Monitoring vibrations in rotating machinery allows effective diagnostics, as abnormal functioning states are related to specific patterns that can be extracted from vibration signals. Extensively studied issues concern the different methodologies used for carrying out the main phases (signal measurements, pre-processing and processing, feature selection, and fault diagnosis) of a malfunction automatic diagnosis. In addition, vibration-based condition monitoring has been applied to a number of different mechanical systems or components. In this review, a systematic study of the works related to the topic was carried out. A preliminary phase involved the analysis of the publication distribution, to understand what was the interest in studying the application of the method to the various rotating machineries, to identify the interest in the investigation of the main phases of the diagnostic process, and to identify the techniques mainly used for each single phase of the process. Subsequently, the different techniques of signal processing, feature selection, and diagnosis are analyzed in detail, highlighting their effectiveness as a function of the investigated aspects and of the results obtained in the various studies. The most significant research trends, as well as the main innovations related to the various phases of vibration-based condition monitoring, emerge from the review, and the conclusions provide hints for future ideas.

Exoskeletons are robots that closely interact with humans and that are increasingly used for different purposes, such as rehabilitation, assistance in the activities of daily living (ADLs), performance augmentation or as haptic devices. In the last few decades, the research activity on these robots has grown exponentially, and sensors and actuation technologies are two fundamental research themes for their development. In this review, an in-depth study of the works related to exoskeletons and specifically to these two main aspects is carried out. A preliminary phase investigates the temporal distribution of scientific publications to capture the interest in studying and developing novel ideas, methods or solutions for exoskeleton design, actuation and sensors. The distribution of the works is also analyzed with respect to the device purpose, body part to which the device is dedicated, operation mode and design methods. Subsequently, actuation and sensing solutions for the exoskeletons described by the studies in literature are analyzed in detail, highlighting the main trends in their development and spread. The results are presented with a schematic approach, and cross analyses among taxonomies are also proposed to emphasize emerging peculiarities.

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The kinematic and dynamic analyses of a PKM mesomanipulator are addressed in this paper: the proposed robot architecture allows only pure translations for the mobile platform, while the presence of flexure hinges introduces compliance into the structure. The analytical solutions to direct and inverse kinematic problems are evaluated after a brief introduction of the basic adopted nomenclature, the manipulator workspace and the robot singularity configurations are then described, and the analytical solution to the inverse dynamic problem is presented. Thereafter, an overview on some of the simulations results obtained through a software implementation of the described algorithms is addressed, and the most salient aspects of this topic are summarized in the final conclusions.

This study proposes a novel adaptive fixturing device based on active clamping systems for smart micropositioning of thin-walled precision parts. The modular architecture and the structure flexibility make the system suitable for various industrial applications. The proposed device is realized as a Parallel Kinematic Machine (PKM), opportunely sensorized and controlled, able to perform automatic error-free workpiece clamping procedures, drastically reducing the overall fixturing set-up time. The paper describes the kinematics and dynamics of this mechatronic system. A first campaign of experimental trails has been carried out on the prototype, obtaining promising results.