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Presently, 6 Degree of Freedom (6DOF) visual pose measurement methods enjoy popularity in the industrial sector. However, challenges persist in accurately measuring the visual pose of blank and rough metal casts. Therefore, this paper introduces a 6DOF pose measurement method utilizing stereo vision, and aims to the 6DOF pose measurement of blank and rough metal casts.

This paper studies the 6DOF pose measurement of metal casts from three aspects: sample enhancement of industrial objects, optimization of detector and attention mechanism. Virtual reality technology is used for sample enhancement of metal casts, which solves the problem of large-scale sample sampling in industrial application. The method also includes a novel deep learning detector that uses multiple key points on the object surface as regression objects to detect industrial objects with rotation characteristics. By introducing a mixed paths attention module, the detection accuracy of the detector and the convergence speed of the training are improved.

The experimental results show that the proposed method has a better detection effect for metal casts with smaller size scaling and rotation characteristics.

A method for 6DOF pose measurement of industrial objects is proposed, which realizes the pose measurement and grasping of metal blanks and rough machined casts by industrial robots.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the robot trends of the next generation.

This paper is divided into two sections: the key modern technology on which Europe's robotics industry has built its foundation is described. Then, the next key megatrends were analyzed.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are technologies of major importance for the development of humanity. This time is mature for the evolution of industrial and service robots. The perception of robot use has changed from threading to aiding. The cost of mass production of technological devices is decreasing, while a rich set of enabling technologies is under development. Soft mechanisms, 5G and AI have enabled us to address a wide range of new problems. Ethics should guide human behavior in addressing this newly available powerful technology in the right direction.

The paper describes the impact of new technology, such as AI and soft robotics. The world of work must react quickly to these epochal changes to enjoy their full benefits.

The current difficulties of distribution network working robots are mainly in the performance and operation mode. On the one hand, high-altitude power operation tasks require high load-carrying capacity and dexterity of the robot; on the other hand, the fully autonomous mode is uncontrollable and the teleoperation mode has a high failure rate. Therefore, this study aims to design a distribution network operation robot named Sky-Worker to solve the above two problems.

The heterogeneous arms of Sky-Worker are driven by hydraulics and electric motors to solve the contradiction between high load-carrying capacity and high flexibility. A human–robot collaborative shared control architecture is built to realize real-time human intervention during autonomous operation, and control weights are dynamically assigned based on energy optimization.

Simulations and tests show that Sky-Worker has good dexterity while having a high load capacity. Based on Sky-Worker, multiuser tests and practical application experiments show that the designed shared-control mode effectively improves the success rate and efficiency of operations compared with other current operation modes.

The designed heterogeneous dual-arm distribution robot aims to better serve distribution line operation tasks.

For the first time, the integration of hydraulic and motor drives into a distribution network operation robot has achieved better overall performance. A human–robot cooperative shared control framework is proposed for remote live-line working robots, which provides better operation results than other current operation modes.

This study aims to present a type of metamorphic mechanism-based quadruped crawling robot. The trunk design of the robot has a metamorphic mechanism, which endows it with excellent crawling capability and adaptability in challenging environments.

The robot consists of a metamorphic trunk and four series-connected three-joint legs. First, the walking and steering strategy is planned through the stability and mechanics analysis. Then, the walking and steering performance is examined using virtual prototype technology, as well as the efficacy of the walking and turning strategy.

The metamorphic quadruped crawling robot has wider application due to its variable trunk configuration and excellent leg motion space. The robot can move in two modes (constant trunk and trunk configuration transformation, respectively, while walking and rotating), which exhibits outstanding stability and adaptability in the examination and verification of prototypes.

The design can enhance the capacity of the quadruped crawling robot to move across a complex environment. The virtual prototype technology verifies that the proposed walking and steering strategy has good maneuverability and stability, which considerably expands the application opportunity in the fields of complicated scene identification and investigation.

The challenges faced by China's high-end equipment manufacturing (HEEM) industry are becoming clearer in the process of global supply chain (GSC) reconfiguration. The purpose of this study is to investigate how China's HEEM industry has been affected by the GSC reconfiguration, as well as its short- and long-term strategies.

The authors adopted a multi-method approach. Interviews were conducted in Phase 1, while a three-round Delphi survey was conducted in Phase 2 to reach consensus at the industry level.

The GSC reconfiguration affected China's HEEM supply chain (SC). Its direct effects include longer lead times, higher purchasing prices and inconsistent supply and inventory levels of key imported components and materials. Its indirect effects include inconsistent product quality and cash flows. In the short term, China's HEEM enterprises have sought to employ localized substitutes, while long-term strategies include continuous technological innovation, industry upgrades and developing SC resilience.

This study not only encourages Chinese HEEM enterprises to undertake a comprehensive examination of their respective industries but also provides practical insights for SC scholars, policymakers and international stakeholders interested in how China's HEEM industry adapts to the GSC reconfiguration and gains global market share.

COVID-19 played a crucial role in the development and enlargement of learning via electronic media. Still, the recent fourth industrial revolution [Industry 4.0 (I4.0)] paved the road toward Education 4.0. In this regard, several research challenges arise, involving the preparation of gamification strategies in online learning environments. In this sense, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between technologies of I4.0 and gamification practices in online learning around the world. Specifically, to categorize the studies of the scientific literature in the area into knowledge domains and the mention of I4.0 technologies and to verify the relationship of these technologies with the different educational levels.

