A Semi-Autonomous Quadruped Robot for Performing Disinfection in Cluttered Environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiyu Chen ◽  
Abhinav Pandey ◽  
Zhiwei Deng ◽  
Anthony Nguyen ◽  
Ruiqi Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract The global COVID-19 pandemic has inevitably made disinfection a daily routine to ensure the safety of public and private spaces. However, the existing disinfection procedures are time-consuming and require intensive human labor to apply chemical-based disinfectant onto contaminated surfaces. In this paper, a robot disinfection system is presented to increase the automation of the disinfection task to assist humans in performing routine disinfection safely and efficiently. This paper presents a semi-autonomous quadruped robot called LASER-D for performing disinfection in cluttered environments. The robot is equipped with a spray-based disinfection system and leverages the body motion to control the spray action without an extra stabilization mechanism. The spraying unit is mounted on the robot’s back and controlled by the robot computer. The control architecture is designed based on force control, resulting in navigating rough terrains and the flexibility in controlling the body motion during standing and walking for the disinfection task. The robot also uses the vision system to improve localization and maintain desired distance to the disinfection surface. The system incorporates image processing capability to evaluate disinfected regions with high accuracy. This feedback is then used to adjust the disinfection plan to guarantee that all assigned areas are disinfected properly. The system is also equipped with highly integrated simulation software to design, simulate and evaluate disinfection plans effectively. This work has allowed the robot to successfully carry out effective disinfection experiments while safely traversing through cluttered environments, climb stairs/slopes, and navigate on slippery surfaces.

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (03) ◽  
pp. 287-296
Author(s):  
Yasir Hayat Mughal

The purpose of the study is to investigate the role of stress upon academic performance of students. Stress is faced by each individual in academic, professional as well as daily routine life. The current study has identified different sources of stress which might be controlled to enhance academic performance of students. For this purpose cross-sectional design survey approach was conducted from two different universities from the different faculties. The development of scientific knowledge in current study is based on the positivism philosophy. The non probability convenience sampling technique was used. Population of the study was students from public and private universities. 210 students have participated in the study. Cronbach alpha, correlation and regression were used for analysis of data. SPSS 25 was used. Findings of study revealed that scale adopted from past studies was found reliable and there is significant positive relationship between factors of stress and academic performance of students. It was also found that academic factors were most dominant factors which played significant role in affecting students’ performance. This study is original contribution and has extended the body of knowledge of stress and student academic performance.


Author(s):  
Johan Roenby ◽  
Hassan Aref

The model of body–vortex interactions, where the fluid flow is planar, ideal and unbounded, and the vortex is a point vortex, is studied. The body may have a constant circulation around it. The governing equations for the general case of a freely moving body of arbitrary shape and mass density and an arbitrary number of point vortices are presented. The case of a body and a single vortex is then investigated numerically in detail. In this paper, the body is a homogeneous, elliptical cylinder. For large body–vortex separations, the system behaves much like a vortex pair regardless of body shape. The case of a circle is integrable. As the body is made slightly elliptic, a chaotic region grows from an unstable relative equilibrium of the circle-vortex case. The case of a cylindrical body of any shape moving in fluid otherwise at rest is also integrable. A second transition to chaos arises from the limit between rocking and tumbling motion of the body known in this case. In both instances, the chaos may be detected both in the body motion and in the vortex motion. The effect of increasing body mass at a fixed body shape is to damp the chaos.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (S1) ◽  
pp. 69-69
Author(s):  
Marlene C. Neves Rosa ◽  
Flávia Silva ◽  
Monica Reis

