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No. 15 Autumn 1996
CONTENTSFrom the Forum
Chair..........................................................1Event
Reports
The Industrial Benefits of Mechatronics - TheScandinavian
Experience..................................................21996
Mechatronics Forum Prestige Lecture
....................3Mechatronics in Automated Handling
..............................3Mechatronics ’96 with M2VIP ’96,
Portugal ...................3EFAM-ViCAM Euroconference
........................................41st European Conference on
Disabilty, V-R &
AssociatedTechnologies.....................................................................6
University NewsHull’s First MEng Graduates
...........................................7WDA Award for
UWCN....................................................7International
Collaboration at De Montfort.....................8UWCN gets
European Funding ........................................8
Personalities in
Mechatronics...............................................8SKF
Linear Motion Design Awards
1997.............................9Mechatronics in Education
Bytronic International
......................................................9Feedback
Instruments.....................................................11Industrial
Support for Hull Course.................................12
Mechatronics ResourcesFree Information Sheet
...................................................12Books
..............................................................................12
Calls for PapersIndustrial
Inspection.......................................................13Shoe
and Garment Manufacture.....................................13M2VIP
’97
.......................................................................1330th
ISATA
.......................................................................1341st
International
Symposium..........................................14EFAM-CCAM
Euroconference.......................................14Smart
Structures and Machines & MIMR.......................14Real
Time Visual Monitoring and Inspection .................14Advanced
Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM ’97) ...............14 SOCO ’97 and
IIA ’97 ...................................................15CAD
CAM, Robotics and Factories of the Future ..........15
Research Opportunities
.......................................................16Forthcoming
Events
Visit to Mitsubishi
Electric..............................................16Visit to
Renishaw Metrology...........................................16
Caption
Competition............................................................16
From the Forum ChairProfessor Phil Moore, De Montfort
University
The Mechatronics Forum continues to grow and develop in itsrole
in promoting and advancing the Mechatronics disciplineboth within
the UK and Internationally. The MechatronicsForum Committee are
unanimous in the view that we willcontinue through our best
endeavours to provide a means tostrengthen the understanding,
awareness and best practice ofMechatronics through appropriate
events and activities. TheForum will continue to cooperate with
other Professional
bodies and interest groups where appropriate to ensure
themaximum success for such activities. The Forum, in its
uniqueposition as an organisation jointly sponsored by the
Institutionof Electrical Engineers and the Institution of
MechanicalEngineers in the UK, is very well placed to service
theMechatronics community. The Forum will continue inorganising
events such as specialist industrial visits, seminars,conferences,
and to provide regular information and newsthrough the Newsletter
(available on the web). Professor TimKing our Editor is always
pleased to receive contributions andsuggestions.
The AGM in April took place at BUSM Leicester following avery
successful technical visit where a range of highlysophisticated
mechatronics machine systems for shoemanufacture were demonstrated.
David Reedman (TechnicalManager) and Chris Price (Technical
Director and Presidentof the IMechE) hosted our visit.
In May the Forum in association with the IEE PGI6 organiseda one
day colloquium at Savoy Place in London,‘Mechatronics: the
Scandinavian Experience’ at which threeeminent guest speakers (Lars
Hein, Denmark; Jan Wikander,Sweden; Vesa Salminen, Finland) gave
their perspectives onMechatronics and participated in follow-up
discussions.
Lars Hein (centre), is keen to read his Mechatronics
ForumNewsletter, whilst Vesa Salminen (left) and Jan Wikander
prepare totake questions.
The Annual Mechatronics Forum Prestige Lecture wasdelivered by
Vesa Salminen an eminent Mechatronicsspecialist from Finland
representing FIMET. The lecture‘Mechatronics: future developments’
was given at theInstitution of Mechanical Engineers, London on 28th
May1996.
The UK Mechatronics Forum Conference Mechatronics ’96was hosted
by the University of Minho, Guimaraes, Portugalin September. This
turned out to be probably the largest andmost successful
Mechatronics Conference held to-date world
MechatronicsForum Newsletter
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 2
wide. The event consisted of over 150 refereed papers
beingpresented and was attended by around 220 delegates fromsome 35
countries. A truly international extravaganza! Thefacilities and
organisation were first rate and complementedby the beautiful
location. Professor Tim King and ProfessorMario Lima the Co-Chairs
can be very proud of the event. Onbehalf of the Forum Committee I
would like to thank them,the Conference organising / programme
committees andauthors for their hard work and contributions in
making itsuch a successful Conference. The Conference was run as
ajoint event with Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice(M2VIP
’96). The supporting Euro-Conference VICAM ’96,organised by
Professor Rob Parkin, also contributed greatly tothe success of the
overall event.
The next UK Mechatronics Forum Conference Mechatronics’98 is
planned to take place in the beautiful Swedish locationof Mount
Billingen , Skovde in the Hotel BillingehusConference Centre, in
September 1998. The autumn inSweden comes highly recommended.
Please make a note inyour diary! Let us hope the event can build on
the successenjoyed by Mechatronics ’96. I only hope the weather
iskinder to us. The Forum are looking for members of anorganising
committee and international programmecommittee. The event is being
sponsored by the University ofSkovde and De Montfort University.
Industrial sponsors forthe event would be most welcome.
I look forward to meeting you at Mechatronics Forum eventsover
the next few months.
Event ReportsThe Industrial Benefits of Mechatronics -
The Scandinavian ExperienceIEE, Savoy Place, London, 28 May
1996
The meeting, organised by IEE PG I6 and co-sponsored by
theMechatronics Forum was introduced by Prof. John Milne(Univ. of
Abertay) who gave the background to mechatronicsin product design,
pointing out the reduction in the time takentime to apply
discoveries in successive generations ofmachines and products since
the industrial revolution, andhighlighting the need for the
‘concept leap’ which lifts aproduct into the next generation whilst
linear development justleaves it to grow steadily less competitive.
He noted that theScandinavian community had been especially active
in thegeneration of mechatronic products, and hence explained
thebackground to the organisation of the colloquium.
Prof. Phil Moore (De Montfort Univ.) then introduced
thespeakers, Vesa Salminen, of the Federation of Finnish
Metal,Engineering and Electrotechnical Industries (FIMET), LarsHein
of the Institute for Product Development, Lyngby,Denmark, and Jan
Wikander of the Department of MachineDesign Mechatronics (DAMEK) of
the Royal Institute ofTechnology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Vesa Salminen opened by noting the relatively smallproportion of
industrialists in the audience. He commentedthat this was how it
had been in Finland ten years ago, but thatmechatronics was now a
concept behind all their new machineproducts and processes due to
the Finnish MechatronicsProgramme (in which US $ 6.5 Million was
invested between1986 and 1990, followed by a further $71M in
fivespecifically focused themes between 1991 and 1999). He went
on to describe the Finnish economic base, with its
traditionalindustrial reliance on pulp and paper industries and
once large,but now almost insignificant, exports to Russia. This
wascontrasted with the successfully developed new areas such
astelecomms and advanced heavy machinery. The latter
wasimpresssively illustrated by video of a walking
machine,initiated under the mechatronics programme, for
treeharvesting. This posesses advantages of
superiormanouverability, less soil erosion and better ground
clearancethan traditional wheeled machines. Other impressive
exampleswere given including an autonomous field tractor using
fibre-optic gyros to give a 2cm positioning accuracy, and the use
ofneural networks in the chemical recovery line of a
paperprocessing plant.
Lars Hein surprised many of us by explaining that inDenmark,
industrialists do not use the term ‘mechatronics’seeing it as an
academic invention. He highlighted someconfusion over the
definition of the term. Is it: automatedmanufacturing; N.C.
machines or; products with integratedmechanics and electronics? His
definition (and the Danishunderstanding) was the last of these
three, and he went on todescribe the Danish Technology Programmes
which havefocused on; integrated product development (in the
early1980’s); optimising the product development function (in
thelate 1980’s) and; operational methodologies to enablecompanies
to perform better, in the 1990’s. Thesemethodologies include -
Design for Manufacture, Design forQuality, Design for the
Environment and so on, a set of designapproaches which Lars Hein
described generically as ‘Designfor X’. He emphasised the
importance of the re-use ofexperience in the design of new products
and put forward theadvantages of highly structured, stepwise
procedures whichfacilitate collection and dissemination of
experience data inthe Design for X approach. Lars Hein made some
illuminatingobservations about Design for Quality - pointing out
thedifferences between internal aspects of quality
(qualityefficiency - how easy is it to make?) and external ones
(asexperienced by the customer - how does it perform, whatdesirable
features does it have?). Design for Manufacture wasexemplified by
presentation of a case study showing thehighly effective re-design
of a power unit for an electronicwelding unit.
Jan Wikander introduced his talk with a discussion
ofrelationships between system complexity and timingrequirements.
He suggested that timing requirements weregenerally tight at the
lower levels of complexity (the‘actuators level’) but at the high
complexity ‘systems level’timing requirements could generally be
more relaxed. He gavenumerous example areras of application and
expanded onthree of them with case studies, these being: trucks
(where 15microprocessors per truck are now commonplace),
automationin SMD placement in electronics manufacture and
equipmentfor handling bank notes. These examples showed
innovationacross a range of Swedish Industry from large
companies(Volvo Trucks) to small ones (Inter-Innovation).
