This article examines the feasibility of employing a cold-gas thruster (CGT), intended as a backpack-wearable device, for purposes of arresting backward falls, and in particular describes a supervisory controller that, for some motion described by an arbitrary combination of center-of-mass angle and angular velocity, both detects an impending fall and determines when to initiate thrust in the CGT in order to arrest the impending fall. The CGT prototype and the supervisory controller are described and experimentally assessed using a rocking block apparatus intended to approximate a backward-falling human. In these experiments, the CGT and supervisory controller restored upright stability to the rocking block in all experiment cases that would have otherwise resulted in a fall without the CGT assistance. Since the controller and experiments employ a reduced-order model of a falling human, the authors also conducted a series of simulations intended to examine the extent to which the controller might remain effective in the case of a multi-segment human. The results of these simulations suggest that the CGT controller would be nearly as effective on a multi-segment falling human as on the reduced-order model.

What do common devices such as smartphones, CD’s and solar panels all have in common? They are all examples of innovative technology that is still limited to flat, rigid geometries. This is primarily due to the limitations of the manufacturing processes used to create components within these devices, key among them the thin polymer films produced through spin coating.

Spin coating is a technique used due to its ability to effectively create uniform films on the scale of micro or nanometres. However, it relies on a planar substrate to produce uniform layers, thus restricting the design of components manufactured using this process to simple, flat objects. As the requirement for curved device geometries expands, complex alternative fabrication methods are being implemented in industry.

For spin coating to remain relevant, a viable process for controlling the fluid flow over curved surfaces must be developed. This research investigates the hypothesis that coating distributions can be controlled through optimized rotation of a curved substrate. Where a multi-axis rotational manipulator and novel characterization system have been developed to investigate the fabrication of curved devices using the improved spin coating technique.

Complex systems typically consist of many components and are subject to many requirements. Approaches like the V-Model support complex systems design by providing guidelines on how to break down large systems into smaller pieces. Models built with SysML provide documentation on an abstract level. However, neither incoporates detailed information on components that may be relevant for design decisions. In robot-like systems, e.g., the choice of transmissions will depend on the system dynamics of the robot. This is modeled in the time domain, where detailed time-dependent component interaction is considered. The design perspective, however, is best represented in the property domain. Here, requirements on static component properties are formulated.

This paper presents a generic approach that connects the property and time domains to enable early-stage design decisions. The approach is applied to a 1-link robot system with a simple demonstrator transmission model, including properties that are typically not considered in the early design phase, like a nonlinear stiffness characteristic with backlash.

Passive ankle-foot prostheses are light-weighted and reliable, but they cannot generate net positive power, which is essential in restoring the natural gait pattern of amputees. Recent robotic prostheses addressed the problem by actively controlling the storage and release of energy generated during the stance phase through the mechanical deformation of elastic elements housed in the device. This study proposes an innovative low-power active prosthetic module that fits on off-the-shelf passive ankle-foot energy-storage-and-release (ESAR) prostheses. The module is placed parallel to the ESAR foot, actively augmenting the energy stored in the foot and controlling the energy return for an enhanced push-off. The parallel elastic actuation takes advantage of the amputee’s natural loading action on the foot’s elastic structure, retaining its deformation. The actuation unit is designed to additionally deform the foot and command the return of the total stored energy. The control strategy of the prosthesis adapts to changes in the user’s cadence and loading conditions to return the energy at a desired stride phase. An early verification on two transtibial amputees during treadmill walking showed that the proposed mechanism could increase the subjects’ dorsiflexion peak of 15.2% and 41.6% for subjects 1 and 2, respectively, and the cadence of about 2%. Moreover, an increase of 26% and 45% was observed in the energy return for subjects 1 and 2, respectively.

This article proposes, describes, and tests a swing-assist walking controller for a stance-controlled, swing-assisted knee prosthesis that aims to combine benefits of passive swing mechanics (e.g., quiet operation, biomimetic function, and low power requirements) with benefits of powered swing assistance (e.g., increased robustness of swing-phase motion and specifically increased toe clearance). A three-participant, multislope, multispeed treadmill walking study was performed using the swing-assist prosthesis and controller, as well as using the participants’ prescribed microprocessor knee devices. The swing-assist device and approach were found to improve user minimum foot clearance during walking at slopes and speeds, and also to improve symmetry of knee motion. Hip power inputs from stance knee release to heel strike indicated that, on average, less hip power was required when using the swing-assist prosthesis, indicating that the observed benefits were likely the result of the knee device and its control methodology, rather than a result of increased hip joint effort.