Background:Burden of care might be highly dependent of specific characteristics of the disease (Lee et al., 2019). Uncertainties remain about factors that influence burden of care in Parkinson Disease (PD).Aim:To identify a list of ICF-related domains identified by caregivers of older patients with PD.Methods:Caregivers of people with PD were recruited in Portugal Parkinson Foundation, if they take care of someone with PD older than 65 yrs, and for more than 6 hours/day. A focus group was video recorded, based on the following questions: Can you please tell us how did you spent your day before you're a caregiver; there are any differences in your daily routine now? How do you feel or think when you're caring for a relative? Can you tell us if there is any kind of daily activity more pleasant or more embarrassing? Verbal interactions during focus group were transcribed and codified using International Classification of Functioning and Disability (ICF) domains.Results:Seven caregivers (5 females; 40-73 yrs; 5 were spousal) were enrolled. Thirty-six caregivers’ references were about body functions and structures (91.67% - mental functions: “I feel tired…it is a constant monotony”); fifty-seven references were about activities and participation (“I need to assist him with bathing”; “when he wants to standing from his favourite chair, he always need help…and his body is very stiff”);eleven references were about environmental factors, mostly about medication and family/health professionals assistance.Discussion:Our results demonstrated that caregivers are worried about their mental health and routine preservation, which is in accordance with previous studies in this topic (Tessitore et al.,2018). However, new caregivers’ perceptions were found in our study, which are very specific domains in PD: body motion rigidity and medication for patients’ psychomotor agitation. A previous study stated that control of mental symptoms in PD are the most powerful predictors of caregivers' burden (Hooker et al., 2000), but do not consider the importance of Parkinson’s motor symptoms.Conclusion:Burden of care in PD is mostly associated with the need of preservation in daily routines, but also with management of mental and motor symptoms in PD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanjun Ryu ◽  
Hyun-moon Park ◽  
Moo-Kang Kim ◽  
Bosung Kim ◽  
Hyoun Seok Myoung ◽  
...  

AbstractSelf-powered implantable devices have the potential to extend device operation time inside the body and reduce the necessity for high-risk repeated surgery. Without the technological innovation of in vivo energy harvesters driven by biomechanical energy, energy harvesters are insufficient and inconvenient to power titanium-packaged implantable medical devices. Here, we report on a commercial coin battery-sized high-performance inertia-driven triboelectric nanogenerator (I-TENG) based on body motion and gravity. We demonstrate that the enclosed five-stacked I-TENG converts mechanical energy into electricity at 4.9 μW/cm3 (root-mean-square output). In a preclinical test, we show that the device successfully harvests energy using real-time output voltage data monitored via Bluetooth and demonstrate the ability to charge a lithium-ion battery. Furthermore, we successfully integrate a cardiac pacemaker with the I-TENG, and confirm the ventricle pacing and sensing operation mode of the self-rechargeable cardiac pacemaker system. This proof-of-concept device may lead to the development of new self-rechargeable implantable medical devices.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 2516
Author(s):  
Bashar Bahaa Qas Elias ◽  
Ping Jack Soh ◽  
Azremi Abdullah Al-Hadi ◽  
Prayoot Akkaraekthalin ◽  
Guy A. E. Vandenbosch

This work presents the design and optimization of an antenna with defected ground structure (DGS) using characteristic mode analysis (CMA) to enhance bandwidth. This DGS is integrated with a rectangular patch with circular meandered rings (RPCMR) in a wearable format fully using textiles for wireless body area network (WBAN) application. For this integration process, both CMA and the method of moments (MoM) were applied using the same electromagnetic simulation software. This work characterizes and estimates the final shape and dimensions of the DGS using the CMA method, aimed at enhancing antenna bandwidth. The optimization of the dimensions and shape of the DGS is simplified, as the influence of the substrates and excitation is first excluded. This optimizes the required time and resources in the design process, in contrast to the conventional optimization approaches made using full wave “trial and error” simulations on a complete antenna structure. To validate the performance of the antenna on the body, the specific absorption rate is studied. Simulated and measured results indicate that the proposed antenna meets the requirements of wideband on-body operation.


Author(s):  
Minglu Chen ◽  
Shan Huang ◽  
Nigel Baltrop ◽  
Ji Chunyan ◽  
Liangbi Li

Mooring line damping plays an important role to the body motion of moored floating platforms. Meanwhile, it can also make contributions to optimize the mooring line system. Accurate assessment of mooring line damping is thus an essential issue for offshore structure design. However, it is difficult to determine the mooring line damping based on theoretical methods. This study considers the parameters which have impact on mooring-induced damping. In the paper, applying Morison formula to calculate the drag and initial force on the mooring line, its dynamic response is computed in the time domain. The energy dissipation of the mooring line due to the viscosity was used to calculate mooring-induced damping. A mooring line is performed with low-frequency oscillation only, the low-frequency oscillation superimposed with regular and irregular wave-frequency motions. In addition, the influences of current velocity, mooring line pretension and different water depths are taken into account.