Oneinteresting application from the truck sector was a dieselengine
controller bolted directly to the engine assembly (formaximum
modularity) and cooled by the diesel fuel to offsetthe principal
disadvantage of this location!
A lively discussion session, led by Prof. Tim King
(Univ.Birmingham), followed the three presentations whichsucceeded
in developing some of the themes introduced by thespeakers and
which rounded off a thought provoking andeducational
colloquium.
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 3
1996 Mechatronics Forum Prestige LectureIMechE, Birdcage Walk,
London, 28 May 1996
Following the Colloquium at the IEE, efficiently organisedbuses
collected participants from Savoy Place and whiskedthem away
through the London rush-hour traffic to IMechEheadquarters to
sample IMechE tea and then to listen to VesaSalminen, who described
how Finland had addressedmechatronics before moving on to his main
theme for theevening, the future of mechatronics. Vesa laid much
emphasison ‘mechatronics in the organisation’ and ‘networks
ofintelligence’ and gave an interesting review of work on GEN -the
Global Engineering Network, with its multi-media productcatalogues
and some demonstrator applications available onthe web
(http://www.gen.net/). He concluded by showingvideo of Finnish
mechatronics projects, including the walkingforestry machine which
had so impressed the participants inthe day’s earlier event at the
IEE.
Reports on the ‘Scandinavian Experience’ and PrestigeLecture by
Tim King.
Mechatronics in Automated HandlingRoyal Mail Technology Centre,
Swindon
16th May 1996
This IEE Manufacturing Division Colloquium was organisedby
Professional Group I6 (Machine Systems EngineeringApplications) in
conjunction with the Mechatronics Forumand followed the welcome
trend of locating Colloquia outsideLondon. The colloquium provided
an opportunity to exchangeinformation on a number of challenging
automated handlingproblems. Combined with a technical visit to the
Royal MailTechnology Centre in Swindon, the Colloquium also
provideda fascinating opportunity to see just how mail arrives on
ourdoorsteps so reliably every day.
The Colloquium began with a section devoted to Royal
Mail,identifying the problems of efficiently sorting the
dailymillions of mail items and distributing them nationally
andinternationally. The diversity in shape, size and weight,
makesautomating a process to handle and sort mail at speed a
highlycomplex task. Some of the amazing machines involved in
thesolutions to this task were discussed in this section.
A succession of diverse presentations followed, includingthose
on a novel approach to the automated packing ofirregular objects, a
fascinating can production machinecapable of producing up to 1000
cans per minute, the handlingof multiple sheets of material,
positioning flexible objects byair jet manipulation and the
materials handling aspects of anaerospace FMS.
The day culminated with a visit to the Royal Mail sortingoffice
at the Technology Centre, providing a chance to see themachines
described in the first talks of the Colloquium. Sincethe evening
mail was being sorted, the whole process could beexplained and
demonstrated. Mail was first fed into a sizesorting (segregation or
culling) machine to separate thoseitems too fat to be sorted
automatically, items passing thiscriterion are then passed straight
to a further culling machinewhich removes those items which are too
high or wide.
The mail is then thinned into a single stream for address
andstamp examination, by which time the flow rate of mail isaround
30,000 per hour! To achieve this rate, the mail travels
at around 3.5 metres per second, which gives rise to
someproblems when mail containing loose items, like money,
issuddenly re-routed or stopped - the coins tend to burst out!After
some further orientation, mail is transferred to amachine which
analyses the address using machine visiontechniques, with some
operator help with those items illegibleto machine OCR, before
final sorting into regional bundles fordistribution.
Overall, the colloquium gave a good opportunity to see
anddiscuss work in challenging automation problems with
otherMechatronics engineers. The technical visit rounded off
apleasant and useful day.
Report by Alan Davies, Mechatronics Research Group, deMontfort
University, Leicester.
Note - attendance at this event exceeded the number whichcould
be accomodated on the mechanised sorting office visit.Another
technical visit to the unit can be arranged if there issufficient
demand, so please inform Liz Harries at the IMechE(address on page
16) if you are interested.
Mechatronics ’96 with M2VIP ’96Universidade do Minho, Portugal,
18-20 September 1996
The Mechatronics Forum’s main event for 1996 was
itsInternational Conference, held at the University of
Minho’sAzurem campus at Guimarães, in sunny northern Portugal.The
conference was organised as a joint event with M2VIP,making this
the first time that the latter had been held inEurope.
The event was a great success, with around 220
delegatesregistering to participate. It was truly international -
35different countries were represented, not only from almost allof
the European countries but also from North and SouthAmerica, Japan,
China, Singapore, Australia, Lebanon andIran to name but a few.
142 papers were presented in four parallel sessions. In order
toensure that delegates could ‘session hop’ to give
maximumflexibility in attending the presentations of their choice,
thepresentations were run to a strict time schedule. This
workedremarkably well despite one or two problems due to
presentersnot turning up, partly due to firm session chairing and
co-operative presenters, but also due to the excellent
facilitiesavailable at the University do Minho. The University
madeavailable its purpose built conference suite whichconveniently
included four identical medium-sized rakedlecture theatres and a
large theatre, in which the opening andclosing plenary sessions
were held.
Between these facilities was a concourse area with a barserving
unlimited free coffee, the registration desk, anexhibition of
mechatronic equipment from Festo, SKF linearMotion and Feedback
Instruments, and some terminals for e-mail access. Delegates used
this area to the full for thenetworking associated with any good
conference.
Further opportunities for making new research contacts
wereprovided through the social functions associated with theevent;
a drinks reception on the Tuesday evening before theconference, a
visit to the Palace of the Dukes of Bragança andGuimarães castle
with a walking tour of the historic towncentre on the evening of
the 18th, a superb concert in the Ducal
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 4
Palace on the 19th and the conference banquet on Friday
20th,served in the beautifully restored Pousada de Santa
Marinha,set on a hill overlooking the town. Originally a monastery,
itwas given to the Augustine order by the wife of the first Kingof
Portugal in 1154 AD.
Eric Rogers (Southampton Univ.) , Paul Sharkey (Reading Univ.),
PaulWhelan (Dublin City Univ.) and John Morris (Dundee Univ.)
discussthe proceedings during a coffee break.
On the Saturday following the conference, two coachloads
ofdelegates went on a specially organised tour of Oporto,including
a visit to a port cellar and a guided tour of thehistoric and
spectacularly decorated Bolsa (Stock Exchange)building.
Overall, the conference location and its local organisation
wasimpeccable. Only the weather could have been improved upon- it
rained fairly solidly during most of each day. However, itcleared
up in time for social activities in the evenings and afterthe
conference, so perhaps the weather helped in keeping thedelegates
in the sessions rather than out shopping! Attendanceat the sessions
was good - no presenters had to endure theignominy, traditional at
parallel-session events, of having topresent to just their session
chair and three other authors.Typically at least 30-35 people were
present in each of thelecture theatres throughout.
Thanks are due to the conference sponsors, without whoseearly
financial contributions it would have been very difficultto have
launched this event. They were: Analogy, BritishUnited Shoe
Machinery, Cranfield Precision, EA Technology,Festo Didactic,
Feedback Instruments, Machinery TechnologyCentre, NEC, Royal Mail
Technology, Rank Taylor Hobsonand SKF Linear Motion. Sponsors in
Portugal were the JuntaNacional de Investigação Cíentifica e
Tecnologica and theCâmara Municipal de Guimarães. Thanks also to
TheUniversity of Birmingham, Universidade do Minho,Loughborough
University, IEE and IMechE for their support.EU support under
Framework IV for the linked ViCAMEuroconference, which helped to
make the whole event asuccess, is gratefully acknowledged.
Proceedings of Mechatronics ’96 with M2VIP ’96 wereproduced by
The University of Minho. The nicely printed andsoft-bound two
volume set, 888 pages in total, ISBN 972-8063-08-3, is available at
6000 Escudos per volume (£1 = 230Escudos approximately) from:
Associate Professor Mario LimaDepartment of Mechanical
Engineering
University of Minho, 4810 Guimaraes, PortugalTel:+351 (0)53
510226 Fax:+351 (0)53 516007E-mail [email protected]
Editor’s note: it is hoped to feature fuller reports on both
thetechnical content and delegates’ impressions of this event inour
next issue. If you were present and wish to contribute yourviews,
please send them to the Editor.
EFAM-ViCAM EuroconferenceThe first of two EU funded
Euroconferences on FocusedAspects of Mechatronics (EFAM) was held
at theUniversidade do Minho between 16 and 21 September 1996,to
coincide with the Mechatronics ’96 and M2VIPinternational
conferences.
This event, Vision for Control Aspects of Mechatronics(ViCAM)
was attended by fifty young researchers from EUmember states.
