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This article provides a broad overview of telecommunications and network‐related technologies. Topics covered include identification and review of network elements, analog and digital signals, synchronous and asynchronous transmission formats, transmission media and equipment, transmission techniques and characteristics, multiplexing, network types, access technologies, network architectures and topologies, local‐area network technologies and attributes, protocols and protocol issues, gateways, internetworking, local networking alternatives, equipment certification, and various aspects of network management. It is intended to provide the practicing professional in the field of library and information science with a broad, up‐to‐date technical review that might serve to support and facilitate further investigation of current developments in networks and networking. Although the broad range of topics is not treated in depth, numerous references are provided for further investigation.

Autonomous mobile manipulation depends on a lot of effort at various levels. In general, the hardware design is as important as algorithm (or software) design. In particular, the absence of certain capabilities of hardware can seriously affect the feasibility and performance of algorithms. The purpose of this paper is to present work on developing hardware capability for mobile manipulation by low‐cost humanoids (LOCH) humanoid robot.

This paper presents research work on developing the hardware support which enables vision‐guided mobile manipulation realized on top of a biped humanoid robot called LOCH. One important goal which guides the development is to achieve the hardware capability with human‐like dexterity, modularity, functionality, and appearance.

This paper discusses the detail of solutions leading to the realization of the intended hardware capability, focusing in particular on the issues related to mechanism, actuation, distributed sensing, and distributed control of humanoid head, humanoid hands and humanoid arms. Finally, the paper shows the result of the actual prototype, which can be controlled by a remote control station through wireless connection.

In designing a machine, it is common to do motor‐sizing and material selection. Since these are standard procedures, these details are omitted because readers with the training in mechanical engineering should be able to work out such details in order to select the appropriate motors and materials. Also, this paper does not delve into the description of the biped system of LOCH humanoid, because such work requires another long paper in order to reveal major details.

This paper presents the major detail of research efforts toward developing hardware capabilities for achieving autonomous mobile manipulation by LOCH humanoid robot, focusing on three important modules, namely: perception head, human‐like hands, and arms. The uniqueness of this work is twofold. First, LOCH humanoid robot's perception head has the most versatile sensing capabilities, which are fully integrated into a compact and human‐like head. Second, each of LOCH humanoid robot's hands has 14 degrees of freedom, which are realized within a mechanism which is of human‐hand size and shape. In addition, the perception head, humanoid hands and humanoid arms are seamlessly integrated together owing to the adoption of a distributed system which supports networked sensing and control through the use of both control area network bus and transmission control protocol/internet protocol internet.

This study aims to report the development of a provisional robotic cell for additive manufacturing (AM) of metallic parts. To this end, the paper discusses cross-disciplinary concepts related to the development of the robotic cell and the associated command and control system such as the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) interface, the slicing software and the path planning for the robot manipulator toward printing the selected workpiece. This study also reports the development of a virtual production cell that simulates the AM toolpath generated for the desired workpiece, the adaptation of the simulation environments to enable AM and the development of a user application to setup, command and control the AM processes. If a digital twin setup is efficiently built, with a good correlation between the simulation environment and the real systems, developers may explore this functionality to significantly reduce the development cycle, which can be very long in AM applications where metallurgic properties, part distortion and other properties need to be monitored and controlled.

To generate the robot manipulator path, several simulation programs were considered, resulting in different solutions to program and control the robot of choice [in this study, Kuka and Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) robots were considered]. By integrating the solutions from Slic3r, Inventor, Kuka.Sim, Kuka.Officelite, RobotStudio and Visual Studio software packages, this study aims to develop a functional simulation system capable of producing a given workpiece. For this purpose, a graphical user interface (GUI) was designed to provide the user with a higher level of control over the entire process toward simplifying the programming and implementation events.

The presented solutions are compatible with the simulation environments of specific robot manufacturers, namely, ABB and Kuka, meaning that the authors aim to align the developments with most of the currently realized AM processing cells. In the long-term, the authors aim to build an AM system that implements a produce-from-CAD strategy i.e. that can be commanded directly from the CAD package used to design the part the authors are interested in.

