L’objectif de notre travail était, d’une part, de déterminer l’impact du délai de transmission des informations en téléchirurgie robotique, et d’autre part, de valider le rôle du simulateur robotique dans la formation en chirurgie robotique. Deux études ont été réalisées pour la partie concernant le délai. Il a été prouvé que la performance chirurgicale se détériore exponentiellement lorsque le délai augmente. Il est préférable d’envisager un geste de téléchirurgie associé à un délai inférieur à 200 ms, et des délais plus de 800 ms ne sont pas adaptés à la téléchirurgie. D’autre part, les chirurgiens ont démontré la capacité de s’adapter au délai par l’entraînement. Dans la deuxième partie, nous avons développé un curriculum sur un simulateur robotique pour une procédure chirurgicale robotique d’urologie. Une autre étude a été réalisée pour déterminer la validité d’un nouveau simulateur robotique (le XTT) comme un outil d’évaluation des techniques d’assistance en chirurgie robotique. / The objectives of our work were, on the one hand, to determine the impact of data-transmission latency in robotic telesurgey, and on the other hand, to validate the role of robotic simulator in robotic surgery training. Two studies were realized in the part concerning latency. It was proved that surgical performance deteriorates exponentially as latency increases. It is preferable to perform telesurgey with a delay less than 200 ms. The delay higher than 800 ms is not suitable for telesurgery. On the other hand, surgeons had demonstrated the capacity to adapt to delay through training. In the second part, we developed a curriculum on a robotic simulator for a urologic surgical procedure. Another study was realized to determine the validity of a new robotic simulator (the XTT) as an evaluation tool of robotic surgical assistance skills.

In this thesis I report the development of FARSA (Framework for Autonomous Robotics Simulation and Analysis), a simulation tool for the study of the interaction between language and action in cognitive robots and more in general for experiments in embodied cognitive science. Before presenting the tools, I will describe a series of experiments that involve simulated humanoid robots that acquire their behavioural and language skills autonomously through a trial-and-error adaptive process in which random variations of the free parameters of the robots’ controller are retained or discarded on the basis of their effect on the overall behaviour exhibited by the robot in interaction with the environment. More specifically the first series of experiments shows how the availability of linguistic stimuli provided by a caretaker, that indicate the elementary actions that need to be carried out in order to accomplish a certain complex action, facilitates the acquisition of the required behavioural capacity. The second series of experiments shows how a robot trained to comprehend a set of command phrases by executing the corresponding appropriate behaviour can generalize its knowledge by comprehending new, never experienced sentences, and by producing new appropriate actions. Together with their scientific relevance, these experiments provide a series of requirements that have been taken into account during the development of FARSA. The objective of this project is that to reduce the complexity barrier that currently discourages part of the researchers interested in the study of behaviour and cognition from initiating experimental activity in this area. FARSA is the only available tools that provide an integrated framework for carrying on experiments of this type, i.e. it is the only tool that provides ready to use integrated components that enable to define the characteristics of the robots and of the environment, the characteristics of the robots’ controller, and the characteristics of the adaptive process. Overall this enables users to quickly setup experiments, including complex experiments, and to quickly start collecting results.

This project is being carried out in collaboration with Parker Hannifin. The main objective of this project is to achieve a simulation of an automatic assembly cell for the assembly of the CRVs in the P70 hydraulic valve assembly line. The robotic cell uses the line layout to perform the assembly. It consists of a robot, an automatic feeder system, a conveyor system, an assembly table, and an aligner stand. The tool used to perform the assembly is a combination of two tools mounted on a multi-tool. The first tool is a vacuum gripper, and the second tool is a drill driver. The time taken by the robot to complete one assembly of a P70 module of three sections, with a size of six CRVs on each side, A and B, is eighty-eight seconds which is faster than the speed of a manual operator. The throughput rate of the assembly cell is forty-one complete assemblies per hour, which equals one hundred and twenty-three sections per hour. This result shows clear improvement comparing it to the manual assembly throughput rate. The minimum time for the automatic feeder system to request a refill is approximately twenty-two and a half minutes. A minimal change is required when a new specification is added to the assembly line.

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Detta examensarbete har utförts i samarbete med Löfqvist Engineering i Örebro. Uppgiften har varit att utföra en simulering av en stor automatiserad produktionslina som ska användas vid tillverkning av avgassystem till lastbilar. Utifrån denna simulering skall exakta cykeltider för produktionen bestämmas. Dessa tider kan sedan användas av Löfqvist Engineering för att verifiera tidigare uppskattade tider. Arbetet inkluderar en litteraturstudie om Lean Production och hur det fungerar ihop med automation. Det finns även med lite bakgrundsinformation om Just In Time, olika filformat och robotsimulering i allmänhet för att ge en bättre överblick av ämnet. Programmet som har valts för att utföra simuleringen är Tecnomatix Process Simulate och den inbyggda Line Simulation modulen. Produktionslinan består av fyra hanteringsrobotar, 13 operatörsstationer och åtta identiska svetsceller. Cykeltider för produktionslinan har bestämts och resultatet blev 6 min 31 s, så det tar alltså lite drygt 6,5 minuter för produktionslinan att leverera en ny produkt. Cykeltiderna bestämdes genom att beräkna medelvärde på tiden det tog att framställa 10 stycken produkter då linan var full av material. I rapporten finns beskrivet hur arbetet för att komma fram till cykeltiderna har fortgått och hur simuleringsproblemen som uppstått under arbetets gång har lösts. / This thesis has been carried out in collaboration with Löfqvist Engineering in Örebro. The task has been to perform a simulation of a large automation line, to be used in the manufacture of exhaust systems for trucks. Based on this simulation accurate cycle times for production are determined. These times can then be used by Löfqvist Engineering to verify the earlier estimated times. The work includes a literature review of Lean Production and how it works with automation. There is also some background information on Just In Time, different file formats and robot simulation in general for the reader to get a bit more background knowledge of the subject. The program that has been selected to perform the simulation is Tecnomatix Process Simulate and its built in Line Simulation module. The automation line consists of four handling robots, 13 operator stations and eight identical welding cells. Cycle times for the automation line have been determined and the result was 6 min 31s, for the automation line to complete one product. Cycle times were determined by calculating the average time to produce 10 pieces of products when the line was full of material. The report describes how the work for arriving at these cycle times have been performed and how simulation problems encountered during such operations have been resolved.

The thesis deals with design of robotic cell for operation with CNC machine. When CNC machine is machining, inactive robot is used for deburring specific edges on the workpiece with help of pneumatic spindles. Thesis include design of end-effectors for handling and deburring operations, design and placement of individual parts of robotic cell. Part of the thesis deals with safety of the cell. Next part of thesis is focus on finding out cycle time of the robot. Robot have to manage cooperate with CNC machine and deburr edges in time. Cycle time is find out at simulation study in software called Tecnomatix Process Simulate. On the end of thesis is technical-economics evaluation