Twelve eminent mechatronics, control andvision experts presented
lecture and case study material.Copies of the the proceedings,
Proc. Vision and ControlAspects of Mechatronics: ViCAM, (Eds.
Parkin R.M, Lima M.and King T.G.), Guimarães, Portugal, 1996. ISBN
972-8063-07-5, (238pp, soft-bound) are available from Mario Lima
atthe address given above for M96 with M2VIP proceedings,price 5000
Escudos.
As well as the twelve invited contributions, the
proceedingsinclude 17 excellent papers from the workshop
participants.
The following report from one of the participants gives aflavour
of the event. Dr Lumini has carefully formatted it likea Vicam
paper so we have reproduced it as submitted:
VICAM EUROCONFERENCEa report about this experience
Dr. A. LuminiComputer Science Department, University of
Bologna,ITALYe-mail : [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Since this paper is about a Euroconference consisting of aseries
of lectures, I’m going to present it as a lecture. Inthis way I
hope to keep the attention of the reader and toguide him throughout
the principal aspects of ViCAM.Since this work respects the
standard of lectures it couldbe published!
1 INTRODUCTION
ViCAM is an Euroconference workshop event complementaryto the
International Conference Mechatronics 96 with M2Vip[1]. The ViCAM
Euroconference is funded by the EuropeanCommunity (Framework IV)
permitting the young academicresearchers to attend lessons about
Mechatronics and to getaccess to both Mechatronics 96 and M2Vip
events. ViCAM(Vision for Control Aspects of Mechatronics) concerns
thetechniques of Machine Vision and Advanced Controls,
twoparticularly relevant fields in European economy, especially
inSmall and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 5
The purpose of this report is to analyse the maincharacteristics
and results of ViCAM experience. It isorganised as follows. First
the location of the conference willbe presented, I mean Guimarães
and the University of Minho.The accommodation of the attendants
will be brieflyillustrated in section 3. Section 4 will be a
comment ofViCAM lectures. Then there will be a description and
acomment of evening events. Finally the conclusions and areference
to a list of useful information will be presented.
2 GUIMARÃES AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MINHO
Guimarães [2] is a town of about 160.000 inhabitants in thenorth
of Portugal. It has a historical background as it is knownas “the
cradle of the Portuguese nationality”, and it is situatedin a
region full of scenic and historical interest that leads theregion
of Minho to became a demarcated tourist area. TheHistorical Centre
of Guimarães is very interesting for the greatnumber of old houses
and churches, for the Ducal Palace,which is the official house of
the Portuguese President in thenorth of Portugal, and the old
Castle, built in the middle of the10th century.
Guimarães is also a “new” town with many recentconstructions,
including the University building. TheUniversity of Minho was
founded only in 1973 and it isshared between Guimarães and Braga.
In Guimarães it islocated in a good position, not far from the
centre of the cityand it has a big campus for the student
accommodation. As aconclusion I can say that Guimarães could be an
interestingtown to visit if the weather is good.
3 ACCOMMODATION
The accommodation of ViCAM attendants was in halls ofUniversity
Residence, a very recent building (just inconstruction) not far
from the University. The rooms were“full optional”, with telephone
(ringing in the middle of thenight!), shower, bath and also a
refrigerator inside (inside theroom, not inside the bath). Each
ViCAM attendant shared hisroom with another person, often from
different country. Ithink it’s a good way to “interchange ideas”
and becomefriends.
A modern way of communication is E-mail and twocomputers were
available for this service. But I was alwayskeeping one of them
busy and so only one computer wasreally free for the other ViCAM
attendants: and this wasdefinitively not enough!!
4 THE LECTURES
ViCAM programme includes a series of lectures (45 min.duration)
given by researchers and professors in Vision andControl for
Mechatronics. I’m going to present my point ofview about these
lectures by explaining what I expected ofthese lectures and how I
experienced them.
what I expected:1. Some basic courses to permit non-expert
people to learn
about vision and/or control (experts in one of these fieldsget a
fresh-up of their knowledge)
2. Some advanced courses to learn about new techniques invision,
control or a combination of them. It’s importantthat these courses
are built on the basics learned in thecourses before. These
techniques may be followed by anexample.
how I experienced them:1. I think that only few lectures could
be called “basic
courses” (the one about “Morphological Imageprocessing”, for
example), the others were hardlycomprehensible to non-expert
people.
2. Some lectures were very advanced and often interesting,but I
couldn’t learn much from them.
Finally I can say that bringing a group of experts together
andlet them talk about their research fields is not the right
formulafor such an event; Mechatronic ’96 is well suited for it.
Abetter formula could be searching a group of experts in thearea,
bringing them together and trying to find a goodsequence of courses
linked with each other. Some lectureswere just a little boring, I
think, since the bar gave more than100 coffees a day for less than
50 persons (and I didn’t drinkany)!!
5 EVENING EVENTS
Another interesting topic of ViCAM Euroconference was
thepossibility to attend evening events.
The first evening we attended the ViCAM reception : at first
Ifelt lost among the group of researchers. After a couple ofglasses
I felt much better, although people stayed grouped bynationality.
The next evening we went to a beautiful Pub,named “Casa do Arco”,
where we began to meet each other,to learn about each other and
finally, after some more glasses,became friends! I think the Pub
was a successful activity, sowe repeated it many times
afterwards.
One of the evenings there was a “terrific” concert, I
say“terrific” because I don’t like classical music and I was
verysurprised that so many people (everybody minus myself)
wereenthusiastic about it.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The ViCAM Euroconference, as my first one, is really a
goodexperience and to make it better in future, I propose in
thispaper some ideas. I believe that the organisation in generalwas
very good (except for the weather!), in particular theevening
events were well appreciated. Concerning lectures, Isuggest to work
on the coherence of the course. I hope thatthis Euroconference will
be followed by others in future, sothat a lot of European young
researchers can get benefit of it(like I did).
7 FUTURE WORK
I plan to attend many other conferences (preferably funded
!!).
8 REFERENCES
[1] ViCAM proceedings[2] Map of the city of Guimarães
9 BIOGRAPHY
Alessandra Lumini received a degree in Computer Sciencefrom the
University of Bologna, Italy, in March, 1996. InSeptember 1996 she
received, a fellowship with the faculty ofComputer Science of the
University of Bologna (Cesena),sponsored by the Fondazione Cassa di
Risparmio di Cesenawith the research theme of "Biometric Systems".
Her mainresearch area is Pattern recognition and in
particularFingerprint Classification.
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 6
10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I’m grateful to the listed persons for their contribution to
thiswork:1. Professor R. Parkin, he asked me to write this paper.2.
Raf Dequeker and Davide Maltoni, they helped me with
the contents of the paper.3. Matteo Golfarelli, Ion Pappas,
Valentina Zamagna, they
helped me to struggle with English language.4. a Portuguese guy,
he told me the exact number of coffees
served during ViCAM.
1st European Conference on Disability,V-R and Associated
Technologies
8-10 July, Maidenhead, Berkshire
Report by Paul Sharkey, Conference Chair
“It gives me great pleasure, if indeed I can experiencepleasure,
to open this first European Conference onDisability, Virtual
Reality and Associated Technologies”
Thus spake the Talking Head, a computer generated
visagedeveloped by British Telecom (BT), on the opening day
ofECDVRAT ‘96. More than a simple text-to-speech converterwith
animated graphics, the complexity of the animated modelenables the
hearing impaired to actually lip read the TalkingHead. This
demonstration served to show how currenttechnology can be used to
help persons with certaindisabilities in focused ways. The
conference closed with ademonstration on a different theme: one of
the delegatesdeveloped, over the three days of the conference, his
idealwheelchair, which included streamlined wheels incorporatingthe
distinctive conference logo.
The idea of holding ECDVRAT came out of a workshopmeeting held
at Reading in 1994. Backing came from BT andthe Dept. of
Cybernetics and accreditation from the IEE, whileadditional help in
publicising the conference was receivedfrom the UK Mechatronics
Forum, the Institution of Physicsand Engineering in Medicine and
Biology (UK), the EuropeanInstitute for Design and Disability
(Europe) and the NationalRehabilitation Board (Ireland).
The Programme Committee first met in June ‘95 to discuss
thefocus of the conference, deciding that this was primarily
toprovide a forum for international experts and researchers
topresent and review how advances in the general area ofVirtual
Reality can be used to assist people with Disability.Rather than
limit the conference to Disability and VirtualReality, we adopted a
very broad interpretation of ‘VR’ as anall-encompassing umbrella
under which many AssociatedTechnologies exist. The need for an
unpronounceableabbreviation, in ‘ECDVRAT’, was not top of our
priorities!However, the conference title did specifically target
the words‘first’ to indicate intended sequels to the event,
and‘European’ to broaden the appeal as an international
meeting,while complementing similar events held in the USA.
Each day of the conference started with a Keynote
Address,followed by morning and afternoon sessions, punctuated
bycoffees and lunches. These breaks were found by delegates tobe
extremely useful periods for discussion. Additionalopportunities
for enlivened debate were at the ConferenceReception, on the first
evening, and at the ConferenceBanquet, on the evening of the
9th.
