Abstract
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report a collection of developments that enable users to program industrial robots using speech, several device interfaces, force control and code generation techniques. Design/methodology/approach - The reported system is explained in detail and a few practical examples are given that demonstrate its usefulness for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where robots and humans need to cooperate to achieve a common goal (coworker scenario). The paper also explores the user interface software adapted for use by non-experts. Findings - The programming-by-demonstration (PbD) system presented proved to be very efficient with the task of programming entirely new features to an industrial robotic system. The system uses a speech interface for user command, and a force-controlled guiding system for teaching the robot the details about the task being programmed. With only a small set of implemented robot instructions it was fairly easy to teach the robot system a new task, generate the robot code and execute it immediately. Research limitations/implications - Although a particular robot controller was used, the system is in many aspects general, since the options adopted are mainly based on standards. It can obviously be implemented with other robot controllers without significant changes. In fact, most of the features were ported to run with Motoman robots with success. Practical implications - It is important to stress that the robot program built in this section was obtained without writing a single line of code, but instead just by moving the robot to the desired positions and adding the required robot instructions using speech. Even the upload task of the obtained module to the robot controller is commanded by speech, along with its execution/termination. Consequently, teaching the robotic system a new feature is accessible for any type of user with only minor training. Originality/value - This type of PbD systems will constitute a major advantage for SMEs, since most of those companies do not have the necessary engineering resources to make changes or add new functionalities to their robotic manufacturing systems. Even at the system integrator level these systems are very useful for avoiding the need for specific knowledge about all the controllers with which they work: complexity is hidden beyond the speech interfaces and portable interface devices, with specific and user-friendly APIs making the connection between the programmer and the system.

Abstract
We developed a method for measuring the fitness of a prosthesis and implants. Since a robot arm is use for executing the impressions and part of the measuring procedure we gain high precision and reproducibility. We tested the measuring method regarding the operator dependence and tests confirm consistent results even with different users.

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In the present industrial manufacturing scenario it is required that work cells would be easier to manipulate. Therefore there is a demand for simple orchestration techniques of different industrial devices, such as vision systems, cameras, sensors, PLCs, pocket-PCs. This paper meets this need by implementing a dynamic graphical user interface (GUI) based on the StateCharts concept. The paper describes the choices made in the construction, namely regarding the handling of hierarchy and discusses their implications in the effectiveness of the GUI. Some tests made with the software that resulted from this paper also show that the introduction of a GUI that represents event-based systems, like StateCharts, could be a precise and simple tool for the construction of complex industrial cells by non-expert users.

Abstract
The vertical integration of the manufacturing equipments within the information infrastructure of companies is a growing demand. The use of service-oriented standard interfaces and the upcoming trend of cloud computing technologies both deserve careful attention. This paper makes a comparison of remote database access times made through service-oriented interfaces, both for a cloud computing solution and for a local server data base. The results are analyzed not only in terms of the interface used (REST or SOAP) but also within the context of a laboratorial industrial robot work-cell evaluating the effective impact of these results when compared with other automation operations. © 2010 IEEE.