An Experiment in Design and Materials: Undergraduate Students Designing Test Machines

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Ridgely
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Test Machine ◽  
Digital Counter ◽  
Load Cells ◽  
Counter Circuit ◽  
Student Projects

An exercise has been developed for an undergraduate design laboratory. In the exercise, students design, build, and test load cells, then build computer interfaced tensile testing machines in which the load cells are integrated. Data is acquired through the use of a simple, low-cost bridge amplifier and digital counter circuit which was developed for this exercise. The circuit design and software are released as an open source project to encourage widespread use and participation by the academic community. The tensile test machine exercise has been tested on a group of 45 junior-level mechanical engineering students, with significant success in students demonstrating an understanding of the principles taught. The open source interface is being adopted by other courses and student projects at the host University; use at other institutions is encouraged.

scholarly journals Open Source Digitally Replicable Lab-Grade Scales

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin R. Hubbard ◽  
Joshua M. Pearce
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Load Cell ◽  
Significant Cost ◽  
Load Cells ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Cell Data ◽  
Precision Balance ◽  
Multiple Load

This study provides designs for a low-cost, easily replicable open source lab-grade digital scale that can be used as a precision balance. The design is such that it can be manufactured for use in most labs throughout the world with open source RepRap-class material extrusion-based 3-D printers for the mechanical components and readily available open source electronics including the Arduino Nano. Several versions of the design were fabricated and tested for precision and accuracy for a range of load cells. The results showed the open source scale was found to be repeatable within 0.1g with multiple load cells, with even better precision (0.01g) depending on load cell range and style. The scale tracks linearly with proprietary lab-grade scales, meeting the performance specified in the load cell data sheets, indicating that it is accurate across the range of the load cell installed. The smallest loadcell tested(100g) offers precision on the order of a commercial digital mass balance. The scale can be produced at significant cost savings compared to scales of comparable range and precision when serial capability is present. The cost savings increase significantly as the range of the scale increases and are particularly well-suited for resource-constrained medical and scientific facilities.

scholarly journals Exciting Young Students In Grades K-8 About STEM Through An Afterschool Robotics Challenge

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Karp ◽  
Patricia Maloney
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
School Students ◽  
Diverse Student ◽  
Texas Tech University ◽  
College Of Engineering

In this paper, we describe the successful implementation of an afterschool LEGO robotics program for elementary and middle school students that is annually offered by the Whitacre College of Engineering at Texas Tech University. Three events are held on campus: the kickoff, a trial run, and the competition, spread over a period of eight weeks. In between the events, participants design their LEGO robots at the school, mostly during afterschool clubs. Through our program, we broaden the participation in hands-on robotics tasks which apply STEM concepts to groups that otherwise might not have the opportunity. Success factors of our implementation are the flexibility of the implementation at the local level, the inclusion of engineering students as mentors and volunteers, and the low cost for organizers and participants. We provide evidence that we have reached a diverse student population in grades K-8 and positively changed their attitudes toward STEM, then we report the benefits that teachers see in regular participation in the event. Finally, we describe the benefit of involving engineering undergraduate students as mentors and volunteers. 

scholarly journals Open-Source Digitally Replicable Lab-Grade Scales

Instruments ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin R. Hubbard ◽  
Joshua M. Pearce
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Load Cell ◽  
Significant Cost ◽  
Load Cells ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Cell Data ◽  
Precision Balance ◽  
Multiple Load

This study provides designs for a low-cost, easily replicable open-source lab-grade digital scale that can be used as a precision balance. The design is such that it can be manufactured for use in most labs throughout the world with open-source RepRap-class material extrusion-based 3-D printers for the mechanical components and readily available open-source electronics including the Arduino Nano. Several versions of the design were fabricated and tested for precision and accuracy for a range of load cells. The results showed the open-source scale was found to be repeatable within 0.05 g with multiple load cells, with even better precision (0.005 g) depending on load cell range and style. The scale tracks linearly with proprietary lab-grade scales, meeting the performance specified in the load cell data sheets, indicating that it is accurate across the range of the load cell installed. The smallest load cell tested (100 g) offers precision on the order of a commercial digital mass balance. The scale can be produced at significant cost savings compared to scales of comparable range and precision when serial capability is present. The cost savings increase significantly as the range of the scale increases and are particularly well-suited for resource-constrained medical and scientific facilities.

Rapid mapping accuracy assessment using low-cost UAV and open-source Structure from Motion

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 55-61
Author(s):  
Ettore Potente ◽  
Cosimo Cagnazzo ◽  
Alessandro Deodati ◽  
Giuseppe Mastronuzzi
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Accuracy Assessment ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Mapping Accuracy ◽  
Rapid Mapping ◽  
Source Structure

PyDOSS: An open-source Python-based communicable disease outbreak surveillance system designed and used in a COVID-19 community care facility (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Fang ◽  
Jonathan Kia-Sheng Phua ◽  
Terrence Chiew ◽  
Daniel De-Liang Loh ◽  
Lincoln Ming Han Liow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Disease Outbreak ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Healthcare Team ◽  
Increased Risk