Keynote Speakers: The first Keynote Address was given byDr.
Harry Murphy, Director of the Centre on Disabilities, atCalifornia
State University, Northridge (CSUN), whoreviewed research in the
USA in the fields of movementdisorder, anxiety, and the remote
treatment of serious injury.
The second Keynote Speaker was Prof. David Rose, Head ofthe
Department of Psychology, University of East London,UK, who
presented an very stimulating overview of howvirtual reality
relates to current research in neurologicalrehabilitation,
including how VR might be used to enhancefunctional recovery
following brain damage. He struck achord with delegates in
highlighting the need to steer awayfrom the hype surrounding the
words ‘virtual reality’, quotingfrom a National Academy of Science
report that the“excitement to accomplishment ratio [for VR] remains
high”,and concluded by suggesting acceptance for VR might only
beachieved through concentration on representing the
scienceunderpinning the research rather than fictional
representaionof what might be.
The final Keynote Address was given by Mr. Arthur
Zwern,President of General Reality Company, California,
whopresented an industry view of how VR may help persons
withdisability, focusing his address on those with
visualimpairment. He introduced a novel system to enable
visuallyimpaired computer users to navigate about a computer
screenusing a head-mounted display interface, and showed how
thismay be adapted to use in the classroom, where a video cameramay
be used to effectively enlarge a blackboard using asimilar
technology. Interestingly, Mr. Zwern echoed the viewsof Prof. Rose
on the hype of VR by placing health issues ofHead Mounted Displays
(HMDs) in context with other formsof visualisation (e.g. computer
monitors), providing somesupporting evidence to shown how use of
HMDs may, in fact,be less damaging than standard monitor
interfaces. He furthersuggested how the research may be taken out
of thelaboratory and into the market. The approach, similar to
theconcept of mechatronics, is to assemble all team players at
theearly stage of the development, including the Academic
(withunderstanding of the technological constraints), the
Clinician(the application specifications and supporting trials)
andIndustry (the market, also acknowledging the
profitrequirement).
Dismissed by one delegate as little more than a marketingplug,
this address was actually one of the best received at
theconference, reflecting better the focus of his talk. The
briefmention of the product within the keynote address wassupported
with live demonstrations of the virtual computermonitor throughout
the conference.
Conference Sessions: The initial Call for Papers
generatedconsiderable interest, with high-quality contributions
fromresearchers in several countries, as far afield as
Argentina,Chile and Australia, many from the USA, in addition to
thosefrom Europe. The International Programme Committeeselected 30
papers for presentation at the conference, whichwere collected into
6 plenary sessions:
I. Communications and LanguageII. Virtual and Enhanced
EnvironmentsIII. Rehabilitation IIV. TechnologyV. Visual
Impairment, Ambisonics, MobilitVI. Rehabilitation II
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 7
The papers and attending delegates spanned a wide range
ofdisciplines and backgrounds, from Psychology to
Engineering,Computer Science to Medicine, Business to General
Interest.I was somewhat surprised, therefore, when analysing
thefeedback forms, to find that all papers were received
well.Indeed, apart from the keynotes, the best paper, presented
inSession V, concerned the technicalities behing the generationof
virtual acoustic environments, with application for thevisually
impaired. Dr. Dave Keating (University of Reading,UK) overviewed
the many different acoustic formats availableand how they might be
used to generate true ambisonic soundto generate any number of
virtual speaker sources for anynumber of listeners in different
locations. A fuller version ofthis report is available on the WWW,
which describes theother notable presentations.
All papers and keynote addresses are reproduced in the 260page
bound Proceedings (ISBN 0 7049 1140 X).
Banquet Address: This was given by Heinz Wolff,
ProfessorEmeritus, and founder of the Institute of Bioengineering,
ofBrunel University, who introduced the notion that all of uswere
equipped with ‘tools for living’ and, though some of usmay have a
different toolset than others, the focus of researchshould
concentrate on the provision of the appropriate toolsfor the
individual. He advised all those conducting research todevote some
time − consider it a ‘taxation on thought’ − to thesocial
implications of that research. These commentsprovoking lively
debate afterwards, fuelled no doubt by the‘refreshments’ available
at the champagne reception andthroughout the banquet.
Demonstrations: In addition to the plenary presentations,there
was a parallel exhibition giving ongoing access to
virtualenvironments, demonstrations of some of the
applicationspresented at the conference, access to Web browsers,
anddemonstrations from companies and other organisations.
The Second ECDVRAT: There will be a follow onconference, to be
held in July 1998. We are actively seekingan appropriate venue,
current suggestions include Stockholm,Vienna, Copenhagen, and
Dublin. Other suggestions would bewelcomed.
Anyone interested in ECDVRAT ‘98 should contact:ECDVRAT,
Department of Cybernetics,University of Reading, Whiteknights,
Reading, RG6 6AY, UKE-mail: [email protected] more
information,
see:http://www.cyber.reading.ac.uk/ecdvrat96/ecdvrat96.html
Conference Sponsors: Principal sponsors were BT; theDepartment
of Cybernetics, University of Reading; and IEE.BT; Dept. of
Cybernetics; Virtual Presence; Silicon GraphicsLimited; and the
Holiday Inn sponsored a number of delegateswith disabilities and
BT; Dept. of Cybernetics; VirtualPresence; Silicon Graphics
Limited; Intergraph; and GeneralReality Company provided equipment
and demonstrations.
University NewsHull’s First Mechatronics MEng Graduates
The first students to complete the Mechatronics MEng
degreeprogramme at the University of Hull were awarded theirdegrees
this Summer. We wish them every success in theircareers
WDA award for UWCN Mechatronics Centre
The University of Wales College Newport has been
recentlyrecognised for its academic excellence. The
WelshDevelopment Agency (WDA) has announced 13 new Centresof
Expertise in Wales and one of these is the University’scentre for
Mechatronics Development.
As a Centre of expertise the unit will make their
expertise,facilities and research capabilities available to
business. TheCentre of Expertise programme is part of an on-going
WDAinitiative to encourage closer working relationships
betweenindustry and academia.
Strong links are well established with industry for whom arange
of training courses and consultancies are provided. Thecourses
range from a 1 to 2 day management overview of
Mechatronics to 5 day courses on programmable logiccontrollers
(PLC’s) and Power Drives.
The Centre has an active research group and supports PhDand
MPhil students in Mechatronics and ManufacturingSystems using
techniques such as Artificial NeuralNetworks, Fuzzy Logic, Genetic
Algorithms, TaguchiMethods and Petri-Nets.
The recognition of the Centre by the WDA as a Centre ofExpertise
is an important award for the University andwill help to raise the
awareness of the expertise within theCentre, and the potential for
establishing closer links withlocal industry. The Centre wishes to
expand itsinvolvement with industry through Teaching
CompanyProgrammes and other collaborative projects.
For further information contact :Dr H Rowlands, Head of
Mechatronics Centre,University of Wales College Newport,Faculty of
Technology, Allt-yr-yn Campus,PO Box 180, Newport NP9 5XR, UKHull’s
first MEng Mechatronics graduates with the staff of the
Electronic Engineering Department. Anticlockwise from the top
right:Graduates - Michael Elliott, Adam Reedman, Nicholas
Hanson,Charles Wilkinson and Craig Wolloms; Staff - Tony Wilkinson,
ChenJie, Steve Owen, Jim Gilbert, Brian Bannister, Don Whitehead
(Headof Dept.), Tim King (External Examiner), Klaus Selke
(MechatronicsCourse leader) and Paul Taylor.
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 8
International Collaboration at De Montfort
Professor Jury Podurajev from Moscow State
TechnologicalUniversity (MSTU) ‘STANKIN’ has joined Professor
PhilMoore and the Mechatronics Research Group at De
MontfortUniversity to undertake a collaborative research programme
in‘Virtual Robotics’ sponsored by the Royal Society under
itsEx-Quota Travel Award scheme with the Former SovietUnion.
Professor Podurajev is one of the most eminent
Russianresearchers in field of mechatronics and robotics.
Hegraduated with a PhD from MSTU ‘BAUMAN’ beforemoving to STANKIN
where he is a Professor of Mechatronicsand Robotics and has
recently been promoted to Dean of theFaculty of Mechanics and
Control. Professor Podurajev wasresponsible for creating the
Russsian National EducationCurriculum / Programme for Mechatronics
Education.
The research programme in ‘Virtual Robotics’ is attempting
toextend the role and capabilities of three dimensional
graphicalcomputer aided robotics systems towards fully supporting
thegeneration of event-driven robot programmes. Such
virtualrobotics systems would allow sensor driven robotic /
machinesystems to be simulated and fully evaluated.
UWCN gets European Funding to DevelopMechatronics Training
The Faculty of Technology at the University of Wales
CollegeNewport has been active in promoting the
Mechatronicsphilosophy for many years and has recently been
awardedESF funding under the ADAPT initiative to develop aEuropean
Mechatronics Vocational education and trainingprogramme.
