Download or read book Design of a Hand Exoskeleton System Actuated Via Linear and Adaptive Control for Rehabilitation written by Anderson S. Camp and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A hand exoskeleton is designed and constructed to achieve five hand positions: (1) fully extended, (2) hook fist, (3) right angle to the palm, (4) straight fist, and (5) fully flexed. These hand orientations comprise the five positions defining a rehabilitation exercise known as tendon glide. The device is significant in its ability to move the two joints distal to the palm independently of the joint adjoining the palm, without requiring bulky, rigid hardware located on the finger. Movement of the finger is achieved through hydraulically activated fluidic artificial muscles (FAMs). FAMs are soft, biomimetic actuators consisting of an expandable bladder encased in a braided sheath. FAMs show improved force-to-weight ratios, cost, and alignment strategies over traditional, rigid hydraulic cylinders and allow forces to be applied across a flexed joint of the finger as it straightens. A direct model of the relationship between the volume transferred to the FAM by the hydraulic cylinder and the strain of the FAM is developed and validated through experiment. The strain- volume relationship remains constant regardless of load, enabling streamlined models and control algorithms. Position-based control of the FAMs is achieved, in both simulation and experiment, with a Proportional Integral (PI) controller and a Model Reference Adaptive Controller (MRAC). The PI controller is a linear algorithm characterized by constant controller gains. Alternatively, MRAC is an adaptive control algorithm characterized by time- varying controller gains, which can guarantee convergence of the actual system to a defined reference system. The resultant device is a wearable exoskeleton actuated by FAMs and governed by novel control architecture. The exoskeleton is capable of guiding a finger through all five positions of tendon glide. The exoskeleton aims to assist patients with at-home rehabilitation, particularly targeting patients who are typically unable to conduct their exercises without assistance from an occupational therapist."--from abstract.

Download or read book A Hand Exoskeleton with Series Elastic Actuation for Rehabilitation written by Priyanshu Agarwal and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rehabilitation of the hands is critical for restoring independence in activities of daily living for individuals with upper extremity disabilities. Conventional therapies for hand rehabilitation have not shown significant improvement in hand function. Robotic exoskeletons have been developed to assist in therapy and there is initial evidence that such devices with force-control based strategies can help in effective rehabilitation of human limbs. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of the existing hand exoskeletons allow for accurate force or torque control. In this dissertation, we design and prototype a novel hand exoskeleton that has the following unique features: (i) Bowden-cable-based series elastic actuation allowing for bidirectional torque control of each joint individually, (ii) an underlying kinematic mechanism that is optimized to achieve large range of motion and (iii) a thumb module that allows for independent actuation of the four thumb joints. To control the developed hand exoskeleton for efficacious rehabilitation after a neuromuscular impairment such as stroke, we present two types of subject-specific assist-as-needed controllers. Learned force-field control is a novel control technique in which a neural-network-based model of the required torques given the joint angles for a specific subject is learned and then used to build a force-field to assist the joint motion of the subject to follow a trajectory designed in the joint-angle space. Adaptive assist-as-needed control, on the other hand, estimates the coupled digit-exoskeleton system torque requirement of a subject using radial basis function (RBF) and on-the-y adapts the RBF magnitudes to provide a feed-forward assistance for improved trajectory tracking. Experiments with healthy human subjects showed that each controller has its own trade-offs and is suitable for a specific type of impairment. Finally, to promote and optimize motor (re)-learning, we present a framework for robot-assisted motor (re)-learning that provides subject-specific training by allowing for simultaneous adaptation of task, assistance and feedback based on the performance of the subject on the task. To train the subjects for dexterous manipulation, we present a torque-based task that requires subjects to dynamically regulate their joint torques. A pilot study carried out with healthy human subjects using the developed hand exoskeleton suggests that training under simultaneous adaptation of task, assistance and feedback can module challenge and affect their motor learning.

