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ABSTRACT

Body undulation used by snakes and the physical architecture of a snake body may offer significant benefits over typical legged or wheeled locomotion designs in certain types of scenarios. A large number of research groups have developed snake-inspired robots to exploit these benefits. The purpose of this paper is to report different types of snake-inspired robot designs and categorize them based on their main characteristics. For each category, we discuss their relative advantages and disadvantages. This paper will assist in familiarizing a newcomer to the field with the existing designs and their distinguishing features. We hope that by studying existing robots, future designers will be able to create new designs by adopting features from successful robots. The paper also summarizes the design challenges associated with the further advancement of the field and deploying snake-inspired robots in practice.

Shape similarity assessment is a fundamental geometric reasoning problem that finds application in several different product design and manufacturing applications. A computationally efficient way to assess shape similarity is to first abstract 3D object shapes into shape signatures and use shape signatures to perform similarity assessment. Several different types of shape signatures have been developed in the past. This paper provides a survey of existing algorithms for computing and comparing shape signatures. Our survey consists of a description of the desired properties of shape signatures, a scheme for classifying different types of shape signatures, and descriptions of representative algorithms for computing and comparing shape signatures. This survey concludes by identifying directions for future research.

Automated CAD model simplification plays an important role in effectively utilizing physicsbased simulation during the product realization process. Currently a rich body of literature exists that describe many successful techniques for fully-automatic or semi-automatic simplification of CAD models for a wide variety of applications. The purpose of this paper is to compile a list of the techniques that are relevant for physics-based simulations problems and to characterize them based on their attributes. We have classified them into the following four categories: techniques based on surface entity based operators, volume entity based operators, explicit feature based operators, and dimension reduction operators. This paper also presents the necessary background information in the CAD model representation to assist the new readers. We conclude the paper by outlining open research directions in this field.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has the potential to create geometrically complex parts that require a high degree of customization, using less material and producing less waste. Recent studies have shown that AM can be an economically viable option for use by the industry, yet there are some inherent challenges associated with AM for wider acceptance. The lack of standards in AM impedes its use for parts production since industries primarily depend on established standards in processes and material selection to ensure the consistency and quality. Inability to compare AM performance against traditional manufacturing methods can be a barrier for implementing AM processes. AM process sustainability has become a driver due to growing environmental concerns for manufacturing. This has reinforced the importance to understand and characterize AM processes for sustainability. Process characterization for sustainability will help close the gaps for comparing AM performance to traditional manufacturing methods. Based on a literature review, this paper first examines the potential environmental impacts of AM. A methodology for sustainability characterization of AM is then proposed to serve as a resource for the community to benchmark AM processes for sustainability. Next, research perspectives are discussed along with relevant standardization efforts.

. Developing a stochastic dynamic programming framework for optical tweezers based automated particle transport operations. IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, 7(2), 218 -227, 2010. Readers are encouraged to get the official version from the journal's web site or by contacting Dr. S.K. Gupta (skgupta@umd.edu). Ashis Gopal Banerjee, Student Member, IEEE, Andrew Pomerance, Wolfgang Losert, and Satyandra K. GuptaAbstract-Automated particle transport using optical tweezers requires the use of motion planning to move the particle while avoiding collisions with randomly moving obstacles. This paper describes a stochastic dynamic programming based motion planning framework developed by modifying the discrete version of an infinite-horizon partially observable Markov decision process algorithm. Sample trajectories generated by this algorithm are presented to highlight effectiveness in crowded scenes and flexibility. The algorithm is tested using silica beads in a holographic tweezer set-up and data obtained from the physical experiments are reported to validate various aspects of the planning simulation framework. This framework is then used to evaluate the performance of the algorithm under a variety of operating conditions.Note to Practitioners-Micro and nano scale component-based devices are revolutionizing health care, energy, communication, and computing industry. Components need to be assembled together to create useful devices. Such assembly operations remain challenging in spite of the advancements in imaging, measurement, and fabrication at the small scales. This paper deals with directed assembly using optical fields that is useful for prototyping new design concepts, repairing devices, and creating templates for self-assembly.

In the marketplace of the 21st century, there is no place for traditional over-the-wall" communications between design and manufacturing. In order to design it right the very rst time," designers must ensure that their products are both functional and easy to manufacture. Software tools have had some successes in reducing the barriers between design and manufacturing. Manufacturability analysis systems are emerging as one such tool|enabling identi cation of potential manufacturing problems during the design phase and providing suggestions to designers on how to eliminate them. In this paper, we provide a survey of current state of the art in automated manufacturability analysis. We present the historical context in which this area has emerged and outline characteristics to compare and classify various systems. We describe the two dominant approaches to automated manufacturability analysis and overview representative systems based on their application domain. We describe support tools that enhance the e ectiveness of manufacturability analysis systems. Finally, w e attempt to expose some of the existing research c hallenges and future directions.