Qu’il s’agisse de tâches de préhension versatile aux échelles du micromonde ou bien de tâches de manipulation fine ou dextre à une échelle dimensionnelle supérieure, la fonction de manipulation robotique nécessite l’utilisation de systèmes mécatroniques performants et précis. Dans la majorité des cas, ceux-ci mettent en jeu des mécanismes qui sont caractérisés par des phénomènes mécaniques de flexibilité. Ces phénomènes sont induits naturellement par l’emploi de certains composants technologiques constitutifs du système ou par la géométrie de certaines structures élancées. Il peut alors s’agir de micromanipulateurs à base de matériaux actifs, de bras manipulateurs légers, d’organes terminaux de préhension très intégrés sur le plan fonctionnel, voire de manipulateurs d’inspiration anthropomorphe. Aperçu des dernières avancées scientifiques et technologiques en la matière, cet ouvrage est destiné à toute personne intéressée par le champ de la robotique flexible et plus particulièrement par la manipulation.

Flexible Robotics in Medicine: A Design Journey of Motion Generation Mechanisms and Biorobotic System Development provides a resource of knowledge and successful prototypes regarding flexible robots in medicine. With specialists in the medical field increasingly utilizing robotics in medical procedures, it is vital to improve current knowledge regarding technologies available. This book covers the background, medical requirements, biomedical engineering principles, and new research on soft robots, including general flexible robotic systems, design specifications, design rationale, fabrication, verification experiments, actuators and sensors in flexible medical robotic systems. Presenting several projects as examples, the authors also discuss the pipeline to develop a medical robotic system, including important milestones such as involved regulations, device classifications and medical standards. Covers realistic prototypes, experimental protocols and design procedures for engineering flexible medical robotics Covers the full product development pipeline for engineering new flexible robots for medical applications, including design principles and design verifications Includes detailed information for application and development of several types of robots, including Handheld Concentric-Tube Flexible Robot for Intraocular Procedures, a Preliminary Robotic Surgery Platform with Multiple Section Tendon-Driven Mechanism, a Flexible Drill for Minimally Invasive Transoral Surgical Robotic System, Four-Tendon-Driven Flexible Manipulators, Slim Single-port Surgical Manipulator with Spring Backbones and Catheter-size Channels, and much more

This book is the result of over ten (10) years of research and development in flexible robots and structures at Sandia National Laboratories. The authors de cided to collect this wealth of knowledge into a set of viewgraphs in order to teach a graduate class in Flexible Robot Dynamics and Controls within the Mechanical En gineering Department at the University of New Mexico (UNM). These viewgraphs, encouragement from several students, and many late nights have produced a book that should provide an upper-level undergraduate and graduate textbook and a reference for experienced professionals. The content of this book spans several disciplines including structural dynam ics, system identification, optimization, and linear, digital, and nonlinear control theory which are developed from several points of view including electrical, me chanical, and aerospace engineering as well as engineering mechanics. As a result, the authors believe that this book demonstrates the value of solid applied theory when developing hardware solutions to real world problems. The reader will find many real world applications in this book and will be shown the applicability of these techniques beyond flexible structures which, in turn, shows the value of mul tidisciplinary education and teaming.

By the dawn of the new millennium, robotics has undergone a major transf- mation in scope and dimensions. This expansion has been brought about by the maturity of the ?eld and the advances in its related technologies. From a largely dominant industrial focus, robotics has been rapidly expanding into the challenges of the human world. The new generation of robots is expected to safely and dependably co-habitat with humans in homes, workplaces, and c- munities, providing support in services, entertainment, education, healthcare, manufacturing, and assistance. Beyond its impact on physical robots, the body of knowledge robotics has produced is revealing a much wider rangeof applications reaching across diverse research areas and scienti?c disciplines, such as: biomechanics, haptics, n- rosciences, virtual simulation, animation, surgery, and sensor networks among others. In return, the challenges of the new emerging areas are proving an ab- dant source of stimulation and insights for the ?eld of robotics. It is indeed at the intersection of disciplines that the most striking advances happen. The goal of the series of Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR) is to bring, in a timely fashion, the latest advances and developments in robotics on thebasisoftheirsigni?canceandquality.Itisourhopethatthewiderdissemi- tion of research developments will stimulate more exchanges and collaborations among the research community and contribute to further advancement of this rapidly growing ?eld.