Download or read book Dual Reconfigurable Exoskeleton Hand System with Opposable Thumbs written by Peter Walker Ferguson and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between a global pandemic, aging population, and labor shortages, there is an ongoing spike in the demand for healthcare that cannot be satisfied with traditional methods and the human workforce. Robotic technology offers a solution to this dilemma; applying robotics to healthcare is an active area of research that has begun to be widely commercialized. Whilethere are many potential avenues for robots to improve health and well-being, my research has focused on two areas in particular: the development of robotic hand exoskeletons for rehabilitation and the enhancement of robotic surgery via automation and sensor development. Exoskeletons have been shown to be effective for use in physical rehabilitation of numerous conditions including spinal cord injury and stroke. However, at present, the huge majority of exoskeleton systems are constructed for only the arm (from shoulder to wrist), back, lower limbs, or hands. Few systems have been developed that combine both full arm and hand systems, and those that do generally have limited actuation of the hand. This is partly because the mechanical complexity of the hand requires rigid hand exoskeletons to be complex and bulky if they are able to control many of the important degrees of freedom. This bulk and complexity makes the hand systems challenging to successfully integrate onto the distal end of an arm exoskeleton. However, there is significant demand for combined arm and hand rehabilitation exoskeletons because many activities of daily living, that physical therapy focuses on retraining, require reaching and grasping together. The overarching goals of this research are to develop a novel hand exoskeleton, experimentally evaluate its capabilities in preparation for application to stroke rehabilitation, and integrate it on the existing EXO-UL8 and concurrently developed BLUE SABINO upper limb exoskeleton systems. Chapter 1 provides an introduction on hand exoskeleton systems, with a focus on those designed for rehabilitation. My work on hand exoskeletons started by inheriting a hand exoskeleton mechanical design from Brando Dimapasoc, a graduating Master's Degree student, that was developed as part of NSF Award #1532239. The system was intended to be attached to the EXO-UL8 and BLUE SABINO arm exoskeletons, had six active and six passive degrees of freedom, had three reconfigurable linkages to control the thumb and two groupings of fingers, used a bowden cable transmission system to enable remote placement of actuators, and was optimized to fit 90% of the general population. However, the design had only been tested as a 3D-printed prototype in a modified and simplified form. Further, the necessary electronic hardware (other than motor and sensor selection) and control software had not been started. Thus, the first stage of my research was to bring this first-generation hand exoskeleton to a functional state. This involved the mechanical assembly, the electrical design and assembly, and the software and control development of the system. Through testing, it was determined that a significant number of improvements must be made to the system in order for it to be suitable for use. Details of this work are contained in Chapter 2. With the lessons learned from development and testing of the first-generation hand exoskeleton, the next stage of my research involved the nearly complete redesign of the system in order to create the second-generation hand exoskeleton named the "Opposable-Thumb Hand Exoskeleton for Rehabilitation" or "OTHER Hand". As the name implies, the system is designed to control opposition/reposition of the thumb in addition to the flexion/extension of each digit. This is a notable feature, not only because of the importance of opposition/reposition in many grasping tasks, but also because only a handful of exoskeletons in the literature control this motion. The OTHER Hand shares a number of features with the first generation system, though the execution of each is different. It attaches to both the EXO-UL8 and BLUE SABINO arm exoskeletons, is actuated using a Bowden Cable transmission such that the motor pack can be located remotely, has three reconfigurable linkages to control the thumb and two groupings of fingers in order to enable nearly all grasps, and is optimized to fit 90% of the population. The system has six active and eight passive degrees of freedom per hand. Chapter 3 documents the design of the OTHER Hand. Due to the numerous novel design choices made for the OTHER Hand, combined with the mechanical complexity of the hand in general, and thumb in particular, it is not feasible to know with certainty the types of grasps that can be actuated in the exoskeleton for the wide range of hand shapes and sizes. As such, it is necessary to validate the design of the OTHER Hand through testing with a group of subjects. This was accomplished through adaptation of the Anthropomorphic Hand Assessment Protocol for use with an exoskeleton to test the ability of thirteen subjects to grasp and manipulate 25 objects of the Yale-Carnegie Mellon-Berkeley Object Set using eight prehensile grasps and two non-prehensile hand postures. Additionally, the OTHER Hand was mounted on the EXO-UL8, and both systems were manually controlled to verify compatibility, workspace, and ability to bi-manually grasp a sample object. Chapter 4 presents the testing protocol and results. While exoskeletons for rehabilitation is an increasingly popular research area, robotic surgical platforms already have widespread commercial use and profound effects on clinical outcomes. Classically, these systems are controlled directly by a surgeon at a console in the same or adjacent room. They can augment the senses and movement precision of the surgeon during open or laparoscopic surgery in order to enhance the surgeon's skills. However, surgeons commonly work exceptionally long hours in an environment where a single mistake can be fatal. Additionally, certain surgical subtasks are time-consuming, repetitive, and common to many different operations. Automating these subtasks has the potential to reduce the burden on surgeons while standardizing outcomes. Automation of one such subtask, soft tissue manipulation, is described in Chapter 5. Cataract surgery ranks among the most common operating room procedures worldwide. The aim of the surgery is to replace the clouded biological lens with a clear synthetic lens. Despite the prevalence, this operation is currently performed manually by a surgeon, and generally is fast, standardized, and safe. However, the human body is notably non-optimal for performing cataract surgery due to the transparency and fragility of the tissues of the eye. In order to remove the lens, it is standard to break it apart with phacoemulsification, use an irrigation/aspiration handpiece to aspirate the lens material, and then polish any remaining lens material from the capsular bag. Unfortunately, the back of this bag, the posterior capsule, is transparent, mere microns thin, and easily ruptured from contact, ultrasound energy, or pressure. Rupturing the posterior capsule causes the vitreous of the inner eye to spill out, resulting in critical failure of the surgery. Additional information about the location of the tool tip within the eye could be used to reduce the risk of such a failure. To this end, a proof-of-concept modification of a tool to add bioelectrical impedance sensing and tissue classification was developed and tested on porcine eyes. This research is summarized in Chapter 6

