2015) serves as President of International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science (IFToMM). Dr. Nakamura is Foreign Member of Academy of Engineering Science of Serbia, and TUM Distinguished Affiliated Professor of Technische Universität München.
Invited Lecture on Robotics to Estimate Human Sensation
This talk will introduce robotics modeling, optimization, and computation applied to anatomical modeling of human body. The whole body musculoskeletal system we developed has nearly one thousand muscle wires.
The computational method to estimate muscle tension from the motion capture data, contact forces, and selected EMG signals is discussed. In the current implementation, we can estimate all the muscle activities in realtime and visualize the result superimposed on the live video at the frame rate.
Some examples of muscle activities analysis of various athletes and experts are to be shown. The modeling of neural network system for controlling human motion is also discussed.
The speaker's group is involved in the national super computer project of Japan. We are currently working on development of the high-definition model of the whole body neuro musculoskeletal system. Some of the recent results are shown.
2. Ranjan Mukherjee from Michigan State University, USA
Brief biography
Ranjan Mukherjee is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University (MSU). He received his B.Tech. degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur,
in 1987 and his MS and PhD degrees from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1989 and 1991, respectively, all in Mechanical Engineering. Prior to joining MSU,
he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, from 1991 to 1996.
Ranjan Mukherjee is a Fellow of the ASME, a recipient of the 2008 Fulbright Research Scholar Award, and the 2011 MSU Withrow Distinguished Senior Scholar Award.
Invited Lecture on Control of Underactuated Mechanical Systems
Dynamical systems with fewer control inputs than the number of generalized coordinates are commonly referred to as underactuated systems.
Examples of such systems are the pendubot and point-feet biped robots, which are subjected to second-order differential constraints;
as well as nonholonomic systems, that are subjected to first-order differential constraints. The definition of underactuation becomes
ambiguous for continuous systems since varying number of generalized coordinates can be used for finite degree-of-freedom representations;
nevertheless, underactuation can be pursued in the spirit of using “fewer than the traditional number” of actuators. Underactuation may be
purposely introduced in some systems to meet design constraints but it appears naturally in many others. This presentation will focus on the dynamics,
control, design and analysis of a select few underactuated systems. The problems to be discussed include: swing-up control of the pendubot,
trajectory control of a spherical mobile robot, design of a synthetic-wheel biped, vibration control through hybrid actuation and sensing,
and dynamics of an underwater vehicle that uses a fluid-conveying fluttering tail for propulsion.
3. Dr. S. Guruprasad, Director, Research & Development Establishment, Pune, Defence Research & Development Organisation
Dr. S. Guruprasad did his Bachelors of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, from University of Mysore, Masters in Engineering in Machine Design from Bangalore University and PhD in Structural Dynamics from IIT Bombay. He is Scientist ‘G' and Director of R&DE(Engineers), DRDO Pune. He worked on multi-span mechanical Bridging System SARVATRA. For the first time Concurrent Engineering methodology was adopted for execution of the project. He also worked on Under Water systems especially in the area of shock dynamics. His research areas include Blast and Impact resistant Layered Structures in which he has number of publications. He also has number of patents to his credit. When the JV project was started for development of BrahMos he was appointed as Project Director PJ-10 for Ground Systems responsible design & development of Launchers on all platforms. For the first time a Single Vehicle Weapon System for BrahMos the Mobile Autonomous Launcher has been developed and has been inducted into services. An inclined launcher for INS RAJPUT was designed and installed. A Universal Vertical Launch Module (UVLM-8) has been developed and the first unit has been installed on INS RANVIR.
As director of R&DE(Engineers), DRDO Pune, Dr. S.Guruprasad is leading R&D in Military Bridging, Mine warfare, Weapon launch systems, NBC protection systems, Composite materials, etc..
Invited Lecture on Dynamic Analysis of Mechanisms - Dealing with Complex Boundary Conditions
Dynamic analysis of Mechanical Systems and Mechanisms is challenging task when the boundary conditions are non-linear or abruptly change. The actuators sometimes are highly sensitive to the dynamic response of the systems they are actuating and this coupling needs to be considered while analysing such systems. The conventional rigid body dynamics is an excellent tool to begin with but in complex situations the system needs to be modelled and simulated with much more details. A few examples of are discussed that need to consider flexibility of the body under motion and also the changes in boundary conditions. Simulation of systems with different energy domains is also a difficult task under dynamic conditions. A few examples of solutions are also covered. The flexibility of mechanical elements and systems need to be considered along with actuator dynamics also to provide to needs of the control system development.
4. Satyandra K. Gupta, Maryland Robotics Center, University of Maryland, College Park
Brief biography
Dr. Satyandra K. Gupta is a Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department and the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland, College Park. He was the founding director of the Maryland Robotics Center. Prior to joining the University of Maryland, he was a Research Scientist in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Currently, he is on an IPA assignment at National Science Foundation and serving as a program director in the Division of Information and Intelligent Systems. He manages National Robotics Initiative.
Dr. Gupta's interest is broadly in the area of automation. He is specifically interested in automation problems arising in Engineering Design, Manufacturing, and Robotics. His current research focus is mainly on simulation-based computational synthesis and automated planning. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He has served as an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, ASME Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering, and SME Journal of Manufacturing Processes.