The University is co-ordinating the project which has partnersin
Belgium, France, Greece and Spain. An initial survey ofcompanies in
South Wales indicates that they have trainingneeds in the
Mechatronics area. Based on the specific areasidentified in the
survey, specific training modules will bedeveloped with support
from the participating companies. Inconjunction with the European
partners, a Europeanqualification to the programmes will be
investigated.
For further information contact :Dr Eifion Breeze, ADAPT Project
ManagerUniversity of Wales College Newport, Allt-yr-yn CampusPO Box
180, Newport NP9 5XR, UK
Personalities in Mechatronics
Congratulations to Professor Roy Davies, who has recentlybeen
awarded awarded a DSc by the University of London forhis work on
the Science of Measurement including signalprocessing and machine
vision.
The Mechatronics Forum is sad to lose, temporarily we hope,one
of its most efficient and enthusiastic organisers, JeanetteBarlow,
who is leaving her job at the IEE to go on a year-longantipodean
trip. Setting out in late October she is travelling toNew Zealand
by way of Fiji and then on to Australia, where
she plans to live and work for a while before returning to
theUK.
Jeanette has helped the Mechatronics Forum enormously overthe
past couple of years, organising the Colloquia andIndustrial Visits
held in conjunction with the IEE and lookingafter PG I6, which has
strong links with the Forum. Jeanette isknown to many Forum Members
for her role in validatingtheir IEE/IMechE CPD records. How many
technical and non-technical PDU’s a year in Australasia is worth
we’re not sureyet, but we hope she’ll be back to collect them when
shereturns to the UK. Everyone on the Forum Committee and PGI6 wish
her the best of luck on her travels.
Jeanette Barlow attempting to give out CPD PDU’s at the
recent‘Mechatronics the Scandinavian Experience’ Colloquium.
SKF Linear MotionDesign Awards 1997
As featured in the last issue, these awards are for
studentdesign projects which involve linear motion. There are
twoawards of £2000 and two of £1000 on offer so please pass onthe
message to everyone you know who is eligible to enter.The two
categories of entry are for:
1. The most innovative project which uses linear motion2. The
most innovative use of linear motion within a project
Entrants should register their intention to take part on
theapplication forms which have been circulated to Universityand
College tutors. Forms can also be obtained directly fromSKF (at the
address below).
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 9
Since this newsletter is unlikely to reach you before theclosing
date for applications, SKF Linear motion have kindlyagreed to keep
entries open until 1 December 1996.Registered, entrants will have
to supply completed projects by3 May 1997.
Contact:Lisa Jeffries, SKF Linear Motion, Tanners
Drive,Blakelands, Milton Keynes, MK14 5BNTel: 01908 618 666 Fax:
01908 618 717
Mechatronics in Education
It is intended to run a series of articles from suppliers
ofmechatronics teaching equipment in the next few issues.
The first in the series illustrates the origins and approach
tothe teaching of Mechatronics by Bytronic International Ltd.It was
written by Dr. John Wilber - the MD and co-founderof the
company:
Bytronic International is one of the major educationalequipment
manufacturers in the UK with over 70% of itsproducts now being
exported..
Looking at the Mechatronics Forum Home Page on the wwwwe see two
possible definitions of mechatronics, namely:
1) Mechatronics is the synergistic integration of
mechanicalengineering with electronics and intelligent
computercontrol in the design and manufacture of products
andprocesses.
2) Mechatronics is the design and manufacture of productsand
systems possessing both a mechanical functionalityand an integrated
algorithmic control.
As an ex mechanical engineer I favour the first byacknowledging
that electronics and hence computing havebecome a necessary part of
the manufacturing process and wemust provide education which
integrates these areas.
It was through lecturing in this field over a period
spanningmore than 25 years that Bytronic International Ltd was
bornfrom the joint efforts of a mechanical engineer and
anelectronics engineer. In the early days there was virtually
noequipment available to facilitate teaching in this area and
thusit was necessary to design our own. The first product that
weproduced for ourselves was a stepping motor and we quicklyfound
that the students were much more interested in writingcode for a
Z80 microcomputer when they had a practicalapplication for their
efforts - they could actually seesomething moving under the control
of a microcomputer! Thisillustrated the well known educational fact
that students learnmore and enjoy the learning process more when
they actuallycarry out meaningful practical exercises.
From this early beginning it has become the basic philosophyof
the company to provide equipment which captures the
interest of the student and which generates a desire to
achievethe required control. Naturally, ideas from lecturers at
severaleducational institutions together with considerable
industrialinput now have a significant influence on the product
range.
The majority of Bytronic products have been designed to
becontrolled by PC’s or Programmable Logic Controllers toreflect
industrial practice. One of the most widely usedproducts from
Bytronic is the Industrial Control Trainer asillustrated. This unit
is ideal for teaching certain aspects ofmechatronics as it combines
the elements of mechanicalengineering, electronics and computer
control in a typicalindustrial assembly system. Two components,
namely aplastic ring and an aluminum ‘peg’ are sorted on the
chainconveyor, assembled, tested using a variety of sensors
andfinally accepted or rejected. This realistic application
givesstudents experience of sequential actuator control
dependentupon sensor feedback.
The unit also lends itself to System Control and DataAcquisition
(SCADA). It has been adopted for the trainingcentres of at least
four of the major PLC manufacturers. Inaddition, the latest version
of the ICT, which is fitted with avision system, is used by
National Instruments in their UKtraining centre and for their
seminars throughout the countryillustrating control from Labview
and their new SCADApackage called ‘Lookout’.
Mechatronics is, of course, also used widely for
‘processcontrol’ and it is perhaps in this area where the second of
thetwo definitions is more relevant due the algorithmic
controlinvolved. A few years ago Bytronic designed a unit
forteaching process control for one of the major food companieswho
wanted to introduce PLC control in their manufacturingfacilities
and consequently needed to educate their engineers,technologists
and operators in this area. The unit was calledthe Process Control
Unit (PCU).
The PCU, as illustrated overleaf, has subsequently beendeveloped
considerably but it is designed to illustrate veryvisually the use
of PID in control. In principle a fluid ispumped round the system
and both the flow rate andtemperature can be measured and
controlled. Water is used forsimplicity but it could represent
beer, milk, coffee orwhatever. The fluid is pumped to the upper of
the two tanks,termed the ‘Process Tank’ and here the fluid level
andtemperature can also be controlled using PID basedalgorithms.
The overall result is a portable ‘bench top’ systemfor teaching
control for the process industry. Good education
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 10
in this area is very important as high reliability
andrepeatability of the manufacturing process can be vital andany
inefficiency can be very expensive yet not alwaysapparent.
In addition, SCADA is, of course, extensively used now
inindustry and, to provide the necessary teaching facility in
thisarea, Bytronic have formed a close relationship with two ofthe
major industrial companies involved in this field, namelyNational
Instruments with their ‘Lookout’ package andIconics with their
‘Genesis’ package. In cooperation withthese companies, Bytronic has
produced cost effectiveSCADA packages for the PCU. With these, the
PCU can becontrolled from a PLC which is receiving instructions
from aremote PC displaying the system mimic - emulating
industrialpractice.
While PID control is suitable for the vast majority of
industrialcontrol situations, the application of Fuzzy Logic is
nowbecoming very widespread. According to a forecast byDatapro, the
total revenue world-wide from the Fuzzy Logicindustry is projected
to be £4.1 billion by 1997. Fuzzy Logicis now being applied to
relatively simple things such asvacuum cleaner control at one end
of the control spectrumthrough to complex problems such as engine
management orhelicopters at the other end. It is consequentially
becomingimportant to educate our future engineers in this
subject.
There are several Fuzzy Logic packages available on themarket
but these are normally very expensive and difficult touse. In the
current educational climate it is acknowledged thatFuzzy Logic
should be covered in control courses but usuallythere is very
little time available to devote to the subject.
To respond to this educational problem, Bytronic hasproduced a
Fuzzy Control Package (FCP) that is easy to useand the accompanying
teaching notes enables the subject to becovered relatively easily
and efficiently. The package haseight internal simulations, four of
which are based on standardcontrol equations and four are based on
animations whichreflect ‘real life’ situations including cruise
control andcoupled tanks.
To complement the internal simulations, Bytronic have
alsoproduced an ‘Inverted Pendulum’ which can be controlled byFuzzy
Logic from the PC. The Inverted Pendulum is afrequently used
example for teaching this subject and is found
in many text books. Using a different software package
fromBytronic, the Pendulum can also be controlled by direct
digitalcontrol or from an integral analogue control system.
Thisallows a comparison of the three alternative control
methods.The Pendulum can also be inverted and used in the
overheadcrane mode - extending the unit’s potential
considerably.
As well as this, FCP can be used to control the ProcessControl
Unit thus allowing Fuzzy and PID control of a processto be
compared.
Although space does not permit the ideal discussion of therange
of mechatronics products from Bytronic, one other itemis worthy of
particular note. This product is a softwarepackage called LADSIM
which complements Bytronic’sextensive involvement with teaching in
the PLC subject area.This package allows the PC to simulate a PLC
to enablegeneric ladder logic programs to be developed to control
arange of internal simulations or external devices. The
packageprovides a low cost simple to use introduction to the use
andapplication of PLCs.