Download or read book Design and Development of a Portable Five fingered Hand Rehabilitation Exoskeleton written by Harish Devaraj and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this thesis is to present a low cost, lightweight and portable five-fingered hand exoskeleton in order to help post-stroke patients regain and improve their somatic motor functions. Human hands are the most dexterous and the most versatile part of the human body. The complexity of the hand anatomical structure as well as its wide range of Degrees of Freedom (DOF) capabilities makes the development of a rehabilitation hand exoskeleton highly demanding and challenging. The proposed five-fingered hand exoskeleton integrates three major modules: finger modules, dorsal plate module and actuator housing. The finger modules, stereo-lithographed from epoxy resin and laser cut from aluminum sheets, are assembled on to the dorsal plate module laser cut from Perspex, thereby placing a robust yet lightweight system over the patient's hand. The movements of these finger modules are achieved by implementing pneumatic artificial muscles (air muscles) with antagonist springs to keep each air muscle in extended state. These air muscles are mounted on an aluminum actuator housing designed to be worn around the forearm. A pair of air muscles controls each of the finger modules with the exception of the thumb module which is actuated by a linear actuator and air muscle simultaneously. When actuated, the linear pull of the air muscles is translated to flexion of the finger modules by means of braided dial cords analogous to the tendon muscles. Elastomers present in the upper surface of the finger modules cause finger extension and at the same time maintains the tendon cable tension with minimal impact on actuator performance. The interphalangeal joints are coupled together and are actuated simultaneously by a single air muscle while the second air muscle actuates the metacarpophalangeal joint. Integrated with the air musclespring assembly, a novel polypyrrole based strain sensor provides feedback on the orientation of the finger modules. The user interacts with the hand exoskeleton via a LabVIEW based Graphical User Interface (GUI). A PID controller embedded within the LabVIEW program controls the rate of finger module movements. The hardware linking the LabVIEW GUI with the exoskeleton system includes data acquisition device, electronic interface circuitry and a set of electro-pneumatic pressure regulating valves. The prototype's effectiveness testing covered joint motion analysis, positional capabilities, range of motion measurements and other factors that validate the usage of exoskeleton as a safe and reliable rehabilitation device. With an effectiveness of up to 81%, this work validates the prototype as a possible rehabilitation device.

