Pantograph Mechanism for Increasing the Working Area in a Haptic Guidance Device for Sketching, Hatching and Cutting Tasks

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Covarrubias ◽  
Monica Bordegoni ◽  
Umberto Cugini ◽  
Elia Gatti ◽  
Alessandro Mansutti
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Haptic Device ◽  
Haptic Guidance ◽  
Cutting Operation ◽  
Manual Tasks ◽  
Specific Disorders ◽  
Design Construction ◽  
Guidance Device

The paper presents the design, construction, validation and testing of a Haptic Guidance Device whose aim is to provide dynamic assistance while performing manual activities such as drawing, hatching and cutting. A commercial phantom haptic device was modified by adding a pantograph mechanism in order to increase the haptic working area. The force feedback workspace provided by the phantom device is quite limited, 160 W × 120 H mm. This workspace sometimes is not enough to reproduce manual tasks in a large-scale area as is often required in several educational activities (e.g. sketching, hatching and cutting tasks). In this paper is evaluated a low cost solution for increasing the haptic working area provided by the phantom device. The pantograph mechanism has been linked with the haptic device in order to increase the working area in a 2:1 scale. The users hand moves a pen linked to the device through 2D predefined shapes in which the pens position have been tracked in 2D coordinates at 25 kHz in order to record all the data for the posterior analysis. The haptic guidance device is also equipped with a cutting system using hot wire for physically producing the drawn shape as a piece of polystyrene foam. The haptic guidance device has been tested by people with specific disorders affecting coordination such as Down syndrome and mental retardation under the supervision of their teachers and care assistants. The results of the study prove that higher performance levels can be achieved while performing manual tasks as sketching, hatching and cutting operation using the haptic guidance device.

scholarly journals Design, Construction and Tests of a Low-Cost Myoelectric Thumb

Technologies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Murat Ayvali ◽  
Inge Wickenkamp ◽  
Andrea Ehrmann
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
3D Printing ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Hand ◽  
Typical Application ◽  
Myoelectric Prostheses ◽  
Manual Tasks ◽  
Recent Project ◽  
Design Construction

Myoelectric signals can be used to control prostheses or exoskeletons as well as robots, i.e., devices assisting the user or replacing a missing part of the body. A typical application of myoelectric prostheses is the human hand. Here, the development of a low-cost myoelectric thumb is described, which can either be used as an additional finger or as prosthesis. Combining 3D printing with inexpensive sensors, electrodes, and electronics, the recent project offers the possibility to produce an individualized myoelectric thumb at significantly lower costs than commercial myoelectric prostheses. Alternatively, a second thumb may be supportive for people with special manual tasks. These possibilities are discussed together with disadvantages of a second thumb and drawbacks of the low-cost solution in terms of mechanical properties and wearing comfort. The study shows that a low-cost customized myoelectric thumb can be produced in this way, but further research on controlling the thumb as well as improving motorization are necessarily to make it fully usable for daily tasks.

Supporting Unskilled People in Manual Tasks through Haptic-Based Guidance

2013 ◽  
pp. 947-969
Author(s):  
Mario Covarrubias ◽  
Monica Bordegoni ◽  
Umberto Cugini ◽  
Elia Gatti
Keyword(s):  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Hand Movement ◽  
Evaluation Methodology ◽  
Haptic Guidance ◽  
Novel Device ◽  
Input System ◽  
Output System ◽  
Manual Tasks ◽  
Haptic Assistance

This chapter presents a methodology that the authors developed for the evaluation of a novel device based on haptic guidance to support people with disabilities in sketching, hatching, and cutting shapes. The user’s hand movement is assisted by a sort of magnet or spring effect attracting the hand towards an ideal shape. The haptic guidance device has been used as an input system for tracking the sketching movements made by the user according to the visual feedback received from a physical template without haptic assistance. Then the device has been used as an output system that provides force feedback capabilities. The drawn shape can also be physically produced as a piece of polystyrene foam. The evaluation methodology is based on a sequence of tests, aimed at assessing the usability of the device and at meeting the real needs of the unskilled people. In fact, the system has been evaluated by a group of healthy and unskilled people, by comparing the analysis of the tracking results. The authors have used the results of the tests to define guidelines about the device and its applications, switching from the concept of “test the device on unskilled people” to the concept of “testing the device with unskilled people.”

scholarly journals Let's Use Haptics!