Further information from:Bytronic International Ltd,The
Courtyard, Reddicap Industrial Estate,Sutton Coldfield, B75
7BU.
WWW: www.bytronic.co.ukemail: [email protected]
Our second article on mechatronics teaching equipment hasbeen
written by David Fletcher of Feedback Instruments Ltd.
Feedback Instruments Ltd., founded in 1958, is one divisionof
the Feedback group of high-technology British Companiesthat
together address the international markets in the designand
manufacture of electrical, electronic and microprocessorbased
equipment for industry and education.
Feedback maintains close links with the industrial
andeducational world and meets a growing demand for ‘hands-on’
equipment required for technical and trainingestablishments
throughout the world. All equipment issupported by comprehensive
courseware, rigorously tested toensure reliability and built to BS
5750 standards.
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 11
Over 75% of Feedback’s products are exported to more than120
countries. A network of agents provides marketing andafter-sales
support, co-ordinated from the UK headquarters inCrowborough (East
Sussex).
Mechatronics encompasses essentially three main
disciplines,Feedback’s range of educational equipment
currentlyaddresses many fundamental principles within these
areas,together with a number of devices that exhibit mechatronics
intheir design.
Electronics - We have a range of modular demonstrator kitsto
teach basic electricity and electronic principles,
includingopto-electronics, fault finding kits and a
comprehensiveTransducers kit.
Logic, Digital systems and Computing - This is a range ofdigital
systems and microprocessor trainers designed to takethe student
from understanding the connection between simplelogic circuits and
microprocessor systems through to thecontrol and monitoring of
external devices using amicroprocessor. The trainers, amongst
others, include a PLD(Programmable Logic Device) trainer, designed
incollaboration with Phillips Electronics and a 68000Microprocessor
Applications trainer.
Control - For servo control we offer a number of trainers,from
an instructional modular system allowing the customerto purchase an
initial kit and then add to it as required, to aServo Fundamentals
Trainer and Digital Servo Workshop withDiscovery software. This
software allows assignment work tobe carried out with on-screen
theory, background informationand practical screens with built in
PC based instrumentation.We also produce a modern version of a
classical controlproblem; the Digital Pendulum Control System. This
has atwin arm pendulum that pivots from a small cart running onan
elevated track. Digital control of the cart position allowstwo
modes of operation; pendulum and crane. In pendulummode the system
is used to control the pendulum from aninitial position , hanging
at rest with cart in the centre of itstravel, along the track to a
final position with the pendulumvertically upright and the cart,
ideally, restored to its centralposition. In crane mode, the
control problem is to allow thecart to move along the track without
the pendulum swingingviolently below it. This is typical of
controlling a crane gantryso that the load does not swing
excessively as the crane ismoved.
Robotics and CNC - We supply a large range of low costrobotics
and CNC training equipment, all supplied withmanuals to get the
user started within minutes, but withenough data to support even
the most advanced projects. Thesystem is designed to be expandable
allowing mutuallycompatible components to be mixed and matched.
Thesystems range from a simple five axis robot to comprehensiveFMS
demonstration benches produced to customerspecification. All the
robotic and CNC systems are controlledvia a PC using WALLI for
windows.
Recent And Future Developments: We have recentlydeveloped two
interesting new educational devices:-
A Magnetic Levitation System - This is a new and effectiveform
of the classic magnetic levitation control experiment.The suspended
body is a lightweight plastic sphere, 30 mmdiameter, coated with a
thin layer of ferrite material. Thecontrol system allows both
analogue and digital solutions tobe implemented. In digital mode
the unit operates within aMATLAB/SIMULINK environment which,
together with theFeedback control toolbox, allows the system
parameters to bedetermined and the system to be modelled.
Twin Rotor MIMO System (Helicopter trainer) - This is ascaled
model of a non-linear, unstable, dynamic MIMO(Multiple Input,
Multiple Output) system. It simulates themain and tail rotor
systems of a helicopter with their verystrong interactions. High
resolution optical encoders providevelocity feedback from both
rotors, and the spatial position ofthe arm. A selection of rotors
is provided to allowmodification of the system dynamics. A complete
mathsmodel of the system is also supplied, which consists of
twothird order differential equations with strong interactions.
Both the above units operate under Windows providing agraphical
user interface and a true Real-Time Kernel to handleinter-process
communication.
We are currently working to extend our catalogue of productsby
providing a new range of devices that are aimedspecifically at the
area of Mechatronics, in particular theteaching of Mechatronics
through design. The likely nature ofthese products will make them
attractive to for the design andproject modules of both
Mechatronics courses andMechatronics related modules within
mechanical and electro-mechanical engineering courses.
If you require any further information on current and
futureproducts then please contact our sales team or if you wish
toexpress your needs for mechatronics based teachingequipment then
please contact myself, David Fletcher, at theaddress below or by
e-mail to: [email protected]
Feedback Instruments Ltd., Park Road, CrowboroughEast Sussex,
TN6 2QR, England.Tel:: +44 (0) 1892 653322 Fax: +44 (0) 1892
663719E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.fbk.com
Industrial Support for Hull MechatronicsCourse
Since its inception in 1992, the undergraduate course
inMechatronics at the University of Hull has been able to securea
substantial amount of industrial support in cash as well as inkind
totalling an amount of well over £45000 over a three
yearperiod.
One of the distinguishing features of the course based in
theDepartment of Electronic Engineering is the emphasis givento the
practical work. Half the students’ credits are gainedfrom project
work in the first two years supported byappropriate academic
modules. The centre piece in the firstyear is the building of a
walking robot which has produced awinning entry in the Robolympics
in Glasgow in March 1996(as reported in the last issue).
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 12
In the second year, the problems to be solved have comedirectly
out of industry and given to teams of between two andfour students.
Tasks have been as diverse as the forming ofstrip metal to provide
strengtheners for shoes, cutting rubberstrips for the manufacture
of pipes 15m long and 1m indiameter, stamping identifications onto
cables for the aircraftindustry and sewing leather in three
dimensions. Thus theseare not academically nice projects, but
students have to justifytheir proposed solutions to an engineer in
the company whoacts as the industrial liaison. The companies have
directcontrol over the direction of the project and the amount
ofresources devoted to it. So far, companies like USM, BAe,Dunlop
Oil and Marine and De Smet Rosedowns haveprovided production
machinery and components to anestimated value of over £30000. In
addition, they agreed tofund the consumables, and with a total of
eight projects attypically £2000 each, the support exceeds
£45000.
However, it is very difficult to put an exact price on
theindustrial contribution as the value of the interaction with
thecompany, the site visits, the pressure of presenting to
theindustrialist and the liaison engineer’s time spent in
answeringqueries is difficult to overestimate as to the influence
on thelearning outcome for the students.
The course has been designed from the start to accept
asignificant amount of guidance and input from a panel
ofindustrialists which currently consists of nine active
members.The success of this scheme, however, continues to
attractcompanies with approximately another dozen havingexpressed
an interest probably joining this coming academicyear.
According to Dr. Klaus Selke, the Mechatronics course leader,the
confidence of industry expressed in this direct way rubsoff
directly onto the students. Learning to communicate withpotential
clients, they must ensure that their ideas findacceptance in order
to secure the resource to continue theproject as well as presenting
themselves to their bestadvantage. The companies involved like such
close scrutiny ofpotential emplyees as they do not have to rely on
a single briefinterview. Whether this will result in direct jobs
for thegraduates remains to be seen as the first batch of students
onthe four year MEng course graduated only this year.
Mechatronics ResourcesIn this issue we continue our resources
listings with somemore useful information sources. If you have a
‘pet’ list ofbooks, equipment, web sites or whatever, that you are
willingto share with the mechatronics community, please send it
tothe editor.
Free Information Sheet!The Professional group I6 of the IEE
Manufacturing Divisionare responsible for organising a wide variety
of activitiesassociated with ‘Machine Systems Engineering
Applications’.This broadly embraces the field of mechatronics.
One undertaking initiated by the group is the production
ofinformation sheets related to various fields of mechatronics.The
first shet deals with Electrical Motor Drives forMechatronic
Systems and is now freely available in a smallA5 booklet format.
Others currently being developed includesuch topics as sensor and
actuator technology, the basics ofcomputer control, networking
concepts and neural nets.
The object of these data sheets is basically to
providepractising engineers and academics with a broad and up
todate overview of the many condstituent elements whichcomprise a
mechatronic system. References for more in-depthinformation are
included fro people who require more detail.
Copies of Electric Motor Drives for Mechatronic Systemsare being
distributed with this newsletter. Mechatronics Forummembers’
comments on the content, form and style of thisdata sheet, and
suitable topics for future publication areinvited to enable PG I6
to assess whether the effort ofproducing such material is
worthwhile.
If you have not received, but would like, a copy please send
astamped self-addressed envelope (big enough to hold an A5brochure)
to:Electrical Motor Drives Information SheetHeather Wade, IEE
(Manufacturing Division - PG I6)Savoy Place, London WC2R 0BLE-mail:
[email protected].
