Abstract
Robotics has emerged as a cornerstone of modern society, significantly impacting diverse sectors including industry, healthcare, and defense. Among its varied applications, one of the most crucial fields is the control of rigid-structure robotic manipulators. However, conventional robotic arms are typically highly specialized and rigid in design, which limits their adaptability to different tasks and environments. One promising solution to this challenge is the development of modular robotic manipulators. This work proposes a cost-effective approach for implementing a n-Degrees-of-Freedom (DoF) manipulator. It introduces a design consisting of 3D printable links that allow for flexible assembly into custom configurations. A reconfigurable software architecture is presented, enabling automated generation of description and configuration files. This facilitates visualization, planning, and control of various custom configurations. The solution leverages the open-source Robot Operating System (ROS) as a digital twin for the modular setups. Additionally, it explores the development of hardware modules accompanying each link, facilitating independent joint control irrespective of motor type. Communication with ROS software is achieved via a CAN-based OpenCyphal network.

Abstract
Quadruped robots hold immense potential for navigating in unknown environments due to their ability to use individual footholds as well as their increased stability in uneven terrain. However, legged robots often experience limitations due to weight shifts during gait transitions. These weight shifts can cause torque peaks that exceed the capacity of the jointmotors (overdrive torque), which lead to an increased risk of mechanical failure. Through the optimization of gait parameters, it is possible to reduce these risks while maximizing performance. This paper presents the use of multi-objective optimization algorithms for gait optimization in a simulated quadruped mammal robot within the Pybullet physics engine. The main focus of the study was to compare the performance of NSGA-II, NSGA-III and U-NSGA-III in minimizing overdrive torque while maximizing travel distance. The results showed that the three algorithms solve this problem, although the NSGA-III consistently yields better results in comparison to the other versions of the NSGA algorithm.

Abstract
This paper compares five PID controller architectures for robotic manipulator position control, addressing the challenge of maintaining performance under varying inertial loads while providing accessible implementations for research and education. The five PID controller architectures for a three degrees-of-freedom SCARA manipulator position control are a basic Proportional-Derivative (PD), PD with Feed-Forward (FF), Parallel PD-PI-FF, Cascade PD-PI-FF, and Cascade PD-PI-FF with dead zone (DZ) compensation. The controllers were evaluated under varying inertial loads to assess robustness, extending beyond previous work's idealized conditions. Results show advanced configurations reduced errors by up to 64% compared to the baseline PD, with Parallel-FF achieving optimal dynamic performance and Cascade-FF-DZ excelling in steady-state control. The Feed-Forward addition enhanced tracking performance, while DZ compensation effectively eliminated limit cycles. The work provides open-source implementations and simulation environments, supporting research reproducibility and educational applications in robotics control.

Abstract
Multimodal perception systems enhance the robustness and adaptability of autonomous mobile robots by integrating heterogeneous sensor modalities, improving long-term localisation and mapping in dynamic environments and human-robot interaction. Current mobile platforms often focus on specific sensor configurations and prioritise cost-effectiveness, possibly limiting the flexibility of the user to extend the original robots further. This paper presents a methodology to integrate multimodal perception into a ground mobile platform, incorporating wheel odometry, 2D laser scanners, 3D Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and RGBD cameras. The methodology describes the electronics design to power devices, firmware, computation and networking architecture aspects, and mechanical mounting for the sensory system based on 3D printing, laser cutting, and bending metal sheet processes. Experiments demonstrate the usage of the revised platform in 2D and 3D localisation and mapping and pallet pocket estimation applications. All the documentation and designs are accessible in a public repository.

Abstract
Several approaches have been developed over time aiming to improve the localization aspects, especially in mobile robotics. Besides the more traditional techniques, mainly based on analytical models, artificial intelligence has emerged as an interesting alternative. The current study proposes to explore the machine learning model structure optimization for pose estimation, using the RobotAtFactory 4.0 competition as the main context. Using a Bayesian Optimization-based framework, the parameters of a Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) model, trained to estimate the components of the 2D pose (x, y, and theta) of the robot were optimized in four different scenarios of the same context. The results obtained showed a quality improvement of up to 60% on the estimation when compared with the modes without any optimization. Another aspect observed was the different optimizations found for each model, even in the same scenario. An additional interesting result was the possibility of the reuse of optimization between scenarios, presenting an interesting approach to reduce time and computational resources.

Abstract
Mecanum wheeled mobile robots have become relevant due to their excellent maneuverability, enabling omnidirectional motion in constrained environments as a requirement in industrial automation, logistics, and service robotics. This paper addresses a low-level controller based on the H-Infinity (H-infinity) control method for a four-wheel Mecanum mobile robot. The proposed controller ensures stability and performance despite model uncertainties and external disturbances. The dynamic model of the robot was developed and introduced in MATLAB to generate the controller. Further, the controller's performance is validated and compared to a traditional PID controller using the SimTwo simulator, a realistic physics-based simulator with dynamics of rigid bodies incorporating non-linearities such as motor dynamics and friction effects. The preliminary simulation results show that the H-infinity reached a time-independent Euclidean error of 0.0091 m, compared to 0.0154 m error for the PID in trajectory tracking. Demonstrating that the H-infinity controller handles nonlinear dynamics and disturbances, ensuring precise trajectory tracking and improved system performance. This research validates the proposed approach for advanced control of Mecanum wheeled robots.