Size Constraint to Limit Interference in DRL-Free Single-Ended Biopotential Measurements

Purpose: In this work, it is shown that small, battery-powered wireless devices are so robust against electromagnetic interference that single-ended amplifiers can become a viable alternative for biopotential measurements, even without a Driven Right Leg (DRL) circuit. Methods: A power line interference analysis is presented for this case showing that this simple circuitry solution is feasible, and presenting the constraints under which it is so: small-size devices with dimensions less than 40 mm × 20 mm. Results: A functional prototype of a two-electrode wireless acquisition system was implemented using a single-ended amplifier. This allowed validating the power-line interference model with experimental results, including the acquisition of electromyographic (EMG) signals. The prototype, built with a size fulfilling the proposed guidelines, presented power-line interference voltages below 1.2 µVPP when working in an office environment. Conclusion: It can be concluded that a single-ended biopotential amplifier can be used if a sufficiently large isolation impedance is achieved with small-size wireless devices. This approach allows measurements with only two electrodes, a very simple front-end design, and a reduced number of components.

Coping with environmental challenges: COVID-19 screening station design with standard operation procedure in Thailand

With the continuous need for COVID-19 testing in Thailand, the country lacks appropriate screening and sample-taking facilities. Based on an earlier functional prototype realized by the authors, this research aims to design, plan, and realize a screening station at a safe distance from healthcare facilities to protect those involved from coronavirus infection while the sample is being collected. The design, planning, and realization methodology combines design rationalization processes, including an expert survey based on a prototype analysis, a user survey of potential operators, and an SOP derivation based on government guidelines. Outcomes to improve the resulting station design allow later use changes, improved transportation, and speedier installation in the required locations. Results show the station design improved to the earlier prototype version, suggesting better operation flow and flexible usage, especially in rural regions where the need for isolated testing facilities is prevalent. The constructed screening station design is considered safe, operational, and suitable for implementation near healthcare facilities, offering a low risk of contamination and adaption to individual needs. Its long-lasting character and variable use also help improve health care facilities’ future pandemic preparedness. This research is funded through the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA).

Prototype for Knee-load Relief through Ischiatic Support

Objective: The objective of this work was to develop a passive exoskeleton prototype for the relief of knee-load employing ischiatic body weight support. Methods and materials: A functional prototype was developed and tested with three volunteers to analyze its potential effectiveness and effects on gait kinematics. The performance of the prototype was assessed using motion capture and pressure mapping systems, and a testing bench for the study of ischiatic body weight. Results and discussion: The results of the tests indicate that the prototype allows reducing the load supported by the knees and does not have a significant effect on the kinematics of the hip and knee joints. The process allowed the designers to identify possibilities of improvement mainly on reducing the restrictions imposed by the prototype to the motion of the ankles, especially on the midstance of the support phase. Conclusions: The passive exoskeleton prototype developed for ischiatic body weight support allows setting different percentages of knee-load relief. The prototype does not have a significant effect on the kinematics of the hip and knee joints. Nevertheless, improvements must be performed to reduce the restrictions to the motion of the ankles.

Towards Cooperative Perception Services for ITS: Digital Twin in the Automotive Edge Cloud

We demonstrate a working functional prototype of a cooperative perception system that maintains a real-time digital twin of the traffic environment, providing a more accurate and more reliable model than any of the participant subsystems—in this case, smart vehicles and infrastructure stations—would manage individually. The importance of such technology is that it can facilitate a spectrum of new derivative services, including cloud-assisted and cloud-controlled ADAS functions, dynamic map generation with analytics for traffic control and road infrastructure monitoring, a digital framework for operating vehicle testing grounds, logistics facilities, etc. In this paper, we constrain our discussion on the viability of the core concept and implement a system that provides a single service: the live visualization of our digital twin in a 3D simulation, which instantly and reliably matches the state of the real-world environment and showcases the advantages of real-time fusion of sensory data from various traffic participants. We envision this prototype system as part of a larger network of local information processing and integration nodes, i.e., the logically centralized digital twin is maintained in a physically distributed edge cloud.