The new development of cyber-physical product families currently lacks a methodically supported modularisation approach. This paper provides an approach for module-based mechatronic development, which provides design for future product variety. The state of the art in terms of mechatronic system design and modular product architecture design is presented. A modified V-model is then shown that integrates initial product architecture design and life phase modularisation. The method is applied and evaluated for the development of product family generations of robot units in a teaching course.

The main focus of this paper is the exploration of fault accommodation possibilities in the context of function development. Faults occur in complex technical systems and may lead, if no accommodation entities or processes are present, to catastrophic failure. Several entities and processes exist and are applied, but mainly on the concrete levels. Faults very often concern more than one physical domain and accommodation possibilities are present in many physical or even non-physical domains. This paper explores this specific challenge and proposes an initial collection of countermeasures.

One of the main current threats for producing companies is the possibility of cyber-space attacks. Due to several reasons, industrial companies need to connect their plants over some kind of networks. Obviously, today many approaches from information technology (IT) exist which will greatly reduce the danger of attacks. Still, no producing company can completely rely on these IT solutions. This paper proposes a systemic approach to design processes and products for increased cyber security. This approach is based on an attack model and is explained based on an automated storage system.

This paper addresses the problem of finding a robust optimal design when uncertain parameters in the form of crisp or interval sets are present in the optimization. Furthermore, in order to make the approach as general as possible, direct search methods with the help of sensitivity analysis techniques are employed to optimize the design. Consequently, the presented approach is suitable for black box models for which no, or very little, information of the equations governing the model is available. The design of an electric drivetrain is used to illustrate the benefits of the proposed method.

Machinery and plant engineering in Germany is characterized by small and medium-sized enterprises. The so-called backbone of German industry is in transition towards Industry 4.0, with systems becoming more complex and the development task becoming an interdisciplinary task. Systems Engineering is a proven approach to realize these systems. Projects with SE approaches were accompanied and potentials of SE were structured. In this paper, we discuss the need for action for the company-wide introduction and present a solution concept.

Since decades, researchers are developing methods, tools, and processes for the development of mechatronic systems. In the last decade, this field has widened, including, amongst others, aspects such as cyber-physical systems (CPS) or the internet of things (IoT). Still, little concrete guidance can be identified for engineers who have to decide whether to realize a certain product function mechanically, electronically, through software functions, or with combinations thereof. The goal of the paper is to contribute to the development of guidelines for design engineers in which domain (or in which combination of domains and other areas) to allocate the solution for an engineering problem.

Visual representations are essential to design. Data-rich representations such as systems visualisations are gaining prominence in engineering practice. However, as such visualisations are often developed ad-hoc, we propose more systematically to link visual tasks with design-specific tasks for which the visualisations are used. Whereas research on such linking focuses mostly on CAD models and sketches, no such studies are yet available for systems visualisations. Thus, this paper introduces a typology of visual tasks from the Information Visualisation field to aid the development of systems visualisations in design. To build a visualisation using the typology, a case study with engineering students developing an autonomous robot was conducted. Through interviews and analysis of product representations used, design-specific tasks were identified and decomposed into visual tasks. Then, a visualisation that assisted the team in performing their design activities was created. Results illustrate the benefits of using such a typology to describe visual tasks and generate systems visualisations. The study suggests implications for researchers studying visual representations in design as well as for developers of systems visualisations.

De-manufacturing and re-manufacturing are fundamental technical solutions to efficiently recover value from post-use products. Disassembly in one of the most complex activities in de-manufacturing because i) the more manual it is the higher is its cost, ii) disassembly times are variable due to uncertainty of conditions of products reaching their EoL, and iii) because it is necessary to know which components to disassemble to balance the cost of disassembly. The paper proposes a methodology that finds ways of applications: it can be applied at the design stage to detect space for product design improvements, and it also represents a baseline from organizations approaching de-manufacturing for the first time. The methodology consists of four main steps, in which firstly targets components are identified, according to their environmental impact; secondly their disassembly sequence is qualitatively evaluated, and successively it is quantitatively determined via disassembly times, predicting also the status of the component at their End of Life. The aim of the methodology is reached at the fourth phase when alternative, eco-friendlier End of Life strategies are proposed, verified, and chosen.

Mechatronic products are widely spread today, but their development still is a challenge. In addition, with the trend of individualisation, not only one solution must be designed but multiple configurations are needed to fulfil customer-specific requirements. To reduce cost and development time, usually existing products are adapted for this purpose. Even though a lot of knowledge is already available through the previous product version, because of multiple disciplines that must be considered in mechatronic systems, even redesign processes are complex. To support the adaption of mechatronic products to changed requirements, an approach to systematically reuse the knowledge available from previous product versions is proposed in this contribution. Through multidisciplinary behaviour optimisation, the solution space is reduced to build an adapted product meeting the new requirements. The approach is explained in detail and illustrated with the example of an electric window regulator and the results are discussed thoroughly.

