Mechatronic Design of Automatic Machines and Rehabilitation Devices
Research focus
The Peer review has evaluated this group as Average
Current automatic machines design requires a knowledge extended to the know-how of many and very different technological areas. Mechatronics consists of a branch of learning which allows a global analysis of the mechanical, electrical and electronic design questions for the modern automation. The research activity of the group concerns this matter with the aim to develop a mechatronic approach to the automatic machines design. By means of this approach we identify guidelines and procedures to proceed to the machines design. The guidelines concerns some aspects of the machine design that are the main subjects of the research group and can be briefly summarized as follows: Kinematics architecture investigation: study definition and optimization of the kinematics architecture related to the required performances, to the system of actuators adopted and to the kind of control logic used. The main effort is related to the study of robotic systems with parallel kinematics because of their intrinsic high performance for what it concerns working precision and high working speed. The studies concern machines with three or more degrees of freedom, hybrid systems - parallel and serial – and kinematics systems with redundant degrees of freedom. Remarkable parts of this work are motion design and the optimization of the motion laws strictly correlated to the chosen actuator system. Actuator system: the actuator systems studied are: electrical, mechanical, oleodynamic and pneumatic. The purpose is to define the selection criteria for the choice of the actuators system comparing the machines chances of performance in terms of working easiness in function of their final target typology. Special interest in this area concerns the studies on “load and motor coupling” and the control logic for oleodynamic and pneumatic actuator systems. From the electric point of view, the research activity concerns the design and development of electrical actuator by means of suitable control architectures, power suppliers and electromechanical devices. The aims are high dynamics, sensorless and low cost solutions. Man-machine systems: in this field the research group main effort concerns the manmachine interfaces for medical applications, road safety and sport equipment. Study, design and tests of multi active axes artificial limbs for amputees are part of this research theme: the main effort is related to the interface between the patient and the mechanical 90 actuators, and to the choice of command strategy for the active prosthetic limbs. The development of virtual reality systems to test and train the subjects to use the prosthetic upper limbs is also part of this research line and required the strict cooperation with medical rehabilitation research groups. About road safety, the car driver behaviour in different environmental conditions is studied experimentally on the road in order to find measurable parameters to predict the risk. For this aim mechatronic experimental devices have been appositely designed and built to collect kinematical and environmental parameters. To this area also belong the studies that carried to the design of the surgical parallel robots with haptic interfaces and force sensors at the end effector, and also the studies for the development a vibrating device for the analysis of endosteal implants osteointegation. Secondary product of the partial models of the muculescheletal system developed for the prostetic arm are few studies on sport equipment intearation to the human body.
Dipartimento di afferenza
Docenti afferenti
Full Professors
Giancarlo Cusimano
Franco Giordana
Guido Ruggieri
Associate Professors
Federico Casolo
Gabriele D’Antona
Castelli Dezza Francesco
Adriano Paolo Morando
Paolo Righettini
Assistant Professors
Stefania Carmeli
Hermes Giberti