BACKGROUND During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, community care facilities (CCF) were set up as temporary out-of-hospital isolation facilities to contain the surge of cases in Singapore. Confined living spaces within CCFs posed an increased risk of communicable disease spread among residents. OBJECTIVE This inspired our healthcare team managing a CCF operation to design a low-cost communicable disease outbreak surveillance system (CDOSS). METHODS Our CDOSS was designed with the following considerations: (1) comprehensiveness, (2) efficiency through passive reconnoitering from electronic medical record (EMR) data, (3) ability to provide spatiotemporal insights, (4) low-cost and (5) ease of use. We used Python to develop a lightweight application – Python-based Communicable Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (PyDOSS) – that was able perform syndromic surveillance and fever monitoring. With minimal user actions, its data pipeline would generate daily control charts and geospatial heat maps of cases from raw EMR data and logged vital signs. PyDOSS was successfully implemented as part of our CCF workflow. We also simulated a gastroenteritis (GE) outbreak to test the effectiveness of the system. RESULTS PyDOSS was used throughout the entire duration of operation; the output was reviewed daily by senior management. No disease outbreaks were identified during our medical operation. In the simulated GE outbreak, PyDOSS was able to effectively detect an outbreak within 24 hours and provided information about cluster progression which could aid in contact tracing. The code for a stock version of PyDOSS has been made publicly available. CONCLUSIONS PyDOSS is an effective surveillance system which was successfully implemented in a real-life medical operation. With the system developed using open-source technology and the code made freely available, it significantly reduces the cost of developing and operating CDOSS and may be useful for similar temporary medical operations, or in resource-limited settings.

scholarly journals Implementation of a Six-Layer Smart Factory Architecture with Special Focus on Transdisciplinary Engineering Education

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 2944
Author(s):  
Benjamin James Ralph ◽  
Marcel Sorger ◽  
Benjamin Schödinger ◽  
Hans-Jörg Schmölzer ◽  
Karin Hartl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
User Interfaces ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Material Behavior ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Programming Environments ◽  
Metal Processing

Smart factories are an integral element of the manufacturing infrastructure in the context of the fourth industrial revolution. Nevertheless, there is frequently a deficiency of adequate training facilities for future engineering experts in the academic environment. For this reason, this paper describes the development and implementation of two different layer architectures for the metal processing environment. The first architecture is based on low-cost but resilient devices, allowing interested parties to work with mostly open-source interfaces and standard back-end programming environments. Additionally, one proprietary and two open-source graphical user interfaces (GUIs) were developed. Those interfaces can be adapted front-end as well as back-end, ensuring a holistic comprehension of their capabilities and limits. As a result, a six-layer architecture, from digitization to an interactive project management tool, was designed and implemented in the practical workflow at the academic institution. To take the complexity of thermo-mechanical processing in the metal processing field into account, an alternative layer, connected with the thermo-mechanical treatment simulator Gleeble 3800, was designed. This framework is capable of transferring sensor data with high frequency, enabling data collection for the numerical simulation of complex material behavior under high temperature processing. Finally, the possibility of connecting both systems by using open-source software packages is demonstrated.

scholarly journals Cloud-based virtual labs vs. low-cost physical labs: what engineering students think.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Slamnik-Krijestorac ◽  
Raf Van den Langenbergh ◽  
Thomas Huybrechts ◽  
Sergio Martin Gutierrez ◽  
Manuel Castro Gil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Virtual Labs

scholarly journals Induction of Neural Plasticity Using a Low-Cost Open Source Brain-Computer Interface and a 3D-Printed Wrist Exoskeleton

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 572
Author(s):  
Mads Jochumsen ◽  
Taha Al Muhammadee Janjua ◽  
Juan Carlos Arceo ◽  
Jimmy Lauber ◽  
Emilie Simoneau Buessinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
True Positive Rate ◽  
Positive Rate ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
And Control ◽  
Bci System

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have been proven to be useful for stroke rehabilitation, but there are a number of factors that impede the use of this technology in rehabilitation clinics and in home-use, the major factors including the usability and costs of the BCI system. The aims of this study were to develop a cheap 3D-printed wrist exoskeleton that can be controlled by a cheap open source BCI (OpenViBE), and to determine if training with such a setup could induce neural plasticity. Eleven healthy volunteers imagined wrist extensions, which were detected from single-trial electroencephalography (EEG), and in response to this, the wrist exoskeleton replicated the intended movement. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited using transcranial magnetic stimulation were measured before, immediately after, and 30 min after BCI training with the exoskeleton. The BCI system had a true positive rate of 86 ± 12% with 1.20 ± 0.57 false detections per minute. Compared to the measurement before the BCI training, the MEPs increased by 35 ± 60% immediately after and 67 ± 60% 30 min after the BCI training. There was no association between the BCI performance and the induction of plasticity. In conclusion, it is possible to detect imaginary movements using an open-source BCI setup and control a cheap 3D-printed exoskeleton that when combined with the BCI can induce neural plasticity. These findings may promote the availability of BCI technology for rehabilitation clinics and home-use. However, the usability must be improved, and further tests are needed with stroke patients.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT IN OPEN DESIGN COMMUNITIES: A PROCESS PERSPECTIVE

2011 ◽  
Vol 08 (04) ◽  
pp. 557-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTINA RAASCH
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Industrial Practice ◽  
Open Design ◽  
Open Development ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Process Perspective ◽  
Significant Attention

Open source (OS) has raised significant attention in industrial practice and in scholarly research as a new and successful mode of product development. This paper is among the first to study open source development processes outside their original context, the software industry. In particular, we investigate the development of tangible products in so-called open design projects. We study how open design projects address the challenges usually put forward in the literature as barriers to the open development of tangible products. The analysis rests on the comparative qualitative investigation of four cases from different industries. We find that, subject to certain contingencies, open design processes can be organized to resemble OSS development processes to a considerable degree. Some practices are established specifically to uphold OS principles in the open design context, while others starkly differ from those found in OSS development. Our discussion focusses on different aspects of modularity as well as the availability of low-cost tools.

scholarly journals An open source and low-cost Smart Auditorium

2021 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 518-523
Author(s):  
Oqaidi Mohammed ◽  
Ait Abdelouahid Rachida ◽  
Debauche Olivier ◽  
Marzak Abdelaziz
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Low Cost
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document