Roger Bernard – författare

Information techniques have initiated a structural change of the manufacturing industry. Productivity, flexibility, quality, and reliability will attain a level which cannot be realized on the basis of conventional production structures. The differentiated technological requirements to products lead to an increased product variation and a quick product substitution. These alterations of the market situation demand automation of the highest flexibility and productivity. This can be reached by computer integrated, automated and flexible manufacturing, whereby information techniques take over a key function. In production technology it was comprehended at a very early stage that computers are important components. Stations of these developments were the NC technique, CNC controls up to the development of FMS with robots. In this context it can be stated that robots play an important role as the most flexible automation components.

Calibration is playing an increasingly important role in industrial robotics. Higher accuracy demands are being placed on flexible assembly and manufacturing systems which in turn require robot manufacturers to produce higher quality precision robots. The information obtained from calibrating a robot can be used to compensate errors existing between the model used for robot control and the actual robot, and hence can improve robot accuracy 10-fold. This book not only covers the various aspects of robot calibration - including industrial applications, development work and basic research - but also presents calibration topics in an organized way to make the comprehensive state-of-the-art information more understandable and, above all, readily usable. In essence this book is about determining the actual kinematic and dynamic parameters of multi-axis mechanical systems (for example, large manipulators, milling machines or robots). The focus is on robotic systems used for manufacturing and assembly. Much attention is given to the technical aspects of calibration, and at the same time practical applications are included so that the importance of these techniques to industry is not lost.This book should be useful for engineers involved in the manufacture of multi-axis systems, as well as those employing such systems for assembly and manufacturing tasks. It should also be of interest to researchers involved in the development of robots, machine tools and manufacturing and assembly systems, as well as graduate engineering students.

Yom 28.-30. Oktober 1976 fand auf Einladung des Max-Planck-Instituts fUr auslandisches offentliches Recht und Volkerrecht in Heidelberg ein Kollo- quium tiber Probleme des Grundrechtsschutzes in Europa statt. Die Vortrage und Diskussionsbeitrage des Kolloquiums werden hiermit veroffentlicht. Bei den Vortragen handelt es sich urn Kurzreferate, die in die Diskussion einge- ftibrt haben. Zusiitzlich zu dem mtindlich Vorgetragenen enthalt dieser Band Eckart Klein (S. 133), eine zusammenfassende einen erganzenden Bericht von Wtirdigung des Kolloquiums (S. 205) und eine Auswahlbibliographie (S. 229). Die Vorbereitung der Publikation lag in den Hiinden von MeinluJrd Hilf, der auch die Auswahlbibliographie und das Register angefertigt hat. Das Ziel des Kolloquiums bestand darin, auf Grund einer kritischen Bestandsaufnahme des derzeitigen Rechtszustandes Anregungen ftir eine Ver- besserung des Grundrechtsschutzes in dem Tell Europas zu erarbeiten, der sich im Europarat zusammengeschlossen hat. Von besonderer Bedeutung ist dabei auch die Frage, in welchem Mlille das Recht der Europaischen Gemein- schaften Grundrechtsschutz gewiihrt.Die Vortrage und Diskussionen des Kol- loquiums haben sowohl die Europaische Menschenrechtskonvention (MRK) als auch das Recht der Europaischen Gemeinschaften behandelt und sich darum bemtiht, das Verhaltnis dieser beiden Rechtsordnungen zueinander zu erfassen. Die Diskussion orientierte sich im wesentlichen an einem Fragebogen, der hier unmittelbar nach dem Inhaltsverzeichnis abgedruckt wird (S. If.). An dem Kolloquium hat ein Kreis hervorragender Sachkenner aus verschie- denen Landem teilgenommen. Sie alle haben ihre personliche Meinung und nicht die Ansicht der Institution, der sie angehoren, zum Ausdruck gebracht.

This publication gives the opmlOns and discussions of an international Symposium on the judicial settlement of international disputes as well as three expert reports which were submitted for the Symposium's preparation. The Symposium sought to answer the following three questions: (1) Does the International Court of Justice, as it is presently shaped, cor­ respond to the requirements which follow from its functions as the central judicial body of the international community? (2) To which extent and for which subject matters is it advisable to create and develop special judicial bodies with a jurisdiction limited to certain regions or to certain subject matters? (3) To which extent and for which questions is it advisable to provide for the settlement of international legal disputes by other organs than permanent courts? The Symposium took place from July 10-12, 1972 in the Max-Planck­ Institut fiir ausHindisches offentliches Recht und Volkerrecht in Heidelberg. Experts in international law and international jurisdiction from many countries were invited, not in their official capacity, but rather on the basis of their individual competence; the list of participants appears at the end of this volume.

From its inception in 1983, ESPRIT (the European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology) has aimed at improving the competitiveness of European industry and providing it with the technology needed for the 1990s. Esprit Project 623, on which most of the work presented in this book is based, was one of the key projects in the ESPRIT area, Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). From its beginnings in 1985, it brought together a team of researchers from industry, research institutes and universities to explore and develop a critical stream of advanced manufacturing technology that would be timely and mature for industrial exploitation in a five year time frame. The synergy of cross border collaboration between technology users and vendors has led to results ranging from new and improved products to training courses given at universities. The subject of Esprit Project 623 was the integration of robots into manufacturing environments. Robots are a vital element in flexible automation and can contribute substantially to manufacturing efficiency. The project had two main themes, off-line programming and robot system planning. Off-line programming enlarges the application area of robots and opens up new possibilities in domains such as laser cutting, and other hazardous operations. Reported benefits obtained from off-line program­ ming include: - significant cost reductions because re-programming eliminates robot down-time; - faster production cycles, in some cases time-savings of up to 85% are reported; - the optimal engineering of products with improved quality.