A modified agile-eye mechanism for robotic manipulation of wristed laparoscopic instruments

<div>Replacement of the exclusively designed instruments of the robotic surgery systems with the commercial hand-held wristed instruments provides advantages such as single-usability and cost reduction. A 4-DOF robotic system, based on a modified non-symmetric 2-DOF agile-eye mechanism, was developed to manipulate the hand-held wristed instruments. The kinematics of the mechanism was analyzed, its dimensions were optimized, and a functional prototype was tested experimentally. The optimized mechanism had a great kinematic isotropy (condition number <1.31) in the target workspace. Experimental studies revealed a high tracking accuracy ($0.27 +- 0.01 deg rms for the worse case) and a reasonably acceptable compliance (0.19 deg/N.m and 0.45 deg/N.m for the first and second kinematic chains respectively). By satisfying the design requirement, the robotic manipulator provides an attractive choice for robotic surgery systems. The performance of the manipulator can be improved further by increasing the stiffness of the second kinematic chain and performing kinematic calibration.</div>

A modified agile-eye mechanism for robotic manipulation of wristed laparoscopic instruments

<div>Replacement of the exclusively designed instruments of the robotic surgery systems with the commercial hand-held wristed instruments provides advantages such as single-usability and cost reduction. A 4-DOF robotic system, based on a modified non-symmetric 2-DOF agile-eye mechanism, was developed to manipulate the hand-held wristed instruments. The kinematics of the mechanism was analyzed, its dimensions were optimized, and a functional prototype was tested experimentally. The optimized mechanism had a great kinematic isotropy (condition number <1.31) in the target workspace. Experimental studies revealed a high tracking accuracy ($0.27 +- 0.01 deg rms for the worse case) and a reasonably acceptable compliance (0.19 deg/N.m and 0.45 deg/N.m for the first and second kinematic chains respectively). By satisfying the design requirement, the robotic manipulator provides an attractive choice for robotic surgery systems. The performance of the manipulator can be improved further by increasing the stiffness of the second kinematic chain and performing kinematic calibration.</div>

Reconfigurable Circular-Ring Feed Patch Antenna with Tri-Polarization Diversity

In this paper, a reconfigurable circular-ring feed patch antenna for polarization diversity applications is proposed. The reconfigurability is realized by using only two p-i-n diodes which are inserted into the circular feed ring of the aperture-coupled patch antenna. With the help of the p-i-n diodes, the polarization of the antenna is able to be altered among 45° linearly polarized (LP), left-hand circularly polarized (LHCP), and right-hand circularly polarized (RHCP) states. A fully-functional prototype is fabricated and measured. The measurement agrees well with the simulation and three polarization states are obtained. Owing to the merits of tri-polarization diversity, low profile and simple structure, the proposed design is a great candidate for future wireless systems.

A Secure Link-Layer Connectivity Platform for Multi-Site NFV Services

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is a key technology for network automation and has been instrumental to materialize the disruptive view of 5G and beyond mobile networks. In particular, 5G embraces NFV to support the automated and agile provision of telecommunication and vertical services as a composition of versatile virtualized components, referred to as Virtual Network Functions (VNFs). It provides a high degree of flexibility in placing these components on distributed NFV infrastructures (e.g., at the network edge, close to end users). Still, this flexibility creates new challenges in terms of VNF connectivity. To address these challenges, we introduce a novel secure link-layer connectivity platform, L2S. Our solution can automatically be deployed and configured as a regular multi-site NFV service, providing the abstraction of a layer-2 switch that offers link-layer connectivity to VNFs deployed on remote NFV sites. Inter-site communications are effectively protected using existing security solutions and protocols, such as IP security (IPsec). We have developed a functional prototype of L2S using open-source software technologies. Our evaluation results indicate that this prototype can perform IP tunneling and cryptographic operations at Gb/s data rates. Finally, we have validated L2S using a multi-site NFV ecosystem at the Telefonica Open Network Innovation Centre (5TONIC), using our solution to support a multicast-based IP television service.

Challenge-based and Competency-based Assessments in an Undergraduate Programming Course

In this work, we investigate an optimal assessment strategy to measure student learning in the first-year undergraduate engineering course at X-Department at X University. Specifically, we evaluate and compare challenge-based and competency-based assessment strategies. In the challenge-based approach, the students are required to design a C++-based application that meet the required design objectives. The competency-based assessment involves assessing learning by asking a variety of pointed questions pertaining to a single or a small group of concepts. After studying the performance of 207 students, we found that in the challenge-based assessment, due to the complex nature of the questions that assess numerous concepts simultaneously, students who are not very thorough with even one or two concepts fared very poorly since they were unable to finish the challenge and present a functional prototype of the program. On the other hand, the competency-based assessment allowed for a more balanced approach in which the students’ learning was reflected more accurately by their performance in the various assessments.