BooksMachine Vision: Theory, Algorithms, Practicalities E. R.
Davies, Academic Press, London. 2nd edition (October1996), ISBN
0-12-206092-X., price £32.50 (paperback, 750pp)
The expanded (but lower priced!) 2nd edition of this this
bookembraces the whole subject of machine/computer vision,including
image processing, image analysis and automatedvisual inspection. It
emphasises the theory underpinningpracticalities such as lighting,
real-time hardwareimplementation, and tradeoffs between important
parameters,such as speed, implementation cost, accuracy and
robustness.
The second edition incorporates many recent advances in
thetheory and practice of machine vision, including:• 3-D and
motion interpretation• Invariants• Camera calibration• Artificial
neural networks• X-ray inspection and foreign object detection•
Mathematical morphology• Robust statistics• An updated and very
extensive list of references
For further details, contact the author
on:[email protected] Electro-Mechanical
Engineering -an introduction to mechatronicsLawrence J Kamm, IEE
Press, 1995, ISBN 0-7803-1031-4 priceUS$ 39.95 (paperback, 416pp).
IEEE member price US$ 32.00.
Calls For PapersColloquium on Industrial Inspection
Monday 10 February 1997
The IEE E4 Group on Image Processing and Vision will berunning a
Colloquium on Monday 10 February 1997 at SavoyPlace, London
(organisers: Prof. Roy Davies and Dr. RayThomas).
The purpose of the meeting will be to air and discuss
issues,methods and the latest techniques which may be applied to
theinspection of products during manufacture, with the aim of
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 13
guaranteeing/improving quality control. To this end paperswill
be presented on automated visual inspection and relatedtopics, such
as the appropriate application of X-ray andultrasound technology.
It is expected that a component ofreview and overview will be
included in the session, and thatthe papers chosen will present an
integrated coverage of thesubject, though sufficient variety will
be maintained toemphasise the breadth of the subject and the
up-and-comingareas that are in need of further attention.
Prospective authors should express their interest as soon
aspossible and submit an extended abstract (~1000 words)describing
their contribution by 10 November 1996, to eitherof the
organisers:
Professor E.R. Davies, Royal Holloway, University of Londontel:
+44 (0)1784 443 497, email: [email protected]
Dr. R. Thomas, University of Brightontel: +44 (0)1273 642 200,
email: [email protected]
Advances in Technology for Shoe andGarment Manufacture
Institute of Measurement and Control: February 1997
This symposium aims to report and discuss developments inthe
application of modern instrumentation and controltechnologies to
the manufacture of garments and footwear. Itis intended that the
meeting will be of interest to machinerymanufacturers, end users
and researchers.
Contributions are invited covering recent developments
andresearch from product manufacture and joining techniques
toinspection and packaging. Studies of the influence of
materialproperties on machinery behaviour will also be
welcomed.
Organising Committee: Paul Taylor, Tim King, Peter Perkinsand
George Stylios.
Please send titles and summaries of prospective
contributions,along with author’s address, telephone, fax and
e-mail detailsto:
Karen Whines, The Institute of Measurement and Control,87 Gower
Street, London WC1E 6AA
M2VIP ’97Toowoomba, Australia, 23-25 September 1997
Papers are sought in which technical innovation is backed upby
evidence of practical implementation, at least to anexperimental
stage.
Topics of interest include:• Vision guidance, including factory
& road vehicles• Mobile robotics & telemanipulators•
Mechatronics in construction, civil engineering &
agriculture• Visual recognition in manufacturing processes
(including
quality control and sorting)• Intelligent products - from low
cost consumer items to
automated manufacturing systems• Sensory control of robots, for
exploration, security,
detection, maintenance, hazardous environments,compliant
assembly
• Novel actuator and sensor systems for
mechatronicinfrastructure
• Control strategies and design methodologies of
particularrelevance to mechatronics
• Novel experiments, demonstrations and methods for theteaching
of mechatronics.
Latest information on the web
at:http://www.usq.edu.au/users/billings
Extended abstracts of two pages in length which indicateclearly
the scope of the full paper including advances likely tobe made
before presentation should be sent, before 31December 1996 to:
Prof. John Billingsley, Faculty of Engineering &
SurveyingUniversity of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba,QLD 4350,
Australia.
Tel: +61 76 312 513, Fax: +61 76 312 256e-mail:
[email protected]
Abstracts should be accompanied by a signed declaration that,if
accepted, they will be presented in person by one or more ofthe
authors, who will register for the conference at aconcessionary
rate. Successful authors will be notified by 31March 97, Full
manuscripts, of no more than 6 pages, by 31May 1997 to ensure
inclusion in proceedings.
30th ISATAThe 30th ISATA conference will be held in Florence,
Italybetween 16-19 June 1997. The largest European automotiveforum,
with international participation, it features 13simultaneous
dedicated conferences, one of which is onmechatronics (Chaired by
Prof. Dieter Roller of StuttgartUniversity). The mechatronics
conference focuses onenhanced computer based methods and new
techniques for thedesign and production of the increasingly
complexcomponents and systems in vehicles.
Title and summary (150 words) are required by 31 October1996,
draft papers for refereeing by 20 December and finalmanuscripts no
later than 15 March 1997 for inclusion in theproceedings.
Further details are available on the WWW at the ISATA homepage:
http://WWW.spincom.com/isata/Alternatively, contact:ISATA, 32A
Queen Street, Croydon, CR0 1SY, UKTel: +44 (0)181 681 3069 Fax: +44
(0)181 686 1490email: [email protected]
41st International SymposiumTechnical University of Illmenau,
23-26 September 1997
The theme of the International Symposium is: Changes in thefield
of mechanical engineering brought about by precisionengineering and
microsystems technology - Development,Design and Manufacture.
Scope includes:• Microengineering• Design technology•
Mechatronics• Components of automotive engineering
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 14
• Rapid prototyping• Measurement technology• Quality assurance•
Production Technology
Conference Languages: English and German.
Expected fees: Authors 250DM, others 450DM, (specialstudent rate
of 50DM or with conference folder at 70DMextra).
Deadlines: Abstracts (1 side of A4 paper) by 29 Feb
1997.Notification of acceptance by 15 April 1997.
Further information from (and abstracts to):Technische
Universitaet IllmenauKongressorganisation, Andrea SchneiderPF 0565,
D-98684 Illmenau, Germany.Tel: +49 3677 69 2520 Fax: +49 3677 69
1802E-mail: [email protected]
EFAM-CCAM EuroconferenceThe second in the series of
Euroconferences in FocusedAspects of Mechatronics CCAM: Control and
Configurationaspects of Mechatronics will be held in conjunction
with theIllmenau Symposium. Details in our next issue or
contact:
Rob Parkin, Professor of Mechatronics,Mechanical Engineering,
Loughborough University,Loughborough, Leics LE11 3TUTel: + 44
(0)1509 223 747 Fax: + 44 (0)1509 223 934Email
[email protected]
Smart Structures and Machines4th European Conference
Micromechanics, Intelligent Materialsand Robotics
2nd International. Conference6-8 July 1997, Harrogate Spa,
UK
Following the success of the 3rd European conference in
Lyon(France) 1996 and the 2nd MIMR in Sendai (Japan) in 1995,the
University of Sheffield is organising the 1998 combinedconference
in the beautiful Roman Spa town of Harrogate inNorth Yorkshire.Main
topics are:• Actuators and sensors in engineering components•
Integrated systems and industrial/commercial application• Material
and devices• MEMS• Smart materials and composites• SMA and adaptive
materials• Mathematics, modelling and control• Novel engineering
structures based on biometrics or
biological models/materials• ER and MR fluids• Sensing and
intelligent processing/control• Polymers/polymer gels• Active and
passive damping
Further information from:Norma Parkes, Conference Secretariat:
CSCDepartment of Mechanical EngineeringThe University of
Sheffield,
Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
Tel: +44 (0)114 282 5169(+44 (0)114 222 7702 after 6 December
1996)Fax: +44 (0)114 275 3671 E-mail: [email protected]
Real-Time Visual Monitoring and Inspection
In 1997, Real-Time Imaging is to run a Special Issue devotedto
"Real-Time Visual Monitoring and Inspection". This topicwill be
interpreted broadly to include industrial inspection andmonitoring,
surveillance, security and access control, medicaland biostatus
monitoring, sensors and data fusion, relatedarchitectures, and
descriptions of working systems. Potentialcontributors should
contact the editor as soon as possible:
Professor E.R. DaviesMachine Vision Group, Department of
PhysicsRoyal Holloway, University of LondonEgham Hill, Egham,
Surrey TW20 0EX, UKTel: +44 (0)1784 443497 Fax: +44 (0)1784
472794E-mail: [email protected]
Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM ’97)IEEE/ASME
International Conference, 16-20 June 1997
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Scopes: Industry applications including Modelling and
DesignMethodolgy, System Integration, Actuators and
Sensors,Intelligent Control, Robotics, Manufacturing, Motion
Control,Vibration and Noise Control, Micro Devices and
Opto-electronic Systems, Automotive Systems, Intelligent Systemsand
Other Applications. New Frontier Fields of IntelligentMechatronics
such as a fusion of Mechanical Systems,Communication Technology and
Artificial Intelligence, etc.