This study attempts to shed light on the industrial AM, a field that is being constantly evolved. Arguably, one of the most important aspects of an AM system is path planning for the AM operation, which must be independent of the robotic system used. This study depicts a generic implementation that can be used with several robot control systems. The paper demonstrates the principle with ABB and Kuka robots, exploiting in detail simulation environments that can be used to create digital twins of the real AM systems. This is very important in actual industrial setups, as a good correlation between the digital twins (simulation environment and real system) will enable developers to explore the AM system in not only a more efficient manner, greatly reducing the development cycle but also as a way to fully develop new solutions without stopping the real setup. In this research, a systematic review of robot systems through simulation environments was presented, aiming to emulate the logic that is, used in the production cell development, disregarding the system brand. The adopted digital twin strategy enables the authors to fully simulate, both operationally and functionality, the real AM system. For this purpose, different solutions were explored using robots from two different manufacturers and related simulation environments, illustrating a generic solution that is not bound to a certain brand.

Using specific programming tools, fully functional virtual production cells were conceived that can receive the instructions for the movements of the robot, using a transmission control protocol/internet protocol. Conversion of the CAD information into the robot path instructions for the robot was the main research question in this study. With the different simulation systems, a program that translates the CAD data into an acceptable format brings the robot closer to the automatic path planning based on CAD data. Both ABB and Kuka systems can access the CAD data, converting it to the correct robot instructions that are executed. Eventually, a functional and intuitive GUI application capable of commanding the simulation for the execution of the AM was implemented. The user can set the desired object and run a completely automatic AM process through the designated GUI. Comparing ABB simulation with the Kuka system, an important distinction can be found, namely, in the exportation of the programs. As the Kuka program runs with add-ons, the solution will not be exported while maintaining its functionality, whereas the ABB program can be integrated with a real controller because it is completely integrated with modules of the virtual controller.

To conclude, with the solutions exploited, this study reports a step forward into the development of a fully functional generic AM cell. The final objective is to implement an AM system that is, independent of any robot manufacturer brand and uses a produce-from-CAD strategy (c.f. digital manufacturing). In other words, the authors presented a system that is fully automatic, can be explored from a CAD package and, consequently, can be used by any CAD designer, without specific knowledge of robotics, materials and AM systems.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how emerging open standards are replacing traditional industrial networks. Current industrial Ethernet networks are not interoperable; thus, limiting the potential capabilities for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). There is no forthcoming new generation fieldbus standard to integrate into the IIoT and Industry 4.0 revolution. The open platform communications unified architecture (OPC UA) time-sensitive networking (TSN) is a potential vendor-independent successor technology for the factory network. The OPC UA is a data exchange standard for industrial communication, and TSN is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standard for Ethernet that supports real-time behaviour. The merging of these open standard solutions can facilitate cross-vendor interoperability for Industry 4.0 and IIoT products.

A brief review of the history of the fieldbus standards is presented, which highlights the shortcomings for current industrial systems in meeting converged traffic solutions. An experimental system for the OPC UA TSN is described to demonstrate an approach to developing a three-layer factory network system with an emphasis on the field layer.

From the multitude of existing industrial network schemes, there is a convergence pathway in solutions based on TSN Ethernet and OPC UA. At the field level, basic timing measurements in this paper show that the OPC UA TSN can meet the basic critical timing requirements for a fieldbus network.

This paper uniquely focuses on the specific fieldbus standards elements of industrial networks evolution and traces the developments from the early history to the current developing integration in IIoT context.

