Design of a Durable Air-Muscle With Integrated Sensor for Soft Robotics

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geneviève Miron ◽  
Jean-Sébastien Plante
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Position Control ◽  
High Strain ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Soft Robotics ◽  
Integrated Sensor ◽  
Sensor Unit ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Local Stresses ◽  
Air Muscle

Soft robotics integrates compliant actuators and sensors that expand design possibilities beyond classic robotics based on rigid modular components. In particular, deformable elastomer-based actuators used in soft robots, such as air-muscles, offer the possibility of having large numbers of embedded degrees of freedom. However, air-muscles fatigue life and strain capability call for a tradeoff, limiting their practical use in demanding applications such as physical rehabilitation, medical robotics, and mobile robots. This paper presents the design of a durable high-strain air-muscle composed of a silicone tube and an axially elastic sleeve (radially rigid), which integrates a flexible Dielectric Elastomer (DE) position sensor. The uniformity of the sleeve, by opposition to usual braids, makes for a reinforcement without local stresses that cause membrane failure. Designed based on fatigue failure principles, this air-muscle withstands 145 000 cycles at 50 % elongation, which demonstrates its potential as a durable high-strain actuator. Performance maps of the air-muscle confirm good linearity between force, pressure and strain and demonstrate bi-directional force capability. Furthermore, the integration of a DE sensor allows for accurate position control of the air-muscle (0.17 mm), making the air-muscle/sensor unit a relevant building block for complex soft robotics systems. The all-polymer high-strain actuator/sensor unit proves to be accurate and durable as well as cost-effective, thus making it ideal for soft robotics applications requiring large numbers of actuators and integrated sensing.

scholarly journals Hafnium Zirconium Oxide Thin Films for CMOS Compatible Pyroelectric Infrared Sensors

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Clemens Mart ◽  
Malte Czernohorsky ◽  
Kati Kühnel ◽  
Wenke Weinreich
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Lead Zirconate Titanate ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Atomic Layer ◽  
Lead Zirconate ◽  
Temperature Oscillation ◽  
Current Profile ◽  
Infrared Sensors ◽  
Integrated Sensor ◽  
Ferroelectric Hysteresis

Pyroelectric infrared sensors are often based on lead-containing materials, which are harmful to the environment and subject to governmental restrictions. Ferroelectric Hf1−xZrxO2 thin films offer an environmentally friendly alternative. Additionally, CMOS integration allows for integrated sensor circuits, enabling scalable and cost-effective applications. In this work, we demonstrate the deposition of pyroelectric thin films on area-enhanced structured substrates via thermal atomic layer deposition. Scanning electron microscopy indicates a conformal deposition of the pyroelectric film in the holes with a diameter of 500 nm and a depth of 8 μm. By using TiN electrodes and photolithography, capacitor structures are formed, which are contacted via the electrically conductive substrate. Ferroelectric hysteresis measurements indicate a sizable remanent polarization of up to 331 μC cm−2, which corresponds to an area increase of up to 15 by the nanostructured substrate. For pyroelectric analysis, a sinusoidal temperature oscillation is applied to the sample. Simultaneously, the pyroelectric current is monitored. By assessing the phase of the measured current profile, the pyroelectric origin of the signal is confirmed. The devices show sizable pyroelectric coefficients of −475 μC m−2 K−1, which is larger than that of lead zirconate titanate (PZT). Based on the experimental evidence, we propose Hf1−xZrxO2 as a promising material for future pyroelectric applications.

States of local stresses in the Sea of Marmara through the analysis of large numbers of small earthquakes

2015 ◽  
Vol 665 ◽  
pp. 37-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasemin Korkusuz Öztürk ◽  
Nurcan Meral Özel ◽  
Ali Değer Özbakir
Keyword(s):  
Sea Of Marmara ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Local Stresses

scholarly journals The High Capacity Expanding Lifeboat HiCEL – Meeting the Modern SAR Challenge

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
J R E Wright ◽  
G E Payne
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
High Capacity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Concept Design ◽  
Small Vessels ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Cost Effective Alternative ◽  
Operational Envelope ◽  
Second World

The Mediterranean migrant crisis has resulted in the highest population displacement since the Second World War. In 2016 alone, over one million made the journey across the sea. Since 2013 over 15,000 have died as a result of this journey. Small vessels such as wooden fishing boats and RIBs are commonly used by smugglers as transport. These are often unseaworthy and filled with numbers of passengers far exceeding their intended capacity. When failure occurs, rescues are typically conducted by the nearest available vessel. These vessels are often ill-equipped for a large-scale Search and Rescue (SAR) operation making it highly dangerous for all involved.  The size and quantity of lifeboats available are often insufficient for the large numbers of people to be rescued; as a result, repeat journeys are required, making the rescue process slow, inefficient and hazardous. This paper outlines a novel solution to this problem. A concept design is presented for a rapidly expandable lifeboat capable of holding large numbers of passengers, whilst still fitting into the operational envelope of common davits. The unique inflatable design can be deployed quickly from a range of vessels and aeroplanes offering an immediate platform from which disembarkation onto a suitable vessel can be achieved. CONOPS are outlined along with the required capabilities of the design. Drop stitch technology is identified as a viable means of manufacturing the large inflatable platforms. Finally, the paper discusses an alternative solution, retrofitting existing enclosed lifeboats with the solution to offer a more cost-effective alternative.  