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S8) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Rodrigues Quintas ◽  
Maria Teresa Restivo ◽  
José Rodrigues ◽  
Pedro Ubaldo
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Young People ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Complete System ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Degree Of Freedom ◽  
Haptic Device ◽  
Expensive Equipment ◽  
Sense Of Touch

The concept and the use of haptic devices need to be disseminated and they should become familiar among young people. At present haptics are used in many everyday tasks in different fields. Additionally, their use in interaction with virtual reality applications simulating real systems sense of touch will increase the usersâ?? realism and immersion and, consequently, they will contribute to improve the intrinsic knowledge to the simulationsâ?? goals. However, haptics are associated with expensive equipment and usually they offer several degrees of freedom. The objective of this work is to make their cost not much more expensive than a â??specialâ? mouse by offering a low cost solution with just one degree of freedom (1DOF) useful in many simple cases. Additionally, it is also an objective of this work the development of simple virtual reality systems requiring interactions only requiring one degree of freedom. A low cost, single-axis force-feedback haptic device of 1 degree of freedom has been developed. For evaluating the interest of this prototype a â??Spring Constantâ? application was built and used as a demonstrator. The complete system - the haptic interacting with the â??Spring Constantâ? - will be described in the present work.

Multifunctional Device for Assisting Unskilled People in Hand Movements Through the Haptic Point-Based Approach

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Covarrubias ◽  
Monica Bordegoni ◽  
Umberto Cugini
Keyword(s):  
Tool Path ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Cutting Tool ◽  
Soft Materials ◽  
Haptic Device ◽  
Hand Movements ◽  
Multifunctional Device ◽  
Wire Cutting ◽  
Cutting Operation ◽  
And Training

This paper describes a multifunctional haptic machine, a device that is used for assisting unskilled people in the assessment and training of hand movements. Sketching, hatching and cutting operations are assisted through the multifunctional device by using the haptic point-based approach. The device has enabled users to haptically interact with a 2D virtual template, which acts as a virtual tool path taking advantages of its force feedback capabilities. For sketching, hatching and cutting operations the haptic device is driven under the user movement and assisted through the Magnetic Goemetry Effect (MGE). Two configurations of the multifunctional device have been analyzed; the cartesian and the RR mechanism attached to the PHANTOM device. For sketching and hatching several pencils and pens colors are available. Regarding the cutting operation, a hot wire cutting tool can be replaced for cutting soft materials as expanded and extruded polystyrene foam. This paper discusses the design concept, kinematics and mechanics of the multifunctional haptic device. A brief test using the device in sketching, hatching and cutting operations is also given.

Supporting Unskilled People in Manual Tasks through Haptic-Based Guidance

2013 ◽  
pp. 355-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Covarrubias ◽  
Monica Bordegoni ◽  
Umberto Cugini ◽  
Elia Gatti
Keyword(s):  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Hand Movement ◽  
Evaluation Methodology ◽  
Haptic Guidance ◽  
Novel Device ◽  
Input System ◽  
Output System ◽  
Manual Tasks ◽  
Haptic Assistance

This chapter presents a methodology that the authors developed for the evaluation of a novel device based on haptic guidance to support people with disabilities in sketching, hatching, and cutting shapes. The user’s hand movement is assisted by a sort of magnet or spring effect attracting the hand towards an ideal shape. The haptic guidance device has been used as an input system for tracking the sketching movements made by the user according to the visual feedback received from a physical template without haptic assistance. Then the device has been used as an output system that provides force feedback capabilities. The drawn shape can also be physically produced as a piece of polystyrene foam. The evaluation methodology is based on a sequence of tests, aimed at assessing the usability of the device and at meeting the real needs of the unskilled people. In fact, the system has been evaluated by a group of healthy and unskilled people, by comparing the analysis of the tracking results. The authors have used the results of the tests to define guidelines about the device and its applications, switching from the concept of “test the device on unskilled people” to the concept of “testing the device with unskilled people.”