The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis protocol was used as a research method with 130 papers included for full content analysis and obtained from the Web of Science.

The leading I4.0 technologies mentioned in the analyzed papers were simulation, Internet of Things and augmented/virtual reality, in this order. Although there are more mentioned technologies, the domain of knowledge to be applied and the educational level interfere in choosing these pillars. With this, the main findings of this relationship were exposed in a singular, modern, active, realist, technological framework to demonstrate how I4.0 relates to the practice of gamification in online educational environments.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that brings together the relationship of gamification applied in e-learning with I4.0 technologies.

This article aims to develop a new theory that can better explain and predict how and when humans interact with commercial robots. To this end, utility maximization theory (UMT) along with four principles and propositions that may guide how human-to-commercial robot interactions are developed.

This article conceptualizes UMT by drawing from social exchange, conservation of resources, and technology-driven theories.

This article proposes UMT, which consists of four guiding principles and propositions. First, it is proposed that the human must invest sufficient resources to initiate a human-to-commercial robot interaction. Second, the human forms an expectation of utility gain maximization once a human-to-commercial robot interaction is initiated. Third, the human severs a human-to-commercial robot interaction if the human is unable to witness maximum utility gain upon the interaction. Finally, once the human severs a human-to-commercial robot interaction, the human seeks to reinvest sufficient resources in another human-to-commercial robot interaction with the same expectation of utility maximization.

This article is one of the few studies that offers a theoretical foundation for understanding the interactions between humans and commercial robots. Additionally, this article provides several managerial implications for managing effective human-to-commercial robot interactions.

Retailers increasingly endeavour to implement artificial intelligence (AI) innovations, such as humanoid social robots (HSRs), to enhance customer experience. This paper investigates the interactive effect of HSR intelligence and consumers' speciesism on their perceptions of retail robots as sales assistants.

Three online experiments testing the effects of HSRs' intellectual intelligence on individuals' perceived competence and, consequently, their decision to shop at a retail store that uses HSRs as sales assistants are reported. Furthermore, the authors examine whether speciesism attenuates these effects such that a mediation effect is likely to be observed for individuals low in speciesism but not for those with high levels of speciesism. Data for all studies were collected on Prolific and analysed with SPSS to perform a logistic regression and PROCESS 4.0 (Hayes, 2022) for the mediation and moderated-mediation analysis.

The findings show that the level of speciesism moderates the relationship between HSR intellectual intelligence and perceived competence such that an effect is found for low but not for high HSR intelligence. When HSR intellectual intelligence is low, individuals with higher levels of speciesism (vs low) rate the HSR as less competent and display lower HSR acceptance (i.e. customers' decision to shop using retail robots as sales assistants).

This research responds to calls in research to adopt a human-like perspective to understand the compatibility between humans and robots and determine how personality traits, such as a person's level of speciesism, may affect the acceptance of AI technologies replicating human characteristics (Schmitt, 2019). To the best of the authors' knowledge, the present research is the first to examine the moderating role of speciesism on customer perceptions of non-human retail assistants (i.e. human-like and intelligent service robots). This study is the first to showcase that speciesism, normally considered a negative social behaviour, can positively influence individuals' decisions to engage with HSRs.

Legged walking robots have numerous advantages over the wheel or tracked robots due to their strong operational ability and exposure to the complex environment. This paper aims to present details about the mechanical formation and a new conceptual elliptical trajectory generation discussed throughout the paper of the quadruped robot.

Initially, a realistic CAD model of the four-legged robot is developed in Solidwork-2019. The proposed model’s forward and inverse kinematics equations are deduced using Denavit–Hartenberg parameters. Based on geometry and kinematics, manipulability and obstacle avoidance are investigated. A method of galloping trajectory is proposed for aiming the increase of upright direction impulse, which is produced by ground reaction force at each step frequency. Furthermore, the locomotion equation of the ellipse trajectory is derived by setting transition angle polynomial of free-fall phase, stance phase and swing phase and the constraints.

Finally, a successive simulation on a 2D sagittal plane is performed to check and verify the usefulness of the proposed trajectory. Before the development of the full quadruped, a single prototype leg is generated for experimental verification of the dynamic simulations.

The proposed trajectory is novel in that it uses force tracking control, which is intended to improve the quadruped robot’s robustness and stability.

This paper aims at identifying the main contributions of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies to the enhancement of knowledge management (KM).

A scoping review based on two stages was carried out. In the first stage, a numerical and descriptive analysis was conducted. In the second stage, the latent content of those papers was explored through a qualitative analysis, in which papers were assessed regarding the outcome of the implementation of ten I4.0 technologies on 14 KM abilities and 6 KM processes.

Six technologies (e.g. Internet of Things (IoT), big data, cloud computing, simulation, visualisation and industrial robot) were claimed to have a significant contribution on KM, especially for creation, organisation, dissemination and application processes. Overall, results indicated that technologies can significantly contribute to KM, although the extent of such contribution varies across technologies, learning levels, KM processes and abilities.

Existing studies in I4.0 fall short in exploring how embodied knowledge is articulated in practice, especially regarding opportunities to use new technological alternatives in favour of knowledge and learning development. This study complements the existing literature on I4.0 by identifying which technologies can contribute to KM. Also, a framework was proposed to examine the contribution of I4.0 technologies to KM at individual, team, and organisational levels.