This paper presents the design of a novel mixed conventional/braking actuation mobile robot (MAMR), which replaces conventional actuators used for steering with controllable brakes. The mechatronic design of a novel electromechanical braking actuator, its implementation in the MAMR, and the mechatronic design of the MAMR are presented. A motion experiment is also given as a demonstration. The MAMR presented in this paper implements a new platform for mobile robots which is composed of two electromechanical braking actuators and an omni-directional drive wheel. The electromechanical brake presented is an omni-directional ball transfer that is electronically lockable. When the brake is in the locked state, it generates a reactive friction force onto a dynamic system that, in the case of the MAMR, can be used to steer and brake. This platform offers a minimalistic approach to locomotion in mobile robots.

The first case (British Horseracing Board v. William Hill), to be litigated in the UK under legislation created to conform with the European Directive on Database Rights is currently under appeal. This paper investigates the problems that were considered to exist in the pre-existing copyright based protection regime and how those were answered in the Directive by the creation of a new sui generis database right. It goes on to analyse the judgment in BHB to discover that the basis of database right protection lies in the investment made by the maker of the database rather than the information contained therein. The paper then goes on to consider how the protection of that 'investment' can be seen in various areas of the pre-existing international legal structure, usually as an aspect of competition law. An attempt is made to interpret the Database Directive along the same lines and a consideration is made of the various possible objections to this interpretation of the right. After rebutting these objections, the paper concludes that a protection very similar to copyright based protections, without reliance on copyright principles, can be offered to database right holders without at the same time restricting the use of otherwise unprotected information from the public domain.

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Previous work comparing power take-off (PTO) architectures for ocean wave-powered reverse osmosis suggests that variable displacement in the wave energy converter (WEC)-driven pump does not offer a significant performance advantage. A limitation of that study is that the WEC was subject to a constant load within a given sea state (“Coulomb damping”) and did not account for controlled, moment-to-moment variation of the PTO load enabled by a variable displacement pump. This study explores the potential performance advantage of a variable PTO load over Coulomb damping. Model predictive control is used to provide optimal load control with constraints on the PTO load. The constraints include minimum and maximum loads and a limit on the rate of load adjustment. Parameter studies on these constraints enable conclusions about PTO design requirements in addition to providing an estimated performance advantage over Coulomb damping. Numerical simulation of the Oyster 1 WEC is carried out with performance weighted by historical sea state data from Humboldt Bay, CA. The results show a performance advantage of up to 20% higher yearly-average power absorption over Coulomb damping. Additionally, the parameter studies suggest that the PTO load should be adjustable down to at least 25% of the maximum load and should be adjustable between the minimum and maximum loads within a few seconds.

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