An Assessment of a Low-Cost Wastewater Disposal System after Twenty-Five Years of Operation

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 701-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. L. Reidy ◽  
G. W. Samson
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Wastewater Disposal ◽  
Industrial Base ◽  
Industrial Wastewaters ◽  
The Past ◽  
Gasification Process ◽  
Appropriate Treatment ◽  
Environmentally Safe ◽  
Coal Resource

A low-cost wastewater disposal system was commissioned in 1959 to treat domestic and industrial wastewaters generated in the Latrobe River valley in the province of Gippsland, within the State of Victoria, Australia (Figure 1). The Latrobe Valley is the centre for large-scale generation of electricity and for the production of pulp and paper. In addition other industries have utilized the brown coal resource of the region e.g. gasification process and char production. Consequently, industrial wastewaters have been dominant in the disposal system for the past twenty-five years. The mixed industrial-domestic wastewaters were to be transported some eighty kilometres to be treated and disposed of by irrigation to land. Several important lessons have been learnt during twenty-five years of operating this system. Firstly the composition of the mixed waste stream has varied significantly with the passage of time and the development of the industrial base in the Valley, so that what was appropriate treatment in 1959 is not necessarily acceptable in 1985. Secondly the magnitude of adverse environmental impacts engendered by this low-cost disposal procedure was not imagined when the proposal was implemented. As a consequence, clean-up procedures which could remedy the adverse effects of twenty-five years of impact are likely to be costly. The question then may be asked - when the total costs including rehabilitation are considered, is there really a low-cost solution for environmentally safe disposal of complex wastewater streams?

scholarly journals Rapid, large-scale species discovery in hyperdiverse taxa using 1D MinION sequencing

BMC Biology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amrita Srivathsan ◽  
Emily Hartop ◽  
Jayanthi Puniamoorthy ◽  
Wan Ting Lee ◽  
Sujatha Narayanan Kutty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Large Species ◽  
Morphological Examination ◽  
Species Discovery ◽  
Short Period

Abstract Background More than 80% of all animal species remain unknown to science. Most of these species live in the tropics and belong to animal taxa that combine small body size with high specimen abundance and large species richness. For such clades, using morphology for species discovery is slow because large numbers of specimens must be sorted based on detailed microscopic investigations. Fortunately, species discovery could be greatly accelerated if DNA sequences could be used for sorting specimens to species. Morphological verification of such “molecular operational taxonomic units” (mOTUs) could then be based on dissection of a small subset of specimens. However, this approach requires cost-effective and low-tech DNA barcoding techniques because well-equipped, well-funded molecular laboratories are not readily available in many biodiverse countries. Results We here document how MinION sequencing can be used for large-scale species discovery in a specimen- and species-rich taxon like the hyperdiverse fly family Phoridae (Diptera). We sequenced 7059 specimens collected in a single Malaise trap in Kibale National Park, Uganda, over the short period of 8 weeks. We discovered > 650 species which exceeds the number of phorid species currently described for the entire Afrotropical region. The barcodes were obtained using an improved low-cost MinION pipeline that increased the barcoding capacity sevenfold from 500 to 3500 barcodes per flowcell. This was achieved by adopting 1D sequencing, resequencing weak amplicons on a used flowcell, and improving demultiplexing. Comparison with Illumina data revealed that the MinION barcodes were very accurate (99.99% accuracy, 0.46% Ns) and thus yielded very similar species units (match ratio 0.991). Morphological examination of 100 mOTUs also confirmed good congruence with morphology (93% of mOTUs; > 99% of specimens) and revealed that 90% of the putative species belong to the neglected, megadiverse genus Megaselia. We demonstrate for one Megaselia species how the molecular data can guide the description of a new species (Megaselia sepsioides sp. nov.). Conclusions We document that one field site in Africa can be home to an estimated 1000 species of phorids and speculate that the Afrotropical diversity could exceed 200,000 species. We furthermore conclude that low-cost MinION sequencers are very suitable for reliable, rapid, and large-scale species discovery in hyperdiverse taxa. MinION sequencing could quickly reveal the extent of the unknown diversity and is especially suitable for biodiverse countries with limited access to capital-intensive sequencing facilities.

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