1. 1 Preliminary Concepts A cam mechanism is a mechanical system consisting of three basic components: a driving element, called the cam; a driven element, termed the follower; and a fixed frame. Sometimes, an intermediate element is introduced between the cam and the follower with the purpose of improving the mechanism performance. This element is called the roller because function is to produce a pure-rolling relative motion be- tween the cam and the follower. The purpose ofa cam mechanism is the transmission of power or information. In applications concerning power transmission, the main...

The chapters of this book summarize the lectures delivered du ring the NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) on Computational Methods in Mechanisms, that took place in the Sts. Constantin and Elena Resort, near Varna, on the Bulgarian Coast of the Black Sea, June 16-28, 1997. The purpose of the ASI was to bring together leading researchers in the area of mechanical systems at large, with special emphasis in the computational issues around their analysis, synthesis, and optimization, during two weeks of lectures and discussion. A total of 89 participants from 23 count ries played an active role...

The Centre for Intelligent Machines (CIM), McGill University, was of?cially c- ated on November13th, 1985, upon approvalby the University Senate. The mission of the centre is, since its inception, to excel in the ?eld of intelligent systems, stressing basic research, technology development and education. Intelligent - chines are understood, along these lines, as systems capable of adapting their go- oriented behavior by sensing and interpreting their environment, making decisions and plans, and then carrying out those plans using physical actions. Research - tivities of interest to CIM...

The chapters of this book summarize the lectures delivered du ring the NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) on Computational Methods in Mechanisms, that took place in the Sts. Constantin and Elena Resort, near Varna, on the Bulgarian Coast of the Black Sea, June 16-28, 1997. The purpose of the ASI was to bring together leading researchers in the area of mechanical systems at large, with special emphasis in the computational issues around their analysis, synthesis, and optimization, during two weeks of lectures and discussion. A total of 89 participants from 23 count ries played an active role...

The quest for more reliable, more environment-friendly, more fuel-efficient, and more affordable products in an extremely competitive market appear as the driving forces behind the need for an integrated approach to mechanical design, analysis, and control. In this context, aircraft is being designed currently with novel electromechanical systems for the steering of its control surfaces - ailerons, rudders, and the like - while terrestrial vehicles are nowadays designed with active suspensions, to name but a few of the plethora of mechanical systems whereby an integration of disciplines is...

The purpose of this book is to present kinematics of rigid bodies and systems in an axiomatic framework, stressing invariant relations. The audience addressed is engineers, mathematicians and computer scientists working in research and development that involves rigid-body motions. The areas of application are robotics, mechanism design, spacecraft dynamics, computer graphics, solid modelling, finite elements, etc. The most important features of the book are its axiomatic approaches on invariant principles, thus departing from a common but obscure practice of studying general principles based...

Now available in this fourth edition which reflects recent advances in robotic systems and covers a range of current issues, the text has been revised to make it more accessible to novice readers. It includes up-to-date imagery of the latest robot models.