Force feedback is often beneficial for robotic teleoperation, as it enhances the user’s remote perception. Over the years, many kinesthetic haptic displays (KHDs) have been proposed for this purpose, which have different types of interaction and feedback, depending on their kinematics and their interface with the operator, including, for example, grounded and wearable devices acting either at the joint or operational space (OS) level. Most KHDs in the literature are for the upper limb, with a majority acting at the shoulder/elbow level, and others focusing on hand movements. A minority exists which addresses wrist motions. In this paper, we present the Wearable Delta (W$ \Delta $), a proof-of-concept wearable wrist interface with hybrid parallel–serial kinematics acting in the OS, able to render a desired force directly to the hand involving just the forearm–hand subsystem. It has six degrees of freedom (DoFs), three of which are actuated, and is designed to reduce the obstruction of the range of the user’s wrist. Integrated with positions/inertial sensors at the elbow and upper arm, the W$ \Delta $ allows the remote control of a full articulated robotic arm. The paper covers the whole designing process, from the concept to the validation, as well as a multisubject experimental campaign that investigates its usability. Finally, it presents a section that, starting from the experimental results, aims to discuss and summarize the W$ \Delta $ advantages and limitations and look for possible future improvements and research directions.

The terms IoT and Industry 4.0 are promising increasingly sophisticated solutions, but the realisation will depend on the inclusion of robust and reliable sensors. If the gathered data is flawed or inaccurate the performance of the whole system will be compromised. By reviewing research on robustness indicators, mechatronics and sensor properties as well as listing mechanical noise factors and providing an electromechanical trade-off example, the paper highlights the importance of considering both mechanical and electrical noise factors and robustness in early development of connected devices.

The recent interest in human-robot interaction requires the development of new gripping solutions, compared to those already available and widely used. One of the most advanced solutions in nature is that of the human hand, and several research contributions try to replicate its functionality. Technological advances in manufacturing technologies and design tools are opening possibilities in the design of new solutions. The paper reports the results of the design of an underactuated artificial robotic hand, designed by exploiting the benefits offered by additive manufacturing technologies.

For the development of intelligent technical systems, Systems Engineering and Solution Patterns are the guarantee for success. In order to avoid cost-intensive iterations, the documentation and reuse of solution knowledge is addressed during the systems design. Using an interdisciplinary specification technique, a uniform structuring of Solution Patterns as well as the composition in a multidimensional knowledge space takes place. This is the basis of an associated systematics for a solution pattern-based system design of mechatronic systems, which is validated by two cooperating DeltaRobots.

It is estimated that about half of all innovations, such as innovations in mechatronic product-service systems (PSS), fail to deliver the expected benefits to the adopting organization. Different studies point out that one of the main reasons for this is an ineffective implementation process.

In this paper, we argue that, apart from several organizational challenges, insufficient integration of technical and social aspects is one of the reasons for ineffective innovation implementation in the environment of mechatronic PSS.

In order to remedy this weakness, this paper builds on the work of interdisciplinary research collaboration. Experts from technical, socio-technical, and management fields integrate their work within a conceptual innovation implementation management system (IIMS). This IIMS is capable of capturing various methods and models that foster the socio-technical integration in mechatronic PSS. The approach is assessed in a lab-scale demonstration case that is representative of industrial environments.

The presented approach supports an effective innovation implementation process, while the IIMS facilitates individual alignments for future practitioners.

In recent years, more and more technical systems dispose of some form of intelligence which allows to control and diagnose the processes and states in such systems. One important prerequisite for both control and diagnosis is monitoring, i.e. a systematic observation, surveillance or recording of entities of a technical product or its surroundings by any technical means. Current investigations were able to clarify that the design of a technical system can ease the control and diagnosis of this system. The same is true for monitoring; this fact will be demonstrated in this paper on the example of a research vehicle which is intended to foster the development of mapping systems and algorithms. In a sense, the main objective of this vehicle is also a kind of monitoring. Due to its unique design, this vehicle is able to navigate on all kind of terrains. It is equipped with several forms of sensors, which are consciously mounted at certain positions on the vehicle in order to allow a detailed detection of the surroundings. The investigation, how design can ease monitoring, was supported by a well-known model of product concretization and concrete insights could be found on all levels.