scholarly journals PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF INTEGRATED SENSOR ORIENTATION WITH A LOW-COST GNSS RECEIVER

2017 ◽  
Vol IV-2/W3 ◽  
pp. 75-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Rehak ◽  
J. Skaloud
Keyword(s):  
Position Control ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Bundle Adjustment ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Reference Trajectory ◽  
Integrated Sensor ◽  
Homogeneous Surface ◽  
Gnss Receiver ◽  
Sensor Orientation

Mapping with Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs whose weight does not exceed 5&amp;thinsp;kg) is gaining importance in applications such as corridor mapping, road and pipeline inspections, or mapping of large areas with homogeneous surface structure, e.g. forest or agricultural fields. In these challenging scenarios, integrated sensor orientation (ISO) improves effectiveness and accuracy. Furthermore, in block geometry configurations, this mode of operation allows mapping without ground control points (GCPs). Accurate camera positions are traditionally determined by carrier-phase GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning. However, such mode of positioning has strong requirements on receiver’s and antenna’s performance. In this article, we present a mapping project in which we employ a single-frequency, low-cost (<&amp;thinsp;$100) GNSS receiver on a MAV. The performance of the low-cost receiver is assessed by comparing its trajectory with a reference trajectory obtained by a survey-grade, multi-frequency GNSS receiver. In addition, the camera positions derived from these two trajectories are used as observations in bundle adjustment (BA) projects and mapping accuracy is evaluated at check points (ChP). Several BA scenarios are considered with absolute and relative aerial position control. Additionally, the presented experiments show the possibility of BA to determine a camera-antenna spatial offset, so-called lever-arm.

scholarly journals A Quadruped Robot with the Wooden Body for Static Locomotion in a Controlled Environment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Bilal Khan
Keyword(s):  
Inverse Kinematics ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Position Control ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Control Design ◽  
Quadruped Robot ◽  
Legged Robots ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Robot Design ◽  
Classroom Setting

We present the design and overall development of an eight degrees of freedom (DOF) based Bioinspired Quadruped Robot (BiQR). The robot is designed with a skeleton made of cedar wood. The wooden skeleton is based on exploring the potential of cedar wood to be a choice for legged robots&rsquo; design. With a total weight of 1.19 kg, the robot uses eight servo motors that run the position control. Relying on the inverse kinematics, the control design enables the robot to perform the walk gait-based locomotion in a controlled environment. The robot has two main aspects: 1) the initial wooden skeleton development of the robot showing it to be an acceptable choice for robot design, 2) the robot&rsquo;s applicability as a low-cost legged platform to test the locomotion in a laboratory or a classroom setting.

New Redundant Manipulator Robot with Six Degrees of Freedom Controlled with Visual Feedback

2017 ◽  
pp. 231-255
Author(s):  
Claudio Urrea ◽  
Héctor Araya
Keyword(s):  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Position Control ◽  
Vision System ◽  
Artificial Vision ◽  
Correct Operation ◽  
Six Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Implementation Stages ◽  
Manipulator Robot

The design and implementation stages of a redundant robotized manipulator with six Degrees Of Freedom (DOF), controlled with visual feedback by means of computational software, is presented. The various disciplines involved in the design and implementation of the manipulator robot are highlighted in their electric as well as mechanical aspects. Then, the kinematics equations that govern the position and orientation of each link of the manipulator robot are determined. The programming of an artificial vision system and of an interface that control the manipulator robot is designed and implemented. Likewise, the type of position control applied to each joint is explained, making a distinction according to the assigned task. Finally, functional mechanical and electric tests to validate the correct operation of each of the systems of the manipulator robot and the whole robotized system are carried out.

Smart Prosthetic Hand with Object Slippage Detection, Measurement, and Control

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-48
Author(s):  
Girish Sriram ◽  
Alex Jensen ◽  
Steve C. Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Control Strategy ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Sensory Feedback ◽  
Position Control ◽  
Tactile Feedback ◽  
Human Hand ◽  
Computing Platform ◽  
Emg Signal ◽  
A New Technique

The human hand along with its fingers possess one of the highest numbers of nerve endings in the human body. It thus has the capacity for the richest tactile feedback for positioning capabilities. This article shares a new technique of controlling slippage. The sensing system used for the detection of slippage is a modified force sensing resistor (FSR®). The control system is a fuzzy logic control algorithm with multiple rules that is designed to be processed on a mobile handheld computing platform and integrated/working alongside a traditional Electromyography (EMG) or Electroencephalography (EEG) based control system used for determining position of the fingers. A 5 Degrees of Freedom (DOF) hand, was used to test the slippage control strategy in real time. First a reference EMG signal was used for getting the 5 DOF hand to grasp an object, using position control. Then a slip was introduced to see the slippage control strategy at work. The results based on the plain tactile sensory feedback and the modified sensory feedback are discussed.