Submission procedure: Submit six copies of the manuscriptin full
paper style, by business express mail, complete with anabstract,
references and illustrations to your nearest contactperson.
Prof. Ren Luo, Dept of Electrical and Computer Engineering,North
Carolina State University, Box 7911, Raleigh NC27695-7911,USA. Fax:
+1-919-515-5523
Prof. Hannes Bleuler, Ecole Polytechnique Federale deLausanne,
CH-1015, Lausanne, SwitzerlandFax: +41-21-693-3866
Prof. Kouhei Ohnishi, Department of Sytem DesignEngineering,
Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kohoku,Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
Fax: +81-45-562-7625
Indicate the corresponding author, whose name,
affiliation,address, phone/fax numbers and e-mail address should
beclearly indicated on the first page of the manuscript.
TheManuscript should consist of no more than 6 pages and bewritten
in IEEE format or equivalent
(seehttp://www.ieee.org/pubs/authors.html for instructions).
Submission of full paper: 15 January 1997Notification of
acceptance: 15 March 1997Submission of full camera ready m/s: 15
April 1997.
Latest information from the AIM ’97 home page at:
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 15
http://dfs.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/AIM97/E-mail:
[email protected]
SOCO ’97 - Soft Computing(Fuzzy Logic, Neural Networks, Genetic
Algorithms)
IIA ’97 - Intelligent Industrial Automation
SOCO’97 is organised as a parallel conference to IIA’97(Second
International ICSC Symposium on IntelligentIndustrial Automation).
Both are to be held at the Ecole pourles Etudes et la Recherche en
Informatique et Electronique(EERIE) in Nîmes, France in
collaboration with the Ecole desMines d’Alès, September 17 - 19,
1997
Contributions are sought in areas based on the lists below,which
are indicative only. Contributions from new applicationareas will
be particularly welcome.
SOCO ’97:• Neural Networks• Fuzzy Logic• Fuzzy Control• Genetic
Algorithms• AI and Expert Systems• Probabilistic Reasoning• Machine
Learning• Learning Algorithms and Intelligent Control• Distributed
Intelligence• Self-Organizing Systems• Educational Aspects of Soft
Computing
IIA ’97:• System Modelling and Verification• Design Automation
and Rapid Prototyping• Intelligent Process and Product Design•
Concurrent Engineering• Computer Integrated Manufacturing•
Intelligent Control Systems• Production Scheduling• Robotics•
Autonomous Systems
It is recommended to submit abstracts by electronic mail(ASCII
text) to or else by fax ormail (2 copies) to the following
address:ICSC Canada, P.O. Box 279, Millet,Alberta T0C 1Z0,
CanadaFax: +1-403-387-4329Email: [email protected]
Deadlines:Submission of Abstracts January 31, 1997Notification
of Acceptance March 31, 1997Delivery of full papers May 15,
1997
Full registration is estimated at FF 2600 and includesattendance
to all SOCO’97 and IIA’97 sessions, buffet-styleluncheons, coffee
-breaks, conference banquet/socialprogramme and conference
proceedings. Full-time students,who have a valid student ID-card,
may register at a reducedrate.
Full updated information on both conferences (SOCO'97 andIIA'97)
is availableon the WWW from:SOCO'97:
http://www.compusmart.ab.ca/icsc/soco97.htm
IIA'97: http://www.compusmart.ab.ca/icsc/iia97.htm
For further information please contact:ICSC Canada, P.O. Box
279, Millet, Alberta T0C 1Z0,CanadaE-mail:
[email protected]:: +1-403-387-3546 Fax: +1-403-387-4329WWW
Page: http://www.compusmart.ab.ca/icsc
CAD CAM, Robotics andFactories of the Future14th International
Conference
Pereira, Columbia, South America, Mid December 1997
Contributions are invited in the following areas:
Enterprise Modelling Machine VisionLean Manufacturing Agile
ManufacturingTotal Quality Management CAD, CAM, CIM, CAEConcurrent
Engineering Cellular ManufactureRapid Prototyping Robotics and
AutomationManagement of Change Operations ManagementDesign for
Manufacture Design for AssemblyProduction Management
LogisticsKnowledge Based Systems Artificial Intelligence
…and other related fields.
Interested authors should send two copies of their
abstractsusing key words to describe their proposed contributions
up toa maximum of three hundred words. The preliminary date
forclose of abstract submissions is 30 April 1997. Please
includethe title, name(s) of the author(s), affiliations,
address,telephone, fax and e-mail. In the case of papers with
morethan one author, please underline the name of the
lead(corresponding) author. More details will be announced
later.
Postal contributions to:Dr Hirishi BERA, Conference Chair - CARS
& FOF ’97,School of Engineering Systems and Design, South
BankUniversity, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA.Tel: +44 (0)171
815 7632 Fax: +44 (0)171 815 8155
E-Mail contributions only to:[email protected] (ref: CARS &
FOF ’97)
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Mechatronics Forum Newsletter - No. 15, Autumn 1996 16
Research OpportunitiesIntelligent Printing Control at
Birmingham
Dr James Shippen of the School of Manufacturing andMechanical
Engineering at the University of Birmingham hasbeen awarded
Brite/Euram funding for work into intelligentcontrol methods
applied to the printing industry. Operating aspart of a
pan-European team, including Philips Electronicsand Lego, this
project will provide many opportunities forEurope-wide travel.
The project will include research into neural networks,
fuzzylogic, image analysis and condition monitoring.
Advertisements for research staff will be posted soon. In
themeanwhile, anyone with an interest in this area is invited
tocontact Dr Shippen for further information:
Dr James Shippen, School of Manufacturing andManufacturing
Engineering, The University of Birmingham,Edgbaston, Birmingham B15
2TT, UKTel: +44 (0)121 414 4153E-mail: [email protected]
Forthcoming EventsTechnical Visit to Mitsubishi Electric
Thursday 14 November 1996
The IEE Manufacturing Division’s PG I6 have organised aTechnical
Visit, co-sponsored by the Mechatronics Forum, toMitsubishi
Electric’s recently opened Customer TechnologyCentre in Hatfield,
Hertfordshire.
Mitsubishi aims to capture 20% of the world’s
automationequipment market. The £2 million investment aims to
provide24 hour customer support, act as a showcase for thecompany’s
products and assist customers with applicationengineering and
product development.
The visit will start at 11.00 am with a video relating to
theorigins of the centre and a short presentation on
Mitsubishi’sview of the way forward in machine/factory
automation.Visitors will then be split into groups for a tour of
the Centre.Technical staff will join delegates for lunch, which
will befollowed by a question and answer session and a
shortpresentation on EMC, the LVD and CE marking from
amanufacturer’s perspective.
The event is free. Due to a limit of 50 places, admission is
byticket only available from:
Simon Garrod, Manufacturing DivisionIEE, Savoy Place, London
WC2R 0LBTel: 0171 344 5428 Fax: 0171 497 3633
Technical Visit to Renishaw MetrologyWednesday 20th November
1996
The Mechatronics Forum is organising a visit to
RenishawMetrology, Wotton-under-Edge. Renishaw, world leader inthe
manufacture of touch trigger probes for co-ordinatemeasuring
machines, have one of the most advanced computer
integrated manufacturing facilities in the UK, working for
17hours whilst staffed for only one eight hour shift. Theafternoon
visit to their impressive New Mills site will start at1.00pm.
Numbers are limited to 40 participants. Please contact
LizHarries at the IMechE (E-mail: [email protected],postal
address at the end of this newsletter) to reserve a place.
Caption Competition
The response to the caption competition in our last issue was
alittle disapointing. We got just ‘ASCII 48’ entries. Maybe
theprize wasn’t attractive enough. Should it have been a weekendin
Hull instead of a whole week?
Rob Parkin, David Hodgson, Vicky Parkin and Mike Jackson
(L-R)iinvestigating white port after a tour of Graham’s
cellars.
This time we have a picture of some of the Mechatronics
’96delegates tasting a selection of Port wine as part of the
post-conference cultural event. We want to know: What is
theespecially effective vintage Vicky Parkin is sampling (andwhere
we can all get some)? Answers, written on the label of afull bottle
please, to the editor.
Copy deadline for the next issueFriday 10 January 1997
Please send items for inclusion to: Professor Tim King,School of
Manufacturing and Mechanical EngineeringThe University of
Birmingham, Edgbaston,Birmingham B15 2TTTel: 0121 414 4266 Fax:
0121 414 3958E-mail: [email protected]
Mechatronics Forum membership is free. To register as amember
send your address details to Liz Harries,Mechatronics Forum, IMechE
(full address below), or E-mailher on [email protected]
© 1996 The Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Published by
theInstitution of Mechanical Engineers, 1 Birdcage Walk, London,
SW1H 9JJ,UK. The IMechE is not, as a body, responsible for the
views or opinions
expressed by individual authors.