Transmitting video over user datagram protocol (UDP) has been considered advantageous because it allows for discarding of packets in favor of retransmissions, and sender‐controlled timing. Using UDP has been criticized because it allows video streams to consume more than their fair share of bandwidth, which is typically associated with the back‐off behavior of transmission control protocol (TCP). TCP‐friendly algorithms are meant as a middle path. However, UDP delivery to end systems may still be prevented by firewalls or for other reasons, and TCP must be used. This in turn suffers from bandwidth fluctuations. Investigates an architecture that separates the transfer of a video stream over long distances. Considers a proxy server to translate the traffic and two straightforward approaches for the translation of a layered video stream transmission from the TCP‐friendly transport protocol to TCP. Does not expect that one of these two approaches is by itself suited for the task, but investigating them will provide insights into their basic functions and help in discovering appropriate modifications. For the investigation, an experimental approach was used where network behavior and content are emulated.

The purpose of this paper is to design an open architecture of an interconnected communication system (ICS) for multi‐level electric power control centers (EPCC) based on Tele‐control Application Service Element (TASE.2), which possesses specialties of high performances, robustness, cost‐efficiency, quick‐restoration, and easy‐maintenance.

Based on the hierarchy and structure of TASE.2, the overall architecture of the ICS for multi‐level EPCC is put forward at first. As the key devices in the system, the structures of the communication gateway (CG) and common interface are designed. Then, the logical procession flows in CG and the con modes, for both CG and IC are analyzed in detail. The web‐based software configuration of remote maintenance and fault diagnosis is discussed conceptually.

As a standardized, well‐developed, and efficient protocol, TASE.2 is considered to be the most suitable protocol to support the ICS for multi‐level EPCC.

The performance of the ICS needs to be further simulated.

Practical architecture for ICS for multi‐level EPCC with robustness and cost‐efficient specialty is designed in principle, which is very useful for manufacturers to develop pilot devices or even products.

This paper proposes a new ICS scheme for multi‐level EPCC based on TASE.2 is proposed.

The Internet environment, with its packet‐switched network and lack of resource reservation mechanisms, has made the delivery of low bit‐rate real‐time communication services particularly difficult and challenging. The high potential transmission delay and data packet loss under varying network conditions will lead to unpleasant and unintelligible audio and jerky video play‐out. The Internet TCP/IP protocol suite can be extended with new mechanisms in an attempt to tackle such problems. In this research, an integrated transmission mechanism that incorporates a number of existing techniques to enhance the quality and deliver “acceptable” real‐time services is proposed. These techniques include the use of data compression, data buffering, dynamic rate control, packet lost replacement, silence deletion and virtual video play‐out mechanism. The proposed transmission mechanism is designed as a generic communication system so that it can be used in different systems and conditions. This approach has been successfully implemented and demonstrated using three separate systems that include the Internet Phone, WebVideo and video‐conferencing tool.

When the initial library networks were established in the United States, they provided affordable, online automation services that were available from virtually no other source. The surge of automation experienced by American libraries for the past two decades has altered the historical relationships that characterize library cooperation. Local networks are being created and machine‐readable products previously available only from the networks are now being packaged on optical media and distributed to individual institutions. With these technological advances, the need for, services offered by, and financial viability of the networks have begun to undergo dramatic change. This is also a time of great opportunity for libraries and networks. There is on the horizon what may be the infrastructure for a national information network. The realization of this network will require close cooperation of librarians, who have embraced the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model for networking, and members of the academic and research community, which is still relying heavily on the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocols (TCP/IP) for communications purposes.

Over the past eight years, the MELVYL catalog has become one of the largest public access catalogs in the world, and now plays a central role in providing access to the library resources of the University of California. Currently, under heavy load, the MELVYL catalog supports many hundreds of simultaneous terminal connections, servicing over a quarter of a million queries a week and displaying more than two million records a week to its user community. This article discusses the history of the network that has supported the MELVYL catalog from the early days of its prototype to the present. It also describes both the current technical and policy issues that must be addressed as the network moves into the 1990s, and the roles that the network is coming to play in integrating local automation, the union catalog, access to resource databases, and other initiatives. Sidebars discuss the TCP/IP protocol suite, internet protocol gateways, and Telenet and related inter‐operability problems.