scholarly journals Risk of Spreading Soft Rot Through Cutting Dips Against Whiteflies in Greenhouse-Grown Poinsettia

Plant Disease ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 104 (8) ◽  
pp. 2262-2268
Author(s):  
Rosemarije Buitenhuis ◽  
Anissa Poleatewich ◽  
Mark Jandricic ◽  
Michael Brownbridge
Keyword(s):  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Soft Rot ◽  
Cross Contamination ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Growing Medium ◽  
Cost Effective Technique ◽  
Dipping Process ◽  
Carotovorum Subsp ◽  
Insecticidal Treatment

Dipping is a quick and cost-effective technique to reduce pest infestations on unrooted cuttings of greenhouse ornamental crops. Large numbers of cuttings are immersed in an insecticidal treatment, e.g., biopesticides and/or insecticidal soap, before they are stuck in the growing medium and rooted. This research investigated the risk of cross-contamination of poinsettia cuttings with Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, a potentially devastating pathogen causing soft rot, through the dipping process. Sampling at four commercial greenhouses showed that P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum was present in all dip suspensions during and after processing poinsettia cuttings; concentrations up to 1 × 105 CFU/ml were detected. A laboratory experiment determined that P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum-infected cuttings could contaminate clean dip suspensions to similar levels. These results indicated that there is potential for disease transfer during dipping. The potential for cross-contamination of healthy cuttings was evaluated by immersing poinsettia cuttings in dip suspensions artificially inoculated with P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (from 1 × 103 to 1 × 107 CFU/ml). Disease incidence increased as P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum concentrations in the dip suspension increased and the variety ‘Prestige Red’ was more susceptible than ‘Freedom White.’ However, even at the highest P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum concentration of 1 × 107 CFU/ml, the proportion of diseased cuttings was low at 6% for var. ‘Freedom White,’ but higher at 21% for var. ‘Prestige Red.’ We conclude that P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum transfer among unrooted poinsettia cuttings through the dipping process is relatively low although some varieties are sensitive to high levels of inoculum. Even so, strict sanitation practices are still important to prevent build-up of inoculum in the dip treatment.

scholarly journals Analysis of Upper-Limb and Trunk Kinematic Variability: Accuracy and Reliability of an RGB-D Sensor

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Alessandro Scano ◽  
Robert Mihai Mira ◽  
Pietro Cerveri ◽  
Lorenzo Molinari Tosatti ◽  
Marco Sacco
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Human Motion ◽  
Working Environments ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Upper Limb Movements ◽  
Clinical Environments ◽  
Point To Point

In the field of motion analysis, the gold standard devices are marker-based tracking systems. Despite being very accurate, their cost, stringent working environments, and long preparation time make them unsuitable for small clinics as well as for other scenarios such as industrial application. Since human-centered approaches have been promoted even outside clinical environments, the need for easy-to-use solutions to track human motion is topical. In this context, cost-effective devices, such as RGB-Depth (RBG-D) cameras have been proposed, aiming at a user-centered evaluation in rehabilitation or of workers in industry environment. In this paper, we aimed at comparing marker-based systems and RGB-D cameras for tracking human motion. We used a Vicon system (Vicon Motion Systems, Oxford, UK) as a gold standard for the analysis of accuracy and reliability of the Kinect V2 (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) in a variety of gestures in the upper limb workspace—targeting rehabilitation and working applications. The comparison was performed on a group of 15 adult healthy subjects. Each subject had to perform two types of upper-limb movements (point-to-point and exploration) in three workspace sectors (central, right, and left) that might be explored in rehabilitation and industrial working scenarios. The protocol was conceived to test a wide range of the field of view of the RGB-D device. Our results, detailed in the paper, suggest that RGB-D sensors are adequate to track the upper limb for biomechanical assessments, even though relevant limitations can be found in the assessment and reliability of some specific degrees of freedom and gestures with respect to marker-based systems.

Numerical Model of Towing Line in Sea Transport

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Ćatipović ◽  
Nastia Degiuli ◽  
Andreja Werner ◽  
Većeslav Čorić ◽  
Jadranka Radanović
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Vertical Plane ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Sea Transport ◽  
Nonlinear Properties ◽  
Wave Induced

Towing as a specific type of sea transport is often used for installing objects for drilling and exploitation of underwater gas and oil wells. Also, towing proved to be a cost-effective solution for the installation of the offshore wind turbine electric generators at sea locations. Because of the mass of these objects the need for towing increases progressively. Time domain numerical model for the wave-induced motions of a towed ship and the towline tension in regular head seas is presented in this paper. For the sake of simplicity, one end of the towing line is attached to ship’s bow and another end has prescribed straight line motion. All considerations are done in the vertical plane so the ship is modeled as a rigid body with three degrees of freedom. Hydrodynamic loadings due to waves are taken into account along with added mass and damping. Dynamics of the towing line is described by finite elements. Due to the nonlinear properties of the problem calculations are done in time domain. Comparison of the obtained numerical results is made with previously published results.

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