Download or read book Design of a Dexterous Three Fingered Hand Exoskeleton for Stroke Patient Rehabilitation written by Brando Dimapasoc and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and much attention has been focused to technologies to aid in recovery. This thesis details the design of a dexterous hand exoskeleton for use in stroke patient rehabilitation exercises. This device is able to accommodate a wide range of users and can be adjusted to support a number of different grasping motions. The features that allow this versatility are explained. The exoskeleton is actuated through a Bowden cable system and employs an admittance control strategy. The kinematics-based optimization created to design the manipulator links is presented in detail.

Download or read book Human in the loop System Design and Control Adaptation for Behavior Assistant Robots written by Yuquan Leng and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2024-06-03 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the progress and development of human-robot systems, the coordination among humans, robots, and environments has become increasingly sophisticated. In this Research Topic, we focus on an important field in robotics and automation disciplines, which is commonly defined as behavior-assistant robots. The scope includes but is not limited to: (1) rehabilitation assistive devices, such as rigid/soft exoskeletons, prosthetic systems, orthoses, and intelligent wheelchairs; (2) intelligent medical systems, such as endoscopic robots, surgical robots, and the navigation systems; (3) industrial application devices, such as collaborative manipulators, load-bearing exoskeletons, supernumerary robotic limbs; (4) intelligent domestic devices, such as mobile robots, elderly-care robots, walking-aids robots and so on. The emergence of robot-assisted daily behaviors, based on aforementioned devices, is gradually becoming part of our social lives, which can improve weak motor abilities, enhance physical functionalities, and enable various other benefits.

Download or read book EMG EEG Signals based Control of Assistive and Rehabilitation Robots written by R. A. R. C. Gopura and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2022-03-07 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Hand Exoskeleton for Study of Rehabilitation and Assistance of Spinal Cord Injury Patients written by Youngmok Yun and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A large number of people experience neurological disorders in their life time, and these patients seek to regain their body functions with rehabilitation and assistive devices. In this dissertation, we present the development of a hand exoskeleton, called Maestro, which is designed to advance research in fields of hand rehabilitation and hand assistive devices. Maestro is mechanically and electrically robust, accurate in sensing and actuation, and compatible to various rehabilitation schemes, subjects, hardware/software, and different operators. As a result of these features, Maestro has led to research on adaptive control theories for diverse properties of hands, the development of a hand-wrist exoskeleton, the development of a novel rehabilitation framework, progress of hand muscle fatigues, and assistance for SCI patients. Particularly on the assistance for SCI patients, we present that the advantage of a compliant hand assistive device may result in high success ratios for grasping various objects required in activities of daily living (ADL) with surface EMG sensors. The hand functions of SCI subjects are evaluated with and without Maestro through a standardized hand function test called Sollerman hand function test (SHFT). The results with six SCI subjects show that the hand functions of C6 and C7 SCI subjects improved with assistance from Maestro

Download or read book Design of a Controller for a Rehabilitation Robotic System with One Degree of Freedom written by Claudio Accarino and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Post stroke impairments are one of the pathologies most demanding for rehabilitation. Regular rehabilitation is very expensive both economically and socially and it requires physiotherapists to work very hard. Robotic rehabilitation is seen as an excellent substitute to the regular rehabilitation. This work deals with the controller of the actuators of a generic exoskeleton system for the upper limb rehabilitation. The exoskeleton actuator control is performed via the Simulink software in combination with the CPU of a normal computer. The use of Simulink ensures a full, easy and straightforward customisation of the system response. So the patient/physiotherapist's needs can be fulfilled without subverting the system stability. The actuator control was tested with signals related to one person's muscle activity, simulating a rehabilitation session with an active role of the patient. Furthermore, many tests were performed with signals generated in Simulink and thought to be used as exercise on a passive patient. Hence, the designed controller showed to successfully control an exoskeleton actuator with great accuracy, repeatability and with a good timing. These results were confirmed both in patient in charge and robot in charge tasks.

