Preface
Biologically inspired robotics is an interdisciplinary subject between robotics and biology that mainly involves two technical areas . The first technical area concerns how to apply biological ideas and phenomena to engineering problems in robotics . In this area, robotics scientists are extensively engaging in design of new robots or robot mechanisms that mimic creatures, invention of new types of sensors that function similarly to biological sensing systems, development of control algorithms that perform as well as a biological sensory-motor control scheme does, design of new actuators that function as muscles, etc These efforts are indeed robotic engineering inspired by biology and are also called biomimetics The primary issue of the second technical area is how to apply robotics technology to understanding of biological systems and their behaviors The topics in the second area include robotic modeling of biological systems, simulations of biological behaviors, under-standing of biological recognition and motor functions, etc The second area is also called bio-robotic modeling/analysis and its objective is to bring robotics technology to biology via new breakthroughs.
The research of biologically inspired engineering can be traced back to a few centuries ago . A famous example is the development of flying machines that mimic flying birds . Probably the earliest work on biologically inspired robotics is the humanoid robots developed by Ichiro Kato and his colleagues in the early 1970s . Since then, biologically inspired robotics has been one of the hottest and fastest-growing topics in robotics and many important achievements have been made . For example, humanoid robots that are similar to humans in appearance and behaviors, robotic snakes, insects, fish, and so on, have been developed in the last 20 years . Efforts in biologically inspired robotics are not only restricted to research work in laboratories; novel applications of the technology are also being extensively explored in services, education, rehabilitation, medical care, and other sectors.
The objective of this book is to introduce the latest efforts in research on biologically inspired robotics It is edited based on the original works presented at the 2009 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO) held during December 20-23, 2009, in Guilin, China . ROBIO is an international conference particularly focused on biologically inspired robotics . More than 500 robotics researchers from around the world took part in ROBIO 2009. We selected 15 excellent works from 450 presentations at the conference and requested that the authors contribute extended versions of the papers as chapters of this book The content covers both biomimetics and bio-robotic modeling/analysis . Chapters on biologically inspired robot design and control, bio-sensing, bio-actuation, and micro/nano bio-robotic systems address the subject of biomimetics Works on human hand motion recognition using biological signals, modeling of human brain activities, characterization of cell properties using robotic systems, etc ., deal with bio-robotic modeling/analysis In order to provide readers with a better understanding of organization of this book, we classified the content into the following four parts: biologically inspired robot design and control, micro/ nano bio-robotic systems, biological measurement and actuation, and applications of robotics technology to biological problems.
This book starts with a brief introduction to biologically inspired robotics in Chapter 1. Chapters 2-6, which form the first part of the book, are focused on biologically inspired robot design and control Chapter 2 presents a biomimetic controller for controlling the motion of a robotic snake with a large number of degrees of freedom based on the concept of central pattern generator, which is a rhythmical motion generator existing in most animals Chapter 3 introduces a bionic fitness cycle called the Bio-Cycle, inspired by the cheetah, for physical exercises and relaxation By mimicking the running and walking mechanisms of a cheetah, the Bio-Cycle enables user to easily change speed of type of motion in order to fit different fitness needs . Chapter 4 addresses the realization of highly skilled manipulation/motion performed by some athletes using a smart mechanical mechanism Chapter 5 is focused on the biologically inspired design of autonomous robotic fish and their application to pollution detection in port Chapter 6 presents the design of a low-noise neck mechanism of a humanoid robot by mimicking the motion of a human neck.
The second part of the book consists of Chapters 7, 8, and 9 with a focus on the state of the art of micro/nano bio-robotic systems Chapter 7 presents an automated single-cell transfer module with a vision-based nondestructive cell detection system for microfluidic applications examining or processing cells Chapter 8 addresses biomechanical characterization of mechanical properties of human red blood cells using a microrobotic system, which is a problem in bio-robotic analysis Chapter 9 introduces the state-of-the-art technology of nanorobotic manipulation of single biological cells.
We introduce biological measurement and actuation in the third part, consisting of Chapters 10-15 Chapter 10 proposes a noninvasive brain activ-ity scanning method using an innovative hybrid sensor that simultaneously measures both optical and electrical signals of the brain This hybrid sensor makes it possible to measure the brain activities of patients who cannot produce bioelectric brain signals due to severe spinal cord injury or advanced stages of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Chapter 11 addresses biomedical detection using capsule endoscopy (CE) and presents a novel scheme for bowel polyp detection using CE images . Chapter 12 discusses classification of hand motion using surface electromyography (EMG) A novel measure that is robust to positions of the sensors, velocity of hand motion, and grasping forces is developed for classifying human hand motion Chapter 13 proposes a multifunctional actuator using magnetorheological fluids for assistive knee braces The novelty of the actuator lies in that it can work with multiple functions as motor, clutch, and brake in order to meet the requirements of normal human walking.
Applications of robotics technology to biological problems are addressed in the last part, which consists of Chapters 14, 15, and 16 Chapter 14 copes with mathematical modeling of brain circuitry during cerebellar movement control by characterizing incoming and outgoing signals of individual neurons during sensory activation This is a typical example of using an engineering model to investigate the behaviors of biological systems Chapter 15 presents a rehabilitation system for recovery of motor function of human hands after injury The design of the system is based on a mechanical model of human fingers . Chapter 16 studies gaze and movement behaviors of human eyes in human-robot interactions for the design of a human-likeness vision system for robots.
The editors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the authors of all of the chapters in this book. We are also grateful to Li-Ming Leong and Jocelyn Banks-Kyle of CRC Press and Taylor & Francis Asia Pacific for their invaluable comments and help in proposing and preparing this book It was the greatest pleasure to work with the authors and the editorial staff and to learn from them while working on this exciting project.
Yunhui Liu Dong Sun
City University of Hong Kong