2014 ◽  
Vol 590 ◽  
pp. 451-457
Author(s):  
Sen Nan Song ◽  
Fa Chao Jiang ◽  
Hong Shi

The present work is concerned with the rolling motion of the battery pack when EV travelling on the road. First McPherson suspension system was regarded as the research object with detailed analysis of its structural features and motion characteristics. Establish the mathematical model which could apply to calculating the rolling motion of the vehicle body. Through MATLAB/Simulink simulation software, we could calculate the rolling angle on passive suspension. On this basis, assume that the battery pack mounted on the vehicle body and make it passive connection and PID connection. When the body rolls, the battery pack will produce a certain angle then. Next establish the mathematical model to summarize the relationship between the two variables. Then we set the parameters and calculate the roll angle of battery pack in both cases for comparison. Simulation results show that road irregularities will make battery rotate an angle and PID controller can effectively reduce the angle, especially angular acceleration. This paper put forward a new idea that battery is connected with body by active control on EV, and proves the superiority in reducing the rolling angle.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-572
Author(s):  
Amy M Russell

The spaces of trafficking for sexual exploitation have profound effects on the embodiment of women who are forced to live within them. This article argues that the spaces of human trafficking can be understood as abject spaces, and as such, they trouble multiple boundaries including those between hidden and exposed, domestic and commercial, and public and private. This article provides a theoretically speculative engagement with notions of abject space and mimicry to add a further dimension to the debate on the nature of the spaces of trafficking. These abject spaces, and the sexual exploitation that takes place within them undermines women’s notions of bodily integrity, yet I argue there is agency to be found in the loss of embodied identity. The basis for this engagement is an analysis of a series of documents written by women who were trafficked from post-Soviet countries to Israel. It will conceptualise the ways women survive in such a space by challenging bounded notions of the body.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panoraia I. Siafaka ◽  
Gökce Mutlu ◽  
Neslihan Üstündağ Okur

Background: Dementia and its related types such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and mixed dementia belong to brain associated diseases, resulting in long-term progressive memory loss. These diseases are so severe that can affect a person's daily routine. Up to date, treatment of de- mentias is still an unmet challenge due to their complex pathophysiology and unavailable efficient pharmacological approaches. The use of nanotechnology based pharmaceutical products could possibly improve the management of dementia given that nanocarriers could more efficiently deliver drugs to the brain. Objective: The objective of this study is to provide the current nanotechnology based drug delivery systems for the treatment of various dementia types. In addition, the current diagnosis biomarkers for the mentioned dementia types along with their available pharmacological treatment are being dis- cussed. Method: An extensive review of the current nanosystems such as brain drug delivery systems against Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and mixed dementia was performed. Moreover, nan- otheranostics as possible imaging markers for such dementias were also reported. Results: The field of nanotechnology is quite advantageous for targeting dementia given that nanoscale drug delivery systems easily penetrate the blood brain barrier and circulate in the body for prolonged time. These nanoformulations consist of polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostruc- tured lipid carriers, microemulsions, nanoemulsions, and liquid crystals. The delivery of the nan- otherapeutics can be achieved via various administration routes such as transdermal, injectable, oral, and more importantly, through the intranasal route. Nonetheless, the nanocarriers are mostly limited to Alzheimer’s disease targeting; thus, nanocarriers for other types of dementia should be developed. Conclusion: To conclude, understanding the mechanism of neurodegeneration and reviewing the cur- rent drug delivery systems for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia types are significant for medical and pharmaceutical society to produce efficient therapeutic choices and novel strategies based on mul- tifunctional and biocompatible nanocarriers, which can deliver the drug sufficiently into the brain.


Author(s):  
X. Tong ◽  
B. Tabarrok

Abstract In this paper the global motion of a rigid body subject to small periodic torques, which has a fixed direction in the body-fixed coordinate frame, is investigated by means of Melnikov’s method. Deprit’s variables are introduced to transform the equations of motion into a form describing a slowly varying oscillator. Then the Melnikov method developed for the slowly varying oscillator is used to predict the transversal intersections of stable and unstable manifolds for the perturbed rigid body motion. It is shown that there exist transversal intersections of heteroclinic orbits for certain ranges of parameter values.


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