Face and Hand Gesture Recognition System for Controlling VLC Media Player

In human-computer interaction or sign language interpretation, recognizing hand gestures and face detection become predominant in computer vision research. The primary goal of this proposed system is to create a system, which can identify hand gestures and facial detection to convey information for controlling media player. For those who are deaf and dumb sign language is a common, efficient and alternative way for talking, by using the hand and facial gestures we can easily understand them. Here hand and face are directly use as the input to the device for effective communication purpose of gesture identification there is no need of an intermediate medium.

Model for the Pattern-Dependent Wet Grip Prediction of Tires

The most important task of the tire is to ensure driving safety by optimally transmitting the required longitudinal and lateral driving forces. Although great progress has been made in the past in the development of new materials and patterns, many questions remain unanswered in the field of elastomer friction on rough surfaces. This is particularly true when an additional intermediate medium is introduced into the contact, as for braking on wet roads in the form of water. To better understand this process, a model of a single-tread block on a rough road surface is developed. The influence of the fluid is represented by a physical meaningful friction law. The model is validated with results of tire wet-braking tests on an internal drum test rig. The model can map the interaction between tire tread, rough road surface and fluid film and the simulation results show a good agreement with the measurement results. Based on the investigation of individual tread blocks, a new approach to the description of the wet-braking behavior of passenger car tires was thus demonstrated, which can be extended to more complex tread geometries in the future.

Tympanic cavity ultraphonophoresis in cases of preserving integrity of tympanic membrane

One of the most common treatments for the middle ear disorders is the injection of medications into the tympanic cavity through the acoustic meatus. This method has proven itself in treatment of the perforated forms of otitis. In cases of preserving the integrity of the tympanic membrane, its efficacy is arguable due to the impossibility of drug direct penetration via the membrane and contact with the mucous membrane. To increase the permeability of the tympanum, the authors used endaural phonophoresis of drugs. The drug penetration into the tympanum was confirmed by multispiral computed tomography (MSCT) of the temporal bones before and after contrasted ultraphonophoresis with tissue contrast. A 5% solution of potassium iodide was used as a contrast substance, as well as a solution of dexamethasone, which served as an intermediate medium in patients with external otitis and a chronic secretory otitis media. The mechanism of penetration was associated with the primary accumulation of the drug in the layers of the tympanic and adjacent mucous membranes with further dissemination into the deeper parts of the tympanic cavity. An additional confirmation of this is the reaction of the mucous membrane of the tympanic cavity, the mastoid process and the airiness restoration during endaural phonophoresis with dexamethasone. Ultraphonophoresis of drugs through the imperforated eardrum can be used in the conservative treatment of protracted forms of secretory otitis media.

Harsh Sliding Wear of a Zirconia Ball against a-C:H Coated CoCrMo Disc in Hyaluronic Gel

The a-C:H (amorphous carbon-hydrogen) films belong to the family of DLC (diamond-like carbon) coatings. The a-C:H coating was deposited on medical grade CoCrMo substrates by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PA-CVD) using benzene as gaseous precursor. Benzene offers an aromatic structure, which affects the a-C:H properties after plasma decomposition. A zirconia ball was sliding at two different frequencies, 50 Hz or 1Hz, against the uncoated and a-C:H coated CoCrMo. The frequency of 1 Hz is typical for human movement during fast walking. The harsh sliding conditions with a normal load of 100 N and 50 Hz frequency simulate extreme overloading of the biomedical sliding partners. It gives insight into the failure mechanisms. The wear tests were carried out in laboratory air (dry, RH: 15.6%) or using hyaluronic gel as lubricant. The hyaluronic gel acts as an effective intermediate medium. It adheres very well to both, a-C:H coating and zirconia. No wear was evident on the ZrO2 ball at 1 Hz and 100 N. Minor wear traces were observed on the a-C:H coating only. A wear coefficient of 0.16 × 10−6 mm3/N·m were calculated for a-C:H coated CoCrMo after ZrO2 ball sliding with 1 Hz and 100 N in hyaluronic gel. This is two orders of magnitude lower in comparison to dry sliding of ZrO2 ball against DLC coated CoCrMo with 1 Hz. The coefficient of friction (COF) remained below 0.09 until the hyaluronic gel starts to lose viscosity. This finding pronounces the importance of a proper homogeneous lubrication during operation of the biomedical joints. For extreme harsh tribological loading like sudden jumps of a patient with artificial joints, the application of an intermediate layer before a-C:H coating needs further evaluation.

Lubricant-free deep drawing using CO2 and N2 as volatile media injected through laser-drilled microholes

Most metal forming processes use lubricants based on mineral oils as an intermediate medium to reduce friction and wear. To avoid the well-known drawbacks of oil lubrication, a novel and environment friendly lubrication system for deep-drawing processes was demonstrated at the University of Stuttgart. Liquid carbon dioxide and gaseous nitrogen are being used as volatile lubrication during the deep-drawing process, locally injected at high pressure through laser-drilled microholes. This new tribological system provides a significantly enlarged working range and at least 15% larger drawing depths compared to conventional oil lubrication.

Lubricant-free deep drawing using CO2 and N2 as volatile media injected through laser-drilled microholes

Most metal forming processes use lubricants based on mineral oils as an intermediate medium to reduce friction and wear. To avoid the well-known drawbacks of oil lubrication, a novel and environment friendly lubrication system for deep-drawing processes was demonstrated at the University of Stuttgart. Liquid carbon dioxide and gaseous nitrogen are being used as volatile lubrication during the deep-drawing process, locally injected at high pressure through laser-drilled microholes. This new tribological system provides a significantly enlarged working range and at least 15% larger drawing depths compared to conventional oil lubrication.