Download or read book Wearable Exoskeleton Systems written by Shaoping Bai and published by Control, Robotics and Sensors. This book was released on 2018 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wearable exoskeletons are electro-mechanical systems designed to assist, augment, or enhance motion and mobility in a variety of human motion applications and scenarios. The applications, ranging from providing power supplementation to assist the wearers to situations where human motion is resisted for exercising applications, cover a wide range of domains such as medical devices for patient rehabilitation training recovering from trauma, movement aids for disabled persons, personal care robots for providing daily living assistance, and reduction of physical burden in industrial and military applications. The development of effective and affordable wearable exoskeletons poses several design, control and modelling challenges to researchers and manufacturers. Novel technologies are therefore being developed in adaptive motion controllers, human-robot interaction control, biological sensors and actuators, materials and structures, etc. In this book, the editors and authors report recent advances and technology breakthroughs in exoskeleton developments. It will be of interest to engineers and researchers in academia and industry as well as manufacturing companies interested in developing new markets in wearable exoskeleton robotics.

Download or read book Wearable Robotics written by Jacob Rosen and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2019-11-16 with total page 551 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wearable Robotics: Systems and Applications provides a comprehensive overview of the entire field of wearable robotics, including active orthotics (exoskeleton) and active prosthetics for the upper and lower limb and full body. In its two major sections, wearable robotics systems are described from both engineering perspectives and their application in medicine and industry. Systems and applications at various levels of the development cycle are presented, including those that are still under active research and development, systems that are under preliminary or full clinical trials, and those in commercialized products. This book is a great resource for anyone working in this field, including researchers, industry professionals and those who want to use it as a teaching mechanism. Provides a comprehensive overview of the entire field, with both engineering and medical perspectives Helps readers quickly and efficiently design and develop wearable robotics for healthcare applications

Download or read book Wearable Robots written by José L. Pons and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A wearable robot is a mechatronic system that is designed around the shape and function of the human body, with segments and joints corresponding to those of the person it is externally coupled with. Teleoperation and power amplification were the first applications, but after recent technological advances the range of application fields has widened. Increasing recognition from the scientific community means that this technology is now employed in telemanipulation, man-amplification, neuromotor control research and rehabilitation, and to assist with impaired human motor control. Logical in structure and original in its global orientation, this volume gives a full overview of wearable robotics, providing the reader with a complete understanding of the key applications and technologies suitable for its development. The main topics are demonstrated through two detailed case studies; one on a lower limb active orthosis for a human leg, and one on a wearable robot that suppresses upper limb tremor. These examples highlight the difficulties and potentialities in this area of technology, illustrating how design decisions should be made based on these. As well as discussing the cognitive interaction between human and robot, this comprehensive text also covers: the mechanics of the wearable robot and it’s biomechanical interaction with the user, including state-of-the-art technologies that enable sensory and motor interaction between human (biological) and wearable artificial (mechatronic) systems; the basis for bioinspiration and biomimetism, general rules for the development of biologically-inspired designs, and how these could serve recursively as biological models to explain biological systems; the study on the development of networks for wearable robotics. Wearable Robotics: Biomechatronic Exoskeletons will appeal to lecturers, senior undergraduate students, postgraduates and other researchers of medical, electrical and bio engineering who are interested in the area of assistive robotics. Active system developers in this sector of the engineering industry will also find it an informative and welcome resource.

