US-UK Cooperative Research: Integration of Robotics Software Modeling with Computer-Based Design and Management Information Systems for Architecture and Construction

该奖项将支持斯坦福大学的博伊德·保尔森博士与苏格兰斯特拉斯克莱德大学的乔治·弗莱明博士和肯·麦卡勒姆博士在土木工程和计算机科学方面的合作研究。该项目的目的是更好地将建筑业的机器人技术与当前的计算机辅助设计、管理信息和生产系统相结合。自20世纪80年代初S以来，研究人员一直在寻求将机器人技术应用于建筑行业。然而，没有统一的理论和很少的指导方针来定义和交流关于设计和现场操作的知识，以一种可以有效地被这些机器利用的方式。到目前为止，实际现场应用中的大多数“机器人”要么是由人类远程控制的远程操作机器，要么是如此狭隘和高度专业化的机器，以至于自动化只能通过旨在预测所有机器人有限需求的程序来实现。在这个联合项目中，研究人员将致力于设计、组装和开发一个理论框架和实验软件，以实现对不同类型的自主机器通用的“智能”核心。这项研究将包括几个相互关联的项目，以模拟机器人代理的认知行为，并建立一个知识环境模拟器，在其中测试原型代理软件的演化。该项目将受益于美国和英国投资者在计算机辅助设计方面的互补专业知识。这项研究的结果将提供基于计算机的概念，以帮助将施工现场流程整合到项目生命周期的其他阶段，如规划、设计和运营。8922441古尔德该奖项将支持米德尔伯里学院的罗伯特·古尔德博士和加的夫威尔士大学的W·特伦斯·科克利博士在生物物理学方面的合作研究。该项目的目标是利用超声波分离和分离具有生物学意义的大颗粒。当超声波驻波场存在于充满液体的腔室中时，给定类型的悬浮颗粒将倾向于聚集在腔室中相隔约半个波长的位置。与驻波场相关的辐射压力和声流的超声现象会对悬浮物产生力和力矩。作用在给定颗粒上的力和力矩的强度主要取决于颗粒的大小和形状，以及相对于悬浮液的相应性质的颗粒的可压缩性和密度的声学特性。因此，声学性质不同的颗粒将倾向于聚集在腔室中的不同位置。大多数生物学家熟悉的收集悬浮液中颗粒的方法，如离心法、介电泳法和施加磁场，往往会导致颗粒迁移到一个或两个位置。超声波提供了一种独特的能力，可以在悬浮相中的许多离散位置浓缩颗粒。这个项目的目的是利用不同类型粒子上的力和力矩的差异来将它们从一种类型分散到另一种类型，这样就可以分别收获和研究它们。这项研究的结果将提供有关超声波在各种生物系统中的适用性的重要信息。该项目将受益于两名调查人员的互补专业知识以及他们过去卓有成效的合作历史。

This award will support collaborative research in civil engineering and computer science between Dr. Boyd Paulson, Stanford University and Drs. George Fleming and Ken McCallum, University of Strathclyde, Scotland. The aim of the project is to better integrate robotics in the construction industry with current computer-aided design management information and production systems. Since the early 1980's, researchers have sought to apply robotics in the construction industry. However, no unifying theory and few guidelines exist for defining and communicating knowledge about designs and field operations in a way that can be effectively utilized by such machines. Thus far, most of the "robots" in actual field applications have either been tele- operated machines remotely controlled by humans, or have been so narrowly focused and highly specialized that automation could be implemented only via procedural programs designed to anticipate all of the robots' limited requirements. In this joint project, the investigators will aim to design, assemble and develop a theoretical framework and experimental software for a general core of "intelligence" common to diverse types of autonomous machines. The research will consist of several interrelated projects to simulate the cognitive behavior of robot agents and to build a knowledge environment simulator in which to test prototype agent software as it evolves. The project will benefit from the complementary expertise of the US and British investi- gators in computer-aided design. The results of this research will provide computer-based concepts to help integrate construc- tion field processes into the other phases of the project life- cycle, such as planning, design and operations. 8922441 GOULD This award will support collaborative research in biophysics between Dr. Robert Gould, Middlebury College and Dr. W. Terence Coakley, University of Wales, Cardiff. The objective of the project is to exploit the use of ultrasound to segregate and isolate large particles of biological interest. When an ultrasonic standing wave field exists in a liquid-filled chamber, suspended particles of a given type will tend to collect at positions in the chamber about a half wavelength apart. The ultrasonic phenomena of radiation pressure and acoustic streaming associated with a standing wave field produce forces and torques on objects in suspension. Strengths of the forces and torques on a given particle depend mainly on the size and shape of the particle and on the acoustical properties of compressibility and density of the particle, relative to the corresponding properties of the suspending liquid. Thus particles differing in acoustic properties will tend to collect in different positions in the chamber. Methods for collecting particles in suspension with which most biologists are familiar, such as centrifugation, dielectrophoresis and application of magnetic fields, tend to cause particles to migrate to one or two sites. Ultrasound offers a unique capability to concentrate particles at many discrete locations in the suspending phase. This project aims to utilize the differences in the forces and torques on different types of particles to diverge them, one type from another, so they may be harvested and studied separately. The results of this research will provide important information regarding the applicability of ultrasound to a variety of biological systems. The project will benefit from the complementary expertise of the two investigators, as well as their past history of fruitful collaboration.