The objective of this book is to provide those interested in the field of flexible robotics with an overview of several scientific and technological advances in the practical field of robotic manipulation. The different chapters examine various stages that involve a number of robotic devices, particularly those designed for manipulation tasks characterized by mechanical flexibility. Chapter 1 deals with the general context surrounding the design of functionally integrated microgripping systems. Chapter 2 focuses on the dual notations of modal commandability and observability, which play a significant role in the control authority of vibratory modes that are significant for control issues. Chapter 3 presents different modeling tools that allow the simultaneous use of energy and system structuring notations. Chapter 4 discusses two sensorless methods that could be used for manipulation in confined or congested environments. Chapter 5 analyzes several appropriate approaches for responding to the specific needs required by versatile prehension tasks and dexterous manipulation. After a classification of compliant tactile sensors focusing on dexterous manipulation, Chapter 6 discusses the development of a complying triaxial force sensor based on piezoresistive technology. Chapter 7 deals with the constraints imposed by submicrometric precision in robotic manipulation. Chapter 8 presents the essential stages of the modeling, identification and analysis of control laws in the context of serial manipulator robots with flexible articulations. Chapter 9 provides an overview of models for deformable body manipulators. Finally, Chapter 10 presents a set of contributions that have been made with regard to the development of methodologies for identification and control of flexible manipulators based on experimental data. Contents 1. Design of Integrated Flexible Structures for Micromanipulation, Mathieu Grossard, Mehdi Boukallel, Stéphane Régnier and Nicolas Chaillet. 2. Flexible Structures’ Representation and Notable Properties in Control, Mathieu Grossard, Arnaud Hubert, Stéphane Régnier and Nicolas Chaillet. 3. Structured Energy Approach for the Modeling of Flexible Structures, Nandish R. Calchand, Arnaud Hubert, Yann Le Gorrec and Hector Ramirez Estay. 4. Open-Loop Control Approaches to Compliant Micromanipulators, Yassine Haddab, Vincent Chalvet and Micky Rakotondrabe. 5. Mechanical Flexibility and the Design of Versatile and Dexterous Grippers, Javier Martin Amezaga and Mathieu Grossard. 6. Flexible Tactile Sensors for Multidigital Dexterous In-hand Manipulation, Mehdi Boukallel, Hanna Yousef, Christelle Godin and Caroline Coutier. 7. Flexures for High-Precision Manipulation Robots, Reymond Clavel, Simon Henein and Murielle Richard. 8. Modeling and Motion Control of Serial Robots with Flexible Joints, Maria Makarov and Mathieu Grossard. 9. Dynamic Modeling of Deformable Manipulators, Frédéric Boyer and Ayman Belkhiri. 10. Robust Control of Robotic Manipulators with Structural Flexibilities, Houssem Halalchi, Loïc Cuvillon, Guillaume Mercère and Edouard Laroche. About the Authors Mathieu Grossard, CEA LIST, Gif-sur-Yvette, France. Nicolas Chaillet, FEMTO-ST, Besançon, France. Stéphane Régnier, ISIR, UPMC, Paris, France.

Joint flexibility from harmonic or direct drives or flexible couplings limits the performance of robots. Performance can be improved by taking into account the fast dynamics that are introduced by joint flexibility. High gain acceleration feedback from the link angles simplifies the robot dynamics, but is limited by joint flexibility. One solution is to use joint torque feedback to stabilize the fast dynamics. In light of this, drive systems that incorporate joint torque sensors are being developed. Flexible Joint Robots is the first book to consider the myriad problems and potential solutions that affect flexible joint robot design. The book covers fundamental concepts, including joint torque feedback control laws, acceleration feedback, and adaptive control laws. It presents a dynamic model of a flexible joint robot in several coordinate systems and includes an analysis of the fast dynamics.

This book discusses the latest developmens in modelling, simulation and control of flexible robot manipulators. Coverage includes an overall review of previously developed methodologies, a range of modelling approaches including classical techniques, parametric and neuromodelling approaches and numerical modelling/simulation techniques.