Download or read book Biologically Inspired Robotics written by Yunhui Liu and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2011-12-21 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robotic engineering inspired by biology—biomimetics—has many potential applications: robot snakes can be used for rescue operations in disasters, snake-like endoscopes can be used in medical diagnosis, and artificial muscles can replace damaged muscles to recover the motor functions of human limbs. Conversely, the application of robotics technology to our understanding of biological systems and behaviors—biorobotic modeling and analysis—provides unique research opportunities: robotic manipulation technology with optical tweezers can be used to study the cell mechanics of human red blood cells, a surface electromyography sensing system can help us identify the relation between muscle forces and hand movements, and mathematical models of brain circuitry may help us understand how the cerebellum achieves movement control. Biologically Inspired Robotics contains cutting-edge material—considerably expanded and with additional analysis—from the 2009 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO). These 16 chapters cover both biomimetics and biorobotic modeling/analysis, taking readers through an exploration of biologically inspired robot design and control, micro/nano bio-robotic systems, biological measurement and actuation, and applications of robotics technology to biological problems. Contributors examine a wide range of topics, including: A method for controlling the motion of a robotic snake The design of a bionic fitness cycle inspired by the jaguar The use of autonomous robotic fish to detect pollution A noninvasive brain-activity scanning method using a hybrid sensor A rehabilitation system for recovering motor function in human hands after injury Human-like robotic eye and head movements in human–machine interactions A state-of-the-art resource for graduate students and researchers in the fields of control engineering, robotics, and biomedical engineering, this text helps readers understand the technology and principles in this emerging field.

Download or read book Force Control Theory and Method of Human Load Carrying Exoskeleton Suit written by Zhiyong Yang and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-04-06 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reports on the latest advances in concepts and further development of principal component analysis (PCA), discussing in detail a number of open problems related to dimensional reduction techniques and their extensions. It brings together research findings, previously scattered throughout many scientific journal papers worldwide, and presents them in a methodologically unified form. Offering vital insights into the subject matter in self-contained chapters that balance the theory and concrete applications, and focusing on open problems, it is essential reading for all researchers and practitioners with an interest in PCA

Download or read book Mechatronics 2019 Recent Advances Towards Industry 4 0 written by Roman Szewczyk and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-08-28 with total page 515 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book gathers papers presented at Mechatronics 2019, an international conference held in Warsaw, Poland, from September 16 to 18, 2019. The contributions discuss the numerous, multidisciplinary technological advances in the field of applied mechatronics that the emerging Industry 4.0 has already yielded. Each chapter presents a particular example of interdisciplinary theoretical knowledge, numerical modelling and simulation, or the application of artificial intelligence techniques. Further, the papers show how both software and physical devices can be incorporated into mechatronic systems to increase production efficiency and resource savings. The results and guidelines presented here will benefit both scientists and engineers looking for solutions to specific industrial and research problems.

Download or read book Adaptive Mobile Robotics written by Abul K. M. Azad and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2012 with total page 904 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides state-of-the-art scientific and engineering research findings and developments in the area of mobile robotics and associated support technologies. The book contains peer reviewed articles presented at the CLAWAR 2012 conference. Robots are no longer confined to industrial and manufacturing environments. A great deal of interest is invested in the use of robots outside the factory environment. The CLAWAR conference series, established as a high profile international event, acts as a platform for dissemination of research and development findings and supports such a trend to address the current interest in mobile robotics to meet the needs of mankind in various sectors of the society. These include personal care, public health, services in the domestic, public and industrial environments. The editors of the book have extensive research experience and publications in the area of robotics in general and in mobile robotics specifically, and their experience is reflected in editing the contents of the book.

Download or read book Robotics written by Bruno Siciliano and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-08-20 with total page 644 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the successful Modelling and Control of Robot Manipulators by Sciavicco and Siciliano (Springer, 2000), Robotics provides the basic know-how on the foundations of robotics: modelling, planning and control. It has been expanded to include coverage of mobile robots, visual control and motion planning. A variety of problems is raised throughout, and the proper tools to find engineering-oriented solutions are introduced and explained. The text includes coverage of fundamental topics like kinematics, and trajectory planning and related technological aspects including actuators and sensors. To impart practical skill, examples and case studies are carefully worked out and interwoven through the text, with frequent resort to simulation. In addition, end-of-chapter exercises are proposed, and the book is accompanied by an electronic solutions manual containing the MATLAB® code for computer problems; this is available free of charge to those adopting this volume as a textbook for courses.