Dr. Gupta has received several honors and awards for his research contributions. Representative examples include: a Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research in 2000, a Robert W. Galvin Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 2001, a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation in 2001, a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2001, Invention of the Year Award in Physical Science category at the University of Maryland in 2007, Kos Ishii-Toshiba Award from ASME Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Committee in 2011, and Excellence in Research Award from ASME Computers and Information in Engineering Division in 2013. He has also received six best paper awards at conferences and 2012 Most Cited Paper Award from Computer Aided DesignJournal.
Invited Lecture on Design and Manufacturing of Biologically Inspired Robots
Taking inspiration from the nature offers new possibilities for realizing novel robots. Bio-inspired robotics has emerged as an important specialization within the field of robotics. Explorations in this area have included designing and building walking, crawling, and flying robots that take inspiration from their biological counterparts. This presentation will begin by introducing robotics terminology and reviewing limitations of the conventional robots. This presentation will then introduce the general principles behind taking inspiration from a biological source and converting the inspiration into implementable engineering concepts that can be incorporated into a robot. The following three case studies will be presented: bird-inspired robots, amphibious legged robots, and snake-inspired robots. These case studies will describe how useful features of the biological creatures were selected and simplified so that they can be implemented using the existing actuation, sensing, and manufacturing technologie. These case studies will focus on design and manufacturing aspects of the biologically inspired robots.
5. Dr. Devendra P. Garg from Duke University, Durham NC will be delivering an invited lecture on "Research Issues in Cooperative Control of Multiple Robots"
Dr. Devendra P. Garg is Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA, and is a Life Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Agra University in 1954 and Bachelor of Engineering degree from the erstwhile University of Roorkee in 1957. He earned his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and his Ph.D. degree from New York University, New York in 1960 and 1969, respectively.
Professor Garg started his career as a Lecturer and subsequently went on to become a Reader in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Roorkee from 1957 to 1964. He taught at New York University, and thereafter, moved to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, Massachusetts, rising from the ranks of an Assistant Professor at MIT to a tenured full Professor at Duke University within a very short period of three years (from 1969 to 1972). He became the Professor and Director of Duke University’s Robotics and Manufacturing Automation (RAMA) Laboratory in 1972.
While on leave from Duke University, Dr. Garg devoted six years of his professional career with the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) as Program Director in the Directorate for Engineering. This funding agency has an annual operating budget of over seven (7) Billion US Dollars. Since the year 2000, he has been involved with the United States Army Research Office either as an Associate Program Manager or as a consultant. Professor Garg’s active participation in the Department of Defense’s program for the development and use of technology for both military and civilian sectors brought him the recognition from the White House. In his letter addressed to Professor Garg on January 31, 1994, President Bill Clinton wrote that “Your technical expertise has been invaluable in the selection of the most highly qualified proposals from among the thousands put forth. I commend you for your dedication in undertaking this task. Your efforts will contribute to a brighter economic future for our country.”
Professor Garg has been extensively involved in global educational activities. As a Fulbright Senior Scholar in 1988, Dr. Garg was appointed as Visiting Professor in the Department of Automatic Control Engineering at the Georgian Technical University, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. He visited Japan in 1996 and 1999 for extended periods of time as a Senior Fellow under the sponsorship of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and as an Invited Fellow in 1997 under the sponsorship of the Japan Science and Technology Agency. Professor Garg’s exemplary leadership contributions have been recognized by several prestigious awards bestowed upon him, notably the NSF’s Outstanding Performance Award (1993), the Cooperative Team Effort Award (1993), NSF’s Special Act or Service Award (1994), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Dedicated Service Award (1996), ASME Leadership Award (1998), ASME Life Fellow Award (2000), ASME’s Edwin F. Church Medal (2003), Hind Rattan Award (2007), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee’s Distinguished Alumnus Award (2009), Duke University’s Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Advising (2011), and the ASME/DSCD Yasundo Takahashi Education Award (2011).
Invited Lecture on Research Issues in Cooperative Control of Multiple Robots
Multiple manipulators are commonly used in current manufacturing environments where the tasks to be performed are beyond the capabilities of a single manipulator. In such situations, (for example, handling a single heavy object), multiple manipulators form a closed kinematic chain. Here, load sharing and internal force minimization become important issues in devising efficient strategies for control of fixed multiple robots working together to accomplish a desired objective. Uncertainty arises in the perception and modeling of the work environment, in the manipulation of robot arm and payload, and in the planning and execution of a specified task. In order to extend the abilities of a robot in an uncertain and flexible environment, appropriate sensor systems must be developed which can dynamically interpret the observations from the environment with respect to the performed task, while accounting for uncertainty, and obtaining an accurate model of the robot world. A multi-sensor system must use algorithms or strategies to model sensor inaccuracies, compensate for uncertainties, fuse information from multiple sensory sources and develop an accurate model of the environment. Control of complex and nonlinear robotic systems is an important and challenging area of research. At Duke University’s Robotics and Manufacturing Automation (RAMA) Laboratory, research projects are carried out for developing intelligent control strategies involving stationary industrial robots operating in a flexible work-cell for performing cooperative tasks such as generating a multiple-part assembly. In addition, our research has emphasized coordination and control of mobile robots working cooperatively to carry out tasks such as perimeter detection and surveillance of hazardous spills. This talk will describe our research experience in this regard and will include the control of both fixed and mobile multiple robots.